Epic from the Battle of the Don
The epic about the Battle of the Don ( Russian Zadonščina or Sadonschtschina ) was probably written around the turn of the 14th to the 15th century by the boyar and later priest Sifoni of Bryansk. It describes the victory of the Moscow Grand Duke Dmitri Donskoy over the Tatars under Mamai in the battle on the Kulikowo Polje ("Snipe Field"). It has come down to us in several manuscripts from the 15th to 17th centuries.
The epic is based on chronicles from the end of the 14th century and incorporates many forms and images of the oral poetry of the time. Both ideologically and stylistically, it shows strong similarities with the Igor song . The igor song is probably older and served the author as a model. The argument that the epic poem of the Battle of the Don has epigonal features in comparison to the Igor song was used as proof of its authenticity in the discussion about the Igor song.
The author of the Zadonščina has apparently simply taken over some passages from the Igore Song, in others the style of creating literary images is copied. Like the igor song, the epic of the battle on the don pleads for the unity of the Russian princes under the leadership of Moscow . In contrast to the igor song, which gives a negative example of unauthorized action by a single prince, it uses a positive example to show how successful the princes can be together.
See also
literature
- Sadonstschina - German translation by Gottfried Sturm. In: Helmut Graßhoff u. a .: O Bojan, you nightingale of the old days. Seven centuries of ancient Russian literature . Frankfurt am Main: Verlag Heinrich Scheffler 1965