Baśnie w Starej baśni Józefa Ignacego Kraszewskiego

The author attempts to interpret the best known work of Józef Ignacy Kraszewski, which, although created outside the chronological boundaries of Romanticism, grew out of the ideas and needs of that epoch. The aim of the article is to analyse the genre pattern of An Ancient Tale and to indicate various references to Hindu mythology. The work under discussion combines features of a fairy tale, a historical (archaeological) novel, an epic, a syncretic romantic novel and a legend. The Eastern tradition can be traced not only in the frame story, but also in the names of deities and beliefs.