Ubi defuit orbis… – wokół motta do Spartakusa
Ubi defuit orbis… – around the motto for Spartakus

Summary/Abstract: This paper concerns the sources of the quotation ubi defuit orbis used as a motto by Cyprian Norwid in his poem Spartakus. The authors argue that the phrase is part of the inscription carved in stone by Jean-François Regnard, a French traveller and comedy writer, and his companions during their journey through Sápmi (Lapland). Most probably, thanks to Regnard’s Voyage de Laponie Norwid’s epigram became well-known in European culture: it was quoted by Ignacy Krasicki in his work O rymotwórstwie i rymotwórcach, and by Victor Hugo in his Notre-Dame de Paris. It seems very likely that Norwid drew the phrase from Hugo’s novel. This paper discusses these sources and the significance of the motto ubi defuit orbis for the interpretation of Norwid’s poem.

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