„Obracení“ poutních kramářských písní. Panna Marie Vranovská

Abstract

The focus of this paper is on Czech pilgrimage broadside ballads and their adaptation for different pilgrimage sites. The heyday of Czech broadside ballads (1750–1850) partly overlapped with the period in which pilgrimages to both local and more distant holy sites were extremely popular. Collective singing played a very important role during the pilgrimages, and broadside ballads became the most popular medium for the spread of pilgrimage songs. The increasing demand for pilgrimage songs for local sites led to the intensive production of pilgrimage broadside ballads. This case study deals with 46 broadside ballads associated with the pilgrimage site of Vranov from the mid-18th century until the late 19th century. Through a comparison of similar broadside ballads related to different Bohemian and Moravian pilgrimage sites, this paper explores the genesis of the texts and their further development. The analysed interrelations between the pilgrimage broadside ballads show that the texts are a typical genre of popular culture, where the circulation and reuse of texts are frequent and natural.