Approximately forty preserved depictions of the Living Cross in various media reflected the anti-Jewish sentiments of those that commissioned them. Only one is known on the territory of today Slovenia. In the paper, the depiction of the Living Cross from Ptuj is put into the context of depictions of the same motif in the near Central European and Northern Italian space, and the medieval Jewish community in Ptuj. Moreover, owing to the juxtaposition in the Ptuj church, it is also placed in the context of the slightly younger depiction of The Three Orders. The author compared the spatial confrontation between the depictions of the Living Cross and The Three Orders with the miniatures, which illustrate the mass for the Feast of Corpus Christi in Salzburg's missal and subsequently established the hypothesis that the chapel in which the two wall paintings from Ptuj were painted was originally intended for the devotions of the Corpus Christi and Virgin Mary's confraternities. The paper opens questions on the patronage and the patrons and painters' theological support in the design of complex iconographic motifs that reflect Ptuj's intellectual power at the end of the 15th century. Thus, the study opens possibilities for further research. There are, as yet, no conclusive answers relating to questions of patronage and theological foundation, which are problematised for the first time, owing especially to the poor preservation of the archival material on Ptuj in the 15th century.
COBISS.SI-ID: 47280899
This paper focuses on new findings regarding Jewish families in Prekmurje, found in hitherto unanalysed sources. They provide testimony of a somewhat older presence of Jews in the region, who arrived soon after the end of Rákóczi's War of Independence (1703-1711), when peace finally came to Hungary. The paper hereby answers the question of when Jews arrived in Esterházy market town of Dolnja Lendava, the Batthyány market town of Murska Sobota (Mura Szombat) and in the village of Beltinci (Bellatincz), owned by the Counts of Csáky. In the early eighteenth century, all three were seats of extensive lordships and had at least 400 inhabitants each, which made them attractive to Jewish merchants. Reports on their trade with the owners of these lordships multiply already in the 1710s. At first, most Jews were registered as temporary residents, as their permanent residences were in the Esterházy town of Eisenstadt (Kismarton) or the Batthyány market town of Rechnitz (Rohoncz), both in today's Burgenland. Occasionally, individual family members rotated in their Prekmurje residences; they also brought their wives and children along with them. Jewish merchants in the region were retailers, selling household necessities in their own stores, buying produce and artisanal products as well as often renting spirit distilleries.
COBISS.SI-ID: 47281923
The aim of the paper is to present and analyze some depictions of medieval Jewry in present-day Slovenia and neighbouring regions in Slovene literature, particularly in selected historical novels. The main part of the paper discusses depictions of the presence of Jews in Slovenian historical lands in the 14th and 15th centuries in historical novels. It must be said that the portrayal of medieval Jewry in the selected texts is often negative, even though the discussed novels were written after World War II. The Marpurgs by Zlata Vokač Medic from the 1980s is arguably one of the most sympathetic portrayals of medieval Jewry in Slovene literature. Further examination of the text demonstrates that medieval Jews are not represented as an alternative to the much criticized majority Christian society dominated by the power-obsessed Catholic church. The author's focus always remains on exceptional individuals, who are able to overcome the narrow collective identities of their societies. Jews as a discriminated group of people mainly serve as an illustration of the shortcomings of the majority society. This focal point is also preserved in the second novel by Zlata Vokač, The Book of Shadows. However, the core historical setting of the expulsion of the Jews from Maribor and Styria in 1496 nevertheless forced the author to develop the Jewish storyline in depth, which is already reflected in the role of the Jewish buninesswoman Sara as the main character. Hence, it can be said that The Book of Shadows is the foremost text about the Jewish presence in present-day Slovenia during the Middle ages in Slovene literature.
COBISS.SI-ID: 47281155
The paper focuses on some key questions of the debate, mainly relating to the timing and cause of the arrival of the Jews in individual smaller urban locations. The role of the sovereigns, especially the Habsburgs, has proved to be crucial in encouraging and supporting the Jews in their decision to settle in a particular place. The commitment of Styrian Dukes seems to be best in the case of the (Slovenian) Bistrica, where it is clear that their interest that has not only made the arrival of Jews in the town possible, but also largely regulated their activities. The case of Slovenj Gradec also points to a similar pattern. Here, too, the influence of the landed gentry is decisive for the arrival of the Jews in the city, but in this case it is indirectly expressed through the actions of the Aufensteiner landed gentry, which was undoubtedly entirely in the spirit of their master, the Duke of Carinthia. From the overall picture, the example of Dravograd stands out most, where we are dealing with a rather unusual moment when the Jews from Styria (at least as the fact that they are subject to the judge for the Jews of Graz) settle down in one place. The fate of Jew David from Dravograd in Vienna only shows that the connection with Dravograd was very tight and had to go beyond a purely short-term stay. In any case, it can be concluded that it was not only the role of Provincial Lords that largely controlled the presence or absence of Jews in individual places, but that the role of the Habsburgs (and Tyroleans as Dukes of Carinthia) as Styrian sovereigns is also particularly exposed. In any case, this analysis must be added for further answers in a similar way for the Kranjska region and for the Goriška and Istra regions.
COBISS.SI-ID: 60949251