IS AN ALBANIAN MAN’S BESA HIS BOND?
“An Englishman’s word is his bond”. What about the Albanian concept of besa? Besa, regarded as the holiest word and a precious value in Albanian culture, is reflected in Albanian personal names, legends and ballads, customary laws, and the works of both English and Albanian writers such as Edith Dur...
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Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Univeristy of Osijek
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Proverbium |
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| Online Access: | https://naklada.ffos.hr/casopisi/index.php/proverbium/article/view/1042 |
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| author | Fatma Shijaku |
| author_facet | Fatma Shijaku |
| author_sort | Fatma Shijaku |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | “An Englishman’s word is his bond”. What about the Albanian concept of besa? Besa, regarded as the holiest word and a precious value in Albanian culture, is reflected in Albanian personal names, legends and ballads, customary laws, and the works of both English and Albanian writers such as Edith Durham and Ismail Kadare. It is also present in museums dedicated to the rescue of Jews during the Holocaust, in cultural and political events, and in media coverage, such as the BBC article “What can Albania teach us about trust?” Considered the cornerstone of the Albanian code of honour in past centuries and a defining virtue of Albanian identity, besa has generated a rich corpus of proverbs. This study explores proverbs about besa in the Albanian language, as depicted in Albanian written sources, primarily dictionaries such as “Fjalë të urta të popullit shqiptar” (“Wise sayings of Albanian people” by Jorgo Panajoti and Agron Xhagolli, 1983) and “Fjalor i Shqipes së Sotme” (Dictionary of Current Albanian Language, 2002). The aim is to portray the many nuances and attitudes encapsulated by besa in these proverbs. The discussion highlights the richness of Albanian proverbs about “trust, troth, the pledged word, honour, the solemn promise and bond”, i.e. besa, by examining their content and cultural significance.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5a66650ef71d43649b7b7b23e7bb4d4c |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2806-7568 |
| language | deu |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Univeristy of Osijek |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Proverbium |
| spelling | doaj-art-5a66650ef71d43649b7b7b23e7bb4d4c2025-08-20T02:58:10ZdeuFaculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Univeristy of OsijekProverbium2806-75682025-07-0142110.29162/pv.42.1.1042IS AN ALBANIAN MAN’S BESA HIS BOND?Fatma Shijaku“An Englishman’s word is his bond”. What about the Albanian concept of besa? Besa, regarded as the holiest word and a precious value in Albanian culture, is reflected in Albanian personal names, legends and ballads, customary laws, and the works of both English and Albanian writers such as Edith Durham and Ismail Kadare. It is also present in museums dedicated to the rescue of Jews during the Holocaust, in cultural and political events, and in media coverage, such as the BBC article “What can Albania teach us about trust?” Considered the cornerstone of the Albanian code of honour in past centuries and a defining virtue of Albanian identity, besa has generated a rich corpus of proverbs. This study explores proverbs about besa in the Albanian language, as depicted in Albanian written sources, primarily dictionaries such as “Fjalë të urta të popullit shqiptar” (“Wise sayings of Albanian people” by Jorgo Panajoti and Agron Xhagolli, 1983) and “Fjalor i Shqipes së Sotme” (Dictionary of Current Albanian Language, 2002). The aim is to portray the many nuances and attitudes encapsulated by besa in these proverbs. The discussion highlights the richness of Albanian proverbs about “trust, troth, the pledged word, honour, the solemn promise and bond”, i.e. besa, by examining their content and cultural significance. https://naklada.ffos.hr/casopisi/index.php/proverbium/article/view/1042Albanian proverbsbesaparemiologypromisevalueculture |
| spellingShingle | Fatma Shijaku IS AN ALBANIAN MAN’S BESA HIS BOND? Proverbium Albanian proverbs besa paremiology promise value culture |
| title | IS AN ALBANIAN MAN’S BESA HIS BOND? |
| title_full | IS AN ALBANIAN MAN’S BESA HIS BOND? |
| title_fullStr | IS AN ALBANIAN MAN’S BESA HIS BOND? |
| title_full_unstemmed | IS AN ALBANIAN MAN’S BESA HIS BOND? |
| title_short | IS AN ALBANIAN MAN’S BESA HIS BOND? |
| title_sort | is an albanian man s besa his bond |
| topic | Albanian proverbs besa paremiology promise value culture |
| url | https://naklada.ffos.hr/casopisi/index.php/proverbium/article/view/1042 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT fatmashijaku isanalbanianmansbesahisbond |