Емил Димитров

The article is focused on the role of the anniversary social institution in establishing the Pantheon and canon of Bulgarian literature. The genesis of the anniversary institution and its legitimization in modern European culture serve as an introduction. A detailed analysis of the emerging anniversary mechanism in Bulgaria at the end of the19th century is presented. The specific significance of the anniversary institution as well as the role of some intellectuals like Prof. Mikhail Arnaudov for its endorsement into Bulgarian culture is discussed further. Special attention is paid to the public celebration of Ivan Vazov's anniversaries in 1895 and 1920, through which his central place in Bulgarian literature was established. The research is mainly based on archive sources, some of which are published here for the first time.

The article presents for the first time the thesis that the so-called "Epilogue" of Pencho Slaveykov's "Bloody Song" is a literary mystification. Based on the author's historical and documentary research in recent years, it has been concluded that the real author of the text is Mara Belcheva, and the literary mystification was carried out by Boyan Penev. A series of arguments in defense of the thesis are formulated, and both the original manuscript of M. Belcheva and a facsimile of the mystification of B. Penev are published for the first time as appendix.