UPADAM DO NÓG JWW PANA DOBRODZIEJA ... O FORMUŁACH GESTYCZNYCH W EPISTOLOGRAFII POLSKIEJ XVIII WIEKU
UPADAM DO NÓG JWW PANA DOBRODZIEJA [I AM THROWING MYSELF AT THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS SIR BENEFACTOR’S FEET...]. ON THE FORMULAE REFERRING TO GESTICULATIONS IN POLISH 18TH-CENTURY EPISTOLOGRAPHY

Summary/Abstract: The description and analysis focus on the formulae referring to gesticulations, or expressive bodily movements, i.e. the linguistic equivalents of certain polite gestures and behaviours, in 18th-century epistolography. The scope of research has been narrowed down to the gesticulation-related formulae present in the closing part of a letter. The sample material consists of 305 handwritten letters, which have not been published or analysed in this context until now. They were written by several dozen authors, members of the nobility and magnates. The material collected for this paper includes certain typical 18th-century formulaic structures, such as upadać do nóg [ to throw oneself at another’s feet ], ściskać nogi [ to hug another’s legs ] or kłaniać uniżenie [ to bow humbly ] as well as less common phrases e.g. brać śmiałość upaść do nóg [ to dare to throw oneself at another’s feet ]. The manner in which the described formulae were used was determined by specific textual, social and chronological circumstances. The formal shape of a formula depended on its location within the letter structure, i.e. if the formula was a part of the set of the closing formulae or a separate postscript with greetings (some formulae occurred only in postscripts e.g. kłaniać uniżenie [ to bow humbly ]). The linguistic shape of a formula was also influenced by the social component e.g. formulae in letters to the king were more ornamental. Some structures gained a much broader scope of application across the 18th century, which was related to the weakening of its elitist character.

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