> [email protected] (Yarko Kit) wrote: > > >> Hi. Has anyone read any interesting books on the history of slavs, their >> culture and migrations throughout history? > If you could recommend any books that you have read or heard of. >> Thank You, > Yarko Kit > >I have some doubts about the subject. The Slavs live in many different >countries with very different histories. Southern Slavs have been separated >from others for over a thousand years. They have very different religions. >The question, as you pose it, means that you want a book about the following: >History of Russia, history of cetral European kingdoms, history of the >Holy Roman Empire, history of the Austrian Empire, history of the Ottoman >Empire, history of the Orthodox religion, history of Catholicism, history >of Islam in the Balkans, history of Protestant reformation and Catholic >counter reformation, history of the Hussite heresy, and what not. >Including all of the above into a single subject called Slavic history only >creates confusion. It is a little bit like asking for a book about nations >whose names begin with S. >Radek Ever since the rise of the Pan-Slavic movement, which drew popular support among the Slavs beginning in the 19th century, many people have believed that the Slavs are united by many aspects of history, culture, and language. The Slavs are, after all, one of the three largest ethnolinguistic families in Europe, along with the Romance and Germanic peoples (not to ignore the less numerous Celts). Though Slavs from Siberia may not physically resemble those from Macedonia, they do share many linguistic traits. Indeed, the Slavic langauges are closer to one another, viewed as a group, than the Romance or Germanic languages. (It has even been suggested in recent decades that all Slavs should adopt a single Slavic spoken and literary language). Most Slavs are united by a Christian heritage that dates back to Saints Cyril (Constantine) and Methodius, who converted Moravia in the year 863. In one form or another, the Christian Cyrilo-Methodian heritage still unites Slavic Christians, whether Catholic or Orthodox (or Hussite). The Pan-Slavs of the 19th century were inspired by this Cyrilo-Methodian heritage and many dreamed of the day when all Slavs might be united politically and religiously. The Church Slavonic language which is used today in Orthodox and Greek Catholic liturgies is a modern form of the language devised by Cyril and Methodius. Ironically, a form of Slavic "unity" was achieved under communism -- one of the great tragedies of human history. This unity, a form of enslavement, was drastically different from the romantic notions of the 19th century Pan-Slavs. And yet, despite the tragedy of communism, there remain individuals even today who believe in the ideal of Pan-Slavism. One of the foremost Pan-Slavs of modern time was born in the town of Wadowice beneath the Carpathian mountains -- Karol Wojtyla, better known as Pope John Paul II. There are many scholarly works that espouse a Pan-Slavic view of history. One outstanding scholar who belongs in this group is Francis Dvornik, a Moravian who taught at Harvard. He authored many books, including The Slavs in European History and Civilization. I recommend this book highly. J.Piszczor