Archaizmy językowe w modlitwach codziennych

Abstract

In contemporary prayers such as Ojcze nasz (Our Father), Zdrowaś Mario (Hail Mary) and Wierzę w Boga (I believe in God) one can find various kinds of archaisms. Some are easily seen, others are hidden partially or completely. Almost everyone knows th at the form Maryja is older than Maria and all understand the meaning of któryś jest w niebie (who art in heaven), zdrowaś (hail), winowajca (who trespass against us), niewiasta (woman) or even the old form pokuszenie (temptation). But very few people realise that there is an archaic e in the word królestwo (kingdom) — the new form would be królostwo — and mater Dei would be translated nowadays as matka Boga (mother of God) and not matka Boża. The old form blogoslawion (blessed), umęczon (suffered), ukrzyżowan (crucified), pogrzebion (buried) are considered mistakenly short forms of błogosławiony, umęczony, ukrzyżowany, pogrzebiony. Owoc żywota Twojego (the fruit of thy womb) is understood nowadays as owoc Twojego życia (the fruit of thy life) and not łona (womb *ventris’). Even specialists do not perceive anything archaic in the phrase przyjdzie sądzić żywych i umarłych (he shall come to judge the living and the dead). And still, this is an old supinum construction where żywych i umarłych is forms of genitive. After the masculine personal gender had come into being in the Middle Polish these forms were considered accusative. The construction did not change but because of the language change it was not archaic any longer. Many archaisms have been preserved in common prayers because they are often repeated and the Church has not considered them necessary to be changed.