what is Bulgarian literature?
Bulgarian literature had its Golden Age quite early, in the 9th century, i.e. the times of Simeon I and the First Bulgarian Empire. This early state welcomed the disciples of Cyril and Methodius expelled from the Great Moravia. This is how the country got the benefit of an early writerly activity, such as translations from Byzantine Greek. Scholars gathered around two centres, the so-called Preslav and Ohrid Literary Schools. In the first one, there was Chernorizets Hrabar, the author of the treatise О писмєньхъ (On the letters) - it was still the moment in which the development of Cyrillic script constituted a major intellectual achievement; Hrabar defended its superiority in relation to the Greek system of writing. The major figure of the second one was Clement of Ohrid.
The fate of Bulgarian statehood influenced the cultural flourishing of the country. Yet after the Byzantine invasion in 1018, the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185-1396) created the necessary conditions for cultural prosperity once again. The major canter of the new ear was Tarnovo Literary School (14th-15th c.) under the auspices of the Patriarch Evtimiy (Saint Euthymius of Tarnovo). Among the major Bulgarian scholars of that period was Constantine the Philosopher; on the other hand, the biography of Gregory Tsamblak, who worked not only in Bulgaria but also in Kyiv and in Serbia, illustrates the regional projection of the Bulgarian culture in the late Middle Ages.
In 1396, this period of cultural prosperity and projection came to an end with the Ottoman conquest. The monasteries became entrenched centres of resistance in a foreign state, concentrating mainly on the preservation of religious teachings. The country was isolated from the influence of the European Renaissance that marked its presence on the western fringe of the Balkan Peninsula, in Croatia. The westernmost Bulgarian Catholics could partially participate in this Illyric culture.
The wave of Bulgarian national revival came in the 18th century with the historiographic activity of such writers as Paìsiy Hilendàrski (Saint Paisius of Hilendar, 1722–1773), the author of История славянобългарска (Slav-Bulgarian History). Revolutionary, anti-Turkish Romanticism came relatively late, but it created the most celebrated and iconic Bulgarian figure of the 19th c., Hristo Botev (1848-1876). He consolidated the legacy of folk songs from the Ottoman period into a powerful, emotional literary idiom.
The further literary development was connected with the Crimean War and the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, which finally brought independence to Bulgaria. The former conflict accompanied the creation of the Горски пътник (Forest Wanderer) of Georgi Rakovski, a Romantic epos of the insurgents against the Turkish rule. The heroism of the fight for the liberty became the dominant literary topic also in the decades that followed the independence; such is the case of Под игото (Under the yoke), the novel of Ivan Vazov published by chapters in 1889-1890. Yet another aspect of Bulgarian freedom was illustrated by the figure of the ignorant and yet shrewd, greedy peasant Bay Ganyo from the humorous writings of Aleko Konstantinov.
Quite a new era in Bulgarian letters started with the advent of Modernism and Symbolism in the "Misal" ("The Thought") circle, illustrated by the "philosophical poems" of Pencho Slaveykov.
The fate of Bulgarian statehood influenced the cultural flourishing of the country. Yet after the Byzantine invasion in 1018, the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185-1396) created the necessary conditions for cultural prosperity once again. The major canter of the new ear was Tarnovo Literary School (14th-15th c.) under the auspices of the Patriarch Evtimiy (Saint Euthymius of Tarnovo). Among the major Bulgarian scholars of that period was Constantine the Philosopher; on the other hand, the biography of Gregory Tsamblak, who worked not only in Bulgaria but also in Kyiv and in Serbia, illustrates the regional projection of the Bulgarian culture in the late Middle Ages.
In 1396, this period of cultural prosperity and projection came to an end with the Ottoman conquest. The monasteries became entrenched centres of resistance in a foreign state, concentrating mainly on the preservation of religious teachings. The country was isolated from the influence of the European Renaissance that marked its presence on the western fringe of the Balkan Peninsula, in Croatia. The westernmost Bulgarian Catholics could partially participate in this Illyric culture.
The wave of Bulgarian national revival came in the 18th century with the historiographic activity of such writers as Paìsiy Hilendàrski (Saint Paisius of Hilendar, 1722–1773), the author of История славянобългарска (Slav-Bulgarian History). Revolutionary, anti-Turkish Romanticism came relatively late, but it created the most celebrated and iconic Bulgarian figure of the 19th c., Hristo Botev (1848-1876). He consolidated the legacy of folk songs from the Ottoman period into a powerful, emotional literary idiom.
The further literary development was connected with the Crimean War and the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, which finally brought independence to Bulgaria. The former conflict accompanied the creation of the Горски пътник (Forest Wanderer) of Georgi Rakovski, a Romantic epos of the insurgents against the Turkish rule. The heroism of the fight for the liberty became the dominant literary topic also in the decades that followed the independence; such is the case of Под игото (Under the yoke), the novel of Ivan Vazov published by chapters in 1889-1890. Yet another aspect of Bulgarian freedom was illustrated by the figure of the ignorant and yet shrewd, greedy peasant Bay Ganyo from the humorous writings of Aleko Konstantinov.
Quite a new era in Bulgarian letters started with the advent of Modernism and Symbolism in the "Misal" ("The Thought") circle, illustrated by the "philosophical poems" of Pencho Slaveykov.
I have readIliya Troyanov, Der Weltensammler (2006)
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I have written... nothing ...
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