Characters Invoked in Old Polish Literature (Selected Examples)

Abstract

A rich and varied collection of historical sources comes from the Old Polish period. A few examples have been selected for the purposes of this article. They represent different epochs, genres (epigram, chronicle, diary) and authors: Mikołaj Rej, Maciej Stryjkowski, Teodor Billewicz and Teofila Morawska née Radziwiłł.
 These sources contain a lexicon of characters, remembered, known and recalled. These characters come from the past and present, from Christianity, real and mythical antiquity, and Polish and foreign circles. They are saints, rulers, heroes, scholars, artists, authors’ patrons and their ancestors, both domestic and foreign. They function primarily as role models, although some are also invoked as anti-role models. The selection and evaluation of the characters recalled depend primarily on the authors – their origin, education, environment, horizons and the purposes for which they created their works, and so on.
 The characters referred to in Old Polish works constitute a very important element and reflect the atmosphere of the epochs in which they were created. They are also an extremely important fragment of tradition, existing values and interpretation of the past and social memory.