Branko Fučić (8 September 1920 – 30 January 1999) was a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n art historian,

archeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes ...

and paleographer. He was born in Malinska-Dubašnica on the island of

Krk Krk (; it, Veglia; ruo, Krk; dlm, label= Vegliot Dalmatian, Vikla; la, Curicta; grc-gre, Κύρικον, Kyrikon) is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, located near Rijeka in the Bay of Kvarner and part of Primorje-Gorski Kot ...

. After graduating at the

Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences or the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb (Croatian: ''Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu'') is one of the faculties of the University of Zagreb. History The Faculty of Philosophy is the oldest fac ...

in 1944, he received his PhD in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the a ...

in 1964. He worked in various conservation institutes and institutions at the

Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Croatica, hr, Hrvatska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti, abbrev. HAZU) is the national academy of Croatia. HAZU was founded under patronage of the Croatian bishop Jo ...

. He was an associate member of the

Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Croatica, hr, Hrvatska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti, abbrev. HAZU) is the national academy of Croatia. HAZU was founded under patronage of the Croatian bishop Jo ...

since 1975, extraordinary member since 1983, and a full member of the

since 1991. He was actively engaged in

field research Field research, field studies, or fieldwork is the collection of raw data outside a laboratory, library, or workplace setting. The approaches and methods used in field research vary across disciplines. For example, biologists who conduct f ...

of the medieval cultural and historical monuments, especially

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

s and

Glagolitic The Glagolitic script (, , ''glagolitsa'') is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. It is generally agreed to have been created in the 9th century by Saint Cyril, a monk from Thessalonica. He and his brother Saint Methodius were sent by the Byzan ...

epigraphy Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian and Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian, Italian and Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic betwee ...

, northern

Croatian Littoral Croatian Littoral ( hr, Hrvatsko primorje) is a historical name for the region of Croatia comprising mostly the coastal areas between traditional Dalmatia to the south, Croatia proper, Mountainous Croatia to the north, Istria and the Kvarner Gu ...

and Kvarner islands. He discovered and analyzed medieval frescoes in sixty locales in Istria (''Istarske freske'', 1963; ''Vincent iz Kastva'', 1992). He led archaeological excavations of the Church of St. Lucy, Jurandvor on the island of

, as well as the conservation effort of the complex St. Mary's in

Osor Osor may refer to these places and jurisdictions : * Osor, Croatia, town, former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see * Osor, Girona, village in Catalonia * Bishop of Osor * Open Source Observatory and Repository See also * Osorio (d ...

. In his book ''Glagoljski natpisi'' (Glagolitic inscriptions, 1982) he collected paleographic and archaeological descriptions of all known Glagolitic inscriptions, more than 500 of them, which were created during the 11-13th century. He personally discovered more than half of them, mostly in Istria and Kvarner. He found and described the Roč Glagolitic abecedarium, Hum inscription, was the first to decode Valun tablet, Grdosel fragment, Supetar fragment, and contributed to the interpretation of

Baška tablet Baška tablet ( hr, Bašćanska ploča, ) is one of the first monuments containing an inscription in the Croatian recension of the Church Slavonic language, dating from . The inscription is written in the Glagolitic script. It was discovered in 1 ...

as a left

altar An altar is a Table (furniture), table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of wo ...

partition. His reconstruction of the text of the

is the most widely accepted version today. He died in

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Prim ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fucic, Branko Croatian art historians Croatian palaeographers Croatian archaeologists 1920 births 1999 deaths Herder Prize recipients Yugoslav art historians Members of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts 20th-century archaeologists Yugoslav archaeologists