5 literary masterpieces created by monarch writers at different times

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The heads of state, of course, are very busy people, but, nevertheless, they quite often try their hand at the literary field, and they compose not only edifying works. Few people know that Catherine the Great wrote fairy tales and librettos for operas, and Richard the Lionheart and Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin were good poets.

Guy Julius Caesar

The most famous works of the ancient Roman consul were his "Notes" - autobiographical stories about the Gallic and Civil Wars, written in 52-51 BC. NS. In them, according to historians, the great commander justifies himself to his contemporaries (and to his descendants), explains the need to unleash these conflicts and explains his decisions. However, when literature did not serve his political ends, Caesar wrote about more than just wars. In his youth, for example, he created a poem about Hercules and the tragedy "Oedipus", during the lull in the Gaulish war - a philological treatise "On Analogy", and even later - even an astronomical treatise and pamphlets.

Contemporaries treated Caesar's literary activity in different ways: someone (for example, Cicero) admired his simple and uncomplicated, but very imaginative style. Someone considered his works biased and inaccurate, but the descendants put the "Notes" on a par with the greatest works of ancient authors. In addition to their obvious value for historians, they also serve for teaching: starting from the 16th century, "Notes on the Gallic War" became the main work, according to which they began to study Latin.

Vladimir Monomakh

The "Teachings" created by the Grand Duke of Kiev Vladimir Monomakh are called the first secular sermon. In them, the monarch discusses the "principles of good" and finds them in the "fear of God." Prayer, "small (good) deeds", helping the poor, hospitality, hard work and abstinence - these are the principles on which, in his opinion, Christian souls should be brought up. True, in addition to the teachings, Vladimir Monomakh tells in the treatise about his military campaigns against the Vyatichi, Poles and Polovtsy (83 campaigns and 19 agreements are described!). The prince also talks about hunting - a favorite pastime of those times. In addition to the "Teachings" from Vladimir Monomakh, we also have an autobiographical story about "Ways and Fishing", a letter to his cousin Oleg Svyatoslavovich, and "The Charter of Vladimir Vsevolodovich" (it is assumed that its author is also the Grand Duke of Kiev). It must be said that the beginning of literature in Russia is associated with these works.

Richard the Lionheart

Surprisingly, the stern English king, nicknamed "Yes-and-No" because of his brevity, wrote good poetry in French. Only two of his works have come down to us - canzona and sirventa (varieties of troubadour songs). The most famous of them is the canzone "Ja nuns hons pris", written in 1192-1194, when the monarch was held captive first by the Duke of Austria Leopold, and then by the emperor Henry VI:

Frederick II and Charles IX

The Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the King of France, despite the fact that they lived in different historical periods, had common hobbies - literature and hunting. As a result, both became the authors of the most famous treatises on this noble art. Frederick II wrote The Art of Hunting with Birds, the first book about falconry in European literature, and Karl shared his experience of hunting deer with his descendants. In addition, the monarch describes in "A Treatise on the Royal Hunt" personal observations of animals and memories of days spent in the woods.

Catherine II

The great Russian empress left behind a rich literary heritage. With the help of the artistic word, she communicated with her subjects, laughed at their weaknesses in satirical works and brought them up through historical dramas and pedagogical opuses. In her memoirs, Catherine admitted: "I cannot see a clean pen without feeling the urge to immediately dip it in ink." Her collected works include notes, translations, fables, fairy tales, comedies, essays and librettos for five operas. The Empress can even be considered a journalist, because her works were published in the weekly satirical magazine "Anything and everything". It is also known that Catherine was very sensitive to reviews about her work and, in the event of negative statements, she could enter into heated polemics.

Joseph Dzhugashvili

In the canonical biography of Stalin, published after his personal careful corrections, there is not a single word about the fact that the "father of nations" wrote poetry. However, this is the case. Even while studying at the theological seminary, the works of Joseph Dzhugashvili were published in the newspaper Iveria, and his poem "Morning" could even be found on the pages of a Georgian primer. But, apparently, in the future, this "sin" Joseph Vissarionovich preferred to hide from everyone. Only six of his poems have come down to us. The most famous lines, written in 1952:

Novices

(free translation of poems by I. Stalin)

It is a known fact that in 1949 Stalin did not allow his poems to be published even in Pasternak's translation.