Ondraszek i Juraszek (Ondráš i Juráš)
Ondraszek and Juraszek (Ondráš and Juráš)

Mythological or historical figures?

Summary/Abstract: This article is the result of many years of the author’s studies dedicated to the legendary Beskid Mountains brigands Ondraszek and Juraszek. Theese studies began with the projects in which Renata Putzlacher-Buchtová was actively involved: the premiere of the play Ondraszek – Lord of the Łysa Góra (2005), a grant project Ondráš – Ondraszek financed from the budget of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic (2006) and the project Ondrášovo – the touristic product, initiated by the Cieszyn-Silesia Euroregion (2007). The author analyses the history of Carpathian brigandry, putting emphasis on the psychological, societal and cultural phenomenon of transformation from brigands to Carpathian heroes representing unfettered personal freedom. The article presents Ondraszek as historical character, discussing facts and assumptions concerning his birth, real name, school years, circumstances that led him to start his “brigand career”, and his sudden death.The phenomenon of brigandry was an important element of peasant culture and a source of inspiration for artists fascinated by the spiritual culture of highlanders. Therefore, the author points out the role of regional journals, calendars and socalled ‘culture for people’ in the development of readership and the rise of national consciousness in the Cieszyn Silesia. Because the brigandry myth refers to the ancient structures of the Indo-European heroic myths, the author also discusses the rituals of initiation and the echoes of epic poetry.

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