Narrative and Polemic Aspects of Epistolary Communication in Ukraine of the Late 16th – Early 17th Century

Abstract

The article analyses epistles as a form of communication in the framework of Ukrainian publicism in the late 16th – early 17th century, which is characterized by the interaction of various polemical forms of expression and their influence on the recipient. It is noted that epistolary texts were among the most popular forms at that time, and their role was strengthened with the proclamation of the Union of Brest (1596). Being able to promptly convey information, along with the development of methods for active polemicization, they came to be established as a means of communication, so epistolary works provided the opportunity to express ideas and, through various forms, convey information about important social and political problems to the addressees (listeners, recipients). Due to this feature, they increased the author’s influence on the readers. Private correspondence, which had the status of political documents at that time, is distinguished as a special category as it mainly expressed the viewpoints of representatives of different religious denominations. The exchange of letters between the persons involved in the Brest Union intensified considerably. It is emphasized that because of certain genre features epistolary works of that time could be viewed as open letters/epistles. Such a genre form was also popular in Western European Protestant publicism of the 17th century. The article considers the narrative and polemical aspects of epistolary texts, using examples from correspondence by Ipatii Potii, Kliryk Ostrozkyi and Ivan Vyshenskyi.