Od natury do symbolu
From nature to symbol

(On the example of swan in ancient and Neo-Latin literature)

Author(s): Barbara Milewska-Waźbińska
Subject(s): Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Polish Literature, 16th Century, 17th Century, 18th Century, Theory of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: symbolism of the swan; literary tradition; Latin ornithological treatises; emblems; heraldry
Summary/Abstract: The article aims to explore the origin of topoi connected with a swan and their presence in old literature and culture. The author attempts to draw attention to writers’ choices leading to the transposition of descriptions of nature and habits of the bird into symbolic images. The analysis was conducted on the basis of ancient literature and Latin literary works of the modern era, which until now was taken into account only to a small extent. Untranslated sources, including encyclopaedias of symbols and emblematic books were used. The second part of the article focuses on the swan as a heraldic figure. Undertaking threads contained in "The Medal of Bishop Andrzej Trzebnicki", a thorough study of Krzysztof Czyżewski and Marek Walczak, the author completed the analysis of stemmata dedicated to the bishop of Kraków with her own translations from Latin, a philological commentary and interpretation. In the last chapter the author asks the question why modern culture has forgotten the swan symbols and why only few of the meanings have survived in collective consciousness.

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