by jac3 | Jun 18, 2019
Germany 10th century CE Walthariuslied It seems almost ironic to realize that the older some of the heroic epics from the pre-modern era are, the more appealing they seem to be. Beowulf, the “Hildebrandslied,” El Poema de Mío Cid, the Chanson de Roland, the...
by jac3 | May 18, 2019
Iran Composed: ca. 977-1010 CE Abolqasem Ferdowsi, Shahnameh The monumental poem of the Persian poet Ferdowsi, the Shahnameh or Book of Kings, which was completed by this poet in the year 1010 CE, is a massive retelling of the lives and times of 50 kings of...
by jac3 | May 18, 2019
Russia The tradition originates in the 10th or 11th century; the first extant transcriptions are from the 17th century. Anonymous, bylinas (traditional Russian epic songs) Among Eastern European Slavic folk genres, the bylina–an epic song about...
by jac3 | Apr 19, 2019
France Composed: ca. 1040-1115 CEEarliest extant manuscript: ca. 1129-1165 CE Anonymous The Song of Roland (La chanson de Roland) Halt sunt li pui e li val tenebrus… the high hills and foreboding valleys of the Pyrenees pass at Rencesvals reverberate with...
by jac3 | Apr 19, 2019
Ireland 11th century (earliest extant version) Anonymous, Táin Bó Cúailnge Táin Bó Cúailnge (‘The Cattle Raid of Cooley’) is a complicated work. While its plot is relatively simple, it is difficult to introduce, especially as an epic, because of its textual...
Recent Comments