Световна ли е старобългарската литература?

Modern literary studies define “world literature” through characteristics such as universality, transnational values, and a shared language. These all are traits inherent to premodern literatures. While the concept is primarily associated with modernity and serves to describe phenomena in contemporary literary contexts, it can also be successfully applied to medieval literatures. In these literatures, due to their unique socio-cultural context, universality and shared human values are foundational, and a common (sacred) language is indispensable. The present article analyses medieval Bulgarian literature as “world literature” through three main perspectives. Firstly, through the language in which it was created. From its very beginning, the literature in medieval Bulgaria was established as high and erudite. Consequently, the vernacular language used for writing – Old Bulgarian – underwent a process of “de-vulgarization” and acquired a sacred status. Through linguistic codification, Bulgarian literature was thus established as paradigmatic, influencing the emergence of other Slavic literatures, such as Russian and Serbian, shortly thereafter. Secondly, the universal character of Bulgarian medieval literature is explored, stemming from its complete subordination to Christian ideology. Lastly, certain tendencies are highlighted that relate to overcoming “transnationality” and striving to imbue the literature with distinctive national characteristics.