Institut für Germanistik

In our project, we explore interactional challenges experienced by students and teachers in higher education digital learning due to the COVID-19 crisis. For this purpose, we conducted qualitative interviews with Styrian university students, teachers and administrative staff. Our participants encountered five main interactional challenges in synthetic learning situations: Limited perception, reduced participation, a lack of appropriate technical equipment/infrastructure as well as necessary competencies and struggles related to different academic fields. Students, teachers and administrative staff may counteract these challenges by configuring the synthetic learning situation on three interrelated dimensions: The learning scenario, the underlying digital infrastructure and the interaction situation may be transformed by the different actors in alignment with their specific communicative needs. Therefore, programs aimed at improving techno-didactic competencies may be beneficial to both faculty and students. We conclude that negotiation processes among and between these groups will be crucial for the (future) success of interaction in digital learning.

In the German-speaking world, we have books on Scanderbeg starting from XVI century. The primary source of the German historiography on Scanderbeg was Marin Barleti’s work “Historia de vita et gesti Skanderbegii” which was translated by Johannes Pinician in 1533. During XVI century we have some works by German humanists, such as Cuspinianus “On the origin of the Turks,” Levenklaus “The Annales of the Ottoman Sultans” and Camerarius “Two detailed commentaries on the Turks’ affairs” in 1598,  where the author also refers to the life of Scanderbeg. In the XVII century, we can mention here the work by the humanist Johannes Lassenius “The Turks’ might mocked by  Deity”, based upon Barleti’s book. In XVIII we do not have original works, but only reproductions of the history written by Barleti and encyclopedic articles always referring to this book. In XIX century, there are some monographs, the first being the book by Wilhelm Becker, firstly published in the Berlin magazine “Der Freimütige” under the title “Gjergj Scanderbeg and Murad”. Becker published this book in 1821 under a new title “Gjergj Scanderbeg and Murad, or Gjergj Scanderbeg, the fortunate forerunner of Alia Pasha of Joannina”. In 1827, an anonymous and philhellenist author with the initials G. K. published the study “Gjergj Kastrioti. A sketchy biography of the past times, compared to ours”. The third monograph was by Julius Piskos, “Scanderbeg ”, which came out in 1894. Besides these monographs we have numerous other works where we can find indirect information on Scanderbeg, such as “The history of the Ottoman Empire”, by Hammer von Purgstall in 1827, “The history of the Ottoman Empire in Europe” by Zinkeisen and published in 1840, “The Albanian element in Greece” of 1866 written by Fallmereyer. Regarding the German historiography of the XX century and that of the XXI century, we have “Mehmet the Conqueror” , by Franz Babinger, who is critical of Marin Barleti’s work and “Scanderbeg” by Oliver Jens Schmitt, which is the most detailed study on this figure.

The aim of this article is to provide a short overview of the medieval history of Dejë and Sardë, two towns that were situated in the vicinity of Shkodra and used to be real urban centers composed of all the elements of medieval towns, and that now do not exist anymore. At present, in these two locations there have remained only ruins that have been subject to different robberies and are covered by wild plants. There is no road to take you to these sites, thus, they are not easily accessible by visitors. In addition, Dejë is situated on a mountain top which makes it even more difficult to get there. Whilst, Sardë is situated amongst the waters of Drin, inside the Vau Dejës Lake and without a boat, it is impossible to visit it. These towns used to have an admirable development of crafts, economy, and culture. Moreover, in Dejë there used to be a customs house as this town was situated at the crossroad between Shkoder and Lezhë and from there one could get to Prizren. As a result, it was used as a transit site for goods and people, a fact that certainly influenced the development of the town.

This article discusses facts mainly extracted from the relations between Kraja parishes during the 16th and 17th centuries, a period belonging to the Ottoman occupation. These parishes and villages were Shiroka , Mesilji, Vallasi, Zogaj, Skaja,  Arbneshi, Marteki, Runja, Boboshti, Kshtenja, Steliki Brisk, Livari, Bindxhi, Shestani, Muriqi, Krnjca (Crigni), Seoca, Ostrosi, Muriqani, Pinciqi, Lukiqi, Gjurapsi, Rediqi, Ruda, Karanikiqi, Bardhjat, Ftjani (Pepgjonaj) and Heliqi. Ostros has special significance in relation to the history of the Catholic Chruch, as this was the place where the monastery of "E Paperlyera e Krajes" (Eng: The Kraja Virgin) was built, which was the archdiocese for nearly a century with nine archbishops, beginning with Teodosius the 15th and ending with Jacobus Germanus Cantellius, the last archbishop.

Për të pasqyruar sa më saktë persekutimin dhe dënimin e tij nga shteti komunist u mbështeta kryesisht në të dhëna dokumentare arkivore. Dhe në disa artikuj të botuara në shtypin shqiptar vite ma parë. Se kush ishte Lef Nosi, dhe cili qe kontributi i tij i shumanshëm tashmë nuk është e nevojshme të përsëritet nga unë, pasi të pranishmit e nderuar e dëgjuan në mënyrë të detajuar nga parafolësit. Unë këtu do të hedhë dritë, apo do të thërras në kujtesë vetëm një periudhë të shkurtër të jetës së tij, periudhë që ishte më e vështira për të. E kam fjalën këtu për përndjekjen, procesin gjyqësor dhe ekzekutimin me vdekje të Lef Nosit nga diktatura komuniste.

Drishti (also called Drivasto during Middle Ages) stands around 12-13 km close to Shkodra, in the region of Postriba. This city's castle is thought to date from the Roman or the Illyrian times. During the early middle ages, the city has been part of the Byzantine Empire, during the second half of the 11th century it has been under the reign of Bodini of Dioclea, from 1185 Drishti fell in the hands of the Serbs and from 1393 to 1395 it was lorded by the Ottomans, but from 1396 the Benedicts took its reigns. Balsha II tried to occupy the city twice and on 1418 he caused great damage to the Drishtans. Later, and until 1442, Drishti was taken by the Serbian Despots. After the Despots, Drishti was under the jurisdiction of the Venetians until 1478. The same year it was occupied then by the Ottomans and afterwards it fell completely as a city. Drisht's population is composed by several ethnic minorities. We found there the Roman, the Albanian, even the Slav or Greek element. Some of the last names of the families in Drisht are for example: clearly Roman as: Palombo or Colomba, de Leporibus, etc; Albanian last names as: Bariloth, Precalo, Scapuder (1368 the first trace of the name of the Albanian people "Shqiptar"); Serbian last names as: Beroj, Svinja; or Greek ones as: Calageorgi and Spano (spanos = beardless). From an administrative point of view, the city had Vojvoda, which principally concerned 'the police' and the communal organization of the city. There was also Podestas (Podesta), which means owner, captain, a man with total power in an office, and it seems that this post was also known as "castellanus popolaris".

Summary
The article gives an overview of the most important families of the medieval Albanian town of Drivasto, presenting some of them. Noble families of origin from Drivasto encountered in documents are numerous, however, as for any topic related to Drivasto's history, the activity of these families in political and economic life both inside and outside the city cannot be exhaustively explored due to incomplete resources. Their story after the Ottoman invasion of Drivasto, which for many of these families continues in emigration, will not be taken into consideration in this article, because it would overcome the framework of the article. There are two groups of families presented here. The first group consists of the principal families that often appear in documents and have played an essential role in Drivasto's history, such as Angelus, Spani, etc., while the second group consists of families of lesser importance, the nobility of whom is not sure. Among these, we can mention Skepudar, Svinji, Zogi families, etc.



Abstrakt
Në artikull jepet një pasqyrë të familjeve më të rëndësishme të qytetit mesjetar Drisht, duke paraqitur disa nga ato. Familjet fisnike me origjinë nga Drishti që hasen nëpër dokumente janë të shumta megjithatë si për çdo tematikë e lidhur me historinë e Drishtit, edhe aktiviteti i këtyre familjeve në jetën politike dhe ekonomike qoftë brenda qytetit, qoftë jashtë tij nuk mund të hulumtohet në mënyrë shteruese për shkak të burimeve jo të plota dhe të mangëta. Historia e tyre pas pushtimit osman të Drishtit, e cila për shumë nga këto familje vazhdon më tej në emigrim, në këtë artikull nuk do të merret në shqyrtim, pasi një gjë e tillë do të kapërcente kuadrin e tij. Në artikull do të merren në shqyrtim dy grupe familjesh. Grupi i parë përbëhet nga familjet më kryesore që gjenden dendur nëpër dokumente dhe që kanë luajtur një rol të rëndësishëm në historinë e Drishtit, si Engjëlli, Shpani, etj., ndërsa grupi i dytë përbëhet nga familje të një rëndësie më të vogël, fisnikëria e të cilave vihet në diskutim. Ndër këto mund të përmendim familjet Skepudar, Svinji,  Zogi, etj.

Before the Ottoman conquest, the Diocese of Drishti (Drivasto) had many churches and chapels, and the researchers qualified it as a nursery of Albanian Catholic clergy in the Middle Age. The churches of Drishti were thick-walled. And so far we know, this city had these cathedrals and churches: St. George’s Cathedral, Cathedral of St. Mary with chapter, the church of St. Francis, St. Salvador’s church, the church of St. Cross, the church of Sancta Maria Veteris, St. Stephen’s Church, the Church of St. Veneranda, and the church of St. Nicholas. The incomes of these churches were testaments, too, left by clerics and others who donate different amounts to them for the salvation of their souls. Besides the churches mentioned above, there have also identified ruins of four other churches, which may have been even any of those mentioned above, but it cannot be confirmed yet because the churches mentioned by name cannot be localized, where they were in the city.