Projects / Programmes
The History of Forms in Jewish-Christian Sources and Traditions
January 1, 2004
- December 31, 2008
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 6.11.00 |
Humanities |
Theology |
|
| 6.01.00 |
Humanities |
Historiography |
|
| 6.05.00 |
Humanities |
Linguistics |
|
| 6.07.00 |
Humanities |
Literary sciences |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| H002 |
Humanities |
Theology |
The Holy Scripture, the history of forms, literary forms, literary analysis, theology, anthropology, Church history, Biblia Slavica, sin, guilt, punishment, reconciliation, yearning, Slovene classics, World classics, biblical names, etymology, semantics, transliteration, personal identity, national identity, the Holy Trinity
Researchers (18)
Organisations (1)
Abstract
The theoretical points of departure of the research program are the generally valid linguistic, literary, historical, philosophical, psychological and theological categories of the historical forms in Jewish-Christian sources and tradition. The various literary forms that express the fundamental themes of the world of values of ancient Israel and EARLY Christianity are in the first, thematic portion. In connection with this is also the planned research into literary samples with the themes of sin, guilt, punishment and reconciliation in modern Slovene and European literature. This part of the subject matter reflects the existential human dimension of the relationship between guilt and reconciliation, the ideal of reconciliation being one among the fundamental aspects of the forces of yearning in a human being. The expression of the subject matter in literary forms is in the centre of our attention, namely the relation between the drama of guilt and yearning for reconciliation in the Slovene folk tradition, in Slovene classics such as Ivan Cankar, as well as in world classics such as Shakespeare and Dostoyevsky, etc. The mental and emotional span between experienced guilt and the tendency towards reconciliation undoubtedly mirrors the existential dimension of this theme and shows that it assumes a central position in the most primary human consciousness and sentiments - that is, in the manifestation of human yearning for justice and reconciliation, for freedom, home and homeland.
In the context of the Holy Scripture in its entirety biblical names for individuals as well as geographical names are especially considered. The theoretical point of departure with regard to biblical names are general onomasiology and toponomasiology, onomastical and toponomastical particularities of Semitic names, the reasons for changes to the forms of names in transliteration from Semitic texts into Greek and Latin, the development of biblical names in European languages from the Middle Ages up to the present, interlingual and specifically Slovene factors in the forming of biblical names from the oral tradition and translations of the Holy Scripture to the present day. The content and aims of this multi-faceted research are the scientific explanation of the etymology and semantics of biblical names, scientific explanation of the main linguistic viewpoints of the transliteration of names from the source, as well as from older translations of the Holy Scripture. The role of biblical names in the consciousness of the people represents a special area of onomasiology and toponomasiology. Despite great societal and cultural changes, the culture of personal names continues to be of great importance in the modern world, being connected also to issues of an individual's personality as well as national identity and religious culture. This study deals with the patterns of choosing names, of the forms of respecting names, the celebrating of name days, the connection of names to names from the Bible and to names of Saints, their holidays and tradition in the broader sense, and so on. All of these questions call for sociological and psychological studies into people's attitudes towards their own names.
The subsequent theoretical viewpoint of the program group deals with the sources and tradition of the theology of the Holy Trinity. Trinitarian theological and religious categories form a unique synthesis of the Holy Scripture in its attesting to a living connection of the persons of the Holy Trinity in Christian theology (Trinitarian perichoresis). An important theoretical point of departure of the program group is, further, history in its embededness in the broader European realm under the viewpoint of the totality of human spiritual culture. Essential are the question of interaction between an individual and his culture, the causal connection between past events and the present response to traditional spiritual theses.
Significance for science
The members of the programme brought into focus investigation of the Bible as the basic source of the European and Slovenian cultures. Their primary interest were applications of contents and forms of biblical sources in translations of the Bible, in the life of national communities and in literature in general. The researches contributed significantly to European and Slovenian scholarship. Their publications make it manifest that the emergence of Christianity resulted in a radical transformation of the ideal of the human being and human development. The Bible profoundly influenced Western consciousness as it was translated into vernacular languages. The manner of presenting reality in the Jewish-Christian tradition displays different points of departure in the span from cosmological and material to purely personalistic perspectives. The Church Fathers manifest in their writings a very strong influence of classical philosophy and rhetoric, but it is their perception of life from within that compels them to make descriptions of various hidden meanings of the phenomenal side of reality. Analogy and typology, characteristic of biblical writings, are also the most effective methods employed by the Church Fathers. The use of these methods is more or less in line with biblical sources. In the Jewish-Christian perspective, the unity of history is firmer than that of mere world history, for in the purpose of God the temporal and the eternal are joined together by ties that cannot be broken. The orientation of universal history towards an end that is fulfilment implies interpretation in a determined direction as a general method of comprehending reality. From the horizontal point of view, distinct charismatic individuals seem to be more disconnected from others than heroes elsewhere in literature are. All the more manifest is their general vertical connection, which holds them all together in the historical sequence on the way to an end. Each of the great figures of the Old Testament, from Adam to the prophets, embodies a moment of this vertical connection. In connection with Bible translations in general, and the history of the Slovenian language in particular, the circumstances in which Bible translations originated, as well as how those translations were used, become crucial issues. In Western Europe the reference text was, besides the Original text, the Latin Vulgate. In the Orthodox Eastern countries it was the Greek Septuagint or some other eastern versions. Translators in Eastern Europe closely followed the Septuagint, but though translators in Western Europe also relied on the Septuagint, the Vulgate was the touchstone for them as regards the canon and many other questions. The original Bible, the Greek Septuagint, and the Latin Vulgate represent a genuine historical continuity in European culture. This is true especially for the Greek and Latin Bibles, as the Greek and Latin languages also strongly influenced the general development of European culture in all fields. Biblical place and personal names are the most conspicuous linguistic and cultural testimony of the fact that the Bible soon became the primary source of European civilization and later of world cultures. Through oral and written transmission of the biblical texts living religious and cultural traditions were nourished and in the broad cultural environment biblical proper names have been handed down from generation to generation in Bible translations, in folk literary creations, in the highest standards of national literature, and in linguistic studies on phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. In these ways, biblical forms of proper names were not only preserved but became also a primary source for further development in the transformation process of phonetic and semantic traits in accordance with the transformation rules between Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Latin, and other European languages.
Significance for the country
A judgment of significance for the development of Slovenia is inherently connected with the question of values. This issue was the basic guideline of all members of the programme group who investigated the history of forms in Judeo-Christian sources and tradition. The results of their research are focused on the inner connection between values and forms of the formal culture on synchronic and diachronic levels. The Jewish-Christian tradition underwent a process of growth that resulted in the creative enlargement of their own capacity for expressing ideas, greater precision and an enhancement of the condition of their general cultural structure. The acceptance of Christianity meant for Slovenian regions acceptance of the entire spiritual, literary and artistic tradition of Christian culture. Slovenians entered into contents and forms the Christian perception and expression of reality that was shared by all the nations of Middle Europe as a common heritage. From the Bible and other Christian sources they adopted idioms and simple words of expression, general and simple similes, and a great many figurative expressions that were used in identical form in all languages in use in Middle Europe. Both the vocabulary and literary forms from this part of Europe emanate from a crystallized Christian linguistic and literary tradition that included such basic elements of poetry as verse rhythm, styles of sentence construction, the choice of particular themes and the use of traditional motifs, as well as a wealth of set expressions that recur in identical form whenever the poet reverts to a given theme, situation or action. The elevated style of Biblical poetry and narratives influenced the mixture of poetic and prose features in the literary traditions of all nations. We must bear in mind the great impact of folk songs on the initial development of literary prose and poetry. It is therefore not surprising that in extant texts we find expressions and locutions that are surely a continuation and further development of conventional expressions commonly employed in the preceding epic poetry, poetry that was primarily intended to be heard rather than read. Since most people were not able to read the texts it was important to consider the role of rhythm and general laws of repetition when composing liturgical formulas, prayers, confessions and religious songs. The Freising documents from about the year 1000 – containing two texts of general confession and a speech about sin and penance – are composed in archaic, established literary forms discernible in earlier Christian tradition. From this we may assume that these documents were copied from considerably earlier sources. Characteristic of these texts is a solemn style, poetic diction and many formulaic features that prove the existence of a long literary tradition. Most discussions about human development rely on statistically verifiable data about general states of affairs in national cultures in the broader European and the narrower regional contexts. The fact of rise and fall within civilizations compels us, however, to pay greater attention to the inner motives of human development, especially to the question of values. Developed societies of Jewish-Christian provenance show in all realms that they are the result of the permanent interaction of natural and cultural contexts of individual persons and of the society as a whole. In the background is the Bible, which is full of incentive, longing and a search for the supreme good, while at the same time offering a permanent admonition against the deceptive autonomy of individuals and of the society. It is in this inseparable double role that the Bible is the most effective incentive for true human development. It is obvious that the Bible has strongly influenced human development in all countries in which it was published earliest in the vernacular and was included at all levels of education.
Most important scientific results
Final report,
complete report on dLib.si
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Final report,
complete report on dLib.si
