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The essay attempts to outline the issues of the visual culture of the selfie from the perspective of “visual identity” that has referred to contemporary art. In this paper, I analyze examples of the following artworks: The Reincarnation of Saint ORLAN by the French artist ORLAN, the Bodies© INCorporated website, designed by Victoria Vesna, The Little Revenge from the Periphery by José Bedia Valdés, The Chief: He Who Sold Africa to the Colonists and Autoportraits by Samuel Fosso. In addition, this paper is focused on an analysis of the “biopower” concept which refers to Michel Foucault’s “docile bodies.” This concept is based on the neoliberal power process over the production of living beings and exercising control over them is an updating of the development of political, democratic, and economic institutions, as well as information and biocybernetic technologies. The “docile bodies” concept strengthens the conviction of the bodies must become the object of biopower interventions for the “perfect body” concept to act upon the strictly defined appearance of the body consistent with the standards and norms of “beauty” adopted by visual culture. In this situation, the selfie and photographic images produce homogeneous images, which function as “ideological texts” making our “visual identity” and self-image. This concept is given a lot of considerable space in this paper because the selfie can be regarded as an “personality identity” shaping the visual appearance of our bodies. In the essay’s conclusion, I claim that the visual culture of the selfie seems to be an aesthetic phenomenon shaped by a visual medium such as digital photography. However, photography does not is the key medium of the selfie. My analyses were aimed at showing that this role plays an “image,” no matter how it can be understood.

This paper examines how Kharms uses performativity in his 1928 play Elizaveta Bam to explore the relationship between the subject and the state. The play follows Elizaveta as she attempts to escape a murder charge by cycling through a series of radically different and strange personae. Her many transformations obfuscate her actual identity and personality; in the context of her flight from men who would kill her, this ability to transform is a survival mechanism. Ultimately, however, she is caught, and Kharms frames this as an inevitability. This approach to the relationship between state and subject corresponds to Althusser’s concept of interpellation, which tracks the deep connection between individuals and the ideologies that surround them. This paper argues that Kharms makes the actor’s performance into the central device of the play, and in so doing, he uses the tools of theater itself to depict (futile) resistance to overwhelming state power.

The avant-garde literary group OBĖRIU, with its poetics of the absurd, alogism and grotesque, had a great influence on later Soviet Russian literature and on neo-avant-garde movements as well. This paper investigates the connection between OBĖRIU and the neo-avant-garde of the 1970s and 1980s, especially by comparing two representatives of these different ‘ages’ of avant-garde – Daniil Kharms and Dmitrii Prigov. The analysis will focus particularly on the genre of the anecdote, with which they both experimented. After tracing the heritage of OBĖRIU poetics in Conceptualism and in the work of Prigov, who was interested in the form of Kharmsian prose miniatures, the paper will compare the well-known Anecdotes from the Life of Pushkin by Kharms (1937) with a series of quasi-hagiographical texts, Stories about Stalin, by Prigov (1975-1989). These bizarre sketches have several common features related to the genre, the formal structure, and the stylistic devices employed. Despite some striking parallels, however, the analysis will demonstrate that Kharms and Prigov have two different approaches to understanding deconstruction of myths, the grotesque, and the absurd.

This paper aims at systemising the observations on the constructions used for expressing Future tense in the three known Old Slavonic translations of Vita Antonii Magni by Athansius Alexandrinus. The text was first translated in the early Old Church Slavonic period, while two other (Middle Bulgarian) translations were written in ca. 14th century. This makes the text suitable for observing the different strategies for expressing Future tense, both regarding the translation technique and its dynamics on a synchronic level, i.e., vis-à-vis other translations from the period, and from a diachronic perspective, i.e., paying closer attention to the discrepancies between the three translations themselves. The paper focuses on the Future periphrastic constructions used in the three Slavonic translations of the Life of St Anthony the Great by Athanasius of Alexandria. The approach is based on the relation with the Greek Vorlage, thus analysing closely the situation attested in the Greek original. Observations are made regarding the usage of the periphrases in the Slavonic texts adducing comparative material for similar phenomena from other early (Preslavian) and Middle Bulgarian texts. Some examples provided, as well as those from other texts, might suggest that the Old Church Slavonic periphrases were used not only to express Future tense per se, but for every non-Indicative (or non-factual) Present.

Galen’s great treatise on drugs, Simple Medicines, begins with 5 theoretical books which explain the mechanisms of drug actions in the following catalogues. The key agent of change is the mixture of the qualities hot, cold, wet and dry. But drugs also have substance, the leaf, root or fruit of plants, the material of animals and minerals. How does substance act on the human body? This is one of the key questions for the theory of drugs, since mixtures had already been explored by Galen in Mixtures. Galen’s exploration of substance brings him to the composition of a drug – in thick or fine particles – and to the notion of substances in the plural and the notion of whole substance in the cases of foods and poisons, all of which Galen places in the class of drugs. Whole substance is the core of the paper. Galen’s understanding of substance as of qualities depends heavily, as often, on Aristotle. The paper presents an argument based on the key passages in Simples I–V, which I have recently translated for the Cambridge Galen series, as too on related passages in Mixtures and On the Capacities of Foods.

The main aim of this paper is to analyse the text of the 12th book of Geoponica for the purpose of identification of vegetable plants, which were described by Cassianus Bassus. The analysis will serve as the first step for further inquiries that will include the reconstruction of recipes that require some of the vegetables presented in the text. The text of Geoponica is a basic source learn about the agriculture but also the culinary art of the Byzantine Empire, even though it is rather hard to read due to the complicated style and quite a large number of technical terms (i.e. botanical, agronomical or astrological to name just a few). As already mentioned, the first part of the analysis is to identify the plants mentioned by Bassus, which will allow me to take further steps, i.e. to reconstruct the culinary recipes, in which the plants mentioned by the Author can be found. Without this precise identification, the reconstruction of the recipes would not be possible at all. In the 12th book of his Geoponica Bassus gave descriptions of several plants that should be taken into consideration while planning the garden, mostly for their medicinal or cooking properties. Amongst them, Author mentioned garlic, artichoke, melon, leek, radish, celery, and cucumbers. Having the rather big number of plants narrowed down will allow to demonstrate in vivo how they were served according to De re coquinaria by Apicius and present the practical usage of vegetables proposed by Bassus for cultivation. As Apicius’ cookbook is the only one preserved from Antiquity, it will remain the major source of the recipes presented in this paper.

Medieval architecture of the South Caucasus developed a unique tradition of making acroteria shaped as three-dimensional models of churches. Since the church-shaped acroteria have never been thoroughly explored in Georgia, this paper focuses on examples surviving in the region. Special attention is paid to analyzing the architectural and sculptural aspects of the acroteria, as well as their function. This paper aims at discussing both the formal and functional aspects of the church-shaped acroteria from Georgia. It is intended to explore what kind of church models were usually created in Georgia, how they were designed, and to what extent they resemble or differ from the real architecture. Typically, the model erected on the top of the gables of a church was made of stone, though glazed ceramic acroterion can be found as well, such as that of the Alaverdi Cathedral in Georgia. As the research has shown, the models do not replicate real architecture; they represent abridged images of actual buildings, repeating only their general layout (cross-domed or, rarely, single-nave structure) and a selected number of elements that were evidently considered essential or were typical elements of the architectural repertoire of the period in which the acroterion were created.

The paper points to a hitherto not recognized quotation from Galen in the Old Church Slavonic Life of S. Cyril of the 9th century (chapter XI, 15) which demonstrates the Galenic maxim “contraria contrariis curentur”. The Galenic argument is brought forth by the Christian philosopher Cyril in a discussion with Jewish theologians. The paper firstly demonstrates that the author of VC does not only enrich Cyril’s speech with allusions to Biblical formulations but makes also the Jewish interlocutors use a direct quotation from Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians. The Christian and Jewish arguments complement each other leading to the ultimate Christian answer that Christ is the real physician to heal body and soul. In contextualizing the findings and pointing to another passage of Vita Cyrilli the paper shows, that the metaphor of “Christ, the physician” both times occurs in a context, where the Original sin is the main topic. Finally, the paper is concerned with the rhetoric of the metaphor and the limits of what can be possibly expressed by it. The ultimate healing in a Christian sense is expressed in the faith into bodily resurrection and thus transcends the comparison with concrete physical therapy. In contrast to concrete bodily health the qualities of a “body of the resurrection” cannot be positively named and thus are designated by the metaphor of “enjoying the fruit” in the heavens.

This paper presents the value and role of empathy in the contemporary world. Sensitivity and empathy take crucial places in the pastoral activity of the Holy Catholic Church. Tenderness and compassion are important issues in Pope Francis’ teaching. In papal understanding, Christian dialog involves sensitivity and empathy, which let one fulfill Christ’s command to love one’s neighbor. This article explores the idea of a Christian view on empathy and brotherhood referring to official papal documents. This topic is currently crucial due to increasing splits, aggression and individualism. The paper looks for an answer how empathetic should the Church approach to the world be and according to the Pope’s teaching, how should the Church dialog profitably with people.

The aim of this paper is to present a profile of literary critic Marcel Reich-Ranicki (1920–2013), who lived on the borderland of three cultures: Polish, Jewish, and German. The paper attempts to reconstruct the main phases of Reich-Ranicki’s life in Poland, including an analysis of the critic’s interests and opinions about Polish literature, as well as his concept of a ‘spiritual homeland’. The status of M. Reich is studied in relation to the category of the alien commonly encountered in the discourse of the humanities. Reich’s strangeness is presented in three dimensions: space, culture and mentality. The paper also proves that it was the trauma of the Holocaust that had exerted the major impact on Reich-Ranicki’s personal memories and accounts.

The paper explores basic political relations between the European Union and India which are at theoretical level almost “terra nullius”. The paper starts from the present epochal situation and enters the realm of EU–India geopolitics from the perspective of Gandhian moral practice on one side, and challenges presented by the impact of Coronavirus politics on the other. Our question is – on which platform is strategic negotiating between the EU and India possible? Despite their Lisbon summit in 2000 as well as virtual summit in 2020, it is obvious that until today the EU and India could not find a common denominator. Our idea is that the missing link of a better understanding partly lays in the new perspective that may be unexpectedly found from the Balkans’ point of view. Only unprecedented cognizance today may set up the roadmap for the times to come.

The main purpose of the article is to present the literary output of Andrea Tompa, using her debut collection entitled Dom kata as an example. In her work, the Hungarian writer uses her creative potential connected with the experiences of growing up in a discriminated national minority in Romania in the 1980s. In the paper, I demonstrate how the history of the area and biography intertwine in the literary transformation of experience in a quasi‑autobiographical story about entering adulthood. In Andrea Tompa’s work, one can see how the geo‑cultural experience has an impact on both the way the story is constructed and the narrative strategies applied, as well as its influence on the reception of the work among readers. The trauma of the regime and exclusion associated with Romania in the second half of the 20th century is conveyed by means of a hybrid form and fragmented narratives. This unique combination that makes up the book of the Hungarian writer provides an inspiring material for literary research, both from the perspective of memory studies and the poetics of experience. As for the way of constructing the story, which is hard to categorize according to strict genre classifications, it only enlivens the reception.

The purpose ofthe paper is the interpretation of the novel Nad piękną modrą Dřevnicą by Antonin Bajaja in terms of the image of the Stalinist period in Czechoslovakia. The interpretive perspective has been determined by the theory of letter (Stefania Skwarczyńska and Anita Całek), the category of autobiographical memory, autobiographical place, as understood by Małgorzata Czermińska, as well as autotherapy through work with memory. By bringing back memories in the letters to his sister, the narrator updates the concept of his identity and reshapes his self­‑awareness, which was manipulated in his childhood by the communist propaganda. The mechanisms behind this propaganda are revealed years later by the protagonist­‑narrator. The schizophrenic type of life under communist rule has been illustrated by the example of the family and city Zlina/Gottwaldova.

In this paper, the Ukrainian trilogy by Józef Łobodowski has been interpreted as a historical novel, in which the described events took place in the Kuban region in the period between 1918 and 1922. The history of the Bolshevik revolution and the Civil War in the Caucasus area of Russia has been presented in a vivid story, which was inspired by the author’s personal experiences. The protagonist of the trilogy is the author’s own alter ego. The author’s participation in the discussed events significantly influenced the artistic form of the novel. The work possesses the features of a reportage novel, with its inherent verism, a trend towards a faithful depiction of life during the Russian Civil War, as well as elements of journalism that correspond to the writer’s journalistic activity. The reportage characteristics of the trilogy did not hinder the author from complying in his narration with the pattern of Sienkiewicz’s novel W pustyni i w puszczy (In Desert and Wilderness). In this way, the Ukrainian trilogy became a work with an original structure, in which the author also objectified his own emigrational experiences.

The article presents the image of the East in historical novels by Kazimierz Korkozowicz, including the works of the author of Jeźdźcy apokalipsy (Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse), published in the period between 1970–1990. It refers the notion of the East to Eastern Europe and analysesthe use of historical‑philosophical myth of the East by the writer. The paper also includes the interpretation of the novel, using the category of culture as an ideology of social groups, bearing in mind the fact that culture, including literature, is a tool of ideological impact on society by means of Althusser’s ideological state apparatuses. It examines the cognitive capabilities of various literary methodologies towards analyzed works. It describes the profile of the author of Przyłbice i kaptury and refers to the ongoing discussion about his works.

Two books for children about the Great War will be discussed: Bohaterski miś [Heroic teddy bear] by Bronisława Ostrowska and Five Children on the Western Front by Kate Saunders. It will be a comparative analysis. The books differ in terms of national perspective (Polish and English), but also in the time of edition – just after the war and a hundred years later. Thus, Ostrowska’s memory about the war is her own memory, whereas Saunders’ writing can be called a postmemory narrative. The aim of the paper is to answer the questions: what is similar and what is different in the two selected children’s novels about the Great War? What are the ways of transmitting memory? What do the writers want to save for new generations?

The paper is devoted to the first and at the same time the most famous novel by Wacław Gąsiorowski – Huragan (Hurricane, 1901), which began the “Napoleonic Trilogy”. In the introduction, its origins and the history of reception have been presented, followed by: a literary image of the Napoleonic era and the world of heroes, with a particular emphasis on the figure of Joanna Żubrowa – a sergeant in the army of the Duchy of Warsaw, the first woman to be decorated with the Virtuti Militari Order. The patron and master of Gąsiorowski, who often referred to the model of a “cloak and sword novel”, was Henryk Sienkiewicz. However, Huragan, which can be situated between Trylogia and Popioły, also demonstrates Young Poland origins.

Zabawy mędrców – a novel by Antoni Godziemba Wysocki, a forgotten writer, an eccentric and intellectual from Lviv, was published in the interwar period and became a literary event. Reviewers unanimously emphasized his innovative approach to history. It was not the historical novel that readers were used to, both in terms of idea and form. Placing the action inside the Krakow Academy in the 16th century, at the turn of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, was supposed to demonstrate the pathology of education that was dominated by dogma and scholasticism against the background of the daily life of those days. In order to achieve that, the author allegedly worked on his book for over twenty years, thoroughly studying the sources: rare papers, manuscripts and numerous dissertations about the history of the Jagiellonian University. Consequently, a vivid (but strongly biased and clearly depreciating the Middle Ages) study of a few teachers came into life. The professors and bachelors, who had authentic prototypes, were shown through psychoanalytical examination in search of their complexes and personality disorders that limited their mental and didactic work. Wysocki’s work: cool, intellectual, and allusive, it was a unique but one‑sided presentation of Polish culture during the times of the last Jagiellon, but above all, it was a type of warning that concerned the condition and future of Polish education after gaining independence.

The paper presents the images of rural life in Subcarpathian regions of the 19th century Eastern Galicia, recorded in sociocultural, quasi‑chronicle, or memoir prose of Juliusz Turczyński (1833–1913). This gymnasium professor and a well‑known writer connected with Stanisławów achieved his greatest success as the author of novellas and short stories. His socio‑cultural, ethnographic and landscape sketches dedicated toHutsul Land, which record the traditional life ofthe region, disappearing because of modern trends, belong to the most important literary testimonies of life and mentality of the 19th century Carpathian Highlanders. His less popular, but equally interesting dramatized sociological studies, illustrate the situation of Eastern Galician village in the serfdom era that has recently passed. Turczyński’s prose, which is rather conventional and schematic in terms of artistic creation, combines the objective features of a document – the testimony of the mechanisms determining and destroying the life of a simple man – with the elements of didactic morality and parabolic vison of a lively character of the people, prone to fall, but also to convert.

This paper will focus on several sources from Scandinavia and the Balkans, and compare the types of genealogies portrayed in them – descent from gods, descent from another kind of supernatural being, descent from a legendary hero. The paper will examine the types of genealogies and the purpose they serve; how and why they were commissioned? Is there a difference in the establishment of the image of the ruler if the latter has descended from gods, legendary heroes, or a specific clan or dynasty? Does Christianity change the tradition of writing genealogies and the stories they retell? Are personal qualities enough to provide legitimate claims?

The paper makes inquiries into the ‘Russian period’ (1965-1972) of prof. Franco Miele (1924-1983), who was a painter, art critic and art dealer. The paper sheds light on his work as a Russian art dealer and on his relationships with Paul Sjeklocha, Ely Bielutin, Otari Kandaurov, Kazimierz Romanowicz, and George Costakis.

The paper focuses on the use of defamiliarization techniques in some works of Russian conceptualist poet Dmitrij Prigov and explores, in particular, how the canonical status of Aleksandr Pushkin and of his “sacred” texts has been challenged and modified by Prigov. He refers to Pushkin in a wide range of works, making use of ostranenie and causing therefore the audience to perceive these famous texts afresh: in one of his signature performance piece Prigov recites the first stanza of Eugene Onegin in various vocal styles; in his “Verses for George” protagonists from the opening lines of well-known Russian poems are replaced by the word dinozavr (dinosaur); and, finally, Prigov rewrites an entire section of Pushkin’s masterpiece in a special samizdat-style book. The paper aims to describe how defamiliarization and permanent distancing from any stereotypes become one of the most important tools of deconstruction and desecration in Prigov’s art.

During the last dеcade the history of the Synodikon of the Оrthodoxy in Medieval Bulgaria has been tackled upon from different points of view. The author of this paper provided substantial evidence proving that the Synodikon of Tsar Boril did not survive in its original form. By the end of the 14th c. the original translation was amended and edited in order to be installed in a canonical-liturgical compilation (archieratikon) that includes texts and services related to the Feast of Orthodoxy. The compilation is kept in the National Library in Palauzov’s collection No 289. Additional information about the different sources of some rubrics of the Synodikon, which do not correspond to its Greek version, was also provided. Recently we have discovered that the text, preserved in a collection of Damasckin type from the beginning of 16th c. (Drinov’s copy) represents indeed a compilation: its first part (the canonical one) contains the translation of the Palaeologan version of the Synodikon, which survived also in a triodion from the Library of the Romanian Academy of Sciences. The second part of the compilation however coincides with the text of the Synodikon of Tsar Boril with all amendments related to the Bulgarian history – rulers, patriarchs, bishops and nobles. This “Bulgarian” part of the Synodikon includes a series of anathemas against Bogomils, that do not have Greek correspondences and generally repeat the anti-Bogomils anathemas taken from the Letter of Patriarch Kosmas in a simpler language more understandable to the faithful. This paper is tracing the connection between these anathemas and the Anti-Bogomils anathemas in the Discourse of Kosmas the Presbyter against the Bogomils.

The current issue of our quarterly is special for at least four organizational and administrative reasons. Firstly, the Ignatianum Academy in Cracow has become a university and as of October 1, 2023, its new name is Ignatianum University in Cracow. Secondly, the Editors, moving with the times, are focusing on the online formula, reducing the circulation of the paper version significantly, and providing widely open access to the journal through the Open Journal Systems platform. Thirdly, by the decision of the Minister of Education and Science announced in the Communiqué of July 17, 2023, regarding the list of academic journals and peer-reviewed materials from international conferences, the journal received 140 points. Finally, fourthly, the list of the parameterized disciplines that the journal covers, namely 1) cultural and religious studies, 2) literary studies, 3) history, and 4) management and quality sciences has been expanded to include other disciplines, such as 5) ethnology and cultural anthropology, 6) philosophy, 7) linguistics, 8) art sciences, 9) Polish studies, 10) political and administrative sciences, 11) social communication and media sciences, and 12) education studies.

Of the four medieval cities (and dioceses) of Frankish Cyprus – Nicosia, Paphos, Limassol, and Famagusta – Paphos has received the least attention. Continuing work on the Bullarium Cyprium project, which involves editing the papal letters referring to the island, provides a window into the ecclesiastical history of the town. This is the second of three articles in this journal that complete Jean Richard’s work on the bishops of Paphos in the period of the Avignon papacy (1309–1377). With some notes on Bishop Jacques More (1309–1321), this paper focuses on his successor, Aimery de Nabinaud, OFM, the first member of an illustrious family of ecclesiastics who served Cyprus in the 14th century. First noted in 1310, when he was teaching at the Minorite convent in Famagusta, Aimery was an important advisor to King Henry II (†1324), he was eventually elevated to Bishop of Paphos in 1322. We know most about Aimery’s diplomatic activities with the Kingdom of Armenia in Cilicia from 1310 until his death, as well as the difficult financial situation he left to his successor as bishop, Géraud de Veyrines.

In the second half of the 19th century, the rising interest in the partition of Africa translated into a growth in the number of essays, articles and travel diaries on the ‘dark continent’ published in Russia. This paper examines how black Africa was represented in the popular illustrated journal “Vsemirnaia illiustratsiia”, intended as educational material for a newly-formed middle-class readership. Through written texts and pictures, the journal constructed an image of black Africa quite dependent on Western colonial stereotypes, using colonial-consolidated rhetoric techniques and European sources. While the Tsarist Empire’s politics used to meddle in European colonial enterprises, the present analysis highlights how the literary and visual construction of black Africa as backward, savage, and ahistorical may have served to justify Russia’s long-debated belonging among Western nations.

The paper studies terms describing cooks and cooking activities that are preserved in Byzantine literature and draw their origins from the ancient Greek literature as well as from biblical and theological texts. Despite some development regarding the preference to the term opsopoios and opsartytēs without ceasing to use the term mageiros for the male cook, as well as the term demiourgos, only the latter is used for women to signal solely the preparation of pastries. It is proved that the conceptualization and connotations of the term mageiros, which are presented in detail, prevented its attribution to women. Further proof on the use of feminised masculine nouns for female professions or occupations in literature and the more concrete evidence on the services recorded in the typika of nunneries display the absolute abiding of the conscious avoidance of the term for women’s involvement in cooking.

The paper provides the addenda to A. Kompa, Gnesioi filoi: the search for George Syncellus’ and Theophanes the Confessor’s own words, and the authorship of their oeuvre, Studia Ceranea 5, 2015, p. 155–230. All the expressions crucial to the stylistic and stylometric argument on the authorship of the Chronography of Theophanes have been updated after 7 years and verified in the expanded TLG database. The updated results are presented below. The conclusions confirm the previous opinions on the individual, singular authorship of the chronicle of Theophanes with differences in style from the first part of the universal history, written by George Syncellus. At the same time, both works should be treated as a single project, and the prooimion to Theophanes’ part as a sound base faor the reconstruction of the writing process. The clauses ὡς προέφην, καθὼς καὶ προέφην, ὡς προέφημεν, and καθὼς προέφημεν are specific to the Chronography of Theophanes in their frequency and diversity, but they seem to be known and used by the circles from which Theophanes acquired his literary skills.

After 476, Flavius Gundobadus, King of the Burgundians (473–516), sought ways and means to consolidate and strengthen his power, including through legal regulation of the relations between the Burgundians themselves, on the one hand, and between the Burgundians and the Gallo-Romans, on the other. Thus, Liber Constitutionum sive Lex Gundobada was issued, the main purpose of which is the legal regulation of the complex relations in the kingdom, through a codification of the preserved customary law – an embodiment of tribal traditions, practices, and customs, with reasonable use of Roman legal ideas, notions, and norms. The translation and analysis of selected provisions from Lex Gundobada in this paper show the extent to which the Burgundians perceived, received, adopted, and adapted some of the most valuable Roman legal and moral rules and principles, especially the Roman concepts of iustitia and corruptio, and how the rights of both the Burgundians and the Romans were regulated and protected through them. Lex Burgundionum is part of a series of legal Barbarian codes, compiled, adapted, published, and applied in the Barbarian regna between the 5th and 9th centuries. These codes are one of the significant and true sources for the historical reconstruction of the socio-political, socio-cultural, and legal-administrative transition from the late Roman Empire to the German kingdoms and early medieval Europe. They manifest how historically the arena of clashes, confrontations, and wars between Romanitas and Barbaritas gradually became a contact zone of legal reception, of cultural, legal, and socio-political influences, from which a new world will be born, a successor to the old ones, and a new legal system – the Romano-Germanic one.

The phenomenon of “fat shaming” (in particular with its aspect of the especially harsh criticism of the corpulence in young adult women) seems nearly non-existent in the ancient Classical literature. The extant satirical depictions of fatness are uncommon and aimed, almost exclusively, at overweight men. The author of the paper analyses this satirical description, its background in the ancient moral philosophy, as well as comments on plumpness and gluttony in the context of assessments of the female physical beauty. He also attempts to explain how some ancient ideas may have evolved in the attitudes of today, showing some examples from the 19th-century prose as a step in the reshaping of the ancient ideas. Eventually, the author makes an attempt to offer a better understanding of this contemporary phenomenon, which only in some of its elements may be seen as rooted in Antiquity.

The Chronicon Bruxellense does not simply provide useful information on the date of the date (year, month, and day) of the Rus’ attack on the Constantinople (18 June 860), but is crucial for a deeper understanding of nature of this chronicle and his sources. The article reveals important details about the date and structure of the Chronicon Bruxellense. It also offers his sources of description of Rus’ raid and identifies George Monachus Continuatus’s chronicle as the principal model. By seeking to construction the victory over the Rus’, his anonymous author presents as a skilled compiler. This paper engages with recent discussion on the first attack of Rus’ on the Constantinople, while also contributing to the renewed interest in the reception of the Chronicon Bruxellense in the late Byzantine literature.

Byzantine incubation literature is the term used in research to denote early Byzantine collections of healing miracles (5th–7th century) in which the saint’s miraculous intervention is related to the incubation experience. Despite the centrality of the concepts of disease and healing in such literature, the relationship between medicine and Christian religion needs to be further explored. Based on the Egyptian collection of Miracles of Cosmas and Damian contained in manuscript Lond. Add. 37534 (BHG 373b) as a case study, this paper intends to: (1) present those miraculous accounts where food is treated as medicament, starting from a close reading of the relevant passages; (2) looking at the (Byzantine) medical knowledge integrated in these narratives.

The paper is devoted to a detailed analysis of direct and indirect references to Tărnovo, the capital of the so-called Second Bulgarian Tsardom (12th–14th centuries) in Roman history of Nikephoros Gregoras, an outstanding Byzantine scholar of the first half of the fourteenth century. An analysis of the passages devoted to this city leads to a conclusion that the status of the city was fully obvious to the Byzantine historian – this was the main, capital city of the Bulgarian state, in which its rulers permanently resided, without holding which one could not be a fully legitimate tsar of the Bulgarians and exercise real power of the northern neighbours of Byzantium. Thus the conflicts over power in contemporary Bulgaria focused primarily on taking Tărnovo. The Bulgarian tsar departed with military expeditions most often from this city, having gathered in its vicinity armed forces, and to this city Byzantines and rulers of other neighbouring countries sent their envoys to meet with the Bulgarian autocrat.

The multiple similarities between the Greek and Syriac eucharistic liturgies of Antioch and its hinterland on the one hand and the Jerusalem Liturgy of Saint James on the other hand situate Jerusalem within a single cultural area as regards liturgical life. Compared with Antioch, however, we have much more early evidence for the Liturgy of the Hours in Jerusalem. Main sources, which are briefly presented in the paper, are a) the Itinerary of Egeria, who in the 380s produced extensive liturgical notes on celebrations in the Anastasis cathedral and the related stational sites; b) the Armenian Lectionary, 5thcentury, which gives more specific detail of the services held in Jerusalem; c) the Georgian Lectionary, 6thcentury, which gives a slightly later stage of the material described in the Armenian Lectionary; d) the Old Iadgari, or first Jerusalem Tropologion, entirely preserved in Georgian. It is clear from these documents that the Anastasis Cathedral was officiated by monastic communities of different ethnic origins who used their own languages for their liturgical offices. We also have considerable evidence for this period for the Lavra of Saint Sabbas in the Judaean desert, where several ethnic communities prayed separately in their own languages, coming together only for the Eucharistic synaxis (in Greek). This multi-ethnic situation continues today on Mount Athos and continued throughout the Middle Ages on Sinai. The vast library of manuscripts at Saint Catherine’s monastery is well known. It contains manuscripts in a very wide variety of Christian languages, including numerous liturgical texts. The Manuscript Sinai Arabic 232 (13th century) contains a complete Psalter, a complete Horologion and other texts. It can be shown to be of Alexandrian Melkite origin, used by Arabic-speaking monks who were part of the Sinai community. There are archaic and specifically Egyptian, and even Coptic, elements that are of special interest.

The paper examines the terminology used by the Byzantine authors of the 10th and 11th century as regards the Samuel’s State, which was largely shaped by the Byzantine ideology and momentary aim of the political propaganda. The analysis of the Byzantine sources shows that by the end of the 10th century Basil II became known as “Scythicus”, because of his military achievements against Samuel’s State. The same context derives from Basil II’s verse Epitaph which contains ideological message about the accomplished mission given to Basil II by Christ himself in defeating the “Scythians”. Hence, Basil II was known and wanted to be remembered, among other, as the victor over the Scythians, thus designating the enemies coming from the Samuel’s State. Following this notion, in his narrative Michael Psellos portrayed Basil II as the vanquisher of the Scythians. Psellos even provided ideological context of the subjugation of the Samuel’s State, remarking that by this Basil II actually converted these people and turned them towards God.

The article refers to some aspects of the history of today’s Bulgarian and Romanian territories, going back to the end of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th century. First, the author emphasizes the impact of the Teutonic Order in Burzenland on Bulgarian-Cuman relations in the period under question. The article provides a different alternative viewpoint on the events of the second decade of the 13th century. Contrary to researchers who focus on the South and the Bulgarian-Latin conflict, the author seeks a solution to the problem by analyzing events in the North, reaching the lands of Burzenland region in Eastern Transylvania. He analyses the Teutonic-Cuman conflict of 1211–1222 and the success of the Teutons in Cumania after 1215. The author concludes that the dramatic change in the Bulgarian-Cuman relations could be explained by a new source of military and political influence that emerged in the second decade of the 13th century – the Teutonic Order. Next, the paper is aimed at the highly discussed and controversial issue of Bulgarian-Vlach relations during the rule of the Assenid dynasty. Based on the written sources, the author explains the mass presence of Vlachs in the actions of the first Assenids with specific social, economic and political factors in the last two decades of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th century.

The issue of the Bosnian church – or more precisely the dualist heresy in Bosnia – has caused serious controversies among scholars since the 19th century. The main aim of this paper is to shed new light on this controversial issue, through the analysis of the doctrine of Slavonic dualism (ordo Sclavoniae) based on Western sources. The subject of the analysis will be the sources concerning the contacts of the Cathars from France and Italy with the heretics from Sclavonia and especially the sources containing information on the doctrine, such as the 13th-century Italian sources presenting the doctrines of the Cathars belonging to ordo Sclavoniae (Cathar churches of Bagnolo and March de Treviso) and later, 14th and 15th-century sources presenting the teachings of the heretics from Bosnia. The aim of the analysis will be to reconstruct the doctrines of Slavonic dualism (ordo Sclavoniae) in order to find its distinctive features (especially comparing with two main forms of Bogomil-Cathar dualism – Bulgarian and Drugunthian) and to answer the following question: which doctrinal conceptions had the most significant influence on its formation? Knowledge concerning the sources of inspiration for the dualist doctrine of the ordo Sclavoniae will enable us to draw conclusions concerning the origins of Slavonic dualism, its evolution and to assume an attitude towards scholars’ conceptions concerning the character of the Bosnian heresy.

Historiography about the medieval Bosnian Church is a vast and complicated labyrinth, with many different sections and subsections regarding its teachings, where authors are least likely to find a compromise, or some common ground. Very often, the ruling ideologies have intertwined their interests and influences in this field of medieval study, causing the emergence of very intense emotions in wider circles of population. One remarkable episode in history of research and study of the Bosnian Church is the occurrence of medievalist from United States of America, John V. A. Fine Jr., who arrived in Bosnia and Yugoslavia at the peak of the Cold War. Fine proved to be a very meticulous researcher, who produced a book under the title: The Bosnian Church: A New Interpretation. A Study of the Bosnian Church and its Place in State and Society from the 13th to the 15th Centuries which immediately caused disturbance and wide range of reactions. With his aligning with the historiographical stream which doesn’t see the Bosnian Church as a dualistic heretical institution, rather a monastic community independent from both of the big churches of the time, Fine gave additional fuel to this theory, a theory somewhat weakened in that period as its main protagonist Jaroslav Šidak had a change of mind. The main goal of this paper is to study the immediate reactions on Fine’s thesis, in forms of reviews of his book, as well its influence in the subsequent decades of the historiographical studies of the Bosnian Church.

This text supplements another, a paper presented a decade ago on the portrayal of Umayyad rulers in Chronography of Theophanes the Confessor (B. Cecota, Islam, the Arabs and Umayyad Rulers according to Theophanes the Confessor’s Chronography, “Studia Ceranea” 2, 2012, p. 97–111). I am limiting myself here to discussing only those source remarks which directly concern one of the Abbasid Caliphs, or alternatively, to narratives structured in such a manner that they implied certain traits of a ruler. General remarks concerning the portrayal of the entire dynasty have been included, both in the main text and in the footnotes, only where this was necessary for the understanding of the context in which the Caliphs’ descriptions appear.

The subject of time travel has been scarcely explored in Polish cinema. How Much Does The Trojan Horse Weigh? (2008) and EmbaSSy (2013) directed by Juliusz Machulski, a shrewd observer and ruthless critic of the Polish social situation over the past four decades, are rare examples. Best known for his 1980s comedies exposing the absurdities of the communist regime, Machulski takes us on a journey back in time in his two post-millennial time travel films. How Much Does The Trojan Horse Weigh? shifts us back to 1987 and revisits the reality of communism in Poland, whilst EmbaSSy transports us to 1939, where World War II is about to begin. The aim of this paper is to examine Juliusz Machulski’s vision of time travel, its paradoxes and consequences, as well as the nature of diegetic realities within his time travel films.

The effects of emotions on the military personnel are as important as the techniques used in the tactical field. Therefore, psychological features should also be considered in military training and education process to enable the cadets - future officers to manage stressful situations. The aim of the paper is to analyze the effects of emotional states on the training of the cadets in the Military Lyceum. The significance of the psychological health of the cadets in their training has been discussed. The types of emotional states observed in the cadets, like mood, affect, stress and frustration have been scrutinized. At the same time, positive and negative impacts of various emotional states on the training of the cadets have been studied. The ways for preventing the negative emotional states have been examined. The paper is concluded with the recommendations on the stated problem in order to further increase the efficiency of the training in the Military Lyceum.

The purpose of this paper is to present the description of Woland as one of the main characters of the novel by Bulgakov 'The Master and Margarita', after gaining experience connected with the work on a new translation of this book. The study was conducted on the basis of an in‑depth analysis of the text. The author distinguishes the roles in which Woland appears in relationships with other characters, as well as mental and physical transformations which he undergoes. A lot of remarks concern the changes in stylistic register of his utterances. Moreover, the analysis includes numerous names, which the narrator himself uses in reference to the character. Finally, analogies with other authors are presented (Goethe, Gogol, Poe). The paper is an attempt at reconstructing the viewpoint represented by Woland, including the multitude of elements referring to particular philosophical, political and ethical doctrines. It all leads to the conclusion that Bulgakov’s devil is a multidimensional and ambiguos character, which doesn’t conform to any traditions and explicit interpretations.

The author of the paper indicates several aspects which connect the texts describing the battle of Khotyn in 1673. Epical attempts at showing those events complied with the epical model known as ‘native heroicum’, which was popular on Polish lands in those days. According to this model, the primary rule of verismo was combined with attempts at making narration more attractive. Some of them have been described in this paper. Moreover, the author discussed the method of depicting Tatar‑Turkish armies in the works, paying attention to their abundance. The exemplary material was derived, above all, from voluminous poems by Jan Ślizień, Mateusz Kuligowski, Samuel Leszczyński and Zbigniew Morsztyn.

The paper is dedicated to the volume of poems by Jerzy Harasymowicz, entitled 'Banderia Prutenorum' (1976). The author explores the dependence of this volume on a work of the same title, which was released in mid-15th century through the initiative of Jan Długosz. The medieval manuscript contains illustrations and short descriptions of 56 Teutonic flags captured by Polish troops in the battle of Grunwald (1410). The author of these pictures was Stanisław Durink, while the descriptions were made by Jan Długosz, among other authors. Using the illustrations of Teutonic flags from the medieval model, Harasymowicz added his own poems, showing in bad light particular troops (flags) of the Teutonic Order, as well as their great defeat in the battle against Polish‑Lithuanian forces. The author of the paper analyses the ideological‑persuasive meaning of these poems, as well as their language and depiction.

The text is a result of a research project titled “The significance of parish-distributed press for the evangelization and formation activities of the Szczecin-Kamień Church (2016–2020).” The project was realized by members of the Department of Media Evangelism of the Institute of Journalism as part of the basic statutory activity of the Faculty of Philosophy of the Jesuit University Ignatianum in Cracow. Indicating the need for this research, it is worth noting that already several years ago, the Archdiocesan Archives in Szczecin planned a pastoral study on the topic of “Libraries and parish press in the Szczecin‑Kamień Archdiocese,” which was not implemented. The purpose of this study is to find an answer to the question of whether evangelization and formation of the Niedziela Catholic weekly readers is carried out through the message. The presentation of the 2016–2020 editions of the Szczecin-Kamień Niedziela delivers a positive answer: yes, by learning the thoughts and facts provided, the faithful of the archdiocese were able to engage more consciously and with greater commitment in the works of evangelization and formation that applied to them. The first part of the study is an explanation of what evangelization and formation activities that are mandatory for Catholics consist of and the necessity of using the means of social communication to carry out these activities. The second part describes content filling the eight pages of the weekly message addressed to the Roman Catholic Church on the Oder and Baltic were filled. The message included the teaching of the diocesan bishop, descriptions of the ways in which the faithful engage liturgically, accounts of archdiocesan and parish activities, in addition to the social teaching of August Cardinal Hlond and Stefan Cardinal Wyszyński. The third part of the article juxtaposes elements that make up evangelization and formation activities with content directed to Catholics in the weekly paper distributed in parishes. In this way, it was shown that each reader could not only witness the process of evangelization and formation taking place in the Szczecin-Kamień Archdiocese, but also get involved in it.

The Caspian region is one of the most important regions of the world with its rich hydrocarbon resources, which in turn draws attention from different countries. The purpose of this paper is to underscore the geopolitical importance of the Caspian basin and the impact of its energy resources on the energy security of non-regional countries. The realization of the “Contract of the century” has been specified in the paper. Russian hegemony has been evaluated and the characteristic features of Northern route have been introduced. The authors attempted to delineate the US’ strategy in the Caspian region and to judge the security of the Western route stretching from the Caspian Sea. The status of the Caspian Sea has been clarified based on the most recent information. Threats to the security of the transit routes have been identified and measures have been offered to prevent possible incidents. A formula was suggested for the mathematical evaluation of possible terrorist attacks on the pipelines in the foreseeable future.

The aim of the article is the presentation of some interesting and stimulating questions connected with the problem of eschatological codes in the Theatre of the Absurd. The main objective of this paper is to discuss the topos of Death in the Theatre of the Absurd. Because the subject has been underexplored so far, the author tries to triangulate the Theatre of the Absurd within the genre of drama first, and then moves on to the short reflection on chosen plays of Beckett and Ionesco, concentrating on the role that eschatological elements, funereal objects and eschatons play in them. The starting point of this paper could be called “eschatology of the Absurd” or “immortality deconstructed”. Meaninglessness, as the value of absolute meaning, the meaning (Sinn) and significance (Bedeutung) of Death in the Theatre of the Absurd, is also discussed. As a method of research, he proposes a short “collective phenomenological analysis”. To analyse the issue from a broad perspective, the author takes into account the relationships between the writers and their times, and refers to cultural sources, specifically the Paradox of Death in the Theatre –particularly in the Theatre of the Absurd.