Inés García de la Puente

This article examines how the dual status of the self-translated text - both ‘original' and ‘translation' - provides a privileged vantage point for studying referentiality in autobiographical narrations. Starting with a brief discussion on the notion of referentiality in autobiography, and on the peculiarities of self-translation, I then focus on a text that is both self-translated and autobiographical: Esmeralda Santiago's Cuando era puertorriqueña, the Spanish version of When I Was Puerto Rican. Following an introductory analysis of Santiago's self-translating practice, I analyse translingual passages centred on reader-response criticism. The fact that the self-translated version, Cuando era puertorriqueña, transfers ‘back' into Spanish events experienced in that language but first written about in English plays an important role in how the self-translation embeds itself in the target language and culture, and on how referentiality is perceived. My conclusions suggest that autobiographical narration and life experience are closer to each other in Cuando era puertorriqueña than in When I Was Puerto Rican. Since the self-translated text is more directly referential than its source was, the link between autobiography and life is strengthened.

The widow of Gleb Vseslavich of Minsk outlived her husband by 40 years. Upon her death in 1158 AD, the Kievan Chronicle inserted a long eulogy where manifold details of her death and burial are given, and where her generous sponsorship of the Caves Monastery is repeatedly highlighted. This unusually (for a woman) long and thorough eulogy is the catalyst for this piece of research.In order to cast light on why her death attracted so much attention, we study what the circumstances of the last forty years of Gleb's widow's life might have been. We do so by merging the partial conclusions that the research in different disciplines have made available. Syntactical and semantical analysis lead to the proposition of a new interpretation of the eulogy: that the Kievan Chronicle is, in fact, telling us that she ruled Minsk for the forty years of her widowhood. In support of this theory, a study of chronicle entries on Minsk and Polotsk during those decades reveals an apparent vacuum of power in Minsk. Finally, sphragistical data provide indirect evidence of some kind of princely female rule in the north-west of Rus’ in approximately the same time period.Although no part of the research provides undeniable evidence, all parts point towards the same plausible answer: the combination of the results of linguistic analysis, of chronicle data, and of sphragistics favors the hypothesis that the widow of Gleb Vseslavich acted as the ruler of Minsk between the death of her husband and her own death.

In the PVL, there are two accounts of single hand-to-hand combat. The first reportedly takes place between a young tanner and a giant Pecheneg sub anno 993, the second between prince Mstislav and Rededja sub anno 1022. In the present article each narrative is compared to Greek and Latin accounts as well as to a Biblical one. The coincidences found in the comparison of all five narratives lead to the conclusion that such parallels cannot be coincidental, and that the possibility of a common genetic origin must be considered.