Query: Cursing

Roland Clark Discussion

Can anyone recommend any studies on cursing or being cursed in Romanian culture? I'm particularly interested in holy people cursing others, but anything on cursing - historical, sociological, or literary - would be helpful. Thanks!

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Petru Caraman, "Blestemul ca expresie folclorică a unui complex afect negativ" [Curses as a folkloric expression of a complex negative emotion], in "Anuarul Muzeului Etnografic al Moldovei", 3, Iasi, Casa Editorială „Demiurg", 2003, p. 11-74,

and also

Petru Caraman, "Descolindatul în orientul şi sud-estul Europei. Studiu de folclor comparat" [Counter-carols in the Orient and the South-East of Europe]. Ediţie îngrijită şi postfaţă de Ion H. Ciubotaru, Iaşi, Editura Universităţii „Al. I. Cuza”, 1997, 557 p.;

Although written quite a few decades ago, Caraman's work is still revolutionary and offers a multitude of examples, both Romanian and international.

Hi Roland,

Might not be quite what you are looking for, but here is a book dealing with cursing:

Laura Badescu - Mentalitati, retorica si imaginar in secolul al XVIII-lea romanesc: cartile de blestem. Bucuresti, 2013, Editura Muzeului National al Literaturii Romane (294 pagini)

This might be a useful starting point.

Best, Ana-Maria

Dear Roland, there is some good work on the function of cursing in early modern Romanian society, e.g. Dan Horia Mazilu's Istoria blestemului; and some articles by Cristina Codarcea (see also her book Pouvoir et societe).

Here are a few more references to add to the works already posted:

Codarcea, Cristina 'La malédiction dans les documents de la Valachie', Revue des études sud-est européennes, 32:1-2 (1994), 53-61.

Iancu, Andreea 'Binecuvântarea şi blestemul părinţilor în discursul testamentar (Bucureşti, sfârşit de secol XVIII-început de secol XX). Studiu de caz', Studii şi materiale de istorie medie 21 (2003), 57-70.

I got interested in malediction when I was studying Old Romanian books as many of them contain curses inscribed in them by owners against potential thieves. I mention this briefly in my book, relying on:

Radosav, Doru 'Books and religious feeling in the XVIIIth century', in vol. Ethnicity and religion in east-central Europe, ed. M. Crăciun & O. Ghitta (Cluj, 1995), 212-26.

Turc, Corina 'Interdicţia de instrăinare a cărţii româneşti prin blesteme în secolelel XVII-XVIII', Caietele David Prodan 1:1 (1994), 69-81.

Thanks to Adina and Ana-Maria also for their interesting references!

Thanks everyone!