The Visionary Activity of Kristýna Poniatowská. An Attempt to Interpret a Disputable Topic of Modern Comeniology in a New Way
Abstract
The study discuss young Visionary maiden of Polish origin Kristýna Poniatowská (1610 – 44), who got know in November 1627 famous Czech scholar and member of the Unity of Brethern Jan Amos Komenský – Comenius (1592 – 1670). Before the main text is set for better understanding short biography of the prophet.
Then author of the study deals with the beginning of the visions and tries to think about their causes, especially in the core of the article focuses author on the bodily manifestations of the prophet during the revelations – it means the role of her body and her typical teatrality, which have interesting contemporary paralels in the gesture and visions of other two young maidens Margharetta Heydewetter and Benigna Königs. Last part of the study concentrates on the end of the revelations connected with Kristýna´s apparent death and resurrection, which was carefully described by some of Czech exiles and attention is then given to the extraordinary way of record of the revelations by the prophet and her specifical inspiration and memory.
The article is an attempt on systematical description of the Visionary activity of Poniatowská and wants to begin the discussion about this controversal and not so known theme of modern Czech religious history and the controversal phenomenon of new revelations in the work and thinking of Comenius.