A History of Bohemian LiteratureLützow, Francis, hrabe
History
A History of Bohemian Literature
Lützow, Francis, hrabe
Czech literature -- History and criticism
Among the members of the advanced Calixtine party, which was led by
Jacobellus, and afterwards by Archbishop Rokycan, we must mention
Vavřinec (Laurence) of Březova, who, though principally known as a
historian, was as devoted to theological studies as almost all his
contemporaries. His _Chronicon_, written in Latin, is perhaps the
most valuable contemporary record of the Hussite wars. The book
unfortunately ends abruptly with the year 1421, perhaps in consequence
of the death of the author, of whom, however, little is known. The
Bohemian writings of Březova are inferior in interest to his Latin
work. He wrote in his own language a "book expounding dreams," at the
request of King Wenceslas IV., at whose court he probably held an
appointment, and a _Chronicle of the World_. He is also the author of a
Bohemian translation of the _Travels of Sir John Mandeville_.
The leader of the more advanced Utraquists, after the death of
Jacobellus, was Magister John of Rokycan, the first and last Calixtine
Archbishop of Prague. The long and eventful life of Rokycan--born in
1397, he died in 1471--belongs to Bohemian history. It will here be
sufficient to mention his writings. Rokycan was undoubtedly a very
voluminous writer, though probably the great majority of his works have
been destroyed. Those still in existence are principally theological
writings of a controversial character. His most important work is his
_Postilla_, written in Bohemian, which strongly recalls Hus's work of
the same name, though, both as regards profundity of thought and style,
Rokycan's work is far inferior to that of his master.
The priests and other members of the Taborite community were probably
not inferior in literary activity to the adherents of the Utraquist
Church. Unfortunately, after the battle of Lipan (in 1434), and the
capture of the city of Tabor by King Georg (in 1452), almost all
these works were destroyed. The customs and constitution of that
strange military-religious community, that in many ways recalls the
later Puritans, will therefore probably never be exactly known. We
gather indeed some information from the writings of the enemies of the
Taborites, such as Ænæas Sylvius. His account of his visit to the city
of Tabor is very interesting. It appears particularly to have surprised
the Italian humanist how general in the town the knowledge of the Bible
was. "The Italian priests," he writes, "should be ashamed, they of whom
it is doubtful whether they have even once read the New Testament;
among the Taborites you would hardly find a poor woman who could not
answer any question referring to the Old or to the New Testament." With
regard to the doctrines of the Taborites, we are also obliged to rely
mainly on the statements of their enemies, particularly of Magister
Přibram, who has already been mentioned.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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