Thomas the Archdeacon

This is part 25 in a series on Daniel Farlati’s Illyricum Sacrum.

Thomas became Archdeacon of the church of Spalato in 1230 AD. He was around 30 years old at the time. He wrote a history of the Bishops of Salona titled Historia Salonitana, which Farlati uses as a primary source for his work. In 1243 he was elected to be the town’s Archbishop, but regional political factors influenced the town’s people’s opinion, who thought having a Hungarian archbishop would grant them more political favor. Faced with civil unrest, Thomas declined to take the post.

Thomas’ own autobiographical account reveals that he studied at the university of Bologna. While he was there heard a sermon from Saint Francis of Assisi. He says that most of the city came to hear Francis preach, and he proved so popular that crowds of people rushed towards him to try to touch his cloak.

He is also known for writing about the Mongol invasion of Hungary, which he took from his own eye witness account and those of refugees who had fled to Spalato for safety.