Bulgarian Bogomils

The article studies the possible ethno-cultural content of one of the anathemas in the Synodicon of Boril from the 14th century, connected with the day of John the Baptist (Midsummer Day), in the context of the doctrinal and socio-historical aspects of the dual heresies of the Bulgarian Bogomils and the Catars from Langdoc, South France. Its main purpose is to comment, not to solve the complex problem of the interaction of the folklore culture and the ritual practices of the heretics, as it remains insufficiently documented by the written sources and suggests a great number of, often controversial or mutually incompatible, interpretations. By producing separate facts from studies on South French ethnographic material and emphasizing on the main semantic codes of the holiday in the collective memory of the European Middle Ages, the authoress supports the view of identity of the assessing paradigms towards the heresies and the paganism. An attempt has been made to parallel these – hypotheses more than conclusions – to a manuscript text material where it allows relevant perusals. The raised question is added to a number of others, which do not have a definite answer and which involve a more thorough examination on the paradoxes of the nomination on the topic The Bogomils about Themselves and the Others about Them.

Subject: Literary Texts The Fest of John the Baptist Dual heresies Bulgarian Bogomils Catars Аnathemas in the Synodicon of Boril