Geographical image of the world in the London Psalter Maps from the 13th century

The subjects of this paper are two maps from the 13th century Psalter, found in London. These are the Psalter World Map and the Psalter List Map. Both maps are designed in the shape of a circular disk, modeled on medieval mappae mundi T-O type. The first is a pictorial map, the second is descriptive. The primary goal of these maps was not to objectively present geographical reality, but to express biblical symbolism and medieval Christian cosmology and thus serve as a reminder in devotional practice. By their deconstruction, we discover not only the religious Christian view of the world, but also the historical and cultural representations of medieval people projected on a geographical basis. Maps from the London Psalter have so far been viewed more as a "religious document" than as an objective "geographical image" and a "historical document". Therefore, they were rarely used as a historicalgeographical source. The aim of this paper is to deconstruct the text and context of the mentioned two maps and thus interpret their imaginative geography and geographical representations, the meaning of symbols and toponyms, which may be of interest to researchers dealing not only with historical cartography but also with historical and human geography.

Apocalyptic motifs in light of the poetics of horror (based on the prose of A. V. Ivanov)

The goal of this article consists in analysis of the novels of A.V. Ivanov “Community” and “Tobol” from the perspective of using the images of the Apocalypse. Examples of referring to apocalyptic symbolism in the prose A. V. Ivanov are demonstrated. Multiple examples of interpretation of Biblical symbolism of the Apocalypse are featured in popular culture; A. V. Ivanov uses the experience of such interpretations with regard to the genre of horror novel. The article considers the examples of realization of apocalyptic motifs, and their role in the works of A. V. Ivanov, namely motif of the end of the world and related cataclysms (including the phenomena of monsters and demons of the End of Time), spiritual apocalypse, and rise of the dead. The scientific novelty consists in the analysis of the aforementioned imagery as technique of horror literature. It is proven that Ivanov refers to the images of the Apocalypse through the prism of popular culture, as well as resorts to the original strategy of interpretation of the materials, where the images of the End of Time serve as the language of consciousness of the heroes as the people of their era. The conclusion is made that apocalyptic symbolism, on the one hand manifests as the marker of horror in the genre of popular literature, while on the other hand is used by the for articulation of ethical criticism of modernity.

A Woman by Nature? Darren Aronofsky’s mother! as American Ecofeminist Gothic

In this essay, I discuss Darren Aronofsky’s 2017 feature film mother! in the context of an intersectional approach to ecofeminism and the American gothic genre. By exploring the histories of ecofeminism, the significances of the ecogothic, and the Puritan origins of American gothic fiction, I read the movie as a reiteration of both a global ecophobic and an American national narrative, whose biblical symbolism is rooted in the patriarchal logic of Christian theology, American history, female suffering, and environmental crisis. mother! emerges as an example of a distinctly American ecofeminist gothic through its focus on and subversion of the essentialist equation of women and nature as feminized others, by dipping into the archives of feminist literary criticism, and by raising ecocritical awareness of the dangers of climate change across socio-cultural and anthropocentric categories. Situating Aronofsky’s film within traditions of American gothic and ecofeminist literatures from colonial times to the present moment, I show how mother! moves beyond a maternalist fantasy rooted in the past and towards a critique of the androcentric ideologies at the core of the 21st-century Anthropocene.

БИБЛЕЙСКАЯ СИМВОЛИКА КАМНЯ В РУССКОЙ ФРАЗЕОЛОГИИ

Введение. Представлены результаты исследования реализации библейской символики камня в значениях образных фразеологизмов русского языка и текстах, актуализирующих их семантику. Актуальность работы обусловлена научным интересом к изучению функционирования образной символики камня в языковых единицах библейского происхождения. Целью работы является описание особенностей символизации камня в библейских текстах, а также анализ образных фразеологизмов, транслирующих эту символику. Материал и методы. Исследование выполнено в рамках когнитивного и лингвокультурологического подходов к изучению образных средств языка, которые метафорически, символически, аллегорически выражают представления о различных явлениях действительности. Используются методы структурно-семантического, концептуального и контекстного анализа, представленные в работах по когнитивной теории метафоры (Дж. Лакофф, М. Джонсон, А. Н. Баранов, Ю. Н. Караулов, А. П. Чудинов, и др.), лексической и фразеологической образности (Н. Ф. Алефиренко, О. И. Блинова, Н. А. Илюхина, Г. Н. Скляревская, Е. А. Юрина и др.), лингвокультурологии (М. Л. Ковшова, В. В. Красных, В. Н. Телия и др.). Результаты и обсуждение. В рамках данного исследования проведен анализ символического отображения камня в библейских текстах, описана семантика иносказательного характера, актуализированная в современных художественных и публицистических текстах, а также семантика и текстовое функционирование фразеологизмов, транслирующих символику камня. Первоначальным источником описываемых устойчивых образных выражений послужила книга Священного Писания Ветхого и Нового Завета – Библия. Заключение. Полученные результаты анализа демонстрируют аксиологически значимый фрагмент русской языковой картины мира. Данные корпусного исследования свидетельствуют об активном функционировании библейской символики камня в современном русском языке. Библейская символика камня в русской фразеологии актуализирует значения: суть, самая важная часть чего-либо; затруднение, проблема, с которыми кто-либо сталкивается при занятии каким-нибудь делом; осуждение кого-либо, высказывание кому-либо неодобрения; разрушение до основания чего-либо, а также некоторые другие.Introduction. This article presents the results of a study on the functioning of the biblical symbolism of a stone in Russian linguistic culture expressed through figurative means of the Russian language. The relevance of the work is due to scientific interest in the study of the functioning of the figurative symbolism of a stone in biblical texts. The purpose of this work is to describe the specifics of the symbolization of the image of a stone in biblical texts expressed in the semantics of language units and figures of speech; to consider various aspects of the metaphorical interpretation of the image of a stone, based on the symbolism of the spiritual and religious traditions of the Christian culture. Material and methods. The research is carried out within the framework of cognitive and linguistic cultural approaches to the study of figurative means of language that metaphorically, symbolically, and allegorically express various phenomena of reality. The methods used are structural-semantic, conceptual and contextual analysis presented in the works on the cognitive theory of metaphor by G. Lakoff, M. Johnson, A. Baranov, Y. Karaulov, A. Chudinov, etc.), lexical and phraseological imagery (N. Alefirenko, N. Ilyukhina, G. Sklyarevskaya, E. Yurina, etc.), linguoculturology (M. Kovshova, V. Krasnykh, V. Telia, etc.). The source of the linguistic material is the text base of the National corpus of the Russian language. Results and discussion. This study analyzes the symbolic representation of a stone in biblical texts; describes the semantics of the allegorical character relevant in modern fiction and non-fiction, as well as the semantics and textual functioning of phraseological units that translate the symbolism of a stone. The original source of the described stable figurative expressions was the book of Holy Scripture of the old and New Testaments – the Bible. Conclusion. The results obtained demonstrate a cognitively and axiologically significant fragment of the Russian linguistic picture of the world. The data of the corpus research indicate the active functioning of the biblical symbolism of a stone in the modern Russian language.

INSIDE THE DANTE WORLDS: SYMBOLIC SPACE OF BORIS TISHCHENKO’S "DANTE-SYMPHONIES" On the 755th anniversary of the birth of Dante Alighieri (1265–1321)

The article is devoted to the embodiment of Dante's "Divine Comedy" in the music of the Saint Petersburg composer Boris Tishchenko (1939–2010) using his "Dante Symphonies", op. 123 (1997–2005) as an example. There are several studies, analyzing various aspects of the implementation of the immortal Dante's masterpiece in the field of musical art. Among these works it is worth mentioning the research essays dedicated directly to "Dante-symphonies", which are authored by A. N. Knyazev, G. P. Ovsyankina, M. S. Samarina, S. Yu. Sumin. The present research lies in the plane of the local key problem, which brings relevance and novelty to the sphere of modern musical dantology — synthesis of numerical codes and biblical symbols in "Dante-symphonies". The article reviews biblical symbolism as the forming element of Boris Tishchenko's "Dantesymphonies". The analysis reveals the principles of synthesis of composer's techniques of the XXth century, sacred symbolism of the Holy Writ and numerical codes. The accompanying text to the symphony is studied. The author examines characteristic features of the composer's style as applied to the musical language of "Dante-symphonies".

Internety się palą. O wybranych semiotyzacjach pożaru katedry Notre Dame

The aim of the article is to analyse some online reactions to the Notre Dame fire, especially the content of social media. The fire has often been interpreted through biblical symbolism as a sign of God’s presence, a warning or even a punishment. At the same time, various information bubbles have used the opportunity to discuss some basic global issues, e.g. climate change, comparing the burning cathedral to the burning Siberian and Amazonian forests. There are also some examples of the pure netlore which can be seen as an element of the process of carnivalization – a way out from the apocalyptic narratives of any kind.

Animal Difference, Sexual Difference, and the Daughter of Jephthah

As many commentators note, the daughter of Jephthah is given as a burnt offering while Isaac is spared by divine intervention and animal substitution. Thus the sacrifice of Jephthah’s daughter raises questions about the relationships among sexual difference, animal difference, and human sacrifice in the Bible. This article explores such questions in dialogue with the interdisciplinary “animal turn” in the humanities and social sciences. The daughter of Jephthah is one of several women in biblical literature whose fate involves an association with domesticated animals. Attention to both the gendered structure of biblical households and the domestication of “companion species” (Donna Haraway) is crucial for understanding their stories. In addition, Jonathan Klawans’ symbolic theory of sacrifice proposes analogical relations between Israelites and the domesticated animals they cared for, and God and the Israelites who desired God’s care. Perhaps against Klawans’ intentions, his theory helps us understand child sacrifice as a problematic but logical consequence of metaphors that structure biblical symbolism and biblical sacrifice. By virtue of their continued existence in the realm of the domesticated after marriage, daughters/women remain more vulnerable than sons to a potentially animalized fate.