Armenian trace of a European legend
https://doi.org/10.22394/2412-9410-2024-10-2-284-295
Abstract
The legend of the Tatar Khan and the daughter of the Armenian king, who gave birth to a monster which, as a result of baptism, turned into a beautiful baby, an event that prompted the khan to accept Christianity along with his people, was included in the narratives of many European chroniclers and historians. This legend formed the basis of the well-known English chivalric novel “King of Tars” that was compiled around 1330. The plot of the legend is mainly composed of the same elements. However, in some chronicles and annals, as well as in the mentioned novel, their ratio and combination changes, and sometimes one of the storylines falls out, or one character is replaced by another. Often there are some increments to the plot, such as: the capture of Jerusalem by the Tatar Khan, the expulsion of the Saracens from Jerusalem, the seizure of Aleppo, Damascus and other cities by the united troops of the Tatars, the kings of Armenia and Georgia. As for the Armenian trace of this legend in the European historical and literary tradition, clear parallels can be found between the plots of the first branch of “David of Sassoun” and the legends circulating in the West regarding the story of the daughter of the Armenian king, who got married to a non-Christian. This article reveals these parallels, as well as the traces that are similar in Old Russian tales.
Keywords
About the Authors
K. H. Bejanyan
Manook Abeghyan Institute of Literature of the National Academy of Sciences
Armenia
Armenia
Kristine H. Bejanyan, Cand. Sci. (Philology), Associate Professor, Head of The Department
Department of Foreign Literature
0015; Gr. Lusavoritch Str., 15; Yerevan
G. L. Karagyozyan
Manook Abeghyan Institute of Literature of the National Academy of Sciences
Armenia
Armenia
Gohar L. Karagyozyan, Cand. Sci. (Philology), Senior Researcher
Department of Foreign Literature
0015; Gr. Lusavoritch Str., 15; Yerevan
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Review
For citations:
Bejanyan K.H., Karagyozyan G.L. Armenian trace of a European legend. Shagi / Steps. 2024;10(2):284-295. https://doi.org/10.22394/2412-9410-2024-10-2-284-295
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