Project Results

A chronological overview of project activities and results.

The Moral Citizen and the Good Official. The Image of the State Official during the Reign of Joseph II

25. March 2026. · Zagreb · Prof. Darko Vitek, PhD

XXIII Dies Historiae: Perceptions and Social Role of Honour and Shame through History

Presentation Summary

The reign of Emperor Joseph II brought a series of reforms that marked the very end of the 18th century and also foreshadowed social transformations visible throughout the 19th century. The context of their creation should be sought in the interplay of Joseph’s worldviews and the challenges of real politics that the Emperor and his administration had to face.

Through the process of transforming morality from the private to the public sphere, Enlightenment thinkers created an image of a state whose task was to care for the general welfare, placing before the institutions of power the imperative of morality. Thus the image of the modern state official emerged, a representative of the state characterised by honour, loyalty, and patriotism.

The Statute of Ilok – Content and Context of its Creation

12. December 2025. · Ilok · Prof. Darko Vitek, PhD

Conference on the Ilok Legal Collection of 1525 and Medieval Ilok

Presentation Summary

The Statute of Ilok from 1525 represents a unique legal document from the territory of medieval Slavonia. Its content speaks of the complex process of unification and codification of medieval law, the layered power relations of the medieval Hungarian state, the legal position of medieval Ilok, and the complex social relations of medieval society.

The multitude of possibilities for reading the Statute of Ilok provides numerous possibilities for its interpretation and contextualisation, but at the same time opens up many new questions that require new historiographical research. The paper aims to provide an overview of the content of the Statute of Ilok, offer an interpretation of its creation and legal context, and indicate possible directions for further research.