Two Years of the “Virtual Scroll” Blog and 24 Stories from History

The Virtual Scroll blog, a project of the University Department of History at the Catholic University of Croatia, marks two years of continuous activity. The platform was launched in December 2023 with the aim of providing a space for faculty members and students to publish contributions on lesser-known and intriguing historical topics drawn from their research. To date, 24 texts have been published, revealing overlooked stories within major historical events and grounded in primary sources. A distinctive feature of the platform is the equal representation of authors: 13 contributions are authored by faculty members and 11 by students of the Department.

The thematic scope of the published texts ranges from ancient Athens to the twentieth century, covering topics from the Athenian plague and medieval diplomacy to the Parisian cabaret Le Chat Noir, Japanese samurai, and Yugoslav courtrooms. From a statistical perspective, the nineteenth century is the most represented period, with eight published texts, partly reflecting the fact that student papers are produced within seminar courses such as Modernisation and Society: Topics from Nineteenth-Century World History. The representation of all historical periods and a variety of thematic approaches reflects the diversity of research interests among the Department’s faculty and students. In the most recent contribution, Assist. Prof. Stipe Ledić, PhD, presents a previously unexplored will of Bishop Maksimilijan Vrhovac from the Archdiocesan Archives in Zagreb, revealing how the “founder of the Croatian nineteenth century” cared for institutions, society, and individuals until his final moments.

Virtual Scroll is edited by Assoc. Prof. Kristina Puljizević, PhD, and Veronika Novoselac, MA (Hist.), MA (Comm.), university assistant. New texts are published once a month, on the tenth day of each month. The blog is available at the provided link.