This book offers rare insights into the cultural traditions that have shaped the Balkan region - from pagan times, through folk culture, the medieval Christian churches, the encounter between Christianity and Islam, up to the religious and national mythologies that have proved so destructive in the present day. With the Balkans a central focus of European concern at the beginning of the twenty-first century, this volume is a timely reminder of the complex cultural processes that continue to affect the modern world.

Heppell presents the fascinating story of Katherine Stewart MacPhail (1887-1974), the daughter of a Glasgow physician. During the First World War she worked as a doctor in France, Serbia, Corsica, and on the Salonica front. Following the wars end, she returned to Serbia in order to organize medical care for poor children suffering from tuberculosis.

The Kievan Caves Monastery was for centuries the important Ukrainian monastic establishment. It was the centre of literary production, and its monks served throughout the territory of Rus' as bishops and monastic superiors. With an introduction, map, and several appendices, this title discusses the work's Byzantine background.