Publication Date:
2025
abstract:
The present paper aims to shed light on still underexplored aspects of Medieval
Bulgaria’s contribution to the transmission of European culture. Emphasis is placed
upon the need to position Old Church Slavonic translations within the general
framework of the 9th-century Byzantine cultural revival. During this period, Byzantine
theologians and humanists were engaged in collecting books, interpreting the Bible,
studying Classical and Early Christian authors, and copying, reviewing, and preserving
texts to ensure the intellectual and philosophical heritage was in harmony with Christian
teachings. Constantinople, with its diverse cultural environment – a vibrant fusion of
Greco-Roman traditions, Eastern influences, and Orthodox Christianity – was the place
where Constantine the Philosopher was educated and where he had the opportunity to
enter the circle of prominent intellectuals of the time, such as Leo the Mathematician
and Patriarch Photius. In the decades immediately following, the Byzantine capital
must have also exerted a decisive influence on the theological and literary education
of high-ranking members of the Bulgarian aristocracy and clergy. The early history
of Old Bulgarian translated literature can be deemed to have its roots in the refined
intellectual milieu of the First Byzantine Humanism. This connection is not immediately
apparent but emerges when investigating Old Church Slavonic translations from an
interdisciplinary standpoint, placing them within the broader context of the dynamics
of text conservation and loss from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. The new
perspective presented here is based on establishing the philological contribution of Old
Bulgarian translations to the reconstruction of Biblical, Early Christian, and Medieval
texts. Such an approach shows that Old Bulgarian literature should be seen not merely
as a functional, intermediary tradition for the transplantation of Byzantine culture to the
Slavs, but more broadly as an integral part of the complex process of transmission and
dissemination of European culture from Late Antiquity up to the Early Middle Ages.
Bulgaria’s contribution to the transmission of European culture. Emphasis is placed
upon the need to position Old Church Slavonic translations within the general
framework of the 9th-century Byzantine cultural revival. During this period, Byzantine
theologians and humanists were engaged in collecting books, interpreting the Bible,
studying Classical and Early Christian authors, and copying, reviewing, and preserving
texts to ensure the intellectual and philosophical heritage was in harmony with Christian
teachings. Constantinople, with its diverse cultural environment – a vibrant fusion of
Greco-Roman traditions, Eastern influences, and Orthodox Christianity – was the place
where Constantine the Philosopher was educated and where he had the opportunity to
enter the circle of prominent intellectuals of the time, such as Leo the Mathematician
and Patriarch Photius. In the decades immediately following, the Byzantine capital
must have also exerted a decisive influence on the theological and literary education
of high-ranking members of the Bulgarian aristocracy and clergy. The early history
of Old Bulgarian translated literature can be deemed to have its roots in the refined
intellectual milieu of the First Byzantine Humanism. This connection is not immediately
apparent but emerges when investigating Old Church Slavonic translations from an
interdisciplinary standpoint, placing them within the broader context of the dynamics
of text conservation and loss from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. The new
perspective presented here is based on establishing the philological contribution of Old
Bulgarian translations to the reconstruction of Biblical, Early Christian, and Medieval
texts. Such an approach shows that Old Bulgarian literature should be seen not merely
as a functional, intermediary tradition for the transplantation of Byzantine culture to the
Slavs, but more broadly as an integral part of the complex process of transmission and
dissemination of European culture from Late Antiquity up to the Early Middle Ages.
Iris type:
1.1 Articolo in rivista
Keywords:
Old Church Slavonic (Old Bulgarian) language; Textual Criticism; Textual Transmission; Medieval Culture; 9th century cultural revival; First Byzantine Humanism.
List of contributors:
Bruni, Alessandro Maria
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