Nazwy roślin a obraz początków chrześcijaństwa w Polsce w powieściach o średniowieczu

Abstract

This paper discusses the range and functions of the plant names used in eight historical novels (“Lelum-Polelum” by W. Przyborowski, “Krzyżacy” by H. Sienkiewicz, “Legnickie pole” by Z. Kossak, “Czerwone tarcze” by J. Iwaszkiewicz, “Srebrne orły” by T. Parnicki, “Ojciec i syn” by K. Bunsch, “Puszcza” by A. Gołubiew and “Młody książę” by L. Bądkowski), the action of which is set in Poland from the tenth century until the fifteenth century. By plant names we understand the botanical classification as understood popularly, e.g. words such as oak, pea or rose. We discuss, too, the metonymic use of the names, including their partitive, genetic and resultative uses. Apart from the names of species such as oak, we also examine their derivatives such as oaken. Botanic motifs used in the analyzed novels play an imporatant role in creating the picture of the beginning of christianity in Poland.