'The weapon that even the greatest fear is laughter'
Dimitri Nargles
A woodcut depicting a printing press and thought
to include a picture of Dimitri Nargles at the far left.
Nargles' religious beliefs (or lack of them) were heavily satirised in contemporary
literature.
I, like many others of my generation and those before it, grew up knowing nothing of Dimitri Nargles. It took a chance reading of one of his poems to put me on the trail of one of the forgotten figures of history. Once I had read that, I was finding more and more references to him coming from people I knew and respected. This humble page is dedicated to what I have been able to find of Nargles' work, and as time progresses it will grow further.
If you have any further information regarding Dimitri Nargles, please contact me and let me know. Anything I can use will be gratefully received.
Nargles grew up in a Bulgaria that was going through what could be best described as 'interesting times'. Invasion by the Ottomans had significantly eroded Bulgarian culture, and the population of unassimilated 'true' Bulgarians at that time has been estimated at less than half a million. Periodic wars between the Christian European states and the Islamic Ottomans made the Bulgarian borders and surrounding areas into battle-zones. There was also an internal resistance fighting the invaders, but this force was always heavily outnumbered.
Although there is no mention of religion made in any accounts of Nargles, it can be assumed that he was Christian - at least by birth and upbringing. No records exist that report him changing his name to an Islamic one, although if he did this might account for his later disappearance from history - but this is most unlikely. If we continue in the assumption that Nargles was Christian, the fact that he is prominent enough to be mentioned in contemporary writings is remarkable. In the Islamic state that was 17th-century Bulgaria, Christians were extremely poorly treated. Furthermore, because of the state of conflict and because of theological differences between the Sunni Ottomans and Shi'ite Arabs, there was not the free flow of ideas that marked many other Arab/European meetings. For Nargles even to have survived as a young philosopher at this time is no mean feat. For even the tiny amount of his words to have been recorded, and for him to have had access to some of the writings of the time, is incredible.
Nargles' first mention is the controversy over his translation of the Necronomicon. A Greek translation existed in Constantinople until the eleventh century, when it was burnt at the order of Patriarch Michael. Nargles was a member of a group of scholars working on a new translation, using a copy of the original and surviving fragments of the translation - so we may assume that he read both Arabic and Greek. Nargles' time working on the translation was brief, and he returned to Plovdiv with his notes. The translation he published was described by him as 'all of the book that is fit for reading'. It comprised a title page and nothing else. Nargles had read the book and understood it, but it horrified him. His mistrust of the projects of those in power stayed with him for the rest of his life. It is no surprise that he left Bulgaria after this - but it is a surprise that he was allowed to do so. Many years later, Nargles is mentioned again in a letter from Pope Beaugurs to one of his bishops - 'Nargles has this month come to us from the Bulgars - how little we may understand the workings of The Almighty'. Although the mention is very brief - a one-sentence comment that has very little bearing on the subject of the letter - it shows that Nargles was still managing to irritate those in power, irrespective of their religion.
Nargles re-appears in literary history as one of those who attempted to translate the 13th-century book now called the Voynich Manuscript, although the absence of any proof of his success mean that he seldom gets even a footnote mention in any studies of this work. What notes of Nargles' work that do survive certainly fail to make any sense, but the letter-writer Simon Palbera mentioned a chance meeting with Nargles in Paris, where Nargles said that he had read Georg Baresch's 'book of scribbles' - and 'much hard work it was to read'. Palbera goes on to say that Nargles had written a small quote from the Necronomicon in the book - beginning 'michiton oladabas' - simply to 'muddy the waters'. Normally Palbera's letters should be treated with some caution as to their veracity, but the words Palbera uses in his letter are almost exactly those found in the Voynich Manuscript. Palbera later mentions that Nargles did not pass on his translation to other scholars because 'it is no longer my life's purpose to be the reader of letters for a ruler'. It seems that Nargles' bitterness over the Necronomicon was still with him. It seems unlikely that Nargles would have lied over having read the book, and his motives for keeping his translation to himself seem understandable, but it is a tragedy that he did so.
Another of Nargles' hidden claims to fame rests in a letter sent to Agatha Selthorp, thought to have been his mistress. Also forgotten by history, Agatha seemed to share Nargles' political views, if his letter is to be seen as any indication. The letter was never sent, for reasons unknown, and it is only through the active campaigning of the Selthorp (later to be 'Selthorpe') family that it has since come to light. Most of the letter is personal, but Nargles' thoughts on revolution make interesting reading.
The relevant section of the letter reads:
'One day, the exhausted and the hungry will fight, and those held hostage
by those who have power over what they need to survive will be free. The masses
can and will raise themselves to the level of those who hold sway over them
by means of tired superstition and cant. There will be changes, but these changes
will be clothed in the dust of toil and fighting.
The people who work the land are not able to hold land - that has to be changed.
For too long the landowners have simply used those on their land as fodder for
cannon and then for the scavengers. Unless the toilers find the courage to fight,
this will never change.
There is no deus ex machina to resolve this, no lord who will save everyone.
The chains that hold the common man can only and will only be broken by the
common man. All of us must apply ourselves to this, and together we can win
the struggle.'
Why is this section of the letter of any significance? Simply, its startling similarity to Eugene Pottiers' song 'The Internationale', written in 1871 after the fall of the Paris Commune. Nargles was long dead by then, and the letter was already with the Selthorpe family. For reasons of their own the Selthorpe family have been reluctant to provide any great details of the provenance of the letter, other than to say that it was written 'in Europe'. Whatever the true story is will perhaps never be known - but it is pleasant to think of Nargles' words of hope becoming a rallying call for the world.
The Internationale
Arise ye starvelings from your slumbers
Arise ye prisoners of want
For reason in revolt now thunders
and at last ends the age of cant.
Now away with all your superstitions
Servile masses arise, arise!
We'll change forthwith the old conditions
And spurn the dust to win the prize.
CHORUS
Then come comrades rally
And the last fight let us face
The Internationale
Unites the human race. (repeat).
We peasants, artisans and others,
Enrolled amongst the sons of toil
Let's claim the earth henceforth for brothers
Drive the indolent from the soil.
On our flesh for too long has fed the raven
We've too long been the vultures prey.
But now farewell to spirit craven
The dawn brings in a brighter day.
CHORUS
No saviour from on high delivers
No trust we have in prince or peer
Our own right hand the chains must shiver
Chains of hatred, greed and fear.
Ere the thieves will out with their booty
And to all give a happier lot.
Each at his forge must do his duty
And strike the iron while its hot.
CHORUS
Tracing historical references to Nargles can be a frustrating task - very possibly because of the nature of Dimitri Nargles himself. Aside from the briefly documented appearances above, there are few other records of the man apart from occasional references to him in correspondence and as a figure at the wrong end of satirical ridicule. None of his letters survive - although from the reactions they often provoked it is very likely that most recipients destroyed theirs in anger. It is difficult to say with any certainty when Nargles stopped writing, let alone when or where he died. A letter from a clerk at the French court in 1770 comments that 'it is bad that there is no Nargles to speak the truth when needed' - but we can safely assume Nargles himself was long gone by then. The fact that he was still being mentioned does imply that his reputation was well known to the French court, so it is good to think that he lived to a ripe old age somewhere in France.
Bulgarian history - A quick run-down of most of the major events in Bulgarian history.
Necronomicon - A few questions and answers about this book
Voynich Manuscript - A detailed introduction to this very strange book
The Internationale - The words and some sound samples of this famous song
Grateful thanks go to Keith Toms, an expert on the life of Nargles and the man who introduced me to the works and words of this outstanding man. Also, this work would have been impossible without the keen assistance of the Palbera and Selthorpe families, and a number of scholars who know who they are but have asked not to be named. Thank you all.