„Jako samojedź krzywousta...”
“Jako samojedź krzywousta...”

(“Looking wrymouthed like a man-eater...”). Some Remarks on the Image of Death in “Rozmowa Mistrza Polikarpa” (“Master’s Conversation With Death”)

Summary/Abstract: The article describes the image of Death in 15th c. “Rozmowa mistrza Polikarpa ze Śmiercią (Master’s Conversation with Death).” The piece says that Death looks “wrymouthed like a man-eater.” The word “samojedź” (“man-eater”) is now no longer used though recurring in Old-Polish writers collective noun referring to an anthropophagus, it seems, however, that it might initially have had a different meaning. An analysis of the proper fragment of the piece in question reveals that the presentation of personified Death directly refers to clinical descriptions of a leper’s appearance known from various medieval works. It is thus possible that the term “samojedź” (“man-eater”) was also used to refer to the lepers and this meaning disappeared due to some reasons.

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