Search results
Nov 2, 2015 · Czech literature in English translation is becoming increasingly accessible. Over the last few years a growing number of award-winning works have been translated, and with the advent of e-books this trend is surely set to continue.
- Czechlist: Discussing Translation Issues Since 1999
Melvyn Clarke is a graduate of the School of Slavonic and...
- Josef Škvorecký Award
Josef Škvorecký Award - Czech literature in English...
- News
News - Czech literature in English translation | CzechLit
- Newsletter
Signup to our newsletter to recieve updates about news, new...
- Resources
Resources for publishers, translators and readers of Czech...
- De
De - Czech literature in English translation | CzechLit
- Monthly Features
Monthly Features - Czech literature in English translation |...
- Featured Authors
They were selected in accordance with the following...
- Czech Literary Centre
Language. English; Deutsch; Polski; Čeština; Czech Literary...
- Czechlist: Discussing Translation Issues Since 1999
- Overview
- Origins and development through the 17th century
Czech literature, the body of writing in the Czech language. Before 1918 there was no independent Czechoslovak state, and Bohemia and Moravia—the Czech-speaking regions that, with part of Silesia, now constitute the Czech Republic—were for a long time provinces of the Habsburg Holy Roman and Austrian empires. Because of this, the evolution of the C...
The earliest origins of literature in Czech are connected with Old Church Slavonic, which was devised by Saints Cyril and Methodius in the 9th century to counter Frankish (German) influence. Latin was established as the liturgical language of the Bohemian state in 1097, however, and its script was adopted for what would become the Czech language. The earliest preserved texts in the Czech language, mainly hymns, were written in the late 13th century at the courts of the Přemyslid kings of Bohemia.
The 14th century brought a continuous stream of Czech literary works, mostly consisting of biographies of saints (hagiography), legends, epics and chronicles, and adaptations of chivalrous romances, all in verse. The earliest secular work in the language was the epic Alexandreis, a life of Alexander the Great based on a Latin poem by the French writer Gautier de Châtillon. From about 1350, prose genres began to be cultivated, initially descriptions of the lives of saints and chronicles and then versions of popular medieval tales. From the last part of the century dated a group of verse satires and didactic poems as well as the political allegory Nová rada (“The New Council”), written by Smil Flaška to defend the rights of the Bohemian nobility against the crown.
Religious reforms begun by Jan Hus in the early 15th century set in motion the Hussite movement, which for two centuries pitted Czech reformers or Protestants against the Roman Catholic rulers of the Holy Roman Empire. The religious controversies and civil strife of this period fostered the use of Czech writing for practical and polemical purposes. Hus himself composed strong sermons in Czech and wrote various treatises, of which De ecclesia (“The Church”) was the most important. Petr Chelčický, one of his successors, wrote treatises containing radical social ideas from which sprang the Unitas Fratrum, or Bohemian Brethren, a sect and prototype of the Moravian church that became an important source of Czech literature for the next two centuries.
Britannica Quiz
Famous Poets and Poetic Form
Czech literature in the 16th century was predominantly didactic and scholarly, reflecting the humanism of the European Renaissance. The Moravian bishop Jan Blahoslav completed an early translation of the New Testament, and the lexicographer Daniel Adam of Veleslavín further enriched the vocabulary of humanist Czech, but the most significant landmark of the period was the Unitas Fratrum scholars’ translation of the Bible into Czech, known as the Kralice Bible (1579–93). The language of this version became the model for classical Czech.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Aug 21, 2024 · Writing in the Czech language emerged in the late 13th century, establishing a generally continuous tradition of vernacular literature. Chivalrous romances and chronicles, legends of the saints, love lyrics, satires, translations of the Bible, and religious prose were written in the 14th and 15th centuries.
IN CZECH LITERATURE Allow us to draw your attention to our Czech Literature Guide. It presents a panorama of the contemporary life of Czech literature with a short historical overview. It has been produced for everyone who has an interest in understanding Czech literary culture and its milieu, from the specialist and scholarly
May 7, 2019 · A look at English-language literature in the Czech Republic in the last decade. The term “anglophone” in the title encompasses what used to be covered – in an incomplete or inaccurate way – by the term “English”. In other words, English literature can refer to literature by authors from England or to any literature written in English.
May 23, 2017 · You might be familiar with a small part of Czech literature, but the country has given birth to some amazing names that can help you better understand the art and culture of the nation. We take a look at 10 of Czechia’s finest works.
People also ask
Which language has the most translations in the Czech Republic?
Where can I find reviews of Czech literature?
Where can I listen to literature in Czech Republic?
Who are the best Czech-English Literary Translators?
Here is a list of some quality Czech novels and plays that you can read in English, presenting not only the established classics, but also introducing the leading contemporary authors. The Joke by Milan Kundera
