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Part I. Political Alliances in Europe in the 14th — 16th Centuries (ed. by Susanna Tsaturova, Anna Mayzlish)
The renewal of political history, which began in the world historiography, including Russian one, from the end of the 20th century, reflected a change in approaches to the study of the history of states in Europe in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period. The revival of historians’ interest in this classical problem is characterized at the present stage by a fundamental turn — from the history of nation-states (État-nation) towards the study of alternative forms of state formations. There were no unitary states in their pure form in Europe during the Middle Ages, and they were all created on the basis of various forms of associations and unions (seigniorial-vassal, matrimonial, etc.). However, the period 14th — 16th centuries in Europe is characterized by the intensity of the conclusion of various unions and political alliances as a strategy for the formation of great states. The articles presented in the section by leading Russian and foreign researchers are devoted to the analysis of these unions: their typology, the documents underlying them, the symbolic aspects of the implementation of the unions, differences in the fate of these unions, short-lived or failed unions, historical memory of them.
Part II. Discovery in Historical Science: the Effect of Surprise (ed. by Ekaterina Kirillova)
A discovery as a result of systematic and thoughtful work naturally takes place in scientific research. However, this issue is devoted to such results that turned out to be to some extent unexpected for the researcher. The formulation of new problems, a change in research optics allow us to open new horizons, identify previously unknown connections between phenomena and substantiate their other interpretations. A change in methodology in itself does not guarantee an increase in knowledge — the material may not yield and lead to a completely predictable result. However, choosing the best, sometimes very specialized «tools» allows sources to reveal their new and unexpected sides. Each article confirms that discoveries are natural and even everyday in the work of the researcher, but the result is not achieved by itself, but only through great effort, a lot of knowledge, painstaking and in-depth research.
The scale of the discovery is, of course, important, but the method of obtaining new knowledge is no less valuable. The authors of articles allow us to see the sequence of actions and the logic of the development of ideas. This is an important part of scientific research that can serve future researchers.