Worms (Still) and Wyverns

What was the form of the dragon in the medieval Germanic world? The ancient Germanic dragon was probably ever a simple worm in form, doubtless a fiery one, as the classical dragon had been, and as indeed the Indo-European dragon had been. The exciting new format of the winged dragon of Christian-Latin culture was embraced avidly and was often substituted into established dragon-fight tales, as we see in the case of Anglo-Saxon Beowulf and in those of many Norse examples. But it is a testament to the force of the established story-type that on occasion this substitution had to remain superficial and cosmetic, with the new winged creatures remaining strangely flightless in their featured fights.

Cultural Differences in the Use of Covert Coercion Among Mental Health Professionals of Latin Culture: A Focus Group Study

Coercion in Mental Health is related to sociocultural contexts. The purpose of this study is to examine whether the uses and perceptions of covert coercion on the part of professionals from four Latin-culture countries (Spain, Italy, Mexico, and Chile) differ between them and from those described in the literature.We conducted a qualitative research, using focus groups with professionals, with targeted sampling and an iterative process for thematic analysis.Several differentiating categories were found: the use of alternative strategies of covert coercion (deception, emotional blackmail, and directiveness); the role of family and socioeconomic differences; and cultural aspects such as the unique role religion plays in Mexico, a relatively greater toleration of threat as a means of coercion.

Słowniki zapożyczeń świadectwem mocy języków (na przykładzie "Słownika polonizmów w języku litewskim" Rolandasa Kregždysa)

Loanword Dictionaries as Evidence of the Power of Languages (on the Example of Słownik polonizmów w języku litewskim [Dictionary of Polish Loanwords in Lithuanian] by Rolandas Kregždys)Two publications by Rolandas Kregždys – Lietuvių kalbos polonizmų žodyno specifikacija / Charakterystyka słownika polonizmów w języku litewskim [Specification of the Dictionary of Polish Loanwords in Lithuanian] and Lietuvių kalbos polonizmų žodynas / Słownik polonizmów w języku litewskim [Dictionary of Polish Loanwords in Lithuanian], both published in Vilnius in 2016 in the series Studia Etymologica Baltica – enable a closer look at Polish-Lithuanian relations through the prism of lexis. As discussed in this article, there is a clear disparity in these relations. While the Lithuanian language adopted a lot of Polonisms (maybe even about 3,000), Lithuanian borrowings in the general Polish language are a resource of at most a dozen or so words. This can be explained by the power of the Polish language. Polish loans in Lithuanian are mostly old words (extracted from documents from the sixteenth–eighteenth centuries), including those originating from Western European languages. Thanks to them, the Polish language has enabled and strengthened cultural transmission, perpetuating the position of Lithuania in the sphere of Western (Latin) culture. Słowniki zapożyczeń świadectwem mocy języków (na przykładzie Słownika polonizmów w języku litewskim Rolandasa Kregždysa)Lietuvių kalbos polonizmų žodyno specifikacija / Charakterystyka słownika polonizmów w języku litewskim i Lietuvių kalbos polonizmų žodynas / Słownik polonizmów w języku litewskim Rolandasa Kregždysa, opublikowane w Wilnie w 2016 roku, w serii Studia Etymologica Baltica, pozwalają dokładniej spojrzeć na relacje polsko-litewskie przez pryzmat leksyki. W tych relacjach widać wyraźną dysproporcję. O ile litewszczyzna przejęła z języka polskiego bardzo dużo leksemów (może nawet ok. 3 tysięcy), o tyle pożyczki litewskie w polszczyźnie ogólnej to zasób najwyżej kilkunastu wyrazów. Można to wyjaśnić mocą języka polskiego. Polonizmy w litewszczyźnie to przede wszystkim dawne wyrazy (wynotowane z dokumentów z XVI–XVIII wieku). Są w tej grupie słowa przejęte z języków zachodnioeuropejskich. Dzięki nim polszczyzna umożliwiła i wzmocniła transmisję kulturową, utrwalając pozycję Litwy w kręgu kultury zachodniej (łacińskiej).

The Intrinsic and Extrinsic. Latinitas in the Research of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

This paper analyses the reception of Latin language and culture in the research of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It focuses on the works of various disciplines – social and cultural history, literary research, art criticism, etc. – and seeks to identify the recurring themes, symbols and topics that comprise homogenous narratives and interpretations. They consolidate the findings of different fields of study and thus allow to analyse the Latinitas of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as an integral part of the political community’s identity.The symbols of Latin language and culture can be identified as a basis for a Shift from oral to written culture. It conveys the ideas of order and organisation, as it transforms customary law into a codified one, a natural religion into that based on Scripture, etc. It alters the society as well, mainly because writing and written culture marks a shift in identity and behaviour. Also, by focusing on social and educational aspects, the Shift marks an institutional change, which permeates the developments of the state and society as a whole.The multipolar cultural field of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania is described by four cultural models – Polish, Lithuanian, Ruthenian, and Latin. The metaphor of Interaction shows how Latin culture and language is seen as one of the four ideological alternatives that legitimize the state, dynasty and sovereignty.Thirdly, the metaphor of Tension depicts Latinitas as part of the dichotomy between Eastern and Western civilizations by expressing the symbolical content of the latter. This narrative also emphasizes the internal confessional disputes inside the Western Church, and by exploiting the specific understanding of the Renaissance humanism, it becomes a means to understand sociocultural conflicts of the Early Modern state.The interpretation of Latinitas as a communication channel is nested under the metaphor of Medium. Works in this category usually portray Latin language as an expression of a social, economic, political, etc. status quo, which differs in each European state. Latin culture thus helps to articulate national interests and identity, and enables the cultural exchange among the Western countries as well.Finally, by emphasizing the poor literacy of the society and only limited possibilities to learn Latin and acknowledge its cultural code, researchers portray Latinitas as a Secret. The speakers and writers of Latin form a hermetic group, possessing the knowledge of a cultural matrix inaccessible to others. The dignity of Latin language also strengthens the status of vernacular languages, and thus accumulates the process of identity formation.These five narratives exemplify how Latinitas is embedded within the economic, political, and cultural activities of the society. It also depicts the different ways by which it becomes an integrating principle of the identity of the intellectual and political classes in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It provides an account of Roman descent, sustains the claim for political sovereignty, and indicates the civilizing process. By adopting those five different narratives, researchers may further analyse Latinitas not only as a separate cultural layer, but as a part of social identity as well.

Society of North Africa on the Eve of the Empire’s War with the Vandals and Its Attitude to Justinian’s Reconquista

Introduction. The article presents an analysis of North African society on the eve of Belisarius’s campaign against the vandals in North Africa (533–534). The campaign directed by Justinian under the leadership of Belisarius aimed to return the territory of North Africa to the Roman Empire. Methods. The methodological basis of this work is the concept of the Late Antiquity, the core of which is studying the people’s mentality, since the existing work on this issue focuses solely on socio-economic and political cause-and-effect relationships of the further confrontation between the Moorish and Roman tribes. Actually, the methods are the following: the historical-systemic method was the most important (an attempt to analyze the specifics of North African society on the eve of the war with the Vandals). Analysis. We divided North African society into three groups: the Vandals, the Libyans, the Moorish. The last two groups and their attitude towards the inclusion in the Roman Empire were of the greatest interest. Some of the tribes supported Justinian’s idea of the Reconquista and fought against the Vandals. Some supported the vandals. Nomadic tribes remained neutral. In our opinion, supporting the military campaign against the Vandals was due not only to economic reasons, but also mental ones. Thus, the research interest was caused by the transition period but not only in relation to the “Late Roman – Early Byzantium” line, but also because the region was romanized (presence of Latin culture, including the language segment), then it was part of the Vandal kingdom, after that – part of the Roman Empire (synthesis of Greek and Latin culture, with the predominance of Greek one). Results. In the course of the campaign against the vandals, North African society was represented by several social groups: the Vandals, the Libyans and the Мооrish – tribes that have their own cultural characteristics. Some tribes, who were in the Romanized zone (before the arrival of the Vandals), were on the side of Belisarius and fought against the Vandals. With extreme caution, we can say that this was due not only to socio-economic or political reasons, but also to mental ones. In our opinion, Byzantine Africa was a synthesis of Latin and Greek with the prevalence of the latter, and the Romanized population still wanted to feel part of the Roman Empire.

Spoken Latin in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance Revisited

An article by Jerome Moran entitled ‘Spoken Latin in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance’ was published in the Journal of Classics Teaching in the autumn of 2019 (Moran, 2019). The author of the article contends that ‘actual real-life conversations in Latin about everyday matters’ never, or almost never took place among educated people in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. A long-standing familiarity with quite a few primary sources for the Latin culture of Renaissance and early modern period leads us to a rather different conclusion. The present essay, therefore, revisits the main topics treated by Moran.

Ruś – Ukraina, Białoruś w Pierwszej Rzeczypospolitej

The reviewed book is the eleventh in the series devoted to the “Culture of the First Polish Republic in dialogue with Europe. Hermeneutics of values”. This series is the aftermath of an interesting research project, whose aim is both to comprehensively present the cultural relations of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with Europe, as well as to recognize the ways and forms of mutual communication of literary, aesthetic, political and religious values. In addition, it aims to present in a broad comparative context the structure of Early Modern culture of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Apart from the introduction, the book contains the dissertations of 11 authors originating from various scientific centers in Poland and abroad (Toruń, Białystok, Vilnius, Venice, Padua, Cracow, Poznań, Rzeszów) and representing different research specialties: philology, history, and history of art. The general and primary goal of the text it is to analyze various aspects of the Ruthenian culture of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, both in its dynamic connection with the Polish-Latin culture and the processes occurring in Eastern European Orthodoxy after the fall of the Byzantine Empire and in connection with the strengthening of the Moscow state. The key issues developed in the volume relate essentially to: values of the Ruthenian culture, some of which coincide or are identical to those recognized by Western-Polish citizens of the Commonwealth, while depend on the centuries old tradition of Eastern-Christian culture.The articles focuses on the values displayed in the Orthodox and Uniate spheres and around the polemics between them, punching with axiological arguments. The most frequently and basic problems that were raised are: determinants of identity, faith (religion), language (languages), social status, origin; the policy of rulers, the problem of ecclesiastical jurisdiction; tradition and change in culture – biblical studies, patristics, liturgy, theology; printing, translations, education; apologetics and polemics, preaching, iconography; a renewal program for the clergy that was to become the vanguard of the renewal of the entire Eastern Church; Bazylian Uniate ( Greek- Catholic) clergy: the idea of cultural integration, education, translation and publishing.

Estudos organizacionais e complexidade: Stacey e Morin

This theoretical essay aims to identify some approaches to the complexity of comparing contributions of internationally renowned authors as a reference in organizational studies, such as Stacey and Morin. In the literature that deals with the theme of complexity, many similar concepts are observed; several contributions of authors, some trained in natural sciences, others in the human sciences and philosophy. It is a theme that is recognized both inter and transdisciplinary, and it has been gaining pulse since the 1980's. The conclusion is that Stacey and Morin have significantly contributed to the understanding of the organizational process and the differences between their approaches can be understood by comparing their life experiences and academic training. Furthermore, it is evident that overtime Stacey supports the critical and broad approach advocated by Morin complexity. On the one hand, while Stacey remains in the social sciences, Morin articulates social sciences as well as biophysics and philosophy. Regarding existing disputes in the field of complexity studies, this comparison indicates an improvement from the perspective of complexity intelligence (Latin culture) over the angle of complex adaptive systems (Anglo - Saxon culture).

Method and methods

After defining the use of the term ‘Palaeohispanic’ and providing an overview of the epigraphic and linguistic geography of the Iberian peninsula in antiquity and the advances in their study over the years, a series of key questions in historical philology, specifically as concerns Palaeohispanic languages and epigraphy, are introduced: script and text decipherment; the complexity of philology as the science that is concerned with the encounter between texts, cultures, and societies; their historical nature, which requires their chronology to be studied; and the problems of language contact and the relationships between language and ethnicity. Finally, the chapter discusses the confrontation between Palaeohispanic languages and scripts and Latin culture, the transformations that it gave rise to, and the death of the former.