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„The Czechs will live, and live long, for the salvation of themselves and of Slavdom.” Prophecy in the culture of the Czech Enlightenment and Romanticism
Futtera, Ladislav
This article follows the development of the genre of prophecy on the Czech (in the provincial sense) scene from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century with the stress on the modification of this traditional genre of spiritual literature within the context of the Enlightenment and Romanticism. After the middle of the century, the prophecy genre gradually emerged from its exclusively spiritual contexts and despite the dismissive attitude of some enlightenment adherents, it became an instrument for the education of subjects in the spirit of enlightened paternalism or Josephinism. Its development throughout the 19th century is then reflected in the emergence of provincial patriotism and its gradual suppression by ethnic nationalism. Both these discourses made use of the potential of prophecies referring to the Czech lands as a narrative that anchored the national community between the past, the present and the future. The greatest potential was offered by prophecy referring to Vyšehrad and Princess Libuše, who was portrayed from the end of the 18th century as a (semi-)mythical guarantor of the continuity of Czech statehood. The second key text is the Blaník prophecy, but when this became part of the Czech national discourse, its adherents underwent a transformation. The authority of the prophet, the Sibyll and the Blind Youth gradually give way to the authority of historical figures, Saint Václav and the Hussites, who were associated with prophecy, accompanying it with the constitutive Czech historical narrative.
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