The Old Russian Translation of the Old Polish "Rozmowa Mistrza Polikarpa ze Śmiercią"

Abstract

The turn of the 15th and 16th centuries brought to Rus’ the growing popularity of the motif of the dispute between Life and Death, which was propagated by the German milieu settled in larger cities. At least six editions of texts dealing with this disput, which were translated from German, should be mentioned. In these disputes, the figure of the Knight appears on the side of Life; in the Rus’ texts, he is referred to as Voin and udalets, though sometimes the motif remains unpersonified. Death is always portrayed as a dangerous animal. The translation of Rozmowa Mistrza Polikarpa ze Śmiercią fits perfectly into the fashionable cultural context of that time. The translation is abridged, essentially devoid of the original’s poetics, yet it contains the most important conclusions that can be drawn from reading the entire original. Thus, a work was created that perfectly aligned with the struggle that the official Orthodox Church was waging in Rus’ at that time against various manifestations of heresy.