ETHOS RYCERSKI W POLSCE. OD ŚREDNIOWIECZNEGO ARCHETYPU DO WSPÓŁCZESNEJ IKONY POPKULTURY
THE CHIVALRIC ETHOS IN POLAND: FROM ITS MEDIEVAL ARCHETYPE TO ITS ICONIZATION IN MODERN POPULAR CULTURE

Summary/Abstract: The goal of the article is a synthetic presentation of the evolution of the Polish chivalric ethos from the Middle Ages to modernity. As such, the chivalric ethos is among the values which are most characteristic of Polish culture and most deeply rooted in it. In its elitist form, which was continued until the 18th century and typical of knights and noblemen, it provided the patterns of moral integrity and conduct which were applied in all sectors of life, personal as well as collective, private as well as public. The chivalric ethos was a status symbol, but it also demanded specific actions in specific situations; it permeated both the conceptual universe and real life. It was manifested in codes of behavior as well as in everyday practices. It incorporated both lay elements and religious motifs and conveyed its peculiar ethics and aesthetics in everyday life. In time, in particular in times of danger, the chivalric ethos became subject to processes of democratization, which resulted in its gradually becoming a public good. In modern culture, it belongs among universal values as part of the collective memory of the Poles. As such, it embodies numerous stereotypes, myths, and phantasms rather than results of the actual research on the subject, and not infrequently assumes the function of the lens through which imagined rather than actual events are seen. Simultaneously, due to its axiological and moral appeal, it penetrates popular culture, thus becoming a ludic activity and a commercial product, which, however, does not stop it from conveying unequivocally positive message.

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