Bulgarian literature is literature written by Bulgarians or residents of Bulgaria, or written in the Bulgarian language; usually the latter is the defining feature. Bulgarian literature can be said to be one of the oldest among the Slavic peoples, having its roots during the late 9th century and the times of Simeon I of the First Bulgarian Empire. Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Southern branch of the Slavic languages. ... The Slavic peoples are defined by their usage of the Slavic languages. ... As a means of recording the passage of time the 9th century was that century that lasted from 801 to 900. ... Simeon the Great (modern painting) Tsar Simeon the Great (Bulgarian: Цар Симеон Велики, Tsar Simeon Veliki) (lived c. ... St Ivan of Rila, patron saint of Bulgaria The history of Bulgaria began in the 7th century CE with the arrival of the Bulgars in the Balkans. ...

Middle Ages

With the Bulgarian Empire welcoming the discpiles of Cyril and Methodius after they were expelled from Great Moravia, the country became a centre of rich literary activity during what is known as the Golden Age of medieval Bulgarian culture. In the late 9th, the 10th and early 11th century literature in Bulgaria prospered, with many books being translated from Byzantine Greek, but also new works being created. Many scholars worked in the Preslav and Ohrid Literary Schools, creating the Cyrillic alphabet for their needs. Chernorizets Hrabar wrote his popular work An Account of Letters, Clement of Ohrid worked on translations from Greek and is credited with several important religious books, John Exarch wrote his Shestodnev and translated On Orthodox Christianity by John of Damascus, Naum of Preslav also had a significant contribution. Bulgarian scholars and works influenced most of the Slavic world, spreading Old Church Slavonic, the Cyrillic and the Glagolithic alphabet to Kievan Rus', medieval Serbia and medieval Croatia. Cyril and Methodius were two Eastern Orthodox missionaries; for the separate articles, see: Saint Cyril Saint Methodius This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Great Moravia (Old Church Slavonic approximately Велья Морава, Czech Velká Morava, Slovak Veľká Morava, Latin Magna Moravia) was a Slav state existing on the territory of present-day Moravia and Slovakia between 833 and the early 10th century. ... The Golden Age by Pietro da Cortona. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ... Byzantine Greek is an archaic variant of Greek language derived from Koine which was used by the administration of the Byzantine Empire from 395 until the fall of Constantinople in 1453. ... Ceramic icon of St. ... The Ohrid Literary School was one of the two major medieval Macedonian cultural centres, along with the Preslav Literary School (Pliska Literary School). ... The Cyrillic alphabet (or azbuka, from the old name of the first two letters) is an alphabet used to write six natural Slavic languages (Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, and Ukrainian) and many other languages of the former Soviet Union, Asia and Eastern Europe. ... Chernorizetz Hrabar (Chernorizetz the Brave) was a medieval Bulgarian scholar and writer working at the Preslav Literary School at the end of the 9th and the beginning of the 10th century. ... Saint Clement of Ohrid Saint Clement of Ohrid (ca. ... John Exarch (John the Exarch, also transcribed Joan Exarch, Joan Ekzarh) was a medieval Bulgarian scholar, writer and translator, one of the most important men of letters working at the Preslav Literary School at the end of the 9th and the beginning of the 10th century. ... John of Damascus (Latin: Iohannes Damascenus or Johannes Damascenus also known as John Damascene, Chrysorrhoas, streaming with gold—i. ... Saint Naum Saint Naum of Preslav (Saint Naum of Ohrid) (c. ... Old Church Slavonic (also called Old Church Slavic, Old Bulgarian, Old Macedonian, and Old Slavonic) is the first literary Slavic language, developed from the Slavonic dialect of Thessaloniki by 9th century Byzantine Greek missionaries, Saints Cyril and Methodius. ... Tablet inscribed with the Glagolitic alphabet The Glagolitic alphabet or Glagolitsa is the oldest known Slavonic alphabet. ... Map of the the extent of Kievan Rus through the 11th century. ... The Serbs entered their present territory early in the 7th century AD, settling in six distinct tribal delimitations: Rascia/RaÅ¡ka (present-day western Serbia and northern Montenegro), Bosnia/Bosna (present-day south-central and southeastern Bosnia), Zachumlie/Zahumlje (western Herzegovina), Trebounia/Travunija (eastern Herzegovina), Pagania/Paganija (middle Dalmatia) and... The Croatian people trace their origins to Slavic peoples which moved into the territory of the former Roman provinces Pannonia and Dalmatia between the 7th and 8th centuries. ...

The Tetraevangelia of Ivan Alexander (1355-1356)

As the Bulgarian Empire was subjugated by the Byzantines in 1018, Bulgarian literarary activity declined. However, after the establishment of the Second Bulgarian Empire followed another period of upsurge during the time of Patriarch Evtimiy in the 14th century. Evtimiy founded the Tarnovo Literary School that had a significant impact on the literature of Serbia and Muscovite Russia, as many writers fled abroad after the Ottoman conquest. Apart from Evtimiy, other established writers from the period were Constantine of Kostenets (1380-first half of the 15th century) and Gregory Tsamblak (1365-1420). Image File history File links Download high resolution version (460x659, 27 KB) Summary Tetraevangelia of Ivan Alexander (1355-1356). ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (460x659, 27 KB) Summary Tetraevangelia of Ivan Alexander (1355-1356). ... A miniature from the Tetraevangelia depicting the tsar and the royal family The Tetraevangelia of Ivan Alexander or the Four Gospels of Ivan Alexander (Bulgarian: Четвероевангелие на (цар) Иван Александър, transliterated as Chetveroevangelie na (tsar) Ivan Aleksandar) is a 14th-century manuscript of the Four Gospels in Middle Bulgarian prepared and illustrated during the rule... Events January 7 - Portuguese king Afonso IV sends three men to kill Ines de Castro, beloved of his son prince Pedro - Pedro revolts and incites a civil war. ... Events January 20 - Edward Balliol surrenders title as King of Scotland to Edward III of England April 16 — the King of the Serbian Kingdom of Raška Stefan Dušan is proclaimed Tsar (Emperor) of all Serbs, Arbanasses and Greeks in Skopje by the Serbian Orthodox Christian Patriarch of a... Byzantine Empire (Greek: Βυζαντινή Αυτοκρατορία) is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... Events Bulgaria becomes part of the Byzantine Empire. ... The history of Bulgaria began in the 7th century AD with the arrival of the Bulgars in the Balkans. ... Patriarch Evtimiy (Bulgarian: Патриарх Евтимий) was a 14th century Bulgarian scholar. ... This 14th-century statue from south India depicts the gods Shiva (on the left) and Uma (on the right). ... Serbian literature is literature written in Serbian language and/or in Serbia. ... Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia or its émigrés, and to the Russian-language literature of several independent nations once a part of what was historically Russia or the Soviet Union. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ...

Medieval Bulgarian literature was dominated by religious themes, most works being hymns, treatises, religious miscellanies, apocrypha and hagiographies, most often heroic and instructive. A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a god or other religiously significant figure. ... A treatise is a systematic analysis of a certain subject. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Hagiography is the study of saints. ...

Early Ottoman rule

The fall of the Second Bulgarian Empire to the Ottomans in 1396 was a serious blow for Bulgarian literature and culture in general. Literary activity largely ceased, being concentrated in the monasteries that established themselves as centres of Bulgarian culture in the foreign empire. The religious theme continued to be dominant in the few works that were produced. Events September 25 - Bayezid I defeats Sigismund of Hungary and John of Nevers at the Battle of Nicopolis. ...

The main literary form of the 17th and 18th century were instructive sermons, at first translated from Greek and then compiled by Bulgarians. (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ...

The title page of Abagar, the first printed book in modern Bulgarian (1651)

A literary tradition continued to exist relatively uninterrupted during the early Ottoman rule in northwestern Bulgaria up until the Chiprovtsi Uprising in end of the 17th century among the Bulgarian Catholics who were supported by the Catholic states of Central Europe. Many of these works were written in a mixture of vernacular Bulgarian, Church Slavonic and Serbo-Croatian and was called "Illyric". Among these was the first book printed in modern Bulgarian, the breviary Abagar published in Rome in 1651 by Filip Stanislavov, bishop of Nikopol. Image File history File links Abagar-facsimile. ... Facsimile of Abagars title page Abagar (Абагар) is a breviary by the Bulgarian Roman Catholic Bishop of Nikopol Filip Stanislavov printed in Rome in 1651. ... // Events January 1 - Charles II crowned King of Scotland in Scone. ... Coat of arms of Bulgarian Roman Catholic bishop and diplomat Petar Parchevich, a key figure in the uprisings early organization The Chiprovtsi Uprising (Bulgarian: Чипровско въстание) was an uprising against Ottoman rule organized in modern northwestern Bulgaria by Roman Catholic Bulgarians, but also involving many Eastern Orthodox Christians. ... Roman Catholicism in Bulgaria: Roman Catholicism is the third largest religious congregation in Bulgaria after Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam. ... Regions of Europe Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ... Page from the Spiridon Psalter in Church Slavonic. ... Serbo-Croatian (srpskohrvatski or hrvatskosrpski) is a name for a language of the Western group of the South Slavic languages. ... Facsimile of Abagars title page Abagar (Абагар) is a breviary by the Bulgarian Roman Catholic Bishop of Nikopol Filip Stanislavov printed in Rome in 1651. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC (mythical), early 1st millennium BC (archaeological) Region Latium Area  - City Proper  1285 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,553,873 almost 4,300,000 1. ... // Events January 1 - Charles II crowned King of Scotland in Scone. ... Nikopol is a town in North Bulgaria, Pleven Province, on the Danube river. ...

The Illyrian movement for South Slavic unity had an impact on the Bulgarian literature of the 18th and 19th century. Hristofor Zhefarovich's Stemmatographia of 1741 is thought of us the earliest example of modern Bulgarian secular poetry for its quatrains, although it was essentially a collection of engravings. The Illyrian movement was a cultural-literary movement in the 19th century Habsburg Empire. ... This article or section should be merged with List of South Slavic languages South Slavic languages is one of the three groups of Slavic languages (besides West and East Slavic). ... Dedication of Stemmatographia from Pavel Nenadović to Hristofor Zhefarovich Hristofor Zhefarovich (original Cyrillic Христофоръ Жефаровичъ; Bulgarian: Христофор Жеварович; Macedonian: Христофор Жефаровиќ; Serbian: Христофор Жефаровић and Hristofor Žefarović) was an 18th-century South Slavic painter, engraver, writer and poet and a figure of the Illyrian movement. ... // Events April 10 - Austrian army attack troops of Frederick the Great at Mollwitz August 10 - Raja of Travancore defeats Dutch East India Company naval expedition at Battle of Colachel December 19 - Vitus Bering dies in his expedition east of Siberia December 25 - Anders Celsius develops his own thermometer scale Celsius... A quatrain is a poem or a stanza within a poem that consists of four lines. ... Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. ...

Bulgarian National Revival

A new revival of Bulgarian literature began in the 18th century with the historiographical writings of Paisius of Hilendar, Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya. In the period 1840-1875 the literature came alive with writings on mainly revolutionary, anti-Turkish themes. The noted poet and revolutionary Hristo Botev worked in the late 19th century and is nowadays regarded as arguably the foremost Bulgarian poet of the period. Among the writers who engaged in revolutionary activity was also Lyuben Karavelov. (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Saint Paisius of Hilendar or Paisiy Hilendarski (Bulgarian: свети Паисий Хилендарски) (1722 – 1773) was a Bulgarian clergyman and a key Bulgarian National Revival figure. ... A page from the book Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya (Cyrillic: История славяноболгарская; История славянобългарска in modern Bulgarian, translated as Slavonic-Bulgarian History) is a book by Bulgarian scholar and clergyman Saint Paisius of Hilendar. ... This article or section seems not to be written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia entry. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Lyuben Karavelov was a Bulgarian writer and an important figure of the Bulgarian National Revival born around 1834 in Koprivshtitsa. ...

A typical feature of the period was the formation of an interest in Bulgarian folklore, as figures like the Miladinov Brothers and Kuzman Shapkarev made collections of folk songs and made ethnographic studies. Front cover of the original edition of Bulgarian Folk Songs The Miladinov Brothers (Bulgarian: Братя Миладинови; Macedonian: Браќа Миладиновци). Dimitar Miladinov (1810-1862) and Konstantin Miladinov (1830-1862), were Bulgarian poets (in Republic of Macedonia they are considered Macedonian) and folklorists from Macedonia, authors of the most important collection of Bulgarian folk songs in... Kuzman Šapkarev, Transliteration: Kuzman Shapkarev, Cyrillic: Кузман Шапкарев, (1 January 1834 in Ohrid - 18 March 1909 in Sofia) is Bulgarian folklorist, ethnograph and scientist from Macedonia, author of textbooks and ethnographic studies, significant figure of the Bulgarian National Revival. ... Ethnography (from the Greek ethnos = nation and graphein = writing) refers to the qualitative description of human social phenomena, based on fieldwork. ...

After Bulgaria achieved independence (1878) the national literature lost much of its revolutionary spirit, and writings of a pastoral and regional type became more common. Ivan Vazov was the first professional Bulgarian man of letters. The poet Pencho Slaveykov brought other European literatures to the notice of Bulgarian readers. His epic Song of Blood (1911-13) dealt with the struggle against the Turks. 1878 (MDCCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... This article is in need of attention. ...

Modern literature

After the second World War Bulgarian literature fell under the control of the Communist Party and, particularly in the early years, was required to conform to the Stalinist style called "Socialist realism". Roses for Stalin, Boris Vladimirski, 1949 Socialist realism is a teleologically-oriented style of realistic art which has as its purpose the furtherance of the goals of socialism and communism. ...