National epic

As a national epic extensive Versdichtungen ( epic ) are referred to that have such an outstanding importance for the identification of a people or a nation, that they are considered essential, or at least an example for its cultural history.

They often deal with the historical or prehistorical self-assertion of a hero ( hero ) entering as a substitute for the self-esteem of a modern nation. This function takes the often ancient seals usually only in modern times to. The 1500-1750 completely forgotten Nibelungenlied was, for example, in the 19th century national epic. In the era of nation-building in the 19th century, the national idea and the need historical roots of one's own tradition in many younger nations led to the creation of a national Identifikationsepik.

The list below lists the Nationalepen individual states or nations, the emergence time refers to the earliest written reference that is known to us. Many Nationalepen were already centuries earlier oral tradition.

11th century Argentina 1872 13th century England Kalevipoeg Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald 1853 Finland Kalevala 1835 1849 France 12th century The Knight in the Panther's Skin Greece Homer Mahabharata 4th century BC 10th century 14th century Edda Italy Dante Alighieri Epic of Manas 1885 Kurdish people Ladin people Andrejs Pumpurs 1888 1840 Pan Tadeusz 1834 Portugal 1572 Aeneid 1st century BC 1825 18th century National poet Folk hero Ossian Epic poetry
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