Дуалистички слики - богомилството во медиумот на сликата

Abstract

This study deals with the pictorial representation of the Bogomil movement, an aspect that has not been systematically treated before. It should be emphasized that the term Bogomil movement is used in its broader meaning and refers to all the mediaeval dualistic heresies in the Balkans (Bogomils, Massalians, Paulicians, Cathars, Paterens). Such an approach is based on the findings - confirmed by mediaeval written sources - according to which the Bogomils did reject the veneration of icons, but not necessarily the pictorial representation of its religious teaching (the decoration of prayer houses and holy books). Our research employs the methodology that has already been used in the study of the pagan religion of the Slavs which was based on the pictorial representations that survive on archaeological and ethnological objects. This method includes the analysis of the pictorial elements of an image, the discovery of their mutual relations and meanings and an interdisciplinary comparison of the results obtained. In this case, the motives for such an approach lie in the lack of exhaustive and precise written records on the Bogomil movement, which requires their supplementation and testing through an exploration of material evidence of a different kind and through the application of complementary scholarly approaches. This study covers the dualistic religious teachings from Macedonia and the neighbouring Balkan regions. In terms of chronology, it covers the period from Late Antiquity (3rd century AD), i.e., the emergence of the Manicheans, through the Middle Ages and up to the 19lh and 20th centuries (the last surviving elements of dualistic heresies in folklore).