The Motif of Androphagy in Some Medieval Balkan Texts – Religious and Cultural Aspects

Authors:

Pages: 263-271

Abstract:

In the 11th c., in the time when the kings Samuel, Gavril Radomir and Ivan Vladislav of Bulgaria waged heavy battles and tried to save the Bulgarian State, and when after 1018 the Byzantine rule began, a translation of an apocrypha appeared in Bulgaria, which treated the subject of androphagy. The man-eaters (androphagi) are sui generis messengers of the chtonic powers. They are a threat to the others. That is why they can be easily related to the Jews and, at a later stage, to pagans as a whole. This fact is not a sign for a reversion to paganism, but is proof for the aspiration of the men of letters of that time (albeit authors of apocryphal literature) to straighten the chaos, restore the order and one more time emphasises that with God’s help salvation can always be achieved (even if Byzantine conquest is interpreted as punishment for sinfulness).

Keywords:

androphagy, paganism, apocryphal literature, God’s help salvation

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