Jan Damascen Kaliński’s Epic Poem on the Battle of Vienna and the Ekphrasis in Books 5–8
As many other Neo‑Latin epic poems, Jan Damascen Kaliński’s Viennis (Warsaw 1717), which describes the second siege of Vienna by the Turks in 1683, contains a detailed ekphrasis. Here, however, it is not a work of fine art, such as a relief or a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Jagiellonian University
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Terminus |
| Online Access: |
https://ejournals.eu/czasopismo/terminus/artykul/jan-damascen-kalinskis-epic-poem-on-the-battle-of-vienna-and-the-ekphrasis-in-books-5-8
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| Summary: | As many other Neo‑Latin epic poems, Jan Damascen Kaliński’s Viennis (Warsaw 1717), which describes the second siege of Vienna by the Turks in 1683, contains a detailed ekphrasis. Here, however, it is not a work of fine art, such as a relief or a tapestry, but a book that attracts the attention of the epic’s hero, the Polish King John III Sobieski: at the end of Book 4, on his way to Vienna, Sobieski stops at Juliusburg Castle and is presented with a book by his host. For an entire night, the king is engaged in reading in the course of four books, finishing at the beginning of the ninth book and returning to his task. This paper deals with an interpretation of this ekphrasis as a whole, and in particular with the question of the significance of using a book rather than a work of art.
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| ISSN: | 2082-0984 2084-3844 |