![Reviews and bibliographical notes](/api/image/getissuecoverimage?id=picture_2008-2009_8337.jpg)
Keywords: Ecclesiastical topography; church; medieval architecture; medieval villages; Alba County
This paper is the second part in a series of case studies analyzing medieval churches (parochial churches, chapels, oratories) from Transylvania, especially from the medieval counties of Alba and Hunedoara, in conjunction with data concerning the settlements and the domains within which they functioned . The case studies are relying new researches on archival documents (written and visual sources), archaeological results and monuments, amending the views expressed in the scholarly literature. The last part of the series aims to formulate new questions and conclusions about rural medieval churches. The second part of the series focuses on a territory of cca. 715 km2, bordered by Mureş Valley (in the north) and Târnava Valley (in the south), which belonged to the medieval county Alba (Fig. 1-2). The medieval churches of this area were little studied in spite of the fact that information existed in various archives and the buildings themselves preserve clear signs of Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance construction stages, in the Reformated churches from Bucerdea Grânoasă, Herepea, Şilea, Iernut, Noşlac, Rădeşti, Sâncrai, and in the Unitarian church of Sânbenedic or in the ruins of the Roman-Catholic church of Ocna Mureş. The area under discussion was inhabited by people belonging of Orthodox and Roman Catholic allegiance. The sources of the thirteenth-sixteenth century describe a highly heterogeneous society, with ethnic groups such as Romanians, Hungarians, Szeklers, Germans (near Aiud). The medieval landed properties belonged to ecclesiastic and lay owners, with a preponderance of noble landowners in the case of lay properties. In the south, there was an extension of Geoagiu domain beyond Mureş river, in the north several villages belonging to the family of Mikud ban, and within the area, several enclaves pertaining to ecclesiastical institutions, such as the Bishopric of Transylvania, the Bakonybél abbacy (Veszprém county), the chapters of Alba Iulia, Arad, and Buda), next to the villages of lesser nobility, numerous and with lots of branches, from the families Mike/Miske, Bogati, Gombási, Csombordi, Csekelaki, Sulyei, Forroi, Szentkiralyi etc. We are attempting to pinpoint on the map and analyze all information regarding the medieval churches within this complicated network of settlements and estates with various lords.
More...Die vor mehr als einem Jahrzehnt auf dem Gemarkung des Dorfes Ghirborn eingeleiteten Forschungen und Feldbegehungen führten zur Entdeckung von zahlreichen, von grossen wissenschaftlichen Interesse aufweisenden archiiologischen Fundstellen, ein Umstand, der auf eine standige Bewohnung dieses Gebietes bereits aus dem frühen Neolithikum bis zum Mittelalter zeugt.
More...Keywords: généalogies dynastiques; Alexandru Lăpuşneanu; Roxanda; mariages princiers; Slatina; Mogâldea; Flondor
Après son avènement au trône de Moldavie, en 1552, Alexandre IV, surnommé Lăpuşneanu (1552-1561, 1564-1568), fils présumé du prince Bogdan III, épousa la princesse Roxanda, fille de Pierre IV Rareş (1527-1538, 1541-1546) et de sa femme, Hélène Branković. De ce mariage, naquirent au moins 12 enfants, dont l’aîné, le prince Bogdan, est né en août 1554. Mais les informations des sources historiques (chroniques, documents, inscriptions) semblent être contradictoires en ce qui concerne la date du mariage même: en 1553, 1554 ou 1556?! L’analyse de ces sources conduit l’auteur à la conclusion que le prince Alexandre et la princesse Roxanda ont vécu maritalement entre 1553 et septembre 1555, quand (au mois de septembre) ils purent enfin recevoir la bénédiction de l’Église. Ce retard était dû, semble-t-il, à la situation d’Alexandre, déjà marié lors de son avènement (de ce mariage, naquit au moins un fils). Les enfants nés dans ce laps de temps doivent être considérés comme légitimés, du fait de leur naissance à la Cour. Plusieurs confusions et incertitudes planent autour des noms et des mariages des filles d’Alexandre et de Roxanda Lăpuşneanu. L’auteur essaye d’en corriger quelques-unes et d’en éliminer quelques-autres. Pour finir, il met en lumière une possible descendance par les femmes (dans la famille des boyards moldaves Mogâldea) et aussi un épisode qui relève de l’imaginaire généalogique
More...Keywords: Franz Baron Nopcsa; ciobani români; transhumanţă; viaţa la stână; pendulări ilegale peste graniţă; spionaj
Ziel unserer Arbeit ist die Informationen über rumänische Hirten zusammenzufassen welche Franz Baron Nopcsa (geb. 1877 in Szacsal / Săcel bei Hatzeg in Siebenbürgen – gest. 1933 in Wien), Paläontologe, Geologe, Spezialist in albanische Kultur, in seinem postumen Werk Reisen in den Balkan (autobiographisches Buch über die Jahre 1897-1917) darlegt. Wichtig für die gewählte Thematik sind: Nachrichten über rumänische Wanderhirten zwischen Retezat-Gebirge und Süd-Banat; das Leben in den Sennereien des Retezats; der illegale Grenzverkehr der Hirten über die Grenze die Transilvanien und die Walachei vor 1918 trennt; die Berichte unmittelbar vor dem ersten Weltkrieg während einer Reise in die Dobrudscha; die Tätigkeit des Barons als Spion verkleidet als Hirte an unterschiedlichen Orten in Oltenien.
More...We devised this study taking into consideration the stringent requirements of public notaries, who are increasingly facing the issue of the form of succession option declarations. Unfortunately, especially in the case of succession option declarations, we have found out an hesitating practice, the public notary having to deal with the foremost issue of checking the formal validity requirements of succession option declarations made in front of foreign authorities and conditioning them, for precautionary reasons, upon the authentic form of the instrument, in the meaning of article 3 (1) i) of EU Regulation 650/2012. On the other hand, other confrere notaries accept the use in succession proceedings the option declarations that were made even before Anglo-Saxon public notaries, regardless of provisions on lex successionis or provisions of the country of habitual residence of the person making such option. However, as we will see further on, there is no uniform regime as to the form of such declarations, neither those regulated by EU Regulation 650 nor those that relate to successions that are still governed by the Civil Code. The study also reviews the form of testaments in the context of article 27 of the European Regulation on Successions, including the issues connected to oral testaments, subject to national conflict of rules. If we were to contrast the formalism of succession planning instruments (article 27 of the Regulation) with the succession option instruments, we can easily spot a considerable restriction as to the liberty of forms in the latter case. When the law applicable to the succession is no longer a working hypothesis, but a lively and uncontestable reality, producing its effects upon the opening of the succession, its rigor can no longer be avoided. Albeit from a formal standpoint, some procedures and solemnities, with substantive effect (such as a property inventory), must be fully submitted to lex successionis. Besides, not only such solemnities must entirely belong to the competent inheritance law, but even the place of performance must be the same with the place where the succession is opened, before the competent authority that deals with it. It is also worth taking into consideration that the completion of succession proceedings usually require the presence of all the heirs and legatees. On the other hand, in order to avoid jeopardising the inheritance rights of those located in Member States other than the place of opening the succession, given the potential spread of heirs and the constraints that arise from the standpoint of overpassing the deadline set for indicating a succession option, “in order to simplify the life of heirs and legatees habitually resident in a Member State other than that in which the succession is being or will be dealt with” – consideration (32), article 13 of the Regulation tests a “middle way”, allowing for expressing succession options before a court of law or local authority, and article 28 allows by analogy compliance with local form requirements in terms of acceptance or waiver, when such options express simple indications of the will of heirs, legatees or other stakeholders (testamentary executors), that are expressly and timely made under the lex successionis. This is the first study dedicated to succession options instruments that were drafted from the standpoint of the private international law in our country. The study is designed with a twin approach in view: on one hand, a scientific approach, making use of all the significant contributions in the field published in Europe, and, on the other hand, a practical approach consisting of a wide range of solutions (including terms) for future notarial practice. We have taken out some references, especially to some articles and studies, to keep footnotes to a minimum – already quite large. The study focuses exhaustively on both the relevant provisions of European Regulation on Successions and on the applicable rules of conflict under our Civil Code – applicable in matters of succession opened before 17 August 2015. As far as the Civil Code provisions are concerned, we renounced to submit de lege ferenda proposals, as we consider that they are useless insofar as they are not applicable to successions opened after the date of entry into force of the European Regulation, and, on the other hand, with regard to successions opened before that date, such amendments would be anyway unenforceable on the basis of the principle of non-retroactivity.
More...Keywords: Carpathian-Danube region; 9th—10th centuries; Magyars; bits; saddle; stirrup; apliqué; horse
The present study aims to discuss the issue of population movements in the area between the rivers Mureş, Tisza and Danube and the western part of Southern Carpathians, from the 9th century, after the fall of the Second Avar Khaganate and its conquest during the reign of the Hungarian king Stephen I (1000—1038). The populations attested here according to documentary sources were mentioned, but the attention focused on the grave goods, or on the items found in settlements or from stray finds. The chronology of the items from the analyzed area was corroborated with the dating of similar finds from south-eastern (the present-day Greece, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia) or Central Europe (Hungary and Slovakia). The territorial distribution of each item, the frequency of the discoveries in different regions, the origin, the way the items were manufactured and their association with foreign items in funerary features were also analyzed.Taking all these aspects into account, it could be noticed that some items cannot be attributed to certain populations and the same observation applies to funerary practices. Some cemeteries or settlements probably can be dated earlier than assumed until now (especially from the second half of the 9th century), while others were probably used by different groups of populations, belonging to the same broad chronological frame. This assumption is supported by different female fashion noticed in funerary features, graves with the same grave goods and sometimes different funerary practices, for both women and men. Items of different origin but found in the same grave and the similar dating for adornments or dress accessories of diverse traditions argue the presence of populations that do not have the same origin but use the same funerary area.
More...Keywords: Apulum; Governor’s Palace/praetorium consularis; Marcus Aurelius; military diploma; imperial statues;
Throughout this article, the authors aim to highlight unpublished pieces of information about archaeological research done by the well-known Roman Dacia experts Al. Popa and I. Berciu, in the spring of 1962. The archaeological excavations started due to the construction of a new building belonging to The Crafts School (currently “Dionisie Pop Marțian” Economical Secondary School), located on 11, Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea Street (currently Octavian Goga Street), in the northern area of the building complex known as Roman Dacia governor’s Palace (praetorium consularis) at Apulum. Done in several stages, the fieldwork concerning governor’s Palace was conducted through systematic or rescue excavations carried out by A. Cserni (1888-1908), I. Berciu and Al. Popa (1943, 1962), V. Rusu-Bolindeț and collaborators (from 1992 until present times), and nevertheless by A. Timofan, R. Ota (2007) and O. Oargă (2019). During the 1962 excavation, the archaeologists discovered in the area located north to A. Cserni’s researches the ruins of a building complex, unearthed on a 575 m2 area. Amongst these, a monumental edifice stands out, consisting of several rooms decorated with polychrome painted plaster, equipped with heating systems and an impressive stairway, having at least two construction phases. The archaeologists have never published either a report or a detailed study regarding this excavation, except for the scientific emphasis on special finds. Therefore, relying on the aforementioned archaeologists’ journal and some documents kept in the Archives of The National Museum of Union from Alba Iulia (MNUAI) (the correspondence between The Regional Museum of Alba Iulia and the people involved — recipient, builder, local administrative representatives and the ones of the Communist Party, Romanian’s Academy Institute of History from Cluj —, briefings regarding the artefacts), the authors tried to bring light on this important part of governor’s Palace from an archaeological and historical perspective. The study focuses on presenting the stages of archaeological research. The examined archive documents revealed that communist authorities did not value either the historical value of the ruins or their cultural and touristic potential. Thereby, although it was decided by everyone to organise the excavation in the span of two weeks (starting on 24th of February 1962), the deadline was exceeded, so that I. Berciu and Al. Popa had investigated the entire area in a period of 5-6 days. In the minutes signed on the 4th of March 1962, the archaeologists announced, on the one hand, that the documentation in connection with the artefacts was finalised and, on the other hand, the agreement to continue both the construction of the building and the archaeological supervision. At the end of the excavations, the archaeologists wished upon public and touristic cherishing of the Roman buildings by restoring and preserving them. As a testimony for this stands a memo written by the museum’s manager Al. Popa, one of the researchers, addressed to municipal and regional authorities requesting funds for both future research and touristic assessment. He used the precedent set by the city of Constanța (Tomis), where “The Edifice with Mosaic”, found in 1959, was well restored shortly after its discovery. He proposed to design the Roman walls on school’s pavement, as well as documenting the ruins found in the school foundations by means of displaying photos accompanied by detailed descriptions. Although the timeframe for researching and documenting the Roman ruins discovered was truly short, the archaeological results were impressive: The sketch drawn in the journal with the general plan regarding the excavation, as well as the information found there allowed us to notice the structures of three possible buildings: Building I, located near the northern extremity of the foundations, parallel to Stahanov Street (currently Lucian Blaga Street), had only one room uncovered, consisting of the walls A and B (Pl. III), both pointing NW-SE, measuring 0.6 m in width and being built in opus mixtum technique. The foundations were built with limestone and sandstone blocks, while the elevation was made out of bricks bound by mortar. Considering the direction of the walls, it is possible that it continues to north and west (inside The Craft School’s yard) as well as to east (towards Stahanov Street, currently Lucian Blaga). Likewise, we do not have any clues if there was an alley/lane for access between this building and the next one (Building II), but the absence of structures points towards this conclusion. Building II is the most important edifice discovered in the centre and south-eastern corner of the future school’s foundations (in the area where the L-shaped sides cross each other) and had five rooms (Pl. III). This is “the building of impressive dimensions” that constantly shows up while the authors describe the excavations, without mentioning other technical details about it (firstly, its dimensions). Taking into account the sketch included in the journal, the NW-SE building had two perimetral walls, named C and H. Out of the discovered rooms, the biggest and the most richly decorated ones are 1 and 4. Room 1 appears to be what the discoverers named “The room with fresco”, because on one of its walls (inside G wall) a polychrome fresco was preserved. The segment has a length between 2.5 and 6 m, while the height measures between 0.65 and 1 m. It was built out of 4 successive plaster layers with different colours: Pompeian red, foncé red, grey and the last one consisting of “several marmoreal colours”. The last one, displayed in square panels that imitated marble, probably had in the upper part figurative representations, as the remaining fragments show. Room 4, referred to as “the room with hypocaust”, had a heating system that was preserved in its NW corner, consisting in five or more pilings rows made out of round bricks, placed on a floor built with big bricks. The sketch for the hypocaust system suggests that there was a channel with the aim of conducting the hot air, bounded by two little walls, having five bricks on width, bound with mortar. In the middle of the channel, there was a row of pilae, placed in the middle of it (Pl. III). On the sketch with the general plan of the preventive excavation from 1962, no possible entrances/doors between the rooms were marked, in order to be able to observe the way of communication between the rooms of Building II, except for the mention of monumental stairs, which connected room 4 (“the room with hypocaust”) and room 1 (“the room with fresco”). Thus, it is mentioned that this staircase consisted of four or five visible steps, made of large blocks (of sandstone), whose height reached almost 1.00 m. Since in the both rooms, floors made of opus signinum were found, under which were heating installations, the respective stairs must have represented an access staircase to a floor, which highlights, even more, the monumental character of the discovered building.Building III (?) is located in the far western corner of the excavated surface; it was defined only by the discovery of a single wall, called J, which was made of quarry stone, bricks and broken tiles tied with mortar. It was a perimeter wall, 0.90 m wide, uncovered up to a depth of -2.50 m. In the space between Building II and Building III, no other constructive elements were discovered. Suppose modern interventions modern interventions did not destroy them, in that case the presence of this space could indicate the existence of an inner courtyard, surrounded by porticos or cryptoporticos, where imperial statues could be placed and the imperial cult could be celebrated (among the artefacts discovered on the site were also the fragments of at least 3 or 4 imperial bronze statues).The site’s stratigraphy is discussed only in the excavation journal (without any drawings or photos), where are described the Roman layers observed on the foundations’ profiles: are mentioned two debris layers separated by a humus/another debris layer with compact traces of charcoal and ash. This stratigraphy, as well as the walls built in different techniques, made the authors initially consider that there were two habitation periods (because of the charcoal and ash traces), the first one dated before the Marcomannic wars, while the latter – after the wars. Subsequently, at the end of the archaeological campaign, they reconsidered these observations and reached the conclusion that the uncovered buildings had a construction phase followed by a repair one. Thus, are attested two Roman habitation phases, but a more careful examination of the preserved structures seems to indicate only one phase, most likely of Severan period. Despite the variations of the walls’ building technique (walls built with stone blocks and elevation made out of bricks bound by mortar vs. walls built with reused stones and building materials bound by mortar), they belong to large-size buildings specific for this period of intensive reconstructions. Only one separating wall – the wall I – seems to belong to a repair phase of room 4, being mentioned that it was more rudimentary than the other walls of Building II. Moreover, neither the journal nor the sketch preserve details regarding the discovery of any previous structure below the living surface of these buildings. This situation is confirmed by the similar discoveries made during the recent excavations (1992-2020) carried out on 15-17, Munteniei street, at about 150 m W of the Crafts School. The Severan buildings have impressive dimensions, floors with bricks or marble pavements, walls decorated with polychrome fresco or marble, and a heating system, therefore similar to the 1962 discoveries. Nevertheless, the stratigraphy, similar to the one discovered by I. Berciu during the 1943 excavations, could indicate the existence of two habitation phases that weren’t investigated in the ground in 1962. Also, a part of the archaeological material discovered – coins issued by Hadrian (2) or Antoninius Pius (1), building materials stamped with the name of legio XIII Gemina (simple or accompanied by the anthroponym Ael(ius) Valens), and the building materials of the well-known producer P(ublius) Ael(ius) Ter(-entius, -entianus) – can stand proof for the dating of the first phase in the 2nd century AD (the second half ?). However, we shall take into account that the coins could have had a long lifespan, in some cases surpassing more than a century, while for the building materials, the stamps of Publius Aelius Terentinus were also found in 3rd century contexts, being imitated by other producers. Finally, the military diploma that belonged to a descendent of Bonio (a veteran of cohors II Hispanorum settled most likely in the canabae of legio XIII Gemina), who was part of the governor’s staff or guard, can also be an argument for an earlier dating of the first phase. In lack of more evident archaeological contexts for the structures and artefacts unearthed, the previous/first phase of the buildings discovered in 1962 cannot be dated more precisely. The next habitation phase, to which the buildings from the 11, Dobrogeanu Gherea pertain, is dated to the Severan period and can also cover the last two quarters of the 3rd century AD, because the last coin discovered was issued by Philippus I (AD 247-248). The artefacts discovered and identified in the MNUAI deposits have an exceptional documentary value. They are represented by: a votive altar dedicated to Minerva Augusta by six exceptores consulares (secretaries of the provincial administration); a fragmentary military diploma (of which have been preserved parts from tabella II intus and tabela II extrinsecus) with the name of Bonio, son of Veranius from cohors II Hispanorum, released on August 14th AD 99 from the army of Upper Moesia; the component parts of bronze statues probably belonging to Roman emperors (two hands, an index finger and 74 fragments of cloak – paludamentum), which attests at least three such statues of dimensions exceeding the human stature; building materials stamped with the name of Legio XIII Gemina (with a simple stamp or accompanied by anthroponyms (Ael(ius) Valens and Annei(us) Saturninus), as well as soldiers or the governor's guard (in the variants p(edites) sin(gulares), ped(ites) s(ingulares), n(umerus) sing(ularium) and singul(ares)), but also of private producers (M(---)I(---)D(---), P(ublius) Ael(ius) Ter(-entius, -entianus)) and Q(uintus) CAE(cilius) M(aximus). Another important discovery is given by the identification of a painted plaster (wall-plaster) in the al fresco technique with a length of 2.50 or 6 m (data from the Archive are contradictory) and a height of 0.65-1 m. Nine painted fragments and 22 stucco fragments were found in the museum's deposits. The painting is displayed in registers and decorative panels in which colours as red, blue, green, brown, or white were used, some in various shades. The presence of the shadow painting technique was also found. A graffito with the anthroponym Aurel[ius] was discovered on this painted wall. It would not be surprising to have to deal with a note of a character who passed by, or even of an official who wanted to leave “an unforgettable memory”. Stuccos are ornamental elements that accompany the painting, enriching the decoration of walls and vaults through decorative panels, friezes, cornices and plinths, with or without decoration. The decorations comprise vegetal motifs (palmettes made in different styles), wild animals running (lioness and gazelle?), ovolos, astragalus and pirouettes. Some of these ornamental elements are found both on various buildings discovered at Apulum (including the Governor's Palace) and on those at Potaissa, in the province of Dacia. Comparing the discoveries of stucco in the “small baths” and the Governor's Palace (from 1890 and 1962) we came to the conclusion that the ornament in braids that formed the motif "in the shape of eyes" was made by the same craftsmen, in a dateable period between the last two or three decades of the 2nd century and the first two decades of the 3rd century AD. The chronological classification is based on the stratigraphy’s reinterpretation of some complexes from the southern sector of the canabae of Legio XIII Gemina/municipium Septimium that was done in a 2009 study .The analysis of the way the statues are made, as well as the techniques of the decorative elements, indicate the presence, even if only for a short time, of some craftsmen specialised in the art of bronze statuary and stucco ornamentation, but also of some talented painters who usee a diverse range of pigments. The decoration of the rooms, but also of the inner courtyards of such a complex that constituted the Governor's Palace, implied the presence of the most capable artists and architects. Highlighting the unpublished documents kept in the MNUAI archive which contain information regarding the rescue excavations carried out in 1962 is very important for a better knowledge of the area associated with the governor’s palace at Apulum. Based on these documents, the general plan of the excavation that has been redrawn and reinterpreted was placed on the satellite image alongside the other areas of the praetorium consularis investigated so far. Moreover, by publishing the archaeological materials discovered in this area, we hope to enrich the general view on this imposing official seat of the Roman provincial administration.
More...Keywords: The Black Lion Great Space; European Harappians (Arabians); Harappa civilization, Bas-Arabia (Bas- Harappia); The White Moor (Harappian-man) story; W-Allachia; the golden language;
Our study is exploring the pre-historical times (previous to patriarchal order, that begun 5000 years ago, in other opinions that begun over 3000 years ago with Sumerian cities-states based on masculine religious and decision-made type of political regime, and according to others, that begun once with ”kurgan civilizations”, about 1900 BC). During the matriarchal mega-era, from the beginnings of mankind until 1900 BC, the woman had the preeminent role as initiating and developing the human society, the human civilizations, the Great Mother and Great Goddess civilizations being created and disseminated over the majority of world regions, as primary forms of civilizational globalization. The Black Lion Great Space (the cave lion) finds its origins in the human beginnings, in the clash for habitat, survival and food between humans and beasts of early quaternary. The lion was from the beginning a symbol of the feminine royalty, due to the preeminent role of woman in matriarchal societies of pre-history (until the antiquity, some religious feminine cults –as Ishtar, Cybele- surviving in such period). The Black Lion Great Space is a geopolitical space of the protp-paleolitic, composed by earth-habitats and by cave habitats, expanded progressively, on trans-continental roads during paleolitic, neolitic, from the Romanian areal of today, to Indus Valley and Crawfish Tropic. It is a Space marked with ”white” and ”black/cara/Kara” place-markers, or with ”lion” place-markers, revealing ”the imperial, decision-making nucleus” as marked with ”white”, and the circles (spaces forming expansion areas of such empire of the matriarchal mega-era) marked with ”black/cara/Kara” place-markers). In Europe, such empire is starting from the Rhabbon and Arabbon rivers (the Jiu river and Rabbi river), Olt Country, Hațeg Country (Romania), White Lake (Szeged, Hungary), embracing Upper Harapia (a huge space, from Black Forest mountains/Germany, until Black Sea/Kara Deniz, stetching to Bas-Arabia (Lower Arabia), with the imperial nucleus (White Island/Leuke/The Island of the Lioness, White City, White Eye- ancient place-markers, in today Ukraine), expanding in circles (Turkey, Caspian Sea, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Central Asia, until the Chinese border) from India to Martaban Gulf, and the Cancer Tropic., until the border with Myamar). Black Lion was the coat of W-Allachia (Holly Country, the Country of Holly Language, the imperial w-allachian language, oro manias, the golden language, the language-source of the whole Europe, the Rumanian language), as a political entity re-built as ”medieval state”, as ”Romanian Country” by Negru-Vodă (the Black-Ruler), from the dynasty of Bas (Basar-)-Arabian (dynasty placed in Olt Country or in Hateg country, near the Jiu Valley -as Rhabon, the River of the Arrapian/Arabians). W-Allachia is the Holly Country or the Country of ”white-Harappians/Arabians”, the first inhabitants of Europe, from ”Bugiulesti man” ( Valcea district, 2 million years old)- a general name used in Romanians fairy-tales, calling the native inhabitants of European Harapia (Arabia), the originary inhabitants of black forests and mountains, ”a-ra”, ”the ones deprived from sunlight”, allusion to the wildness and hostility of the environment. To honour the Black Lion, associated to the pre-historical Great Goddess’ civilization, many regions, districts, cities, military bodies of the world put on their coat of arms the Black Lion as the symbol of the human civilization beginnings, remembering thus, a pre-historical geopolitical space, the Black Lion Great Space, as shaped and enduring space of the matriarchal mega-era, a period of dozens of millennia, the first form of globalization.
More...Keywords: Ion Muşlea; the Folklore Archive of the Romanian Academy in Cluj; correspondence; foreign folklorists; folklore research methodology;
To a large extent, Ion Muşlea’s institutional work as Director of the Folklore Archive of the Romanian Academy in Cluj included a massive correspondence with his collaborators and associates with the purpose of collecting folklore, as well as with peers from the field from Romania and abroad. The present paper regards the correspondence Muşlea had with foreign folklore researchers and institutes between 1926-1966. The largest part of these letters in foreign languages are preserved today in the named archive and are yet to be published. We present an overview of the content and character of this corpus of letters and we illustrate it with 25 relevant letter examples in the appendices.
More...Keywords: nation state; international public law; transnational law; Paris Peace Conference 1919–1920; peace treaties; unitary nation state; Romanian school of international law; national jurispr;
The marking of the hundredth anniversary of the Peace Conference and international treatise of Paris (1919-1920), which ended the first world war and consecrated the new political and strategical, European and international realities, is treated rather indifferently, and when it actually is taken into consideration, critiques to the “Versailles system” are overrated, the injustice brought by it and its dour consequences are highly claimed, its merits and inheritance being highly ignored. Neglected and insufficiently analyzed, its inheritance, in the field of international law and practice, remains highly important. The Peace Treaties and their eventual conventional developments have marked the entrance of international law in its modern phase, have consolidated its criminal norms, and by applying the principle of nationalities, the nation state has become the main subject of international normativity, enriched with new principles and values. Organizing peace by law was to lead, in the following decade, to the prohibition of war, collective security would know important experiences, and by creating the Society of Nations, international relations would become institutionalized. Continuing these foundations will generate, after the second great conflict, first by the U.N. and their Charter (1945), the phase of contemporary international law and the international juridical and institutional civilization still standing as of today. For Romania, the international context created in 1919-1920 has favored the completion of the creation of the unitary nation state and a period of great creative development and international affirmation of its statehood. As a creation of law and of the principles of nationalities, the Great Romania has been so tightly linked to the “Versailles system”, that its broader strokes would last just as long as it did. However, even today’s Romania, despite the territorial readjustments brought on by force starting with 1940, is still a “Romania of the Trianon”, the Treaty signed with Hungary on June 4th, 1920, by which its North-West border was settled, has passed the test of time but has remained a subject of dispute regarding its significance. The permanent revisionism of Budapest, developed under new forms as of today, and replicated in Bucharest by a deafening silence, does not favor the “reconciliation of memory”, but, in lack of actual dialogue, it amplifies suspicion.
More...Keywords: The Orthodox doctrine; Saint Gregory Palamas; the Hesychast prayer; hesychasm; Eastern Church;
Saint Gregory Palamas of the 14th century is recognized as the one who fully crystallized the Orthodox doctrine regarding the uncreated divine energies of divine grace and the possibility of the deification of man by participating in the uncreated light of the Holy Spirit in the Hesychast prayer. From our study we will also be able to observe how, from the writings of Saint Gregory Palamas, the full force of the patristic teaching and its great exponents is clearly revealed, he himself presenting himself as the author not of a new doctrine, regarding hesychasm, but the witness of the ecclesiastical Tradition, in which the entire common treasury of the Orthodox Church can be found. Hence the great role that Saint Gregory had in the life of the Eastern Church.
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