Composed between 1185 and 1196 in southern
Russia, The Song of Igor is a heroic EPIC recounting
the defeat of Prince Igor’s forces from the city of
Novgorod-Seversk by a Polish army. Apparently
composed by a well-educated nobleman whose
name is no longer known, it is said to be the most
artistically complete work of old Russian epic literature.
Like most traditional epics, The Song of Igor was
intended to be performed and accompanied by
music, and was only later set down in writing. The
book is divided into five sections. In the introduction,
the author addresses his audience as brothers
and explains that, unlike other epics, he has striven
not only to create beautiful music but also to recount
historical events. He then begins his narration
of Igor’s adventures. Despite the bad omen of
a solar eclipse, Igor, his brother Vsevolod, and their
sons prepare themselves for battle against a nomadic
Polish force, a battle they will ultimately lose.
To contrast this defeat, which is caused by Igor
and his brother’s egoistical quest for personal glory,
the second chapter recounts the victorious battle
of the righteous Grand Duke Svyatoslav in the old
Russian capital of Kiev. This is followed by a complaint
spoken by Igor’s young wife for her absent
husband, who has been imprisoned by the Polish
enemy. The poem closes with a retelling of Igor’s
daring escape from prison and return to his wife.
Though the heroic epic enjoyed a golden age in
the old Russian capital of Kiev in the 12th century,
The Song of Igor stands apart for its poetic sophistication
and dramatic force. Characters’ moral and
political predicaments are vividly described, and
the action itself is presented with much energy and
pathos. These elements allow favorable comparison
of the work to other medieval European epics,
from the Old English BEOWULF, to the Middle High
German NIBELUNGENLIED to the Old French SONG OF
ROLAND.
The manuscript of The Song of Igor, together
with other old Russian texts, was discovered in a
monastery library in the late 18th century by
Count Mussin-Puschkin, the Procurator-General
of the Holy Synod in St. Petersburg. Copies of the
manuscript were published in 1800, and it found a
large audience due to the newfound interest in
Russia and Europe, in medieval nationalistic epics,
and in the high literary quality of the work. The
original manuscript was later lost in a fire, but
thanks to the 1800 republication, the work has
been preserved in its entirety.
An English Version of The Song of Igor
The Song of Igor’s Campaign, An Epic of the Twelfth
Century. Translated by Vladimir Nabokov. New
York: Ardis, 1989.
A Work about The Song of Igor
Mann, Robert. Lances Sing: A Study of the Igor Tale.
Columbus, Ohio: Slavica, 1990.