Zofia Brzozowska
The University of Lodz, Faculty of Philology, Faculty Member
- Palaeoslavic studies, Old Rus', Byzantine Studies, Slavonic manuscripts - paleography, Byzantine art, Byzantine Iconography, and 19 moreByzantine History, Palaeoslavistics, Medieval Slavic Manuscripts, Russian History, Russian Orthodoxy, Medieval Russia, Medieval Serbia, Old Bulgarian Literature, Medieval Bulgaria, Old Church Slavonic, Orthodox Christianity, Women and Gender Studies, Novgorod the Great, Sophiology, Divine Wisdom, Women's Studies, Women's History, Medieval Women, and Old Russian Literatureedit
- Zofia A. Brzozowska (Ph.D.) ORCID ID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5951-3781 Researcher ID (Web of Science): M-7587-2018 Sco... moreZofia A. Brzozowska (Ph.D.)
ORCID ID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5951-3781
Researcher ID (Web of Science): M-7587-2018
Scopus Author ID: 55826257900
University of Łódź,
Faculty of Philology, Department of Slavonic Studies
&
Waldemar Ceran Research Center for the History and Culture of the Mediterranean Area and South-East Europe, Ceraneum
ACADEMIC AND RESEARCH CAREER:
2005–2010 – University of Łódź, Faculty of Philosophy and History, history
28 June 2010 – MA in History
2006–2011 – University of Łódź, Faculty of Philology, South Slavic philology
12 July 2011 – MA in South Slavic philology
2010–2015 – University of Łódź, Faculty of Philosophy and History, Humanities Doctoral Studies
23 April 2015 – Ph.D. in History (supervisor: Prof. Teresa Wolińska)
2015–2017 – University of Łódź, Waldemar Ceran Research Center for the History and Culture of the Mediterranean Area and South-East Europe, Ceraneum (Research Assistant)
February–September 2017 – University of Łódź, Waldemar Ceran Research Center for the History and Culture of the Mediterranean Area and South-East Europe, Ceraneum (Assistant Professor)
from October 2017 – University of Lodz, Faculty of Philology, Department of Slavonic Studies (Assistant Professor)
MEMBERSHIP:
• Section of Byzantine Studies, Committee on Ancient Culture of the Polish Academy of Sciences (2015)
• Association of Slavists, POLYSLAV, Prague (2011)
• Polish Historical Society (2009)
RESEARCH PROJECTS:
• Grant of the National Science Centre (OPUS 12), entitled Muhammad and the Origin of Islam – Stereotypes, Knowledge and Notions in the Byzantine-Russian Culture, carried out in the Ceraneum Centre by a team led by dr Zofia Brzozowska & Prof. Teresa Wolińska (2017–2020).
• Grant of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (National Program for the Development of Humanities, Uniwersalia 2.2), entitled The Novgorod First Chronicle – Polish Translation and Scientific Account of the Oldest Chronicle of Novgorod the Great, carried out in the Ceraneum Centre by a team led by dr Zofia Brzozowska, in collaboration with the IT Department at the Faculty of Physics and Applied Informatics, University of Łódź (2017–2019).
• Grant of the National Science Centre (HARMONIA 9), entitled Orthodox Slavic Polemical Writings in the Middle Ages, carried out at the Department of Slavic Philology at the Faculty of Philology, University of Lodz by a team led by Prof. Georgi Minczew. The project will be implemented in cooperation with foreign partners from universities and academic institutions of Bulgaria, Denmark and Italy on the formal rights of project co-contractors (2018–2021).
• Grant of the National Science Centre (HARMONIA 8), entitled Dualist Heresies in the History of South-East Europe (9th-15th century), carried out by a team of Ceraneum workers and members led by Prof. Georgi Minczew in collaboration with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in Sofia and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (2017–2020).
• Grant of the National Science Centre (HARMONIA 6), entitled The Bulgarian State in 927–969. The Epoch of Tsar Peter I the Pious, carried out in the Ceraneum Centre by a team led by Prof. Mirosław Leszka in collaboration with the University of Sofia (Bulgaria) (2015–2018).
• Grant of the National Science Centre (HARMONIA 2), entitled Byzantium and the Arabs. A meeting of civilizations in 6th-8th centuries, carried out in the Ceraneum Centre by a team led by Prof. Teresa Wolińska in collaboration with the Aristotle University in Thessalonica (Greece) (2012–2015) [featuring].
• Grant of the National Science Centre (PRELUDIUM 2), entitled Sophia – Wisdom of God personified. History of perceptions in the Byzantine-Slavic culture, carried out by Zofia Brzozowska in the Department of Byzantine History at the Faculty of Philosophy and History, University of Łódź (2012–2015).
• Grant of the Marshal of the Łódź Region (European Regional Development Fund, ERDF) for prominent young researchers, entitled The Patroness of the Historical Orthodox Church in Łódź – St. Princess Olga. Short Biography, Worship History and Polish Translation of the Sources, carried out by Zofia Brzozowska in the Department of Byzantine History, University of Łódź (2014).
SCHOLARSHIPS & AWARDS:
2009–2010 – Scholarship of the Minister of Science and Higher Education for learning achievements
2013 – START Scholarship, funded by the Foundation for Polish Science
2013–2014 – Scholarship of the Minister of Science and Higher Education for scientific achievements
2014 – Scholarship of the Marshal of the Łódź Region for prominent young researchers
2016 – 3rd Degree Individual Award of the Rector of the University of Łódź
2018 – Scholarship of the Minister of Science and Higher Education for prominent young researchers
2018 – 1st Degree Award of the Rector of the University of Łódźedit
The volume consists of materials that were presented during the international scientific conference entitled Migrations in the Slavic Cultural Space, held at the Department of Slavic Philology of the University of Lodz on May 6, 2022, in... more
The volume consists of materials that were presented during the international scientific conference entitled Migrations in the Slavic Cultural Space, held at the Department of Slavic Philology of the University of Lodz on May 6, 2022, in cooperation with researchers from the Institute of History Belgrade.
This symposium received an extraordinary amount of attention in the circles of specialists representing various disciplines of the humanities and social sciences. The volume has a three-part structure. The first, which has a strictly monographic character, is comprised of five articles addressing the issue of migration of the Serbian ethnos in the 16th_ 13th centuries. The texts included in the other two sections provide a historical, cultural, and literary background for the topic explored in the first part, broadening the reader’ s knowledge about the hi story of Southern, Western and Eastern Slavs from the Middle Ages to the 21 st century.
The phenomenon of migration has been interpreted here on many semantic levels, situated in various discourses, and examined in diverse categories, such as historical and political, economic and social, religious and cultural. It has been studied directly and indirectly in the ideological, spiritual, emotional, and intellectual spaces. It is from such a wide-ranging perspective that this monograph presents the phenomenon of migration, referred to and identified within the boundaries of the entire Slavic region, defined through the prism of fixed and variable, universal and local categories and cultural implications.
This symposium received an extraordinary amount of attention in the circles of specialists representing various disciplines of the humanities and social sciences. The volume has a three-part structure. The first, which has a strictly monographic character, is comprised of five articles addressing the issue of migration of the Serbian ethnos in the 16th_ 13th centuries. The texts included in the other two sections provide a historical, cultural, and literary background for the topic explored in the first part, broadening the reader’ s knowledge about the hi story of Southern, Western and Eastern Slavs from the Middle Ages to the 21 st century.
The phenomenon of migration has been interpreted here on many semantic levels, situated in various discourses, and examined in diverse categories, such as historical and political, economic and social, religious and cultural. It has been studied directly and indirectly in the ideological, spiritual, emotional, and intellectual spaces. It is from such a wide-ranging perspective that this monograph presents the phenomenon of migration, referred to and identified within the boundaries of the entire Slavic region, defined through the prism of fixed and variable, universal and local categories and cultural implications.
Research Interests:
Khadijah and Her Black-Eyed Sisters. The Image of Middle Eastern Women from the Era of the Birth of Islam in the Medieval Literature of the Byzantine-Slavic Circle The monograph aims to show literary images of Arab and Persian women from... more
Khadijah and Her Black-Eyed Sisters. The Image of Middle Eastern Women from the Era of the Birth of Islam in the Medieval Literature of the Byzantine-Slavic Circle
The monograph aims to show literary images of Arab and Persian women from the 4th–8th centuries in the Old Rus’ writings from the 11th–16th century. In the first three chapters, the reader will find a discussion of the image of women living in the Middle East in the pre-Muslim era: women who were part of the Sassanid Persian Empire, but, above all, members of various Arab tribes, which in the discussed period were at different stages of social and civilizational development. The fourth chapter is devoted to the first Muslim women, that is, the wives and daughters of the Prophet Muhammad, and the fifth, to Arab women from the era of the military expansion of the followers of Islam in the Mediterranean, where they came under the rule of the Umayyad dynasty (661–750).
The research material consists of texts written several centuries after the events described in them and in a culturally different area, that is, in the environment of the Slavs who, having adopted Christianity in the Eastern rite, came under the direct influence of the Byzantine civilization (Bulgarians, Serbs, and the Rus’). In the 9th century, they started translating into Old Church Slavic language works that had been written in Greek on the territory of the Eastern Roman Empire. This gave them the opportunity to get acquainted with various sources containing information about the peoples inhabiting the territory of the Middle East in the 4th–8th centuries, some of which were even translations or paraphrases of earlier Syrian, Arabic, Persian, or Coptic sources.
The monograph aims to show literary images of Arab and Persian women from the 4th–8th centuries in the Old Rus’ writings from the 11th–16th century. In the first three chapters, the reader will find a discussion of the image of women living in the Middle East in the pre-Muslim era: women who were part of the Sassanid Persian Empire, but, above all, members of various Arab tribes, which in the discussed period were at different stages of social and civilizational development. The fourth chapter is devoted to the first Muslim women, that is, the wives and daughters of the Prophet Muhammad, and the fifth, to Arab women from the era of the military expansion of the followers of Islam in the Mediterranean, where they came under the rule of the Umayyad dynasty (661–750).
The research material consists of texts written several centuries after the events described in them and in a culturally different area, that is, in the environment of the Slavs who, having adopted Christianity in the Eastern rite, came under the direct influence of the Byzantine civilization (Bulgarians, Serbs, and the Rus’). In the 9th century, they started translating into Old Church Slavic language works that had been written in Greek on the territory of the Eastern Roman Empire. This gave them the opportunity to get acquainted with various sources containing information about the peoples inhabiting the territory of the Middle East in the 4th–8th centuries, some of which were even translations or paraphrases of earlier Syrian, Arabic, Persian, or Coptic sources.
Research Interests:
The presented publication is a type of bibliographic dictionary, compiled by an interdisciplinary team of authors (Byzantynists and Paleoslavists), containing an overview of medieval texts referring to the person of Muhammad, the Arabs,... more
The presented publication is a type of bibliographic dictionary, compiled by an interdisciplinary team of authors (Byzantynists and Paleoslavists), containing an overview of medieval texts referring to the person of Muhammad, the Arabs, and the circumstances of the birth of Islam, which were known in the Slavia Orthodoxa area (especially in its eastern part, i.e. in Rus’). Therefore, it presents the works written in the Church Slavic language between the 9th and the mid-16th centuries. As the Old Rus’ discourse on Islam was shaped under the overwhelming influence of Byzantine literature, the majority of the presented sources are Byzantine texts from the 6th–14th centuries, translated into the literary language of the Orthodox Slavs. The reader will also find here a discussion on several relics, originally created in other languages of the Christian East (Syriac, Arabic) and the West (Latin), which – through the Greek – were assimilated on the Slavic ground.
This book aims to fill a gap in previous studies on inter-religious polemics in the Middle Ages, which has usually focused on Christian-Muslim cultural relations, analyzing Greek and Latin texts or the works written in one of the Middle Eastern languages, almost completely ignoring the Church Slavic heritage. It is worth noting that a number of the texts presented here (as well as Slavic translations of Byzantine sources) have not been published so far. The information on them, provided in this monograph, is therefore the result of research conducted directly on the manuscript material.
This book aims to fill a gap in previous studies on inter-religious polemics in the Middle Ages, which has usually focused on Christian-Muslim cultural relations, analyzing Greek and Latin texts or the works written in one of the Middle Eastern languages, almost completely ignoring the Church Slavic heritage. It is worth noting that a number of the texts presented here (as well as Slavic translations of Byzantine sources) have not been published so far. The information on them, provided in this monograph, is therefore the result of research conducted directly on the manuscript material.
Research Interests: Medieval Literature, Old Church Slavonic, Byzantine Studies, Byzantine History, Byzantine Paleography and codicology, and 8 moreTranslation Greek into Old Church Slavonic, Medieval Islamic History, Old Church Slavonic language, Byzantine language and literature, Medieval Slavic Manuscripts, medieval Russian literature, Polemics and Apologetics, Medieval Russian History, and Old Bulgarian/Old Church Slavonic
Research Interests:
Pierwszy polskojęzyczny przewodnik po Nowogrodzie Wielkim. Zaprezentowano w nim około czterdziestu pięciu zabytków historycznych miasta i okolic, ułożonych w porządku geograficznym, np. nowogrodzkiego kremla, soboru katedralnego Sofii,... more
Pierwszy polskojęzyczny przewodnik po Nowogrodzie Wielkim. Zaprezentowano w nim około czterdziestu pięciu zabytków historycznych miasta i okolic, ułożonych w porządku geograficznym, np. nowogrodzkiego kremla, soboru katedralnego Sofii, siedziby arcybiskupów nowogrodzkich, Dworu Jarosławowego, Targu, siedzib kupców hanzeatyckich, Grodziszcza Rurykowego. Czytelnik znajdzie tu syntetyczny opis dziejów miasta i związanego z nim bytu politycznego – średniowiecznej republiki kupieckiej, a także najważniejszych zagadnień z zakresu jego specyfiki kulturowej i religijnej, ukształtowanej pod wpływem cywilizacji bizantyńskiej, choć rozwijającej się samodzielnie.
Nowogród Wielki, jedno z wielu miast w europejskiej części współczesnej Rosji, położone – jak śpiewał Jacek Kaczmarski – „wśród pól i rozlewisk”, to prawdziwa enigma. Od wielu wieków nieprzerwanie fascynuje twórców kultury i badaczy do tego stopnia, że w powszechnym wyobrażeniu na jego temat prawda historyczna często nierozłącznie splata się z mitem. Nowogród Wielki od średniowiecza rozpalał wyobraźnię swoim bogactwem prężnego ośrodka handlowego, utrzymującego już od schyłku XII wieku kontakty z Hanzą, a tym samym będącego – na wiele wieków przed założeniem Sankt Petersburga – swego rodzaju ruskim oknem na Europę. Unikalna kultura miasta nad Wołchowem, rozkwitająca najpełniej w XIII—XV wieku, a następnie brutalnie zdławiona przez władców moskiewskich, zadaje kłam stereotypowemu wyobrażeniu, że Słowianie Wschodni nie są zdolni do życia w ustroju demokratycznym.
Nowogród Wielki, jedno z wielu miast w europejskiej części współczesnej Rosji, położone – jak śpiewał Jacek Kaczmarski – „wśród pól i rozlewisk”, to prawdziwa enigma. Od wielu wieków nieprzerwanie fascynuje twórców kultury i badaczy do tego stopnia, że w powszechnym wyobrażeniu na jego temat prawda historyczna często nierozłącznie splata się z mitem. Nowogród Wielki od średniowiecza rozpalał wyobraźnię swoim bogactwem prężnego ośrodka handlowego, utrzymującego już od schyłku XII wieku kontakty z Hanzą, a tym samym będącego – na wiele wieków przed założeniem Sankt Petersburga – swego rodzaju ruskim oknem na Europę. Unikalna kultura miasta nad Wołchowem, rozkwitająca najpełniej w XIII—XV wieku, a następnie brutalnie zdławiona przez władców moskiewskich, zadaje kłam stereotypowemu wyobrażeniu, że Słowianie Wschodni nie są zdolni do życia w ustroju demokratycznym.
Research Interests:
Piąty tom "Series Ceranea" zawiera edycję oraz polski przekład Latopisu nowogrodzkiego pierwszego – jednego z najstarszych średniowiecznych tekstów historiograficznych, powstałych na Rusi. Jest on niezwykle cennym źródłem, zawierającym... more
Piąty tom "Series Ceranea" zawiera edycję oraz polski przekład Latopisu nowogrodzkiego pierwszego – jednego z najstarszych średniowiecznych tekstów historiograficznych, powstałych na Rusi. Jest on niezwykle cennym źródłem, zawierającym wiele informacji na temat dziejów Europy Wschodniej w XI–XIV w. W tomie zaprezentowano starszą redakcję zabytku, zachowaną w jednym tylko rękopisie, tzw. odpisie synodalnym (ГИМ, Син. 786) z XIII–XIV w., obejmującą wydarzenia z lat 1015–1353. Publikacja przybliża mniej znany aspekt historii średniowiecznej Rusi – dzieje i kulturę Nowogrodu Wielkiego, będącego przez stosunkowo długi okres nieomal całkowicie niezależną republiką miejską, posiadającą oryginalny ustrój, utrzymującą rozległe kontakty handlowe (m.in. z Hanzą), a jednocześnie stanowiącą prężny ośrodek piśmiennictwa i sztuki.
Research Interests:
Książka przedstawia losy Piotra, cara Bułgarii (927-969) i Marii Lekapeny (927-?963), jego małżonki, bizantyńskiej cesarzówny, córki Krzysztofa Lekapena, na tle dziejów rządzonego przez nich państwa. Ich wspólne panowanie trwało ok. 35... more
Książka przedstawia losy Piotra, cara Bułgarii (927-969) i Marii Lekapeny (927-?963), jego małżonki, bizantyńskiej cesarzówny, córki Krzysztofa Lekapena, na tle dziejów rządzonego przez nich państwa. Ich wspólne panowanie trwało ok. 35 lat, a pośmierci żony Piotr sprawował władzę jeszcze ok. 7 lat. Mimo tak długich rządów ich postacie, a szczególnie Marii, nie są dobrze oświetlonew źródłach. Jest też znamienne, że zarówno Piotr, jak i Maria najczęściej nie są dobrze oceniani przez współczesnych uczonych. Piotr jest uznawany za władcę słabego, koncentrującego uwagę na sprawach Kościoła, pozbawionego większych ambicji. Czyni się go odpowiedzialnym za kryzys i upadek państwa bułgarskiego, który nastąpił raptem w dwa lata po jego smierci (971 r.). Z kolei w Marii uczeni, szczególnie bułgarscy, widzą reprezentantkę bizantyńskich interesów i propagatorkę bizantyńskiej kultury, a niektórzy wręcz określali ją mianem biznatyńskiego agenta na bułgarskim tronie. Autorzy książki – pierwszej w światowej literaturze monografii poświęconej Piotrowi i Marii – dzięki gruntownej analizie źródeł, znakomitej znajomości literatury przedmiotu, budują wywazony, pozbawiony negatywnych emocji obraz roli swoich bohaterów w dziejach państwa bułgarskiego w X w.
Research Interests: Late Antique and Byzantine History, Late Antique and Byzantine Studies, Medieval History, Medieval Studies, Balkan Studies, and 15 moreBalkan History, Bulgaria, Bulgarian Literature, Byzantine Studies, Byzantine History, Medieval Balkans, Bulgarian history, Byzantium, Balkans, Bulgarian archaeology, Old Bulgarian Literature, Medieval Bulgaria, Bulgarian Language, Early medieval Bulgaria, and Old Slavic/Bulgarian language
The book presents the biography of Maria, daughter of Christopher Lekapenos (the eldest son of emperor Romanos I). For about 35 years, she was the tsaritsa of the Bulgarians at the side of her husband, tsar Peter (927–969). Her character... more
The book presents the biography of Maria, daughter of Christopher Lekapenos (the eldest son of emperor Romanos I). For about 35 years, she was the tsaritsa of the Bulgarians at the side of her husband, tsar Peter (927–969). Her character is but dimly visible in the sources; interestingly, the few sources that do mention her are almost exclusively of Byzantine provenance. Most scholars who have dealt with her life – usually, we may add, as a side note to their studies on Peter’s reign – saw in her a representative of the interests of Constantinople and a propagator of Byzantine culture. Some have gone so far as to call her a Byzantine agent at the Bulgarian court.
Through their meticulous analysis of the primary sources and profound knowledge of the literature on the subject, the authors of the book – the first monograph on Maria ever to have been written – are able to construct a balanced narrative of the tsaritsa’s life and her role in 10th century Bulgaria, putting aside biases and negative emotions.
The publication is supplemented by a translation of the fragments of the Hellenic and Roman Chronicle of the second redaction devoted to Maria and Peter.
Through their meticulous analysis of the primary sources and profound knowledge of the literature on the subject, the authors of the book – the first monograph on Maria ever to have been written – are able to construct a balanced narrative of the tsaritsa’s life and her role in 10th century Bulgaria, putting aside biases and negative emotions.
The publication is supplemented by a translation of the fragments of the Hellenic and Roman Chronicle of the second redaction devoted to Maria and Peter.
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Old Church Slavonic, Byzantine Studies, Byzantine History, Byzantine Iconography, Novgorod the Great, and 10 moreByzantine art, Old Bulgarian Literature, Medieval Russia, Byzantine Icons, Sophia, Russian icons, Palaeoslavistics, South Slavic Medieval history, Old Russian Literature, and Divine Wisdom
Autorka prezentowanej pracy stawia sobie za cel przybliżenie szerszemu kręgowi odbiorców sylwetki księżnej kijowskiej Olgi (X w.), pierwszej władczyni Rusi Kijowskiej, która przyjęła chrzest i podjęła próbę chrystianizacji Słowiańszczyzny... more
Autorka prezentowanej pracy stawia sobie za cel przybliżenie szerszemu kręgowi odbiorców sylwetki księżnej kijowskiej Olgi (X w.), pierwszej władczyni Rusi Kijowskiej, która przyjęła chrzest i podjęła próbę chrystianizacji Słowiańszczyzny Wschodniej w obrządku bizantyńskim. Kościół ruski podniósł ją do rangi świętej już w XIII w. Postać ta jest również w sposób szczególny związana z mniejszością prawosławną w Łodzi.
Nadrzędnym celem niniejszej publikacji jest udostępnienie czytelnikowi najstarszych utworów hagiograficznych i hymnograficznych, poświęconych księżnej Oldze, powstałych w XI–XVI w., w większości nietłumaczonych dotąd na język polski, a tym samym praktycznie nieznanych poza środowiskiem specjalistów. Teksty źródłowe zostały zaprezentowane zarówno w brzmieniu oryginalnym, jak i w polskim przekładzie, co sprawia, iż książka ta może stanowić cenną pomoc dydaktyczną w pracy ze studentami na kierunkach humanistycznych.
Nadrzędnym celem niniejszej publikacji jest udostępnienie czytelnikowi najstarszych utworów hagiograficznych i hymnograficznych, poświęconych księżnej Oldze, powstałych w XI–XVI w., w większości nietłumaczonych dotąd na język polski, a tym samym praktycznie nieznanych poza środowiskiem specjalistów. Teksty źródłowe zostały zaprezentowane zarówno w brzmieniu oryginalnym, jak i w polskim przekładzie, co sprawia, iż książka ta może stanowić cenną pomoc dydaktyczną w pracy ze studentami na kierunkach humanistycznych.
Research Interests:
The images of Sophia—the personification of Divine Wisdom—became popular in the region of the lower Danube (Bulgaria, Serbia, Wallachia, and Moldavia) between the late thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. The representation of Wisdom as... more
The images of Sophia—the personification of Divine Wisdom—became popular in the region of the lower Danube (Bulgaria, Serbia, Wallachia, and Moldavia) between the late thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. The representation of Wisdom as almost an independent divine figure is rooted in three books of the Old Testament: Proverbs, Sirah, and the Wisdom of Solomon. The female personification of God's Wisdom was a very rare motif in Byzantine art. The medieval culture of the southern Slavs was under the strong and multifaceted impact of Byzantine civilization. The representations of the God's Wisdom popular in the art of the southern Slavs (which then spread into Wallachia and Moldavia) can be divided into two iconographic types: first, Sophia as the inspiration of Holy Men, and, second, Wisdom's Feast as an illustration of the passage: “Wisdom hath built herself a house” (Prov 9:1–6).
Research Interests:
The article deals with two Byzantine chronicles that were translated into Old Church Slavic in the Middle Ages on the Balkan Peninsula and were subsequently adapted in Rus', where they served as the base and source of inspiration for... more
The article deals with two Byzantine chronicles that were translated into Old Church Slavic in the Middle Ages on the Balkan Peninsula and were subsequently adapted in Rus', where they served as the base and source of inspiration for indigenous East Slavic historical studies in universal history. It is about the works of Symeon Magister and Logothete, who probably wrote between the reign of Romanus I Lecapenus and the beginning of the reign of Basil II, and the Epitome historiarum of John Zonaras, covering history from the creation of the world to 1118, which is the most comprehensive Byzantine historical work and which, possibly, was completed ca. 1145. The aim of the article is to establish the chronology of the creation of the Old Church Slavic translations of both chronicles and the history of their dissemination in the Slavia Orthodoxa area (with a review of the state of research). The editions of the translations and unpublished manuscript material were examined (its excerpt is presented in the appendix). We were able to establish that the complete translation of the work of Symeon Magister and Logothete is preserved only in the Moldavian historiographical compilation of 1637, while the text of John Zonaras was translated by the Slavs several times and functioned in their literatures in many versions, none of which, however, is complete.
Research Interests:
The Qur’ān was never translated into Church Slavic in its entirety; still, in the writings of some mediaeval Christian authors (Byzantine and Latin) quite extensive quotations and borrowings from it can be found. Many of these texts were... more
The Qur’ān was never translated into Church Slavic in its entirety; still, in the writings of some mediaeval Christian authors (Byzantine and Latin) quite extensive quotations and borrowings from it can be found. Many of these texts were transmitted in the Slavia Orthodoxa area. The aim of this article is to present the Church Slavic literary sources which contain quotations from the Qur’ān. The analysis covers Slavic translations of Byzantine and Latin authors as well as original texts of Slavic provenance. The main conclusion of the research is that only ca. 2% of the text of the Qur’ān has been preserved in the Church Slavic material.
Research Interests:
The tendency to perceive Muhammad as a heresiarch (a false prophet) – and the religion he created as one of the heresies within Christianity – is quite typical of Old Rus’ literature. The aim of this article is to present selected... more
The tendency to perceive Muhammad as a heresiarch (a false prophet) – and the religion he created as one of the heresies within Christianity – is quite typical of Old Rus’ literature. The aim of this article is to present selected Medieval East Slavic sources that deal with the above-mentioned phenomenon. The second redaction of the Hellenic and Roman Chronicle (a medieval Rus’ historiographical source containing an outline of universal history) features an interesting text entitled On Bohmit the Heretic, which concerns the life of Muhammad, the origin of Islam, and the first Arab conquests in the seventh century. Its authors drew on sources of Byzantine provenance transmitted in Slavic translation, mainly the chronicle of George the Monk (Hamartolus). An extensive fragment devoted to Muhammad derived from Byzantine sources is also found in the manuscript RNL F.IV.151. It is the third volume of a richly illustrated historiographical compilation (the so-called Illuminated Chronicle), a single copy of which was prepared for Tsar Ivan the Terrible in the 1560s-1570s. Here, notably, the passage devoted to Muhammad is accompanied by two miniatures featuring the likeness of the founder of Islam. Interestingly, he is portrayed in an almost identical manner as the creators of earlier heterodox trends within Christianity, such as Areios or Nestorios.
Research Interests:
This article is devoted to the image of a social situation in the eastern parts of the Byzantine Empire during the 5 th-7 th century, which is to be found in the East Christian hagiographical texts. They cannot be treated as a completely... more
This article is devoted to the image of a social situation in the eastern parts of the Byzantine Empire during the 5 th-7 th century, which is to be found in the East Christian hagiographical texts. They cannot be treated as a completely reliable source of information, due to exaggerations and simplifications typical for the genre. On the other hand, they testify a long-lasting and vital literary tradition-they were circulating in the Byzantine Commonwealth during the Middle Ages, were translated to several languages (inter alia to the Church Slavic). They formed the basis for stereotypes-specific for the Medieval European imagination-that the eastern frontier of the Empire was rather dangerous territory, its neighbors (Persians, Arabs) were unpredictable pagans and the Christian inhabitants of the region ought to be called their innocent victims.
Research Interests:
Rus’ medieval authors drew information about the history and culture of the Arabs mainly from Byzantine sources, translated into Old-Church-Slavonic. The image was supplemented by observations made by residents of medieval Rus’ in the... more
Rus’ medieval authors drew information about the history and culture of the Arabs mainly from Byzantine sources, translated into Old-Church-Slavonic. The image was supplemented by observations made by residents of medieval Rus’ in the course of direct contacts with the Arabs (e.g. during their travels to the Holy Land) or ideas about other Islamic peoples, whose customs could be known to old Rus’ authors from personal experience (e.g. Turks or Mongols/Tatars). The aim of this paper is to analyze the image of Arab women emerging from old Rus’ works. We will be interested in people from Muhammad’s closest surroundings (e.g. his first wife Khadija or Fatima, the daughter of the prophet), as well as selected figures of Muslim Arab women from later centuries. The question will also be raised as to how the authors of the examined texts perceive and evaluate the position of women in Arab Medieval societies.
Research Interests:
The work of Pseudo-Methodius, whose creation (in the original Syrian version) dates back to ca. 690, enjoyed considerable popularity in Medieval Slavic literatures. It was translated into Old Church Slavic thrice. In all likelihood, these... more
The work of Pseudo-Methodius, whose creation (in the original Syrian version) dates back to ca. 690, enjoyed considerable popularity in Medieval Slavic literatures. It was translated into Old Church Slavic thrice. In all likelihood, these translations arose independently of each other in Bulgaria, based on the Greek translation, the so-called ‘first Byzantine redaction’ (from the beginning of the 8th century). From Bulgaria, the Slavic version of the Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius spread to other Slavic lands – Serbia and Rus’. In the latter, the work of Pseudo-Methodius must have been known already at the beginning of the 12th century, given that quotations from it appear in the Russian Primary Chronicle (from the second decade of the 12th century). In the 15th century, an original, expanded with inserts taken from other works, Slavic version also came into being, known as the ‘interpolated redaction’. All of the Slavic translations display clear marks of the events that preceded them and the circumstances of the period in which they arose. Above all, the Saracens – present in the original version of the prophecy – were replaced by other nations: in the Novgorod First Chronicle we find the Mongols/Tatars (who conquered Rus’ in the first half of the 13th century).
Research Interests:
The Arabs’ attachment to the female deities is reported by a number of Byzantine authors, e.g. Germanus of Constantinople (7th/8th century), John of Damascus (7th/8th century), Nicetas of Byzantium (9th century), Bartholomew of Edessa... more
The Arabs’ attachment to the female deities is reported by a number of Byzantine authors, e.g. Germanus of Constantinople (7th/8th century), John of Damascus (7th/8th century), Nicetas of Byzantium (9th century), Bartholomew of Edessa (9th century), the anonymous author of the unique liturgical ritual of the renunciation of Islam (9th century), George the Monk (9th century), Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (10th century), George Cedrenus (11th/12th century), Euthymius Zygabenus (12th century), Anna Comnena (12th century). From this it does not follow that any of the old Arab goddesses were worshiped in the area of Al-Ḥidjāz after 630. A repeatedly expressed opinion that Saracens worship Aphrodite, the Morning Star, and that the Meccan Al-Kaʽba serves as her most important cult centre is nothing but a literary topos – especially with regard to the sources that appeared in the tenth to twelfth centuries. On the other hand one cannot fail to see that the sources discussed above draw on the texts which, in addition to originating in the area of the Byzantine Empire, were created earlier, in the third to sixth centuries (Origen, Porphyry, Eusebius of Caesarea, Epiphanius of Salamis, Hieronymus, Theodoret of Cyrus, Isaac of Antioch, Nilus of Ancyra, Procopius of Caesarea, Evagrius Scholasticus, John Moschus), and which, as such, actually offer descriptions of some specific phenomena characterizing the Arab life prior to the advent of Islam. It is already from works by ancient authors (e.g. Herodotus) that we learn about high regard in which the Arabs held Aphrodite, identified with the Morning Star. Old Russian authors seldom had direct contact with the Arabs in the ethnic context. Much more often their partners were the representatives of other nations which accepted Islam and thus, due to the language of the Ḳur’ān, joined the circle of Arabic and Islamic culture. Therefore the Old Russian creators are largely dependent on the works of their predecessors, Byzantine authors, in their opinions about Muḥammad and his tribesmen.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Obraz cesarstwa bizantyńskiego w połowie V w. i wizerunek władających nim osób w piśmiennictwie staroruskim ukształtował się na bazie stworzonych na Bałkanach przekładów cerkiewnosłowiańskich dzieł trzech historyków bizantyńskich: Jana... more
Obraz cesarstwa bizantyńskiego w połowie V w. i wizerunek władających nim osób w piśmiennictwie staroruskim ukształtował się na bazie stworzonych na Bałkanach przekładów cerkiewnosłowiańskich dzieł trzech historyków bizantyńskich: Jana Malalasa (VI w.), Jerzego Mnicha zw. Hamartolosem (IX w.) i Konstantyna Manassesa (XII w.). Wykorzystywanie ich przekazów przez autorów chronografów nawet w drugiej połowie XVI w. świadczy o wyjątkowej żywotności historiografii bizantyńskiej i swoistej ponadczasowości utworów wspomnianych dziejopisów. Trzeba jednak zauważyć, iż Pulcheria, Teodozjusz II, Atenais-Eudocja i Marcjan nie przykuwali uwagi staroruskich historiografów tylko jako osoby mające realny wpływ na bieg wydarzeń w przeszłości. Słowianie prawosławni schyłku średniowiecza postrzegali połowę V w. przede wszystkim jako epokę wielkich sporów o naturę Chrystusa, zakończonych zwołaniem soborów ekumenicznych w Efezie (431 r.) i Chalcedonie (451 r.). Niektórzy zaangażowani w kontrowersje te...
Research Interests:
The aim of the paper is to determine what titles were used by Medieval Church Slavic authors/compliers/translators to refer to Near Eastern rulers from the 3rd-9th century: shahs of Sassanid Persia, kings of the South Arabian state of... more
The aim of the paper is to determine what titles were used by Medieval Church Slavic authors/compliers/translators to refer to Near Eastern rulers from the 3rd-9th century: shahs of Sassanid Persia, kings of the South Arabian state of Himyar, commanders of the various Arab tribes from the pre-Islamic period inhabiting the eastern border of the Byzantine Empire (Tanukhids, Lakhmids, Ghassanids) and the central part of the Arabian Peninsula, as well as Umayyad and early Abbasid Caliphs. In Church Slavic texts (both historiographic and hagiographic), original Persian or Arabic titles (such as Sah/Sahansah, Malik, Caliph or Amir/Emir) were used very rarely. Instead, Near Eastern rulers were referred to by various Slavic terms, reflecting the Orthodox Slavic writers' notions about their real or imagined political status.
Research Interests:
In Old Polish texts as well as in later works written in the Old Polish style (e.g. in the Trilogy by H. Sienkiewicz), the name bachmat was used to describe a horse of the Tatar breed, characterized by its small size but incredible... more
In Old Polish texts as well as in later works written in the Old Polish style (e.g. in the Trilogy by H. Sienkiewicz), the name bachmat was used to describe a horse of the Tatar breed, characterized by its small size but incredible endurance. An analogous term (бахматъ) can be found in the literature of Old Rus'. There is no doubt that it is an orientalism, which entered into both the Old Russsian language and-through it or independently-the Polish language and here from one of the Tatar dialects. Among the explanations for its etymology, the most interesting seems one connecting it with the term Бохмитъ, i.e., a variant of Muhammad's name, characteristic for the literature of Old Rus'. The article aims to determine when the term бахматъ could have entered the literature of Old Rus', how widespread it was, in what contexts it appeared, and whether it is possible to show a connection between the studied word and the East Slavic form of Muhammad's name (Бохмитъ).
Research Interests:
A piece of writing On the Heretic Muhammad concerning the life of Muhammad, the origin of Islam and the first Arab conquests in the 7th century is included in the second redaction of the Hellenic and Roman Chronicle, a medieval Russian... more
A piece of writing On the Heretic Muhammad concerning the life of Muhammad, the origin of Islam and the first Arab conquests in the 7th century is included in the second redaction of the Hellenic and Roman Chronicle, a medieval Russian historiographical source containing an outline of universal history. The aforementioned text was edited and translated into Polish following the manuscript of РГБ, собр. Пискарева (228), № 162, from 1485.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The Old Russian texts do not contain one accustomed form of the name of Muhammad. These works include many different variants derived from different languages. They were used interchangeably by medieval Russian authors. Sometimes, several... more
The Old Russian texts do not contain one accustomed form of the name of Muhammad. These works include many different variants derived from different languages. They were used interchangeably by medieval Russian authors. Sometimes, several different forms appear side by side in the same text. Often, there are different variants in several copies of one work. It is possible to distinguish a group of Old Russian authors who consistently used one form. However, it is difficult to talk about the semantic differentiation of individual variants. The information about Islam and its founder came to Rus’ from several civilization circles. Contrary to the popular opinion in the literature, the Byzantine texts would not be the only source of knowledge on Muslims for the inhabitants of Rus’. What is more, direct contacts with the people of Central Asia who profess Islam were also important to them.