„…let us not erase the achievements of the past…”
100 years since the birth of Prof. Vasilka Tapkova-Zaimova.
There are destinies that, through the written and spoken word, leave a lasting mark on the public consciousness, especially in the memories of friends, colleagues, students… For them, medievalists, historians, and philologists, Prof. Vasilka Tapkova-Zaimova is a source of creative inspiration, encyclopedic knowledge, and patriotism.
Born in Sofia on August 7, 1924, she is a descendant of a patriotic Bulgarian family of educators (enlightheners) from Thessaloniki and a family with traditions in classical education and Francophonie. This probably predetermined her creative path in science. After graduating from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” with a degree in Classical Philology, she was appointed to the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, initially at the Institute of History and later at the Institute of Balkan Studies. She is one of its doyens, at the heart of its structural organisation, thematic focus and staff development. Overcoming the atmosphere in Bulgarian historiography in the late 1940s and 1950s, she made significant contributions to the field of historical source studies, which found expression in her translations of Byzantine, Latin, Slavic, and Old Bulgarian written documents. The focus of her interest is the topic of St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki. Her work with sources inspired her monographs “Invasions and Ethnic Changes in the Balkans in the 6th–7th Centuries,” 1966, and “The Lower Danube – Border Zone of the Byzantine West,” 1976. International recognition for her multifaceted scientific contributions came with the collection of her articles in the authoritative publication Variorum Reprints, 1979.
Вниманието към собствено българската тема е корпусът „Българи родом“ с изворите за рода на Комитопулите, оставил ярка следа в историята на България и Византия. Забележителни приноси се намират в най-авторитетни научни издания: Исторически преглед, Études balkaniques, Bulgarian Historical Review, Palaeobulgarica, Byzantinische Zeitschrift, Византийский временник, Byzanotinoslavica, Linguistique balkanique и др.
Alongside her research activities, Prof. V. Tapkova-Zaimova is a sought-after and popular lecturer, supervisor of doctoral students at Sofia University, a long-standing lecturer at Veliko Tarnovo University, Plovdiv University with its branches in Smolyan and Kardzhali for teacher training, at the Academy of Arts, and New Bulgarian University. Creating a creative atmosphere, she generously shares her opinion, advice, and support with young colleagues, doctoral students, and assistants. She sees herself as a continuation of the Cyril and Methodius tradition in Thessaloniki in the selfless and devoted dissemination of knowledge among young researchers. That is why, in 2004, she was deservedly elected doctor honoris causa of Veliko Tarnovo University “St. St. Cyril and Methodius”. Among her other distinctions are a certificate from AIESEE, the Cyril and Methodius Award, the Greek medal “St. St. Cyril and Methodius,” medals from La Sapienza University in Rome, the Macedonian Society in Thessaloniki, “Academic Palms” from the French Academy, and others.
The memory of Prof. Vasilka Tapkova-Zaimova, the person, researcher, and teacher, remains deeply in the hearts of her students. Her legacy to all of us is in her decades of work, but also in her words, which have reached us:
„Historians must be informed, must not lie, must respect themselves in order to be respected. History must teach lessons, not provide petty accounts of facts, but give and give what deserves gratitude and a new perspective, without erasing the merits of the past. Recent history must be assessed now, because everything that follows will be seen differently. On a European scale, we should not think that we must fall below all European nations. And cosmopolitanism is a good thing alongside patriotism.”
Manuscript from 2009.
Curator: Chief Ass. Dr. Mariela Inkova
Team: Evdokia Staykova, Radoslava Tsenkova, Vladimir Ivanov, Dimitar Vassilev, Bozhidara Krastanova, Kristin Mileva, Iva Stoyanova
Online exhibition:
Chief Ass. Dr. Mariela Inkova, Tereza Veleva, Todor Dimitrov
