Хроника на спора за „Веда Словена“ (1867-1968)
A CHRONOLOGICAL VIEW OF THE SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSUON ON “VEDA SLOVENA” (1867-1968)

Summary/Abstract: Veda Slovena, a two-volume song collection edited by the ethnographer Stefan Verkovic (1874, Vol. 1, and 1881, Vol. 2), provoked a long and very emotional scientific discussion based on the question of the Veda’s authenticity. Scientific reactions by several Bulgarian and international academics came right after the release of a single song, “The Marriage of Orpheus”. At the same time, an ongoing mystification theory about Veda Slovena became popular. This article presents a chronological view of the scientific discussion between 1867 (first theses after the announcement of the collection) and 1968 (the study of Prof. Mihail Arnaudov). Different “nonscientific” elements of the discussion, like emotional argumentations, lack of interest on the text or superficial analyses, are also mentioned, as well as the fact, that the scientific dispute generated a lot of myths according to the content and the structure of the songs collected in Veda Slovena. Additional attention is paid on The song about Jurfen widely present in the ethnological context of Veda Slovena (in the region of Demirhisar): The figure of Jurfen suggested as a folk version close to Orpheus is therefore proposed as a hint of the Veda’s authenticity.

• Details
• Contents