František Ladislav Čelakovský (7 March 1799 Strakonice - 5 August 1852 Prague) 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, ...
poet, translator, linguist, and literary critic. He was a major figure in the Czech "
national revival
National revival or national awakening is a period of ethnic self-consciousness that often precedes a political movement for national liberation but that can take place at a time when independence is politically unrealistic. In the history of Eur ...
". His most notable works are ''Ohlas písní ruských (Echoes of Russian Songs)'' and ''Ohlas písní českých (Echoes of Bohemian Songs).''
Life
Čelakovský was born in
Strakonice
Strakonice (; german: Strakonitz) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,000 inhabitants.
Administrative parts
Strakonice is made up of town parts of Strakonice I and Strakonice II, and villages of Dražejov, ...
to the
carpenter
Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...
Vojtěch Čelakovský and his wife Anna. He attended high school in
České Budějovice
České Budějovice (; german: Budweis ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 93,000 inhabitants. It is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše.
České Budějovice is t ...
and then
Písek
Písek (; german: Pisek) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 30,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.
Písek is colloquially called "''South ...
.
He began studying
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
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 ...
, but due to financial problems transferred to a
lyceum
The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Generally in that type of school the th ...
in České Budějovice was expelled for reading
Jan Hus
Jan Hus (; ; 1370 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and the inspir ...
. He continued his studies in
Linz
Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846.
In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...
and then at
Charles University
)
, image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg
, image_size = 200px
, established =
, type = Public, Ancient
, budget = 8.9 billion CZK
, rector = Milena Králíčková
, faculty = 4,057
, administrative_staff = 4,026
, students = 51,438
, undergr ...
in Prague (then called Charles-Ferdinand University). Rather than focus on the required courses, he took language and literature courses for his own self-studies; he failed a logic exam in 1822 and never got a university degree.
Čelakovský made a living as a private tutor until 1829, when thanks to Karel Alois Vinařický's recommendation, Prague's
archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
had him translate
Augustine of Hippo's ''
De Civitate Dei
''On the City of God Against the Pagans'' ( la, De civitate Dei contra paganos), often called ''The City of God'', is a book of Christian philosophy written in Latin by Augustine of Hippo in the early 5th century AD. The book was in response ...
.''
From 1829 to 1842 he was a proofreader for the Časopis pro katolické duchovenstvo (Magazine for the Catholic Clergy). From 1833, Čelakovský was an editor of Pražské noviny, a newspaper in Prague. As editor, he attempted to develop readers' political and cultural knowledge. He expanded the magazine ''Česká Wčela (The Czech Bee)'', had the newspaper include articles from foreign non-German-language press for the first time, and developed relationships with
Slavists abroad.
In 1835, he was named a professor of Czech language and literature in Prague.
On 26 November 1835, Čelakovský commented negatively in Pražské noviny about Russian
Tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...
Nicholas I's threats against a Polish uprising. The Russian embassy in Vienna complained and Čelakovský was removed from his position as both an editor and professor.
For the next two years, he survived only through translations and the support of Karel Alois Vinařický. From 1838, he was a librarian for the Kinský family. In 1841, he became a professor of Slavic Literature in
Wroclaw, and then got the same position in Prague in 1849.
Family
František Ladislav Čelakovský married Marie Ventová in Strakonice on 2 February 1834. They had four children together, before she died from
typhus
Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure.
...
in 1844. The next year, he married Antonie Reissová in Prague.
Antonie kept a correspondence with author
Božena Němcová
Božena Němcová () (4 February 1820 in Vienna – 21 January 1862 in Prague) was a Czech writer of the final phase of the ''Czech National Revival'' movement.
Her image is featured on the 500 CZK denomination of the Česká koruna.
Biograph ...
, which Čelakovský occasionally took part in. They had four children together, but one, Anna, died three months after she was born. Antonie died in 1852, and Čelakovský died later that year.
In his will, Čelakovský made Dr. Josef František Frič the guardian of his children.
Works
Čelakovský's style is often classified as pre-
romanticism
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
.
He both influenced and was influenced by other leaders of the Czech "national revival" , as well as foreign
Slavic cultural figures.
Between 1821 and 1823 he published several poems under the name Žofie Jandová, a woman's name.
As a female poet, she was intended to show the high level of development of Czech literature and culture. The English translator John Bowring included her in his anthology of Czech literature. Čelakovský also occasionally used the pseudonym Marcián Hromotluk.
Čelakovský's most important works were either collections of Slavic
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
or poems based on Slavic folklore.
His ''Slovanské národní písně (National Songs of the Slavs)'' is an important collection of Slavic folk songs.
Part 1 (1822) is a collection of
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 ...
n,
Moravia
Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The me ...
n, and
Slovak folk songs, dedicated to
Václav Hanka
Václav Hanka (also written as ''Wenceslaus Hanka'') (10 June 1791 – 12 January 1861) was a Czech philologist.
Biography
Hanka was born at Hořiněves near Hradec Králové. He was sent in 1807 to school at Hradec Králové, to escape the ...
. Part 2 (1825), dedicated to
Kazimierz Brodziński
Kazimierz Brodziński (8 March 1791 in Królówka – 10 October 1835 in Dresden) was an important Polish Romantic poet.
Life
He was born in Królówka near Bochnia. He came from the low nobility. He was a student at schools in Tarnów, wh ...
, is divided into two books. The first continues to cover Bohemian, Moravian, and Slovak folk songs. The second is folk songs from other Slavic languages, with the originals appearing next to Čelakovský's Czech translations. Čelakovský published songs that did not make it into the first two parts in the originally unplanned Part 3 (1827), dedicated to
Vuk Karadžić
Vuk Stefanović Karadžić ( sr-Cyrl, Вук Стефановић Караџић, ; 6 November 1787 (26 October OS)7 February 1864) was a Serbian philologist, anthropologist and linguist. He was one of the most important reformers of the moder ...
.
''Ohlas písní ruských (Echoes of Russian Songs)'' (1829) is a collection of
epic poems
An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants.
...
based on themes from Russian folklore, especially
byliny.
''Ohlas písní českých (Echoes of Bohemian Songs)'' (1839) is a similar collection of poems based on themes from Czech life.
However, rather than focusing on epic or heroic themes like Echoes of Russian Songs, most of the poems are in much simpler language, with proverb-like lines about daily life.
''Mudrosloví národa slovanského v příslovích (The Wisdom of the Slavic People in Proverbs)'' (1852) is a collection of Slavic
proverb
A proverb (from la, proverbium) is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phra ...
s, arranged thematically to portray the traditional life philosophy of the Slavs.
In addition to poetry and works related to Slavic folklore, Čelakovský also published translations from German, English, and Latin into Czech, scientific literature on Slavic
linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
, and textbooks on the Czech language.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Celakovsky, Frantisek
1799 births
1852 deaths
People from Strakonice
Czech poets
Czech male poets
Czech translators
Translators from Russian
Translators from Serbian
Translators to Czech
19th-century Czech poets
19th-century translators
19th-century male writers
Translators of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe