On April 8, 1937, one of the most amazing creations in the entire history of Albanian literature, “Lahuta e Malcis”(“The Highland Lute”) by Gjergj Fishta, was published. This work is an epic historical poem with 15613 verses, which focuses on the struggle for autonomy and independence and, in particular, the events of the history of Northern Albania in the years 1858-1913. This literary masterpiece was originally written between 1902 and 1909, then reworked by the author over a period of thirty years. It is the first contribution of the Albanian language to world literature. In its historical dimensions, “Lahuta e Malcís” (“The Highland Lute”) begins with the border clashes in 1858 between the tribes of Hoti and Gruda and their equally strict Montenegrin neighbors. The core of the work (songs 6–25) is devoted to the events of 1878–1880, related to the Congress of Berlin, which gave the Albanian borderlands to Montenegro and which led to the creation of the League of Prizren to protect the nation’s interests. The other songs cover the period of the Young Turks Revolution, which initially raised the hopes of Albanian nationalists for a degree of autonomy, as well as the Balkan wars of 1912 and 1913, which led to the declaration of Albania’s independence. (In the photo: The work “Lahuta e Malcis” (“The Highland Lute”))
Text: Robert Elsie, History of Albanian literature , “Dukagjini”, Pejë, 2001, page 286.
Photo: © Xhoxhi L., personal archive
Graphic processing: AHCF
