Keywords: symbols; literary function; lives of Saints; semantic analysis; hagiograpy
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Keywords: Triodion homilies; Athanasius of Alexandria; novoizvodnye miscellanea; Euthymius of Tarnovo
Among the texts known to the Slavic people and ascribed to Athanasius of Alexandria there are seven that we find included in the medieval Triodion homiliaries. With the exception of one homily (i.e. Homily on the Betrayal of Jude), all of them were part of the Triodion Panegeric (Hilandar MS, Ohio, HM.SMS.404), whose origin is connected to the Patriarch Euthymius of Tarnovo and whose texts were later included in various Bulgarian, Serbian, and (sometimes) Russian miscellanea up until the XVII century. To have this many texts of Athanasius within one sbornik is quite unusual both for the Church Typica, and for the known Greek Homiliaries. It is suggested that this fact points to a unique feature of the type of Panegirics that were produced in the literary circle of scribes in Tarnovo.
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Keywords: Cyril of Alexandria; Slavonic translation; Greek catena; Book of Isaiah; scholia
The article discusses some scholia by St. Cyril of Alexandria from the Greek Catena on the Book of Prophet Isaiah in comparison with the Preslav translation according to several representatives of the two Slavonic manuscript traditions – the Middle Bulgarian (F.I. 461 from the Russian National Library in Saint Petersburg) and the Russian ones (Mss. Chudovski 182, 183 and 184 from the State Historical Museum in Moskow and Ms. 89 and Ms. 90 from the Collection of the Troitse-Sergieva Laura). The parallels between the Greek and Slavonic manuscript traditions make it possible to draw the following conclusions. The complex Slavonic tradition should be explored because the Middle Bulgarian manuscript tradition is incomplete and represents only a part of the Preslav translation, and the conclusions made on its basis are incomplete. The parallel study of the Slavonic translation with samples from the Greek Catеnae shows that it is insufficient to work only with the full text of the commentary in Patrologia Graeca, as some translation decisions in Slavonic can be explained only by the Greek source used. The study of the scholia by St. Cyril of Alexandria in Slavonic translation, as well as the study of the scholia by Theodulus and John Chrysostom, point to the possibility that the Slavonic translation represents unknown or today unpreserved abbreviated version of the Greek catena.
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Keywords: text transmission in Slavonic; copying from Glagolitic; copying from Cyrillic; variation in copies; coincidental variation
An abridged version of the Slavonic Scaliger Patericon is shown to be copied both from Cyrillic and Glagolitic antigraphs; the same circumstance is observed in the translations of the Scete Patericon and Athanasius of Alexandria’s Homilies Against the Arians. Twofold transmission makes it possible to contrast the features of copying from Glagolitic with those of copying from Cyrillic.
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Keywords: St. Basil of Caesarea; Old Bulgarian; Athos; Zographou
The article examines the Slavonic translation of the Asceticon Magnum and the ascetical sermons of St. Basil the Great, which can be found in the manuscript No. 3 from the library of the Zographou Monastery on Mount Athos. There are described the morphological and lexical features of this important text and also is presented the reception of this translation in the Slavic Middle Ages.
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Keywords: hapax legomenon; poetic language; composite neologisms; derivational synonyms; distribution in the Modern Bulgarian language
Object of the present research are hapax legomena in the Middle Bulgarian translation of John Chrysostom’s work Of the Seraphims. The analyzed lexemes are the smallest lexical segment in this manuscript and they are a specific parameter/indication of the Dionisii Divni’s idiosyncrasy. Hapax legomena have been compared with more than 60 Old and Middle Bulgarian texts originated in the XII – XVIII century. It examines problems associated with semantics, word formative and morphemic structure and diffusion of these lexemes in the Modern Bulgarian language.
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Keywords: spiritual perfection; hesychastdoctrine; moral corruptoon; unity of the church; artistic and aesthetic criteria
This article examines the works of Patriarch Evtimii, founder of the Tarnovo Literari School and an undoubted authority in the spiritual and cultural life of medieval Bulgaria, in connection with the ideas of the most powerful ideological movement – the Hesychasm. The ideas of hesyhast doktrine are indirectly reflected in the life and encomium of the writer through the image of the characters who have the features of the perfect Hesychast. Evtimii’s answers in his messages directly reflect the ideas of hesychasm of unity of the church and dominion over secular authority and fight against the moral corruption. The analysis of Patriarch Evtimii proves that his entire literary work is subject to the strict moral norms that impose the hesychasm as a spiritual trend, as well as to the high artistic and aesthetic criteria he forms in the literature – true and artistic translations, richly decorated style, exquisite phrase.
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Keywords: hesychasm; apophaticism; means of expression
The article treats the means of expression of hesychastic apophaticism, used by Old Bulgarian writers of the 14th – 15th centuries, and the author tries to show that these means are very old, and were characteristic even for the mind of primitive people. He pays attention to the synonymy of ‘aphophatic’ negative pronouns and ‘cataphatic’ summative pronouns; to the pleonastic use of the negative particle не; to the syntactic but- constructions; and to necessative constructions.
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Keywords: original works of Patriarch Euthimius; semantic realizations of the concept of will
The semantic realizations of the concept of will in the history of Bulgarian literary language are examined in this paper. The linguistic facts of Old Bulgarian manuscripts, original works of Patriarch Euthimius, New Bulgarian damascenes and modern language are used. The system of phrases and sentences with “will” and its distribution in different contexts are analyzed in a relation with cultural situation in the ХIV c., Christian ideas and strategy of the author.
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Keywords: ktitor portait; Metropolitan Ignatius; Christ’s genealogy; St. Apostles Peter and Paul in Tarnovo
A photograph and a color copy of the fresco, made before the earthquake in 1913 have survived as evidence of the ktitor’s portrait. The ktitor is young and has a black beard, he is clad in a splendid bishop’s vestment with Latin crosses and a black monastic koukoulion. In the image, dedicated to the apostles of the Church of Rome Peter and Paul, he is positioned next to the Virgin Mary with Child on throne, above the western entrance of the church, where there had never been other ktitor’s portrait and inscription and, in fact, that gives grounds for the monumental composition to be dated in the same way as the main painting at the time of bishop Ignatius in 1442. The ktitor is depicted to give the model of the church with both of his hands to the apostles of the Church of Rome St. Peter, who presents him before Christ and his Mother, symbolizing the Church. He seems to be smaller than the other figures and his eyes are looking upwards to the Prince of the Apostles Peter – a vision of the Roman claim for supremacy. The ktitor’s model of the church reflects the state of the building with the external gal¬lery before painting the calendar in the sixteenth century, when the big arch-like barred windows were bricked in connection with the painting of the calendar. Most likely, that earlier reconstruction was done in the mid-fifteenth century, when the town of Turnovo was undertaking major buildings – e.g. the bridge and the mosque of Feruz Bey (1435). To identify the Turnovo metropolitan Ignatius, it is the style of the ktitor’s composition that also helps and the accompanying inscription with palaeographic characteristics that are specific for the signatures of the painter Nikolas (e.g. the anagram from 1442). It is known that Ignatius and the Ecumenical Patriarch Joseph II came from the Bulgarian tsarist family and had been in one and the same kellion of the Mount Athos monastery Alipu. That explains the exceptional presence of St. Athanasius of Mount Athos in the altar near the patron of metropolitan St. Ignatius the God-bearer in the diaconicon where the order of dressing was taking place. The Tree of Jesse is contaminated with the Genealogy of Christ and covers the whole space of the church. It unifies the conceptual program by spreading its branches around the Virgin Mary with Child in the apse, the arcade of the triumphant Heavenly Church with the parents of the Mother of God, the martyr priests and warriors, and the scenes from the life of Christ. A painting by Boris Denev painted before the earthquake in 1913 shows the lying Jesse at the southern pillar of the narthex where the stem of the genealogy tree is sprouting out. The vision is related to the genealogy in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, and also in the Hermeneia of Dionysius of Fourna. The Genealogy of Matthew according to his father’s royal line starting from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is associated with the one of Luke, according to his maternal line from the ancestors of the |Virgin Mary, Adam, Eve, and Abel, who never occupied the throne of the Jews and in this connection there is the unique branch with the righteous women. The origin of the two genealogies was on the western wall of the narthex facing Jesse. The direction of the visual narrative from left to right is indicated by the image of the semi full-face of Tara, the father of Patriarch Abraham, depicted on the western end of the southern wall of the narthex. The genealogy of Luke on the western wall of the narthex over the entrance had been developing north-wise in the narthex and the naos. The images of their descendants are partially preserved on the northern wall of the narthex (Noah with the Ark and his sons Sim and Japheth) and the naos (Nahor, the father of Tara). The genealogy after Mat¬thew on the western wall of the narthex, south of the entrance, spread over the apse with a unique branch, dedicated to the twelve sons of Patriarch Jacob. Further on, there are the sons of Judah, the Patriarch Kings Zar on the northern pillar in the narthex, and Phares on the southern wall of the narthex next to Tara, where it continues eastward reaching Jesse. From there on, the genealogy is continuing on the northern pillar with Patriarch Ravoam and then in the central arch next to Christ. The Tree of Jesse includes also images from the Hermeneia – e.g. the righteous women, the prophet Nathan, and King Joshua in the southern arch between the narthex and the naos, Patriarch Melchizedek at the northern pillar of the narthex and the pointed by him righteous men named Tobit and Tobias with scrolls unfolded in the northern arch between the narthex and the naos. The connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament is achieved along the west-east axis, from the narthex through the naos to the altar. Depicted in the apse is a branch with the Covenant of Patriarch Jacob as a symbol of the Old Testament unity and prefiguration of the Virgin Mary with Child – cf. the ewer with heavenly manna of Levi and Christ in the hands of Judas. Depicted in the central arch between the narthex and the naos is an allegory of the New Testament unity – the Council of Jerusalem, presented by God’s brethren Jacob and Judas, and the leaders of the apostles Peter and Paul, based of the Seven Ecumenical Synods in the narthex. The tree of Jesse is an element of imperial propaganda, as it is an evidence of the power being taken over from father to son. Most kings have their hands covered for the Holy Communion, but some point to the visual text – e.g. king Zar, the first-born son of Judas, points with his right hand the younger brother Perez from whom originates the family line of Jesse, and his great-grandson, King Aminadav, points with his left hand to his son Nahshon who is called upon to lead Judah’s family line before Moses during the escape of the Jews from Sinai. In the central arch, King Jotham points out to his father Uzziah, who during his life, made him a co-ruler, whereas the kings Sadok and his son Ahim, as well as their descendant St. Joseph, point to the Child dressed in golden vestments as in a dream of the prophet Jesse.
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Keywords: Patriarch Euthymius of Tarnovo; Constantine the Great; Konstantin of Preslav
The subject of investigation is the textological relationship between Eythymios’ “The Panegyric for St. Constantine and Helena” and a number of Greek and Slavonic medieval sources: Eusebius of Caesarea’s “Life of Constantine”, Athanasius of Alexandria’s “Orationes contra Arianos”, the Guidi-Vita of Constantine (BHG 364), the Gedeon-Vita of Constantine (BHG 363), “De inventione sanctae crucis” by Alexander the Monk, the Homily of Gregorius Presbyter “Κυριακή τῶν Αγίων πατέρων τῆς Α’ Οἰκουμενικῆς Συνόδου” and the anonymous “De donatione Constantini”. The Greek biographers used the Church chronicles of Eusebius, Sokrates, Rufinus of Aquileia and Theophanes. Тhе Eytimius’ Panegyric indicates the free use of the Greek and Slavonic sources: some events are probably transferred from an earlier Slavonic pro-Vita based on extracts from the Greek Vita BHG 363/364 and “De donatione Constantini” acc. the manuscript 793 in the library of Troice-Sergeevsk Lavra. The description of the miracles of the martyrs Chrisantios and Musonios, the dispute between Alexander of Alexandria and one unnamed philosopher as well as the narrative on Elena in Jerusalem has been found in the Greek Homily of Gregorius Presbyter. The author identifies the philosopher mentioned by Eythymius as Asterius the Sophist acc. to Athanasius’s “Orationes”. Acc. to the linguistic details Eythymius became acquainted with one kompiled pro-Vita of Constantine. The author suggests, that one pro-Vita of Preslav origin was edited at the same time as Konstantin of Preslav’s translation of Athanasius of Alexandria’s “Orationes” before the transfer of “Orationes” to Novgorod.
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Keywords: battle; war; history; preparation; weaponry; tactics; strategy; fortifications
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Keywords: loanword; internationalism; non-equivalent vocabulary; equivalent vocabulary
In both modern Greek and Bulgarian, borrowing foreign words is a major way to enrich vocabulary at the beginning of the 21st century. It is characteristic of both languages that often at the beginning of the acquisition of a loan word it can function both in an adapted and non-adapted form, and sometimes remains in the home language with zero degree of adaptation. The process of borrowing foreign words is effective and useful when it is communicatively and functionally justified, ie. non-equivalent vocabulary enters the language. In both Balkan countries, the equivalent fashion vocabulary, mostly of English origin, arouses the attention and concern of the public in order to limit its invasion and to preserve as much as possible the national-specific character of the native language.
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Keywords: anthroponymy; Bulgarian personal names; names of Greek origin
The anthroponymy deals with the existing or already obsolete proper names of people, as well as with their geographical distribution in a given country or region. Anthroponymy studies anthroponyms, which include personal, patronymic, surnames, as well as generic names and nicknames. The anthroponymic system of any language is constantly changing, just as the language itself is constantly evolving. Although there are not a few purely Bulgarian personal names that managed to be preserved through Christianity and its rituals, many personal names of Greek origin entered the Bulgarian anthroponymic system, which began to replace the old pagan names
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Keywords: poetry; poetry competition; Rallis; Grigor Parlichev; Bulgarian National Revival
In 2020, 160 years have passed since the day Grigor Stavrev Parlichev (18 January 1830 – 25 January 1893) won the laurel wreath at the Rallis poetry competition, organized by the University of Athens in the mid-19th century. The focus of this article is not so much on the life and work of the outstanding Bulgarian National Revival leader, writer, poet, translator, teacher and public figure, about whom a lot has been written over the years, but on the literary life in Greece at that time, as well as on the poetry contest itself and its patron and sponsor Ambrosios Rallis.
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Keywords: RoDial ALDRO project; dialectology; linguistic geography; Balkan languages; Romanian language; Slavic languages
Our paper aims to emphasise the dialectal similarities of North- and South-Danubian Romanian dialects (Daco-Romanian, Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian, Istro-Romanian) spoken in Romania, the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, Serbia, Hungary, Albania, Bulgaria, the Republic of North Macedonia, Greece, Croatia. Our research is based on the questionnaire of Atlas Linguarum Europae (ALE), the ALE dialectal archive of the Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti Institute of Linguistics at the Romanian Academy, in order to have a comparison with European dialects. In this way, the concordances with the Romance languages related to the languages of the Balkan Sprachbund and with other European languages are highlighted. The aim is to emphasise the Romance nature and the unity of the Romanian language in the European context.
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Keywords: vocative; cases; neutral alignment of case marking; typology; typological generalisation; morphosyntax
The vocative is a largely understudied linguistic phenomenon. This text examines the implications of treating the vocative as a case value and of not treating it as such in languages with a neutral alignment of case marking of full noun phrases. Special attention is given to such languages lacking (overt) case (marking), barring, supposedly, (marking for) the vocative. The text argues in favour of employing a principled treatment of the vocative that affords sufficient room for typological generalisation while remaining faithful to language data.
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Keywords: adversarial system; expert opinion; generic structure; Bulgarian legal system; Russian legal system; Polish legal system; US common law
The literature devoted to legal linguistics often ignores documents encountered in court discourse which contain expert conclusions (forensic investigation). This article attempts to determine the genre model of expert opinions. As part of it, there is also a brief explanation of the legal and cultural context of how judicial expertise works, since it directly affects the structure of the documents we are interested in. The authors compare the conclusions of forensic experts using documents taken from the Anglo-Saxon legal system (common law) and from the civil law system (Polish, Russian, and Bulgarian).
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Keywords: Antonina Obrębska-Jabłońska; Belarusian studies; history of linguistics; Polish-Belarusian relations
The article refers to the 65th anniversary of the Department of Belarusian Studies at the University of Warsaw. It discusses the beginnings of Belarusian studies in Warsaw and describes the figures of its first researchers, starting with Prof. Antonina Obrębska-Jabłońska. The author also alludes to the contemporary socio-political situation and the importance of academic research in the field of Belarusian studies in this context.
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Keywords: Department of Belarusian Studies; jubilee; history of Belarusian studies; Antonina Obrębska- Jabłońska; Belarusian studies in Warsaw; archival documents
The article presents the earliest history of the Department of Belarusian Studies at the University of Warsaw. The author describes the origins of the Department and whether it was established as a Department or a Section, and includes selected archival photographs. Some facts are shown in light of the correspondence of Prof. Antonina Obrębska-Jabłońska, who founded Belarusian studies at the University of Warsaw.
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