Abstract
The article is aimed at the analysis of 19th century epitaphs, inscribed in the Russian language in Vilnius Catholic graveyards, treating the epitaphs as a source of interdisciplinary research. Back then, it was common practice to engrave epitaphs in Catholic cemeteries in Polish and Latin languages. Occasionally, epitaphs in French and German languages were engraved on the tombs of the persons having respective nationalities. The Polish language was prevailing on the Lithuanian territory in the 19th century as a language universally used by representatives of a certain cultural layer, that is, the Catholics, both Poles and Lithuanians. The article presents an analysis of epigraphic memorial inscriptions in Vilnius churchyard burial grounds (St. Stephen, St. Jacob and St. Philip) and the graveyards outside the city limits (Rasos, the Bernadines’ and St. Raphael). The analysis is based on the copies of tombstone epitaphs compiled in 1885 by the collector and a prominent figure in the field of culture Albert Ludwik Zasztowt (1850–1918), stored in the Wroblewski library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, and the catalogue of the persons buried in Vilnius graveyards, created by Waclawo Wejtko (1861–1939). The author sought to reconstruct Russian epigraphic memorial inscriptions in Vilnius graveyards (given in the Annex). In total, 26 inscriptions have been identified. During the research, the traditional and most common Catholic epitaph of the 19th has broken down into structural elements. These elements are further defined in order to identify their functions, as part of the text. On the basis of such findings, the text structure of Russian inscriptions is then researched. In such a way, light is shed on the elements of the texts inscribed in Cyrillic script from a semiotic point of view. The article also presents an analysis of the historic context of the emergence of such a source and changes in the use of language in the end of the 19th century. Furthermore, the article aims at identifying the links between biographistics and keeping alive the memory as well as analysing the relationship between the text creator and the reader.
Highlights
The article is aimed at the analysis of 19th century epitaphs, inscribed in the Rus sian language in Vilnius Catholic graveyards, treating the epitaphs as a source of interdisciplinary research
The Polish language was prevailing on the Lithuanian territory in the 19th century as a language universally used by representatives of a certain cultural layer, that is, the Catholics, both Poles and Lithuanians
The article presents an analysis of epigraphic memorial inscriptions in Vilnius churchyard burial grounds
Summary
XIX a. įrašai ir paminklai nėra vienalyčiai. XIX a. pradžios (kaip ir XVIII a. pabaigos) įrašai dažniausiai būdavo rėžiami marmuro plokštėse, kurios vėliau būdavo įmūrijamos į bažnyčių sienas, kolumbariumus, mūrines kapinių tvo ras, šeimos mauzoliejus-koplytėles arba į namuko formos paminklus, pastatytus iš plytų ir dengtus čerpėmis ar skarda. Vis dėlto kai kurios epitafijų plokštės, įmūrytos į bažnyčių sienas ar kapinių tvoras, taip pat bylodavo, jog čia ilsisi velionis. Jog ši epigrafinio įrašo vieta yra svarbiausia, nes atskleidžia paties paminklo mnemoninę prasmę. Kad iš konteksto iškrenta Bernardinų kapinės, nes gimimo data tų kapinių antkapiuose užrašoma palyginti dažnai. Šalia mirties datos dažniausiai pateikiamas velionio amžius mirties dieną – taip išvengiama būtinybės rašyti gimimo datą, juolab kad tikslios datos netgi pats velionis ar jo artimieji galėjo nežinoti. Taip pat galima daryti išvadą, jog gana dažnai į eiliuotą epigramą būdavo įpinami abu – velionio savybių bei paminklo fundatorių – identifikavimo motyvai. Kai šis įrašo elementas yra, jam dažnai būdavo skiriama atskira tuščia paminklo pusė. Jog tais atvejais, kai paminklas yra trigonometrijos figūros formos, parašas paprastai būdavo dedamas ant galinės paminklo sienos.
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