A History of Bohemian LiteratureLützow, Francis, hrabe
History
A History of Bohemian Literature
Lützow, Francis, hrabe
Czech literature -- History and criticism
his collaborator. Recent Bohemian writers have gone further, and have
suggested--though without bringing forward sufficient evidence--that
Charles was himself the author of the Latin chronicle, and that
"Pulkava" only wrote the Bohemian translation, or rather adaptation,
for the contents of the two books are by no means identical. This is
one of the many questions concerning ancient Bohemian literature that
is still obscure. Pulkava's work is written in the same fashion as the
work of Cosmas, whom, indeed, all early Bohemian historians imitated,
whether they expressly called themselves continuators of his work or
not. Published under the auspices of Charles, Pulkava's chronicle
enjoyed great popularity and is preserved in numerous MSS., from one of
which the Bohemian version was printed in 1786. The work has, however,
little historical value, and the style of the Latin version is inferior
to Cosmas.
Of the many other writers of history who flourished during the reign of
Charles, it will be sufficient to mention Benes (Benessius) of Weitmil,
a canon of the chapter of Prague. Charles IV., as already mentioned,
furnished the author with many notes, that were incorporated with his
work. The chronicle of Benes, written in Latin, deals with the history
of Bohemia from the year 1283 to the year 1374, about which time the
author appears to have died. The part of the work which describes
King John's last campaign and his death at Crécy has great interest,
not only for Bohemian readers. Laurence of Březova, who is generally
mentioned in connection with the writers referred to above, belongs
rather to the period of the Hussite wars.
While Bohemian was at this period, at first only in the form of
translations, taking its place beside Latin as a language adapted
to historic writing, it was already extensively used for writings on
matters of law. Such works hardly belong to a history of literature;
yet the _Kniha starého pána z Rožmberka_, the book of the old Lord of
Rosenberg, deserves mention. It contains an enumeration of the laws
and customs of Bohemia as they existed in the author's time. It is the
oldest prose work in the Bohemian language, and dates either from the
beginning of the fourteenth or from the last years of the thirteenth
century. Another early legal work is the _Výklad na pravo zemske_,
exposition of the law of the land, which is attributed to Andrew of
Duba. Several other very early Bohemian writings on legal matters have
been preserved.
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account