Litanic Verse I: Origines, Iberia, Slavia et Europa Media (Literary and Cultural Theory)

The book contains comparative analyses of the development of litanic verse in European poetry, from medieval to modern times. Litanic verse is based on different syntactic devices, such as enumeration, parallelism, anaphora and epiphora. However, it is not to be seen merely as a convention of versification as the popularity of different variants of the verse in Europe reflects the religious, intellectual, social and political history of various European regions. The essays in the first volume focus on the origins of the Litany (the Near East, Greece, Byzantium, Rome), as well as the emergence of litanic verse in the Iberian languages (Castilian, Catalan, Galician, Portuguese) and Slavic and Central European literatures (Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Serbian, Russian). Cover Contents Some Necessary Preliminaries Origines "In principio erat enumeratio": The Origins of Litanic Patterns in the Ancient Near East Looking for the Origins of Biblical Litanies: The Hymn of the Three Youths in Daniel 3:52–90deut Three Short Litany-Like Texts from Ugarit: Translation and Commentary Litanic Elements in Ancient Greece: Orphic Hymns Byzantine Liturgical Litany Litanic Verse in Latin Iberia Religious Poetry, "Religio Amoris" and Panegyric Poetry in Spain before the End of the Fifteenth Century Castilian Poetry and "Autos Sacramentales" during the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries Praise, Litany and "Cantigas": Catalonian, Galician-Portuguese, and Portuguese Poetry up to the End of the Seventeenth Century The Iberian Peninsula from the Eighteenth Century till the 1930s: Opening Remarks “Thou, the most beautiful; thou, in whom the pink morning star shines”: Castilian Poetry in the Eighteenth Century “I do not know the name”: Castilian Poetry from the Nineteenth Century to the 1930s On the Trail of Litany in Catalan, Galician, and Portuguese Poetry from the Eighteenth Century to the 1930s Slavia Meridionalis et Orientalis Southern Slavs: At the Meeting Point of Traditions “From besmeared lips, from hating heart, from unclean tongue”: Writing and Rewriting of the Canon in Serbia “The Word that feeds hungry human souls, the Word that gives power to your mind and heart”: Bulgaria from Clement of Ohrid to the “September Literature” Circle “Oh the blessed one, oh the most holy one, oh elevated above all the blessed ones”: Litanic Patterns and Folk Inspirations in Croatian Poetry A Separate World. Russian Poetry Between the Native and the Universal Europa Media “Krleš! Krleš! Krleš!” Litany and its Derivatives in Czech Literature to the 1930s “I gave night music to my heart from which deep litanies pealed”: Hungarian Poetry Polish Litanic Verse until 1939. An Outside Perspective Subject Index Index of Names A comparative history of litanic verse in various European regions. The essays on the origin of the Litany are followed by a consideration of litanic verse in Latin poetry and in the Iberian (Castilian, Catalan, Galician, Portuguese), Slavic and Central European literatures (Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Serbian, Russian).