''Epic of the Forgotten'' ( bg, Епопея на забравените; ''Epopeya na zabravenite'') is a cycle of 12
ode
An ode (from grc, ᾠδή, ōdḗ) is a type of lyric poetry. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structured in three majo ...
s composed by
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
n writer
Ivan Vazov
Ivan Minchov Vazov ( bg, Иван Минчов Вазов; – 22 September 1921) was a Bulgarian poet, novelist and playwright, often referred to as "the Patriarch of Bulgarian literature". He was born in Sopot, a town in the Rose Valley ...
between 1881 and 1884. The poems deal with people and events connected with Bulgaria's struggle for national liberation against the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
.
Background
Vazov wrote the cycle to commemorate the Bulgarian fight for freedom against the Ottoman Empire and to criticize the moral decline of the Bulgarian nation after the
Liberation
Liberation or liberate may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War
* "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode
* "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode
Gaming
* '' Liberati ...
, in comparison to the heroic figures and events of the then recent past. It could be said that the "Epic" formed the Bulgarian national consciousness and created many of the Bulgarian historical legends and myths. It served as an interpretation of the struggle against the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
and mostly the
April Uprising
The April Uprising ( bg, Априлско въстание, Aprilsko vastanie) was an insurrection organised by the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire from April to May 1876. The regular Ottoman Army and irregular bashi-bazouk units brutally su ...
, not in its real values (the limited number of participants and the military failure of the uprising) but in its morals. The Bulgarian fight for freedom was interpreted as a sacred act of heroes exactly because it did not have any perceivable chance of success. Despite the lack of demographic, military and other such possibilities of success against the Ottoman Empire which was still militarily resilient, the Bulgarians toiled under dire circumstances against it. The failure itself turned into a moral success and granted the Bulgarians the right to be free.
Contents
In collections, the poems are ordered by their time of composition, not the sequence of the depicted events.
* "
Levski"
* "
Benkovski"
* "Kocho (The Defense of
Perushtitsa
Perushtitsa ( bg, Перущица ) or Perushtitza is a Bulgarian town located in Perushtitsa Municipality, Plovdiv Province at the foot of the Rhodopes, 22 kilometers south of Plovdiv.
The name ''Perushtitsa'' comes from the word ''Peristitsa' ...
)"
* "Zhekov Brothers"
* "
Kableshkov"
* "
Paisii"
* "
Miladinov Brothers
The Miladinov brothers ( bg, Братя Миладинови, ''Bratya Miladinovi'', mk, Браќа Миладиновци, ''Brakja Miladinovci''), Dimitar Miladinov (1810–1862) and Konstantin Miladinov (1830–1862), were Bulgarian poets ...
"
* "
Rakovski"
* "
The Karadja"
* "
1876
Events
January–March
* January 1
** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin.
** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol.
* February 2 – The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs i ...
"
* "
Volov"
* "
The Volunteers at Shipka {{more citations needed, date=February 2023
''The Volunteers at Shipka''According to the translation by Peter Tempest. ( bg, Опълченците на Шипка, Opalchentsite na Shipka, also known as "''Oh, Shipka!''") is an ode by the classic B ...
"
Sources
''Ivan Vazov. Epic of the Forgotten, Bulgarian-English Dual Language Text''Epic of the Forgotten (partly translated)
External links
*
*
Bulgarian poems
Books about Bulgaria
Epic poems
1880s poems
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