189 Urban Settlements (oppida) of Vinodol under the Rule of the Counts of Krk: Topographical Situation and Local Organization within the Feudal Manor Gordan Ravančić When discussing Vinodol’s past, one must keep in mind the antiquity of this ge- ographic region, which becomes evident at the very irst glance – the clear shape of the valley that stretches from Križišće towards the southeast, surrounded in north and south by mountains belonging to the Bitoraj-Viševica massif. 1 At the same time, one should keep in mind that this geographical situation of Vinodol does not en- tirely correspond to the former Vinodol municipalities or towns. As it is known, the term “Vinodol towns” includes eight municipalities from Trsat in the northwest to Ledenice in the southeast, which together with Novi (Vinodolski) sums up to the nine towns of medieval Vinodol. he archaeological material – mostly discovered sporadically – clearly indicates the cultural diversity, but also continuity of settlement in this area. Remnants of jew- ellery from the archaeological site in Vinodol also testify of links in cultural patterns of the so-called Dalmatian-Croatian group, with traces of inluence from Pannonia and the eastern Alpine region. 2 On the other hand, the scarce written sources pre- served from the medieval period leave suicient room for various speculations on the social and organizational evolution of Vinodol and its towns before the compi- lation of the Vinodol Law Code (1288). 3 Hypotheses ofered by modern historiogra- phy range from attempts at interpreting the past of Vinodol as part of the territorial 1 Lujo Margetić, Vinodolski zakon [he Vinodol Law Code] (Rijeka and Novi Vinodolski: Skupština općine – Turističko društvo, 1988), 73-74. See also the English translation in: Lujo Margetić, Vinodolski zakon = La legge del Vinodol = Das Gesetz von Vinodol = he Vinodol law. Translated by A. Margetić, T. Krupis and J. Kraljić (Rijeka: Adamić-Vitagraf, 1998). 2 Željka Cetinić, Stanče-Gorica starohrvatsko groblje [Stanče-Gorica, an ancient Croatian cemetery] (Rijeka: Pomorski i povijesni muzej Hrvatskog primorja, 1998), 25; Mirjana Matijević Sokol and Vladimir Sokol, Hrvatska i Nin u doba kneza Branimira [Croatia and Nin during the rule of Duke Branimir] (Zagreb and Milano: Studia Croatica and Heti, 1999), 76-80. 3 A summary of scholarly literature on this issue can be found in: Maurizio Levak, “Podrijetlo i uloga kmeta u vinodolskom društvu XIII. stoljeća” [he origin and role of the serf in the 13 th -century society of Vinodol], Zbornik Odsjeka za povijesne znanosti Zavoda za povijesne i društvene znanosti HAZU u Zagrebu 19 (2001), 35-81.