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Utraquist oriented humanism in Bohemia exemplified in the literary works of Mikuláš Konáč z Hodiškova
Fernández Couceiro, Eduardo ; Voit, Petr (advisor) ; Nejedlý, Martin (referee)
Works of literary history dealing with 16th-century Czech literature often speak of the contrast between Latin (aristocratic, Catholic) and national (burgher, Utraquist) humanism. Representatives of these trends fall into two groups which are presented as antithetical, independent and closed, and literary evaluations often favour national humanism for extra-literary (religious, social, linguistic) reasons. In the first part of this paper, we indicate that this contrast does not hold valid completely because, on the one hand, there are numerous cases which may not be easily assimilated within this scheme and, on the other, Czech nationalist humanism depends entirely on Latin models (ancient, medieval, Renaissance). In the second part, we focus on the work of Mikuláš Konáč of Hodíškov, considered to be a typical representative of national humanism. An analysis of his literary and printing work reveals several aspects which lie outside the conventional framework of national humanism. In his literary works (chiefly translations), Konáč draws not from the national (Hussite) tradition, but from international European Latin scholarship. As regards his religious beliefs, he appeared to be a conservative Utraquist, but his attitudes changed with time: an overall tolerance of and sympathy towards the Unity of the...
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Humanism and the Renaissance in Czech Print Culture
Fernández Couceiro, Eduardo ; Voit, Petr (advisor) ; Pelán, Jiří (referee) ; Halama, Ota (referee)
The present PhD thesis examines the reception of Humanism and the Renaissance in Czech print culture between 1476 and 1547. Critically, it opposes the predominant interpretation line that - from National Revival to post-war marxist literary criticism - tried to preserve at all costs a magnificent picture of the 16th century as a "golden age". The study is based on Petr Voit's recent works on Czech book printing of the first half of the 16th century and follows the reception of Humanism and the Renaissance from a complex point of view (printers' profiles, typography, illustrations and ornaments, readers' reception). The analysis shows that during the period under review, the Czech society, which predominantly professed a reformed confession (utraquism, lutheranism, the Unity of Brethren...), lived in a self-centered religious messianism, and therefore rejected any cultural novelties, especially those coming from Italy as the hometown of the hated papacy. Book printing largely reflected the conservatism and moral rigorism of this mainly utraquist society that ignored the entertainment literature, considered unnecessary or even undesirable. In this rigid religious scheme, the Renaissance literary genres (Petrarchan poetry, novella, epic poem, etc.) and the humanist text-critical approach to ancient...
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Utraquist oriented humanism in Bohemia exemplified in the literary works of Mikuláš Konáč z Hodiškova
Fernández Couceiro, Eduardo ; Voit, Petr (advisor) ; Nejedlý, Martin (referee)
Works of literary history dealing with 16th-century Czech literature often speak of the contrast between Latin (aristocratic, Catholic) and national (burgher, Utraquist) humanism. Representatives of these trends fall into two groups which are presented as antithetical, independent and closed, and literary evaluations often favour national humanism for extra-literary (religious, social, linguistic) reasons. In the first part of this paper, we indicate that this contrast does not hold valid completely because, on the one hand, there are numerous cases which may not be easily assimilated within this scheme and, on the other, Czech nationalist humanism depends entirely on Latin models (ancient, medieval, Renaissance). In the second part, we focus on the work of Mikuláš Konáč of Hodíškov, considered to be a typical representative of national humanism. An analysis of his literary and printing work reveals several aspects which lie outside the conventional framework of national humanism. In his literary works (chiefly translations), Konáč draws not from the national (Hussite) tradition, but from international European Latin scholarship. As regards his religious beliefs, he appeared to be a conservative Utraquist, but his attitudes changed with time: an overall tolerance of and sympathy towards the Unity of the...
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