Anthologia w czasach antycznych i późniejsza recepcja pojęcia : europejskie anthologiae nowożytne (rekonesans)

Abstract

The aim of the article is to familiarize the reader with the history of the term ἀνθολογία, as well as its cognates, employed as a headliner category defining the contents of the work as well as a genre. The author focuses on the Greek and Latin tradition over the course of time, as it certainly can be ascribed a significant culturally productive function across Europe from the ancient times till the 18th Century. The results of this reconnaissance would suggest that the term in question is widely used while referencing collections or works that manifestly emphasize the erudition of the author, as well as those containing various pieces of prose and poetry by a number of authors, and serving a twofold purpose: to please the reader while being of practical use as a study in morality, and to broaden one’s erudition while serving as a training material in writing and style. In the period of time discussed to distinguish between literary and practical anthologies would be pointless, as they were all not unlike glossaries, encyclopedias or collections of moral studies.