Národopisná revue 1/2026

The article focuses on the process of folklorisation of the repertoire of itinerant puppeteers in Slovakia within a broader European cultural and historical context. It is based on an analysis of preserved textual and audio recordings of traditional plays. Special attention is paid to terminological issues of the concepts of “folk”, “traditional”, and “travelling” puppet theatre and their semantic connotations. The paper analyses the mechanisms of domestication of foreign-language repertoire and its gradual integration into the oral tradition. Folklorisation was manifested primarily in the areas of language, characters, thematic motifs, musical elements, and visual stylisation. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the position of itinerant puppetry within the context of professional and folk theatre in the Slovak cultural space.

The study examines the relationship between the narrative structures of video games, particularly action role playing games, and the processes by which these structures are appropriated and circulated within player communities. Specifically, it analyses the dynamics of interaction between the lore of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, heavily inspired by Norse mythology, and the discourses shared on selected Reddit forums. The findings indicate that elements of Norse mythology within Skyrim primarily function as an open narrative infrastructure, utilised by both designers and players to construct game’s possible worlds. No direct correlation was found between the mythological motifs embedded in the lore and debates regarding contemporary social conflicts; instead, socially relevant themes and ideologies are more frequently articulated in other, less specialised communicative spaces. This pattern accords with an echo chamber model, in which distinct topics reach their audiences in separate performative and discursive contexts. Consequently, game lore may influence ideological formations indirectly, through the migration of discourses across various online scenes, rather than through the direct transmission of socio-political agendas into specialised gaming communities.

This article examines retrogaming as a cultural practice at the intersection of memory, nostalgia and digital media, focusing on the concept of dual-screen gaming. Defined as the integration of a playable retro video game within a host video game via a secondary in-game screen, the dual screen is conceived as a hybrid memory device that connects different temporal and playful levels within a single experience. The article builds on previous research by the same authors on the double screen, extending its theoretical framework with the introduction of a memory-oriented perspective. Drawing on the notion of games within games (Seiwald 2019), the proposal argues that embedded retro games not only highlight the ‘playfulness’ of the medium, but also serve as devices for activating memory. Through the analysis of selected case studies, the article proposes memory as a new analytical category, distinguishing between memory triggers, linked to autobiographical nostalgia, and anemoia, a mediated form of nostalgia for a past not directly experienced. The findings show how the dual-screen setup transforms memory into a playable experience, allowing players to access, reinterpret and inhabit the past. The article thus presents an updated conceptualization of the dual-screen setup, redefining its role within contemporary gaming culture

The study examines Slovak folk dress and its re-contextualisation within organized folklorism, including a historical overview of the presentation and production of costume replicas beyond their original rural environment. The article focuses on two interrelated dimensions. The first analyses approaches to the production of folk costumes, their replicas, and imitations. The second examines their staged use, particularly in relation to Slovak folklore ensembles from the mid-twentieth century onwards. The aim is to highlight the crucial role of ethnological expertise in the research, production, interpretation, and stage application of folk costumes. This use of folk costumes is interpreted through a paraphrase of Ladislav Leng’s theoretical framework concerning the three levels of stylisation in musical folklore. The article concludes with a case study describing the contemporary production of traditional costume replicas from the Púchov Valley for a folklore ensemble, based on ethnological research.