Counts · Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Gusić of Krbava

Krbava is the high karst field under the Plješivica, one of the three counties (with Lika and Gacka) that the ban governed directly in the 10th century.

Since 1185 it has had its own bishop, a suffragan of Split (Church map). The kindred later tied to it is the Gusić, whose Kurjaković branch, named after Kurjak, count of Krbava from 1298, made Krbava a hereditary possession only early in the 14th century. On 1 January 1200 Krbava is a royal county of Croatia under a count whom the sources used here do not name; that he came from the Gusić kindred is likely but not pinned.

Who he is

Name
Not pinned: no count of Krbava is named for 1199-1200 in the sources used here. The Gusić kindred is tied to Krbava by later tradition; its Kurjaković branch begins with Kurjak, first named in 1298.
Title
Count (župan) of Krbava
Since
not pinned
Family
The Gusić kindred, one of the kindreds named in the 14th-century Qualiter list.
Confidence
low

Hrvatska enciklopedija (Kurjakovići; Gacka); English Wikipedia (Twelve noble tribes of Croatia).

Overlord

The king, through the ban

What it holds

  • The Krbava field with the bishop's seat at Krbava (Udbina) and the old strongholds of the field.

How it was acquired

Royal county; kindred land of the Gusić by tradition.

Allies and rivals

Neighbours: Lika and Gacka to the north-west, the Una country to the east, the Lapac and Knin country to the south.

How things stand that morning

A Croatian county under the crown; holder not named.

Wealth

Horses, cattle and sheep of the karst fields; the inland road from the coast toward the Una.

Military

Kindred retinues; no numbers.

Places of note

  • Krbava (Udbina): Centre of the Krbava field and seat of the bishop of Krbava (founded 1185).

Where the sources disagree

  • The assignment's 'Kurjaković (Gusić) of Krbava' is a later name: Kurjak is first named in 1298 and the family held Krbava as hereditary property only from the early 14th century (Hrvatska enciklopedija).

Evidence: No dated count of Krbava around 1200; the kindred tie is from later sources.

On the map: Drawn as the field and its rim.

Primary sources for Croatia and Dalmatia

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

Sources and studies

  1. Kurjakovići (Hrvatska enciklopedija)
  2. Gacka (Hrvatska enciklopedija)
  3. Twelve noble tribes of Croatia (English Wikipedia)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.