Dr. sc. Davor Piskač
Hrvatski studiji
Zagreb

Substitution of Bible's ethical motifs with motifs of heroism in oral literature

Summary:

Because of the influence it used to exert through Christianity on the living moral practice of the Western culture, the Bible can in the context of the European culture be regarded as the main resource of ethics and morality. Thus, it's interesting to analyse the use of biblical motives in the epic heroic oral literature through relation towards the folk hero. As the hero is the symbol of community defender against any negative influence, his behaviour in the community is always justified. So, biblical motives always appear with the folk hero if his behaviour is moral and in congruence with biblical ethics. Yet, if the folk hero behaves in congruence with ethical principles but goes beyond the boundaries of morality, biblical motives don't emerge. In the folk literature this is explained with ethnopsychological reasons that lie in the foundations of any community.

Key words: Bible, biblical ethics, folk hero, boundaries of morality, oral literature