CHOROBY ŚMIERĆ UPRZEDZAJĄ (DISEASES PRECEDE DEATH), OR ON THE UNDERSTANDING OF DISEASE IN POLISH AND ITALIAN PROVERBS (16TH–20TH CENTURY)

The purpose of the paper is to analyse the folk understanding of physical and mental illness in Polish and Italian proverbs. The analysis shows that this is not a uniform picture, and that acceptance of disease and its treatment have had several dimensions in the world of premonitions, superstitions and religion, and the physician treating a disease is just one and not the most important component in the process of recovery. The image of the disease in Italian proverbs seems to be similar to Polish proverbs, though not identical. It is extremely interesting that a part of the folk world connected with diseases and the fight against them has survived in modern Polish and standard Italian languages.