Saint Mary of the Angels in Osor

Tradition, History, and Architecture

Abstract

The paper explores the history and architecture of the former Benedictine nunnery and Clarissan convent of St Mary of the Angels in Osor. This little-studied complex, whose remains can be observed in a private courtyard next to the southwestern walls (Osor 73), calls for systematic archaeological research. Until then, it is possible to outline the crucial events of its history and to present introductory remarks on the dating of its architectural remains. The paper is thus a parallel reading of mid-18th-century texts (Annales Camaldulenses and Illyricum Sacrum) and earlier, 16th-century archival sources. It is argued that the tradition concerning the foundation of the female Benedictine community in Osor in the first half of the 11th century cannot be corroborated by sources and that it is highly unlikely that such a community existed there before the 1530s. Further attention is devoted to the appearance and decoration of the monastic church and its altars, once furnished with wooden altars and imagery. Finally, it is tentatively argued that the outer wall of the private courtyard once belonged to an earlier church, henceforth unrecorded in the bibliography on Osor.