Summary: The aim of the paper is to examine the types of coreferentiality that exist between implicit and explicit elements of absolute constructions and the constituents of the clauses in which these constructions are embedded. The question is analysed from a diachronic perspective. I argue that the problem of coreferentiality should be taken into consideration in discussions on the emergence of the accusative or nominative absolute, and in discussions about such phenomena as nominativus pendens.