Epic and History (The Ancient World: Comparative Histories)

With contributions from leading scholars, this is a unique cross-cultural comparison of historical epics across a wide range of cultures and time periods, which presents crucial insights into how history is treated in narrative poetry. The first book to gain new insights into the topic of 'epic and history' through in-depth cross-cultural comparisons Covers epic traditions across the globe and across a wide range of time periods Brings together leading specialists in the field, and is edited by two internationally regarded scholars An important reference for scholars and students interested in history and literature across a broad range of disciplines Epic and History......Page 5 Contents......Page 7 List of Figures and Tables......Page 9 Notes on Contributors......Page 10 Series Editor's Preface......Page 16 1 Introduction......Page 17 2 Maybe Epic: The Origins and Reception of Sumerian Heroic Poetry......Page 23 3 Historical Events and the Process of Their Transformation in Akkadian Heroic Traditions......Page 42 4 Epic and History in Hittite Anatolia: In Search of a Local Hero......Page 67 5 Manly Deeds: Hittite Admonitory History and Eastern Mediterranean Didactic Epic......Page 82 6 Epic and History in the Hebrew Bible: Definitions, “Ethnic Genres,” and the Challenges of Cultural Identity in the Biblical Book of Judges......Page 102 7 No Contest between Memory and Invention: The Invention of the Pandava Heroes of the Mahabharata......Page 119 8 From "Imperishable Glory" to History: The Iliad and the Trojan War......Page 138 9 Historical Narrative in Archaic and Early Classical Greek Elegy......Page 161 10 Fact, Fiction, and Form in Early Roman Epic......Page 183 11 The Song and the Sword: Silius' Punica and the Crisis of Early Imperial Epic......Page 201 12 The Burden of Mortality: Alexander and the Dead in Persian Epic and Beyond......Page 228 13 Slavic Epic: Past Tales and Present Myths......Page 239 14 Historicity and Anachronism in Beowulf......Page 259 15 The Nibelungenlied - Myth and History: A Middle High German Epic Poem at the Crossroads of Past and Present, Despair and Hope......Page 278 16 Medieval Epic and History in the Romance Literatures......Page 296 17 Roland's Migration from Anglo-Norman Epic to Royal French Chronicle History......Page 309 18 A Recurrent Theme of the Spanish Medieval Epic: Complaints and Laments by Noble Women......Page 326 19 History in Medieval Scandinavian Heroic Literature and the Northwest European Context......Page 344 20 Traditional History in South Slavic Oral Epic......Page 363 21 Lord Five Thunder and the 12 Eagles and Jaguars of Rabinal Meet Charlemagne and the 12 Knights of France......Page 378 22 History, Myth, and Social Function in Southern African Nguni Praise Poetry......Page 397 23 Epic and History in the Arabic Tradition......Page 408 24 Comments on “Epic and History"......Page 427 Index......Page 441

Heroic epics have existed in many cultures, from antiquity to the modern day, offering an important means by which societies commemorate the past and transmit memories over time. Yet few attempts have been made to compare these epics systematically or to establish a typology of heroic epic. Nor is it always clear to what extent heroic epics reflect history, or what methodologies might be used to retrieve historical information from epics.

Addressing these issues, Epic and History invites comparison across a broad variety of cultures in which traditions of epic – oral and written – existed and continue to exist. It makes a unique and conscious effort to take full advantage of this cross-cultural comparison to enhance our understanding of this important topic, presenting crucial insights into how history is treated in narrative poetry.

Contributors are leading scholars on epic and heroic poetic traditions. They base their analyses on profound knowledge of the wide range of cultures discussed throughout the book, from the ancient Near East and South Asia, the Greco-Roman world, and medieval Europe – from Scandinavia to Spain – to today’s Egypt, Southern Africa, and Central America.