• makeshiftreaper@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    It was almost certainly spoken around a fire in a cave and has been lost to time before humans really recorded history

    • Multiplexer@discuss.tchncs.de
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      5 days ago

      Cave fire speech is not a medium in the strict sense, though.
      That means at least writing would have to have been available.
      Gilgamesh epic might be a good candidate, I think.

      • adam_y@lemmy.world
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        5 days ago

        Spoken word is indeed a medium in the strict sense.

        The Celt tradition being a prime candidate for that sort of thing (if you are interested in an attempt to consolidate the Irish oral tradition I highly recommend George Green’s “Hound”).

        Gilgamesh might be a good candidate for the first probable one though, as the oral tradition is almost impossible to prove.

        Alongside that I’d argue certain bits of the old testament feel like villainous monologues.

      • Rhaedas@fedia.io
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        5 days ago

        Not a real monologue, but Humbaba mocks Gilgamesh and Enkidu for their hubris and lack of wisdom. He specifically attacks Enkidu, questioning his origins and his betrayal of the wild. He vows to slaughter them both and feed their flesh to the birds and beasts of the forest.