Venice and the Slavs
Venice and the Slavs

Author: Larry Wolff

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 430

ISBN-13: 9780804739467

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This book studies the nature of Venetian rule over the Slavs of Dalmatia during the eighteenth century, focusing on the cultural elaboration of an ideology of empire that was based on a civilizing mission toward the Slavs. The book argues that the Enlightenment within the “Adriatic Empire” of Venice was deeply concerned with exploring the economic and social dimensions of backwardness in Dalmatia, in accordance with the evolving distinction between “Western Europe” and “Eastern Europe” across the continent. It further argues that the primitivism attributed to Dalmatians by the Venetian Enlightenment was fundamental to the European intellectual discovery of the Slavs. The book begins by discussing Venetian literary perspectives on Dalmatia, notably the drama of Carlo Goldoni and the memoirs of Carlo Gozzi. It then studies the work that brought the subject of Dalmatia to the attention of the European Enlightenment: the travel account of the Paduan philosopher Alberto Fortis, which was translated from Italian into English, French, and German. The next two chapters focus on the Dalmatian inland mountain people called the Morlacchi, famous as “savages” throughout Europe in the eighteenth century. The Morlacchi are considered first as a concern of Venetian administration and then in relation to the problem of the “noble savage,” anthropologically studied and poetically celebrated. The book then describes the meeting of these administrative and philosophical discourses concerning Dalmatia during the final decades of the Venetian Republic. It concludes by assessing the legacy of the Venetian Enlightenment for later perspectives on Dalmatia and the South Slavs from Napoleonic Illyria to twentieth-century Yugoslavia.

Slavs in the Making
Slavs in the Making

Author: Florin Curta

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-09-28

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 1351330012

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Slavs in the Making takes a fresh look at archaeological evidence from parts of Slavic-speaking Europe north of the Lower Danube, including the present-day territories of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. Nothing is known about what the inhabitants of those remote lands called themselves during the sixth century, or whether they spoke a Slavic language. The book engages critically with the archaeological evidence from these regions, and questions its association with the "Slavs" that has often been taken for granted. It also deals with the linguistic evidence—primarily names of rivers and other bodies of water—that has been used to identify the primordial homeland of the Slavs, and from which their migration towards the Lower Danube is believed to have started. It is precisely in this area that sociolinguistics can offer a serious alternative to the language tree model currently favoured in linguistic paleontology. The question of how best to explain the spread of Slavic remains a controversial issue. This book attempts to provide an answer, and not just a critique of the method of linguistic paleontology upon which the theory of the Slavic migration and homeland relies. The book proposes a model of interpretation that builds upon the idea that (Common) Slavic cannot possibly be the result of Slavic migration. It addresses the question of migration in the archaeology of early medieval Eastern Europe, and makes a strong case for a more nuanced interpretation of the archaeological evidence of mobility. It will appeal to scholars and students interested in medieval history, migration, and the history of Eastern and Central Europe.

The Kings of the Slavs
The Kings of the Slavs

Author: Wawrzyniec Kowalski

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2021-05-12

Total Pages: 378

ISBN-13: 9004447636

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The Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja is a mysterious narrative source covering the Slavic presence on the Adriatic coast and its hinterland. This study offers a new interpretation of the text, based on the recognition of the figures of model rulers.

The Slavs in European History and Civilization
The Slavs in European History and Civilization

Author: Francis Dvornik

Publisher: Rutgers University Press

Published: 1962

Total Pages: 724

ISBN-13: 9780813507996

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A seminar on the history of Slavic politics, international relations, culture, and religion during the 6th through the 19th century.

The Origins of the Slavic Nations
The Origins of the Slavic Nations

Author: Serhii Plokhy

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2010-08-19

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 9780521155113

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This 2006 book documents developments in the countries of eastern Europe, including the rise of authoritarian tendencies in Russia and Belarus, as well as the victory of the democratic 'Orange Revolution' in Ukraine, and poses important questions about the origins of the East Slavic nations and the essential similarities or differences between their cultures. It traces the origins of the modern Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian nations by focusing on pre-modern forms of group identity among the Eastern Slavs. It also challenges attempts to 'nationalize' the Rus' past on behalf of existing national projects, laying the groundwork for understanding of the pre-modern history of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. The book covers the period from the Christianization of Kyivan Rus' in the tenth century to the reign of Peter I and his eighteenth-century successors, by which time the idea of nationalism had begun to influence the thinking of East Slavic elites.

Byzantium and the Slavs
Byzantium and the Slavs

Author: Ihor Ševčenko

Publisher:

Published: 1991

Total Pages: 760

ISBN-13:

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These reprints of articles, reviews, and other short pieces by the well-known Byzantinist, Ihor Sevčenko, are gathered together in one volume for the first time. The collection reflects the author's wide-ranging interests and his significant contributions to the study of the relationship between Byzantine and East Slavic culture. A number of the original articles have been provided with addenda by the author. Among the articles are the author's now famous study, "Fragments of the Toparcha Gothicus," in which he demonstrates their nineteenth-century provenance at the hands of their "discoverer" Karl Benedikt Hase; the analysis of the impact on Muscovite political ideology of the writings of Deacon Agapetus; the discovery of the Greek prose original of the putative poem contained in the Life of the Slavic Apostle Cyril; and the find, made at St. Catherine's Monastery, of Constantine Tischendorf's letters regarding the transfer of the Codex Sinaiticus to St. Petersburg. Other articles include the author's studies on the impact of Byzantine elements in early Ukrainian culture and in some Kievan texts; and his observations on Byzantine social history at the time of the Slavic Apostles. Sevčenko offers these studies up as a challenge to the younger generation of scholars engaged in new approaches within these fields. Of further interest to Byzantinists and Slavists alike are the author's reviews and retrospectives, including retrospectives of George Christos Soulis, George Ostrogorsky, Francis Dvornik, and Michael Cherniavsky. Taken as a whole, the volume is a lively guide along a varied journey through the world of Byzantium and the Slays and reconstructs the relationship between the two in the light of texts, both literary and scientific. It also reflects the history of Slavic and Byzantine studies in the United States and Europe.

The Slavs
The Slavs

Author: Marija Gimbutas

Publisher: Thames & Hudson

Published: 1971

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13:

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A discussion of the origins and early migrations of the Slavic peoples, in terms of social structure, religions, and culture.