Kupidyn i Śmierć, czyli o pewnej niezwykłej przygodzie antycznego bożka w poezji staropolskiej opisanej

Abstract

The very dissertation is devoted to three works of the Old-Polish literature describing the motive of the meeting of the love god, Cupidine with Death, arrow changes and consequences deriving from it. The anecdote, unknown from Ancient messages, is the subject-matter of the 157 work from Figliki by Mikołaj Rej and constitutes one of the most interesting examples of using mythology in his writings. The text entitled in the same way (Śmierć z Kupidynem), probably based on Figlik, includes a selection of Fraszki by Wacław Potocki also written at the end of the 17th century. The story described therein is enriched with the local colouring and extra details, and, at the same time, deprived of the moralizing comment, which closed Rej’s work. The third one, in which the very motive appears with substantial modifications, is an idyl V from Sielanki nowe ruskie by Józef Bartłomiej Zimorowic. By means of a unique story of the weapon exchange of the love god, Zimorowic shows a premature death of Szymon’s younger brother (the text was created on the 18th anniversary of his death) in a metaphorical way. In conclusion, the hypothesis on a common source of the motive, i.e. an LXV emblem from Książeczka emblematów by Andrei Alciatus is put forward.