Monastic “Histories” from the Early Revival Period and the Western Balkans: An Attempt to Interpret 18th-Century Bulgarian Historiography
Монашеските Истории от периода на Ранното възраждане и Западните Балкани
Language: Bulgarian

   The book examines 18th-century Bulgarian historical works, namely *The Bulgarian History of Zograf* by Dositej Zografski, *History of the Slavs and Bulgarians* by Paisiy Hilendarski, and *A Brief History of the Glorious Bulgarian People* by Spiridon Rilski. The texts are analyzed both within the framework of the medieval literary tradition and in the context of the European Enlightenment, which reached our lands via the Western Balkans. The book traces the interactions of the three monks with representatives of the Serbian National Revival movement, as well as the influence of key publications issued in Venice or Vienna for the purposes of the Croatian and Serbian National Revivals. The book also publishes a number of documents that help situate our first modern historians within the context of the era. It seeks to answer the question of why we, the Bulgarians, have no written history prior to the 18th century.

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