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Zusatztext "Art is powerful. It shapes public opinion and influences political action. As this fact is becoming increasing recognized, studies of the literary treatments of historical figures are growing in number, making this book most timely. It is a clearly written and well-researched contribution to a growing body of work." Informationen zum Autor Amelia M. Glaser is Associate Professor of Russian and Comparative Literature at the University of California, San Diego. Klappentext Amelia M. Glaser is Associate Professor of Russian and Comparative Literature at the University of California, San Diego. Zusammenfassung This is a study of literary representations of the controversial 17th-century Cossack Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky in Ukrainian, Polish, Russian, Yiddish, and Hebrew. Inhaltsverzeichnis Contents and Abstracts Introduction: Bohdan Khmelnytsky as Protagonist: Between Hero and Villain Amelia M. Glaser chapter abstract This introduction provides an overview of the 1648 Cossack uprising, and discusses the contested legacy of Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky. It takes as an example Mikeshin's statue of Khmelnytsky, unveiled in Kyiv in 1888 to commemorate the Baptism of Rus', to present the central problem of memorializing a charismatic figure like Khmelnytsky, who has been remembered as a hero or villain depending on the national context and the regime in power. The introductory chapter also offers a discussion of the literature in Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, Hebrew, and Yiddish that has memorialized Khmelnytsky and the Cossack uprising from 1648 to the present, focusing on the early modern period, Romanticism, Modernism, and the twentieth century. 1 A Portrait in Ambivalence: The Case of Natan Hanover and His Chronicle, Yeven metsulah Adam Teller chapter abstract In Jewish communal memory, Bohdan Khmelnytskyi is reviled as the mass-murderer of thousands of Jews in Ukraine. However, this memory preserves little detail about the man himself. This can be traced back to the contemporary Jewish chronicles that describe him in only the briefest terms. However, the most sophisticated and detailed chronicle, Yeven metsulah, by Natan Neta Hanover (Venice 1653), presents a multifaceted portrait of Khmelnytsky. Hanover uses his literary skills to explore the factors leading the Cossack hetman not only to rebel against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, but also to turn his anger on the Jews. Though Jews' pro-Polish orientation during the rebellion was clear, Hanover presents the little known, but highly significant, ambivalence felt by some Jews towards Khmelnytsky in the years before the uprising. This chapter contextualizes Hanover's portrayal of Khmelnytsky, reflecting on the sources of Hanover's outlook and its significance for later generations. 2 "A Man Worthy of the Name Hetman": The Fashioning of Khmelnytsky as a Hero in the Hrabianka Chronicle Frank E. Sysyn chapter abstract The most widely disseminated historical-literary work of eighteenth-century Ukraine, the Hrabianka Chronicle, exists in short and long redactions in scores of manuscripts. Yet, there is no academic edition or a thorough examination of its sources. Even Hryhorii Hrabianka's authorship is in question. The text is viewed as exem...
