Investigating Intertextual Relation of Menog-i Khrad (Spirits of Wisdom) and the Prelude of Ferdowsi's Shahnameh (Based on the Theory of Gerard Genette)

Reading and profound understanding of a text is impossible without considering its former and contemporary texts. The question of the relation between texts was firstly noticed by Bakhtin, and developed by Julia Kristeva and Gerard Genette. The similarities between narratives and sub-narratives of Shahnameh and other works prior to them, and also the similarities between philosophical and religious views in Shahnameh, especially in its preface, and some older texts such as Avesta, Karnamag-e Ardeshir-e Pabagan, Yadegar-e Zariran (Memorial of Zarer), Yadegar-e Bozorgmehr, Bondahesh, Menog-e Khrad, and other works like epics and national narratives confirm the existence of intertextuality in these works which contribute to knowing them and rereading of Shahnameh based on these works. Through comparing the content of the preface of Shahnameh and the translated version of Menog-e Khrad in Farsi, this study investigates the intertextual relation of these two texts based on Genette’s viewpoint. The results show that Menog-e Khrad has undoubtedly been one of the most significant manuscripts used by Ferdowsi in his composition of Shahnameh.