Instytut Badań Literackich Polskiej Akademii Nauk

(Characteristics of oral tradition in Czech and Polish mediaeval hagiographic songs)

Year of publication: 2017
Page range: 15 (5-19)
Keywords: the Middle Ages, orality, Polish literature, Czech literature, vernacular hagiographic literature, hagiographic songs,

Author: Dorota Vincůrková (University of Szczecin)

Abstract

In the article, selected vernacular (Polish and Czech) mediaeval hagiographic songs (Legenda o svatém Prokopu, Legenda o svaté Kateřině, Legenda o svaté Dorotě, Pieśń-Legenda o świętej Katarzynie, Legenda o świętym Aleksym, Pieśń o świętej Dorocie, Pieśń o świętym Stanisławie, Pieśń o świętym Jopie) are analysed in the context of the elements used and characteristic of oral works. The study draws attention to fixed epithets, formulas and “oral themes" repeated in the texts. It is emphasised that the visible “compilatory feature" of the discussed texts does not prove their unoriginal nature but their functioning in the oral circulation of literature.

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