A History of Bohemian LiteratureLützow, Francis, hrabe
History
A History of Bohemian Literature
Lützow, Francis, hrabe
Czech literature -- History and criticism
It is not surprising, if we consider the previous general ignorance on
the subject of Bohemian history, that from the moment his book began
to appear Palacký became the object of violent attacks. The first
attacks proceeded from German writers, but after the publication of
the volume that deals with Hus, other Catholic writers also joined
in these attacks. The treatment which the Slavs of Northern Germany,
and sometimes those of Bohemia also have endured on the part of the
Germans, could only be defended by describing these tribes as brutal,
savage, and cruel barbarians. Palacký has certainly proved that
these descriptions, founded on vague statements of German monks or
on the mendacious Hajek, are at least grossly exaggerated. Palacký's
impartial account of the career of Hus, who had in Austria previously
been described in accordance with the words of the censor, which I
have quoted, displeased the more prejudiced Roman Catholics, Professor
Höfler, who was both a fanatical Teuton and a bigoted Roman Catholic,
was the most persistent opponent of Palacký. Palacký replied to his
criticism in his _Geschichte des Hussitanthums und Professor Höfler_
which appeared in 1868. Mainly polemical also was Palacký's small work,
_Zur Böhmischen Geschichtschreibung_, published in 1871. In this book
the author defends his historical work against the attacks of Professor
Höfler and other German critics. He gives here also an account of his
old controversies with the censure-office, from which I have quoted.
Several collections of documents are also due to the diligence of
Palacký. In 1860 he published a collection of--mostly Latin--documents
referring to the reign of King George of Poděbrad. A similar but
far more interesting collection of Latin and Bohemian documents was
published in 1869. I have in chapter iii. frequently quoted this
collection, on which, indeed, my account of the career of Hus is
principally based. The Latin documents are printed in that language
only, but Palacký has given a Latin translation of those that were
written in Bohemian. An additional collection of documents, published
in 1873, refers to the period of the Hussite wars. In the last years
of his life Palacký published in three volumes a selection of the most
important historical, political, and literary essays which he had
written in Bohemian. This is by no means a complete list of Palacký's
works. In the "question of the MS." he, as already mentioned, figured
as a defender of the authenticity of these documents.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account