Cultural Presentation - "The Walled Up Wife in Balkan Folklore”

The Legend of the Walled-Up Wife is known in different variations around the Balkans. The specific elements of its plot seem to be unique to the Balkans. In Greece, it is best known as the balad “The Bridge on the Arta” in Serbia, as the epic “The Building of Skadar,” in Albania, as the “Rosafa Castle,” in Bulgaria, as the balad “Struna, the Bride,” in Romania, the balad “Master Manole,” and in Hungary, as “Kelemen the Bricklayer.” There are numerous multiforms for each of these basic plots. She will give a brief overview of the plot of each, and talk about the interpretations of the narratives that scholars have suggested.

Dr. Angelina Ilieva is an instructional professor at the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Chicago. She is originally from Bulgaria, but she does not dance or sing but loves folklore in all its forms.