Ultimo aggiornamento: 22 September 2022
Curta presents an important
revisionist interpretation of the origins of the Balkan Slavs.
He opens with an eight-page
summary of the political and ideological agendas undergirding the
misinterpretations—derived, in particular, from misguided linguistic
approaches—prevailing from the nineteenth century until today.
As a refutation of those
arguments, this book is a significant contribution to medieval history and an
outstanding achievement in Slavic studies. Particularly impressive is the vast range of
studies—in nearly a dozen languages—analyzed, refuted, and reinterpreted.
The book also aims to
demonstrate new methodologies for the study of medieval ethnicity, especially
as reflected in material culture, although in this effort, and in the new
conclusions that he offers, Curta is less than thoroughly convincing.
As reflected in the
subtitle, the book combines traditional historical and archaeological research
methods, while also drawing upon insights gleaned from anthropology. In its
organization, it segregates these disciplinary methodologies: The first two
chapters analyze the textual evidence; the next three summarize the results of
archaeological research; and the final chapter on Sclavene leaders reads the
written sources in light of anthropological models. Genuine interdisciplinary
emerges chiefly in the book's conclusion, which interweaves these analyses into
a single argument about the "making" of the Slavs.