The legal code for serfs in Vrana

I

That all the vineyards and olives and other fruit trees planted by the said serfs can be sold or donated according to their needs and left for their soul, provided that each serf is obliged to plant one hundred slips of olive trees within four years, otherwise he will not have the privilege stated in this provision, and that they must give the tax collector a written notice when they have settled their debt.

II

Furthermore, for all the houses or gardens of the aforementioned serfs who leave Vrana and the surrounding villages and which are afterwards moved in by other serfs, three appraisers should be hired to evaluate the aforementioned houses and gardens, so the one who moves to the parcel must to the one who goes pay the amount determined by the assessors or agreed upon by two of them.

III

Furthermore, that no serf is obliged to pay anything for any garden or orchard to anyone, either the municipality or the landlords.

IV

Furthermore, that no serf from Vrana or its district may sell wine on tap from the Feast of St. George in April until the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in August, but may sell on a measure or half measure.

V

Furthermore, that tax collectors from Vrana cannot sell wine on tap except from the Feast of St. George to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and then they can sell it after the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, since there is no other wine in the village, either domestic or imported.

VI

Furthermore, that no widow or an orphaned child can be chased away by taxpayers or landlords, except when it comes to rebels who rape women or burn down houses, without being able to chase them off when they do their duty and cultivate arable land, vineyards and olive groves; otherwise, they could be expelled with the approval of Rector of Zadar.

VII

Furthermore, that any self-government in the villages around Vrana can convict the offenders found in their area to 10 lira fine per offender.

VIII

Furthermore, that municipal serfs are required to work 12 days a year for tax collecting officials.

IX

Furthermore, when the wetlands have been cultivated, three years since they have not been cultivated, anyone can cultivate the land, and no one can dispute it, and those concerned have to give a quarter and a tenth to their masters if they work for individuals, and to the tax collectors of Vrana who work for the municipality.

X

Furthermore, that the land that has been overgrown with forests for ten years in a row can be cultivated and deforested, and that no one can prevent or challenge it, and the serf who cultivates and defuses it must give a quarter and a tenth to his master.

XI

Furthermore, whoever wants to fish in Jezero must agree with the tax collector in Vrana, otherwise he may not fish without the tax collector's permission as is custom, whereby the fish may not be hunted all year without a permit or if there is no agreement with the tax collector.

XII

Furthermore, that no tax collector or nobleman can remove or expel any serf from the parcel unless it is better for them to hire a better serf, provided that they receive a timely permission from Rector of Zadar.

XIII

Furthermore, those who want to catch birds with net in the area of Jezero are obliged to give tax collectors two pairs of birds as compensation for hunting.

XIV

Furthermore, that at the fairs in the Vrana region no one who is burdensome or anyone else living in the region is obliged to pay taxes when he sells or buys goods that succeed in that region.

XV

Furthermore, that every inhabitant of the Crow and its surroundings can seize the belongings of every stranger who owes him, unless he comes to grind or dye, and every serf or Vlach may be detained in exchange for one another, if they belong to one Master or one estate, to watch over and keep debts to the municipality, which takes precedence over all other creditors.

XVI

Furthermore, that the serfs in the village of Vrana and the surrounding area are happy to supply the Castle in Vrana with wood every four years, although this was not the custom, but they are glad to have the stock renewed every four years for the benefit of the Republic of St. Mark, so that at the end of each four-year period mentioned above, each serf from Vrana and the surrounding area delivers two loads of wood, and the old stock of wood to be distributed among those who supply the wood, thereby creating a new stock.

XVII

Furthermore, that those from Vrana and its surroundings cannot resort to measures other than those of Vrana under the threat of a fine of 2 lire for each measure, half of which belongs to St. Mark and the other half to the prosecutor.

XVIII

Furthermore, that whoever has to settle with the serfs must not pledge any ox, if the serf has to pay from another, and this applies to taxpayers as well as to other persons, since this is for the benefit of St. Mark, because the serf without an ox cannot cultivate land.

XIX

Furthermore, if a poor serf becomes ill and falls into such misery that he cannot prune vineyards for himself or for another for three consecutive years, he should not be disturbed until three years have elapsed, and thereafter, since by cultivating the vineyards during the said three-year period, the landowner is free to confiscate the vineyards in question.

XX

Furthermore, that any exchange of land or anything, when fifteen years have elapsed, must be considered to be final and lawful, and that no one may dispute it or interfere with possession.

XXI

Furthermore, if anyone has owned the land or anything, and it has been thirty years since he owns it, no one can dispute it or interfere with his possession.

XXII

Furthermore, where it is planted on the lands on which olive trees once grew, and if the one who planted a vineyard from the roots of said dried olives grows which olive tree, that it belongs to the one who grows that tree, whereby it is understood and states that the trees and the young branches of the trunk grown from the roots belong to the one whose land and plot are.

XXIII

Furthermore, that everyone is obliged to clean the drains in the fields and to allow the water to flow so as not to submerge the grain and that they are as much obliged to do the property as the others, under the threat of a fine of two pounds per person for the benefit of St. Mark, that is, the inhabitants of the place are obliged to maintain the land belonging to the site, and the landowners in their area at each request of the landowner.

XXIV

Furthermore, no inhabitants of Vrana and its surroundings, equally related to soldiers as to serfs and other persons, can and should not enter any vineyard or anyone's gardens and cause damage there, under the threat of 20 coins of fine for anyone commits an offense and every time he commits it, half of which goes to St. Mark and the other half to the accuser, and the person concerned will be obliged to promise that he will not repeat the offense and, moreover, will have to repair the damage he has done.

XXV

Furthermore, if there is no judge/judges at the seat, the adjudicating judge can litigate and these judgments will be valid and final as if they were pronounced by the judges themselves.

XXVI

Furthermore, if both parties agree, everyone can appeal to the nobleman of Vrana for any judgment and outcome of the dispute, but if one of the parties disagrees with the other party who wants to go before the owner, they must go before the Prince of Zadar, which can also appeal any decision, verdict and conclusion of the nobleman of Vrana.

XXVII

Furthermore, when disputes are brought before the court of Vrana, half must be paid and the other half forgiven in accordance with custom.

XXVIII

Furthermore, when officers move from Zadar to Vrana and from Vrana to Zadar, they have to pay those who transport their belongings and their comrades' belongings 2 coins by car to Jezero, and 1 coin by donkey from Jezero to the coast.

XXIX

Furthermore, that every serf who occupies a parcel in the town of Vrana is obliged to give tax payers every year for the New Year a load of wood and 6 coins, while other residents who do not occupy the parcel are required to pay 3 coins a year and nothing else, while residents of other villages are obliged to give gifts according to their customs, and the said tax collectors are obliged to prepare one meal a year for the gifts in question.

XXX

Furthermore, that all the serfs in Vrana and its district are obliged to clean the trench around the castle of Vrana, as on the inside as on the outside, as they did in the past.

XXXI

Furthermore, when it happens or a case of wanting something to be stolen, everyone in Vrana and its surroundings is required to track the whereabouts of the theft and help to apprehend the criminal and find the stolen, under the threat of a two-lire sentence for anyone he does not respond or obey the command, or goes to work in the field, or protests.

XXXII

Furthermore, that everyone who receives or who has received a pledge cannot sell that pledge unless he submits it to the judge before and after the sale. When the pledge is given, the sale period is up to eleven days, and when the pledge is sold, the sale period is eight days immediately thereafter.

XXXIII

Furthermore, that the beef offered in the butcher shop must be evaluated by certified appraisers and sold as estimated, while other types of meat must be sold in accordance with custom.

XXXIV

Furthermore, if anyone claims a real estate and is unable to prove his or her right by the testimony of three credible witnesses or by a public and certified document, the award shall not be on his or her behalf.

XXXV

Furthermore, if one requires or claims movable property, custom requires, and in accordance with it, one must act, if one proves his / her right by the testimony of credible witnesses, that the award be on his / her behalf and in his / her favor.

XXXVI

Furthermore, when it comes to damage inflicted in the fields, custom dictates, and must be acted upon, if the one to whom the damage was inflicted proves on the basis of credible testimony that he was harmed and supported by his oath, to be entitled to it and to be repaid the harm he has suffered, in order to fulfill justice.

XXXVII

Furthermore, since it is a custom that at every inn a crow must receive 2 coins per barrel, which he must spend drinking in company and with the jaws of the inn, it should be prescribed, and accordingly must be acted upon if the judge refuses to drink at the inn, that from the two mentioned coins for drinking with the company he must receive only one coin per barrel and that he should not spend any of that coin by drinking at the inn or giving it to anyone, but that the other coin must in any case be spent at the inn for other people's drinks in the company.

XXXVIII

Furthermore, that everyone who comes to the St. Gregory's Fair, and does not come from Vrana and its surroundings is obliged and must pay for all that he sells or buys 1 penny per liter of traffic, and it is understood that the said fair is held eight days before and eight days after the Feast of St. Gregory.

We hereby mandate and prescribe to the satisfaction and well-being of all the people and inhabitants of the town of Vrana and its district that the aforementioned Provisions must be unconditionally respected at the price of the foregoing penalties and fines as are customary, and the same provisions and customary rules will be valid and lasting at the discretion and will of us and our heirs, who may and may publish and interpret, modify and amend these Provisions and Privileges, and add or subtract these Provisions and Privileges at the discretion and will of our successors themselves, as they see them fit.

We have allowed and ordered this record to be compiled as a certification and testimony to the foregoing.

Date: Brought to Zadar on the first day of April, second indications, in 1454 from the Incarnation of Our Lord.

I, Lorenzo Loredan, Duke of Zadar, signed in my own hand.

I, Benedetto de Mula, captain, signed in my own hand.

And I, Antonio Campolongo of the late Mr. Alberto of Padua, a notary public under the Imperial authority and chancellor of the aforementioned gentleman of the Duke of Zadar, wrote down and recorded the above provisions and the privileges mentioned above.