Volume 83, Nº 2 (2022)

The choice of terms, as well as the variants of their translations, reflects the conceptual and methodological approaches of the historian to the analysis of historical society. Due to the discrediting of the idea of progress in the 20th century, the rejection of generalizing history and the deconstruction of general concepts under the influence of postmodernism, there was a gap between the past and the future, and the rejection of evolutionary models perceived as outdated teleology. These trends are most clearly manifested in the field of studying the history of the Middle Ages, which is now interpreted as radically opposite to «modernity». The Middle Ages ceases to be considered as a link in the progressive development, and the interest of historians is focused on the «otherness» of historical phenomena. The prevailing negative attitude towards the state, its institutions and servants in liberal historiography since the 19th century largely determines the position of historians in the study of medieval monarchies. In Russian medieval studies, these trends are expressed in the rejection of the previously accepted by historians the names of services and positions and to replace them with new ones, which are often a transcription of original terms or an incorrect interpretation of the functionality of services. The article analyzes these current trends, mainly based on the history of the French monarchy of the 13th–16th centuries, and offers options for choosing terminology based on the study of specific historical realities and their comparison with the developed scientific conceptual apparatus of the historian.

The article deals with the problems of using languages and translation during negotiations at the Westphalian Peace Congress. Negotiations could no longer be conducted only in Latin, as the plenipotentiaries of a number of states insisted on using their national languages. Therefore, the problems of translation were added to the actual linguistic problems, which concerned not only the actual negotiations, but also their reflection in the media. The publication of translations of congressional documents had a significant impact on its course and perception among the population.

This article is devoted to the perception of the image of the French kings Louis XII and Francis I and their participation in the Italian Wars in France, that was reflected in French literature and manuscript books of the 16th century. An itinerary of a ruler involves focusing on his travels, routes and factors, that influenced his travels. However, the way the monarchs wanted to see their own travels and the way the other people (authors, painters, miniature painters) saw them, represents an image of a ruler created in accordance with the wishes of a customer and the perception of the master who makes a piece of art. Therefore, this article deals with the imaginary voyage of a monarch reflected on the pages of French manuscripts.

A unique Italian manuscript «Ital. Q IV. N 21» is kept in the National Library of Russia in St. Petersburg. This is a copy of a travel diary of the three Venetians Pietro Querini, Bernardino Cornaretto and Bernardino Cole in the Holy Land. At the end of the 16th century they made a pilgrimage from Aleppo through Damascus to Jerusalem and back. Originally, this manuscript was kept in the book collection of Paolo di Bruschi. Then it was in the collection of Baldassare Boncompagni. In the 19th century it was described in the catalog of E. Narducci and was known to R. Röricht. At the end of the 19th century Boncompagni’s collection was sold out, the manuscript arrived in Russia and was forgotten and lost by researchers for a long time. In the modern catalog of the Boncompagni library, compiled in 2013 by R.B. Thomson and M. Folkerts, the manuscript is described by using the catalogues of E. Narducci and R. Röricht with a question mark about the place of its current location. In this paper, the history of this manuscript is traced, its source study features are revealed, and a brief description of its main content is given. The task of this work is to reintroduce this manuscript into scientific community, to show that it has not disappeared and requires close attention and study. The Venetian travel diary is the most important source on the history of European pilgrimages in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period.

Translation and commentary of extracts from Pierre Boaistuau’s Histoires prodigieuses, a treatise describing cases of abnormal births. The appearance of this treatise and its huge popularity show the increased interest in the appearance of «monsters» in the Renaissance. Boaistuau considers God’s punishment to be the main reason for the appearance of «monsters», but admits that other factors were also possible.

The review is devoted to Russian translation of De ordine palatii (882), a political tract, written by Hincmar, archbishop of Rheims (845–882). The translation and article were compiled by Andrey Bannikov and Vasily Verbin. The admonition, referred to «mirrors for princes» genre, was addressed to the bishops of West Francia and the king and Carlomann II (866–884), is a kind of completion of Hinkmar’s career, his political testament, which was aimed at maintaining the Carolingian monarchy in a crisis of royal power.

The article is the review and analysis of the book written by a well-known English medievalist Miri Rubin about the perception and politics towards strangers in the European medieval towns. The author tries to demonstrate the multitude of approaches and attitudes that can be found in different towns and regions, but at the same time she also determines common features and development tendencies for this policy. The position of two categories of strangers – Jews and women – is more profoundly explored.