There are saints in Orthodox Christian culture who overturn the conventional concept of sainthood. Their conduct may be unruly and salacious, they may blaspheme and even kill--yet, mysteriously, those around them treat them with even more reverence. Such saints are called "holy fools." In this pioneering study Sergey A. Ivanov examines the phenomenon of holy foolery from a cultural standpoint. He identifies its prerequisites and its development in religious thought, and traces the emergence of the first hagiographic texts describing these paradoxical saints. He describes the beginnings of...
There are saints in Orthodox Christian culture who overturn the conventional concept of sainthood. Their conduct may be unruly and salacious, they may...
The question of national identity has long been a vexing one in Russia, and is particularly pertinent in the post-Soviet period. Designed for students of Russian literature, culture and history, this collection of essays explores aspects of national identity in Russian culture from medieval times to the present.
The question of national identity has long been a vexing one in Russia, and is particularly pertinent in the post-Soviet period. Designed for students...
(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)The underground masterpiece of twentieth-century Russian fiction, Mikhail Bulgakov's THE MASTER AND MARGARITA was written during Stalin's regime and could not be published until many years after its author's death. When the devil arrives in 1930s Moscow, consorting with a retinue of odd associates--including a talking black cat, an assassin, and a beautiful naked witch--his antics wreak havoc among the literary elite of the world capital of atheism. Meanwhile, the Master, author of an unpublished novel about Jesus and Pontius Pilate, languishes in despair in a...
(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)The underground masterpiece of twentieth-century Russian fiction, Mikhail Bulgakov's THE MASTER AND MARGARITA was writte...
The authors included in this volume, Ilarion, Klim Smoljatic, and Kirill of Turov, are remarkable for both their personal and literary achievements. Appointed in 1051 by Prince Jaroslav the Wise, Ilarion was the first of only two recorded native metropolitans of Kiev. His Sermon on Law and Grace constitutes the finest piece of eleventh-century Rus' rhetorical literature. Klim Smoljatic, the second native metropolitan of Rus' (from 1147), is the author of the controversial Epistle to Foma, which addresses the debate over the proper nature and limits of Christian learning. Finally, the...
The authors included in this volume, Ilarion, Klim Smoljatic, and Kirill of Turov, are remarkable for both their personal and literary achievements. A...
Byzantine literature is often regarded as little more than an agglomeration of stereotyped forms and generic conventions which allows no scope for individual thought or expression. Accordingly, histories of Byzantine literature tend to focus on the history of genres. The essays in this book challenge the traditional view. They attempt to show the coherence and individuality not of the genre but of author. By careful analysis of all the works of a given author, regardless of genre, these studies aim to reach behind the facade of convention, to discover not only biographical facts but also the...
Byzantine literature is often regarded as little more than an agglomeration of stereotyped forms and generic conventions which allows no scope for ind...
This is the first comprehensive study of the origins and early uses of Russian writing. Simon Franklin examines a wide range of writings, from the parchment manuscripts of the Orthodox Church, through the Novgorod birch-bark documents, to inscriptions on stone and metal. He analyzes the texts from a variety of perspectives, and presents fascinating insight into this crucial aspect of Russian history. The impressive scholarship and idiosyncratic wit of the volume commend it to specialists in Russian history and Russian literature.
This is the first comprehensive study of the origins and early uses of Russian writing. Simon Franklin examines a wide range of writings, from the par...
This is the first comprehensive study of the origins and early uses of Russian writing. Simon Franklin examines a wide range of writings, from the parchment manuscripts of the Orthodox Church, through the Novgorod birch-bark documents, to inscriptions on stone and metal. He analyzes the texts from a variety of perspectives, and presents fascinating insight into this crucial aspect of Russian history. The impressive scholarship and idiosyncratic wit of the volume commend it to specialists in Russian history and Russian literature.
This is the first comprehensive study of the origins and early uses of Russian writing. Simon Franklin examines a wide range of writings, from the par...
The authors included in this volume, Ilarion, Klim Smoljatic and Kirill of Turov, are remarkable for both their personal and literary achievements. Simon Franklin prefaces the texts with a substantial introduction that places each of the three authors in their historical context.
The authors included in this volume, Ilarion, Klim Smoljatic and Kirill of Turov, are remarkable for both their personal and literary achievements. Si...
This volume, the first of its kind by western scholars, describes the development amongst the diverse inhabitants of the immense landmass between Carpathians and Urals of a political, economic and social nexus out of which would emerge the future Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.
This volume, the first of its kind by western scholars, describes the development amongst the diverse inhabitants of the immense landmass between C...
