САМОЗВАНЧЕСТВО КАК МАРКЕР СОСТОЯНИЯ ОБЩЕСТВА

Abstract

The phenomenon of imposture is considered in the article in the context of the specific state of societies where it appeared. The author pays close attention to the specifics of the perception of medieval impostors by different social groups, the ways of establishing and functioning of everyday and symbolic communication between the deceiver and his sympathisers, collective representations of justice, social order and its violations in different strata of society. The author identifies various forms of imposture — claiming belonging to another ethnicity, profession, or social class, creating fake genealogies, and using the label of impostor as a tool for defaming an opponent in polemical treatises. The goals of such deception could range from delegitimising the opponent to trying to increase one's social status or save one's own life. The author concludes that imposture is a peculiar reaction to a social crisis and simultaneously a way to bring society into balance and restore the ‘proper’ order of things.