NOVA CURIA OF THE ORDER OF SAINT JOHN – HOW A MODERN PERIOD MAJUR BECAME A MEDIEVAL MONASTERY

Sa？etak Since the 19th century, Croatian historiography located in Me？imurje military orders, and to this day remained the opinion that the toponym Novi Dvori in the area of today’s Hlapi？ina was home of the Order of Saint John. After consulting the results of Hungarian and Slovene historiography, the results of archeological excavations and after analyzing the sources, we come to the conclusion that the medieval presbyitery of Nova Curia was actually in the area of today’s újudvar nearby Velika Kani？a. In the continuation of the paper, we are analyzing the toponym of the same name in Me？imurje, and we prove that it did not even appear in sources in the Middle Ages, but occurs after the turbulence of the 16th century. At that time, due to the Ottoman threat, in the area of Me？imurje happened numerous changes that affected the organization of the possession and the structure of population. Finally, by analyzing the narrative sources, we are trying to figure out, why the mistake occurred in 17th century, and how a modern period manor house became a medieval monastery. Finally, we try to explain the possible origins of myths and legends about the military orders in the area of Me？imurje, and thus directions for future researches