Avdo Međedović

Who was Avdo Međedović?

Avdo Međedović was a Montenegrin Bosniak guslar from Montenegro. He was the most versatile and skillful performer of all those encountered by Milman Parry and Albert Lord during their research on the oral epic tradition of Bosnia, Herzegovina and Montenegro in the 1930s. At Parry's request Avdo undertook to produce an epic of similar extent to the Iliad, since Parry needed to investigate whether a poet in an oral tradition would be able to maintain a theme over such length. Avdo dictated, over three days and many cups of coffee, a version of the well-known theme The Wedding of Meho Smailagić that was 12,323 lines long. On another occasion he sang over several days an epic of 13,331 lines. He claimed to have several others of similar length in his repertoire.

Many years afterwards the Wedding was published in 1974 by Lord with a parallel English translation.