The Vinodol Law (The Vinodol Code, Law Codex of Vinodol, Vinodolski zakon) is a legal text dating from 1288. Based on customary law, its provisions regulate various fields stipulating the powers of the duke of the Vinodol region, status of the Church, government organization… Covering criminal law, some of the Code’s provisions are aimed at preventing the duke from imposing autocratic rule and administering overly severe punishment, specifying fines for a number of offences (cursing, physical assault, etc.). In addition, it lays down civil procedure rules (e.g. detailing who can appear in court as a witness and under which conditions) and contains provisions concerning legal arrangements relating to real estate. There is no surviving copy of the Code’s original. Its 16th-cenutry transcript in the Glagolitic script is preserved at the National and University Library in Zagreb. The text is relevant to the research of medieval legal history, language and the social structure of the Vinodol municipalities. In 1988, the code’s facsimile edition was prepared by Josip Bratulić. Digitized copy is available on the portal of the Digital Collections of the National and University Library in Zagreb.
Source: Croatian Encyclopaedia and National and University Library in Zagreb