Moralitet „Komedyja Justyna i Konstancyjej” Marcina Bielskiego a karnawał
“Komedyja Justyna i Konstancyjej” (“A Comedy of Justyn and Konstancja”) Morality Play by Marcin Bielski and the Carnival

Summary/Abstract: Marcin Bielski’s “Komedyja Justyna i Konstancyjej” (“A Comedy of Justyn and Konstancja,” 1557) may be linked to the carnival due to that it clearly categorises both the negative attitudes and the ones which gain approval, which is typical of the morality play poetics. Theological circumstances of the carnival meet in the debate of Krotofila (Burlesque), Justinus and Czas (Time) with a medical context. The role of ars iocandi in overcoming melancholy deserves attention, generally in preserving a man’s well-being. Favourite topics of carnival performances, and also of literary texts, were married life and the act of getting married itself, as well as all the customs preceding this act (which also includes the problems focused on the manifestations of the sin of impurity). Additionally, Bielski’s play raises the problem of violence which correlates here with the principle of decorum on the language plane. The court culture is also reflected here. Bielski shows his knowledge of the court code and the texts which indisputably belong to this social circle. Interpretation of the piece in question thus calls for resort to sociocultural contexts, medicine-related components, and also the carnival.

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