Josef Dobrovský and the origins of the Igor' tale

About this book

"This revisits the origins of one of the most beloved works of East Slavic literature, the Slovo o polku Igoreve (the Igor' Tale). Keenan delves into the history of the publication of the Tale and produces a meticulous analysis of its language in order to demonstrate that the text is not an authentic twelfth-century document. Rather, Keenan argues that it is a product of the late eighteenth century, created by the Bohemian scholar and priest Josef Dobrovsky. According to Keenan, only Dobrovsky, the greatest Slavist of his time, possessed the knowledge and ability needed to create a work as unique as the Tale."--BOOK JACKET.