Wiener Slavistisches Jahrbuch. N.F. 9 (2021) – Abstracts
Unde malum? The Watchers Mythologeme in The Slavonic Apocalypse of Enoch
Florentina Badalanova Geller (London / Berlin)
Questions about the origins of the Universe, angels and man in The Slavonic Apocalypse of Enoch (2 Enoch) are expressed through the conceptual thesaurus of theodicy, whilst Myth explicates Law – both in terms of Human and Divine. While in 1 Enoch the Watchers myth is concerned with the breach of epistemological borders and the collapse of the ontological division between the incorporeal and corporeal, resulting from the carnal union between the angelic and the human and the disclosure of heavenly secrets to earthly agents, the narrative in 2 Enoch is free of the concept of the illicit transmission of knowledge; instead, it focuses on the trope of the violated contract between God and a congregation of rebellious angels, as a result of the “free will” wrongly exercised by them. Thus the issue of the origin of evil is presented in terms of juridical ontology as a matter of legal reasoning. The length of the Watchers narrative varies in different Slavonic manuscripts, while offering alternative spellings of the term for the Fallen Angels; the latter represents a transliterated version of the Greek angelonym Gregoroi [Γρήγοροι, Ἐγρήγορoι] (used by Synkellos in his Universal History). The discussion in the present article is based on the analysis of twelve text witnesses (e.g. Codex Belgradensis, Codex Chludovianus, Codex Belgradensis Serbius, Codex Vindobonensis Slavonicus 125, Codex Moscovitanus Barsovii, etc.), with reference to all published manuscript sources.
Keywords: Slavonic Apocalypse of Enoch (2 Enoch); 1 Enoch; the Watchers mythologeme; theodicy; angelology; Gregoroi [Γρήγοροι, Ἐγρήγορoι]; broken myths; oral tradition; knowledge transmission; history of ideas.
Slawisch-albanischer Sprachkontakt in vormoderner Zeit, ein kurzer Abriss
Joachim Matzinger (Wien)
Slavic-Albanian language contact in premodern times, a sketchy overview. – As a consequence of the arrival of Slavic in the Balkans, intensive language contact with the pre-Slavic local languages in the Balkans began. One of these local pre-Slavic languages is Albanian which is attested in written documents only since the 16th century AD. As a matter of fact, language contact between Albanian and Slavic must have been very close in the preceding centuries. This is confirmed by two factors. On the one hand the numerous Slavic loanwords which have been integrated into the Albanian lexicon. On the other hand, the equally numerous place-names in all of Albania, which are formed with Slavic lexical components. For the modern periods, the various linguistic contacts between Albanian and Slavic have been thoroughly investigated and presented, but there is no comprehensive account of the older periods. In this article, therefore, an attempt is made to sketch the Slavic influences on Albanian in the premodern periods, at least in the essential points. The focus is on the influences of Slavic on Albanian. The influence of Albanian on the neighboring Slavic languages, however, will be the subject of other investigations.
Keywords: (Old) Albanian, Slavic, language contact, toponymy, loanwords, Old Albanian alphabet, Cyrillic alphabet.
Varieties of German in the Czech Republic
Marek Nekula (Regensburg)
The paper examines both sociohistorical and sociolinguistic aspects of varieties of German in the Czech Republic in an overview of the history of German-speaking communities. Confronted with a diverse variety of German throughout the Czech lands, the paper focuses on those in Southern Moravia. Particular attention is given to Czech-German language contact in dialects in the study’s broader analysis of the phonetics and phonology, morphosyntax and lexicology of German in Southern Moravian.
Keywords: language continuum, language island, language contact, language conflict, language shift, minority language, threatened language, generation model.
Deržavins „Leben auf Zvanka“
Joachim Klein (Leiden)
Derzhavin’s poem To Evgenii. Life at Zvanka is an important work of his later years. This paper aproaches it from three different angles: 1. The angle of the genre as a country house poem in its relation to Horace’s II epode Beatus ille.... 2. The angle of a contrasting backdrop which is established in the first stanzas of the poem: the imperial court at Petersburg. 3. A further angle is implicit in the poem: a contemporary disdain for gentry landowners. In the light of Peter I’s reforms their lifestyle could be perceived as a backward and even barbarian relic of medieval Russia. From this point of view Derzhavin’s idealized picture of country life can be interpreted not only as a criticism of court life, but also as an attempt to bring the Russian gentry’s way of life into accord with contemporary Russian culture. As in many of Derzhavin’s poems, we can assume a didactic intention: His Zvanka was supposed to serve as a model for the Russian country gentry to emulate.
Keywords: Derzhavin, Horace, country house poetry, the imperial court, landed gentry, didactic function.
Николай Заболоцкий в стране «Гулливера»
Андрей Устинов (Сан Франциско) / Игорь Лощилов (Новосибирск)
The essay “Zabolotsky in the land of ‘Gulliver’” offers a profound review of Nikolai Zabolotsky’s mentions in the almost weekly “Literary Chronicle” column of the Parisian newspaper “Vozrozhdenie,” which was signed “Gulliver.” That “avatar” was created by the family tandem of Nina Berberova and Vladislav Khodasevich, however the selection of publications for the column and, especially, caustic literary assessments most likely belonged to the latter. Back in 1929, Khodasevich got his hands on the February issue of the Leningrad magazine “Zvezda,” where Zabolotsky’s poem “Circus” was published. “Gulliver” mentioned this poem several times, often without an apparent reason, and mostly, as an example of experimental poetry which was absolutely unacceptable for him; or as a case of the genuine idiocy of Soviet poetry. Paradoxically, that particular assessment of Zabolotsky’s work by an émigré critic went hand in hand with the accusatory statements of Soviet official press, which attacked Zabolotsky with a genuine zeal after the publication of his poem “The Triumph of Agriculture.” The authors republish two reviews of “Gulliver,” specifically dedicated to Zabolotsky’s work with a necessary commentary. They also explain how the ignorance of “Gulliver” and émigré literary critics regarding Zabolotsky’s biographical and literary circumstances caused a catastrophic lack of understanding of the poet’s place in Soviet literature of the interwar period.
Keywords: Nikolai Zabolotsky, “Pillars,” émigré literature, literary criticism, Vladislav Khodasevich, Nina Berberova, “Gulliver,” Soviet poetry of the 1920s and 1930s, “Literary Chronicle” of the newspaper “Vozrozhdenie,” Russian émigré press.
Das Summen des Käfers: Belebte Natur bei Michail Prišvin als Übersetzungsproblem (Aus der Korrespondenz mit Alexander Eliasberg)
Carmen Sippl (Wien)
“The Beetle’s Buzzing. Animated Nature in Works of M. M. Prishvin as a challenge for translation (From the correspondence with Alexander Eliasberg)” retraces the genesis of the first translation of Mikhail Prishvin’s early travel sketches into German. Two years before the outbreak of World War I the Russian nature writer and his translator Alexander Eliasberg became acquainted via mutual friends like Aleksei Remizov, Valery Briusov or Dmitry Merezhkovsky. Their correspondence bears witness to the challenge Prishvin’s experiences in offside Russian nature, as expressed in his atmospheric descriptions, his use of metaphors from myth and fairytale as well as anthropomorphizations, meant to the translator. Eliasberg’s compilation (published 1914/17 in Munich) covers sketches from Prishvin’s travels to the Kyrgyz steppe, the far North, and to the Old Believers in Central Russia’s deep forests.
Keywords: Translation studies; Alexander Eliasberg; Mikhail Prišvin; poetics of nature; travel sketch; nature writing.
Краковский лингвист Ян Розвадовский и Российская академия наук (по архивным документам)
Лариса Бондарь / Марина Поникаровская (Санкт-Петербург)
Based on documents from the St. Petersburg and Cracow academic archives, the article highlights the interaction of Jan Rozwadowski (1864–1935) with Russian academic circles, which began with an appeal to V. I. Lamanskii for help in organizing a dialectical expedition to the Polish lands included into the Russian Empire. This first contact brought the Krakow professor to the St. Petersburg academic circles, and from this time began his productive communication with Russian linguists: F. F. Fortunatov, E. F. Karskii and, above all, A. A. Shakhmatov. It was this interaction that ultimately determined the double election of 1911: A. A. Shakhmatov – to the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, and J. Rozwadowski – to the Imperial Academy of Sciences. The First World War interrupted scientific contacts of colleagues, and J. Rozvadovsky did not resume epistolary communication with Russian (Soviet) Slavists after the war.
Keywords: Jan Rozwadowski, dialectical expeditions to the Western regions of the Russian Empire, Russian-Polish academic contacts in linguistics.
Поэтическое наследие Эллиса: на пути к переизданию «Stigmata» и «Арго»
Елена Глуховская (Санкт-Петербург)
Using archival materials as well as contemporary publications, the essay traces Ellis’ development from his early poetic compositions to his poetry books “Stigmata” (1911) and “Argo” (1914), both of which appeared in the Moscow Symbolist publishing house “Musagetes.” Consideration is also given to evaluations of these books in the periodical press. The author concludes that a new edition of the Moscow books is necessary, which would discuss textological issues, supply commentary and also observe the poet’s structural wishes and the books’ compositional peculiarities.
Keywords: Ellis (Lev Kobylinsky), Valerii Briusov, Russian Symbolism, the publishing house Musagetes, literary criticism of the early twentieth century.
Владислав Ходасевич в «Столбцах» Заболоцкого
Андрей Устинов (Сан Франциско) / Игорь Лощилов (Новосибирск)
The essay describes the influence of Vladislav Khodasevich’s poems on Nikolai Zabolotsky’s literary work. Once under his own name but mostly under the nom de plume “Gulliver”, Khodasevich repeatedly addressed Zabolotsky’s poetry in a derogatory or dismissive tone, noting, nevertheless, its striking difference from general literary production. The authors establish that Khodasevich’s fallacy was based solely on his acquaintance with the poet’s publications in the “thick Soviet magazines”. Zabolotsky’s “Pillars”, published in February of 1929, did not reach Paris. That also explains a comfortable silence of the émigré critics regarding this most striking debut in the history of Russian verse. If Khodasevich had an opportunity to get acquainted with the book in its entirety, he would have recognized in Zabolotsky the echoes of his own poems. Besides the “Pillars” the reflections on Khodasevich’s poetry could be found in Zabolotsky’s other poems of the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Keywords: Nikolai Zabolotsky, “Pillars,” émigré literature, literary criticism, Vladislav Khodasevich, poetic influences.
«Считаю своим руководителем и благодарна его памяти»: письма Татьяны Клименко-Ратгауз к Альфреду Людвиговичу Бему (1930–1940 гг.)
Предисловие, подготовка текста и примечания Людмилы Спроге (Рига).
Thе publication presents several letters of Tatiana Klimenko-Ratgauz (1909–1993) to Alfred Bem (1886–1945). This correspondence allows to supplement the history of the Prague literary association “Hemlet of Poets,” and adds the new details regarding Russian cultural life in Prague and Riga. They also pertain to some previously undiscussed events in the biographies of both correspondents, and their literary and theatrical milieu.
Keywords: :Alfred Bem, Tatiana Klimenko-Ratgauz, “Hemlet of Poets,” Riga Russian Drama theater, emigre literature, Russian diaspora in interwar Czechoslovakia.
Как издавать Пастернака? (К вопросу о переизданиях ранних стихотворений)
Анна Сергеева-Клятис (Москва)
The essay “How to Publish Pasternak? On the Question of the republication of his early poems” examines the relationship of the early and late variants of the poems that comprise Pasternak’s first books of poetry “A Twin in the Clouds” and “Above the Barriers.” Reworking, even rewriting some of these texts for his poetry collection of 1929, Pasternak incorporated new principles that he had taken on in the late 1920s. These reworkings did not always seem warranted even to him, but they were motivated by his new poetics. In this article, the author suggests examining and publishing the early versions of these poems as the basic text or in any case giving the early versions the same status as the 1929 variants.
Keywords: Boris Pasternak, poetics, “A Twin in the Clouds,” “Above the Barriers,” publishing practice, simplification, early version, later version.
Из комментариев к книге стихотворений и переводов Эллиса «Крест и Лира».
I. Имена волхвов: след немецкой мистической традиции
Федор Поляков (Вена)
This publication “From the Commentary to Ėllis’ book of poems and translations ‘The Cross and the Lyre’. I. The names of the Magi: Traces of the German Mystical Tradition” is the first in a series of notes related to the third book of poems and translations by the symbolist poet Ėllis (Lev Kobylinskii) Krest i Lira (“The Cross and the Lyre”), compiled in Locarno in 1938. In the present article Ėllis’ use of the names of the Magi is examined within the context of the German mystical tradition as represented by Anna Katharina Emmerick (Emmerich). The article also considers her impact on Ėllis’ religious concepts more generally.
Keywords: Ėllis (Lev Kobylinskii), Christian mysticism, Anna Katharina Emmerick (Emmerich), Clemens Brentano, the names of the Magi.
Из Именного указателя к «Записным книжкам» Ахматовой: Белкины
Роман Тименчик (Иерусалим)
“Towards the Index of Anna Akhmatova’s Notebooks”. – This part of series of historical and literary commentary to the poet’s notebooks examines her relationships with the painter Veniamin Belkin and his wife, the pianist Vera Belkina.
Keywords: Anna Akhmatova, Veniamin Belkin, Vera Belkina, Mir iskusstva.
Список работ К. М. Азадовского 2011–2021 гг.
Алла Лапидус (Санкт-Петербург)
The present list includes works by Konstantin Markovich Azadovsky and references to his conference talks, discussions and interviews. It continues the bibliography of 1958–2011, which was compiled for his Festschrift (2011).
Keywords: Konstantin Azadovskij, Russian-German cultural relations, the reception of German-speaking cultures in Russia, philological disciplines in the Soviet Union.