Between a Folkloric Topos and a Cultural Myth. A Few Glosses on the Ballad “Master Manole” Cover Image

Între un topos folcloric şi un mit cultural. Câteva glose pe marginea baladei „Meşterul Manole”
Between a Folkloric Topos and a Cultural Myth. A Few Glosses on the Ballad “Master Manole”

Author(s): Kazimierz Jurczak
Subject(s): Romanian Literature, Theory of Literature, Sociology of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: Creation; sacrifice; folklore; written literature; folklore topos; cultural myth;

Summary/Abstract: The folkloric topos of the walled-up woman, present in several variants in South-Eastern Europe, has a special status in the Romanian culture. The “Legend of Master Manole” from which it originates, along with “Miorița”, has become a canonical literary text. Considered by G. Călinescu as a “cultural myth”, one of the four essential Romanian myths, in the interwar and communist period, it was inten- sively exploited ideologically and politically. Interpreted by writers, either as a sample of Romanian creative genius, or as an example of dedication to the work of building the new world, the topos has long overgrown its initial condition as a simple motif of popular culture.

  • Issue Year: 2023
  • Issue No: Sp. Iss. 2
  • Page Range: 223-230
  • Page Count: 8
  • Language: Romanian