Father Wirgiliusz

The name of the play is a distortion of the name of the great Roman poet Virgil, whose poetic works were highly regarded during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. He is considered one of the greatest poets in the history of literature, and his works became, as it were, a bridge between ancient and Christian literature. Virgil’s poetry was taught at the Cracow Academy and European universities. It comes as no surprise, then, that the game of “playing Virgilius” arose in the circles of students and pupils, who probably wanted to make fun of the master in this way. He was regarded in modern times not only as a great poet but also as a symbol of a demanding teacher. In fact, he never taught himself, but as legend has it, he founded a number of schools in Naples and filled the city with students. Perhaps, then, the number (123, 143) of children given to the song sung at play is a reminiscence of this? Even during his lifetime, many students in ancient schools must have known his works by heart…it was similar in modern times, and even closer to us, where students of humanities classes “reworked” in depth (and by heart) the works of Virgil. The first description of the play appeared in an Italian work devoted to the works of Virgil in medieval times. Its author, Domenico Camparetti (Virtgilio nei Medio Evo, 1872), quotes a description of a game played by Polish children, although he does not analyze its origin. This is not a game of Polish origin, because its prototype (though unnoticed by Camparetti) was probably Italian and the game came to Poland with the fashion for Italy and the court of Queen Bona. The Polish variety of the game was adapted (created) by the community of students. At first it was a school game, a game for the “initiated”, who were familiar with the name of Virgil. With time, the game became very popular at courts and in the city, also in the countryside, taking on regional variants and names … Over time, in some regions, the name took on new forms: Mingelius, Jacenty, Migelius, Wigilius, Matthew, Gerginie, and often the game was called “In School” or “Old Father” or “Old Wojtek” (Kolberg, among others, recorded it under this name in Mazovia). Before the game begins, the children choose Father Virgilius from their group, usually by means of a verbal enumeration (mishmash), e.g:

Ene, due, reks, kwinke, zeks,

Ene, due, rabe, kwater, zabe

The chosen Virgilius stands in the middle of the circle formed by the other children and sings along with them:

Father Virgilius taught his children,

And he had them all a hundred and twenty-three.

(or one hundred and forty-three)

Hey children, hey ha, do all that I do!

Hey children, hey ha, do as I do!

While singing, children circle around the circle (against the sun), holding hands, at a moderate tempo, meter 2/4. After singing the last verse, children disconnect their hands and imitate what Father Virgilius shows them, e.g. jumping from foot to foot, dressing, washing, mowing, animal behavior, riding a horse, and other gestures that the “teacher” dictates. Virgil, during this time, also keeps a close eye on the other children and rewards or punishes those who imitate his gestures well or poorly. In some variants, the rewarded child enters the circle of children and takes over Virgilius’ role; in some, he gets a reward (e.g., candy or an apple), while in others, he must leave the circle of playful children if “tempted” by bad imitation of the movements or sounds made by Virgilius. At times, he arranges complicated words or syllables in his head, the repetition of which is very difficult for the others and it is then easy to be caught by temptation or error.