Humanism, the Renaissance and Russian Culture between the 15th and 17th Centuries: Preliminary Thoughts

This study offers a synthetic view of the relationship of the Eastern Slavic world, in particular Russia, with Humanism and the Renaissance, indicating new paths of research on the identity formation of Muscovy and the Russian Empire in the European context. In particular, we focus on the arrival of Sophia Palaiologina in Moscow, on the activities of Maximus the Greek in Russia, and on the idea of Rome and Moscow in the 16th century.

Classical Tradition in Czech Renaissance and Baroque Literature

The study deals with the influence of the classical tradition on Czech literature of the Early Modern Period (Renaissance, Baroque). The article demonstrates this influence through examples of the use of selected motifs from ancient history in all of the main genres of the literature of that era: homily, legend, school drama, poetry and educational literature. The study also analyses the educational background of the authors and readers of the era and their attitude to ancient history; the ways of mediation and making use of ancient motifs in the literature; and the influence of ancient historiography on Renaissance and Baroque culture and interpretation of history.

Essays on the Spread of Humanistic and Renaissance Literary Civilization in the Slavic World (15th-17th Century). An Introduction

In this article the author, after briefly summarizing different interpretations of the Renaissance, shortly outlines some modes that have characterized the reception and study of Humanism and the Renaissance in Slavic countries. She then illustrates the content of the essays gathered in two recent histories of Ukrainian literature , with a special focus on the novelty of their interpretative approach. The author argues the importance of abandoning the old national-driven interpretation, in favor of the adoption of an areal and supranational point of view which allows the analysis of related cultural phenomena in a wider perspective.

Poetic Mapping of the Polish Crown at the Turn of the 16th and 17th Centuries and Its Relation to Cartographic Imitation in Renaissance Poetry

The paper is devoted to the problem of imitation of maps in the late Renaissance Polish poetry (between 1580 and 1630). The author first discusses the special interest in cartography that existed among the Polish elite and poets of the period. The main thesis of the paper is that poets widely used map-based techniques in constructing their poems. Imitation (imitatio) played a crucial role in this process. To illustrate this concept, the author analyses the work of five poets: S.F. Klonowic, K. Miaskowski, S. Petrycy, M.K. Sarbiewski and Sz. Szymonowic. Looking at the shared topoi used in poems and maps and investigating how the late Renaissance poets described the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, allows the author to draw a similarity between controlling space in poetry and maps. This suggests the idea of ruling over space might be related to the 16th-century idea of a God-like poet.

Humanism and the Renaissance in Recent Histories of Ukrainian Literature

In this article, the author analyzes how the broad theme of the reception of Humanism and Renaissance is treated in two important histories of Ukrainian literature, respectively Muza Roksolans’ka. Ukrajins’ka literatura XVI-XVIII stolit’ by Valerij Ševčuk (Kyiv, “Lybid'”, 2004-2005), in two volumes, and Istorija ukrajins’koji literatury in twelve volumes (2014-) published by the publishing house of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Naukova Dumka. The disappearance of Soviet ideological constraints has brought about the emergence of various aspects of this theme: the multilingualism (especially as regards literature written in Latin), the multiple identity of writers of the so-called Pohranyččja, the literature written in Latin, are just a few. However, some aspects still need to be addressed: among then the supranational approach should be adequately considered when dealing with the spread of Humanism-Renaissance.

Artistic Expression of the Translatio imperii Concept in the Latin Epic Poetry of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th Century and the European Literary Context

In this article the author analyzes how the Renaissance epic poetry of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth approaches the theme of translatio imperii, which is a concept and a political stereotype of transfer of metaphysical world domination from country to country. After the fall of Constantinople (1453), the concept of translatio imperii gradually lost its universal character and was interpreted within the confines of a nation. Among the analyzed poems are: Bellum Prutenum (1516) by Ioannes Visliciensis and Radivilias (1592) by Ioannes Radvanus. The artistic expression of both the “Jagiellonian” and Lithuanian (i.e., Grand Duchy of Lithuania) patriotism, which incorporated the concept of translatio imperii, had an enormous impact on the formation of the national identity of the Belarusian, Lithuanian, and Polish peoples.

Old Russian Translation of Cosmographia, sive De Situ Orbis by Pomponius Mela: Reception of Renaissance Culture in Muscovy (15th-17th Centuries)

The article deals with the results of the analysis of the Old Russian translation of the First book of Cosmographia by Pompons Mela. Mela’s Cosmographia was admired and praised by humanists. The research of the way the text was comprehended and interpreted in Muscovy demonstrates the original features of the perception of the Renaissance traditions, ideas and values by Russian intellectuals. The study reveals that the comprehension of Mela’s information was characterized by traditional manner of pursuit of biblical analogy. Thus, even the close acquaintance with the Renaissance culture did not change the essence of the Russian Medieval Orthodox culture.

Michael Marullus Tarchaniota’s De laudibus Rhacusae and His Early Years

This paper deals with Michael Marullus Tarchaniota’s early childhood years marked by exile from the recently fallen Despotate of Morea, a short and unconfirmed stay in Dubrovnik and, finally, by his arrival in Naples. A vast array of heterogeneous sources have been sifted in order to elucidate Marullus’ life before his arrival in Naples, i.e. in the turbulent period marked with Ottoman advance into the heart of Europe. The second part of this paper deals with Marullus’ De laudibus Rhacusae , which speaks more about the broader political context than about Dubrovnik itself since inspired by the turmoil that affected entire Apennine peninsula of that time.