Favorite National Epic?

[jimmy olsen]

The US epic is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

This isn't even a subject of debate.

Yeah, gotta go with that one.

No disagreement here.

You know I haven't read that in forever, I think next time I go to the library I'll take that out.

[Queequeg]

Hey Squeelus, how about the Moses story?

In general I tried to make this secular; chose the Shahnameh over the Gathas, Ramayana over Rigveda, etc....Moses would be a good choice, its just that it is such a universal story among the Abrahamic faiths that I'm not totally sure it really belongs to one "nation" anymore.  Though obviously the Ramayana is not 'secular', the Rigveda has a lot of prayers ,same with the Old Testament.

[Habsburg]

The Age of Innocence (Wharton) USA

[clandestino]

The Lusiadas....

I'm thinking about reading (I mean *really* reading) the stuff. Have you done it?

From what I've read Pessoa's Mensagem could be a contender, although a little bit depressive and modernist (wish shouldn't be the literary era).

I'm trying to pick a copy of Peregrinação and then I'll decide wish is our major national epic. 

[dps]

It really depends on what you consider a "national epic". Is it the theme or the author that counts? If the latter, then Paradise Lost is definitely the English epic.

I think it's the former.  Paradise Lost isn't an English national epic;  it's an epic work by an Englishman.  Same with the Divine Comedy and Italy, IMO.  There just isn't enough "national" content in either.  Some of the other poll choices I think are iffy in that regard.

[katmai]

That's "El Cantar del Mio Cid", and Spellus himself says he discarded it when picking them.

Edit: Wait, I misread. So Spellus translated Mio Cid as My Lord? Dumbass...

it's spellus, what do you expect.

[Queequeg]

The Song of My Lord (Spain)

WTF is that one supposed to be?

The story of El Cid.  I think it is the oldest Spanish epic.

That's "El Cantar del Mio Cid", and Spellus himself says he discarded it when picking them.

Edit: Wait, I misread. So Spellus translated Mio Cid as My Lord? Dumbass...

Doesn't Cid mean Lord, and I'm guessing Mio means my, and El Cantar is a cognate if you know anything about music.  How is the translation wrong?

[dps]

The Song of My Lord (Spain)

WTF is that one supposed to be?

The story of El Cid.  I think it is the oldest Spanish epic.

That's "El Cantar del Mio Cid", and Spellus himself says he discarded it when picking them.

Edit: Wait, I misread. So Spellus translated Mio Cid as My Lord? Dumbass...

Doesn't Cid mean Lord, and I'm guessing Mio means my, and El Cantar is a cognate if you know anything about music.  How is the translation wrong?

Effectively, "El Cid" is a proper name, and shouldn't be translated.

[Alatriste]

I voted for the Cid, but I was sorely tempted to vote 'Other': the Lord of the Rings, the Nerdish National Epic.

Regarding the 'Cantar del Mio Cid', 'Mio' means 'my' and 'Cid' comes from 'Sidi', more or less the Arabic equivalent of 'Lord' or 'Sir'. The poem uses several terms for its hero, Ruy Díaz de Vivar: 'Mio Cid', 'Cid',  'Campeador' (battler or fighter), and the full form 'Mio Cid Campeador', i.e. 'My Lord the Battler'.

But the text implies the Arabic 'Cid' became his nickname even during his life, and certainly it did after he died. He's 'El Cid' and that term can't be translated as 'The Lord'... I would translate it as 'The Lay of the Cid', an alternative English title according to the Wikipedia.

And as a national epic, it has been almost completely superseded by the Quixote. As an Spanish national epic the Lay of the Cid is problematic, because it is belligerently Castilian, the author considered Aragonese as foreign as Muslims or more (after all, the King of Castile had many Muslim vassals) and one of the events included is how the Cid and his little army defeated the Count of Barcelona - portraited as a foolish braggart - and took him prisoner...

[Delirium]

Isn't the English epic the Arthur legend?

[Monoriu]

Rommance of the 3 kingdoms.

[Eochaid]

The French epic is the Song of Roland

Kevin

[PDH]

Strange Brew - The Canadian National Epic.

[Malthus]

I read to her all the time, because she likes being read to. I wasn't aware that horrible mutilation was mandatory.

You've been sadly misinformed then.

When you get married, you can explain that "necessity" to the cops. 

Ass, you know what I meant.

Actually - I don't. 

Reading out loud isn't just for kids, IMO. It is a fun activity for adults, too. We certainly enjoy it - it takes a certain amount of skill to do it well, and it beats watching TV in bed.

[Ed Anger]

Honey, read Hunters of Gor to me.