Eduard Štorch (10 April 1878 – 25 June 1956) was a
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
*Czech, ...
pedagogue, archaeologist and writer, known for novels set in prehistoric
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
during
Stone
In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...
and
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
.
Biography
Štorch was born on 10 April 1878 in
Ostroměř
Ostroměř is a municipality and village in Jičín District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,300 inhabitants.
Administrative parts
Villages of Domoslavice, Nové Smrkovice and Sylvárův Újezd are administrati ...
. He studied at the
gymnasium and the pedagogic institute in
Hradec Králové
Hradec Králové (; german: Königgrätz) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 91,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected by law as an ...
. Štorch worked as a teacher in several location in northern and eastern
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
and since 1903 in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, during 1919–1921 as a school inspector in
Bratislava
Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...
and then, until his retirement in 1938, again as a teacher in Prague.
Among Štorch's activities were
archeology
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
,
ethnography
Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...
,
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
, journalism and reform of education system. In 1935, together with Karel Čondl, Štorch wrote a three volumes textbook of history for secondary schools. The textbook was attacked by Catholic church because it documented attempts of the church to obtain political power throughout the history.
Štorch published several scholar works, many novels for the youth and countless number of articles in journals and newspapers. The novels were based on and limited by scientific knowledge of the time. His most famous novel is "''
Mammoth
A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks and, ...
Hunters''" (1918, ''Lovci mamutů'') set 30,000–20,000 years ago among people of
Gravettian culture
The Gravettian was an archaeological industry of the European Upper Paleolithic that succeeded the Aurignacian circa 33,000 years BP. It is archaeologically the last European culture many consider unified, and had mostly disappeared by 2 ...
. Several of the books were illustrated by
Zdeněk Burian
Zdeněk Michael František Burian (11 February 1905 in Kopřivnice, Moravia, Austria-Hungary – 1 July 1981 in Prague, Czechoslovakia) was a Czech painter, book illustrator and palaeoartist whose work played a central role in the development of p ...
. Three novels were filmed: ''Osada havranů'' (1977, international title: ''Settlement of Crows''), ''Na veliké řece'' (1977), ''Volání rodu'' (1978), all directed by
Jan Schmidt.
Štorch died on 25 June 1956 in Prague, at the age of 78.
Scholar works
* ''Člověk diluviální'' (''
Diluvial
Diluvium is an archaic term applied during the 1800s to widespread surficial deposits of sediments that could not be explained by the historic action of rivers and seas. Diluvium was initially argued to have been deposited by the action of extra ...
man'', 1907), targeted to the youth,
* ''Vznik vlastnictví'' (''Birth of proprietorship'', 1907),
* ''Počátky života pozemského'' (''Beginnings of life on Earth'', 1908),
* ''První lidé v Čechách'' (''First people in Bohemia'', 1909),
* ''Původ náboženství'' (''Origin of religion'', 1909),
* ''Praha v době kamenné'' (''Prague during Stone Age'', 1910),
* ''Vývoj tvorstva a vznik člověka'' (''Development of life and origin of the humankind'', 1912),
* ''Život v pravěku'' (''Prehistoric life'', 1912),
* ''Praha v pravěku'' (''Prehistoric Prague'', 1916),
* ''Praha v době prehistorické'' (''Prague in prehistoric times'', 1921).
Novels
* ''Čarodějův učedník'' (''Sorcerer's Apprentice'', 1910), set in Bronze Age;
* ''Bohatýr Vratislav'' (''Vratislav, The Hero'', 1917), heroic stories from ancient times;
* ''Lovci mamutů'' (''Mammoth Hunters'', 1918), depicts life of
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
hunters. This is the most popular work by Eduard Štorch.
* ''Libuše a Přemysl'' (''
Libuše
, Libussa, Libushe or, historically ''Lubossa'', is a legendary ancestor of the Přemyslid dynasty and the Czech people as a whole. According to legend, she was the youngest but wisest of three sisters, who became queen after their father died; s ...
and
Přemysl is a Czech language, Czech masculine given name. The Polish language, Polish alternative is Przemysł (name), Przemysł or Przemysław.
Famous bearers
Czech royals
* Přemysl the Ploughman – mythical founder of the Bohemian royal dynasty of P ...
'', 1919), from Czech mythology;
* ''V šeru dávných věků'' (''From the Dark of Ancient Times'', 1920), four stories set in Bronze Age;
* ''Osada havranů'' (''Settlement of Ravens'', 1930), story about settled Paleolithic group located on Kunratický brook near Prague;
* ''Bronzový poklad'' (''The Bronze Treasure'', 1931), inspired by discovery of
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
needles near
Sedlčany
Sedlčany (; german: Seltschan) is a town in Příbram District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,800 inhabitants.
Administrative parts
Villages of Doubravice, Hradišťko, Libíň, Oříkov, Sestrouň, Solopysky ...
;
* ''U veliké řeky'' (''At the Great River'', 1932), life in Prague basin 5,000 years ago, the river is
Vltava
Vltava ( , ; german: Moldau ) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, running southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice and Prague, and finally merging with the Labe at M ...
;
* ''Zlomený meč'' (''Broken Sword'', 1932), about the war between
Marcomanni
The Marcomanni were a Germanic people
*
*
*
that established a powerful kingdom north of the Danube, somewhere near modern Bohemia, during the peak of power of the nearby Roman Empire. According to Tacitus and Strabo, they were Suebian.
Origin
...
tribes led by king
Marbod
Maroboduus (d. AD 37) was a king of the Marcomanni, who were a Germanic Suebian people. He spent part of his youth in Rome, and returning, found his people under pressure from invasions by the Roman empire between the Rhine and Elbe. He led the ...
(Marobud) and the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
;
* ''Junáckou stezkou'' (''On Trail of Heroes'', 1934), an
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
story;
* ''Hrdina Nik'' (''Hero Nik'', 1934), romance story from the time of
Samo
Samo (–) founded the first recorded political union of Slavic tribes, known as Samo's Empire (''realm'', ''kingdom'', or ''tribal union''), stretching from Silesia to present-day Slovakia, ruling from 623 until his death in 658. According to ...
's Realm, during incursion of
Avars, finalling with
Battle of Wogastisburg
According to the contemporary ''Chronicle of Fredegar'', the Battle of Wogastisburg was a battle between Slavs (''Sclav, cognomento Winidi'') under King Samo and Franks under King Dagobert I in 631. The Frankish armies advanced into the area of t ...
;
* ''Volání rodu'' (''Call of the Tribe'', 1934), story of
Forefather Čech;
* ''O Děvín a Velehrad'' (''About
Děvín
Děvín (german: Mayden Berg) is a double peak mountain in the Pavlov municipality in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. With an elevation of , it is the highest mountain of the Pavlov Hills within the Mikulov Highlands, and of th ...
and
Velehrad
Velehrad is a municipality and village in Uherské Hradiště District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,100 inhabitants. It is known as a pilgrimage site.
Geography
Most of the municipality lies in the Chřiby highlands. ...
'', 1939), set in
Great Moravia
Great Moravia ( la, Regnum Marahensium; el, Μεγάλη Μοραβία, ''Meghálī Moravía''; cz, Velká Morava ; sk, Veľká Morava ; pl, Wielkie Morawy), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavs, Wes ...
;
* ''Zastavený příval'' (''The Storm Stopped'', 1940), about failed incursion from
Frankish Empire
Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...
in 805;
* ''Meč proti meči'' (''Sword Against Sword'', 1946), stories from the early periods of Czech statehood and decline of
Polabian Slavs
Polabian Slavs ( dsb, Połobske słowjany, pl, Słowianie połabscy, cz, Polabští slované) is a collective term applied to a number of Lechitic ( West Slavic) tribes who lived scattered along the Elbe river in what is today eastern German ...
;
* ''Statečné mládí'' (''The Brave Youth'', 1946), stories of youth in prehistoric times;
* ''Minehava'' (''Minehava'', 1950), novel set in period of transition from
matriarchy
Matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of authority. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege and control of property.
While those definitions apply in general E ...
to
patriarchy
Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical anthropological term for families or clans controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males a ...
.
External links
Short biography(in Czech)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Storch, Eduard
1878 births
1956 deaths
People from Jičín District
Czech male novelists
Czech archaeologists
Writers of fiction set in prehistoric times