Napisy na pewnych barokowych tablicach fundacyjnych – tak zwanych „grobach dusz” w krakowskich kościołach

Abstract

Inscriptions on certain Baroque foundation plaques (so called groby dusz ‘soul graves’) in Cracow churches

The subject of this cultural-linguistic overview are more than ten epitaph plaques preserved till this day on the walls of Cracow churches. Erected far from the actual burial place, so-called groby dusz ‘soul graves’ were primarily meant to assist the soul of the deceased on its way to salvation. The set of monuments discussed in the paper is distinguished by the strictly defined construction scheme of their inscriptions, whose essential illocutive purpose was to ask the passers-by for an intercessory prayer. Here, we attempt to discover and describe the culturally and pragmatically defined characteristic features of this act of request. We are particularly interested in the linguistic strategies that the supplicants employed to increase the persuasive force of the utterance, and to efficiently obtain the receiver’s grace.