Work / monument · text

The Tale of Igor's Campaign

late 12th century · 12th century · Also known as Lay of Igor's Campaign, Song of Igor's Campaign

The Tale of Igor's Campaign is an anonymous Old East Slavic epic poem, usually dated to the late 12th century. It tells of the failed raid of Prince Igor Sviatoslavich of Novgorod-Seversky against the Cumans in 1185 and calls on the Rus' princes to unite. Its only known manuscript was found in the 1790s and burned in the Moscow fire of 1812.

The Tale of Igor's Campaign
Image: AnonymousUnknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 3 state histories

Principality of ChernigovPrincipality of GaliciaPrincipality of Novgorod-Seversky

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). The Tale of Igor's Campaign. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/the-tale-of-igors-campaign
MLA
“The Tale of Igor's Campaign.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/the-tale-of-igors-campaign. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “The Tale of Igor's Campaign.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/the-tale-of-igors-campaign.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘The Tale of Igor's Campaign’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/the-tale-of-igors-campaign (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻