Literary Images of an Epidemic of School Origin from the 17th and 18th Centuries (selected issues)

Abstract

 The subject of the article are literary images of the epidemic contained
in works originating from the academic environment. Among the analysed texts
are occasional works devoted to students who died due to the plague (a sermon by
a Dominican, Michał Wojniłowicz; a poem in poem by a professor of the Krakow
Academy – Paweł Zapartowic). They fit into the panegyric convention, but at the same
time revealed the medical awareness of the time (symptoms of infection, hygienic
and medical procedures conducted on the patient) and the personal involvement
of the teachers. The second group of analysed texts consists of plays staged on the
Piarist and Jesuit colleges’ stages. They are related to the cult of „the plague saints”.
They also deal with the theme of plague as a form of punishment for sins that affects
some antagonists. In some plays, personifications of natural disasters and epidemics are used. The article revealed that there were relatively few literary images of
the plague related to the academic environment. The causes of epidemics and the
methods of their prevention were much more often mentioned in handbooks and
calendars, available to the general public. The community of students and teachers
was rather active in the religious field, acting in associations and congregations, as
well as participating in propitiatory services and processions.