The Middle Ages as hope for the future: Sadoveanu’s reconciliation of Tradition and Modernity in 1930s Romania in Baltagul (The Hatchet) and Viaţa lui Ştefan cel Mare (Life of Stephen the Great)

Roach, A. (2023) The Middle Ages as hope for the future: Sadoveanu’s reconciliation of Tradition and Modernity in 1930s Romania in Baltagul (The Hatchet) and Viaţa lui Ştefan cel Mare (Life of Stephen the Great). In: 11th International Symposium on Byzantine and Medieval Studies "Days of Justinian I", Skopje, North Macedonia, 10-12 Nov 2023, pp. 198-210. ISBN 9786084981862

Abstract

In the Romania of the 1930s Mihail Sadoveanu tried to reconcile the bitter and increasingly polarised debate between modernisers and traditionalists by looking for a route into the future through two novels rooted in the past. In Baltagul/ The Hatchet he looked at how a mountain dwelling peasant woman might learn to manipulate the modern state to solve the mystery of the disappearance of her husband. In the historical novel Viaţa lui Ştefan cel Mare/ Life of Stephen the Great, he attempted to replicate some of the forms of early modern and medieval texts. The two texts are also part of Sadoveanu’s complex and dynamic political outlook which underwent significant changes in the early 1930s. Sadoveanu offered a method by which heritage might play a constructive role in political discussion.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Keywords: Romania, Sadoveanu, Miorita, Hatchet, Life of Stephen the Great, medievalism, interwar politics
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Roach, Dr Andrew
• Authors: Roach, A.
• Subjects: D History General and Old World > DR Balkan Peninsula
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > History
• ISBN: 9786084981862
• First Published: First published in 11th International Symposium on Byzantine and Medieval Studies "Days of Justinian I"
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced with permission of the conference editor.

Related URLs

• Organisation