On the track of Szymon Starowski’s Sarmatian necropolis Cover Image

Z Szymonem Starowolskim na szlaku sarmackich nekropolii
On the track of Szymon Starowski’s Sarmatian necropolis

Author(s): Barbara Milewska-Waźbińska
Subject(s): Literary Texts
Published by: Wydział Polonistyki Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Szymon Starowolski; {Monumenta Sarmatarum}; epitafi um; elogium; Starowolski Szymon; {Monumenta Sarmatarum}; epitaph; eulogium

Summary/Abstract: The article seeks to analyse chosen epitaphs adopted from Szymon Starowolski’s oeuvre titled {Monumenta Sarmatarum} (Cracoviae 1655). This book contains Latin epitaphs originating from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth territories, as well as from abroad. The inscriptions bequeathed by Starowolski are presented at the backdrop of the European epitaph tradition. The paper also briefl y discusses the content of inscription collection published in early modern period, which might have inspired the Polish author. The epitaphs from Buczacz and Potok in commemoration of the members of the Buczacki, Tworowski and Potocki’s houses, included in {Monumenta Sarmatarum}, are analyzed in-depth. Particular attention is paid to both the content, with the commonplaces typical of funerary genres, and the form. As corroborated, the prose texts usually take the form of eulogium – a genre characteristic of the baroque culture – and poetic epitaphs act as funerary epigrams. The source texts of the inscriptions in question are then juxtaposed with the texts of the same epitaphs included in the Latin armorial {Orbis Polonus} by Szymon Okolski (Cracoviae 1641–1643). Finally, it is posited that further research of Starowolski’s works is required from historical, literary and philological standpoint related to the transmission of text.

  • Issue Year: 2012
  • Issue No: 2 (5)
  • Page Range: 159-176
  • Page Count: 18
  • Language: Polish