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The Song of Igor's Campaign, An Epic of the Twelfth Century

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' Prince Igor, five generations descended from the celebrated Vladimir who brought Russia Byzantine Christianity in 988 A.D., decided somewhat rashly to attack the pestering nomadic Cumans to the southeast. He and his brothers were soundly defeated and captured. Eventually he escaped and returned home to the utter joy of his wife and subjects. Within a year or so, possibly 1187, this bungling feat was immortalized by a uniquely gifted unknown poet in the "The Song of Igor's Campaign."
Sometime later the manuscript was lost until its rediscovery about 1790. Fortunately for us, it was copied and became more or less public before the original manuscript was lost in the great Moscow fire of 1812 during Napoleon's occupation. It has since become something of a Russian national epic even as questions were raised of its authenticity. The consensus today is that it is genuine.
The work is fascinating and a rewarding read for several reasons: great story; delightfully rendered;it has a happy ending; it hints rather strongly at the persistence of pagan beliefs notwithstanding Prince Vladimir's 988 `conversion' of Russia two hundred years earlier; and it hints at what Russia wants to
think of itself.
When history and art combine to give us a picture of a people we are doubly fortunate. Unlike all of its contemporaneous works, this is art. And Vladimir Nabokov's translation from Old Russian gives us a taste of this art better than most.