Abstract
The study deals with the influence of the classical tradition on Czech literature of the Early Modern Period (Renaissance, Baroque). The article demonstrates this influence through examples of the use of selected motifs from ancient history in all of the main genres of the literature of that era: homily, legend, school drama, poetry and educational literature. The study also analyses the educational background of the authors and readers of the era and their attitude to ancient history; the ways of mediation and making use of ancient motifs in the literature; and the influence of ancient historiography on Renaissance and Baroque culture and interpretation of history.
Highlights
Our study aims to map the key influences of the culture of classical antiquity in the literature of the Czech Renaissance and Baroque, covering the era from the first decades of the 16th century to the early 18th century
16 These supernatural signs and events used in Baroque literature do not need to be regarded as part of classical tradition, but could have been taken from medieval literature, where they played an important role from the Early Middle Ages, as mentioned above
Classical influence is surprisingly even more extensive in the Baroque period. Such a statement casts a significantly different light on the Baroque that in Czech historiography is due to the trauma of the Counter-Reformation traditionally perceived in a simplistic manner as “times of darkness”, a period of cultural decline and religious fanaticism and intolerance
Summary
In her already quoted study Antické prvky v české poezii 17. a 18. století Zdeňka Tichá (1974:102) put the question of principle: “At first sight it would appear that the existence of ancient ‘pagan’ elements in Baroque Catholic poetry is somewhat absurd”. Století Zdeňka Tichá (1974:102) put the question of principle: “At first sight it would appear that the existence of ancient ‘pagan’ elements in Baroque Catholic poetry is somewhat absurd” She contradicts her objection referring to the long tradition of the synthesis of ancient and Christian culture, which already existed in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. The crucial figure initiating and at the same time representing these developments is the Dutch humanist, Justus Lipsius (1547-1606), who began to focus his attention on stoic philosophy in contrast to the still prevalent Platonic and Aristotelian philosophical tradition He became famous as a careful philologist – editor of Tacitus and Seneca – and played a principal part in humanist historiography placing emphasis on the critical attitude to history and sources. While Comenius, Balbín and their followers, who were in touch with European intellectuals and cultural developments, accepted and exploited the recent impulses in the changing perception of classical culture and approach to classical tradition, in other streams of Czech literature only static elements of classical culture and scholar stereotypes were adopted
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