The Mediterranean Echo of Permafrost. Spanish-Italian Impulses of L.P. Karsavin’s Religious and Philosophical Poems Part 1. Background of the Issue

Among the many works created by L.P. Karsavin (1882–1952), the cycle “The Wreath of Sonnets” and “Terzines” by the author and comments on them are regarded by experts as one of the most original works of Russian religious philosophy, but at the same time those texts remain the least studied today. The article deals with revealing the inner connection of the prison cycle with the works of Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) and the Spanish mystic John of the Cross (1542–1591). An analysis of religious and scientific books dedicated to John of the Cross suggests that the Russian thinker and poet knew about his fate and works. The author of the article concludes that the legacy of two great writers of the Middle Ages became one of the creative impulses for Karsavin and hinted suggested the form of self-commentary of his religious poems.