Becoming Slav, Becoming Croat

Becoming Slav, Becoming Croat
Author: Danijel Džino
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2010
Genre: History
ISBN: 9004186468

Drawing on the new ways of reading and studying ancient and early medieval sources, this book explores the appearance of the Croat identity in early medieval Dalmatia.

The Racial Idea in the Independent State of Croatia

The Racial Idea in the Independent State of Croatia
Author: Nevenko Bartulin
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 254
Release: 2013-11-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 9004262822

This book traces the intellectual origins of race theory in the pro-Nazi Ustasha Independent State of Croatia, 1941-1945. This race theory was not, as historians of the Ustasha state have hitherto argued, a product of a practical accommodation to the dominant Nazi racial ideology. Contrary to the general historiographical view, which has either downplayed or ignored the important place of race, not only in Ustasha ideology and politics, but more generally in modern Croatian and Yugoslav nationalism, this work stresses the significant role that theories of ethnolinguistic origin and racial anthropology played in defining Croat nationhood from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. Upon the basis of older ideological and cultural traditions, the Ustasha state constructed an ideal Aryan racial type.

The Avars

The Avars
Author: Walter Pohl
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Total Pages: 603
Release: 2018-12-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1501729411

"Though the book was first published in German in 1988, this English version includes many revisions and updates and will be the definitive English-language study of the Avar empire for years to come. It will be invaluable for those interested in medieval history or in the impact of nomadic steppe empires on sedentary civilizations." ― Choice The Avars arrived in Europe from the Central Asian steppes in the mid-sixth century CE and dominated much of Central and Eastern Europe for almost 250 years. Fierce warriors and canny power brokers, the Avars were more influential and durable than Attila's Huns, yet have remained hidden in history. Walter Pohl's epic narrative, translated into English for the first time, restores them to their rightful place in the story of early medieval Europe. The Avars offers a comprehensive overview of their history, tracing the Avars from the construction of their steppe empire in the center of Europe; their wars and alliances with the Byzantines, Slavs, Lombards, and others; their apex as the first so-called barbarian power to besiege Constantinople (in 626); to their fall under the Frankish armies of Charlemagne and subsequent disappearance as a distinct cultural group. Pohl uncovers the secrets of their society, synthesizing the rich archaeological record recovered from more than 60,000 graves of the period, as well as accounts of the Avars by Byzantine and other chroniclers. In recovering the story of the fascinating encounter between Eurasian nomads who established an empire in the heart of Europe and the post-Roman Christian cultures of Europe, this book provides a new perspective on the origins of medieval Europe itself.

The Slavic Letters of St. Jerome

The Slavic Letters of St. Jerome
Author: Julia Verkholantsev
Publisher: Northern Illinois University Press
Total Pages: 277
Release: 2014-09-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 150175792X

The Slavic Letters of St. Jerome is the first book-length study of the medieval legend that Church Father and biblical translator St. Jerome was a Slav who invented the Slavic (Glagolitic) alphabet and Roman Slavonic rite. Julia Verkholantsev locates the roots of this belief among the Latin clergy in Dalmatia in the 13th century and describes in fascinating detail how Slavic leaders subsequently appropriated it to further their own political agendas. The Slavic language, written in Jerome's alphabet and endorsed by his authority, gained the unique privilege in the Western Church of being the only language other than Latin, Greek, and Hebrew acceptable for use in the liturgy. Such privilege, confirmed repeatedly by the popes, resulted in the creation of narratives about the distinguished historical mission of the Slavs and became a possible means for bridging the divide between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches in the Slavic-speaking lands. In the fourteenth century the legend spread from Dalmatia to Bohemia and Poland, where Glagolitic monasteries were established to honor the Apostle of the Slavs Jerome and the rite and letters he created. The myth of Jerome's apostolate among the Slavs gained many supporters among the learned and spread far and wide, reaching Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and England. Grounded in extensive archival research, Verkholantsev examines the sources and trajectory of the legend of Jerome's Slavic fellowship within a wider context of European historical and theological thought. This unique volume will appeal to medievalists, Slavicists, scholars of religion, those interested in saints' cults, and specialists of philology.

Roman Identity from the Arab Conquests to the Triumph of Orthodoxy

Roman Identity from the Arab Conquests to the Triumph of Orthodoxy
Author: Douglas Whalin
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 323
Release: 2021-01-22
Genre: History
ISBN: 3030609065

This book asks how the inhabitants and neighbours of the Eastern Roman Empire understand their identity as Romans in the centuries following the emergence of Islam as a world-religion. Its answers lie in exploring the nature of change and continuity of social structures, self-representation, and boundaries as markers of belonging to the Roman group in the period from circa AD 650 to 850. Early medieval Romanness was integral to the Roman imperial project; its local utility as an identifier was shaped by a given community’s relationship with Constantinople, the capital of the Roman state. This volume argues that there was fundamental continuity of Roman identity from Late Antiquity through these centuries into later periods. Many transformations which are ascribed to the Romans of this era have been subjectively assigned by outsiders, separated by time or space, and are not born out by the sources. This finding dovetails with other recent historical works re-evaluating the early medieval Eastern Roman polity and its ideology.

Slavs in the Middle Ages Between Idea and Reality

Slavs in the Middle Ages Between Idea and Reality
Author: Eduard Mühle
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 628
Release: 2023
Genre: History
ISBN: 9004536744

Presenting the history of the Slavs in the Middle Ages in a new light, this study shows how the 'Slavs' were treated as a cultural construct and as such politically instrumentalized, and describes the real structures behind the phenomenon.

The Kings of the Slavs

The Kings of the Slavs
Author: Wawrzyniec Kowalski
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 378
Release: 2021-05-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 9004447636

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.

Croatia and the Rise of Fascism

Croatia and the Rise of Fascism
Author: Goran Miljan
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 291
Release: 2018-05-03
Genre: History
ISBN: 1838608281

During World War II, Croatia became a fascist state under the control of the Ustasha Movement - allied with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Here, Goran Miljan examines and analyzes for the first time the ideology, practices, and international connections of the Ustasha Youth organization. The Ustasha Youth was an all-embracing fascist youth organization, established in July 1941 by the `Independent State of Croatia' with the goal of reeducating young people in the model of an ideal `new' Croat. This youth organization attempted to set in motion an all-embracing, totalitarian national revolution which in reality consisted of specific interconnected, mutually dependent practices: prosecution, oppression, mass murder, and the Holocaust - all of which were officially legalized within a month of the regime's accession to power. To this end education, sport, manual work and camping took place in specially established Ustasha Youth Schools. In order to justify their radical policies of youth reeducation, the Ustasha Youth, besides emphasizing national character and the importance of cultural and national purity, also engaged in transnational activities and exchanges, especially with the Hlinkova mladez [Hlinka Youth] of the Slovak Republic. Both youth organizations were closely modelled after the youth organizations in Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. This is a little studied part of the history of World War II and of Fascism, and will be essential reading for scholars of Central Europe and the Holocaust.

A Handbook to Classical Reception in Eastern and Central Europe

A Handbook to Classical Reception in Eastern and Central Europe
Author: Zara Martirosova Torlone
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 630
Release: 2017-02-06
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1118832728

A Handbook to Classical Reception in Eastern and Central Europe is the first comprehensive English ]language study of the reception of classical antiquity in Eastern and Central Europe. This groundbreaking work offers detailed case studies of thirteen countries that are fully contextualized historically, locally, and regionally. The first English-language collection of research and scholarship on Greco-Roman heritage in Eastern and Central Europe Written and edited by an international group of seasoned and up-and-coming scholars with vast subject-matter experience and expertise Essays from leading scholars in the field provide broad insight into the reception of the classical world within specific cultural and geographical areas Discusses the reception of many aspects of Greco-Roman heritage, such as prose/philosophy, poetry, material culture Offers broad and significant insights into the complicated engagement many countries of Eastern and Central Europe have had and continue to have with Greco-Roman antiquity

The Routledge Handbook of East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500-1300

The Routledge Handbook of East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500-1300
Author: Florin Curta
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 886
Release: 2021-11-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 1000476243

The Routledge Handbook of East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1300 is the first of its kind to provide a point of reference for the history of the whole of Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages. While historians have recognized the importance of integrating the eastern part of the European continent into surveys of the Middle Ages, few have actually paid attention to the region, its specific features, problems of chronology and historiography. This vast region represents more than two-thirds of the European continent, but its history in general—and its medieval history in particular—is poorly known. This book covers the history of the whole region, from the Balkans to the Carpathian Basin, and the Bohemian Forest to the Finnish Bay. It provides an overview of the current state of research and a route map for navigating an abundant historiography available in more than ten different languages. Chapters cover topics as diverse as religion, architecture, art, state formation, migration, law, trade and the experiences of women and children. This book is an essential reference for scholars and students of medieval history, as well as those interested in the history of Central and Eastern Europe.