SОMЕ HISTORICAL ASPECTS OF THE EPIC “DAVID OF SASSOUN”

Abstract

In this paper the history of epics is considered as the history of the formation of epics and of their inner development. The origin of epics is a result of the work of the many generations of tellers and listeners. But formation is connected with concrete periods, when the primary elements – myths, historical plots and memory of real historical events – entered in a new unity and composed some epic creation. A brief characterization of these processes is given in the paper. The author clearly separates the origin of myths (prehistoric times) and the formation of epics. For him myths and epics are principally different genres of folklore. Myths take their place in the epics’ structure, but they change according to the epic whole. The author also explores the indirect facts in the books of the medieval Armenian writers, some historical facts, shedding light on the problem of the formation of “David of Sassun”. In the epic the father of twins – Sanasar and Baghdasar, bears the name Khalif of Bagdad (Baghdadi Khalif). The twins are mythical heroes. But the name of their father is assosiated with the 7-8 centuries. Khalif is the title of Arab rulers,hence it could have arisen only after  the 7th century, when the Arab state arose. And Baghdad was founded in the 8th century. These facts mean that the mythical plot of the twins entered the epic after these centuries. The author also analyze the image of Sanasar and shows, that this mythic hero acts in the epic as the representative of the Middle Ages, as a man, for whom the knightly values were very important.  The author comes to the conclusion that the traditional point of view abоut the period of formation of this Armenian epic (8-12 centuries) is valid up to our days.

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