List of epic poems

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The first page of the Beowulf manuscript, 8th to 10th century.

This is a list of epic poems.

Ancient epics (to 500)[]

Before the 8th century BC[]

8th to 6th century BC[]

  • Iliad, ascribed to Homer (Greek mythology)
  • Odyssey, ascribed to Homer (Greek mythology)
  • Works and Days, ascribed to Hesiod (Greek mythology)
  • Theogony, ascribed to Hesiod (Greek mythology)
  • Shield of Heracles, ascribed to Hesiod (Greek mythology)
  • Catalogue of Women, ascribed to Hesiod (Greek mythology; only fragments survive)
  • Cypria, Aethiopis, Little Iliad, Iliupersis, Nostoi and Telegony, forming the so-called Epic Cycle (only fragments survive)
  • Oedipodea, Thebaid, Epigoni and Alcmeonis, forming the so-called Theban Cycle (only fragments survive)
  • A series of poems ascribed to Hesiod during antiquity (of which only fragments survive): Aegimius (alternatively ascribed to Cercops of Miletus), Astronomia, Descent of Perithous, Idaean Dactyls (almost completely lost), Megala Erga, Megalai Ehoiai, Melampodia and Wedding of Ceyx
  • Capture of Oechalia, ascribed to Homer or Creophylus of Samos during antiquity (only a fragment survives)
  • Phocais, ascribed to Homer during antiquity (only a fragment survives)
  • Titanomachy ascribed to Eumelus of Corinth (only a fragment survives)
  • Danais (written by one of the cyclic poets and from which the Danaid tetralogy of Aeschylus draws its material), Minyas and Naupactia, almost completely lost

5th to 4th century BC[]

  • Heracleia, tells of the labors of Heracles, almost completely lost, written by Panyassis (Greek mythology)
  • Mahābhārata, ascribed to Veda Vyasa (Indian religion)
  • Ramayana, ascribed to Valmiki (Indian religion)

3rd century BC[]

  • Argonautica by Apollonius of Rhodes (Greek mythology)

2nd century BC[]

  • Annales by Ennius (Roman history; only fragments survive)

1st century BC[]

  • De rerum natura by Lucretius (natural philosophy)
  • Georgics by Virgil (didactic poem)
  • Aeneid by Virgil (Roman religion)

1st century AD[]

  • Metamorphoses by Ovid (Greek and Roman mythology)
  • Pharsalia by Lucan (Roman history; unfinished)
  • Argonautica by Gaius Valerius Flaccus (Roman poet, Greek mythology; incomplete)
  • Punica by Silius Italicus (Roman history)
  • Thebaid and Achilleid by Statius (Roman poet, Greek mythology; latter poem incomplete)

2nd century[]

  • Buddhacarita by Aśvaghoṣa (Indian epic poetry)

2nd to 5th century[]

  • Cento Vergilianus de laudibus Christi by Faltonia Betitia Proba
  • The Five Great Epics of Tamil Literature: Cilappatikāram, Manimekalai, Cīvaka Cintāmaṇi, Valayapathi, Kundalakēci

3rd to 4th century[]

  • Posthomerica by Quintus of Smyrna (Greek mythology)
  • De raptu Proserpinae by Claudian (Roman poet, Greek mythology; incomplete)

4th century[]

5th century[]

  • Argonautica Orphica by Anonymous (Greek mythology)
  • Dionysiaca by Nonnus (Greek mythology)
  • Mahavamsa, written in Pali
  • Yadegar-e Zariran, written in Middle Persian

Medieval epics (500–1500)[]

6th century[]

  • Iohannis by Corippus, Latin epic on the Byzantine conquest of North Africa

7th century[]

8th to 10th century[]

  • Beowulf (Old English)
  • Waldere, Old English version of the story told in Waltharius (below), known only as a brief fragment
  • Alpamysh, a Turkic epic
  • Karolus magnus et Leo papa (Carolingian, Latin, before 814)
  • Daredevils of Sassoun (Armenian)
  • Bhagavata Purana (Sanskrit) "Stories of the Lord", based on earlier sources
  • Lay of Hildebrand and Muspilli (Old High German, c.870)
  • Kakawin Ramayana, Javanese version of the Ramayana (c. 870)
  • Shahnameh (Persian literature; details Persian legend and history from prehistoric times to the fall of the Sassanid Empire, by Ferdowsi)
  • Waltharius by Ekkehard of St. Gall (Germany, Latin); about Walter of Aquitaine
  • Poetic Edda (no particular authorship; oral tradition of the North Germanic peoples)
  • Vikramarjuna Vijaya and Ādi purāṇa (c. 941), Kannada poems by Adikavi Pampa
  • Ajitha Purana and Gadaayuddha (c.993 and c.999), Kannada poems by Ranna
  • Neelakesi (Tamil Jain epic)

11th century[]

The Knight in the Panther's Skin by Shota Rustaveli, one of the greatest Georgian poets.
  • Taghribat Bani Hilal (Arabic); see also Arabic epic literature
  • Ruodlieb (Latin), by a German author
  • Digenis Akritas (Greek); about a hero of the Byzantine Empire
  • Epic of King Gesar (Tibetan)
  • Garshaspname (Persian) by Asadi Tusi (1066)
  • Carmen Campidoctoris, the first poem about El Cid (c. 1083)
  • Song of Armouris (Byzantine, acritic song)
  • Borzu Nama, ascribed to 'Amid Abu'l 'Ala' 'Ata b. Yaqub Kateb Razi (Persian epic with a main character and a poetic style related to the "Shahnameh")
  • Faramarz Nama (Persian epic with a main character and a poetic style related to the "Shahnameh")
  • Mushika-vamsha (Sanskrit) by Atula
  • The Song of Roland (Old French)

12th century[]

13th century[]

14th century[]

  • Divine Comedy (Christian mythology) by Dante Alighieri
  • Cursor Mundi (Middle English) by an anonymous cleric (c. 1300)
  • Africa by Petrarch (Latin)
  • The Tale of the Heike, Japanese epic war tale
  • The Brus by John Barbour (Scots)
  • La Spagna (Italian) attributed to Sostegno di Zanobi (c. 1350-1360)
  • Mocedades de Rodrigo (Old Spanish) (c. 1360)
  • Siege of Jerusalem (c. 1370-1380, Middle English)
  • Troilus and Criseyde (Middle English) by Geoffrey Chaucer (c.1380)
  • Zafarnamah (Persian) by Hamdollah Mostowfi

15th century[]

  • Hammira Mahakavya by Nayachandra Suri (Sanskrit)
  • Yuan Phai (Thai: ลิลิตยวนพ่าย) by Royal Poets of King Borommatrai-lokkanat (c. 1475)
  • Mahachat Kham luang (Thai: มหาชาติคำหลวง) a Siamese retelling of Vessantara Jataka by Royal Poets of King Borommatrai-lokkanat (1492)
  • Orlando innamorato (Italian) by Matteo Maria Boiardo (1495)
  • Shmuel-Bukh (Old Yiddish chivalry romance based on the Biblical book of Samuel)
  • Mlokhim-Bukh (Old Yiddish epic poem based on the Biblical Books of Kings)
  • Book of Dede Korkut (Oghuz Turks)
  • Morgante (Italian) by Luigi Pulci (1485), with elements typical of the mock-heroic genre
  • The Wallace by Blind Harry (Scots chivalric poem)
  • Troy Book by John Lydgate, about the Trojan war (Middle English)
  • Heldenbuch (Middle High German) a group of manuscripts and prints of the 15th and 16th centuries, typically including material from the Theodoric cycle and the cycle of Hugdietrich, Wolfdietrich and Ortnit
  • Ibong Adarna (Filipino) whose real author is not known

Modern epics (from 1500)[]

16th century[]

  • Lilit Phra Lo (Thai: ลิลิตพระลอ) by King Ramathibodi II (c. 1491–1529)
  • Judita (Croatian) by Marko Marulić (1501)
  • Ismailnameh an epic poem on shah Ismail I heroic deeds by Qsimi Qunabadi nephew of Hatifi (1513)
  • Orlando Furioso (Italian) by Ludovico Ariosto (1516)
  • Theuerdank and Weisskunig (Weisskunig only got published in 1775[3]) by Maximilian I and Marx Treitzsaurwein, often considered the last medieval epics.[4][5]
  • Davidiad (Latin) by Marko Marulić (1517)
  • Christiad (Latin) by Marco Girolamo Vida (1535)
  • Padmavat (Hindustani) by Malik Muhammad Jayasi (1540)
  • Süleymanname by Arifi çelebi
  • Sang Sinxay, the most famous epic poem of Laos, was written around mid sixteenth century.[6]
  • Franciade (French) by Pierre de Ronsard (1540s–1572)
  • Os Lusíadas by Luís de Camões (c. 1572)[7]
  • L'Amadigi by Bernardo Tasso (1560)
  • La Araucana by Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga (1569–1589)
  • La Gerusalemme liberata by Torquato Tasso (1575)
  • Ramacharitamanasa (based on the Ramayana) by Goswami Tulsidas (1577)
  • The Faerie Queene (Early Modern English) by Edmund Spenser (1596)
  • Venus and Adonis (1593) and Lucrece (1594) (Early Modern English) by Shakespeare
  • The Dam San of the Ede people (now in Vietnam) is often considered to appear in the 16th or 17th century.[8][9]

17th century[]

18th century[]

19th century[]

20th century[]

21st century[]

  • Sribhargavaraghaviyam (2002), Ashtavakra (2009) and Gitaramayanam (2009–2010, published in 2011) by Jagadguru Rambhadracharya
  • Apocalypse by Frederick Turner (published 2016)
  • Lime Stone: An Epic Poem of Barbados (2008) by Anthony Kellman[14]
  • Zorgamazoo by Robert Paul Weston (published 2008)

Other epics[]

  • Epic of Bamana Segu, oral epic of the Bambara people, composed in the 19th century and recorded in the 20th century
  • Epic of Darkness, tales and legends of primeval China
  • Epic of Jangar, poem of the Oirat people
  • Epic of Köroğlu, Turkic oral tradition written down mostly in 18th century
  • Epic of Manas (18th century)
  • Epic of the Forgotten, Bulgarian poetic saga
  • Gesta Berengarii imperatoris
  • Hikayat Seri Rama, Malay version of the Ramayana
  • Hinilawod, Filipino epic from the island of Panay
  • Hotsuma Tsutae
  • Khun Chang Khun Phaen, a Thai poem
  • Klei Khan Y Dam San, a Vietnamese poem
  • Koti and Chennayya and Epic of Siri, Tulu poems
  • Kutune Shirka, sacred yukar epic of the Ainu people of which several translations exist
  • Mu'allaqat , Arabic poems written by seven poets in Classical Arabic, these poems are very similar to epic poems and specially the poem of Antarah ibn Shaddad
  • Parsifal by Richard Wagner (opera, composed 1880-1882)
  • Pasyón, Filipino religious epic, of which the 1703 and 1814 versions are popular
  • Popol Vuh, history of the K'iche' people
  • Ramakien, Thailand's national epic derived from the Ramayana
  • Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner (opera, composed 1848-1874)
  • Siribhoovalaya, a unique work of multi-lingual literature written by Kumudendu Muni, a Jain monk
  • Yadegar-e Zariran (Middle Persian)
  • Yama Zatdaw, Burmese version of the Ramayana

References[]

  1. ^ According to that article, world folk epics are those that are not just literary masterpieces, but also an integral part of the world view of a people, originally oral, later written down by one or several authors.
  2. ^ Fallon, Oliver. Bhatti's Poem: The Death of Rávana (Bhaṭṭikāvya). New York 2009: Clay Sanskrit Library, [1]. ISBN 978-0-8147-2778-2.
  3. ^ Terjanian, Pierre; Bayer, Andrea; Brandow, Adam B.; Demets, Lisa; Kirchhoff, Chassica; Krause, Stefan; Messling, Guido; Morrison, Elizabeth; Nogueira, Alison Manges; Pfaffenbichler, Matthias; Sandbichler, Veronika; Scheffer, Delia; Scholz, Peter; Sila, Roland; Silver, Larry; Spira, Freyda; Wlattnig, Robert; Wolf, Barbara; Zenz, Christina (2 October 2019). The Last Knight: The Art, Armor, and Ambition of Maximilian I. Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 978-1-58839-674-7. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  4. ^ Sofroniou, Andreas. PHILOLOGY, CONCEPTS OF EUROPEAN LITERATURE. Lulu.com. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-291-49148-7. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  5. ^ Michaud, Claude (1996). "Hispania- Austria. Die Katholischen Könige, Maximilian I. und die Anfänge der Casa de Austria in Spanien/Los Reyes Catolicos, Maximiliano I. y los inicios de la Casa de Austria en España". Revue d’Histoire Moderne & Contemporaine. 43 (2): 371–373. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  6. ^ Roberts, Thomas Duval (1967). Area Handbook for Laos. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 125. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  7. ^ "The Lusiads". World Digital Library. 1800–1882. Retrieved 2013-08-31.
  8. ^ Phan, Đăng Nhật (2001). Nghiên cứu sử thi Việt Nam (in Vietnamese). Khoa học xã hội. p. 292. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  9. ^ học (Vietnam), Viện văn (1988). Đam Săn: sử thi Ê-đê (in Vietnamese). Khoa học xã hội. p. 9. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  10. ^ Pender, Patricia (2012). Early Modern Women's Writing and the Rhetoric of Modesty. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 166. ISBN 9781137008015.
  11. ^ Baker, Chris; Phongpaichit, Pasuk (2009). "The Career of Khun Chang Khun Phaen" (PDF). Journal of the Siam Society. 97: 1–42.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b Stephen Greenblatt et al. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, volume D, 9th edition (Norton, 2012)
  13. ^ Aldama, Frederick Luis (2020). Poets, Philosophers, Lovers : On the Writings of Giannina Braschi. Savans, Ilan; O'Dwyer, Tess. Pittsburgh, Pa.: U Pittsburgh. ISBN 978-0-8229-4618-2. OCLC 1143649021.
  14. ^ Kellman, Tony (2008). Limestone : an epic poem of Barbados. Leeds: Peepal Tree Press. ISBN 978-1-84523-003-6. OCLC 149151329.

12. https://www.rokomari.com/book/213367/nabinama

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