PARALITERACKIE WIZJE ŚMIERCI I UMIERANIA W KULTURZE SARMACKIEJ
PARALITERARY IMAGES OF DEATH AND DYING IN SARMATIAN CULTURE

Summary/Abstract: The paper attempts to reconstruct concepts, images, beliefs and patterns of behavior connected with death in Sarmatian culture. The judgements are based on an analysis of a specific group of texts: funeral sermons, textbooks on spiritual life and hagiographic writings.The dominant model of a good death is a heroic one, perservence in one's social role till the end, loyal fulfillment of one's duties. With time, the model undergoes a shift from grandiose heroism, based on Biblical and ancient motifs, to heroism supplemented by miraculous interventions of supernatural forces.An important ideological and artistic problem was a conflict between the 'taming' of death and using it as a means of frightening someone. As the latter prevailed in Sarmatian culture, the image of death was concretized and materialized.

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