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The article analyzes the poem “Manana’s Conversation with a fever” (translatedby V.K. Zvyagintseva) by an ancient Georgian poetess Manana and “Fever”, a ballad by the Russian poet A. A. Fet. The texts contain a folklore motif of a man’s encounter with a demonic creature having anthropomorphic features. The literary image of the virgin-fever goes back to the sources of the Judeo Christian apocryphal traditions. In the early middle ages it was taken from ritual folk poetry – spells from fever – by fiction literature. The lyrics of Manana and Fet are combined by stray motif, implemented differently by each of the poets. The plot of the works has a dialogical structure: Manana conducts a dialogue with a personified disease, Fet’s lyrical character talks to the nanny, telling her the legend of Fevers.The religious outlook of the poetess is reflected in the contents of Manana’s text which is being analysed. In general, however, it is signifcantly influenced by the cultural orientation of the translator, namely: the presence of defining items typical for Eastern Slavic Spells, such as (“fatal ognevitsa”, “wicked witch”, “bad”, “the world evil fad”).There is an unusual etymology of the fever in Manana’s text compared to Slavic folklore tradition (“the despised daughter of Judas”). Fevers are traditionally referred to as the daughters of Herod. Therefore in Fet’s text they are – “sisters, nine Fevers”.According to the Georgian poetess the encounter with a demon of a disease actualizes the Christian moral discourse. According to the Russian poet, the fever becomes the concept of romanticism with ambivalent meaning. Both works clarify significantly the specific existence of a stray motive of a human interaction with the demon of illness (ague,malaria, fever) in the world literature.The tradition of magic spells of the demon of the disease is reflected both in the national epic, and medieval literature. For example, there exists Anna Ahmatova’s translation of Korean song “Choenga”, the motifs of which are borrowed from ancient tales of Choeng who defeated the demon of fever, and the song itself refers to the period of VII-X centuries. Variations of this motif are known from later literary samples. For example,in German literature it is Dialogues by Ulrich von Gutten, the author of the Renaissance epoch (XVI century), in Georgian literature it is the Poem by Manana (XVIII century),in Russian literature the most striking reflection of this motif is found in the poetry of the romantics such as AP. Grigoriev and A. Fet. Later A. I. Kuprin (Olesya), Al. Green (“Autobiographical novel”) and some other Russian authors were interested in folklore motif of fevers.Only three of the above-mentioned works narrate about a personal meeting with personified disease: Dialogues by Gutten, the Poem by Manana and Fet’s ballad : and of these three only Manana and Fet reproduce the lyrical situation of psychologically-depicted interaction with the demon-fever. In addition to this, in Fet’s work there is the motif of the dream, painting the situation of the meeting in the illusory, romantic tones.Of course, it is difficult to judge the nature of poetics as original and translated texts are being compared. In cases when we still resort to such a comparison the probability of the influence of an interpreter should be taken into consideration. Basically you can only talk about the thematic closeness of works, united by a common motive, implemented differently by each of the poets. Both independent observations of the text of Manana who embodied a well-known motif earlier than a Russian poet did it, and the possibility to add comments to “Fever” by A. Fet are valuable.The information about the Georgian poet Manana is extraordinarily scanty. In this regard, this report contains only preliminary observations and does not claim to contain extensive conclusions.The name of the poet Manana in the history of Georgian literature usually stands in a row with the names of such outstanding authors as David Guramishvily, Alexander Amilakhvary, Dimitry Saakadze, Pyotr Laradze and others. As A. Surguladze puts it, in the XVIII century Georgian culture «has taken a significant step forward». The ideological political movement in Russia and Europe influenced the development of Georgian culture during this period greatly. I. A. Javakhishvily wrote the following on this occasion: “Striking was this age! That tireless, hard work that had one General direction, and was based on wide and deep ground gives us the right to call this period of Georgian literature an encyclopedic age. The thoughts of almost all the leaders of that time were sent to collecting the results of centuries-old creative work of the Georgian people, to study them and transmit the completed comprehensive ideas and knowledge to the following generations”. Defining the nature of literary trend of Manana’s poem, we turned to the works of her older contemporary - poet David Guramishvily, who is close to her in spirit. Guramishvily is called “the greatest representative of Georgian literature of the eighteenth century” (A. Surguladze) and his great interest in folklore is pointed out. Manana and David Guramishvily were, apparently, the representatives of different generations. And it is vivid that creative ideas of an older contemporary could influence her own poetic style.We can emphasize the General trend of the Georgian poetic tradition of the XVIII century– the appeal to imaginative and melodic system of folklore. And the second point relates directly to religious trends. The poem by Manana displays the religious worldview of the author. Her lyrical character is a Christian who trusts in the divine help. A. Fet’s “Fever” is included in the romantic cycle, most of the works of which are created on the basis of the Slavic folklore (“the Serpent”, “Secret”, “Legend” etc.). In the plot there is the motive of the woman-demon’s kiss , who is called «lihomanka» in Russian folk spells. The text is constructed in the form of a lyrical dialogue with the nanny,who is the carrier of folk traditions. In such a way, the motif of the kiss of the demon off ever is presented.Rhythmic pattern of the Dialogic structure of Manana’s poem transmits high intensity of feelings of the main character, the strain of the struggle with the demon of disease. Fet’s character does not feel fear and indignation to his disease, the temptation of a romantic night kiss of lihomanka turned into a sense of illusory reality.In Manana’s poem fever as spiritually determined physical infirmity, carries the idea of retribution or purifying ordeal of personality in the face of death. In the text the character of the lyrical heroine is portrayed. However, it is difficult to believe that such a dialogue with the disease can be drawn, without having experienced the personal pain.And this is the difference between Manana’s poems and the romantic ballad of Fet, where there is, apparently, no pain yet, but only a feverish love yearning.It is likely that the poet is trying to implement artistic functional principle of folklore spells in the structure of a literary text, as if the poem could cure the disease. The fact that the character managed to do it can be seen in the biography of the poetess. According to the testimony of Nestan Sulava, at the end of her life, Manana became a nun, without ceasing to be engaged in literary work (she worked with manuscripts of the poem by Shota Rustavely “the knight in the Panther’s skin”). This is not surprising, if we recall the roleplayed by Rustavely’s works in Georgian national culture. Apparently, in the poet’s mind immortal poem stood next to the Gospel even after her renunciation of the world. “True is N. Berdzenishvily’s remark that the ideological and political civilization of feudal Georgia was based on three pillars – the Gospel, “Тhe knight in the Panther’s skin” and “Kartlis Tskhovreba” – the three “Holy books”...” (Surguladze 1989). Hence the understandable choice of the poetess-nun.What unites the works of Manana and Fet?Although the Russian poet idealized the virgin-fever, confusing the disease with love longing, apparently, not in the least embarrassed by the religious origin of this artistic image for him, just like for a Georgian poetess, yet more important was the opportunity of self-realization in the act of creativity. In General, the apocryphal motive of the meeting with the demon disease brings authors to different levels of world perception. Manana prefers moral conflict of the confrontation between good and evil, pride and humility, which she solves in the plane of spiritual understanding of the nature of fever as a disease of the soul. That’s why she had to clarify everything, pronounce clearly, as though in confession. Fet remains within the boundaries of the romantic worldview, because the fever for him is only a pretext for obscure hints and vague presentiments, allowing the soul to remain in the dream state. On the contrary, the soul of Manana’s lyrical heroine finds the experience of spiritual awakening in this meeting.
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The archeological complex Rapti-Navolok is located 15 km south-southeast of town Luga, Leningrad region, on the north-eastern shore of Cheremenets Lake. There are three multi-layered settlements and mounds of Old-Russian time and of the Long Barrow Culture. This publication puts into scientific circulation some results of excavations by author.The oldest traces of human habitation here belong to the Stone Age and the so-called Paleometal time. These materials are not numerous.Early Medieval sites belong to the Long Barrow Culture. The earliest item is the buckle with hollow B-shaped frame and a needle with a square shield from mound 21 in the group Rapti-Navolok III. It must be dated to the middle of 7th century the latest.The materials of Long Barrow Culture are present in all three explored settlements. The settlement Rapti-Navolok VI is most interesting, with a solitary high mound “Borovskoe Kupalische” located at its northern edge. Analysis of materials of 1971 and new data suggest that the mound was built over the burnt house. The settlements Rapti-Navolok VII and VIII are a single complex on both banks of the brook. It seems that there was a residential area on one side of the brook, and a metallurgical workshop on the other.Materials of excavations of settlements and burial sites demonstrate gradual spread of the Old Russian Culture here, but a detailed examination of Old Russian sites is not the purpose of this article.
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The object of this work is a bronze die from the Late Middle Ages to produce appliques with image of the archangel Gabriel. The archangel is represented on the work surface. In above of image there is a three-row head incised inscription in abbreviation. It begins with "ʘ" (ό άγιος) and follow with the name (АР)ХА(ГГЕΛОС) (ГАВ)Р(Ι)Η(Λ). On this artefact Annunciation scene is a rare variant in which the archangel Gabriel give a flowers to the Mother of God. As a sign of reverence before it, the hands of the angel covered with a raiment. The use of this matrix is the preparation of applications with this scene. Perhaps this is just a part of the complex of composition with Mary presentation. Each image was locked in a circular medallion, positioned within the icons and crosses. The practice inlay images of characters from the Christian pantheon of objects begins at XI century. According to the written sources, gradually increasing the role of silver fittings of icons like inlays, as the background between they are filled with ornaments. Samples of different iconographic types are mainly made in the studios of the Byzantine capital. Their distribution contributes to the strengthening of popular stylistic traits and influences. Matrix probably made in a Constantinople workshop at the XII-XIII century.
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The article is a philological analysis and an initial epigraphic analysis of inscriptions embroidered on silk fabric found in 1960 in tomb no. 24 in the Romanesque collegiate church in Kruszwica. The preserved three pieces of silk (two are of identical length and one is a fragment) originally constituted probably a single object with the inscriptions arranged most likely into a sequence with a cohesive meaning (on the function of this object cf. articles by E. Dąbrowska and M. Cybulska and E. Orlińska-Mianowska in this volume). A philological analysis of the inscriptions preserved on the longer pieces of fabric makes it possible to ascertain that they comprise rhythmic-versification units. Inscription no.1 is in so-called rich hexameter, while inscription no. 2 is an incipit of a hymn to The Holy Spirit, attributed to Notker the Stammerer (Balbulus) from St. Gallen. The fragmentary inscription no. 3., barely several letters long, poses the greatest interpretation problem owing to the state of its preservation, which (according to B. Kürbis, who witnessed its discovery) could have been quite different than its present-day version. For this reason it seems possible to decipher the fragment in question in two ways, and the place which inscription no. 3. could have originally held in the sequence of inscriptions remains of a closely connected question. An epigraphic analysis of the inscriptions written in Romanesque capitals with elements of the uncial indicates their imitative execution (i.a. an error in the word: spiritus in inscription no. 2), albeit with the use of rather sophisticated lettering (the letter P). The shapes of the signs permit a restricted establishment of the time of the origin of the inscriptions, since some occur in codex writing and epigraphic much earlier than could be the date of the strips of fabric from Kruszwica (A in: gracia from inscription no. 2). By referring to a typology of Romanesque epigraphic writing presented by Rudolf M. Kloos, codex and epigraphic comparative material (which should be considerably expanded) allows us to propose an approximate time of the origin of the inscriptions as not later than the second half or the end of the twelfth century, especially if the object to which the discussed inscriptions belong had been imported from the West.
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The Polish version of the article was published in Roczniki Humanistyczne 64 (2014), issue 2. The present article indicates some examples of the circumstances and ways of taking prisoners of war into captivity during military conflicts, the different possibilities of treating them and some measures to release them. The article includes, among others, fixed gestures and signs that were used to manifest the intention of giving oneself into the hands of one’s opponent and the ways of treating other prisoners of war. The examples cited herein, related to the captivity of kings, illustrate how different were the ways of treating prisoners of war, even of the same rank. Moreover, they show that some aspects of a politico-economic nature were superior to those indicated by the chivalric code. At the same time, the Crusades and close encounters with the Islamic world contributed to the considerable growth of sensibility to the fate of prisoners of war, which was expressed by the institutionalised (at least partially) procedure of giving freedom.
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Weapon are not typically found in Novgorod Land burials of the 8th—10th centuries. A new funerary rite was formed with the adoption of Christianity, with a number of specific features — erection of burial mounds, costume and headdress of the interred. Weapons, mainly spears and axes of various types, appear in male burials of the 11th—13th centuries, which can be connected with distribution of a new faith and self-identification of the local population. Concentration of burials with weapons in the border areas marks the western and north-western borders of the Novgorod Land and their defense systems. Such burials gradually disappeared starting from the second half of the 12th century. It is associated with the evangelization of the population, changes in land relations and in the military organization of Novgorod.
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To date, more than 50 medieval swords, broadswords and sabers belonging to the culture of the Yenisei Kyrgyz have been recorded on the territory of the Minusinsk Basin and Tuva. Among them, a group of four items with Arabic inscriptions on the blades stands out, of which only three are available for study. The first find discovered at the end of the 19th century was lost, and the information about it is very scarce. The second find is stored in the Minusinsk regional museum of local history: it is half of a broadsword from which a woodworking tool (saw) was made at a later time. On one side of the broadsword there is an inscription made by chisel. This inscription is an imitation of Arabic inscriptions. In the same museum, there is a saber, on one side of which there is also an inscription and an image of a hexagonal star surrounded by two wavy lines. They are not visible due to metal corrosion. It is possible that the inscriptions are made in “Naskh” handwriting. The fourth sword was discovered during excavations of the Kyrgyz burial ground Eilig-Khem III. In the literature, it is known as the “sword of Bagyr”. On both sides of the blade, the inscription is clearly visible, which is one of the suras of the Quran. The article discusses a possible East European origin of these expensive weapons and ways of its penetration into Southern Siberia as a military trophy or import from Zhetysu (Semirechye) region. The Yenisei Kyrgyz, who cremated their warriors upon funeral pyres together with their weapons, these weapons served as an additional indicator of their social status.
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The article is an attempt to give the interpretation to the unique mud-brick construction on Starokievskaya Hora near the Desyatinnaya church excavated in 1909, 1911, and 2007. The authors undertake the comprehensive analysis of the field records of the early 20th century research and the stratigraphical observations in the course of the recent excavations of the secular buildings surrounding Desyatinnaya church, and presume that the mud-brick construction was a standing wall of the princely residence, and that it was erected by the builders responsible for the construction of the late 10th century mud-brick fortifications in Pereyaslav, Belgorod and others. A few versions of the origin of these builders are considered. The links with the building techniques of the Saltovo archaeological culture fortifications on the river Tikhaya Sosna are believed to be much more grounded than the links with the contemporary fortification tradition of Byzantium or the First Bulgarian Kingdom.
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Despite relatively short period of Sasanian occupation of Egypt, there is much evidence of their influence upon Egyptian material culture, and especially, textile production. Sasanian and post-Sasanian influence was manifested in different fields related to textiles in general: changes in costume and ‘fashion’, appearing of neatly tailored garments, introduction of new textile techniques and iconographical features. Egyptian weavers started drawing inspiration from new images and subjects. The question is how deep that influence got into the Egyptian textile production weaving techniques? The studies of textile objects from the Egyptian necropolises of Late Antiquity demonstrate the controversial nature of Sasanian occupation of Egypt. Certainly, it contributed to expansion of the Central Asian influence. At the same time, this influence was not spread by force. At some point, a certain technical feature or iconographical motif alien for Egyptian culture, became fashionable, later to be adopted and considered autochthonous. Egyptians developed new weaving techniques inspired by colorful and fancy Near Eastern models. The Egyptian-Persian workshops imitated some Central Asian techniques, but provincial weavers and tailors copied just shapes. The finished textiles and dress were not imitations of original costumes but rather copies of copies.
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This material is a review of recently published books on the results of the archaeological study of early city centers of the Viking period in Northern Russia: Ryurikovo Gorodishche, Pskov, Gnyozdovo, Gorodok on Lovat’ and Usvyat. Lack of detailed publications of many key archaeological sites is a long-standing problem of Russian archeology, which has only gradually improved in recent years. The books considered here add up to a kind of a single collection, united both by a common theme and by a single circle of authors. The most important topics are the development of early urban centers in Northern Russia, the chronology and mechanisms of the formation of medieval Russian culture as primarily the culture of urban centers, the role of Northern Europe and Byzantium in the composition of medieval Russian culture, connections of early cities with their environs and with each other. Some of the proposed points are debatable, while others confirm and develop the existing concepts.
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Purpose of Article. The study aims to evaluate and prove the reliability of the production of crosses with partitioned enamels in the ancient Galich in the second half of the XII century. The methodology of the research is to apply art-study, analytical, and comparative research methods, which allowed, based on the analysis of the arts and archaeological source, to discover the similarities and differences in the made-up jewels and relics of the ancient masters found in the territory of the Galician land. The scientific novelty of the study involves the art-study analysis of previously unknown works of jewelry art, based on the analysis of which was established existence in Galich in the XII century, an original art school for the production of sacral products in the technology of partitioned enamels. Conclusions. As a result of the research, it was found that the establishment of the production of cross-engolpions in the Galician Principality dates back to the middle of the XII century when the Galician masters seized one of the most complex craft professions - glasswork, which is confirmed by archaeological excavations. The mentioned fact allowed to move from using Byzantine smalt to local enamel production, introducing a new interpretation of sacred works. Findings of the Galician crosses with partitioned enamels convincingly testify to the flowering of the enamel affair in the ancient Galich in the second half of the XII century.
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The Early Christian monastery near the locality of Slavnata Kanara arose during the Late Roman Empire and was destroyed during the Avar-Byzantine wars after 569—570 AD. Traces of these dramatic events are documented by two hoards of early Byzantine coins. The first one consists of 1,220 coins buried in an amphora. At the moment, 1,176 coins have been entirely or partially identified. By denomination, 1,007 (85.63%) coins are decanummi (518—566 AD), 165 (14.03%) are pentanummi (518—565 AD), one is 16 nummi, one is 8 nummi (527—565 AD), and two of them are Late Roman specimens from the second half of the 4th century. The total monetary value of the find is about 283 folles. This amount is very close to 288 folles, which is the exchange rate for a gold solidus from the period 550—565 AD. The second coin find is the part of a hoard, unfortunately pillaged by treasure-hunters. It includes 18 bronze coins of the 4th—6th centuries of different denominations and a glass weight with the image of Justinian I, an inscription and a monogram. The deposited collective finds mark the end of the Early Byzantine horizon. The composition of the first hoard (different bronze denominations minted in various mintmarks in different years, including rare types) shows that the money supply of bronze byzantine coins in the region had been regular until 565—566 AD, but was interrupted shortly after 569—570 AD. We suppose it could be alms hidden during the attack, which caused the death of the monastery.
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The article continues an earlier published study of Byzantine coins found in the Middle Desna region, which were used as tokens of official status. The materials studied in the article come from Bryansk and Kaluga Oblast, the region which historically correlates with the north-western part of the Old Russian Chernigov Land. The authors address silver coins (srebrenik) and other pendants of different shapes and semantics (primarily of Scandinavian origin), including the “heraldic” ones of the tenth — twelfth centuries, which could be connected with the retinue stratum of the Russian society of that period.
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„Jedan od Markesovih najmudrijih citata glasi: Čovjek ima pravo da gleda drugog odozgo, jedino kada treba da mu pomogne da se uspravi. Lijepo je on to rekao, ali se ljudi sve manje osvrću na njegove riječi.“ Filozof Ciceron postavio je pitanje: „Što čini čovjeka čovjekom?“ te je sam sebi odgovorio: „Bezobziran čovjek, koji se ne zanima za druge ljude, nije human“, tj. on je „nečovječan“. Prema istim razmišljanjima, uz pomoć „dobrih ili zlih djela“, pojedinci mogu postati „čovječni ili nečovječni“. Priča o humanosti i empatiji je priča o meni i tebi, o nama - ljudima, našoj čovječnosti i sposobnosti da shvatimo i razumijemo jedni druge (bližnjeg svog). Da pomognemo da ustane onom ko pada, pružimo ruku onom ko strada, da pružimo utjehu, bodrimo, umirimo i zagrlimo onog ko strahuje. Onaj ko je tako nešto primjenjivao, koji je ostavio ugled čitavog svijeta, koji je cijeloj hrišćanskoj Evropi održao lekciju iz islamskog morala i etike ratovanja, kada je, nakon oslobađanja Jerusalima od krstaša, pokazao neviđenu toleranciju i nije postupio sa hrišćanima onako kako su oni postupili sa muslimanima kada su osvojili Jerusalim, bio je Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb (SALADIN).
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The "Bulgarian Apocryphal Chronicle of Eleventh Century" is burthen with influences of many traditions, with pagan rests and veterotestamentarian images. We find cited in the text so many strange and unknown names, which cannot be related to any identified historical persons. Usually the Chronicle is proclaimed an "original work", created entirely in Bulgaria, what is a reason to attract the special attention of the academic milieus. Unfortunately, this conclusion reflects in a research methodology to isolate the cited literary work from any influence of any foreign tradition and to interpret it in a patriotic and especially anti-Byzantine direction. The present article will try to avoid this methodology aiming a very concrete and simple result: to suggest some ideas about the identification of a name we find in the Apocryphal Chronicle: that of king Arev. The king Arev is very briefly presented in the Apocryphal Chronicle: "And after this another tsar went out of Constantinople; his name was Arev and he sat on the throne of tsar Constantine and reigned seven years and died". Usually the commentaries on this citation are restricted to the assertion that this person is not yet identified. We shall try to propose below some ideas that could direct our efforts in an interesting way. We strongly believe that the Apocryphal Chronicle should be studied in the context of the Near-Eastern literature. The influence of the veterotestamentarian prophetical writing is obvious but now we would like to underline the link with the Christian Arabic tradition. The name of "Arev" is quite close to the form "Aref ', which derives from the Arabic name "Hārith". It is well known in the Empire because it passed in Greek under the form "Arethas" – the name of several great personages from the classical Byzantine times. Thus, we strongly believe that we have all reasons to offer the identification of the name of the tsar Arev from the Apocryphal Chronicle with the Christian Arabic name of Aref/Arethas. This is concerning the identification of the name but who is this person and how has he entered in the Chronicle? We have no evidence for one more Arab king in the Balkans and we rest only with Nicephorus Genikos and his dynasty. This should not be disappointing because our research led us to some important conclusions concerning the Apocryphal Chronicle. The first of them put under question the "original Bulgarian character" of the work and together with it the thesis of its "patriotic trends" in the "severe times of the Byzantine yoke". The presence of the cited Arabic name links the text to the Near Eastern tradition and put it in another than "national" or "ethnic" context. The second is the strong relation to the Biblical and Semitic in general convention and under the obvious influence of the Hebrew prophetic literature.
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The pressing need to conserve an early eighth-century Qur’an manuscript at the Chester Beatty in Dublin has served as the catalyst for significant investigation of both early Islamic manuscript materials, and the most suitable contemporary conservation techniques for this manuscript. CBL Is 1404 has suffered extensive water damage and subsequent corrosion of the iron containing ink it was written with. It has in turn been subject to numerous layers of previous repairs, many of which are now failing, ineffective, and incurring damage to the manuscript. This study will review the methodology of repair which has been employed to treat this manuscript. Following experiments using a wide range of materials and techniques, the resulting treatment plan uses a delicate balance of both traditional and modern parchment conservation techniques to stabilise the fragile folios. Experiments have included traditional methods for old repair removal such as mechanical removal with scalpels and the application of paste poultices, as well as both rigid and formable granular gels. Losses and tears have then been repaired using traditional adhesives with toned Japanese paper.
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In the 13th century, Pomerania was divided between two princely houses. The western partof the region was ruled by princes from the Griffin dynasty. In the most recent source literature,a claim has been made that members of this house also ruled the Land of Sławno fromthe second half of the thirties or until the early forties of the thirteenth century. It is thereforedifficult to prove that their power also stretched as far as the Land of Słupsk. The Landof Sławno was also under ecclesial, and later feudal jurisdiction of the bishops of Kamień.In Eastern Pomerania, the Samborides (Polish: Sobiesławice), as they are called in source literature,were the ruling house. For a long time they held the office of Pomeranian governorson behalf of the Piast dynasty. This situation was changed by Swietopelk II – the Duke ofGdansk, who in 1227 secured the region’s independence from Poland. Initially, the dukeand the rulers of West Pomerania had good relations. Mutual good will was guaranteedby the marriage of Swietopelk’s sister Miroslawa and Prince Bogislaw II of West Pomerania.Out of this matrimony, Barnim I was born, who in the described period, together with hiscousin Wartislaw III, shaped the policy of the West Pomeranian principalities. Both Griffinshad to hold ground against Swietopelk’s aggressive eastbound expansion and respond to hisoccupation of the Land of Słupsk (taken from the Danes between 1225 and 1227), and thento the occupation of the Land of Sławno (before 1240). The House of Griffin was supportedby the bishops of Kamień, of whom Herman von Gleichen was the most prominent. However,after many lost battles against Swietopelk, in the sixties of the 13th century, the Bishop ofKamień had to reach an agreement with the Gdańsk ruler. Little is known whether he madepeace with Barnim I (ruling all Western Pomerania after the death of Wartislaw III) whileSwietopelk was still alive. It is significant in this regard that Barnim I held talks with Swietopelk’sson Mestwin II in 1264, during the rebellion of the eldest sons of the Gdańsk ruler.
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This study focuses on the Chronica Boemorum by Cosmas of Prague, which is one of the most important narrative sources for Czech history in the era of the Přemyslid dynasty. An analysis of this literary work attempts to address the question of how the chronicler worked with the category of fidelity that is nowadays considered to be one of the fundamental ideas and widespread legal forms through which the medieval society expressed its hierarchical order. It is no coincidence that domestic rulers and noble persons closely related to the throne found themselves at the centre of attention, as most of the information that Prague dean Cosmas left behind is related to members of the political elite. Following the pioneering monograph of Dušan Třeštík, the concept of fidelity in the Chronica Boemorum is discussed and reinterpreted. The main reason is that Třeštík’s approach is based on traditional fief terminology and doctrine, which has been recently attacked by postmodern deconstructivists headed by prominent British historian Susan Reynolds. At first, legal rituals, such as promises and oaths, are presented as means to establish, strengthen, or terminate fidelity ties, binding together Přemyslids and provincial magnates. The major part of the study is then devoted to the content of fidelity commitments. Although it was based predominantly on the duty of loyalty and service, medieval fides or fidelitas was not at all uniform. On the contrary, it flexibly adapted to the socio-cultural and geographical context. Therefore, it seems appropriate to examine this topic with the help of an analytical probe that captures the (un)loyal rulers and their servants depicted in the Chronica Boemorum as heroes providing encouragement to be followed, or villains worthy of condemnation. While doing so, a methodological inspiration may be drawn from the classical work of František Graus and, under his influence, it is possible to distinguish one-sided uncompromising obedience (obedientia) from two-sided fidelity based on reciprocity (fides, fidelitas).
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The article examines the beginnings of people’s assemblies in the territory of present-day Slovakia. It consists of two parts. While the first one is concerned with the period of the Mojmírid dynasty (the 9th century), the second one deals with the period of the Arpadian dynasty until the 12th century. For both periods, it is typical that assemblies were termed variously, for example as “all the Moravians”, congregatio, consilium, etc. They were mostly juridical bodies for solving conflicts between individuals, but they also functioned as electoral or consultative bodies. In the Mojmírid period, assemblies used to gather mostly once a month (in connection to the central fairs of the Moravians), while their periodicity was lower in the Arpadian times.
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