Folklore as an Expression of Intercultural Communication Between Jews and Poles – King Jan III Sobieski in Jewish Legends<br>Folklora kot izraz medkulturne komunikacije med Judi in Poljaki – kralj Jan III Sobieski in judovske legende</br>

Abstract

This article examines the use of Jewish legends in Poland about the Polish king Jan III Sobieski as a means of folkloristic inter-cultural communication. The two extant legends dealing with the figure of Jan Sobieski are discussed. One of the legends exists in two versions: an eighteenth century version originating in the ‘Beit Ya’akov’ manuscript and a second version, which was written down by the Jewish scholar of folklore B.W. Segel and published in 1899. The second legend was recorded by the Polish Armenian clergyman Barącz Sadok from the oral tradition of the Jewish community of Żólkiew. The legends are examined from various facets, such as their cultural context, the literary patterns of the culture hero, narrative roles, and their deep structure.