Listowna relacja o międzyrzeckim przypadku Jonasza Szlichtynga okiem filologa: między świadectwem listu i retoryką świadectwa
The Account, Contained in a Letter, of the Międzyrzecz Case of Jonasz Szlichtyng Through the Eye of a Philologist: Between the Testimony and Its Rhetoric

Summary/Abstract: Relacyja o boskiej prowidencyjej nad P. Jonasz Szlichtingiem młodym AoD. 1665 14 Sept. contained in Andrzej Lubieniecki Jr’ssilva rerum was published and fact-checked by Janusz Tazbir. However, this text, which is important for the history of thePolish Brethren, needs to be read from a philological point of view, using the rhetorical tools appropriate to it. The account takesthe form of a letter from Paweł Szlichtyng to Jan Trembecki and is thus an example of the typical 17th-century use of privatecorrespondence in the circulation of information. At the same time, it is a text deliberately and functionally crafted by theauthor. While declaring multiple allegiances to the truth of events, Paweł Szlichtyng made use of various tools for shaping thestory in order to increase its persuasiveness and engage the audience Rhetorical analysis demonstrated the use of hagiographicconventions when describing the protagonists of events and the use of the argumentative power of testimony. The logic ofthe development of the true story, based on the authority of the truth conveyed by the participants in the events, and itstransformation into a rhetorical argument in the form of an example, was subjected to observation. Attention was given to theuse of narrative shaping techniques (patterns and the role of commentary), especially amplification procedures. Reading theaccount as a text influenced by literary conventions has made it possible to define more fully the role assigned to it by its authorin reinforcing the message of faith addressed to the circle of Polish Arians.

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