CULTURE, LANGUAGES AND CUSTOMS IN THE BALKANS SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF WESTERN TRAVELERS OF THE 15th CENTURY
CULTURE, LANGUAGES AND CUSTOMS IN THE BALKANS SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF WESTERN TRAVELERS OF THE 15th CENTURY
Author(s): Ivayla PopovaSubject(s): History, Anthropology, Social Sciences, Cultural history, Customs / Folklore, Comparative history, Social history, Middle Ages, Special Historiographies:, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Culture and social structure , 15th Century, The Ottoman Empire
Published by: Институт за балканистика с Център по тракология - Българска академия на науките
Keywords: Western Travelers; Balkans; Minorities; Cultures;
Summary/Abstract: The present study focuses on texts of Western Travelers (Konrad Grünemberg, Pietro Casola, Arnold von Harff, Felix Fabri) and data pertaining to the culture, languages and customs of the Balkan people. Curious details about wedding and funeral customs in the Balkans we can found in the travel notes of Konrad Grünemberg. Arnold von Harff provides valuable data on Balkan languages – Slavic, Greek, Albanian and Turkish, including short dictionaries of these languages. In the travel notes of Western pilgrims and travelers, the ethnic diversity of the Balkans is consistently reflected. The western texts state that the majority of the Balkan population was Christian Orthodox. At the same time, there is interesting information on the minorities of Gypsies and Jews in a suburb of Modon, and their characteristic cultural features are discussed at length.
Journal: Études balkaniques
- Issue Year: 2019
- Issue No: 3
- Page Range: 517-534
- Page Count: 18
- Language: English
- Content File-PDF
