NATIONAL EPIC

A 'national epic' is an epic poem or similar work which seeks or is believed to capture and express the essence or spirit of a particular nation; not necessarily a nation-state, but at least an ethnic or linguistic group with aspirations to independence or . National epics frequently recount the origin of a nation, a part of its history, or a crucial event in the development of national identity such as other national symbols. In a broader sense, a national epic may simply be an epic in the national language which the people or government of that nation are particularly proud of.
Some consider the national epic to be a product of Romantic nationalism. Where no obvious national epic existed, the "Romantic spirit" was motivated to fill it. An early example of poetry that was invented to fill a perceived gap in "national" myth is Ossian, the narrator and supposed author of a cycle of poems by James Macpherson, which Macpherson claimed to have translated from ancient sources in the Scots Gaelic. However, many national epics (including Macpherson's ''Ossian'') antedate 19th-century romanticism.
Examples of epics that have been enlisted as "national" include

Contents
Poetic epics
Americas
Asia
Europe
Prose epics
See also
External Source

Poetic epics


Americas


Argentina - Martín Fierro by José Hernández

Chile - La Araucana/The Araucaniad by Alonso de Ercilla
Asia


Armenia - Sasna Dzrer,"Madmen of Sassoun", also translated "Daredevils of Sassoun."(also known as "Sasountsi Tavit" after its main character, David of Sassoun,

Indian subcontinent -


Mahabharata


Ramayana


The Five Great Epics of Tamil Literature

Indonesia -


Kakawin Rāmâyaṇa


Ramakavaca

Iran and Persian speakers in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and other countries - Shahnameh (legends and history of Iran from earliest times to the end of the Sassanid Empire)

Kipchaks (e.g. in Tatarstan) - Chora Batir

Kyrgyz - Epic of Manas

Laos - Phra Lak Phra Lam

Malaysia -


Hikayat Hang Tuah


Sejarah Melayu


Hikayat Seri Rama

Mongols (Kalmyks and Oirats) - Jangar

Myanmar - Yama Zatdaw

Philippines -


Maradia Lawana


Florante at Laura


Ibong Adarna


Biag ni Lam-ang

Tibetans - Epic of King Gesar

Thailand - Ramakien

Vietnam -


Au Lac myths


The Tale of Kieu

Cambodia - Reamker
Europe


Albania - Lahuta e Malcís (The Highland Lute) by Gjergj Fishta

Ancient Rome - Aeneid

Armenia/ Greater Armenia of 9th century - Davit of Sasoun

Catalonia - Canigó by Jacint Verdaguer

Croatia - Smrt Smail-age Čengića by Ivan Mažuranić

England - Beowulf

Estonia - Kalevipoeg

Finland - Kalevala


★ Despite the similar names and close linguistic and cultural ties between Finland and Estonia, Kalevala and Kalevipoeg are two completely separate works.

France - La Chanson de Roland (The Song of Roland) about Roland/Orlando.

Germany - Nibelungenlied

Greece, Ancient (Hellas and Mediterranean Greek colonies) - Iliad and Odyssey

Greece (Byzantine Empire) - Digenis Acritas

Hungary - Peril of Sziget (Szigeti Veszedelem)

Ireland - Táin Bó Cúailnge

Latvia - Lāčplēsis

Luxembourg - Rénert the Fox

Portugal - Os Lusíadas ("The Lusiads")

Poland - Pan Tadeusz by Adam Mickiewicz

Scandinavia - Poetic Edda

Sorbs - Nawozenja

Spain - Cantar de Mio Cid (about the early Reconquista)

Wales - Mabinogion

Prose epics


Some prose works, while not strictly epic poetry, have an important place in the national consciousness of their nations. These include the following:

Britain -


Historia Regum Britanniae

China -


Fengshen Yanyi (mythology)


Romance of the Three Kingdoms (novel)


Water Margin (novel)


Journey to the West (novel)


Dream of the Red Chamber (novel)

Ethiopia - Kebra Nagast

Flanders (Dutch-speaking part of Belgium) - De Leeuw van Vlaanderen ("The Lion of Flanders")

France : Les Misérables (A novel spanning a crucial era of French History)

Ireland


★ ''Táin Bó Cúailnge'' (Prose narration with poetic interludes)


★ ''Dubliners''

Japan -


Kojiki


Nihongi (prose with songs)


The Tale of Genji (''genji monogatari'')

Korea - Samguk Yusa (prose with songs)

Lithuania - Anykščių šilelis by Antanas Baranauskas

Mali - Epic of Sundiata

Mayans - Popol Vuh

Middle East - Tanakh (Old Testament)

Mongolia -


Borte Chino


The Secret History of the Mongols (Genghis Khan's biography)

Portugal - Peregrinação (or Peregrinaçam)

Russia -


Tale of Igor's Campaign


Zadonshchina

Spain - Don Quixote

Tatar - "Chora Batir" [1]

Turkic peoples -


Alpamysh (all Central Asia)


Book of Dede Korkut (Oghuz nations: Azerbaijan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turcomans of Iraq, as well as Central Asia and other Turkic nations)


★ Oghuz-nameh (Oghuz nations: Azerbaijan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Turcomans of Iraq)


Ergenekon (Turkey)


Koroglu (Azerbaijan and Turkey)


Kutadgu Bilig (Central Asia, Uighurs and other Turkic nations)

Wales - Mabinogion

United States


★ ''The Grapes of Wrath''


★ ''The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn''


★ ''U.S.A.''

See also



Epic poetry

List of world folk-epics

National myth

Founding myth

Civil religion

List of national poets

Great American Novel

External Source



Full text epics in the original languages

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