True Polish mythology
You probably already know that most of the songs that we consider to be folk today, especially Christmas carols, come from the 17th century. Like much of the folklore still alive in the nation. And finally, it was then that our greatest founding myth after the baptism of Poland was born – the defense of Częstochowa against the Swedish Deluge. At that time, the greatest heroes of school reading also visited the world: Mały Rycerz, Skrzetuski, and Jędruś Kmicic. In short, it is not strange that if you said “a” while creating Slavic Mythology , then you can only talk about the Golden Age.
I am a bit ironic, because the 17th century is not my favorite, and as a person of healthy origin (intellectual only in the second generation!) I do not trust the nobility too much. As for me – only Jurko Bohun, I will put the rest in good hands. But I love folk tales, especially a bit reworked. Harsh fairy tales or a fairy tale with a serpent’s heart or the second word about Jacob Szela are wonderful, but there may also be something closer to the original. And that is why I reached for Czarty, fiends, apparitions .
Ghostly tales after dark
In the cold, white winter, several travelers end up, by accident or on purpose, behind the table of Wawrzyniec Chrzanowski. Instead of exchanging rumors, they start to tell terrible stories that have happened to them, as they have heard from people of unblemished reputation. There are indispensable priests, brave nobles, good wives and virtuous virgins. They will start, of course, gentlemen. A lady is over.
You will hear about demons waiting for young married women (and then widows), vampires completely unlike Lestat, seventh daughters who are never easy, also on the spiritual level. There will also be stories of travelers: about cursed islands (this one really chills the blood in your veins), witch forests or swamp fires leading to destruction. You will see the mighty virgin as vividly taken from the Slavic Bestiary .
Full immersion
The Tales from Your Table ‘s greatest problem is their fidelity to the 17th-century decor. Linguistically, it is of course a stylization, as in Sienkiewicz’s, very efficiently keeping the reader in the atmosphere of the noble republic. But the authors also stick to decorum when it comes to values and beliefs. I admit that this conservatism had a negative impact on me and I couldn’t bring myself to finish the book. After all, I have heard all this – women are evil and treacherous, and the priest is always noble.
Fortunately, I forced myself to go back to the abandoned Devils. The farther into the night, the less obvious it is that the tales told by honorable visitors certainly relate to spells, which are also clearly evil and sinful. Consider, for example , the Witches Forest, which I have already mentioned , a brutal tale from the darkness of the Swedish Deluge. As you can guess, it mainly shows violence against women and false accusations. The last story told by a young wife has a completely different character. The haunted mansion shows the different, sometimes magical, ways in which trauma can imprint on someone’s mind or soul. Against the background of the others, this text gives a very contemporary impression, despite its consistent linguistic stylization.
The stories on your table are not a novel, innovative book. The most original is the sparse graphic design – navy blue and pink, individual faces or objects on an empty background, catching the clearest metaphors from the text. Judging by the cover, I focused on a slightly more original approach to demons and ghosts.
