The Monastery of Virgin Mary de Insula prope Metlicam: addressing the problem of the arrival of the Franciscans in White Carniola

Abstract

A relatively short-lived (less than one decade long) settlement of White Carniola by the Franciscan Friars Minor (Observants) was an important stage in the development of the Slovenian Franciscan province. Crossing the Kolpa river, the Friars of the Vicariate of Bosnia made the first step towards the expansion of the order’s province to the territory of the present-day Slovenia, which became its centre in the 17^th century. The aforementioned order’s province incorporated a vast majority of Franciscan monasteries in the continental part of the present-day Slovenia until the mid-16^th century, with the Slovenian province being its present legal successor. The author of the paper explains the reasons for the arrival of the friars in White Carniola and the circumstances that contributed to the origin of the thesis of two monasteries in Rosalnice (Tri Fare) and Gradac, whereby he rejects the existence of the Monastery of Tri Fare.