Old epidemics in the light of the terms mór and morowe powietrze and their derivatives: the Old Polish and Middle Polish periods

Abstract

The article is devoted to the understanding of epidemics in the Old Polish and Middle Polish periods in the light of the terms mór and morowe powietrze ‘plague’. It is divided into three parts: naming, understanding, and evaluation. The first part analyzes the occurrence of the lexemes mór and morowy, as well as their derivatives in Old Polish and Middle Polish texts, with particular emphasis on their connectivity. The second part attempts to reconstruct the understanding of epidemics by the speakers of the language at the time. The analysis has shown that an epidemic called with the lexemes mór, morowe powietrze is primarily seen in two ways: as God’s punishment for sins and as a catastrophe, especially a natural disaster. Its perception is strongly influenced by the Christian worldview and anchored in the biblical tradition. The third part, devoted to the evaluation of epidemics, indicates the linguistic means by which negative evaluation was expressed in texts, including its use in comparisons and metaphors characterized axiologically.