Master Polikarp's Dialog with Death
Master Polikarp's Dialog with Death (Polish: Rozmowa Mistrza Polikarpa ze Śmiercią, Latin: De morte prologus, Dialogus inter Mortem et Magistrum Polikarpum) is a late medieval dialog in verse, written probably in the early 15th century. Its author is unknown, but some historians speculate that it was written by Mikołaj of Mierzyniec (Mikołaj z Mierzyńca).
The original version of the dialogue has been lost; what remains is an incomplete copy from ca. 1463. The ending of the work as it is known today was based on its 16th century Russian translation. Master Polikarp's Dialog with Death is now regarded as one of the most important examples of medieval poetry in the Polish language. It has 498 lines, and presents everyday life scenes of members of different social classes of 15th century Poland. The author patterned the work after a 12th century Latin poem Dialogus mortis cum homine, and other Latin language publications, popular in medieval Europe.
One of the unique features of the work is its use of humour. The dialog mocks monks and priests, inn-keepers, fat women, dishonest physicians and unjust judges.
An unknown printed edition of Rozmowa Mistrza Polikarpa ze Śmiercią (Master Polikarp’s Dialogue with Death) from 1542 (Cracow, Maciej Szarfenberg) has been discovered in one of the European university libraries [1]. The discovery was made by Professor Wiesław Wydra from the Institute of Polish Philology at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań[2]. In the contrast to the previously known version of the dialogue from the Płock manuscript, this text has been preserved in its entirety[3]. This discovery, with a complete Polish text of 918 verses, makes it the biggest and the most important event in Polish language and literature scholarship for several decades[4]. The critical edition of the discovered text has been published by prof. Wiesław Wydra and became available on 7th November 2018[5].
Characters
- Master Polikarp – a well-educated person,
- Death – pale, skinny, bald, yellowish, without nose and lips, showing its ribs, naked, a rotten kind of a woman. It holds a scepter in its hands, and its resemblance reminds the reader that life is short, and after death, human bodies decay.
Sources
- Polska poezja świecka XV wieku, oprac. M. Włodarski, Wrocław - Warszawa - Kraków 1997, BN I, 60.
References
- ^ {{Cite url=https://instytutksiazki.pl/en/news,2,professor-wydra%E2%80%99s-great-discovery,1307.html}}
- ^ {{Cite url=https://instytutksiazki.pl/en/news,2,professor-wydra%E2%80%99s-great-discovery,1307.html}}
- ^ {{Cite url=https://instytutksiazki.pl/en/news,2,professor-wydra%E2%80%99s-great-discovery,1307.html}}
- ^ Template:Cite url=https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/full-text-of-polish-literatures-oldest-masterpiece-found-1138
- ^ Template:Cite url=http://psp.amu.edu.pl/?type=news&id asset=1150
See also
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