PROPHETICAL DREAMS AND VISIONS IN MANUSCRIPTS FROM THE ROMANIAN PRINCIPALITIES (XV-XVI C.)

Andrei PROHIN Universitatea de Stat din Moldova

Аннотация

During the XV-XVI c., in the Romanian Principalities has circulated a rich literature dedicated to prophetic dreams and visions. An important category of prophetical dreams, being presented in the Byzantine and South-Slavonic sources, was the monarchic dream that anticipated the birth, the political carrier or death of the sovereign. In the historical works, such dreams could represent means of criticising or legitimating the sovereign’s power. The tradition of prophetic dreams assigned to sovereigns was continued in the Romanian area, being centred on the figures of several princes of Moldova (Ştefan cel Mare, Alexandru Lăpuşneanu, Petru Şchiopul). In contrast with dreams, that occurred while sleeping, visions took place while awake and, according to the Slavonic manuscripts from the Romanian Principalities, revealed mainly issues of spiritual life. Keywords: medieval prophecies, dreams, visions, manuscripts Slavo-Romanian, Byzantine tradition.