Gawęda szlachecka
Polish literary form / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gawęda szlachecka (variously translated as szlachta storytelling,[1] noble storytelling,[2] noble tale,[3] etc.) is a Polish literary form in which works are presented as a story told by a Polish nobleman stylized as a Polish oral tradition of storytelling known as gawęda, i.e., a tale of no particular plot, a series of loosely connected episodes narrated in colloquial language with many embellishments. It is associated with the tradition of Sarmatism.[3] The Dictionary of Polish Language by PWN defines gawęda szlachecka as "a story in verse or prose demonstrating an image of Sarmatian traditions".[4] Developed in the first half of the 19th century, Henryk Rzewuski being the most influential figure in this respect, with his Pamiątki Soplicy [pl] (The Memoirs of Soplica). Due to the association with Sarmatism the style was also known as "pogadanka kontuszowa" ("kontusz tale"), with kontush being a distinctive Sarmatian-style garment of Polish nobility.