Heroic Poetry

'Rolf H. Bremmer Jr. is then set the task of introducing "Old English heroic literature," which he achieves through some helpful musing upon the nature of heroes in their Germanic context, moving via an examination of poetry with a Migration-age backdrop to a subtle discussion of the "heroic ethic" in Old English verse with a more contemporary setting.'
Richard W. Dance, Medieval Review, 06.09.23

«Το επεισόδιο της μονομαχίας του Διγενή με την ‘αμαζόνα’ Μαξιμώ (και η ερωτική τους συνέντευξη που ακολουθεί) είναι από τα ωραιότερα της πρώιμης φιλολογίας μας» έγραφε στη Συνοπτική ιστορία της νέας ελληνικής λογοτεχνίας ο Λίνος Πολίτης, και το ενδιαφέρον που έχουν δειξει έκτοτε οι μελετητές του κειμένου για το συγκεκριμένο επεισόδιο φαίνεται πως δικαιώνει την κρίση του. Ωστόσο, παρόλο που το επεισόδιο αυτό έτυχε νεότερων δομικών και άλλων προσεγγίσεων, δεν προσέχτηκε, νομίζω, αρκετά η σημασία που έχει σε επίπεδο ποιητικής στην παραλλαγή Ε: έτσι, ενώ έχουν καταδειχτεί επαρκώς οι διαφορές της παραλλαγής αυτής από τις υπόλοιπες, δεν έχουμε ακόμη προσδιορίσει επαρκώς τι ακριβώς συμβαίνει στο επεισόδιο αυτό του Ε και γιατί.

Στο άρθρο υποστηρίζεται ότι ο ποιητής της διασκευής Ε έχοντας υπόψη του κάποιες συγκεκριμένες ποιητικές (ειδολογικές) συμβάσεις αποφεύγει να περιγράψει την «ερωτική συνέντευξη» των δύο ηρώων, και με αυτό τον τρόπο έρχεται πιο κοντά στην «επική» παράδοση – πράγμα που θα μπορούσε αφενός να διευκολύνει τον ειδολογικό προσδιορισμό του κειμένου, αλλά κυρίως να αποτελέσει ένα ακόμη επιχείρημα για την προτεραιότητα της διασκευής αυτής σε σχέση με όλες τις υπόλοιπες. Επιπλέον, προτείνεται μια ανάγνωση του επεισοδίου που αποδεικνύει ότι η «ερωτική συνέντευξη» δεν εγκαταλείπεται εντελώς, αλλά μεταφέρεται στη σκηνή της μονομαχίας που προηγείται: συγκεκριμένα, καταδεικνύεται ότι το λεξιλόγιο που χρησιμοποιείται στη σκηνή της μονομαχίας είναι τουλάχιστον αμφίσημο –αλλά κάποτε και ξεκάθαρα σεξουαλικό–, πράγμα που συνεπάγεται, σε επίπεδο ποιητικής και παράδοσης πλέον, μια εξαιρετικά ενδιαφέρουσα πραγμάτευση του θέματος του «ανδρόγυνου» (= της «αντρογυναίκας»/«αμαζόνας» Μαξιμούς), αλλά, κυρίως, μια ενδιαφέρουσα και σε μεγάλο βαθμό πρωτότυπη μείξη των δύο κεντρικών θεμάτων της (παγκόσμιας) λογοτεχνίας, του πολέμου και του έρωτα, σε μία μόνο σκηνή, «ερωτικής μονομαχίας».

The dramatic confrontation which ensues on the bridge of Khazad-dûm between Gandalf and the just-awakened Balrog not only constitutes one of the turning points in the War of the Ring, but it also provides a glimpse of what Tolkien may have envisioned as a Christian reinterpretation of the traditional model of Germanic heroism. The two notions are, of course, at a clearly detectable ethical variance, the former being fundamentally defined by the self-sacrificial dedication to the cause, the latter by the self-centred pursuit of transient glory. Seen in the light of medieval literature, the bridge episode might also be read as a conceptual reimagining of the roughly analogous situation in the Old English poem The Battle of Maldon, where the far-too-confident ealdorman Byrhtnoth allows the enemy safe passage across the ford, thus placing himself and his people at a considerable strategic disadvantage. In The Lord of the Rings, the role of Byrhtnoth is obviously assigned (albeit inversely) to the character of Gandalf whose courageous efforts to protect his companions accentuate the wizard's sense of responsibility, upwards (the cause) as well as downwards (his companions).

Ha sido común considerar que la Odisea se encuentra contrapuesta a la Ilíada en diversos aspectos. En lo atinente al tema de la muerte, se ha señalado que entre ambas epopeyas existen diferencias sustanciales, pues aquello que es excepción en una, se convierte en regla en la otra. En efecto, en la Ilíada predomina la muerte en combate, pues su contexto es la guerra. En la Odisea, en cambio, esta forma de muerte solo aparece cuando Odiseo y sus compañeros se enfrentan a los cicones. A excepción de quienes mueren en esta batalla, todos los demás tendrán muertes fuera de la guerra (devorados, ahogados, masacrados, etc.). Este trabajo analiza las diferentes muertes que ocurren en la Odisea con el fin de determinar el papel que juega esta epopeya dentro del entramado ideológico que promovía la muerte en la guerra como la máxima aspiración del héroe. La propuesta defiende que las notorias diferencias que ambas obras muestran en el tratamiento de este tema no se deben a que una subvierta el sistema ideológico de la otra; al contrario, ambas obras se han construido implícitamente, sobre los mismos presupuestos. Lo que sucede es que la finalidad de la Odisea no es mostrar el ideal de la muerte heroica al que se debe aspirar, su objetivo es, más bien, señalar su contrapartida, es decir, presentar las muertes vergonzantes que deben evitarse. Desde este punto de vista, Odiseo constituye el paradigma del héroe que, gracias a su astucia, escapa de la muerte deshonrosa. Así se explica el emparejamiento de la Odisea con la Ilíada, ambas epopeyas muestran, como caras distintas de una misma moneda, dos manifestaciones diferentes, pero complementarias del mismo sistema axiológico.

The search for either myth or history in 'Beowulf' is attended by severe and perhaps insurmountable difficulties. More useful may be attempts to identify the poem as a 'mythistory' that confirmed a set of values among the Anglo-Saxons by connecting their current world to a fabulous ancestral past.

"The Book of Karna" relates the events of the two dramatic days after the defeat of the great warriors and generals Bhishma and Drona, in which Karna - great hero and the eldest Pandava - leads the Kaurava army into combat. This first volume of "Karna" depicts mighty battles in gory detail, sets the scene for Karna's tragic death, and includes a remarkable verbal duel between Karna and his reluctant charioteer Shalya, the king of the Madras, as they hurl abuse at each other before entering the fray. It is co-published by New York University Press and the JJC Foundation.

The Heliand is a rewriting of the Gospels in Old Saxon, reflecting daring efforts to not only convert pagans, edify catechumens and reinforce orthodox teachings, but also to present the Old Saxon vernacular as a language worthy of translating Scripture. A copy of the poem was in England by the second half of the tenth century, perhaps even earlier. In the single surviving copy from England, two incipits from a gospel lectionary were added in the margins near the time of writing, and they shed much light on how this poem was consulted and probably used for guidance on specific issues faced by a tenth-century English court. From its origin as a theological statement about the capabilities of vernacular languages in continuing Patristic traditions, the Heliand was later valued as a text that offered clarification on how to deal with hostile military and spiritual threats to Christian kingdoms.

In this paper I assess the implications for 'Beowulf' studies of the remarkable archaeological discoveries made since the 1980s at the village of Gammel Lejre, on the island of Zealand, Denmark. Attention is given to the possible role of Vikings  in the dissemination in Britain of legends pertaining to the ancient Skjolding/Scylding line of Danish kings, with their seat of power at Lejre. Also taken into account are the dualisms involved in the former existence of at least two great halls at Lejre and in the contrastive physical topography of Lejre, with its pleasant fields immediately backing into a strange hinterland.

To conclude the paper I offer a conceptual model of how,  rooted in that historical site, the 'Beowulf' story eventually took on its extant character as a long heroic poem, imbued with Christian ethics and told in English alliterative verse, about a legendary Age of Gold involving heroes and kings of ancient times.

In India's great epic the Mahabharata, the eighth book, "Karna", recounts the events that occurred during the mighty hero Karna's two days as general of the Kaurava army. This second volume resumes on the war's seventeenth and penultimate day. This will be a momentous day for the Bharata clans and especially for a number of their most distinguished heroes, with some of the epic's most telegraphed events reaching their climax. Not only will the epic's most anticipated duel between its greatest champions Arjuna and Karna be played out to its cruel and tragic end, but one of the more gruesome episodes in the epic will also take place with Duhshasana meeting the fate that has long waited him since his brazen maltreatment of Draupadi in the assembly hall. It is co-published by New York University Press and the JJC Foundation.

Se ha señalado que Aquiles constituye tanto para los griegos antiguos como para nosotros el ideal del héroe y la muerte heroica, porque acepta su destino inevitable, el cual le ha deparado una vida breve y una muerte hermosa, las cuales, aunque representan una existencia poco atractiva, le aseguran que su nombre nunca será olvidado. Este estudio analizó el conjunto de imágenes e ideas manifestadas en la Ilíada sobre el héroe y la muerte desde una perspectiva ideológica. A lo largo del análisis, se logró determinar que la ideología heroica es, básicamente, un conjunto de mecanismos simbólicos que despliegan un sentido particular a la inserción de un individuo dentro de la categoría de héroe con el fin de explicar y justificar su muerte en el combate. A partir de lo analizado, se puede concluir que el ámbito de acción del héroe era sumamente limitado, pues para él, sucumbir ante el combate es el único fin posible. Lo anterior supone que Aquiles, en lugar de ser el paradigma de la muerte heroica, es más bien su víctima más conspicua, pues constituye el modelo del ser humano que se ve constreñido a morir en la guerra.

ACHILLES AND THE SUBJECTION TO FATE: DEATH AND IDEOLOGY IN THE ILIAD

Achilles has been pointed out as the ideal of a hero and heroic death, not only for the ancient Greeks but also for contemporary scholars. He accepts his inevitable faith which has given him a brief life and a beautiful death. Both of which appear as an unattractive existence; however, they assure that his name will never be forgotten. This study analyzed the group of images and ideas, expressed in the Iliad, related to the hero and his death from an ideological perspective. Along the analysis, it was determined that the heroic ideology is, basically, a collection of symbolic mechanisms that create a particular sense through the insertion of an individual inside the category of hero; therefore, this can explain and justify his death in the fight.  From this perspective, it can be concluded that the area of action of a hero was absolutely limited because dying in combat was the only possible end for the hero. This perspective explains that Achilles, instead of being the paradigm of the heroic death, is the most notorious victim: he constitutes the role model of the human being who is forced to die in the war.

One could scarcely draw together two larger topics than the Mahābhārata (Mbh) and dharma. The former, a tale of a fratricidal and internecine battle interspersed with theme-expanding stories, moral tales, fables, and didactic tracts, claims to be 100,000 stanzas long; the text constituted in the Critical Edition in the mid 20th century by a team of scholars comes to some 75,000.  The Mbh has arguably been the most influential and significant cultural product to emerge from South Asia in the last two millennia. The word dharma, on the other hand, has, since perhaps the 5th century BCE (or a little later), been the preeminent term of ideological expression in South Asian thought, and lent itself to the collective name for one of South Asia's most enduring genres, dharmaśāstra. The word is, as has often been noted, of central importance to the Mbh; indeed, in many respects, the Mbh both marks a significant moment in the semantic development of dharma (Hiltebeitel 2011: 20-29) and demonstrates its emergence as a term encoding cultural and ideological legitimacy.

RESUMEN: El Cantar de mio Cid, una de las principales obras del canon literario español, es también una de las más importantes en el ámbito de la poesía épica medieval por sus valores estéticos, su influencia histórica y su fundamental papel en la conversión del Cid en un héroe del imaginario universal de la literatura. Aunque la bibliografía sobre esta obra resulta casi incontable, una obra de tal riqueza no se agota jamás a ojos de la crítica. En particular, los estudios comparativos relativos a la misma no han adquirido un desarrollo proporcional a la importancia y la influencia de este cantar de gesta. El objetivo de este libro es, entonces, tratar de nuevo algunos de los temas clave del poema y de su descendencia ibérica en las crónicas de la Edad Media (algunos de ellos bastante descuidados por la crítica precedente, como la dimensión simbólica del poema o sus aspectos hagiográficos), pero sobre todo profundizar en la comparación de su voz épica con la de otras literaturas heroicas, desde la épica románica hasta los gunki monogatari japoneses.
RÉSUMÉ: La Chanson de mon Cid est l’un des principaux ouvrages du canon littéraire espagnol est aussi une des pièces les plus importantes dans le cadre de la poésie épique médiévale, par ses valeurs esthétiques, par son influence historique et par son rôle capital pour faire du Cid un héros de l’imaginaire littéraire universel. Bien que la bibliographie sur cette œuvre soit presque innombrable, un ouvrage d’une telle richesse ne s’épuise jamais du point de vue de la critique. Spécialement, les études comparatistes à son égard n’ont jamais acquis un développement proportionnel à l’importance et à l’influence de cette chanson de geste. L’objectif du livre dont on propose l’édition est, alors, de revenir sur quelques-uns des thèmes clés du poème et de sa postérité hispanique dans les chroniques du Bas Moyen Âge (certains négligés en grande partie par la critique précédente, comme la dimension merveilleuse de la chanson ou ses aspects hagiographiques), mais surtout d’approfondir dans la comparaison de sa voix épique avec celle d’autres littératures héroïques, depuis l’épopée romane jusqu’aux gunki monogatari japonais.

This paper examines the meaning and connectedness of Kleos (eternal glory, fame), Nostos (homecoming, heroic return) and Ponos (toil, ordeal, pain) in various myths from the Iliad, the Odyssey and the Epic Cycle. Despite being essential to the analysing cultural significance of Homeric tradition, folklore feels disconnected from initial manifestations of heroic stories. We can say that such an unfortunate outcome is caused by the popularity of non-poetic narratives that have been created by numerous writers to bring the coherent plot into the foreground. This approach might be a comprehensible presentation of the story, though such versions lack the essence of imprinting heroic deeds into epic poems by earning Kleos and sustaining heroes' Kleos by repeated performance. Thus, this essay explores the significance of Kleos, nostos and Ponos within the Homeric tradition and suggests that we should abandon a canonical way of reading these virtues because such approach does not correspond with original myths that had been passed down from generation to generation. For this purpose, above-mentioned heroic virtues will be demonstrated on examples of Odysseus, Diomedes, Telemonian Ajax, Neoptolemus and with emphasis on Achilles – the epitome of Kleos. Moreover, popular adherence to " multi-volume " way of reading the Trojan War will be re-evaluated by juxtaposing Homer's works and the Epic Cycle to locate distinct traditions regarding Kleos, Nostos and Ponos.

The ‘lonely/low hero’ is a personage depicted initially as a pitiful, isolated, friendless, sad orphan or foundling, but who appears to prove himself to be a powerful representative of a high-ranking family as the story unwinds. We find those personages in different genres: ritual myths, epics, charms, curses and tales. Betel chewing as a cultural practice is of great importance in the depiction of key mythological figures, lonely heroes in particular.
The paper analyses the symbolism of betel chewing as compared to other chewing practices worldwide. Philippine folklore texts are being analysed to define motifs connected to the image of a lonely hero in the folklore of the Tinguian (Itneg), Kalinga, Yattuka (Kallahan), Ifugao and other highlanders of the Northern Philippines, and compares them to corresponding themes in Philippine non-Cordilleran mythologies and beyond.
Обобщающее исследование на стыке этноботаники, этнолингвистики, культурной антропологии и фольклористики, посвященное практике, мифологии, символике бетеля и других легких жевательных стимулянтов и релаксантов в традиционной и современной культуре народов мира.

http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674066731

The figure of the giant has haunted the literatures of the ancient Mediterranean world, from the Greek Gigantomachy and other Aegean epic literatures to the biblical contexts of the ancient Near East. In this volume, Brian Doak argues that the giants of the Hebrew Bible are a politically, theologically, and historiographically generative group, and through their oversized bodies readers gain insight into central aspects of Israel’s symbolic universe. All that is overgrown or physically monstrous represents a connection to primeval chaos, and stands as a barrier to creation and right rule. Giants thus represent chaos-fear, and their eradication is a form of chaos maintenance by both human and divine agents. Doak argues that these biblical traditions participate in a broader Mediterranean conversation regarding giants and the end of the heroic age—a conversation that inevitably draws the biblical corpus into a discussion of the function of myth and epic in the ancient world, with profound implications for the politics of monotheism and monarchy in ancient Israel.

There are certain invariants of heroic poetry, elements that define it essentially: the theme – a narrative about “extraordinary deeds”, famous, adventurous topics, in the style of “traditional heroic mythology” (Marino) – and the idealized typology so that the epic hero usually occurs like
a sum of the virtues appreciated by the community which assumes him. Very likely influenced by the Mesopotamian one from the beginning of the second millennia B.C., the Homeric epic exerts its influence further in time and cultural geography, over the Latin one from the end of the 1st century B.C. and, via the Aeneid, over the Germanic epic from the Middle Ages. Through Virgil, Homer’s  self -confessed  competitor,  there  could  be  clarified  an  issue  of  the  European  literary history: how did the transition from the “heroic song” of the Germanic tribes –“lost, as long as it was not recorded in writing” (Curtius) –, to the Anglo-Saxon heroic epic or the Medieval German one (mittelhochdeutsch) occur? The Aeneid
appears to be, according to Heusler and Curtius, the missing link between the epic tradition of Mediterranean Antiquity and the Germanic Medieval
heroic epic. (The latter, the product of a culture that, by its “barbarian” roots, had the inspiration of  and  ability  to  assimilate,  from  the  defeated  Rome,  the  classic  inheritance  of  Greek -Latin humanism).  The  literary  heredity  that  unites  Homer,  Virgil  and  the  Germanic  epic  on  the background  of  Mesopotamian  loans,  provides  yet  another  very  interesting  example  of (inter)cultural intermediation and continuity in the Eurasian space, within a historical interval of almost four millennia –from Gilgamesh’s legendary rule in Uruk and its literary echoes to the
Germanic heroic epic from the Middle Ages.

On the front panel of the Anglo-Saxon ivory box " Franks Casket " the cruel revenge of Wayland the smith and the Nativity of Jesus are depicted side by side. This juxtaposition was interpreted as a contrast between the cruelty of paganism and the Christian faith. More and more researchers try to point out, however, that Wayland has to be understood as a positive, Christian symbol. In the present paper I argue, that the depiction of Waylandʼs child murder together with the Nativity of Christ was inspired by the iconography of the Massacre of the Innocents. Thus, Wayland could be interpreted as an Anglo-Saxon pagan counterpart of King Herod the Great.

Problems of dating consistently haunt modern scholars who have no way of knowing whether a text written down in the fourteenth century might have been composed in the sixth,the tenth, or even later. Despite this, the enduring image of the ‘heroic age’ of early Britain has persisted, with poetry—Y Gododdin, the praise of Urien Rheged, and the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf—providing a historical canvas. Scholars pick apart the texts for clues like (and sometimes as) archaeologists, patching together what they can find into a framework built from other, equally unreliable sources. Writers of high middle ages held an equally romantic vision of the bygone age of the noble barbarian, and far less attachment to the authorship of their own work. The images of mead-halls and blood-feuds, while attested to some extent, are far from complete, though their remnants are found throughout modern popular culture. Were the scribes who saved the poems really preserving the works of the ancients, or merely the medieval version  of historical fiction? Linguistically, a strong case can be made for a later date; historical attestations point to an earlier one. Care must be taken when attempting to present a firm conclusion.

MONTANER, Alberto, «Introducción a la épica de frontera (tradiciones románica, bizantino-eslava e islámica)», en Ressons èpics en les literatures i el folklore hispànic = El eco de la épica en las literaturas y el folclore hispánico, eds. P. Bádenas y E. Ayensa, Atenas, ACRINET; Barcelona, Reial Acadèmia de Bones Lletres, 2004 (The Acritans of Europe, IV [ISBN 960-88505-1-7]), pp. 9-39.

Indoeuropean poetic formulae "Unfading Glory" in the Ossetian Nartiada (Nart Sagas).
In this article I try to identify traces of the archaic Indoeuropean poetic formulae "Unfading Glory" in the Ossetic epic poetry. These relicts are reflected in the final chapter of the epic. The cult of the heroic glory is also reflected in the funeral rituals (kurgans and stelae) of the Northern Iranians, being the physical embodyment of the poetic concept of glory. As a clear example of these believes surviving among the ethnographic Ossetians yet in the early 20th C., in the last chapter of the article are pressented three versions of the "heroic song" and a complete description of the traditional momorial stelae, dedicated to one of the Ossetian heroes, died during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905).

Certain medieval pseudo-historical Central European texts include plots mentioning the most significant Moravian ruler Svatopluk. Their summary is sometimes labeled as the so-called Svatopluk Legend. It describes the last battle of Svatopluk against Hungarian incursion and his supernatural death. Since these narratives do not correspond to real historical events, several historians assume their origin in a heroic folklore tradition of the early and high medieval Slavic population of the Carpathian Basin.
This work aims to investigate the validity of this assumption, and subsequently to characterize more closely the folklore tradition in question. The key motifs and themes of Svatopluk Legend are compared to other Indo-European heroic epic traditions to prove the folklore origin of Svatopluk Legend as well as to identify its possible original patterns.
It is concluded that the Svatopluk Legend includes motifs, themes, and plots typical for Indo-European heroic folklore relating to the king’s character. During the initial centuries of the existence of the Hungarian state, in the northern part of the Carpathian Basin, there probably existed a folklore tradition centered on the person of Moravian ruler Svatopluk. To some degree, it preserved the legacy of the courtly heroic epic of Moravian state.