Lika and Gacka are the karst fields behind the Velebit, named already by Constantine Porphyrogenitus in the 10th century, when the ban governed them with Krbava directly.
In 1200 they are Croatian counties under the crown, held by counts from the local kindreds whom the sources used here do not name; the Mogorović are the leading Lika kindred in later records, and Gacka (round Otočac) becomes Frankopan land only in the later middle ages. They lie astride the routes from the coast at Senj and from Modruš into the interior.
Who he is
- Name
- Not pinned for 1199-1200
- Title
- Counts (župani) of Lika and of Gacka
- Family
- Lika's later nobility includes the Mogorović kindred; Gacka passes to the counts of Krk only in the later middle ages.
- Confidence
- low
Hrvatska enciklopedija (Gacka; Frankapani); English Wikipedia (Twelve noble tribes of Croatia).
Overlord
The king, through the ban
What it holds
- The Lika field (round Gospić).
- The Gacka field (round Otočac and Brinje).
How it was acquired
Old Croatian counties under the crown.
Allies and rivals
The Templars at Senj on the coast; the counts of Krk at Modruš; Krbava to the south-east.
How things stand that morning
Croatian counties under the crown; holders not named.
Wealth
Flocks and horses, the transhumance to the Velebit, the passes from Senj.
Military
Kindred retinues.
Places of note
- Otočac (Gacka): Centre of the Gacka field.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: No dated counts around 1200.
On the map: Approximate fields; the Velebit slopes and the coast below them are left to the anchors.
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.
- History of the bishops of Salona and Split, by Thomas the Archdeacon, Thomas of Split (about 1266). Written two generations later by a Split churchman born about 1200. Read online
- History of the doges of Venice (about 1229, with a continuation). The earliest surviving Venetian narrative close to the events. Read online
- The Deeds of the Hungarians, by the Anonymous Notary of King Béla, Anonymus (P. magister) (about 1200 to 1210, the date disputed). Not a record of events but a picture of the kingdom's nobility and geography as a courtier of about 1200 wished to see it: the clans and their lands, the castles and counties, the Vlachs, Cumans and other peoples of the Carpathian basin, all projected back onto the conquest. Read online
- The Registers of Pope Innocent III for 1199 to 1201, Innocent III and the papal chancery (22 February 1199 to 21 February 1201). The pope's outgoing letters for the year, in his chancery's own copy, touching nearly every realm in the atlas. Read online
- Charters of the kingdom of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia, volume 2, 1101 to 1200 (documents of 1101 to 1200, edited 1904). The Croatian and Dalmatian charters to 1200: the acts of Duke Andrew as lord of Croatia and Dalmatia (1197 to 1204), the Hungarian kings' grants, the Templars and the bishops of Zagreb, Split, Zadar and Trogir, the communal statutes of the coastal towns, and the papal letters of 1200 to Emeric about Ban Kulin of Bosnia and heresy. Read online
- Hungarian royal charters: Fejér's Codex diplomaticus and Szentpétery's critical calendar of the Árpád kings (documents of the 11th to 13th centuries; Fejér published 1829 to 1844, Szentpétery vol. 1 in 1923). The documentary base for Hungary in 1200: King Emeric's grants to Pannonhalma, the bishops, the Templars and Hospitallers, Duke Andrew's acts in Croatia and Dalmatia, and the papal letters of 1200 to Emeric about his brother's rebellion and about heresy in Bosnia. Read online
- Documents on the older commercial and political history of the Republic of Venice, part 1, 814 to 1205 (documents of 814 to 1205, edited 1856). Venice's treaties and privileges in full text. Read online
Sources and studies
- Gacka (Hrvatska enciklopedija)
- Frankapani (Hrvatska enciklopedija)
- Twelve noble tribes of Croatia (English Wikipedia)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.