Studia Filologiczne UJK

Summary

The article is devoted to the topic of a happy place on the example of the topos of the Ruthenian lands in historiographic works of the Renaissance period. An analysis of a dozen or so Old Polish chronicles in this respect leads to the conclusion that the topos locus amoenus appeared for the first time in the annals of Jan Długosz. Importantly, the apology of the Ruthenian territories cannot be found in the chronicles of the early Middle Ages. Only from the end of the 15th century, one can talk about the formation of a stereotypical image of the wealth and fertility of Ruthenian areas. In previous research on the formation of the Arcadian topos, attention has been paid to idyllic traditions. Apart from this basic literary context (for building the convention of Ruthenian space as a pleasant and prosperous place), the old Polish chronicles played an important role.