Names of sanctuaries in Russian translations of Ovid’s Metamorphoses from Polish in the early 18th Century

Abstract

The article deals with the principles of translation of lexemes naming sanctuaries in two Russian translations of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, made in the early 18th century from Polish Otwinowski’s verse adaptation Księgi Metamorphoseon, to jest, Przemian (Kraków, 1638). In the Latin original of Ovid, the lexemes templum, aedes and delubrum are most often used for the nomination of pagan sanctuaries. In the Polish version of the text, in the absolute majority of cases, they correspond to the lexeme kościół. In the first Russian translation, the lexeme kościół in the meaning of ‘pagan sanctuary’ corresponds to капище, and in the second translation a number of unevenly distributed synonyms are presented: капище, церковь, божница, костел. From these, капище and божница can be considered standard nominations for pagan temples in the texts written in Russian milieu. However, the lexemes костел and церковь are rather used in the Western Russian written tradition. Comparison with another Polish translation of Metamorphoses, Jakob Żebrowski’s Metamorphoseon, to jest Przeobrażenia (Kraków, 1636), shows that the Russian translators did not use this text as an additional source.