Honza is a very common

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, ...

name which may be informally used interchangeably with Jan ( en,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

). It comes from

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Johann(es) →

Hans Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjab ...

→ Honza. Possible diminutives are Honzík or Honzíček. In Czech every Jan can be called Honza. In fact, virtually no Jan is called Jan by friends - usually Honza or Jenda is used. Honza may be translated as

. Honza is often a Czech

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cult ...

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...

, sometimes called Hloupý Honza (Dull Honza), Líný Honza (Lazy Honza) or Chudý Honza (Poor Honza). In original uses, ''Líný Honza'' is the ''lazy'' and inept son of village farmers. His parents send him "to the world" to take care of himself and get experience. On his way, he meets seemingly impossible obstacles (often involving

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted a ...

) but outsmarts them all and returns home with fame, riches and a princess as his wife. While sometimes called ''Hloupý Honza'' (''Dull Honza''), he is not really dull and in more modern fairy tales he often loses other negative characteristics too. Such figures became

national personification A national personification is an anthropomorphic personification of a state or the people(s) it inhabits. It may appear in political cartoons and propaganda. Some early personifications in the Western world tended to be national manifestation ...

– often suggested as mirroring the national character of Czechs (the nation had unexpectedly risen up, from low classes, struggling to establish itself as an independent entity). Comparison of "dull" Honza with lot of "

common sense ''Common Sense'' is a 47-page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–1776 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Writing in clear and persuasive prose, Paine collected various moral and political arg ...

" (as opposed to knowledge obtained by studying) with

aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word' ...

portrayed by princes which are unable to overcome obstacles Honza did overcome might also refer to fact that for big part of history (most of) Czech aristocracy was separated from people and often not really Czech (but

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n).

Examples

Literature

* Chytrý Honza z Čech (The clever Honza from Bohemia), collection
third book annotation from top * Český Honza (Czech Honza), collection,

Theatre

* How Simple Honza Went Out into the Worl

Films

Honza málem králem ''Honza málem králem'' is a 1976 Czechoslovak film. The film's cast includes Jiří Korn, Naďa Konvalinková, and Josef Kemr. See also * Hloupý Honza References External links * 1976 films Czechoslovak fantasy films 1970s Cze ...

Z pekla štěstí Z (or z) is the 26th and last letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its usual names in English are ''zed'' () and ''zee'' (), with an occas ...

() *

O chytrém Honzovi aneb Jak se Honza stal králem O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...

() * Princové jsou na draka ()

References

{{Authority control Czech culture Czech fairy tales Literary archetypes by name Fictional Czech people