The output of the AKYN Research Project (see http://thecessblog.com/2019/02/plumtree_akyn/), recordings of which are available here: https://catalog.osaarchivum.org/catalog/O8pZgyZa (transcriptions: https://auca.kg/en/research_faculty_akyn/).
Kyrgyz-language translations of the Manas studies will be appearing in the volume «Манас» эпосуна тиешелүү изилдөөлөргө (1856-2018) жаңыча илимий сереп.
This paper examines the original context of the words 'encyclopaedia' and 'epic' concerning Manas... more This paper examines the original context of the words 'encyclopaedia' and 'epic' concerning Manas. A New Historicism approach to the origin of this association, an 1861 Russian-language publication by Chokan Valikhanov, illuminates his likely use of a formulation-both verbal and conceptual-of literary critic Vissarion Belinsky, and placing Valikhanov's interest in epics in pan-European (and Russian) early-nineteenth century socio-political context. Valikhanov's comments display the placing of an interpretative framework from Russian literary criticism onto Kyrgyz oral poetry. This paper questions the continued use of the terminology related to nineteenth-century Russian colonialism and its significant impact on the Manas interpretation and valueing.
Strangers at the Gate! Multidisciplinary Explorations of Communities, Borders, and Othering in Medieval Western Europe, 2022
A boy and a girl, green in color, were found in the small Suffolk village of Woolpit; when they w... more A boy and a girl, green in color, were found in the small Suffolk village of Woolpit; when they were able to communicate and answer questions about their origins, they later spoke of a strange land, green in color, that was untouched by the sun. The story of the two children and their homeland appears in two versions, both small passages in larger works: the Historia rerum Anglicarum, a history of England from the Norman Conquest to 1198 by the Yorkshire-based Augustinian secular canon William of Newburgh, and the Chronicon Anglicanum, another history starting with the Norman Conquest and ending in 1224 predominantly by the Essex-based Cistercian abbot Ralph of Coggeshall. The striking simi- larities between the two seemingly unconnected texts – and their notable differences – inspire in the modern reader questions similar to those that would have been asked by the locals who discovered the two children: what is the origin of the young strangers, the meaning behind their appearance, and how should they be treated, placed, and regarded?
This paper shows how computer-assisted text analysis can greatly aid the field of Manas Studies. ... more This paper shows how computer-assisted text analysis can greatly aid the field of Manas Studies. Though general patterns can be noted through traditional means of analysis, quantifying textual variants sidesteps the use of vague general impressions by providing statistical data that can permit more specific and nuanced insights. In addition to illuminating individual performances and performers via comparison, this method can further research into the topic including attribution, and measuring the impact of variables. The paper then proposes possible research into specific elements to deal with an ever-growing corpus, and stresses the potential findings and fresh perspectives from using large-scale computer-assisted corpus analysis.
Bu makale, bilgisayar destekli metin analizinin Manas Çalışmaları alanına nasıl çok büyük bir katkıda bulunabileceğini göstermektedir. Her ne kadar genel örüntüler ve kalıplar geleneksel analiz araçlarıyla çalışılabilse de, metinsel varyantların nicelleştirilmesi daha özgün ve detaylı kavrayışları mümkün kılabilecek istatistiksel veriler sağlayarak müphem genel kanaatlerin ötesine geçmemizi sağlar. Bu yöntem, bireysel icralara ve icracılara karşılaştırmalı bir şekilde ışık tutarken, ilişkilendirme ve değişkenlerin etkisinin ölçülmesi de dâhil olmak üzere konuyla ilgili daha fazla araştırma için bir zemin sunabilir. Kısacası bu makale, sürekli büyüyen bir literatürle başa çıkmak üzere belirli unsurlar üzerine olası araştırmalar önermekte ve büyük ölçekli bilgisayar destekli literatür analizinden elde edilebilecek potansiyel bulguları ve yeni bakış açılarını vurgulamaktadır.
This study examines the vocabulary density and the frequency of unique and repeated lines of a co... more This study examines the vocabulary density and the frequency of unique and repeated lines of a contemporary manaschi in oral performance and in print. Transcriptions of audiovisual recordings of Talantaaly Bakchiev (b. 1971) performing are compared with two volumes of Manas narratives that he published. The research reveals that the published versions have a higher vocabulary density than the oral performance, have a greater percentage of unique lines and less repetitions. This suggests that the medium in which the metrical narrative is presented is reflected in the language, and indications of orality are absent from written variants. АЗЫРКЫ МАНАСЧЫНЫН БАСМАДАГЫ ЖАНА ООЗ ЭКИ АЙТУУСУ Кыскача мазмуну Бул изилдөө азыркы манасчынын оозеки айтуусунда жана басмада кездешкен уникалдуу жана кайталанма саптарынын жыштыгын жана сөз байлыгынын тыгызды-гын изилдейт. Талантаалы Бакчиевдин (1971-ж.) айтуусундагы аудиовизуалдык жа-зуулардын транскрипциясы ал жарыялаган "Манастын" эки томдук окуялары менен салыштырылат. Изилдөө көрсөткөндөй, жарыяланган версияларда оозеки аткарууга караганда сөздүк кордун тыгыздыгы жогору, уникалдуу саптардын пайызы да жого-ру жана азыраак кайталанат. Бул метрикалык баяндама сунушталган чөйрө тилде ча-гылдырылгандыгын, ал эми жазуу жүзүндө оозеки айтуунун белгилери жок экендигин көрсөтүп турат. Ачкыч сөздөр: "Манас" эпосу, Талантаалы Бакчиев, оозеки айтуу, басма, сөз бай-лыгынын тыгыздыгы. СОВРЕМЕННЫЙ МАНАСЧИ В УСТНОМ ИСПОЛНЕНИИ И В ПЕЧАТИ Аннотация В этом исследовании изучается плотность словарного запаса и частота уникаль-ных и повторяющихся строк современного манасчи в устном исполнении и в печати. Транскрипции аудиовизуальных записей исполнения Талантаалы Бакчиева (1971 г. р.) сравниваются с двумя томами рассказов Манаса, которые он опубликовал. Исследова-Филологические науки
Medieval Stories and Storytelling: Multimedia and Multi-Temporal Perspectives, ed. by S. C. Thomson, Medieval Narratives in Transmission, 2 (Turnhout: Brepols), 2021
This chapter deals with Kyrgyz-language narratives concerned with the character Manas, stories th... more This chapter deals with Kyrgyz-language narratives concerned with the character Manas, stories that have, since their first recorded appearance in 1856, been crafted for a variety of audiences in a variety of media for a variety of purposes. An obvious outlier in a volume exploring storytelling and stories in and from the medieval west, this study is intended to provide a parallel of a living tradition with material from ‘past’ cultures and in doing so raise uncomfortable questions for medievalists. The difficulty in recognizing the shifting contexts and meanings of narratives told and retold in different times, the reliance on manuscript and printed sources for stories once completely oral, the oft-unrecorded influence politics has on the content and message of a performance, and on the adaptation, appreciation, longevity, and understanding of stories are all present in a living tradition that has been used to inform debates about classical, medieval, and contemporary narratives. The role of scholarship in creating the meaning of these narratives is also emphasized
Известия Национальной академии наук Кыргызской Республики (Proceedings of the Kyrgyz Academy of Sciences), 2020
In 2018, the Analyzing Kyrgyz Narratives (AKYN) Research Group, based at the American University ... more In 2018, the Analyzing Kyrgyz Narratives (AKYN) Research Group, based at the American University of Central Asia, made three separate recordings of Doolot Sydykov performing an account of the birth of Manas. Transcriptions of the performances were analyzed to see whether Parry and Lord's theory of formulas in oral traditions were applicable. In examining whether the results of an earlier study, concerned with three performances of Talantaaly Bakchiev, are replicable, this paper raises methodological questions that future research can address.
2018-жылы Борбордук Азиядагы Америка Университетиндеги «Кыргыз эпосторун изилдөө тобу» (AKYN) манасчы Дөөлөт Сыдыковдун айтуусунда «Манас» эпосунун «Манастын төрөлүшү» эпизодун үч жолу видео тасмага жазууга түшүргөн. Пэрри менен Лорддун оозеки чыгармалардын теоретикалык формулаларын «Манас» эпосунун оозеки айтуусуна карата колдонууга мүмкүн же мүмкүн эмес экендигин аныктоо үчүн манасчынын тексттери талданды. Мурдагы изилдөөдөгү манасчы Талантаалы Бакчиевдин үч жолку айтуусунун натыйжалары Дөөлөт Сыдыковдо кайталана алабы же жокпу деген суроонун негизинде, бул макалада жана келечекте эпосту изилдөөдө карала турган методикалык маселелер көтөрүлөт.
В 2018 году исследовательская группа «Анализ кыргызских эпосов» (AKYN) при Американском Университете Центральной Азии осуществила три разные видео-записи эпизода «Рождение Манаса» из эпоса «Манас» в исполнении манасчи Дөөлөта Сыдыкова. Транскрипции его исполнений были проанализированы для того, чтобы понять, применима ли теория формул Пэрри и Лорда в устных традициях эпоса «Манас». При рассмотрении данного вопроса нами проведен сравнительный анализ одного и того же эпизода эпоса «Манас» в исполнении двух разных сказителей: Дөөлөта Сыдыкова и Талантаалы Бакчиева. Эта статья затрагивает методологические вопросы, которые могут быть рассмотрены в будущем в иследованиях по эпосоведению.
Доклады Национальной академии наук Кыргызской Республики, 2019
In 2017, the Analyzing Kyrgyz Narratives (AKYN) Research Group, based at the American University ... more In 2017, the Analyzing Kyrgyz Narratives (AKYN) Research Group, based at the American University of Central Asia, made three separate recordings of Talantaaly Bakchiev performing an account of the birth of Manas. This paper examines Bakchiev’s performances in regard to Parry and Lord’s theory of formulas in oral traditions. The paper suggests that, contrary to Parry and Lord’s concerns about the effect of literacy on the composition of oral literature, the method of improvisation they saw in illiterate bards can also be present in a highly-literate performer. A modern performer can use printed variants (and audio recordings) in the same manner an illiterate performer would reuse formulas learnt from their mentors. The paper proposes that a database of variants would allow this aspect to be studied further.
2017-жылы Борбордук Азиядагы Америка Университетиндеги Кыргыз поэмаларын изилдөө тобу (AKYN) Талантаалы Бакчиевдин айтымында Манастын төрөлүшүн үч жолу жазууга түшүрдү. Бул изилдөө иш Бакчиевдин айтымын Пэрри жана Лорддун оозеки чыгармалардын теоретикалык формулаларынын негизинде изилдейт. Бул изилдөө долбоору Пэрри жана Лорддун оозеки адабиятка сабаттуулуктун болгон таасири жөнүндөгү изилдөөлөрүнө карама-каршы көз карашты сунуштап, жогорку окумуштуулар белгилеп кеткен сабатсыз акындар арасында кезиккен импровизация ыкмасы абдан сабаттуу акындарда да жолугат деген жыйынтыкка келди. Азыркы акындар басылып чыккан текстерди (жана аудио жазууларды) колдоно алса, ошол эле учурда сабатсыз акындар устаттарынан үйрөнгөн ыкмаларды кайра колдоно алат. Бул илимий макала айтымдар варианттарынын маалымат базасынын түзүлүшү бул жагдайды андан ары терең изилдөөгө мүмкүнчүлүк берет деп сунуштайт.
В 2017 году исследовательская группа «Анализ кыргызских эпосов» (AKYN) при Американском Университете Центральной Азии сделала три разные записи Талантаалы Бакчиева, повествующего о рождении Манаса. Данная статья сопоставляет манеру исполнения Бакчиева с теорией формул Пэрри и Лорда в устных традициях. В статье высказывается предположение, что, вопреки опасениям Пэрри и Лорда, грамотность не влияет на состав устной литературы. А именно, метод импровизации, свойственный неграмотным поэтам, может быть использован и очень грамотным исполнителем. Современный исполнитель использует печатные варианты (и аудиозаписи) также как и неграмотный исполнитель воспроизводит формулы, полученные от своих наставников. В связи с этим, автор предлагает создать базу данных разных вариантов исполнения эпоса, для того, чтобы глубже изучить данное открытие.
The violence that occurred in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary at the start of the First Crusade a... more The violence that occurred in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary at the start of the First Crusade appears in several of the works produced in the outpouring of literature that followed the capture of Jerusalem. Examination of these writings reveals ecclesiastic authors inserting exegesis, exempla, allusion, and affabulation into their retellings. These inclusions countered criticism of those who fled, stressed communal Benedictine values, and crafted an understanding of the events and the new Crusade movement. Study of these depictions of the chaotic events in the semi-Christianized territory on the periphery of the Latin West reveals the development in presentation and reception of the crusade.
Genius Loci: Laszlovszky 60, ed. D. Mérai, and A. Drosztmér, K. Lyublyanovics, J. Rasson, Z. Papp Reed, A. Vadas, and C. Zatkyó (Budapest: Archaeolingua, 2018), pp. 343-348, 2018
For the volume, see http://www.archaeolingua.hu/book/genius-loci-laszlovszky-60
Medieval Anchorites in their Communities, ed. Cate Gunn and Liz Herbert McAvoy, Studies in the History of Medieval Religion (Woodbridge: D. S. Brewer, 2017), pp. 131-146.
This study investigates one of the curious incidents noted in Rotha Mary Clay’s The Hermits and A... more This study investigates one of the curious incidents noted in Rotha Mary Clay’s The Hermits and Anchorites of England (1914): the seeming usurpation of the role of a hermit by a layman in Fisherton and the condemnation of this occurrence by the nearby Salisbury Bishop in 1352. The study, in addition to examining the relationship of the 'pseudo-hermit' to his community (and seeing how such a claim could be regarded as acceptable), provides a transcription of Bishop's condemning Latin mandate (WSA D1/2/3 v. 1, f.210v)
Medieval Buda in Context, ed. Balázs Nagy, Martyn Rady, Katalin Szende, and András Vadas (Leiden: Brill, 2016), pp. 92-114.
Óbuda has been subjected to a fringe argument that denies its very existence. Rather than merely ... more Óbuda has been subjected to a fringe argument that denies its very existence. Rather than merely dismissing these claims as being historically erroneous, this study examines how they arose in order to comprehend how such unhistorical viewpoints persist. The case of Óbuda, while being unique, is a suitable example how use of the medieval past has resulted in misunderstanding the evidence. The modern belief that Óbuda is of minor importance in comparison to another settlement – the undiscovered Ősbuda (Hungarian: Ancient Buda), is built upon previous historical constructions. The confusion of the medieval nomenclature for Óbuda is additionally linked to modern Hungarian nationalism. This derives its content from nineteenth-century romantic literature, which misread medieval chronicles, particularly in respect of the early history of Hungarian settlement. The result is an imagined Óbuda, which exists in stark contrast to the medieval remains.
From Text(s) to Book(s): Studies in the Production and Editorial Processes, ed. Nathalie Collé, Monica Latham, and David Ten Eyck, 2015
The thirteenth-century Cambridge University Library MS. Ee.3.59 is the sole surviving copy of the... more The thirteenth-century Cambridge University Library MS. Ee.3.59 is the sole surviving copy of the Anglo-Norman verse La estoire de seint aedward le rei translatee du latin attributed to Matthew Paris. The Cambridge medievalist George Henderson described it as 'perfectly consonant in the layout and colouring of script and illustrations'. An extract from the text was published in Francisque Michel's 1836 Chroniques Anglo-Normandes. Line drawings of the illustrations appeared in Edgar Taylor's 1837 translation of Wace's Roman de Rou. A coloured engraving appeared in Henry Shaw's 1843 Dresses and Decorations of the Middle Ages. A full version of the text appeared in Luard's 1858 Lives of Edward the Confessor volume of the Rolls series. A facsimile was made for the Roxburghe Club by M. R. James in 1920. A critical edition for the Anglo-Norman Text Society by Kathryn Young Wallace appeared in 1983. Cambridge University Library put online a digital facsimile in the early 1990s. A printed translation by Thelma S. Fenster and Jocelyn Wogan-Browne appeared in 2008. This essay examines how the manuscript was reproduced and materialised in these editions, and how it has been affected by contemporary factors such as available technology, current scholarship, and social class.
Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine 107 (2014): 156-165.
Since its rediscovery in the 19th century, 'the Dauntsey Doom' in the church of St James the Grea... more Since its rediscovery in the 19th century, 'the Dauntsey Doom' in the church of St James the Great, Dauntsey, has been an object of interest. Knowledge of the painted medieval tympanum was greatly expanded by research carried out during the recent restoration work. Popular focus however continues to remain on the most visible layer, a depiction of the Last Judgment. This article examines the paint schemes of the tympanum and suggests a possible relationship for the first two paint schemes regarding religious patronage and belief in a late medieval Wiltshire church.
Southern African Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies 21 (2012): 1-30.
This paper examines the accounts that describe the death and burial of three successive kings: Wi... more This paper examines the accounts that describe the death and burial of three successive kings: William the Conqueror, William Rufus, and Henry I. The manner in which the monarch died, and the later treatment of his corpse, provided the opportunity for authors to critique the deceased's reign and present their assessment of his legacy. The conflicting accounts show how authorial biases owing to theological affiliations shaped the expressed view, affecting which details were recorded and which were omitted, and how biblical, historical, and literary allusions were employed to shape historical events into a religious exemplum.
Manas, a hero of Kyrgyz oral epic poetry, has been made central to post-Soviet Kyrgyz political a... more Manas, a hero of Kyrgyz oral epic poetry, has been made central to post-Soviet Kyrgyz political and cultural identity. The Analyzing Kyrgyz Narrative (AKYN) Research Group based at the American University of Central Asia (AUCA) was founded to study the vitality and context of contemporary performance of the Manas epos.
One aspect of contemporary performance is the distinction between a 'real' manaschi (who is capable of improvisation) and a 'book' manaschi (who recites from memory). Wishing to examine this distinction, while also seeing whether the Lord-Parry theory of oral formulaic composition was, as some authorities claim, less present in Turkic poetry, AKYN recorded two contemporary manaschis on three different occasions performing the same section of narrative: the birth of Manas.
This paper shows what analysis of these performances has revealed: both specific features of the performers - their style, their learnt phrases and formulas, their focus - and established influences that illuminates how the oral tradition relates to earlier printed variants.
This paper examines the original context of the words 'encyclopaedia' and 'epic' concerning Manas... more This paper examines the original context of the words 'encyclopaedia' and 'epic' concerning Manas. A New Historicism approach to the origin of this association, an 1861 Russian-language publication by Chokan Valikhanov, illuminates his likely use of a formulation-both verbal and conceptual-of literary critic Vissarion Belinsky, and placing Valikhanov's interest in epics in pan-European (and Russian) early-nineteenth century socio-political context. Valikhanov's comments display the placing of an interpretative framework from Russian literary criticism onto Kyrgyz oral poetry. This paper questions the continued use of the terminology related to nineteenth-century Russian colonialism and its significant impact on the Manas interpretation and valueing.
Strangers at the Gate! Multidisciplinary Explorations of Communities, Borders, and Othering in Medieval Western Europe, 2022
A boy and a girl, green in color, were found in the small Suffolk village of Woolpit; when they w... more A boy and a girl, green in color, were found in the small Suffolk village of Woolpit; when they were able to communicate and answer questions about their origins, they later spoke of a strange land, green in color, that was untouched by the sun. The story of the two children and their homeland appears in two versions, both small passages in larger works: the Historia rerum Anglicarum, a history of England from the Norman Conquest to 1198 by the Yorkshire-based Augustinian secular canon William of Newburgh, and the Chronicon Anglicanum, another history starting with the Norman Conquest and ending in 1224 predominantly by the Essex-based Cistercian abbot Ralph of Coggeshall. The striking simi- larities between the two seemingly unconnected texts – and their notable differences – inspire in the modern reader questions similar to those that would have been asked by the locals who discovered the two children: what is the origin of the young strangers, the meaning behind their appearance, and how should they be treated, placed, and regarded?
This paper shows how computer-assisted text analysis can greatly aid the field of Manas Studies. ... more This paper shows how computer-assisted text analysis can greatly aid the field of Manas Studies. Though general patterns can be noted through traditional means of analysis, quantifying textual variants sidesteps the use of vague general impressions by providing statistical data that can permit more specific and nuanced insights. In addition to illuminating individual performances and performers via comparison, this method can further research into the topic including attribution, and measuring the impact of variables. The paper then proposes possible research into specific elements to deal with an ever-growing corpus, and stresses the potential findings and fresh perspectives from using large-scale computer-assisted corpus analysis.
Bu makale, bilgisayar destekli metin analizinin Manas Çalışmaları alanına nasıl çok büyük bir katkıda bulunabileceğini göstermektedir. Her ne kadar genel örüntüler ve kalıplar geleneksel analiz araçlarıyla çalışılabilse de, metinsel varyantların nicelleştirilmesi daha özgün ve detaylı kavrayışları mümkün kılabilecek istatistiksel veriler sağlayarak müphem genel kanaatlerin ötesine geçmemizi sağlar. Bu yöntem, bireysel icralara ve icracılara karşılaştırmalı bir şekilde ışık tutarken, ilişkilendirme ve değişkenlerin etkisinin ölçülmesi de dâhil olmak üzere konuyla ilgili daha fazla araştırma için bir zemin sunabilir. Kısacası bu makale, sürekli büyüyen bir literatürle başa çıkmak üzere belirli unsurlar üzerine olası araştırmalar önermekte ve büyük ölçekli bilgisayar destekli literatür analizinden elde edilebilecek potansiyel bulguları ve yeni bakış açılarını vurgulamaktadır.
This study examines the vocabulary density and the frequency of unique and repeated lines of a co... more This study examines the vocabulary density and the frequency of unique and repeated lines of a contemporary manaschi in oral performance and in print. Transcriptions of audiovisual recordings of Talantaaly Bakchiev (b. 1971) performing are compared with two volumes of Manas narratives that he published. The research reveals that the published versions have a higher vocabulary density than the oral performance, have a greater percentage of unique lines and less repetitions. This suggests that the medium in which the metrical narrative is presented is reflected in the language, and indications of orality are absent from written variants. АЗЫРКЫ МАНАСЧЫНЫН БАСМАДАГЫ ЖАНА ООЗ ЭКИ АЙТУУСУ Кыскача мазмуну Бул изилдөө азыркы манасчынын оозеки айтуусунда жана басмада кездешкен уникалдуу жана кайталанма саптарынын жыштыгын жана сөз байлыгынын тыгызды-гын изилдейт. Талантаалы Бакчиевдин (1971-ж.) айтуусундагы аудиовизуалдык жа-зуулардын транскрипциясы ал жарыялаган "Манастын" эки томдук окуялары менен салыштырылат. Изилдөө көрсөткөндөй, жарыяланган версияларда оозеки аткарууга караганда сөздүк кордун тыгыздыгы жогору, уникалдуу саптардын пайызы да жого-ру жана азыраак кайталанат. Бул метрикалык баяндама сунушталган чөйрө тилде ча-гылдырылгандыгын, ал эми жазуу жүзүндө оозеки айтуунун белгилери жок экендигин көрсөтүп турат. Ачкыч сөздөр: "Манас" эпосу, Талантаалы Бакчиев, оозеки айтуу, басма, сөз бай-лыгынын тыгыздыгы. СОВРЕМЕННЫЙ МАНАСЧИ В УСТНОМ ИСПОЛНЕНИИ И В ПЕЧАТИ Аннотация В этом исследовании изучается плотность словарного запаса и частота уникаль-ных и повторяющихся строк современного манасчи в устном исполнении и в печати. Транскрипции аудиовизуальных записей исполнения Талантаалы Бакчиева (1971 г. р.) сравниваются с двумя томами рассказов Манаса, которые он опубликовал. Исследова-Филологические науки
Medieval Stories and Storytelling: Multimedia and Multi-Temporal Perspectives, ed. by S. C. Thomson, Medieval Narratives in Transmission, 2 (Turnhout: Brepols), 2021
This chapter deals with Kyrgyz-language narratives concerned with the character Manas, stories th... more This chapter deals with Kyrgyz-language narratives concerned with the character Manas, stories that have, since their first recorded appearance in 1856, been crafted for a variety of audiences in a variety of media for a variety of purposes. An obvious outlier in a volume exploring storytelling and stories in and from the medieval west, this study is intended to provide a parallel of a living tradition with material from ‘past’ cultures and in doing so raise uncomfortable questions for medievalists. The difficulty in recognizing the shifting contexts and meanings of narratives told and retold in different times, the reliance on manuscript and printed sources for stories once completely oral, the oft-unrecorded influence politics has on the content and message of a performance, and on the adaptation, appreciation, longevity, and understanding of stories are all present in a living tradition that has been used to inform debates about classical, medieval, and contemporary narratives. The role of scholarship in creating the meaning of these narratives is also emphasized
Известия Национальной академии наук Кыргызской Республики (Proceedings of the Kyrgyz Academy of Sciences), 2020
In 2018, the Analyzing Kyrgyz Narratives (AKYN) Research Group, based at the American University ... more In 2018, the Analyzing Kyrgyz Narratives (AKYN) Research Group, based at the American University of Central Asia, made three separate recordings of Doolot Sydykov performing an account of the birth of Manas. Transcriptions of the performances were analyzed to see whether Parry and Lord's theory of formulas in oral traditions were applicable. In examining whether the results of an earlier study, concerned with three performances of Talantaaly Bakchiev, are replicable, this paper raises methodological questions that future research can address.
2018-жылы Борбордук Азиядагы Америка Университетиндеги «Кыргыз эпосторун изилдөө тобу» (AKYN) манасчы Дөөлөт Сыдыковдун айтуусунда «Манас» эпосунун «Манастын төрөлүшү» эпизодун үч жолу видео тасмага жазууга түшүргөн. Пэрри менен Лорддун оозеки чыгармалардын теоретикалык формулаларын «Манас» эпосунун оозеки айтуусуна карата колдонууга мүмкүн же мүмкүн эмес экендигин аныктоо үчүн манасчынын тексттери талданды. Мурдагы изилдөөдөгү манасчы Талантаалы Бакчиевдин үч жолку айтуусунун натыйжалары Дөөлөт Сыдыковдо кайталана алабы же жокпу деген суроонун негизинде, бул макалада жана келечекте эпосту изилдөөдө карала турган методикалык маселелер көтөрүлөт.
В 2018 году исследовательская группа «Анализ кыргызских эпосов» (AKYN) при Американском Университете Центральной Азии осуществила три разные видео-записи эпизода «Рождение Манаса» из эпоса «Манас» в исполнении манасчи Дөөлөта Сыдыкова. Транскрипции его исполнений были проанализированы для того, чтобы понять, применима ли теория формул Пэрри и Лорда в устных традициях эпоса «Манас». При рассмотрении данного вопроса нами проведен сравнительный анализ одного и того же эпизода эпоса «Манас» в исполнении двух разных сказителей: Дөөлөта Сыдыкова и Талантаалы Бакчиева. Эта статья затрагивает методологические вопросы, которые могут быть рассмотрены в будущем в иследованиях по эпосоведению.
Доклады Национальной академии наук Кыргызской Республики, 2019
In 2017, the Analyzing Kyrgyz Narratives (AKYN) Research Group, based at the American University ... more In 2017, the Analyzing Kyrgyz Narratives (AKYN) Research Group, based at the American University of Central Asia, made three separate recordings of Talantaaly Bakchiev performing an account of the birth of Manas. This paper examines Bakchiev’s performances in regard to Parry and Lord’s theory of formulas in oral traditions. The paper suggests that, contrary to Parry and Lord’s concerns about the effect of literacy on the composition of oral literature, the method of improvisation they saw in illiterate bards can also be present in a highly-literate performer. A modern performer can use printed variants (and audio recordings) in the same manner an illiterate performer would reuse formulas learnt from their mentors. The paper proposes that a database of variants would allow this aspect to be studied further.
2017-жылы Борбордук Азиядагы Америка Университетиндеги Кыргыз поэмаларын изилдөө тобу (AKYN) Талантаалы Бакчиевдин айтымында Манастын төрөлүшүн үч жолу жазууга түшүрдү. Бул изилдөө иш Бакчиевдин айтымын Пэрри жана Лорддун оозеки чыгармалардын теоретикалык формулаларынын негизинде изилдейт. Бул изилдөө долбоору Пэрри жана Лорддун оозеки адабиятка сабаттуулуктун болгон таасири жөнүндөгү изилдөөлөрүнө карама-каршы көз карашты сунуштап, жогорку окумуштуулар белгилеп кеткен сабатсыз акындар арасында кезиккен импровизация ыкмасы абдан сабаттуу акындарда да жолугат деген жыйынтыкка келди. Азыркы акындар басылып чыккан текстерди (жана аудио жазууларды) колдоно алса, ошол эле учурда сабатсыз акындар устаттарынан үйрөнгөн ыкмаларды кайра колдоно алат. Бул илимий макала айтымдар варианттарынын маалымат базасынын түзүлүшү бул жагдайды андан ары терең изилдөөгө мүмкүнчүлүк берет деп сунуштайт.
В 2017 году исследовательская группа «Анализ кыргызских эпосов» (AKYN) при Американском Университете Центральной Азии сделала три разные записи Талантаалы Бакчиева, повествующего о рождении Манаса. Данная статья сопоставляет манеру исполнения Бакчиева с теорией формул Пэрри и Лорда в устных традициях. В статье высказывается предположение, что, вопреки опасениям Пэрри и Лорда, грамотность не влияет на состав устной литературы. А именно, метод импровизации, свойственный неграмотным поэтам, может быть использован и очень грамотным исполнителем. Современный исполнитель использует печатные варианты (и аудиозаписи) также как и неграмотный исполнитель воспроизводит формулы, полученные от своих наставников. В связи с этим, автор предлагает создать базу данных разных вариантов исполнения эпоса, для того, чтобы глубже изучить данное открытие.
The violence that occurred in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary at the start of the First Crusade a... more The violence that occurred in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary at the start of the First Crusade appears in several of the works produced in the outpouring of literature that followed the capture of Jerusalem. Examination of these writings reveals ecclesiastic authors inserting exegesis, exempla, allusion, and affabulation into their retellings. These inclusions countered criticism of those who fled, stressed communal Benedictine values, and crafted an understanding of the events and the new Crusade movement. Study of these depictions of the chaotic events in the semi-Christianized territory on the periphery of the Latin West reveals the development in presentation and reception of the crusade.
Genius Loci: Laszlovszky 60, ed. D. Mérai, and A. Drosztmér, K. Lyublyanovics, J. Rasson, Z. Papp Reed, A. Vadas, and C. Zatkyó (Budapest: Archaeolingua, 2018), pp. 343-348, 2018
For the volume, see http://www.archaeolingua.hu/book/genius-loci-laszlovszky-60
Medieval Anchorites in their Communities, ed. Cate Gunn and Liz Herbert McAvoy, Studies in the History of Medieval Religion (Woodbridge: D. S. Brewer, 2017), pp. 131-146.
This study investigates one of the curious incidents noted in Rotha Mary Clay’s The Hermits and A... more This study investigates one of the curious incidents noted in Rotha Mary Clay’s The Hermits and Anchorites of England (1914): the seeming usurpation of the role of a hermit by a layman in Fisherton and the condemnation of this occurrence by the nearby Salisbury Bishop in 1352. The study, in addition to examining the relationship of the 'pseudo-hermit' to his community (and seeing how such a claim could be regarded as acceptable), provides a transcription of Bishop's condemning Latin mandate (WSA D1/2/3 v. 1, f.210v)
Medieval Buda in Context, ed. Balázs Nagy, Martyn Rady, Katalin Szende, and András Vadas (Leiden: Brill, 2016), pp. 92-114.
Óbuda has been subjected to a fringe argument that denies its very existence. Rather than merely ... more Óbuda has been subjected to a fringe argument that denies its very existence. Rather than merely dismissing these claims as being historically erroneous, this study examines how they arose in order to comprehend how such unhistorical viewpoints persist. The case of Óbuda, while being unique, is a suitable example how use of the medieval past has resulted in misunderstanding the evidence. The modern belief that Óbuda is of minor importance in comparison to another settlement – the undiscovered Ősbuda (Hungarian: Ancient Buda), is built upon previous historical constructions. The confusion of the medieval nomenclature for Óbuda is additionally linked to modern Hungarian nationalism. This derives its content from nineteenth-century romantic literature, which misread medieval chronicles, particularly in respect of the early history of Hungarian settlement. The result is an imagined Óbuda, which exists in stark contrast to the medieval remains.
From Text(s) to Book(s): Studies in the Production and Editorial Processes, ed. Nathalie Collé, Monica Latham, and David Ten Eyck, 2015
The thirteenth-century Cambridge University Library MS. Ee.3.59 is the sole surviving copy of the... more The thirteenth-century Cambridge University Library MS. Ee.3.59 is the sole surviving copy of the Anglo-Norman verse La estoire de seint aedward le rei translatee du latin attributed to Matthew Paris. The Cambridge medievalist George Henderson described it as 'perfectly consonant in the layout and colouring of script and illustrations'. An extract from the text was published in Francisque Michel's 1836 Chroniques Anglo-Normandes. Line drawings of the illustrations appeared in Edgar Taylor's 1837 translation of Wace's Roman de Rou. A coloured engraving appeared in Henry Shaw's 1843 Dresses and Decorations of the Middle Ages. A full version of the text appeared in Luard's 1858 Lives of Edward the Confessor volume of the Rolls series. A facsimile was made for the Roxburghe Club by M. R. James in 1920. A critical edition for the Anglo-Norman Text Society by Kathryn Young Wallace appeared in 1983. Cambridge University Library put online a digital facsimile in the early 1990s. A printed translation by Thelma S. Fenster and Jocelyn Wogan-Browne appeared in 2008. This essay examines how the manuscript was reproduced and materialised in these editions, and how it has been affected by contemporary factors such as available technology, current scholarship, and social class.
Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine 107 (2014): 156-165.
Since its rediscovery in the 19th century, 'the Dauntsey Doom' in the church of St James the Grea... more Since its rediscovery in the 19th century, 'the Dauntsey Doom' in the church of St James the Great, Dauntsey, has been an object of interest. Knowledge of the painted medieval tympanum was greatly expanded by research carried out during the recent restoration work. Popular focus however continues to remain on the most visible layer, a depiction of the Last Judgment. This article examines the paint schemes of the tympanum and suggests a possible relationship for the first two paint schemes regarding religious patronage and belief in a late medieval Wiltshire church.
Southern African Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies 21 (2012): 1-30.
This paper examines the accounts that describe the death and burial of three successive kings: Wi... more This paper examines the accounts that describe the death and burial of three successive kings: William the Conqueror, William Rufus, and Henry I. The manner in which the monarch died, and the later treatment of his corpse, provided the opportunity for authors to critique the deceased's reign and present their assessment of his legacy. The conflicting accounts show how authorial biases owing to theological affiliations shaped the expressed view, affecting which details were recorded and which were omitted, and how biblical, historical, and literary allusions were employed to shape historical events into a religious exemplum.
Manas, a hero of Kyrgyz oral epic poetry, has been made central to post-Soviet Kyrgyz political a... more Manas, a hero of Kyrgyz oral epic poetry, has been made central to post-Soviet Kyrgyz political and cultural identity. The Analyzing Kyrgyz Narrative (AKYN) Research Group based at the American University of Central Asia (AUCA) was founded to study the vitality and context of contemporary performance of the Manas epos.
One aspect of contemporary performance is the distinction between a 'real' manaschi (who is capable of improvisation) and a 'book' manaschi (who recites from memory). Wishing to examine this distinction, while also seeing whether the Lord-Parry theory of oral formulaic composition was, as some authorities claim, less present in Turkic poetry, AKYN recorded two contemporary manaschis on three different occasions performing the same section of narrative: the birth of Manas.
This paper shows what analysis of these performances has revealed: both specific features of the performers - their style, their learnt phrases and formulas, their focus - and established influences that illuminates how the oral tradition relates to earlier printed variants.
The Analyzing Kyrgyz Narratives (AKYN) Research Group, founded in 2017 and based at the American ... more The Analyzing Kyrgyz Narratives (AKYN) Research Group, founded in 2017 and based at the American University of Central Asia (AUCA) is currently working together with present-day performers of the Manas Epos to research its contemporary vitality. The intention is to make accessible this new material, and to create new approaches for engaging with the whole corpus. This paper presents recent findings of the AKYN Research Group, and announces the next stages of the research.
The success of the First Crusade resulted in an outpouring of literature that attempted to both c... more The success of the First Crusade resulted in an outpouring of literature that attempted to both comprehend the event, reveal its meaning, and shape how it was remembered. While some texts opted for classical trappings, others went for theological refinement. Using the figure of Peter the Hermit as a focus point, this paper examines how respective authors crafted their presentations of the First Crusade, and suggests possible overlooked models for their literary constructions.
According to two unrelated Medieval Latin sources, William of Newburgh’s Historia rerum Anglicaru... more According to two unrelated Medieval Latin sources, William of Newburgh’s Historia rerum Anglicarum (c. 1196-c.1198) and Ralph of Coggeshall’s Chronicon Anglicanum (c. 1227), a boy and a girl were found in a small Suffolk village called Woolpit. The two, clad in strange clothes of an unknown material of an odd colour, talked in an unfamiliar language. Most strikingly, their appearance was green. The aim of this paper is to examine how the children were treated – by the people of Woolpit according to the accounts, and by the authors themselves. This exploration addresses the difficulties relating to assimilation, and the people’s perception of the foreign and the strange. Historians have debated the historicity of the incident. Derek Brewer argued the ‘likely core’ was that the children were green owing to chlorosis (indicative of malnutrition but reversible). Paul Harris suggested the children were from the beleaguered Flemish community from the nearby village of Fornham St. Martin. Other historians have argued about the intentions behind William of Newburgh’s inclusion of the narrative in his work. Nancy Partner, viewing questions of reality as superfluous to the study of twelfth century historians, viewed the inclusion of such a tale as an example of historians attempting to find a universal law in particular events. Carl Watkins has examined how William, while focused on finding the workings of the divine, shows concern about one of the green children marrying into human society. Other historians have viewed William’s depiction of the green children as an attempt to deal with trauma. Jeffrey Jerome Cohen regards the story as a means for William to write about the legacy of the Norman Conquest. Catherine A. M. Clarke views William’s text as a response to the carnage of the civil war. My examination of the accounts of the green children of Woolpit will show how the story of a lost boy and girl was used for ulterior purposes, and how the children according to all the sources and interpretations remained perpetually marginalized.
This paper investigates one of the curious incidents noted in Rotha Mary Clay’s The Hermits and A... more This paper investigates one of the curious incidents noted in Rotha Mary Clay’s The Hermits and Anchorites of England (1914), that also makes an appearance in the Victoria County History volumes on Wiltshire (citing Clay as a source) and the earlier History of Modern Wiltshire (1822-1844) by Rev. John Offer and Sir Richard Colt Hoare. Having been permitted to celebrate divine service in the chapel at Fisherton Anger (outside of Salisbury) in 1348, the role of the hermit is usurped by a layman. This ‘false’ hermit, attracting the lay people by bell-ringing and saying mass, absconds with the income, leading the bishop to place the chapel under an interdict in 1352. Later bishops re-instigated the earlier role of the hermit (and, later, facilitated the change to an anchorite). Utilizing the unedited and unpublished bishops’ registers kept by the Wiltshire and Swindon Records Office that Clay cited along with new material, the aim of this paper is to examine the social, ecclesiastical, geographical, and broader contextual elements that allowed a schismatic imposter to flourish. This permits us the opportunity to see a clear example of the relationship between a hermit and his community, an example that is spectacularly not working.
[For a published version of this paper, see ‘The Curious Incident of the Hermit in Fisherton’ in Medieval Anchorites in their Communities, ed. Cate Gunn and Liz Herbert McAvoy, Studies in the History of Medieval Religion (Woodbridge: D. S. Brewer, 2017), pp. 131-146.]
Owing to the wealth of detail in the sources, the death of William the Conqueror has been studied... more Owing to the wealth of detail in the sources, the death of William the Conqueror has been studied not only by medievalists but also examined in the Lancet, noted in the BJUI (formerly the British Journal of Urology), and discussed by a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. The comparable death of Henry, the only one of his sons whose death was dealt at length by contemporary authors, has received less attention. Their respective demises were however recorded in the Gesta Regum Anglorum of William Malmesbury, the Historia Ecclesiastica of Orderic Vitalis, and Historia Anglorum by Henry, Archdeacon of Huntingdon (who also authored the Anglicanus ortus, a verse herbal), and these sources provide an image of how the final moments of a monarch’s life was noted and accommodated. This paper examines these accounts – which include obesity being labeled as pregnancy, horse-riding accidents, the problems of consuming lampreys, the examination of urine by physicians, the bedside manner of ecclesiastical figures and the court, and the preparations for the end – to see not only as previous studies have shown how their deaths occurred, but also reveal how the death of the monarch was regarded in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
This lecture examines how the Doom was made, what it meant and for the first time, probes its pos... more This lecture examines how the Doom was made, what it meant and for the first time, probes its possible connections with its Dauntsey patrons.
[For a published version of this paper, see 'The earlier paint schemes and possible contexts of the Dauntsey Doom', Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine [WANHS] 107 (2014): 156-162]
Chroniclers of the First Crusade, residing in Western Europe, were faced with a troublesome issue... more Chroniclers of the First Crusade, residing in Western Europe, were faced with a troublesome issue. The first conflicts in the popular crusade were against Hungarians and Bulgarians. The eyewitness accounts of the crusade – the anonymous Gesta Francorum et aliorum Hierosolimitanorum and Fulcher of Chartres’s Historia Hierosolymitana – pass over the incidents, having taken a different route to reach the Holy Land. For the monastic authors composing accounts at home, criticism of the enterprise (including those who turned back) led to questions about the enterprise. Examining these texts (Robert of Rheim’s Historia Iherosolimitana, Guibert of Nogent’s Gesta Dei Per Francos, Ekkehart of Aura’s Hierosolymita, Albert of Aachen’s Historia Ierosolimitana, and the anonymous additions to Gilo of Paris’s Historia Vie Hierosolimitane), it is apparent that the events on the route through Hungary and the Balkans to Constantinople take on great significance in the narratives. The incidents become an exemplum showing the audience what a crusade is, and what its values should be.
[A synopsis of all the papers of this conference appears in DženanDautović's ‘International Conference The Fairest Meadows in the World: Crusades and Crusaders in the Balkans – Veliko Trnovo 2013’ Иницијал. Часопис за средњовековне [Initial. A Review of Medieval Studies 2] (2014): 275-80]
Concerning the deathbed oration of William the Conqueror in the Historia Ecclesiastica, George Ly... more Concerning the deathbed oration of William the Conqueror in the Historia Ecclesiastica, George Lyttelton wrote in 1771 “Some modern writers have given more weight to the passage in Ordericus Vitalis than it deserves. No other argument can be justly drawn from it, than to shew what opinion the historian himself had of the title and government of William the First’. The aim of this paper is to examine Orderic’s opinions on the monarchs of his lifetime in his accounts of their death and burial. Douglas and Greenaway noted the monarch’s dying speech was in ‘the manner of Thucydides’, a created speech to ‘illustrate their characters and policies’. The account of the Conqueror’s corpse – stinking, robbed, abandoned, rupturing – deliberately alludes to the demise of biblical bad rulers. In her edition of the Historia Ecclesiastica, Marjorie Chibnall noted the account of the death of William Rufus is reminiscent of his father’s demise: it uses the same vocabulary. The sudden death of Rufus in the New Forest was cast in a different mould. Recounting visions, sermons, and ironic incidents, the Historia presents the accidental death to its audience as pre-ordained. The death of Henry, however, appears an anomaly. In Henry of Huntingdon’s Historia Anglorum, Henry I’s death is cast as a moral lesson: the reader is informed to view the corpse as evidence of contemptus mundi. This, however, does not feature in Orderic’s Historia. The unsavoury aspects are not dwelt upon; rather, Orderic concludes with a lengthy eulogy of the deceased king. By focusing on the presentation of these events in the Historia, we can comprehend Orderic’s technique and opinions.
Though WRO D5/1/1, kept at the Wiltshire and Swindon Archives, appears at first glance to be a mu... more Though WRO D5/1/1, kept at the Wiltshire and Swindon Archives, appears at first glance to be a mundane early fifteenth manuscript, close examination shows that the content is as colourful as it is revealing about ecclesiastical and secular life during a short period of the medieval diocese of Salisbury. The manuscript, the work of several hands, was made under the auspices of John Chandler, the dean of Salisbury. WRO D5/1/1 records the visitations he made of his diocese in 1405, 1408-9, and 1412, with the aim of checking on the upkeep of churches, parish furnishings, the quality of the clergy, and the lifestyle of the laity, consistories of 1404 and 1406, and dealings within the cathedral from 1404-17. An earlier cleric, Henry of Avranches, had described the setting as so blissful that had Adam been exiled to the Salisbury area from the Garden of Eden, he would have enjoyed it more than his time in Eden (“Huc si venisset expulsus de Paradiso/Exilium patriae preposuisset Adam”). Chandler’s register presents a strikingly different picture. His duties leads him to expose and record absent clergymen, adultery, assault, bad business deals, baptism errors, brothel-running, confessions being abused for blackmail, corruption, dilapidated churches, domestic violence, drunkenness, dying men being ignored, heresy, incest, infringement on church property, insults, long-term cohabitation of unmarried couples, marital abandonment, Masses mis-said, murder, necromancy, negligence, ostracism, rape, sham marriages, simony, swearing, tethering a horse to a font, theft, unlicensed burials, and a vicar trading church books at the local pub for alcohol. This paper examines how John Chandler and his assistants went about uncovering such behaviour, how the information was recorded (including telling omissions informing what is not known), the social dimensions of such behaviour, the method of punishment and/or correction, and whether the exposure of such behaviour was greeted with indifference, pious pleading, threats of violence, and/or change.
[An expanded version of this paper appeared in Secrets and Discovery in the Middle Ages, ed. José Meirinhos, Celia López Alcalde and João Rebalde, Textes et Études du Moyen Âge 90 (Barcelona-Rome: Brepols, 2017), pp. 247-257.]
Lohrmann’s article ‘Der Tod König Heinrichs I. von England in der mittellateinischen Literatur En... more Lohrmann’s article ‘Der Tod König Heinrichs I. von England in der mittellateinischen Literatur Englands und der Normandie’ (1972), noted the surprise death of Henry I resulted in much contemporary literature. This paper expands upon those findings, showing how authors used the death and burial of the monarch for their own purposes, political and theological, and how history was thus shaped by form and genre. Texts featuring his death and burial expressed sympathy (Ad Adhelam Marciniaci monacham prius blesensem), revealed political allegiances (Gesta Stephani, Historia Novella), lamented the past (Historia Ecclesiastica), stressed contemptus mundi (Historia Anglorum), emphasized the prophecy of a hermit (Vita Wulfrici), and asserted the role of an Abbey in temporarily releasing the deceased Henry from the pains of hell (Vita Petri Venerabilis). This positioning of the event, revealing Anglo-Norman attitudes to death, governance, and history, merits re-examination.
The manner in which the monarch died, and the later treatment of his corpse, became an accepted m... more The manner in which the monarch died, and the later treatment of his corpse, became an accepted means whereby ecclesiastical authors articulated an assessment on both the body politic of his reign and the ruler’s legacy. The rupturing of the Conqueror’s fattened stomach after underestimating a leap on horseback, the demise of Rufus in the New Forest while hunting, and Henry’s excessive consumption of lampreys, are all presented as the moral outcome to their behaviour while ruling. The descriptions of the treatment of their bodies are similarly pointed. In one account of the Conqueror’s burial, the procession is interrupted as William is said not to own the burial plot; in another, his body too large for his plot, and the attempts to make it fit results in his corpse exploding, releasing a putrid smell that overwhelms the censors of the church. The interning of Rufus in Winchester Cathedral was claimed to be the cause of the crossing tower collapsing at a later date. During the transporting of Henry’s cadaver across the English Channel, his foul remains are said to have killed several of his servants including the man paid to decapitate the corpse. These episodes will be examined for their political, social, and theological nuances.
[For a published version of this paper, see 'Stories of the Death of Kings: Retelling the Demise and Burial of William I, William II and Henry I', Southern African Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies [SASMARS] 21 (2012 for 2011): 1-30]
The mid-thirteenth century Cambridge University Library MS. Ee. 3. 59 is the sole surviving copy ... more The mid-thirteenth century Cambridge University Library MS. Ee. 3. 59 is the sole surviving copy of an Anglo-Norman translation by Matthew Paris in verse of a Latin life of St. Edward the Confessor. It has been described as being “among the most accomplished of medieval books”, being “perfectly constant in layout and colouring of script and illustrations”. This paper will examine how the “perfectly constant” manuscript has been altered in print, in both extracted forms (in Michel, 1836, Taylor, 1837, and Shaw, 1843), and in full editions, shaped by technology and purpose. From its inclusion in the Rolls Series (Luard, 1858) that intended “to fill up the chasms existing in the printed materials of English history”, the complete facsimile produced by the “self-interested aristocratic-antiquarianism” of the exclusive bibliographic Roxburghe Club (James, 1920), an “emended” textual edition for the Anglo-Norman Text Society (Wallace, 1983), a digital facsimile by Cambridge University Library that was placed online in the early 1990s that “should be a boon to medievalists”, to the translation produced to aid students of “Paris’s “multimedia” project” (Fenster and Wogan-Browne, 2008), the original MS has been treated in a variety of ways.
[For a published version of this paper, see ‘A Medieval Manuscript in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction: Regarding Cambridge MS. Ee. 3. 59’, in From Text(s) to Book(s): Studies in the Production and Editorial Process, ed. Nathalie Collé-Bak, Monica Latham and David Ten Eyck, Book Practices and Textual Itineraries 4 (Nancy: PUN – Editions Universitaires de Lorraine, 2014), pp. 167-179.]
The first armed resistance that the adherents of the First Crusade met were fellow Christians: th... more The first armed resistance that the adherents of the First Crusade met were fellow Christians: the Hungarians. Day-to-day issues, such as victualling, trade, the carrying of arms, and the language, meant that the accepted pilgrimage route through Hungary became a place of skirmishes and sieges. It was a crisis for both the Hungarians and the fledgling Crusader movement. In the short term, Coloman I of Hungary utilised his position and employed diplomacy to reaffirm the peaceful nature of the route. Hungarian and Western scholarship have previously focused on what historically occurred in this kingdom; they have however overlooked the creative shaping of the chaotic events in Hungary by Benedictine chroniclers. In the longer term, these authors utilised the crisis in their narratives for differing purposes: to assert the role of the Franks in the crusade movement, to stress the authority of the Benedictine order, and to create an exemplum in how crusaders should act when on a crusade.
[A revised version of this paper will be published under the title ‘“The Threshing-Floor Sifts Out the Chaff in the Breeze that Blows”: Comprehending the Role of Hungary in the First Crusade’]
The Dauntsey Doom at St. James the Great in Dauntsey (Wiltshire) is one of the few surviving medi... more The Dauntsey Doom at St. James the Great in Dauntsey (Wiltshire) is one of the few surviving medieval English doom boards (painted wooden tympanums depicting the Apocalypse). Where it is known, it is known for its late medieval depiction of the Last Judgment. This focus on the visible image, prevalent in the nineteenth and twentieth century, gave the impression of a fixed object within a fixed society within a fixed religion. Close studies of the Doom, carried out during its restoration and reinstallation, revealed the existence of earlier paint schemes, quite different in design and purpose. This paper will plot the changing role and contexts of the Dauntsey Tympanum, from its immediate construction, its revisions, its covering over, to its secondary life as an antiquarian curiosity and later reinstallation as a “living object”.
[A revised version of this paper was published as 'The earlier paint schemes and possible contexts of the Dauntsey Doom', Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine [WANHM] 107 (2014): 156-162]
The route taken by the Crusaders was not a random decision, nor was it a route that was bound to ... more The route taken by the Crusaders was not a random decision, nor was it a route that was bound to be chosen. This matter is the subject of ongoing research. Elements examined include the creation of the pre-established pilgrimage route, the image of a Christian Hungary in the writings of pre-Crusader chronicles, the pratical reasons for the route taken by the crusaders, the logistics, the conflicts, and the image of the incidents in the Crusader and non-Crusader chronicles, and the legacy of the event.
[A later version of this text will be published under the title ‘“The Threshing-Floor Sifts Out the Chaff in the Breeze that Blows”: Comprehending the Role of Hungary in the First Crusade’]
Китепте кыргыздын белгилщщ заманбап эки манасчысы Талантаалы Бакчиев менен Дөөлөт Сыдыковдун алты... more Китепте кыргыздын белгилщщ заманбап эки манасчысы Талантаалы Бакчиев менен Дөөлөт Сыдыковдун алты жолудан жаздырылган аткарууларынын транскрипциялары киргизилди. Ал аткарууларды жаздырып алууга, жайылтууга жана изилдөөлөрдщ колдонууга уруксаты бар. Анда «Манастын төрөлщшщ» аттуу эпизоду эки манасчынын оозунан щч жолудан жаздырылып алынган. Анын тексттери интернеттин ачык булактарында орун алганына карабастан, архивдик материал катары топтолуп, AKYN изилдөө тобу тарабынан ишке ашырылган илимий эмгектердин бири катары сунушталды.
Бул илимий-популярдуу басылма Борбордук Азиядагы Америка университетинин китепканасы (AUCA Library) жана Окутуу, билим алуу жана технология борбору (AUCA Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology) тарабынан даярдалып, жщзөгө ашырылды.
Китепте мурда англис тилинде жарык көргөн «Манас» эпосунун түрдүү аспектилери боюнча изилдөөлөргө... more Китепте мурда англис тилинде жарык көргөн «Манас» эпосунун түрдүү аспектилери боюнча изилдөөлөргө тиешелүү маалыматтар кыргыз тилине которулуп, санариптик доорго ылайык жаңы өңүттөгү илимий көз караштар менен толукталып берилген. Ал өз ичине киришүү бөлүмүнөн орун алган «Санариптик доордо «Манас» эпосун изилдөөнүн жаңы багыттары» аттуу китептин котормочусу Нургул Карыбекова тарабынан киргизилген жаңы бөлүмдү жана Британиялык окумуштуу Ж. Пламтри тарабынан изилденген беш бөлүмдү камтыйт. Алгачкы бөлүмдөрүндө «Манас» эпосуна тиешелүү кол жазмалар, оозеки жана жазма түрдөгү варианттардын ортосундагы байланыштар, ар бир доордун эпоско тийгизген таасирлери ж.б. олуттуу тарыхый маселерге тиешелүү талдоолор орун алган. Ал эми акыркы төрт бөлүмдө аталган эпостун азыркы варианттары заманбап технологиялардын жардамы менен талданып, кызыктуу фактылар аныкталган. Колуңуздагы китеп «Манас» эпосуна кызыккан изилдөөчүлөргө, студенттерге, фольклор таануучуларга, жалпы эле кыргыз элинин эпикалык мурасына, салттуу маданият жана тарыхка кызыккандардын кеңири катмарына арналат.
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Bu makale, bilgisayar destekli metin analizinin Manas Çalışmaları alanına nasıl çok büyük bir katkıda bulunabileceğini göstermektedir. Her ne kadar genel örüntüler ve kalıplar geleneksel analiz araçlarıyla çalışılabilse de, metinsel varyantların nicelleştirilmesi daha özgün ve detaylı kavrayışları mümkün kılabilecek istatistiksel veriler sağlayarak müphem genel kanaatlerin ötesine geçmemizi sağlar. Bu yöntem, bireysel icralara ve icracılara karşılaştırmalı bir şekilde ışık tutarken, ilişkilendirme ve değişkenlerin etkisinin ölçülmesi de dâhil olmak üzere konuyla ilgili daha fazla araştırma için bir zemin sunabilir. Kısacası bu makale, sürekli büyüyen bir literatürle başa çıkmak üzere belirli unsurlar üzerine olası araştırmalar önermekte ve büyük ölçekli bilgisayar destekli literatür analizinden elde edilebilecek potansiyel bulguları ve yeni bakış açılarını vurgulamaktadır.
2018-жылы Борбордук Азиядагы Америка Университетиндеги «Кыргыз эпосторун изилдөө тобу» (AKYN) манасчы Дөөлөт Сыдыковдун айтуусунда «Манас» эпосунун «Манастын төрөлүшү» эпизодун үч жолу видео тасмага жазууга түшүргөн. Пэрри менен Лорддун оозеки чыгармалардын теоретикалык формулаларын «Манас» эпосунун оозеки айтуусуна карата колдонууга мүмкүн же мүмкүн эмес экендигин аныктоо үчүн манасчынын тексттери талданды. Мурдагы изилдөөдөгү манасчы Талантаалы Бакчиевдин үч жолку айтуусунун натыйжалары Дөөлөт Сыдыковдо кайталана алабы же жокпу деген суроонун негизинде, бул макалада жана келечекте эпосту изилдөөдө карала турган методикалык маселелер көтөрүлөт.
В 2018 году исследовательская группа «Анализ кыргызских эпосов» (AKYN) при Американском Университете Центральной Азии осуществила три разные видео-записи эпизода «Рождение Манаса» из эпоса «Манас» в исполнении манасчи Дөөлөта Сыдыкова. Транскрипции его исполнений были проанализированы для того, чтобы понять, применима ли теория формул Пэрри и Лорда в устных традициях эпоса «Манас». При рассмотрении данного вопроса нами проведен сравнительный анализ одного и того же эпизода эпоса «Манас» в исполнении двух разных сказителей: Дөөлөта Сыдыкова и Талантаалы Бакчиева. Эта статья затрагивает методологические вопросы, которые могут быть рассмотрены в будущем в иследованиях по эпосоведению.
2017-жылы Борбордук Азиядагы Америка Университетиндеги Кыргыз поэмаларын изилдөө тобу (AKYN) Талантаалы Бакчиевдин айтымында Манастын төрөлүшүн үч жолу жазууга түшүрдү. Бул изилдөө иш Бакчиевдин айтымын Пэрри жана Лорддун оозеки чыгармалардын теоретикалык формулаларынын негизинде изилдейт. Бул изилдөө долбоору Пэрри жана Лорддун оозеки адабиятка сабаттуулуктун болгон таасири жөнүндөгү изилдөөлөрүнө карама-каршы көз карашты сунуштап, жогорку окумуштуулар белгилеп кеткен сабатсыз акындар арасында кезиккен импровизация ыкмасы абдан сабаттуу акындарда да жолугат деген жыйынтыкка келди. Азыркы акындар басылып чыккан текстерди (жана аудио жазууларды) колдоно алса, ошол эле учурда сабатсыз акындар устаттарынан үйрөнгөн ыкмаларды кайра колдоно алат. Бул илимий макала айтымдар варианттарынын маалымат базасынын түзүлүшү бул жагдайды андан ары терең изилдөөгө мүмкүнчүлүк берет деп сунуштайт.
В 2017 году исследовательская группа «Анализ кыргызских эпосов» (AKYN) при Американском Университете Центральной Азии сделала три разные записи Талантаалы Бакчиева, повествующего о рождении Манаса. Данная статья сопоставляет манеру исполнения Бакчиева с теорией формул Пэрри и Лорда в устных традициях. В статье высказывается предположение, что, вопреки опасениям Пэрри и Лорда, грамотность не влияет на состав устной литературы. А именно, метод импровизации, свойственный неграмотным поэтам, может быть использован и очень грамотным исполнителем. Современный исполнитель использует печатные варианты (и аудиозаписи) также как и неграмотный исполнитель воспроизводит формулы, полученные от своих наставников. В связи с этим, автор предлагает создать базу данных разных вариантов исполнения эпоса, для того, чтобы глубже изучить данное открытие.
One aspect of contemporary performance is the distinction between a 'real' manaschi (who is capable of improvisation) and a 'book' manaschi (who recites from memory). Wishing to examine this distinction, while also seeing whether the Lord-Parry theory of oral formulaic composition was, as some authorities claim, less present in Turkic poetry, AKYN recorded two contemporary manaschis on three different occasions performing the same section of narrative: the birth of Manas.
This paper shows what analysis of these performances has revealed: both specific features of the performers - their style, their learnt phrases and formulas, their focus - and established influences that illuminates how the oral tradition relates to earlier printed variants.
Bu makale, bilgisayar destekli metin analizinin Manas Çalışmaları alanına nasıl çok büyük bir katkıda bulunabileceğini göstermektedir. Her ne kadar genel örüntüler ve kalıplar geleneksel analiz araçlarıyla çalışılabilse de, metinsel varyantların nicelleştirilmesi daha özgün ve detaylı kavrayışları mümkün kılabilecek istatistiksel veriler sağlayarak müphem genel kanaatlerin ötesine geçmemizi sağlar. Bu yöntem, bireysel icralara ve icracılara karşılaştırmalı bir şekilde ışık tutarken, ilişkilendirme ve değişkenlerin etkisinin ölçülmesi de dâhil olmak üzere konuyla ilgili daha fazla araştırma için bir zemin sunabilir. Kısacası bu makale, sürekli büyüyen bir literatürle başa çıkmak üzere belirli unsurlar üzerine olası araştırmalar önermekte ve büyük ölçekli bilgisayar destekli literatür analizinden elde edilebilecek potansiyel bulguları ve yeni bakış açılarını vurgulamaktadır.
2018-жылы Борбордук Азиядагы Америка Университетиндеги «Кыргыз эпосторун изилдөө тобу» (AKYN) манасчы Дөөлөт Сыдыковдун айтуусунда «Манас» эпосунун «Манастын төрөлүшү» эпизодун үч жолу видео тасмага жазууга түшүргөн. Пэрри менен Лорддун оозеки чыгармалардын теоретикалык формулаларын «Манас» эпосунун оозеки айтуусуна карата колдонууга мүмкүн же мүмкүн эмес экендигин аныктоо үчүн манасчынын тексттери талданды. Мурдагы изилдөөдөгү манасчы Талантаалы Бакчиевдин үч жолку айтуусунун натыйжалары Дөөлөт Сыдыковдо кайталана алабы же жокпу деген суроонун негизинде, бул макалада жана келечекте эпосту изилдөөдө карала турган методикалык маселелер көтөрүлөт.
В 2018 году исследовательская группа «Анализ кыргызских эпосов» (AKYN) при Американском Университете Центральной Азии осуществила три разные видео-записи эпизода «Рождение Манаса» из эпоса «Манас» в исполнении манасчи Дөөлөта Сыдыкова. Транскрипции его исполнений были проанализированы для того, чтобы понять, применима ли теория формул Пэрри и Лорда в устных традициях эпоса «Манас». При рассмотрении данного вопроса нами проведен сравнительный анализ одного и того же эпизода эпоса «Манас» в исполнении двух разных сказителей: Дөөлөта Сыдыкова и Талантаалы Бакчиева. Эта статья затрагивает методологические вопросы, которые могут быть рассмотрены в будущем в иследованиях по эпосоведению.
2017-жылы Борбордук Азиядагы Америка Университетиндеги Кыргыз поэмаларын изилдөө тобу (AKYN) Талантаалы Бакчиевдин айтымында Манастын төрөлүшүн үч жолу жазууга түшүрдү. Бул изилдөө иш Бакчиевдин айтымын Пэрри жана Лорддун оозеки чыгармалардын теоретикалык формулаларынын негизинде изилдейт. Бул изилдөө долбоору Пэрри жана Лорддун оозеки адабиятка сабаттуулуктун болгон таасири жөнүндөгү изилдөөлөрүнө карама-каршы көз карашты сунуштап, жогорку окумуштуулар белгилеп кеткен сабатсыз акындар арасында кезиккен импровизация ыкмасы абдан сабаттуу акындарда да жолугат деген жыйынтыкка келди. Азыркы акындар басылып чыккан текстерди (жана аудио жазууларды) колдоно алса, ошол эле учурда сабатсыз акындар устаттарынан үйрөнгөн ыкмаларды кайра колдоно алат. Бул илимий макала айтымдар варианттарынын маалымат базасынын түзүлүшү бул жагдайды андан ары терең изилдөөгө мүмкүнчүлүк берет деп сунуштайт.
В 2017 году исследовательская группа «Анализ кыргызских эпосов» (AKYN) при Американском Университете Центральной Азии сделала три разные записи Талантаалы Бакчиева, повествующего о рождении Манаса. Данная статья сопоставляет манеру исполнения Бакчиева с теорией формул Пэрри и Лорда в устных традициях. В статье высказывается предположение, что, вопреки опасениям Пэрри и Лорда, грамотность не влияет на состав устной литературы. А именно, метод импровизации, свойственный неграмотным поэтам, может быть использован и очень грамотным исполнителем. Современный исполнитель использует печатные варианты (и аудиозаписи) также как и неграмотный исполнитель воспроизводит формулы, полученные от своих наставников. В связи с этим, автор предлагает создать базу данных разных вариантов исполнения эпоса, для того, чтобы глубже изучить данное открытие.
One aspect of contemporary performance is the distinction between a 'real' manaschi (who is capable of improvisation) and a 'book' manaschi (who recites from memory). Wishing to examine this distinction, while also seeing whether the Lord-Parry theory of oral formulaic composition was, as some authorities claim, less present in Turkic poetry, AKYN recorded two contemporary manaschis on three different occasions performing the same section of narrative: the birth of Manas.
This paper shows what analysis of these performances has revealed: both specific features of the performers - their style, their learnt phrases and formulas, their focus - and established influences that illuminates how the oral tradition relates to earlier printed variants.
Historians have debated the historicity of the incident. Derek Brewer argued the ‘likely core’ was that the children were green owing to chlorosis (indicative of malnutrition but reversible). Paul Harris suggested the children were from the beleaguered Flemish community from the nearby village of Fornham St. Martin. Other historians have argued about the intentions behind William of Newburgh’s inclusion of the narrative in his work. Nancy Partner, viewing questions of reality as superfluous to the study of twelfth century historians, viewed the inclusion of such a tale as an example of historians attempting to find a universal law in particular events. Carl Watkins has examined how William, while focused on finding the workings of the divine, shows concern about one of the green children marrying into human society. Other historians have viewed William’s depiction of the green children as an attempt to deal with trauma. Jeffrey Jerome Cohen regards the story as a means for William to write about the legacy of the Norman Conquest. Catherine A. M. Clarke views William’s text as a response to the carnage of the civil war. My examination of the accounts of the green children of Woolpit will show how the story of a lost boy and girl was used for ulterior purposes, and how the children according to all the sources and interpretations remained perpetually marginalized.
[For a published version of this paper, see ‘The Curious Incident of the Hermit in Fisherton’ in Medieval Anchorites in their Communities, ed. Cate Gunn and Liz Herbert McAvoy, Studies in the History of Medieval Religion (Woodbridge: D. S. Brewer, 2017), pp. 131-146.]
[For a published version of this paper, see 'The earlier paint schemes and possible contexts of the Dauntsey Doom', Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine [WANHS] 107 (2014): 156-162]
[A synopsis of all the papers of this conference appears in DženanDautović's ‘International Conference The Fairest Meadows in the World: Crusades and Crusaders in the Balkans – Veliko Trnovo 2013’ Иницијал. Часопис за средњовековне [Initial. A Review of Medieval Studies 2] (2014): 275-80]
[An expanded version of this paper appeared in Secrets and Discovery in the Middle Ages, ed. José Meirinhos, Celia López Alcalde and João Rebalde, Textes et Études du Moyen Âge 90 (Barcelona-Rome: Brepols, 2017), pp. 247-257.]
[For a published version of this paper, see 'Stories of the Death of Kings: Retelling the Demise and Burial of William I, William II and Henry I', Southern African Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies [SASMARS] 21 (2012 for 2011): 1-30]
[For a published version of this paper, see ‘A Medieval Manuscript in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction: Regarding Cambridge MS. Ee. 3. 59’, in From Text(s) to Book(s): Studies in the Production and Editorial Process, ed. Nathalie Collé-Bak, Monica Latham and David Ten Eyck, Book Practices and Textual Itineraries 4 (Nancy: PUN – Editions Universitaires de Lorraine, 2014), pp. 167-179.]
[A revised version of this paper will be published under the title ‘“The Threshing-Floor Sifts Out the Chaff in the Breeze that Blows”: Comprehending the Role of Hungary in the First Crusade’]
[A revised version of this paper was published as 'The earlier paint schemes and possible contexts of the Dauntsey Doom', Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine [WANHM] 107 (2014): 156-162]
[A later version of this text will be published under the title ‘“The Threshing-Floor Sifts Out the Chaff in the Breeze that Blows”: Comprehending the Role of Hungary in the First Crusade’]
Бул илимий-популярдуу басылма Борбордук Азиядагы Америка университетинин китепканасы (AUCA Library) жана Окутуу, билим алуу жана технология борбору (AUCA Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology) тарабынан даярдалып, жщзөгө ашырылды.
Колуңуздагы китеп «Манас» эпосуна кызыккан изилдөөчүлөргө, студенттерге, фольклор таануучуларга, жалпы эле кыргыз элинин эпикалык мурасына, салттуу маданият жана тарыхка кызыккандардын кеңири катмарына арналат.