Japan Oldest extant variant: 1309 (Engyōbon) Tale of the Heike The Tale of the Heike, often called “Japan’s epic,” is a long narrative describing the Genpei War (1180-1185), a civil conflict that rent Japan’s political structure and ushered in its medieval period, an...
China Written: ca. 1315-1400First published: 1522 Three Kingdoms (Sanguo yanyi) Three Kingdoms (Sanguo yanyi) can be read as a study of values in conflict, such as righteousness (yi) against loyalty (zhong), and filial piety (xiao) against brotherhood (xiongdi). In a...
Italy ca. 1340 Giovanni Boccaccio, Teseida (The Theseid) The Teseida—or Teseida: Delle nozze d’Emilia (The Theseid: Of the nuptials of Emilia), the full title we derive at the closure of the text—is an epic poem written by Giovanni Boccaccio in the...
Ethiopia 14th century CE Kebra Nagast The Kebra Nagast, which means in Ethiopic “the Glory of Kings,” has fascinated scholars since the modern era. It is a Judeo-Christian based text that traces the origin of the Solomonic Dynasty of Ethiopia to the...
England primarily 12th through 15th centuries Legends of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table The legends of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table have been the favorites of poets, painters, and politicians for centuries. Perhaps this is because...
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