The "Macedonian Question": Notes to sources and findings: Middle Ages

The "Macedonian Question":

Notes to

The evidence of the sources and the findings of historical research: Middle Ages

59 - 60 - 61 - 62 - 63 - 64 - 65 - 66 - 67 - 68 - 69 - 70 - 71 - 72 - 73

59. For slavic toponyms, see the basic work by M. Vasmer, Die Slaven in Griechenland, Berlin 1941, pp. 176-229 (about MAcedonia). For remarks and reservations made on this work, see G. Georgakas, Byz. Zeitschrift 41 (1941), pp. 351-381 and 42 (1942), pp. 76-90. Also, the very important work of D.A. Zakythinos, Οι Σλάβοι εν Ελλάδι. Συμβολαί εις τήν Ιστορίαν τού Μεσαιωνικού Ελληνισμού , (= The Slavs in Greece. Contributions to the History of the Medieval Hellenism), Athens 1945, mainly pp. 67-86. See, also, recently: Fr. Brunet, "Sur l' hellenisation des toponymes slaves en Macedoine byzantine", Travaux et Memoires 9 (1985), pp. 235-265. From a statistical search I attempted, based on M. Vasmer's register, it appears in all Greece there are 2123 Slavic macrotoponyms (i.e. toponyms that represent inhabited places) and of these, 730 are found in Macedonia; the number is indeed very small in a total of many thousands of greek toponyms.

60. S.g. Saint Demetrius' Miracles for the second half of the 7th c.: P. Lemerle, Les plus anciens recueils des Miracles de Saint Demetrius. I. Le text (Paris, 1979), p.214, ll. 11-13, II. Le Commentaire (Paris, 1981), p. 135 et sq.

61. See Maria Nystazopoulou - Pelekidou, "Les Slaves dans l' Empire Byzantin", The 17th International Byzantine Congress. Major Papers (Washington D.C., August 3-8, 1986) New York 1986, pp. 345-367, with the bibliography and the quotation of the sources; for the policy of Byzantium, see p. 355.

62. The main characteristics of the material culture of the Slavs during the first period of their settlement in the Balkan Peninsula are: a) the burning of the dead, b) hand-made ceramics with certain shapes and decorations, and c) half-underground hut for dwelling. However, except for two rare exceptions (15 urns containing the ashes of the dead in Olympia and some vases in Argos), no indisputably Slavic objects have been found on Greek soil. No traces of the typically Slav dwelling have been found either -only a mention in the miracles of Saint Demetrius, see P. Lemerle, Les plus anciens recueils des Miracles de Saint Demetrius, vol. I, p. 220 ll. 26 and 29 and p. 229 1. 13. For the archeological finds in general, see Vl. Popovic, "Les temoins archeologiques des invasions avaroslaves dans l' Illyricum byzantin", Melanges d' Archeologie et d' Histoire de l' Ecole Francaise de Rome 87 (1975), pp. 445-504 and especially p. 457. For the Slavic dwelling, see Vl. Popovic, "Note sur l' habitat paleoslave", in P. Lemerle, Miracles, op. cit., vol. II, pp. 235-241. Cf. Maria Nystazopoyloy - Pelekidoy, Οι Βαλκανικοί λαοί κατά τούς Μέσους Χρόνους [= The Balkan Peoples during the Middle Ages] (Ioannina, 1986), pp. 34-36 and 81 sq. with the bibliography. For attributing to Slavs certain ceramic shells found in Argos and their chronology to 585, see: P. Aupert, "Ceramique Slave a Argos (585 ap.J.C.) "Etudes Argiennes (BCH Suppl. 6) (Paris, 1980), pp. 372-394 and P.A. Yannopoulos, "La penetration slave en Argolide", In the same, pp. 323-371. See, also, critique and reservations by F. Malingoudis, Σλάβοι στη Μεσαιωνική Ελλάδα (= Slavs in Medieval Greece), Thessaloniki 1988, pp. 16 sq.

63. See M. Pelekidou, Les Slaves dans L'Empire byzantin, op. cit., pp. 356-357.

64. See the Cyril - Methodius bibliography of only 25 years (1940-1964), which was compiled by Henriette Ozanne, Κυρίλλω καί Μεθοδίω Τόμος Εόρτιος επί τή χιλιοστή καί εκατοστή ετηρίδι [= Cyril and Methodius, Volume in Celebration of the one thousand and one hundredth Anniversary], vol. II (Thessaloniki, 1968), pp. 322-346.

65. For this first renaissance in Byzantium, see the basic work of P. Lemerle, Le Premier Humanisme Byzantin (Paris, 1971), especially chapters V-VII.

66. Contantine - Cyril appears in the Slavic texts to be conscious of belonging to Byzantine society and of his Greek descent: in his dialogue with the Mohammedans he points out that "εξ ημών προήλθον πάσαι αι επιστήμαι" [= all sciences originated from us] and of course he means the Byzantine and Greek culture. During the Khazar Mission, when the Kagan of the Khazars asked him what present he wanted from him, Constantine answered: "Δός μοι όσους Έλληνας αιχμαλώτους έχεις ενταύθα. Ούτοι αξίζουσι δι' εμέ περισσότερον οιουδήποτε δώρου" [= Give me as many Greek captives as you have here. For me they are worth more than any other present]: see "Βίος Κωνσταντίνου", ελλ. έκδ. Ιω. Αναστασίου, Επιστ. Επετ. Θεολογ. Σχολής Πανεπ. Θεσσαλονίκης 12 (1968) [= "Constantine's Life", Greek edition by I. Anastasiou, Scientific Year-book of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Thessaloniki 12 (1968)], pp. 126 and 138.

67. The nationality of the Apostles of the Slaves has been treated thoroughly with a quatation from the sources by Prof. Ant.-Aem. Tahiaos, "Η εθνικότης Κυρίλλου καί Μεθοδίου κατά τάς σλαβικάς ιστορικάς πηγάς και μαρτυρίας", Κυρίλλω καί Μεθοδίω Τόμος Εόρτιος [= "The nationality of Cyril and Methodius according to the Slavic historical sources and evidences", Cyril and Methodius, Festive Volume], vol. II, pp. 83-132. See also D.A. Zakythinos, "Κωνσταντίνος ο Φιλόσοφος καί η διαμόρφωσις τών σλαβικών γλωσσών", Πρακτικά τής Ακαδημίας Αθηνών 45, 1970 [="Constantine the Philosopher and the Formation of the Slavic languages", Proceedings of the Academy of Athens 45 (1970)], pp. 59-77. Cf. I. Karayannopoulos, "Τό ιστορικόν πλαίσιον τού έργου τών αποστόλων τών Σλάβων", Κυρίλλω καί Μεθοδίω Τόμος Εόρτιος [="The Historical Framework of the Work of the Apostles of the Slavs", Cyril and Methodius, Festive Volume], vol. I, pp. 139-151.

68. See my remarks on the report of the Bulgarian historians Vasilka Tapkova - Zaimova and Simeon Damjanov, "Les territoires bulgares - foyer des civilasations antiques et nouvelles", Actes du XVe Congres International des Sciences Historiques, Bucarest 1980 Bucarest 1982, vol. IV/1, pp. 109-110.

69. As the Slavist A. Vaillant observes in his Manuel du vieux-slave, I. Grammaire (Paris, 1948), pp. 11 and 13, Old Slavic was the common language of all the Slavs until the 9th-10th c. After the fragmentation and the expansion of the Slavic world, the local dialects had already begun to form in the 7th-8th c., however the Old Slavic mother - language continued to be used and comprehensible to all the Slavs. The separate Slavic languages were formed very late, only in the 11th century.

70. Patrologia Graeca, vol. 107, col. 969.

71. P. Lemerle, "La Chronique improprement dite de Monemvasie: le commentaire historique et legendaire", Revue des Etudes Byzantines 21 (1963), p. 49. Cf. M. Palakidou, Les Slaves dans l' Empire Byzantin, op. cit., pp. 359-361.

72. See Ap. Vacalopoulos, History of Macedonia, p. 11 sq., with the bibliography.

73. See B. Laourdas, Ο "Συμβουλευτικός πρός τούς Θεσσαλονικείς" τού Μανουήλ Κομνηνού [= Manuel Komnenos' speech "Admonition to the people of Thessaloniki"], Makedonika 3 (1953-55), p. 297, 21-22; Cf. also p. 291, 1.

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Cover Page - Preface - Introduction - I. The question and the position of Skopje -
II. Sources and findings of research: 1. Antiquity - 2. Middle Ages - 3. Turkish Domination
Notes: 1-5 - 6-32 - 33-38 - 39-58 - 59-73 - 74-95 --- Maps: 1 - 2 - 3