Alexander N. Veselovsky and Scientific Controversy about Genesis of Heroic Epic

Introduction. The article analyzes attitudes of the outstanding Russian scholar Alexander N. Veselovsky (1838–1906) towards the scientific controversy to have arisen in the early 19th century around the theory of origin of heroic epic. Goals. The breadth of academic expertise and sophisticated methodologies made A. N. Veselovsky a recognized leading scientist of his era both in Russia and worldwide. Distinguished by spacious mind and fluency in multiple languages, he would fearlessly tackle textual experiments, skillfully use tools of different scientific schools, spontaneously work in interdisciplinary space to surprise colleagues with bright though not always appreciated hypotheses. So, the article aims at revealing foundations of A. N. Veselovsky’s theory of origin of heroic epic, clarifying whether it was further accepted by scientific community, specifying which scientists came to similar conclusions, and adjusting the perception of A. N. Veselovsky’s theory. Materials and methods. The study provides an insight into scientific heritage of the scholar with the aid of textual, retrospective methods, and that of historical comments. Results. The article concludes as to the significance of that scientific discussion in an attempt to identify common patterns and its place in A. N. Veselovsky’s historical poetics in general

Art · EPIC · Epistemology · Literature · Poetics · Poetry · Scientific theory · Sociology · Surprise · Discourse Analysis and Cultural Communication · History · Philosophy