O Armatolos

"O Armatolos" is an award-winning poem written by the 19th-century poet Grigor Prlichev. The poem was composed in 1860, and officially published on March 25 of that year to participate in the Athens University competition for best Greek language poetry, winning first place. Parlichev considered the poem his lifetime achievement, after winning the competition he was crowned with a laurel wreath, and offered scholarship to universities at Oxford and Berlin. Around 1870 Parlichev made an effort to translate the poem from the original Greek to a mixture of vernacular Eastern South Slavic and Church Slavonic, which he referred to as the Bulgarian literary language.

Basically, "O Armatolos" tells the story about the death of a legendary hero who protected the villagers from the brutal gangs of Gheg Albanians (Ghegis). The action in the poem takes place in the middle of the 19th century in the western regions of Macedonia, respectively the region between Galichnik, Reka, and the village Stan (all in present-day Republic of Macedonia). Based on the motif of the folk songs about Kuzman Kapidan, the theme of the poem develops into nine parts. The first part, based on nine quatrains, tells about the statements of the tragic struggle and death of the hero Cosmas. In the second part, Cosmas' mother distressed expects her son's return from battle, not knowing that he died. The third part is the most striking piece in the poem, telling the cry that the enemies of the peasants caused by bringing the inanimate body of Cosmas into the village. It is in this part that the poem's most popular line "screams can be heard from Galichnik in Reka" is used, as an allusion to the sorrow of the people. In the fourth part, the author returns to the scenes of Cosmas' last battle and his demise. Through the fifth part, the attackers pay due respect to Cosmas by pledging not to attack his home village. Cosmas' mother removes the curse she had said towards the village enemies and forgives them, requiring the Gheg Albanians not to attack the Reka people any more. In the sixth part is seen the grieving of Cosmas' mother and through it is told the genealogical tree of the hero. This section notes Cosmas' lover Cveta, that washes the hero with her tears. The seventh part tells how the hero's mother orders the villagers to bury Cosmas and the other fighters together with all honors. The scene of the eight part takes place at the home of Cosmas' fiancee. Folk customs would refrain her from wailing over the death of Cosmas before her father. But as soon as she was left alone, her bitter cry echoed, forcing her to give up all thing earthly and become a nun. The ninth part marks the end of the piece, in which is marked the everlasting glory of Cosmas in the village.

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