Gestrinov zbornik je zbornik razprav v počastitev osemdesetletnice nestorja slovenske zgodovine akad. prof. dr. Ferda Gestrina. Zbornik poleg predgovora prinaša 48 prispevkov uglednih domačih in tujih avtorjev. V uvodnem delu so združeni bio- in bibliografski podatki o jubilantu. Ostali prispevki so razvrščeni v pet tematskih sklopov. Prvi zajema pet razprav, ki posegajo v obravnavo mediteranskega prostora. Nadaljnji blok devetih prispevkov slika zgodovino vzhodnoalpskega prostora v srednjem in novem veku. Sledi skupina desetih razprav o gospodarski zgodovini. četrti sklop vsebuje dvanajst prispevkov, ki slikajo politično in populacijsko zgodovino od srede 19. stoletja do druge svetovne vojne. Zadnja, peta skupina sedmih prispevkov je heterogena, obravnava pa tematiko šolstva in izobrazbe, teoretična, historiografska in filozofska vprašanja.

The book deals with the Slovene historiography and history of the Slovene and neighbouring territories in the Middle Ages. It is the first work of its kind published in English. It thus makes the medieval history of this part of Europe and some of its fundamental problems accessible to the widest range of researchers. It contains 18 papers which comply with modern methodological approaches and current trends in historiography and it puts the validity and usefulness of these methods to the test in the case of “Slovene” material and examples. The first part of the book critically examines Slovene historiography, which largely viewed the Middle Ages from a national angle. The second part is dedicated to early medieval history, focussing on issues of Slavic ethnogeneses, society, and political structures. The third part addresses chapters from the history of the Church, the nobility, and the formation of Länder, and also discusses the famous enthronement of the Carinthian dukes.

The Crusades and Christian peace movements opposing them.

The territory of present-day Slovenia reached one of its economic and cultural peaks in the 1st millennium BC, when the Hallstatt Culture prospered, its achievements being comparable with the most developed cultures in Ancient Europe. This culture arose from Urnfield Culture roots under the influence of the Mediterranean world~they adopted the new technology of iron production, implemented a new social pattern and fully developed their artistic inspiration.

The stance taken by the Catholic Church in occupied Europe during World War II remains a significant focal point of historical research. In the last ten years we have been confronted with a resurgence of the so-called 'Pius-war', the frequently emotional polemic surrounding the justification or absence thereof of the role of Pope Pius XII, the head of the Catholic Church at the time. The work presented here, however, focuses on the role of the local churches rather than that of the Pope and the Vatican. Its goal is to shed light more specifically on the position maintained by the Catholic bishops, clergy and faithful in a variety of European countries under occupation throughout the war. The local churches are approached from a political-social, institutional and ideological perspective. This collection of essays represents the results of a research project established under the auspices of the European Science Foundation entitled 'The Impact of National Socialist and Fascist Occupation in Europe' (1999-2005). Within the broader framework of the project, research into the aspect of Church and Religion was scribed more specifically to Team 2 'The Continuity of the Churches'. The team strove to reach as broad a spectrum possible, both with respect to the churches and religions in Europe (Catholicism, Protestantism, Orthodoxy, and to a limited degree, Islam) as the various regions of the European continent (North, West, Central and (South) East). The present volume contains the research results presented in relation to the Catholic Church. Developments in Central and Eastern Europe are given priority, in particular in Slovenia, Croatia, Slovakia, Poland and Lithuania. In addition, a number of articles endeavour to shed light on developments in Western Europe as in Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Austria. The goal of the present volume is to stimulate an ongoing comparative study of the attitude of the Catholic Church during the Second World War from a European perspective. Together with a parallel volume that deals with the Protestant and Orthodox churches, this approach can be extended to include other ecclesial denominations and religions in Europe. While significant differences exist between the various countries and denominations, several similar patterns of approach are also strikingly evident.