Summary
Author of the oldest known account of Brač’s past, written in Latin in 1405. He served as parish priest and archpriest in Nerežišća, took part in the restoration of the Benedictine complex in Povlja and later became bishop of Hvar.
His ‘Opis otoka Brača’ (‘Description of the Island of Brač’) was written in 1405; Andrija Ciccarelli found surviving portions centuries later.
A priest from the vanished Gradac
Dujam came from Gradac, a settlement on Brač that no longer exists. He served in Nerežišća as parish priest and archpriest of Brač, and represented the bishop of Hvar on the island. In 1421, he was appointed bishop of Hvar himself. Biographical sources place his birth in the second half of the 14th century; the exact date is unknown.
Sources: [1]
What he wrote in 1405
‘Braciae insulae descriptio’ describes the island’s location and nature, settlements, population and political conditions. In the historical section, legendary explanations are interwoven with credible information. The work is important both as an account of Brač in its own time and as a trace of how islanders then understood the more distant past. It should not be read as a modern archaeological report.
Sources: [2]
Povlja and the journey of the surviving manuscript
He took part in preparations to restore the former Benedictine complex in Povlja and was present at its restoration on 26 April 1415. His text has not survived in full: Andrija Ciccarelli found a portion in 1783 and later published it. This connection links a medieval writer with a later researcher through the preservation of a manuscript, not through personal collaboration.
Sources: [2]
