大学建设既要“冲一流”也要补短板
CZECH LITERATURE BEFORE HUS
The beginnings of genuine Czech literature coincide roughly with the change of dynasties on the throne of the Bohemian kingdom. In 1306, with the murder of King Václav III, the reign of the native house of P?emysl came to an end, to be succeeded in a few years by the dynasty of Luxemburg. The hundred-odd years between this historical landmark and the emergence of Jan Hus are characterized by rapidly developing and steadily increasing literary activities and are referred to as the Gothic Period of Czech literature.
This Gothic Period, however, was not without a literary tradition on Bohemian soil. With the penetration of Christian faith and culture in the ninth century both from Bavaria and from the Byzantine Empire, two literary languages were introduced as the media of their respective liturgies—Old Church Slavonic and Latin.
The oldest extant Old Church Slavonic monument, the fragmentary Kyjevské listy [Kiev Missal] preserved from the tenth century, and a shorter manuscript from the following century, Pra?ské hlaholské zlomky [Prague Fragments], betray by their bohemisms their local origin. Several other Old Church Slavonic relics—mostly biographical—which are preserved in more recent manuscripts of East Slavic or South Slavic redaction, bear lexical and other evidence of their ultimate Bohemian provenience. Among these are ?ivot svatého Václava [Life of St. Wenceslaus] from the tenth century; a legend of the same saint—essentially a translation from Latin—less than a century younger; and two valuable accounts of the lives of the first missionaries to the Slavs, Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius. Also closely bound to the Old Church Slavonic ?tradition is the oldest Czech hymn, "Hospodine, pomiluj ny" [Lord, have mercy upon us].
Although the Old Church Slavonic tradition had thus been well established, the expulsion of Slavic monks from the Sázava monastery in 1097 brought a sudden end to the Byzantine influence and a complete victory to Western Christianity. However, Latin literary tradition in the Old Period may be dated even some hundred years earlier, for the Vita et passio sancti Venceslai et sanctae Ludmilae aviae eius, though written in Bavaria, was the work of the Czech monk Kristián.
The tendency, already noticeable in Kristián's work, to set the hagiologic tradition into historical framework culminates in the Chronica Bo?morum of Kosmas, the dean of the Prague chapter. In its three books he relates, in the tradition of medieval annalists, the history of his country from the flood and the dispersion of people following the building of the Tower of Babel until 1125, the year of his death. Despite cases of unreliable chronology and some understandable tendentiousness, Kosmas' Chronica has a very important place among the writings of the time, for it clearly distinguishes historical events from folklore (senum fabulosa relatio) and in addition is masterfully told. It is no wonder that none of the numerous enthusiastic continuators who brought its narrative to the end of the thirteenth century surpassed their erudite and most eloquent predecessor, the true founder of Czech historiography.
The anarchic years of 1278–1283 are traditionally said to have given rise to "Píseň svatováclavská" [St. Wenceslaus Hymn], which soon became the national hymn; more recently the dating has been revised in favor of greater antiquity. There are still other monuments to this awakening literary activity in the native language which in the following century was to launch the Gothic Period. Religious in nature, they include translations of the Psalms and two prayers in verse with grammatical rhymes—"Ostrovská ?píseň" (Slovo do světa stvo?enie) and "Kunhutina modlitba" (Vítaj, krá?u v?emohúcí), the latter based on St. Thomas Aquinas' hymn Lauda Sion Salvatorem.
The cultural, political, and economic rise of the Bohemian kingdom under the Luxemburg rule is well reflected in the vigorous development of literary Czech, which took upon itself new functions, ever more demanding. Thus Czech writings, still predominantly hagiographic in the initial stage of the Gothic Period, soon became considerably secularized. Later, particularly during the enlightened reign of King Charles IV (1346–1378), prose, which theretofore had been employed only infrequently, received the attention necessary for its development.
The oldest group of Czech legends, of which all are fragmentary, date back to the beginning of the fourteenth century. Their main sources, aside from the Bible, are Jacobus de Voragine's Legenda aurea and the Apocrypha of the New Testament. To this group belong Legenda o apo?tolích [Legend of the Apostles], Legenda o Panně Marii [Legend of the Virgin Mary], Legenda o seslání Ducha svatého [Legend of the Descent of the Holy Ghost], Legenda o Pilátovi [Legend of Pilate], and the most important of them, Legenda o Jidá?ovi [Legend of Judas], which makes interesting use of the Oedipus theme. This last legend contains a historical reference which enables us to date it (1306 or the years immediately following) as well as the others, since the whole group, characterized by octosyllabic verse with rhymes in couplets, is the product of a well-defined school of poetry if not indeed the product of the same poet. Several other legends fall into the earlier years of the Gothic Period. Among these, deserving of mention are the remaining fragments of the Legenda o svatém Alexiovi [Legend of St. Alexius], Legenda o Je?í?ově dětství [Legend of Jesus' Childhood], Legenda o Adamovi a Evě [Legend of Adam and Eve], Legenda ?o svatém Ji?í [Legend of St. George], and Legenda o deseti tisících rytí?? [Legend of Ten Thousand Knights].
The only great Czech medieval epic is the Alexander roman known as Alexandreis, composed by an unknown nobleman sometime between 1290 and 1310. That it has been preserved in eight fragments from seven or eight different manuscripts is evidence of its popularity. Formally, it belongs to the aforementioned school of poetry. Though derivative from the French humanist Gautier de Chatillon's Latin Alexandreis, it exhibits considerable licence in composition and leaves no doubt of its author's eruditeness, political insight, language skill, and above all, practical wisdom, expressed by terse parables and maxims in rhymed triplets.
Another widely-read work of Old Czech literature was the so-called Dalimilova kronika [Dalimil's Chronicle], of which there exist a number of complete manuscripts (the name Dalimil has been erroneously assigned to the still unidentified chronicler by Tomá? Pe?ina of ?echorod, a seventeenth-century historian of the Counter Reformation). Brought up to the year 1314, with Kosmas' work as the main source for the earliest times, the Chronicle is not very reliable for the period prior to 1230. However, for the years after this date the author was able to draw on the memories of his older contemporaries or on his own memory. The Chronicle's inspiring, vigilant nationalism and indignant aversion to foreignisms provide an interesting contrast to the cosmopolitan Alexandreis, though the artistic merits of the work, written in rhymed verse of an irregular number of syllables, are of lesser significance.
The medieval drama, which had its stimulus in the intense religious life of the period, arose at the beginning of the century, with some domestic Latin dramatic tradition already at hand to build on. Of the Easter plays and Passion plays (misteria) the best known are the Latin-Czech plays of the three Maries and the Czech plays of the Resurrection and ?Masti?ká? [Quacksalver]. The fragmentary Masti?ká?, written probably by a vagrant scholar, concerns the boastful pretension of charlatans to medical skill and the sexual licence of the regular clergy, treating these subjects with sparkling irony which on occasion passes over into Rabelaisian humor.
Farticularly characteristic of Old Czech literature was didactic and satirical poetry. The subject matter of the Visio Philiberti, a medieval eschatological tract, received three separate treatments, of which the first and most successful was the independently composed Spor du?e s tělem [Dispute Between the Soul and the Body], written around 1330. This theme of death and eternal reward is later further developed in O nebezpe?ném ?asu smrti [Concerning the Dangers at the Time of Death], O bohatci [About a Rich Man], and other works. The extensive Desatero kázání bo?ích [God's Ten Commandments] discusses the Ten Commandments and illustrates their breach by three types of sinners. The author of this work undoubtedly also wrote the sagacious collection of satires traditionally known as Satiry o ?emeslnících [Satires of the Craftsmen], seven separate short pieces (54 to 160 verses) exposing the weaknesses, wiles, and transgressions of cobblers, aldermen, smiths, maltsters, barbers, butchers, and bakers. Aesopian fables were also introduced to the Czech medieval reader, and an outstanding fable, "O li?ce a d?bánu" [About the Fox and the Jug], unknown to the medieval fable tradition but with Slavic parallels, was composed. The last four works referred to form a part of the valuable Hradecky Manuscript, which in addition contains seven other compositions.
Now we examine the works of the second half of the fourteenth century, which can no longer be considered a period of cultural apprenticeship. The changes that had taken place can be soon in the second group of legends, in which the pompous, decorative Christianity of the time contrasts with the sober, simple Christianity of the first group, half a century older. The most characteristic of these legends are the elaborate so-called ?Stockholmská legenda o svaté Kate?ině [Stockholm Legend of St. Catherine], the manuscript of which was seized during the Thirty Years' War and taken to Stockholm, to be later (1878) returned; Legenda o svaté Dorotě [Legend of St. Dorothea]; Legenda o svaté Markétě (Legend of St. Margaret]; and Umu?ení svaté Kate?iny [Martyrdom of St. Catherine].
Recurring throughout these legends are the colorful descriptions of numerous miracles and of the persecutions and sufferings of martyrs for their Christian faith. We are told how St. Catherine, a pagan in her youth, was betrothed to Christ in a dream and then intrepidly spread Christianity until she was tortured to death; when she was beheaded, milk streamed from her neck as a symbol of her virginal purity. Her whipping is described vividly and at length in terms of the color symbolism popular with the medieval audience: her body is pictured shining with white, red, black, yellow, blue, and green—the six colors respectively of her complexion, blood, wounds, hair, extravasations, and shame-flooded face. There is also the story of St. Margaret, who having been swallowed by the devil in the likeness of a dragon, freed herself by making the sign of the cross, which caused the dragon to burst.
Several legends are devoted to the Passion and to the cult of Mary. Another, which deserves special notice for its import for cultural history and philology, is the story of the life of the favorite domestic saint, Procopius, Legenda o svatém Prokopu [Legend of St. Procopius] . This legend contrasts sharply with the Legend of St. Catherine, from about the same time. As against the latter's exotic setting; fantastic happenings, and elaborate language, the Legend of St. Procopius uses unadorned everyday language and portrays its hero as a practical man close to simple poor folk. Of the prose hagiographies three are of special importance: ?ivoty svatych Otc? [Lives of the Holy Fathers] and Pasionál [Passional], freely based on the Legenda aurea, both canons of fourteenth-century Czech; and ??ivot Krista Pána [The Life of Christ the Lord], derived from the well-known medieval tract Meditationes vitae Christi, whose unknown author may also have written Pasionál. The intense worship of the Virgin Mary stimulated the composition of many devout meditations both in verse and in prose.
Numerous and of uneven value are writings concerned with Bohemian law and administration (e.g., Kniha ro?mberská [Ro?mberk's Book] antedating all other documents of its sort), with history (e.g., Kronika ?eská [Bohemian Chronicle] of P?ibík Fulkava of Radenín), and with lexicography. Of great interest is the cooperative encyclopedic enterprise of several scholars, including King Charles IV, grouped around the erudite Bartoloměj of Chlumec, also known as Klaret. His Glosá? [Glossary], written around 1365 and preserved in a copy from the end of the century, contains in its Latin hexameters almost seven thousand Czech words, some taken over from previously compiled dictionaries or from the vernacular and some newly coined.
It has already been mentioned that translations of certain parts of the Bible were first undertaken during the thirteenth century. One such translation has been preserved in interlinear fashion in the Glosovany ?altá? [Glossed Psalter] from the end of that century. Of great antiquity also are translations of Isaiah and Jeremiah among the Major Prophets, and of Daniel. However, the great popularization of the Bible through the medium of the vernacular falls into the second half of the following century, from which we have the particularly noteworthy parchment known as ?tení zimního ?asu [Winter Gospels] . By about 1400 all parts of the Bible had been translated and before long were brought together into the first Czech Bible, an assemblage of versions heterogeneous in style and language.
It was during the reign of Emperor Charles IV that the Church reached the peak of its material and political power, which in turn brought about its internal decay and the germ of reformation. Of outstanding importance among those who from within the pale of the Church paved the way to the ?teaching of Hus were Jan Milí? of Kromě?í?, Matěj of Janov, Vojtěch Raňk?v of Je?ov, and Tomá? of ?títné. Milí? distinguished himself by his fiery preaching and the sincerity of his exemplary Christian life. The expression of his mystical faith in the early advent of the Antichrist is given in his tractate Libellus de Antichristo. Matěj of Janov approached Hus in theory more than any of his contemporaries; the ideas contained in his learned work Regulae Veteris et Novi Testamenti were based on his basic axiom reducere Christi Jesu ecclesiam ad sua primordia salubria et compendiosa. Both Milí? and Matěj of Janov found abundant support in the erudition of Vojtěch Raňk?v, former master and student at the universities of Paris and Oxford and then prebendary at St. Vitus' and foremost authority on theology and philosophy in Prague. Last of the four, but far from the least in importance, is Tomá? ?títny, who died at the very beginning of the fifteenth century; derivative and eclectic as a philosopher, humble and meek as a reformer and critic, his significance for the approaching Hussite movement lies in his popular writings in Czech. Of his numerous works, comprising some thirty "books," those of enduring value are Kní?ky ?estery o obecnych věcech k?es?anskych [Six Treatises on General Christian Matters]; Besední ?e?i [Friendly Talks]—a dialogue between him and his children about the foundations of Christian philosophy; and ?e?i sváte?ní a nedělní [Discourses for Holy Days and Sundays]. Only very recently it has been showm that the excellent free translation of a favorite medieval legend, Barlaam a Josafat [Barlaam and Josaphat], is to be credited to him as well. In ?títny's lucid, allegoristic style and solid, mature language, Old Czech didactic prose reached its very peak.
Simultaneously with the achievement in prose, didactic poetry culminated in the works of Smil Fla?ka of Pardubice. Smil Fla?ka's political and practical wisdom is best reflected in his allegorical poem Nová rada [New ?Counsel]. Though it undoubtedly points to an active intellectual contact with England (Chaucer) and with France (Guillaume de Machaut's school), both the style and the treatment of plot are distinctly those of its author. The allegory of an assembly of animals in which the young lion king is counseled by various quadrupeds and birds is clearly aimed at King Václav IV, who gave more hearing to his minions than to the nobility. Two other works are frequently attributed to Smil Fla?ka: Rada otce synovi [Father's Advice to His Son] and a collection of sayings and quotations, both from the end of the century.
Three other skillfully composed satires of the period, Svár vody s vínem [Quarrel Between Water and Wine], Píseň veselé chudiny [Song of the Merry Poor], and Podkoní a ?ák [The Groom and the Student]—a dispute with resulting scuffle over which is the more advantageous profession of the two—are characterized by rough, seasoned humor%;B these were written by vagrant scholars.
It is of considerable interest to notice that Czech lyric poetry, the richest and most mature literary type in modern Czech literature, fell far behind the rest of the Old Czech literary production. Although the German minnesingers were at the court of the Bohemian kings during the greater part of the thirteenth century, virtually no Czech lyrics were composed prior to the second half of the following century. An indirect stimulus was provided then by the foundation of a university in Prague in 1348, which brought about the formation of a new social group, made up of both vagrant and resident scholars. Their satirical, amatory, mendicant, and drinking songs were composed in Latin and later, after an intermediate macaronic stage, also in Czech. At least one song from the last group deserves to be mentioned, the poetically and musically excellent "Závi?ova píseň" [Song of Závi?]. As may be expected, Czech amatory poetry derives from the troubadour lyrics with their conventional concept of courtly love.
?Of modest significance are several romances from the end of the century, echoing through German mediacy popular medieval themes: R??ová zahrada veliká [The Great Rose Garden], surviving only in small fragments, Tandariá? a Floribella [Tandareis and Flordibel], Vévoda Arno?t [Duke Ernest], R??ová zahrada malá or Laurin [The Small Rose Garden; Laurin], and Tristram a Izalda [Tristram and Iseult )—the longest Old Czech poem, of about 9000 verses.
The increasing democratization of literature toward the end of the Old Period was hastened by the emergence of a new, interested audience—the class of citizens. The trend is well reflected in the themes of numerous predominantly secular prose works. ?tilfríd a Bruncvík [The Story of Stillfried and Braunschweig], a double heraldic legend adapted for Czech readers from German sources, tells how the prince ?tilfríd earned for his coat of arms an eagle, which his son Bruncvík replaced by a lion. Hellenistic themes are treated in Apollonius, král tyrsky [Apollonius, King of Tyre], in Povídka o Alexandru Velikém [The Story of Alexander the Great], and in a version of Trojan history in Trojanská kronika [Trojan Chronicle], later (around 1470) to become the first Czech incunabulum. From the Gesta Romanorum, the source of many earlier moralistic writers, more than a hundred stories were translated. The allegorical Tkadle?ek [The Little Weaver], an amplification of the Ackermann aus Beheim written by a Bohemian German, is noteworthy for its adroit style. Fantasy and adventure were supplied by Cesty Mandevillovy and Marka Pola Milion [Marco Polo's Hillion], translations of Mandeville's Travels and Marco Polo's account of his travels in Asia.
A brief reference should be male to judicial and religious prose at the close of the period. The Bohemian judicial organization was carefully and clearly described by Ond?ej of Dubá in his Vyklad na právo země ?eské [An Exposition of Bohemian Law]. Religious prose drew from both the Old and New Testament and introduced such medieval infernal stories as Solfernus and Beliál [Belial].
?We have now reached the end of what is traditionally referred to as the Old Period, The years immediately following saw the ascendancy of Jan Hus. His tremendous influence upon the religious life of the country and hence upon its culture in general profoundly affected literary activity. The beginning of the fifteenth century thus marks the end of one and the beginning of another epoch in the history of Czech literature.
Author's Note
This survey is a portion of what was originally intended to be an extended introduction to a Czech Reader. At the time of writing it I felt—and still feel—that the scope of this treatment is both justified and useful: many Czech sources are too detailed and for the most part not easily accessible; on the other hand, English sources tend to be too cursory and most of them are more or less obsolete. I was fortunate in being able to bring this sketch up to date in a number of details by referring to the first volume of the Academic Dějiny ?eské literatury [A History of Czech Literature], published in Prague in 1959.
A sequel to this paper is planned. It will comprise the so-called Middle Period of Czech literature, ranging from the ascendancy of Jan Hus until the Czech National Revival (circa 1774).
To reconcile the numerous orthographic differences in quoting the titles of Old Czech literary works, all titles have been represented according to the present orthographic norm, also the practice in modern Czech literary-historical writings.
Those who are interested in pursuing the study of Old Czech literature in greater detail and with the help of original sources should first of all consult Volume I of Dějiny ?eské literatury (Star?í ?eská literatura, ed. Josef Hrabák [Praha, 1959), in which they will also find an extensive, up-to-date bibliography. An anthology of Old Czech literature, also published by the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, appeared in Prague in 1957 under the title Vybor z ?eské literatury od po?átk? po dobu Husovu (eds. B. Havránek and J. Hrabák). A number of complete works from Old Czech literature have appeared in the series Památky staré literatury ?eské, now published by the Academy. A small differential dictionary of Old Czech, Slovní?ek staré ?e?tiny, was compiled by Franti?ek ?imek (Praha, 1947).
Title: Czech Literature Before Hus
Author: Zdeněk Salzmann
Edition: First (200 copies)—privately distributed
Price: $0.50
Sedona, Arizona
April 1961
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