A shrine or a ruined life?

Symbolism of the legend of Master Manole and the monastery in Curtea de Argeș (an anthropological perspective)

Tłumacz: Miłosz Biedrzycki

Seria: Studia nad Dziedzictwem i Pamięcią Kulturową

Liczba stron: 136 Format: 15,8 x 23,5 cm Rok wydania: 2026 Data premiery: 15.07.2026

Oprawa miękka ze skrzydełkami

47,25 zł

37,80 zł

Najniższa cena w ciągu ostatnich 30 dni: 37,80 zł

Stan: Dostępny

Opis książki

The main focus of Ewa Kocój’s research has become a tale of an immured woman and Master Manole – popular in Romania but also found in many regions of Central-Eastern and Southern Europe. The present analysis was inspired by the author’s field research conducted in the Curtea de Argeș monastery, where she has observed the existence of two realities of ideas connected to that space, in which two women’s devotion constitutes the canvas for the archaic beliefs about the immured wife of Master Manole, which the members of the local community still recount to this day. The author was able to prove that this tale confirms the universal character of the consciousness construct, which sustains the timeless phenomenon of the inner spiritual transformation with the help of symbols. The present monograph showcases a great deal of knowledge supported by very important empirical experience, which is the result of a few decades of field research in many parts of Romania. The research activity of the anthropologist allowed her to familiarise herself with the observed individuals; understand their mentality; explain the meanings which they assign to the reality surrounding them. The author shares this experience with readers in a communicative manner, filling a knowledge gap about this country.
dr hab. Eugeniusz Kłosek, prof. UWr.

O Autorce

Prof. dr hab. Ewa Kocój – ethnographer, cultural anthropologist, professor at the Institute of Culture of the Jagiellonian University, psychologist and psychotherapist. Her main research interests are difficult heritage, cultural memory and memory of national, ethnic as well as religious minorities in Central and South-Eastern Europe. She researches religiosity in multicultural border regions; human relations with artefacts – including religious and folk art, as well as Carpathian heritage. Currently, she focuses on the traces of traumatic cultural heritage and underground museum practices in the Carpathian region in her research.

O serii

Studies on Heritage and Cultural Memory - The series presents new Polish and foreign research on heritage and cultural memory as well as modern discussions devoted to methods and theories connected to this field. It offers the readers publications on cultural memory, artefacts, material and immaterial cultural heritage as well as their interrelationships. Its focus centres around heritage and cultural memory in different contexts, including heritage of national, ethnic as well as religious minorities; heritage of border regions; and the difficult, uncomfortable heritage without heirs or of the marginalised and the excluded. The authors research the processes connected to the constructs of heritage and cultural memory as well as the methods of their use and misuse; while tracing the tensions between the ideologised and lived heritage. They are also interested in the notions of heritage and memory negotiations, image construction of the past and use thereof within different cultural strategies and political agendas.

Series Editorial Board: Prof. dr hab. Ewa Kocój – series editor, dr hab. Bożena Gierat-Biedroń, dr hab. Monika Golonka-Czajkowska, prof. UJ, dr hab. Agnieszka Gronek, prof. UJ, dr hab. Alicja Kędziora, prof. UJ, dr hab. Krzysztof Kowalski, prof. dr hab. Grażyna Kubica-Heller, dr hab. Anna Niedźwiedź, prof. UJ, dr Joanna Szulborska-Łukaszewicz, dr hab. Stanisława Trebunia-Staszel, dr hab. Patrycja Trzeszczyńska, dr hab. Cezary Woźniak, prof. UJ, dr hab. Małgorzata Zawiła

Język publikacji angielski

Wydanie pierwsze

Autorzy Ewa Kocój