CROATIAN CALENDAR TRADITION: THE FIRST CENTENNIAL CALENDAR IN CROATIAN

The paper represents the first complete analysis of the natural science texts published in the enlightenment Centennial calendar of Varazdin professor Antun Rozic and his contribution to Croatian calendar tradition, made from the aspect of the history of science. Centennial calendar was explored from the natural science and astronomy point of view. Its influence was also explained since it was one of the most often read books in the 19th century in Northern Croatia. The work was compared with chronological line of older Croatian popular calendars preceded by the German original M. Knauer’s Centennial calendar on the basis of which it was partly made. The paper analyzes in details heterogeneous materials given by the Centennial calendar. Rozic’s work is especially compared with the calendars of the most productive pre-enlightenment writer Tomas Miklousic. It also explores the influence of the older authors. Significance which the calendars had in enlightening Croatian people is also interpreted. Different natural science contents, published by both authors in their works, are compared. Besides the analysis from the aspect of the history of science, Rozic’s calendar was also shown as a practical book, everyday guidebook for all people, written with the aim to enlighten and improve life and economy. Different topics were analyzed: natural science, astronomy, astrology, calendar, meteorology, economy, pharmacology, veterinary medicine and agriculture. In the period when it was made it was the first real encyclopedia of practical knowledge for improvement of life and economy.