Nello specchio del Rinascimento

Today, historians, philosophers, and scholars of cultural heritage discuss about the relationship between the periodizing labels of historiography and their symbolic employment within the current political rhetoric. To understand the relevance of this issue in Italy, it can be helpful to look at the academic and public debates around the category of “Renaissance”. On the one hand, this article aims to map some notable political uses of this historical figure as a symbol; on the other hand, it reconstructs a tradition of thought focused on the epistemic autonomy of the same category. With these intentions, I look at a group of Italian critics of Johan Huizinga’s aesthetic view of history – like Delio Cantimori, Eugenio Garin, and their heirs within the academic milieu of the “Scuola Normale” of Pisa. Finally, I evaluate whether there is any correspondence between “Renaissance” as a symbol within the political debate and its historiographical employment as a periodizing label.

The Jerilderie Letter and Others

It is the purpose of this chapter to investigate the opportunities that lie with drawing on the personal letters of an iconic historical figure so as to implant into the process of telling his story through the medium of tourism a sensitive interpretation and meaning of historical events in which he was involved. The claim will be that input from the letters could be used to conjure a particular ‘spirit' of and ‘personality' for any place at which significant events occurred, and in so doing give to that place a special identity, its genius loci. It is a process of enrichment and value-adding. Using a story embedded in the history of 19th-century Australia, the study uses a custom-built form of narrative analysis to disaggregate six selected personal letters authored by the selected historical figure and to interpret their potential for enriching the telling of his story through tourism.

The historical figure of Ignaсy Jan Paderewski through the prism of synthesis of artistic and political activity

The purpose of the article is to reveal the role of I. J. Paderewski in realization the patriotic ideas of Poland's independence through the prism of synthesis of creative and political activity. In accordance with the goal the following tasks were set: to consider the figure's biography in interaction aspect of the basic spheres of functioning; determine the personal prerequisites for national ideas formation; to reveal the practical implementation of life credo; to characterize the historical, social and cultural, artistic contribution. Methodology. In course of the research the following methods were used to reveal the presented problems: historical (study of the life story), source studies (elaboration of existing scientific works on related issues), analytical and structural-logical (coverage of the chronological aspect of the problem, understanding the specifics of activities), method of theoretical generalization (to summarize). The scientific novelty. For the first time in the history of Ukrainian scientific thought the figure of І. J. Paderewski was considered as a complex phenomenon of the interaction of human's radically different spheres of activity. Conclusions. The personality of pianists, public figures, orators, politicians, and philanthropists became a main in both the musical and political life of Poland in the late XIX - early XX century. Thanks to his incredible musical talent and rich concert practice, he brought the problem of Polish national identity to the world level and enlisted the support of the most influential circles in matters of statehood. Paderewski’s phenomenon is in his indomitable spirit, faith in the independence of his country, efficiency in all spheres of his life, in the complex unity of poetic art and prudent politics. In the European cultural heritage, this is a unique case of coexistence of contrasting human activities, their mutual functioning in achieving the existential credo of an outstanding person. Keywords: І. J. Paderewski, political activity, patriotic ideas, artistic heritage.

De Grenade à Jérusalem

The present article examines the drama Birds of a Kind by the Lebanese-Canadian author Wajdi Mouawad. It analyses the allegorical character of Wazzan which is based on the historical figure Leo Africanus, a Moroccan diplomat and polymath of Granadan origin who in the early 16th century was kidnapped by Christian pirates and offered to Pope Leon X. Following his conversion from Islam to Catholicism he became the first author to present Africa to the Europeans through his works, published under the patronage of two popes from the Medici family. Leo Africanus was introduced to Mouawad by the American scholar Natalie Zemon Davis. In her study Trickster Travels (2006) she discusses the ambiguity and the evasiveness of this enigmatic historical figure whose character she highlights through the story of the amphibious bird. It is a parable placed as the author’s paratextual notice at the beginning of The Book of Cosmography and Geography of Africa (1526 [1550]), Leo Africanus’s most important scholarly work, and in spite of many possible sources, it is definitely his own invention. This article aims to demonstrate how Mouawad distanced his dramatic character from the original figure – the historiographic image of a trickster – by changing the point of the aforementioned parable. The story of the amphibious bird in Birds of a Kind, told by Wazzan to a Jew who right before his death is revealed to have an Arabic origin, is transformed form the parable of a trickster into a legend of someone who manages to overcome prejudice in order to find his identity. For Mouawad, Wazzan personifies the reconciliation between Judaism and Islam, transmitting at the same time an idea of the world dreamed of by the humanism of the Renaissance and Enlightenment.

Mapping anthropogenic fill with GPR for unmarked grave detection: A case study from a possible location of Mokare’s grave, Albany, Western Australia

Geophysical techniques are a commonly used, non-invasive method for the location of unmarked graves. Contrary to popular perception, most studies rely not on directly imaging skeletal material but instead on locating the subsurface disturbance created by grave digging. This approach is effective only when sufficient contrast exists between detectable properties (such as structure, mineralogy or porosity) of the grave fill and the surrounding sediment. Resolving these features can be particularly problematic in disturbed areas where other anthropogenic fill is in place, as it is often complex in character and lacks a natural stratigraphy.In many cultural heritage projects, it is often more important to ensure that burials are not disturbed rather than to specifically locate them. Under these circumstances, ground penetrating radar (GPR) can be used to locate modern anthropogenic fill. This may show which areas of the site are younger than the targeted graves and therefore of no archaeological interest. This approach is trialled on a site thought to contain the grave of Mokare, a significant historical figure in the colonial settlement of the Albany area in Western Australia. The delineation of a package of modern fill in the shallow subsurface in the context of the probable history of earthworks on the site demonstrates that Mokare is not buried in the surveyed location. This approach, applied to suitable sites, could contribute to culturally sensitive non-invasive investigation of burial sites in other locations.

THE VAMPIRLIJA HILL IN THE VILLAGE OF MIJAJLOVAC (TRSTENIK): A POSSIBLE LOCATION FOR THE BIRTHPLACE OF EUROPEAN ‘VAMPIROLOGY’

Vampires gained worldwide popularity due to the classic novel about the most famous one, Dracula, written by Bram Stoker in 1897. Bram Stoker’s Dracula has very little in common with his inspiration, the fifteenth-century Wallachian ruler Vlad III (1431‒1476), who was a real historical figure. However, some strange events involving the dead seem to have occurred in Southwest of Transylvania a few centuries after the Wallachian prince’s death. In some parts of the Habsburg Kingdom of Serbia (1718‒1739), the local Austrian authorities recorded some cases of ‘vampirism’, which Europe would be introduced to shortly afterward, along with this newly accepted word. This paper will present historical facts about one particular case recorded at the southernmost border of the Habsburg Empire, which at the time was the West Morava River. It was the case of a ‘vampire’ named Arnold Paole, who died in 1726/7 in the border village of Medveđa and whose case ‘infected’ the whole Europe with the ‘virus’ of ‘vampiromania’. The main goal of the paper is to locate the spot where one of the first ‘vampire slayings’ ever recorded could have taken place, and to direct further investigations within early modern age archaeology.

Quarantine conditions of education and life of Osyp Bodiansky in 1830–1831 (according to the letters of the Bodіansky brothers)

The chronological boundaries of this study cover one academic year. That was the last year of Osyp Bodiansky’s studies at the Poltava (Pereiaslav) Seminary. The main source base consists of Osyp and Fedir Bodiansky’s letters from Pereiaslav addressed to their parents. The article aims to study the quarantine period of Osyp Bodiansky’s life in Pereiaslav during the second cholera pandemic. It is an attempt to recreate one year of Osyp Bodiansky’s life from the moment he arrived to study before leaving for Moscow. The sequence of events helps to answer the question: where did O. Bodiansky live, how did he earn from the conditions, what was distance education in 1830–1831 like, how did he manage to avoid cholera? This year began with finding a good apartment and a trip to Kyiv to buy some books. O. Bodiansky planned to re- ceive 660 rubles from the conditions. In October, the seminary was quarantined and all the students were sent home. There were two attempts to resume the study, but cholera reached Pereiaslav and the study did not take place. O. Bodiansky completed a full seminar course in Pereiaslav only in September 1831 and went to continue his studies at Moscow University. The main focus of the article is the quarantine conditions of study in the seminary and the life in the city. This study has a prosopographic context, which contributes to the retrospective of the social portrait of O. Bodiansky and the city of that time. Osyp Bodyansky was one of those who studied in this city and kept in touch with the locals throughout his life. His character was formed here together with the desire to know the truth, love for the Ukrainian way of life.The relevance of the study of such a historical figure as O. Bodiansky, who made a significant contribution to the preservation and development of Ukrainian history and culture in the Moscow ideology, is dictated by the socio-political realities of today when Ukrainian culture once again needs protection and promotion. This is a human-dimensional vision of both the history of a particular region (in this case, Pereiaslav in the early nineteenth century) and the understanding of a person of a particular era and region as a person, not a known historical figure without any ideological involvement.

John Hunyadi in Hungarian Folklore and Historiography

The folk epic songs of a nation are often associated with heroic actions of famous historical figures of the given nation, whose names are often known beyond Balkan folklore, thus becoming characters of epic folk songs and tales preserved in South Slavic or Romanian folklore. The paper analyses Hungarian, Serbian, and Romanian folklore sources about John Hunyadi’s ethnic origin, with the intention to present the biography of this historical figure from the aspect of Hungarian historiography and his folklore heritage through the eyes of some Hungarian and Serbian folklorists. One of these emblematic heroes was certainly John Hunyadi, whose feats (as well as the feats of other members of the Hunyadi family) are told throughout the cycles of Hungarian epic folk tales, as well as the folk tales of the peoples in the surrounding area. This paper is based on the analysis of the collection of Hungarian historical folk tales by Dénes Lengyel, which contains a dozen texts about John Hunyadi. These texts have several points of contact with Romanian and Serbian history and folklore. The second part of the paper presents the biography of John Hunyadi in the light of Hungarian historiography as well as the discussion of his origins.

V. M. Essipov. A. S. Pushkin’s correspondence with A. K. Benckendorff

V. Essipov’s monograph is alandmark product of Pushkin studies. It follows the relationship between Pushkin and Benckendorff over a ten-year period (1826– 1836). Benckendorff’s character is shown in an entirely new light. Unlike the one-sided depiction promoted by Soviet literary criticism, the author creates a controversial portrait, greatly aided by substantial details found in documents. Essipov treats this historical figure not only as a functionary, but also a human being. He demonstrates that Benckendorff was not nearly as narrow-minded and primitive as his traditional image in literature. The reviewer finds that the book will be of interest not only to Pushkin scholars, but also historians and anyone who would like to learn about the unconventional approach to Pushkin’s relationship with Benckendorff. The monograph can also be useful for playwrights and directors who are fascinated with that particular period in Russian history and literature.

Diana Apcar’s Search for an Armenian Protectorate: Hope and Disappointment

This article studies Diana Agabeg Apcar’s (1859-1937) perspective regarding the proposed American mandate over genocide-ravaged Armenia. It touches on aspects of historical empathy that are important in assessing the true nature of historical events. Through examining Diana Apcar’s correspondence with different individuals such as David Starr Jordan, Thomas J. Edmonds, Charles Albert Gobat as well as her articles related to this topic, this article aims to reveal the attitudes, opinions and mindset of this Armenian historical figure regarding the mandate issue.