Cetingrad Charter
The Charter of Cetin degree is a degree issued in Cetin the Croatian Assembly ( Sabor ) on January 1, 1527 the Croatian government document. Through them was Ferdinand I of Habsburg (1503-1564), Archduke of Austria, was elected to the Croatian king.
With the Charter, the Croatian state constitutional law was expressed and confirmed about the basic state affairs again - which included a free election of the king - to decide independently and voluntarily. The Kingdom of Croatia was then, together with Slavonia, in personal union with Hungary and belonged to the so-called countries of the Holy Crown of St. Stephen. Since the Croatian-Hungarian King Louis II Jagiello of Mohács was born on August 29, 1526 in the battle for life and had no descendants, the Croatian Assembly gathered in Cetingrad and chose Austrian archduke Ferdinand as king of Croatia, which in the Charter has been confirmed in writing by Cetin degrees.
The text of the Charter first contains a list of names of those present Croatian high nobility, ecclesiastical dignitaries and other members of the ( lower ) nobility, and the name and title of the delegates Ferdinand, then the citation of the arguments for legally valid election of a Habsburg hereditary rulers of Croatia, continue the declarative recognition and promulgation Ferdinand as king and his wife Anna to the queen, and then the " swearing of allegiance, bow, and obedience." At the end of the text place and date of issue of the certificate are given.
Below the text there are seven seals, namely the Croatian state seal ( with square boxes ) in the middle, as well as three seals left and right, by the most distinguished nobles, in this order:
Left side
- Andrija Tuškanić ( according to some sources Andrija Mišljenović Uzdoljski ), Bishop of Knin (or Tinum ) and Abbot of Topusko
- Prince Ivan Karlović (John Torquatus ) (* 1485 () - † 1531), Ban of Croatia 1521-1524 and 1527-1531
- Prince Nikola III. Zrinski (* 1489 () - † 1534), father of Nikola Zrinski Šubić ( Ban of Croatia from 1542 to 1556 )
Right side
- Prince Juraj III. Francopan Slunjski ( George III. Francopan of Slunj ) ( † 1553), the slunjer branch of the noble family, former owner of the castle Cetin and associated rule
- Prince Vuk I. Francopan Tržački / Brinjski (Wolf I. Francopan of Tržac ( and Brinje ) ), ( † 1546)
- Prince Stjepan Babonić Blagajski (Stefan Babonić of Blagaj (now Blagaj Japra ) ), Lord of the huge estates in former Slavonia
The emissaries of Archduke Ferdinand ( Paul von Oberstein, provost of Vienna and privy councilor Ferdinand, whose generals Nikola Jurišić and Hans Katzianer, and Johann Püchler ( in some sources Puchler or Pichler ), Prefect of the castle Maichau / Slovenian Mehovo / ) took over the Cetin graders Charter and they took with them on their way back to Vienna. A little earlier, they confirmed in return in another document (so-called coronation oath ) the promises of the previous claims are not made already of the Croats and took them on behalf of the newly elected king all related obligations to.
Before their return journey to Vienna wrote Ferdinand emissaries sent a letter to the Archduke, on Thursday, January 3, 1527 dated, in which they told their ruler, the order of events during the Cetin graders General Assembly, and the causes of the delay, or their prolonged stay declared in Croatia ( among other things it was, for example, so that some high nobility did not have with their seal and certify the Charter had subsequently ).
The Cetin graders Charter is now kept in the Austrian State Archives in Vienna. It is one of the most important documents in the history of Croatia because of her emerged a special political status of the former Croatian state.