Possible description of Kleine-Levin syndrome in "The Daredevils of Sassoun" Armenian medieval epic poem

Abstract

"The Daredevils of Sassoun" is an Armenian national epic poem originating from the eighth century CE. In its "David of Sassoun" branch we found an intriguing description of a strange sleep pattern of Msrah Melik - David's enemy. In one of the main episodes he was described as being in deep sleep for three days while David was attacking his men. Melik's guards tell David that he still needs to complete his 7-day-long sleep. The pattern duration, periodic occurrence and some additional signs described in the poem's text clearly resemble Kleine-Levin syndrome. To the best of our knowledge, this could be the first description of Kleine-Levin syndrome.

Keywords: Armenian epic poem; Kleine-Levin syndrome; Periodic hypersomnolence; Recurrent hypersomnia; “The Daredevils of Sassoun”.