Title: The Forest Traveler

Description

Georgi Rakovski (1821–67) was an important Bulgarian revolutionary and writer who was one of the leaders in the Bulgarian struggle against Ottoman rule. He lived a life of constant intrigue against the Ottomans, which at times included spying, imprisonment, escape from captivity, organizing rebellions, and surviving a sentence of death that was not carried out. Rakovski published several newspapers and wrote many works intended to inspire the Bulgarian people, including The Forest Traveler, one of the most famous ideological works of Bulgarian literature. Written while Rakovski was in hiding to avoid arrest by the Turks, The Forest Traveler is an epic poem about haiduts, Balkan mountain men who engaged in both banditry and freedom fighting. While depicting the situation of a group of haiduts, Rakovski also described the oppressed position of the Bulgarian people. His work had enormous significance for Bulgarians during the 19th century era of the National Revival, and to this day it forms a part of the Bulgarian national identity.