Border Identities in the Early Modern Period

Introduction

In this day and age, borders and border areas are becoming an increasingly important topic. The connotations of borders have differed over the course of time—from the unclear borders in the medieval period to the clearly defined and internationally recognized borders of the 21st century.¹ Border areas are a subject of various typologies; nevertheless, it is clear that borders and border areas are not static, but rather “constructed through discursive practices and molded by diverse institutions in complex and changing ways.”² Areas and borders do have perceivable “internal dynamics” that are not only visible walls and fences but can also be seen in people’s state of mind. Borders define the nature of affiliation to a certain group and manners of inclusion or exclusion. It is therefore not surprising that one of the key aspects of border research is the relation between borders and identities.³

The most innovative and relevant social phenomena, which are of central importance for historical studies, often arise in border areas, even in marginal ones.⁴ The complexity of identities that occur at the crossroads of languages, religions, and histories recognizes the importance of border areas in integrating broader national communities because they are traditionally areas of contact and transition. These environments can produce areas of fluid identities.⁵

This work is a case study of collective identities related to territories, languages, cultural milieus, state affiliations, and alleged ethnic origins in the border area of Friuli and the County of Gorizia from the end of the Middle Ages to the period immediately preceding the nationalistic movements of the 19th century. The large number of diverse concurrent historiographic oeuvres are a valuable source for reconstructing and studying the early modern collective identities in the area addressed. Apart from comprehensive and scholarly records such as provincial histories, town chronicles, biographies of the Patriarchs of Aquileia, historical poems, and other similar documents, this book also analyzes more or less rudimentary historiographic records, such as the ones included in registers known as catapani,⁶ and private historiographic records (diaries and memoirs), intended for reading within a family and/or within a circle of like-minded persons. Why exactly was historiography chosen for studying these identities? The answer lies in the assumption that it is one of the most important sources for examining this subject because “narratives are not necessarily reflections of actual facts but, first and foremost, intentionally and artificially constructed arguments to constitute identities.”⁷ In the long term, studying historiographic works points to changes that occurred in collective identities.

This book focuses on the historical regions of Friuli and the County of Gorizia.⁸ This area is part of central Europe as well as part of the northern Adriatic area, where the Mediterranean world meets the continental one, and where numerous cultural influences are present. In this multilingual area, political borders have continually shaped—and sometimes dramatically disrupted—the locals’ lives. This area is an ideal laboratory for researching the issues of borderness and collective identities. The wider northern Adriatic has always been a transitional area where differences have come into contact—and sometimes conflict.⁹ This also applies to wider Friuli region.

Almost a hundred years ago, the historian Pier Silverio Leicht made the following observation about research on Friulian history:¹⁰

Researching the history of the County of Gorizia is yet another challenge. The historian Sergio Tavano often emphasizes the unique status of the County of Gorizia in the European context: “The County of Gorizia has been a land of connectivity and unity, as well as a model and a vigorous melting pot for uniting all people, whose foundations were naturally pluralistic.” The cosmopolitism of this area is organic, substantial, and ancient. The European character of the County of Gorizia has roots in its structural heterogeneity, which emerged in the Middle Ages and was preserved until the birth of the nationalisms of the 19th century.¹²

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the northern Adriatic saw some heavy and also bloody national conflicts.¹³ According to an important observation by Marta ←11 | 12→Verginella, the still pervasive ethnocentric orientation must be overcome when studying the history of the northern Adriatic. “Nationally oriented histories” arose alongside the establishment of nationalisms. The aim of demonstrating the indigenous character and Antiquity of a particular nation in a multilingual area then began to lead to the deprivation of the right to a homeland for “newcomers.” “Nationally oriented histories” thus became a tool in intense political games in the 19th and 20th century.¹⁴ This work contributes to overcoming such orientations.

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This volume is divided into several chapters and sub-chapters. The chapter “The Principles of Studying Early Modern Collective Identities” (i.e., the complexity of examining early modern identities connected with the question of studying national identities) is followed by the chapter “Sources: Historiography of Friuli and the County of Gorizia,” which includes the method used for studying the early modern historiographic material, insight into early modern historiographic production in Friuli and the County of Gorizia, and an outline of the contemporary historical events of that time.

The following chapters address issues of collective identities related to the territory, language, cultural milieu, the state, and alleged “ethnic” origins; for example, those of provincial or local identity, sense of belonging to a state community, and the sense of belonging to a certain linguistic or cultural milieu; that is, Italian patriotism understood geographically, linguistically, and culturally.¹⁵ These aspects greatly influenced the perception of “others” in various ways, which raises the questions of linguistic and alleged “ethnic” otherness. Due to the multilingual environment of the border area studied, these topics display a very complex image and are a research challenge. The historiographers discussed in this volume are almost exclusively members of the Italian cultural and linguistic sphere,¹⁶ which is why special attention is paid to the ideas arising from ←12 | 13→the contrast with Italy—the “barbaric” world and the perception of “barbaric” nations (the transalpine population, the Ottomans, the Lombards, etc.). Special attention is paid to the early medieval Slavs and the early modern Slovenian-speaking population living in the County of Gorizia and in certain parts of the eastern Friuli region. It is precisely the attitude toward these groups that helps one understand the coexistence of seemingly conflicting concepts related to the Italian patriotism on the one hand and provincial identity on the other.¹⁷

The work concludes by presenting definitive conclusions related to the coexistence of various identities or patriotisms at various levels that, despite being different in nature, were not mutually exclusive in the early modern era. It also underlines the key changes that occurred in identities toward the end of the 18th century, with long-term consequences in the border area discussed.

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This volume is the result of many years of research on collective identities and historiography. It is therefore based on several previous studies that developed and improved the findings presented here.¹⁸ I am grateful to the various ←13 | 14→publishers and journal editorial boards for approving the use of that material in this volume.