Концепт „спящий народ/спящий герой“ в чешской и польской культурах/литературах

The concept of “dormant nation”, implying the connotation of “awakening”, is characteristic of the Еnlightenment era and actualises in a context of national or political slavery. In Slavic cultures, the concept becomes constant, its specifics linguistically expressed in the emergence of the word “buditel” (“one who awakens others”) – absent in other European languages. The „dormant nation“ concept links with that of the „dormant hero/leader“, ambiguous in a sense that it either keeps up the faith in liberation, or suggests problematism in the mission of nation-awakening. In the national mythology in Czech and Polish culture, an important place has the image of dormant knights from folklore, awaiting their time to lead off a battle for national liberation. ‘Dormant knights’ legends are a constant in these cultures, given they actively function at present. In Czech literature, in Ian Neruda’s work, the image of the dormant nation is interpreted in evangelical code, through the identification of the nation with the dormant child Jesus, the future Savior. In Polish literature, the image of the dormant national leader finds also a satirical depiction, in works by Jan Kochanowski, Wacław Potocki, Juliush Słowacki and Stanisław Wyspiański. The observations over texts of Czech and Polish culture suggest closeness, as well as specifics in the interpretation of the concept. A Bulgarian gaze would in turn catch the specifics of Bulgarian “dormant nation” concept (satirical depiction of the dormant nation of slaves, the motif of God’s sleep as an expression of the doubt in God’s justice).