This book offers rare insights into the cultural traditions that have shaped the Balkan region - from pagan times, through folk culture, the medieval Christian churches, the encounter between Christianity and Islam, up to the religious and national mythologies that have proved so destructive in the present day. With the Balkans a central focus of European concern at the beginning of the twenty-first century, this volume is a timely reminder of the complex cultural processes that continue to affect the modern world.

Topical; covers Bosnia and Kosovo

List of Illustrations Foreword Notes on the Contributors List of Maps Introduction and General Bibliography: Christianity and Islam in the Balkans; M.Heppell & H.Norris PART I: LAYERS OF BELIEF, BLURRED BOUNDARIES Prolegomenon to Religion in the Balkans; J.Nandris Folk Tales from the Bible and Koran; F.Badalanova Art and Doctrine in the First Bulgarian Kingdom; A.Moussakova Dualist Heresy in the Latin Empire of Constantinople; B.Hamilton The Religious Situation of the Hungarian Kingdom in the 13th and 14th Centuries; I.A.Pop Crypto-Christiantiy and Religious Amphibianism; N.Malcolm PART II: ORTHODOXY The Chilandariou Icon 'She Who Has Three Hands'; V.Jankovic Hesychasm in the Balkans; M.Heppell PART III: ISLAM Islam in the Balkans: The Bosnian Case; A.Lopasic Muslim Communities in Romania; J.Scarce The Bektashis in the Balkans; J.Norton PART IV: RELIGION, POLITICS, NATIONAL MYTHOLOGIES Religion, Irreligion and Nationalism in the Diaries of the Bulgarian Exarch Yosif; F.A.K.Yasamee Sharpened Minds: Religious and Mythological Factors in the Creation of National Identities in Bosnia-Herzegovina; M.Velikonja Appendix: Report of a Meeting of Religious Leaders, Kosovo, March 1999 Index