The Bovo-Bukh (בָּבָא־בּוּך, בּאָבאָ־בּוּך; German transliteration: Baba Buch), also known as Buovo d'Antona (בָּבָא דְאַנְטוֹנָא), is a Yiddish chivalric romance written by Elia Levita between 1506 and 1508. Sol Liptzin described it as "the most outstanding poetic work in Old Yiddish".[1]
The Bovo-Bukh became widely known in the late 18th century under the title Bovo-mayse (literally "Bovo’s tale"). The expression later evolved into Bubbe meise, meaning "old wives' tale".[1]
Plot summary
The story, adapted from the Anglo-Norman romance of Bevis of Hampton, recounts the adventures of Bovo and Druzane. Although the narrative has little connection to Jewish life, it distinguishes itself from other chivalric romances by limiting Christian imagery and introducing elements of Jewish culture and customs.[1]
The tale begins with Bovo’s young mother conspiring to have her elderly husband, the king, killed during a hunt. After his death, she marries his murderer, who then plots to poison Bovo out of fear that he will seek vengeance. Bovo escapes and flees to Flanders, where he works as a stable boy for the king and falls in love with the king’s daughter, Druzane.[2]
A Saracen sultan from Babylonia then arrives with an army of ten thousand soldiers, demanding Druzane’s hand in marriage for his son, Lucifer. When the king refuses, war breaks out. Bovo, riding the magical horse Pumele and wielding the enchanted sword Rundele, defeats the sultan’s army and kills Lucifer. Although promised Druzane’s hand, Bovo is later imprisoned in Babylonia for a year.
Believing Bovo to be dead, Druzane agrees to marry a knight named Macabron. On the day of the wedding, Bovo, disguised as a beggar, appears and escapes with Druzane. They hide in a forest where Druzane gives birth to twins. Bovo departs to find a way back to Flanders but is presumed dead after an encounter with a lion. Druzane returns to Flanders with the twins. When Bovo finally returns and learns that his family is gone, he joins a campaign against Antona, kills his stepfather, and claims the crown. In the end, he is reunited with Druzane, who becomes his queen.[2]
Modern editions
Elia Levita Bachur's Bovo-Buch: A Translation of the Old Yiddish Edition of 1541 with Introduction and Notes by Elia Levita Bachur, translated and annotated by Jerry C. Smith, Fenestra Books, 2003, ISBN1-58736-160-4.
Modern Yiddish verse translation by M. Knapheis at Bovo Bukh (Open Library)
References
1 2 3 Liptzin, Solomon (1972). A History of Yiddish Literature. Middle Village, NY: J. David. ISBN978-0-8246-0124-9.
1 2 Levita, Elijah; Smith, Jerry Christopher (2003). Elia Levita Bachur's Bovo-Buch: A Translation of the Old Yiddish Edition of 1541. Tucson, Arizona: Fenestra Books. ISBN978-1-58736-160-9. OCLC53476322.
Liptzin, Sol. A History of Yiddish Literature, Jonathan David Publishers, Middle Village, NY, 1972, ISBN0-8246-0124-6.
Rosenzweig, Claudia. Il Bovo de-Antona di Elia Bachur Levita e le sue fonti, University of Milan, 1994–95.
Rosenzweig, Claudia. "La letteratura yiddish in Italia: l'esempio del Bovo de-Antona di Elye Bocher", ACME, vol. 50, fasc. 3, 1997, pp. 159–189.
Rosenzweig, Claudia. "Il poema yiddish in versi Bovo d'Antona in una versione manoscritta del XVI sec.", Medioevo Romanzo, vol. 26, fasc. 1, January–April 2002, pp. 49–68.
Rosenzweig, Claudia. "Kurtsvaylike Literatur. Il Bovo d’Antona e il romanzo cavalleresco in yiddish nell’Italia del Rinascimento", in C. Rosenzweig, A. L. Callow, V. Brugnatelli, F. Aspesi (eds.), Florilegio filologico e linguistico, Cisalpino, Milan, 2008, ISBN978-88-323-6098-1, pp. 169–188.
Rosenzweig, Claudia. "From the Square and the Court to the Private Space: Some Remarks on the Yiddish Version of the Chivalric Poem Bovo d’Antona", Zutot, vol. 5, no. 1 (2008), pp. 53–62.
Shmeruk, Chone. Prokim fun der yidisher literatur-geshikhte, Peretz Farlag, Tel Aviv, 1988 (in Yiddish).
Rosenzweig, Claudia. Bovo d’Antona by Elye Bokher: A Yiddish Romance – A Critical Edition with Commentary, SJHC vol. 49, Brill, 2015, ISBN9789004306844.
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