Modernity

The paper raises the question of the place of the Biblical text in Bulgarian literature and the autostereotype of the religious indifferentism of the Bulgarians. Both the key texts of the famous Bulgarian literary critics (B. Penev, D. Konstantinov, A. Dalchev) and their reception in the latest Bulgarian literary studies are analysed. The cultural context of the perception of the Bible (and religion) is given in terms of formation of modernity, as the emphasis is put on the role of the Orthodox and Protestant thought. It is indicated that a new perspective on the phenomena can be provided by the postsecular thought.

This paper deals with the different images of one key event in Bulgarian history – the conquest of the capital city of Tarnovo by Ottomans (1393). Some of the main texts about it could be traced in hagiography, in folklore, in historiography and textbooks, and in literature are discussed. The focus is on the interpretations from the 19th century and on examining them as a network and in the context of some other similar events (e.g. the conquest of Constantinople, 1453, the Battle of Kosovo, some local military clashes, etc.), in the quest of a common mythical base beneath them presenting the conquest of an important city by foreign infidel barbarians. Some characteristics, typical for Bulgarian culture are discussed. Among them, the absence of reports for a great battle, the important role of the Patriarch and relatively small role of the last King, etc. The counter-discourse about the decline of the kingdom is also noticed in the context of the creation of the canonic image of the event that appeared relatively lately. The most prominent author in this counter-discourse was the poet Hristo Botev.