The task that the Editorial Council of Studia Ceranea has set before itself is the gradual creation of a scientific journal, interdisciplinary in character, which will offer specialist articles, reviews and notes on newly published monographs. Along these lines, we will attempt to cross the limits of the narrow specializations restricted to Byzantine or Slavic studies; the papers contributed would represent various aspects of the Late Ancient, Byzantine and Slavic culture of the eastern Mediterranean Area largissimo sensu and South-East Europe, which – we claim – forms an integrity, for all its diversity. Consequently, the journal, based on previous models of other respectable journals devoted to similar subject matters, utilizes the methodology and achievements of disciplines used in the study of Late Antiquity, Middle Ages and early Modern Era and is ready to face the new challenges posed by contemporary humanist thought.
Eastern Elements in Cathar Doctrines – an Argument for the Traditional Interpretation of Catharism
At present we can observe intense attempts at overthrowing all the claims concerning Catharism that had been formulated by the scholars of the 20th century, based on careful analysis of the vast source material. So called “traditional interpretation”, assuming strong influence of the Eastern dualist heresies (Bogomilism and Paulicianism) on Catharism is currently rejected by scholars such as M. G. Pegg, J.-L. Biget and R. I. Moore as outdated and not compatible with the latest research. For the construction of this false image of Catharism Pegg blames Religionsgeschichte Schule and their comparative method, which according to him is built on the assumption that “if two ideas look alike to the historian, there must be a link between them”, but in this radical criticism, he seems to ignore the fact that comparison of the Cathar and Bogomil doctrine is justified by many sources, which confirm historical relations between the adherent of these heresies. What should be underlined, not only the current deconstructionist conception, represented by the above-mentioned scholars, but all the interpretations rejecting Eastern origins of Cathar doctrines, were constructed without the analysis of the Eastern sources. Considering this, the aim of this article is to analyse various specific Cathar doctrinal conceptions, which do not have analogies in the ancient heresies, with the doctrines of the Eastern dualists (mainly Bogomils but also Paulicians), known from the Eastern sources – both polemical and written (or used) by the heretics themselves. Such comparative analysis can verify the claims of the adherents of the “new paradigm”, according to which dualist Cathar doctrine was constructed by Catholics, basing on the ancient anti-heretical scriptures, mainly anti-Manichaean writings of St. Augustine.
Copyright (c) 2024 Piotr Czarnecki https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Interlinear and Marginal Glosses in the Athonite Translation of John Chrysostom’s De Statuis
According to a colophon in manuscript RM 3/6 from the Rila Monastery, a complete Slavonic translation of John Chrysostom’s Homilies on the Statues was made on Mount Athos by the Serbian monk Antonije and copied by Vladislav the Grammarian in 1473. In fact, this is the earliest extant copy of a thorough revision of the first translation that was made in Preslav in the 10th century, and the text was partially translated anew after a different Greek source. All three preserved copies of this translation contain a number of explanatory glosses. Some of them refer to rare and archaic words, whereas others provide synonyms and better readings. In the article, close attention is paid to the 21 interlinear and marginal glosses as they occur in the Rila manuscript. The glosses are divided into four overlapping groups: I. Translations and explanations of Greek words; II. Biblical references; III. Synonyms; and IV. Varia. Eight of the annotations are discussed in detail in comparison to the Preslav translation and the Greek sources, with additional data from other medieval Slavonic texts. Since the practice of annotating was typical of the scribe Vladislav, some arguments were considered whether he was the author of the glosses. In most cases, the annotator was also a competent and observant editor, who usually corrected or updated the language according to his contemporary terminology.
Copyright (c) 2025 Aneta Dimitrova https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Essence and Ways of Infiltration of the Paulician Heresy in the Medieval Bulgarian Lands
Paulicianism in Bulgaria has its origins in the forced resettlement of Paulicians from Asia Minor and the eastern regions of the empire to Northern Thrace by the authorities of the Eastern Roman Empire in the 8th–10th centuries. The first settlement of Paulicians in the Balkans was established in the 8th century by Emperor Constantine V Copronymus (741–775), who began a long campaign to recolonize the depopulated and demilitarized areas along the border with Bulgaria in Thrace. This policy was continued by subsequent iconoclast emperors, who considered the Paulicians their allies and established their military colonies in various border areas and in the capital, Constantinople. The last major deportation was in 970, when Emperor Ioannes I Tzimiskes (969–976) resettled 200,000 “Manicheans” from Syria to the area of Philippopolis. These “Manicheans” were probably Paulicians or their associated Tondrakites. The Paulician heresy is first mentioned in Greek sources in the 9th century, associated with Manichaeism and Masalianism. Hence the doctrines and practices of the Paulicians are a peculiar mixture of dualism, demiurgism, docetism, mysticism, and resemble in many respects the Gnostic system of Marcion. However, their main principle is dualism. After spreading into the Balkan Peninsula, the Paulicians nearly disappeare, suggesting they were either converted or at least partially absorbed by another known heresy – Bogomilism.
Copyright (c) 2024 Dimo Penkov, Ivan Yovchev https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
The Vandal habrosýne and its Significance in Procopius’ Narrative on the Rise and Fall of the Vandal State
The description of the Vandals’ habrosýne (Procopius, De bellis, IV, 6, 5–9) apparently fit in with the topos of “a nation once valiant who, living among the luxuries, succumbed to effeminacy”, which had been present in Greco-Roman literature since the time of Herodotus. Following such a course of interpretation, this description could explain why the once formidable conquerors were so easily defeated by a comparatively smaller force under Belisarius’ command. However, a closer look at the actual function of this passage in Procopius’ narrative on the rise and fall of the Vandal state brings this seemingly obvious interpretation into question. It gains a particular significance when we discover some surprising parallels between the fates of the last Vandal king, Gelimer, and the last Lydian king, Croesus – as these two are depicted by Procopius and Herodotus, respectively. If we should recognize that what we have here is a particular literary allusion, a re-application of a Herodotean pattern for the purpose of recounting a contemporary story, this passage takes on a new meaning: representing the former affluence and the present misery of the Vandals serves as a starting point to deliberations on human helplessness in the face of Fate, while referring to habrosýne, as a stereotypical characteristic attributed to the Lydians, is an additional clue to put us on a track leading to associations between the two narratives.
Copyright (c) 2024 Michał Stachura https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The Short Redaction of Joannes Zonaras’ Ἐπιτομὴ Ἱστοριῶν in the Slavonic Manuscript Tradition
The paper will focus on the four known Slavic witnesses of the so-called short redaction of Zonaras’ Chronicle and will try to explore its provenance and development. The conclusions will be based on the comparison of the content of the codices the short redaction is preserved in, on the one hand, and on the other – on the text critical and linguistic similarities and differences the witnesses show. The relations between the short redaction and the full version of Ἐπιτομὴ Ἱστοριῶν will also be tackled upon.
Copyright (c) 2024 Anna-Maria Totomanova https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Sweet and Salty Recipes: Some Examples from the Muslim and Byzantine Culinary and Medicinal Common Tradition
This paper discusses the use of salt, vinegar, honey, and sugar in some Byzantine and Arabic-Islamic recipes in cooking and pastry-making as well as for food preservation and in medical preparations. It draws mostly on information provided by Byzantine sources and Arabic translations for any comparison. The research focuses on some examples of salty/sour and sweet culinary and medicinal recipes, common or similar Arabo-Byzantine products like iṭriya, garos/murrī, zoulapion mishmishiyya, and libysia. The paper starts with Galen’s Syrian mēloplakous, continues with salty and sweet liquid preparations as well as preserves of roses and fruits. It concludes with a discussion of two exemplary Arabic delicacies more widely known in twelfth-century Byzantium, two foods with extreme opposite but equal flavored tastes: a sweet and a salty Arab product, paloudakin or apalodaton (fālūdhaj), which was the most typical sweet the Byzantines borrowed from the Arabs, and libysia, the especially flavorful salted fish from Egypt.
Copyright (c) 2024 Ilias Anagnostakis https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
The Byzantine East and Bulgaria – The Eastern Armies of Byzantium in the Wars Against the First Bulgarian Empire (680–1018)
This article deals with the engagement of the Byzantine eastern troops in the wars the empire waged against Bulgaria from the late seventh until the early eleventh centuries. To this end, both narrative and sphragistic sources are examined, and the data obtained are compared in order to get as full as possible picture of the composition of the Byzantine armies which fought against early medieval Bulgaria. Here the subject is analysed mainly from the Byzantine perspective. This helps outline certain trends in the development of the Byzantine army and the general Byzantine military strategy when Bulgaria is concerned.
Copyright (c) 2024 Symeon Antonov https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
“The Unbroken Fellowship” What Did Khan Boris and Empress Theodora Agree upon?
This article presents a novel hypothesis regarding the events surrounding the Christianization of Khan Boris of Bulgaria. The author proposes the possibility of a marriage between Empress Theodora and Khan Boris, primarily through a reinterpretation of two passages from the Theophanes Continuatus, which also appear in slightly altered forms in the works of other Byzantine authors. These passages have often been dismissed as mere legends lacking historical significance. However, the author contends that they can be viewed as distorted remnants of authentic plans, inviting a reevaluation of their historical value. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the complex relationship dynamics that influenced the region’s political landscape during this era, challenging previous interpretations that have often underestimated the intricate interplay of power, diplomacy, and personal relations in medieval statecraft.
Copyright (c) 2024 Kostiantyn Bardola https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Peaches at Medieval Site Ras, Serbia: Unraveling Routes of Introduction and Local Cultivation in the Balkans
The study combines archaeological evidence, written sources, and genetic studies to trace the routes of peach introduction to the Balkans and explore the local cultivation practices and it revisits the discovery of peach remains at the medieval site of Ras in southwest Serbia. Peach (Prunus persica [L.] Batsch) came to the Mediterranean from the East around the 6th/4th c. BC, and over the following centuries it spread westwards. In the Roman Empire it was an already well known fruit. One possible route for its introduction to Europe was through the Balkans (“via Balcani”), from the Black Sea region along the Danube River to other areas. However, following the Migration Period and the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the peach tree orchards remained mostly abandoned for the next three centuries. In contrast, the peach trees in the Eastern (Byzantine) Empire remained present despite repeated invasions, and destructive conflicts, which occurred between the 5th–11th/12th centuries. Peaches were generally available on the market and described in written sources. Archaeological evidence of the of peaches in the region can be found at the medieval site Ras in Serbia, where peach fruit stone fragments have been radiocarbon dated to 1021–1158 cal AD. During the 12th century, Ras served as a Byzantine fortress and later became the main defensive stronghold of the newly formed Serbian state from the middle of the 12th century to the fourth decade of the 13th century. Given the peach fruit soft texture and difficulty to transport, it is likely that they were grown locally. The Romans could have introduced peaches into the area during the 4th century. However, the area was abandoned between the 6th–9th centuries and the peach trees could not have survived if unattended. In the Balkans, including present-day Serbia, there is a significant genetic diversity of peach landraces that are grown effectively wild in vineyards (“vineyard peach”) and are ancient in origins. The presence of peach stones at Ras suggests a possible continuity of practices linked to the “via Balcani” route and enduring local cultivation or trade from southern regions since ancient times. Future discoveries of peach stones in the area will enhance our understanding of this historical route. This study provides significant insights into the prolonged existence and local cultivation of peaches in the broader region, emphasizing the interplay between cultural exchange, trade, and agricultural practices over millennia.
Copyright (c) 2024 Ksenija Borojević, Krzysztof Jagusiak, Ksenija Gašić https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Mars Pater – in the Strategy of Constantine the Great
During his reign Constantine the Great sought protection of various gods, finally choosing the Christian God as his main protector. The iconographic material gathered from the mints remaining under his power in the early period of his rule shows that in the years 306–309 Constantine regarded Mars as his guardian deity. The author attempts to explain why the emperor sought Mars’s protection during that period and why he later began to look for a new divine guardian. This issue has not yet been properly explained in scholarly literature devoted to Constantine the Great.
Copyright (c) 2024 Sławomir Bralewski https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Ambroise Paré and Laurent Joubert, Knowledge and Beliefs about Pregnancy in 16th Century France
Our article is devoted to the science of female anatomy in the 16th century, particularly the practices and beliefs related to pregnancy and childbirth. We analysed the academic discourse presented in the Œuvres of Ambroise Paré (1510–1590), physician and surgeon, to compare it with the Erreurs Populaires by Laurent Joubert (1529–1583), physician and professor at Montpellier. Through our research, we were able to establish an overview of the knowledge, beliefs, and methods practiced at the time for treating the female body, not only in the medical field but also among the laypeople. Firstly, we examined the signs and progression of pregnancy as depicted in Paré’s Œuvres and Joubert’s Erreurs Populaires. Next, we focused on childbirth itself, the complications during delivery, and the solutions envisioned at the time to address them. After comparing these different discourses, we found that the approaches and objectives of these two physicians are quite distinct. Paré remains faithful to the theories of the ancients despite his extensive experience, whereas Joubert appears closer to practical applications in his attack on the numerous beliefs prevalent in society. However, while these differences significantly distinguish the two discourses and their targeted readerships differ in nature, both authors generally address the same questions and highlight the problems that women and physicians faced at the time.
Copyright (c) 2024 Victoria Bujak https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The Theme of the First Muslim Women in Chronographia of Theophanes the Confessor
This article concerns itself with a small fragment of Chronographia by Theophanes the Confessor. The fragment is devoted to the role of women in the rise and spread of Islam. Although generally considered to express anti-Islamic propaganda, upon closer examination, it is quite consistent with some Muslim traditions. The author interprets the fragment in a way that takes those traditions into account.
Copyright (c) 2024 Błażej Cecota https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Taxonomy of Patience in Sixteenth-century Florentine Political Thought
This article examines the concept of pazienza present in the writings of Machiavelli and Guicciardini. It turned out that it is closely related to key concepts for their considerations, such as Fortune, Time or Opportunity, and is classified and valued by them in social interaction within the political hierarchy. In Machiavelli, the term pazienza is an expression of patient enduring of an inconvenient situation, which should be assessed positively or negatively depending on who is patient and in what circumstances. In the context of social relations, Machiavelli perceives the effects of patience rather negatively, because for him it is mainly an expression of weakness, leading to or resulting from the loss of political position. For Guicciardini, patience means the ability to endure adversity, but also the ability to wait for the right moment to take action. Guicciardini emphasizes the ambivalent meaning of patience, which, on the one hand, is passive bearing of someone else’s will, and on the other, as an expression of understanding the situation, turns out to be necessary when concluding alliances, negotiations and conducting military activities, i.e. it is simply indispensable in socio-political life, because it promotes implementation of plans, but also limits the use of violence.
Copyright (c) 2024 Marta Czapińska-Bambara https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Byzantine Reconquista (10th–11th Centuries) and the Attacks on Christians in the Lands of Islam (Egypt, Syria and Iraq)
The paper discusses a wave of attacks on Christians in the lands of Islam that accompanied Byzantine victories on the battlefield in 10th–11th centuries, including pogroms and attacks in the capital of Egypt, Antioch, Alexandria, and Daqūqā’, which were clearly linked with the fear or anger towards Byzantines, as well as events in Damascus, Al-Ramla, Caesarea, Ascalon and Tinnis, in case of which the link with Byzantium is not mentioned by the sources. It is argued that these events paved the way for the persecutions of Al-Ḥākim.
Copyright (c) 2024 Maciej Czyż https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
The Revolts of the Varangians in Constantinople: Two Incidents at the Palace
This article deals with the revolts staged by the Varangians at the imperial palace in 1068 and 1078. The first part of the article focuses on the revolt at the beginning of Romanos IV Diogenes’s reign as described by the Continuator of Skylitzes. The detailed analysis of the chronicler’s account of the Varangians’ uprising in 1068 offers a new perspective on the relevant passage in his work. It reveals important details regarding the sources of the account in question, including its relationship with the works of Psellos and Bryennios. The author argues that the Varangians were not hostile to Romanos IV Diogenes at the beginning of his reign and that the Continuator of Skylitzes misplaced the relevant story in his narrative. The information he provided was indebted to Psellos and Bryennios. The second part of the article is devoted to the last revolt which the Varangians raised in April–May 1078. Analysis of the accounts of three historians: Michael Attaleiates, Continuator of Skylitzes, and Nikephoros Bryennios, supports the conclusion that the Continuator of Skylitzes and Bryennios recounted the first part of the story while Attaleiates (and partially the Continuator of Skylitzes) reported its end.
Copyright (c) 2024 Oleksandr Fylypchuk https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Garum, Fish Blood Taboos in the Judaeo-Christian World and the Evolving Nature of Ancient Fish Sauce
The consumption of a fermented fish sauce appears as a fundamental part of Roman and Greek cuisine at every level of society and, in terms of amphora distribution, it was popular and widely consumed in every region of the empire. In the late Roman period, the fish sauces that were available appear to have subtly evolved in ways that reflect different attitudes to the consumption of fish blood. Sauces fermented using indigenous digestive enzymes from the viscera are in some instances rejected and replaced with the already familiar eviscerated and aged saltfish brines. These changes, though difficult to discern, may in part be related to the Judaeo-Christian prohibition on the consumption of blood which, though normally associated with meat, can also be understood to relate to fish blood. These differing attitudes towards fish sauce in relation to blood are to be found in orthodox Jewish and Christian communities in Palestine, Syria and Cyprus. In the late republic/early empire there appears to be three types of sauce and immense differences in quality depending on the species of fish employed, presence and absence of blood and viscera, salinity and the duration of fermentation. Under the Byzantine empire there is continuity in the consumption of an enzyme fermented sauce, though not as widespread, while in the West, fish sauce had become unpopular in some quarters, and scarce in terms of trade. This period of transition between what was widespread popularity and consumption in the Roman empire to irregular scarcity in the Christian West is discussed in this paper in relation to perceptions of food prohibitions.
Copyright (c) 2024 Sally Grainger https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
4th-Century Orations on Farming: The Case of Themistius and Libanius
The paper analyses two rhetorical texts from the 4th century – one by Themistius, found in the corpus of his so-called private speeches, titled Should one engage in agriculture (Θέσις εἰ γεωργητέον), and another by Libanius included in his collection of progymnasmata Praise of Agriculture (Ἐγκώμιον γεωργίας). An analysis of the two encomia shows great convergence in terms of the motifs and topoi used, e.g., in reference to the deities who take care of agriculture, praise of those who cultivate the land, emphasising their physical and spiritual qualities, the usefulness of their work for others. The purpose of the creation of the two works was different. While the purpose of Libanius’ encomium was didactic, Themistius’ piece was addressed to a mature audience and was probably part of some ongoing public discourse.
Copyright (c) 2024 Michał Kosznicki https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Representing the atra bilis: The ‘Said’ and ‘Unsaid’ of the Melancholic in Cesare Ripa’s Iconologia
This article is the third in a series of works which aims to contribute to documenting the influence of the medical theory of individual temperaments, derived from the theory of the four humors, through the major work Iconologia by the Italian humanist Cesare Ripa (1555–1622). Here, we studied the allegory of the melancholic. Beyond the work aimed at situating it within the medical tradition, we were particularly interested in the relationship between text and image and the interplay between expression (explicite) and silence (implicite) that is so frequent in the work. We thus undertook to analyse all the symbolic attributes of Ripa’s composition according to whether they appear in the engraving, in the text, in both, and whether they are commented on or not. The importance given at the end of the text to the teachings of the School of Salerno also allowed us to better understand the synthetic thought of the Italian humanist and, consequently, the overall economy of the Iconologia. Thus, in the course of our reflection on the modes of expression of the ‘said’ and ‘unsaid’ in the definition of the melancholic temperament in Ripa, we attempted to account for the internal mechanics of his work and the nature of the rhetorical strategies (both textual and visual) of his discursive architecture.
Copyright (c) 2024 Magdalena Koźluk https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Civil Authority in the Byzantine Provinces (7th–9th Centuries)
The issue of the rise of the thematic system of administration sparked off an intense debate that has engaged scholars for the past few decades. Those inclined to the view of a one-time reform have argued that the themata formed administrative units into which the Byzantine state was divided in the 7th century, and that the strategoi, who served as governors and commanders of particular themata, combined civil and military authority. However, it now seems that the changes in provincial administration were gradual, having been implemented over a period of more than three centuries. At some point in time, army units became permanently based in specific areas which evolved into military districts and which were then referred to by the names of those units. At the same time, the system of the Late Roman provinces headed by the praetorian prefects, the proconsuls and the praesides/consulares (archontes) continued to operate until the dawn of the 8th century. These officials must have retained at least some of their civil-judicial functions, since the state finances had been centrally administered by the mid-7th century. However, during that period, the military officials began to play an increasing role in civil administration, which affected not only the power held by the old civil officials, but also the extent to which their activity was reflected in primary sources. From the 730s to the 750s Leon III and Konstantinos V introduced a number of reforms that consolidated the new system. The emperors dissolved the old provinces (most likely altogether) and abolished the office of provincial governor. At the same time, the terms thema and strategia, which were used synonymously, began to appear on various seals. Soon after that, the entire civil administration was re-organized along thematic lines. New officials were appointed (protonotarios, chartoularios, anagrapheus, etc.) to control the finances of the themata. However, judicial authority was left in the hands of the military governors. A century later, after a period of internal turmoil, possibly during the reign of Theophilos (829–842), the government appointed new judicial officials with a view to undermining the power of the strategos. These new officials were initially referred to by classicizing names (anthypatos, praitor). By the early 10th century, the Greek title krites (judge) had become dominant.
Copyright (c) 2024 Christos Malatras https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Merchants in Early Byzantine Hagiographic Texts
This article deals with accounts devoted to merchants and merchant activity that can be found in hagiographic texts from the early Byzantine era. Such accounts are few and far between, which is surprising, especially when compared to the patristic texts of the time. The accounts pertain both to rich merchants and to small “retail” vendors whom the merchants employed to distribute the imported goods or to sell them at market fairs. As shown by the cases dealt with in this article, merchants ran a serious risk of losing their merchandise, which could either be stolen (the case described by Theodoret of Cyrus) or destroyed as a result of naval disasters (cases described by Leontios of Neapolis).
Copyright (c) 2024 Ireneusz Milewski https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Sardinia and the Byzantine West Paradigm Shifts and Changing Perceptions
The paper focuses on Sardinia from the fall of Carthage (698) to the rise of its autonomous rulers, the iudikes, in the mid-9th c. During these centuries, the island managed to convey a sense of historical standing between different ‘worlds’: the Latin West, the Byzantine empire, and the Muslims in North Africa and Spain. Albeit traditionally considered as a proof of ‘periphery’ and ‘isolation’, Sardinia’s insularity condition and its development as an unconquered liminal polity among the major powers in the Western Mediterranean received renewed interest through the re-assessment of the archaeological, sigillographic and numismatic record. As such, the paper is an account of the key features of this transition and offers new perspectives on the island’s resilience within the formative phases of a Medieval Mediterranean that we increasingly understand in terms of its connectivity.
Copyright (c) 2024 Marco Muresu https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
A Sixth-century Story in a Nineth-century Tract? Torna, torna, frater Revisited
This article focuses on the Latin words torna and frater. According to the accounts of Theophylact Simocatta and Theophanes the Confessor, the words were used by soldiers participating in the Byzantine-Avar war campaign in the Haemus mountains in 587. Relying mainly on the passage from the chronicle of Theophanes, Romanian scholars have interpreted the words as an early form of a Balkan Romance idiom spoken by the local population. The two words would not be strong enough evidence to support the view that this is a sample of early Balkan Romance language in the sixth-century Thrace. The analysis of the words, as well as of the context in which they were used, links the phrase “torna, torna, frater” to Vulgar Latin and sermo castrensis. The author also argues that the chroniclers dramatized the accounts of the episode where the words were used. Additionally, the form fratre, which is found in two manuscript copies from the eleventh and twelfth centuries, seems to be an interpolation from a medieval Western Romance language, likely early Italian, and should not be identified with any language used in the Balkans. “Torna torna fratre” should be viewed as indicating a grasp of Italianate Latin within the Middle Byzantine context. This view contradicts the earlier assertions on the subject.
Copyright (c) 2024 Elisabeta Negrău https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The Clergy during the Fourth Crusade as Portrayed in Robert of Clari’s Chronicle
This article deals with the view of clerical participants in the Fourth Crusade found in Robert of Clari’s Old-French chronicle La conquête de Constantinople. The author has analysed the chronicler’s references to members of the clergy, specifying three different types of clergymen who took part in the expedition to Constantinople.
Copyright (c) 2024 Zdzisław Pentek https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Imagining One’s Own Infidel: Balkan Dhimmī Christians in Ottoman Historical Writing until 1600
Non-Muslim dhimmīs, i.e. Christians and Jews, were an integral part of Ottoman society but left a negligible – and so far, largely neglected – trace in Ottoman (Muslim) historical writing of the fifteenth and the sixteenth centuries. While seeking to explain this phenomenon, the present paper analyzes the few identified historical accounts of Balkan Christians in the light of their authors’ personal backgrounds, ideological positions, and narrative strategies. It argues that there was no real historiographic discourse on the role of local Christians in the formation and functioning of the Ottoman state and society. Historians’ occasional interest in the topic was based on subjective factors such as greater access to relevant information or a penchant for thematic experimentation, with only a couple of accounts serving more pronounced didactic or ideological goals. The narratives primarily concern the utility and involvement of militarized Christian groups such as voynuqs and martoloses in Ottoman warfare, but some more abstract as well as visual representations are also discussed in the paper.
Copyright (c) 2024 Delyan Rusev https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
The Incantation against Snakebite from Norov’s Psalmbook – Linguistic and Historical Aspects
The paper explores the linguistic and cultural patterns behind an oral incantation against snakebite that appears on the last page of a Middle Bulgarian book of psalms. The manuscript dates back to the 14th century, and was created in the Eastern regions of Medieval Bulgaria, observing the orthography of the Tarnovo Literary traditions. The Russian traveller Norov found the book of psalms during a trip to the Holy Land at the beginning of the 19th century and brought it to Russia. The incantation contains a significant number of words of unclear origin. Yatsimirskiy – the first researcher of this incantation – offers two possible explanations about the source language that allude either to its derivation from an Oriental tongue, or to local folklore practices. Modern Russian researchers maintain the hypothesis about its folklore origin and emphasise its opening words sarandara/marandara as an example of ritual nonsense speech – in their view, this could have been a popular phenomenon in the ethnic religious practices of Slavic communities. After a linguistic analysis of the text and its unclear words, I hypothesise that the words belong to one of a range at used the incantation.
Copyright (c) 2024 Hristo Saldzhiev https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Toponyms in the Slavonic Excerpt from the Chronicle of Julius Africanus
For a long time, Julius Africanus’ Chronicle has only been known through hundreds of fragments scattered across Greek, Latin and Oriental (Syriac, Arabic, and Armenian) manuscripts. About fifteen years ago, a long and coherent Slavonic excerpt from Africanus’ Chronicle was found in a chronographic compilation that survives in the five Russian witnesses of the 15th–16th centuries. The compilation has been erroneously identified as a Slavic translation of an abridged version of the Chronicle of George Synkellos. The excerpt contains Africanus’ main narrative devoid of the pre-Olympic history of nations except for the history of the Judeans. Taking up about two thirds of the whole text, it covers the years from the Creation to Christ’s Resurrection. The compilers complemented it with an excerpt from a common edition of the Chronicles of George Synkellos and Theophanes the Confessor, thus taking their account to the foundation of Constantinople. Created most likely in Greece, the Compilation was translated in the early 10th century in Bulgaria, during the reign of Simeon the Great, only a few decades after the nation’s conversion to Christianity. This paper analyses the periphrastic practices of the Bulgarian translators who had to adequately render the biblical and non-biblical toponyms, adapting them to the Old Bulgarian phonetics and morphology. The analysis is complicated by the fact that the Greek original of the Compilation has been lost (or has not yet been identified). In order to identify the toponyms and their meanings, the author, where appropriate, makes use of parallels from the Septuagint and the Chronicle of Synkellos. The analysis shows that the Bulgarian translator/s had a good command of Greek and a good knowledge of the biblical geography – the number of correctly translated toponyms exceeds the number of those that were misspelled (the misspellings probably occurred during the long text transmission).
In memoriam Mirosław Jerzy Leszka (1963–2024)
Copyright (c) 2024 Teresa Wolińska, Kirił Marinow, Zofia A. Brzozowska https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Il re e le sue lingue. Comunicazione e imperialità / Le roi et ses langues. Communication et impérialité, ed. Fulvio Delle Donne, Benoît Grévin, Basilicata University Press, Potenza 2023 [= Imperialiter, 2], pp. 176, https://doi.org/10.6093/978-88-31309-2
Copyright (c) 2024 Błażej Cecota https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
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Copyright (c) 2024 Magdalena Garnczarska https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Българска национална история, vol. IV, Византийското владичество и епохата на Второто българско царство (1018 г. – средата на XV в.), ed. П. ПАВЛОВ [The Bulgarian national history, vol. IV, The Byzantine rule and the epoch of the Second Bulgarian Tsardom (1018 – the mid-fifteenth century), ed. P. Pavlov], Абагар, Велико Търново 2023, pp. 727
Copyright (c) 2024 Mirosław J. Leszka https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
НИКОЛАЙ ХРИСИМОВ, България и европейският Запад през първите десетилетия на IX век [Bulgaria and the European West in the First Decades of the Ninth Century], Изток–Запад, София 2023, pp. 294