![Boruta](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Boruta.jpg)
Devil Boruta ( pl, Diabeł Boruta) is a fictional character from Polish mythology, folklore and literature, associated with the Polish town of
Łęczyca
Łęczyca (; in full the Royal Town of Łęczyca, pl, Królewskie Miasto Łęczyca; german: Lentschitza; he, לונטשיץ) is a town of 13,786 inhabitants () in central Poland. Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship, it is the county seat of the ...
.
The character is the transformation of the
pagan Slavic demon ''
leshy'' in
post-Christianization times. Boruta is also referred to as ''błotnik'',
[Pełka, Leonard (1987). ''Polska demonologia ludowa''. Warszawa: Iskry. pp.187.] a swamp spirit known in the mythology of the Kashubians and especially the Eastern Slavs, where he is called a ''
bolotnik
In Slavic mythology, bolotnik (russian: боло́тник, ; from ''boloto'', "swamp"), balotnik (), bolotyanik () or błotnik (Polish language, Polish; Help:IPA for Polish, bwɔtnik "mud" or "puddle") is a male swamp spirit. There are many ...
''.
He was usually considered to be a
nobleman
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...
, and accordingly, he was usually busy with corrupting nobles, leaving other social classes to other devils - like
Rokita the devil from the same region, who more often tempted peasants. Tales that do mention his coat of arms overwhelmingly say it's
Nowina - albeit, with Polish coat of arms being often shared among a number of unrelated families, this did not lay any shame upon its other users.
References
{{reflist
Slavic mythology
Polish legends
Slavic demons