Skazanie o pismeneh by Constantine the philosopher Kostenečki as a source of folk culture in the middle ages

Abstract

The research of folk culture in the Middle Ages requires a special methodological approach which includes both defining the notion of “folk culture” and the question of the existing sources and their use. This study demonstrates the importance for the Skazanie o pismeneh by Constantine the Philosopher Kostenečki, as a source for the folk culture of medieval Serbia and Southeastern Europe at the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th century. Although this work is well-known in scholarly circles, so far it has not been considered in the context of the said domain of research. In order to correctly understand the data contained in the Skazanie, it was examined not only in relation to similar data but also in very close connection with the motives for the creation of the work and the cultural concepts advocated by its author, which had little affinity for folk culture.

Keywords

• folk culture
• customs
• performances
• reforms
• resistance
• the Middle Ages