[Health culture in the Statute of Lastovo]. / Lastovski statut i zdravstvena kultura.

The aim of this article was to define the elements of health culture in the Statute of Lastovo, from its declaration in 1310 to amendments made in the 18th century. The source we used was a recently published translation of the Statute from Latin, in which we identified the lawmaker's stipulations directly or indirectly related to public health of the times. The Statute stipulates several preventive measures to keep plague at bay and to control it if it breaks out. Stipulations on communal slaughterhouses and fish markets, even if not directly intended to address healthcare issues, brought a definite improvement to public hygiene and sanitation. Penal provisions for the perpetrators included death, whipping, branding, cutting fingers off, standing on logs, and pillorying. The article concludes that even though the Statute of Lastovo is quite comprehensive and voluminous, it does not give much space to health culture, in fact, even less space than other Medieval statutes of towns along the east coast of the Adriatic.

[The Code of Medieval Sibenik and care for health culture issues]. / Srednjovjekovni Sibenski statut I briga za probleme zdravstvene kulture.

The Code of Sibenik dates back to the 13th century and is impressive inasmuch as it pays a lot of attention to health culture issues. It brings a number of hygienic and sanitary measures such as the ban to keep pigs in the town, to throw "filth and decay" on public roads, to unload and sell fish in places not intended for selling, to display and sell meat outside butcheries, to skin animals outside butcheries, to sell carrion meat, and the order to bakers to bake bread thoroughly. It pays particular attention to public bodies of water such as ponds and to watersupply, and the town subsidised half the welling costs. In respect to general health protection, the Code banned corpse kissing to prevent infections, and graves were removed from the town centre for the same reason (because they "stank"). The "insane" and "simple minded" could not close legal deals. The fact that the town employed a trained physician - medicus - (in addition to a barber) suggests that it was the physician's job to decide who of the townspeople belonged to the category of the mentally challenged.

[Traces of health culture in the 1427 code of Grbalj]. / Tragovi zdravstvene kulture u Grbaljskom zakonu iz 1427. Godine.

The Code of Grbalj regulated a number of legal issues in this area and marked the passage from common to statutory law. It brings several curiosities related to the health culture of the time, such as that a barber was not liable for patient's death due to surgery. In fact, surgery was preceded by a symbolic act in which the barber would hand a razor to the patient, and the patient would hand it back. The intention of this provision was to protect the surgeon from blood feud. As for the corpse, the Code provided that it should be kept at home overnight and buried in the morning. Punitive provisions include stoning of the engaged couple in case of pregnancy, as engagement commanded absolute virtue. The punishment for striking parents was to cut off the hand that hit them; the ear was cut off or the nose scarred to permanently mark an adulteress or a woman who stole from the husband's house and sold the stolen property to fill up her belly. Children who stole from the house and sold the property were punished by flogging with a chibouk.

[Evidence of health culture in medieval statute of Budva]. / Tragovi zdravstvene kulture u srednjovjekovnome budvanskom statutu.

The Statute of Budva dates from the time of Nemanjics. This medieval document was approved at the time Budva was under venetian dominion and remained in force until the end of the Venetian Republic. During 17th century the Statute was translated into the Italian language. The document includes regulations which indicate a concern for the health of the public. Among the regulations is one which prohibit the sale of fisch outside the stalls of the fishmarket presumably to ensure the sale of only fresh fish. Another regulation prohibits the sale of dead animals, the sale of dog's meat instead od wether meat. There is also language indicating a concern for protecting the cleanliness of brooks, rivers and wells. Corporal punishment is mentioned but only with regard to whipping and beheading.

[The sanitary conditions in the old Korcula Statute]. / Tragovi zdravstvene kulture u starome Korculanskom Statutu.

Korcula's Code of Statutory regulations (from 1214, 1265, 1271 and later) contained very interesting rules of sanitary conditions in Korcula of that time. To protect the spreading of plague is prohibited contact with persons from the contaminated areas; it prohibited also entry into contaminated regions and rivers. The persons from the plague-stricken places were not allowed to enter the city. As was the custom, to preserve sanitary-hygienic conditions the shoe-markers were forbidden to pollute the town with leather tanning. It was also forbidden to keep pigs in the city and to do washing in the pools. The place and time for throwing rubbish away were strictly controlled. To protect the citizens' lives and health the preparing of plant poisons was considered a felony. Capital punishment, burning at the stake, followed a case where somebody died or lost a limb as a result of plant poisoning. In a case less serious, such as fainting, the Prince meets out punishment according to his judgement of the crime. If the criminal absconds with exile the confiscation of all his property could follow.

[Salic law and punishment by castration]. / Salijski zakon i kazna kastracije.

Lex Salica was made at the end of the 5th century and it governed the Salian Franks. In those times, there were other so-called leges barbarorum, which together formed (as well as Lex Salica) important source of early feudal law in Western Europe. Lex Salica included common law of the Salian Franks which was adopted by the government and therefore had the effect of the law. Most provisions included punishment by whipping, and there were two cases of punishment by castration, although, the alternative to this punishment was a hefty fine that a slave could never pay. Punishment by castration in Lex Salica was intended only for male slaves (while it was strictly forbidden to punish free people in this way) in two cases: - A slave "had sexual relations" (presumably involuntary) with another master's female slave, if such act caused the death of said female slave. - A slave committed burglary (breaking and entering). The existing legal texts do not provide a clue as to who performed the castration of these slaves.

Eyes, bones and teeth in the 16th century Statute law of Rijeka.

The 16th century statute law or the town of Rijeka treats the eye in two ways. First, it stipulates a severe punishment for deliberate "eye-plucking". Second, for those who commit this crime, it specifies "eye-plucking" as a corporeal punishment (following the eye-for-an-eye principle).The 1530 Statute of Rijeka also pays considerable attention to the bones. Bone breaking by means of intentional or unintentional blow was fined 25 libras (pounds) for the following bones: thighbone, forearm and hand bones, lower leg bone, and foot bone. A fine of 10 libras applied for all other intentional or unintentional bone breaking by a blow. Legal protection of teeth involved a fine of five libras for each of the teeth blown out, and half the fine for a broken tooth. Both fines applied whether the offence was done on purpose or not.