Jerusalem Delivered

Торквато Тассо

The reader’s attention is invited to the first complete Ukrainian translation of the great epic poem by the famous Italian poet Torquato Tasso Jerusalem Delivered (first published in 1581). The poem, in which the narrative of the events and heroes of the First Crusade and the recapture of Jerusalem from the «infidels» alternates with fascinating fantasy and adventure stories, has been a favourite reading of Europeans for over two hundred years. Numerous writers, artists, and composers of the following centuries based their literary works, paintings, and operas on its plots. Th e poem also had a great influence on Ukrainian readers of the Baroque era. Samiilo Velychko retells a part of it in his Chronicle, and a translation of its first ten cantos into Old Ukrainian appeared as early as in the late 17th century. Without knowledge of Tasso’s poem, it is impossible to understand many of the plots of what is called «European culture».