On the Albanian ethnonym in the middle ages

The paper discusses the issue of the Albanian ethnonym in the Middle Ages, starting from the fact that today they use the ethnonym Shqipetar for themselves and that other peoples know them as Albanians. It first points out the possibility that the former name was in use among the Albanians already in the 14th century, and then discusses the use of the ethnonym Albanians in the historical sources from the 11th to the 14th century. Since it originated from the geographical term Arbanum and was conditioned by it, the question arises ?f how the ancestors of the Albanians were called before they came to Arbanum. Finally, the paper suggests a possible connection between them and the Vlach groups in the south of the Balkan Peninsula.

Triptych from Saint Catherine’s monastery at Sinai – an unknown work of old Serbian icon painting

A triptych with Slavic inscriptions from the monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai, composed of icons depicting St. Stephen, the Mother of God and St. Nicholas, is published in the paper. Based on the stylistic analysis and consideration of iconographic features, the opinion is expressed that it is a work of Serbian medieval painting. In addition, such an attribution is explained through the light of intensive and continuous contacts between the medieval Serbian lands and the famous monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai. Finally, a possibility is opened for the interpretation of the work in question in connection with certain, very interesting source material about the ktetorial activity of the Serbian rulers in Sinai.

The codex-images and captions of the Barlaam-romance (cod. Athon. Iviron 463 [Lambros 4583])

The study examines the relations between different aspects (Ancient Greek main text, miniatures, Old French translation on the margins, Old French headlines) of the manuscript Iviron ? 463, which is a bilingual (Ancient Greek-Old French) Byzantine manuscript kept on Mount Athos, from a new perspective by including formerly not investigated viewpoints: by exploring the relationship between the miniatures and the headlines that are highlighted by red ink in the Old French text. The study also mentions the explanatory inscriptions in codices that preserved the Greek versions of the Barlaam-romance and are relevant in connection with the Iviron manuscript, furthermore, it investigates the common features of the manuscripts. The analysis reveals new important relations regarding the circumstances of the creation of codex Iviron.

When was Constantine V born?

Emperor Constantine V was born in the summer of 718, however our only two texts that provide an approximate date of his birth diverge on the matter; mid-July according to Patriarch Nikephoros? Breviarium, and early September according to Theophanes? Chronographia. This paper first analyses the place of Constantine V?s birth in the two texts and argues that Theophanes moved the birth to attach it to the baptism episode, which was a separate event, effectively distorting the date of birth. The article also proposes that Theophanes had both practical and ideological reasons to do so and suggests that with the current state of the sources, evidence from the Breviarium is more likely to be closer to the actual date of birth of the infamous iconoclast emperor. Considering that the birth of an imperial heir had a legitimizing value, demonstrating the divine favour shown to the current ruler, and the importance of victory in 718, the last section of this paper further analyses whether the date-just before the retreat of the Arab army besieging Constantinople for about a year-may have played a role in Isaurian propaganda or in the memory of Constantine V as a triumphant ruler.

On the time of the attack of King Uros I on Macva and his capture

The paper discusses documents that testify to the conflict between King Stefan Uros I and the Hungarians in the 1260s. Based on both an external and internal analysis of the mentioned documents, it questions the generally accepted dating of the attack of King Uros on Macva and proposes a new possibility.

A sea of miracles: Reflections on narrative space in medieval Serbian hagiography

The broad purpose of this essay is to demonstrate how scholarly readings of medieval hagiography might benefit from a theoretical-methodological shift towards space as the principal focal point of analysis. More specifically, it aims to put forward a new, spatial interpretation of two well-known miracle episodes from the Lives of St Sava of Serbia, both of which are said to have transpired on the high seas.

An unknown horkomotikos horismos of the Despot Nikephoros II Komnenos Angelos Doukas in favour of the bishopric and the town of Stagoi, Thessaly (ca 1356 - ante 1359)

The paper examines a previously largely unknown late-Byzantine document from the archives of the Barlaam monastery in Meteora. Written on paper, the document is only partially preserved, while based on evidence from within the text itself it is attributed to the Despot Nikephoros II Komnenos Angelos Doukas, issued in favour of the town of Stagoi. The type of script dates it to within the late-fourteenth century, while the document provides information regarding society and the economy of the town during the middle part of the century. Following an extensive discussion of the contents of the document, a diplomatic editio princeps is also included.

From the written witnesses of the Serbian verse prolog to the localisation of the translation

The article studies the preserved to this day copies of the Serbian translation of the Byzantine Verse Synaxarion. The sparse data about their origin and/or their later locations are analysed with the view to outlining the region in which this rare version of the Slavonic Verse Prolog appeared and to making assumptions about its possible localisation.

Some examples of treason in the 13th-century Serbia

The paper observes examples of treason, that is, infidelity in the 13th-century Serbia. The author intends to show how this procedure was sanctioned by common law, since the punishments for such crimes appeared in the Serbian medieval written law only from the 14th century, all that with the aim of getting to know as closely as possible the social context of medieval Serbia.

On the first marriage of King Milutin

The paper deals with the problem of the first marriage of the Serbian king Stephen Uros II (Milutin), mentioned by the Byzantine author George Pachymeres, with the aim to reinforce the existing thesis that it was a marriage with a Serbian noble Helen, concluded in the 1270-ies, but divorced soon after he came to the Serbian throne in 1282. It also provides an overview of the nature and character of that marriage and the possible reasons why it was dissolved and declared invalid.