The Boyana Murals [antikvár]

The 13th century was one of the most brilliant periods in the development of Bulgárián medieval culture. The Second Bulgárián Kingdom (1185-1396) was created as a result of cruel wars against the Byzantine oppressors and fierce struggles for national independence. In several decades alone, all Bulgárián lands were liberated and at the turn of the 13th century the ethnic boundaries of the countrv were restored. The feudal system got Consolidated and a class of noblemen and higher clergy, exponents of the new ideology, came to the főre. Naturally, this new social system exerted its influence on the development of medieval Bulgárián art and culture which were religious in character. They were placed at the service of the church, which played an important part in the feudal state. Portraying themes from the celestial hierarchy, these paintings were exact copies of the terrestrial hierarchy, thus providing abundant information about the political, legal, theological and philosophic views of the feudal class. The religious conceptions of the time were reflected in the behaviour of individual personages, for whom the