The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-06-18

OF race. have. in the present century developed
written language somewhat different from
that Of bohemia II these. therefore. be de-
Quoted from the total we arrive at the result
that the bohemian or Czech tongue proper Is
spoken by somewhat less than q. 200. 900 people.
At the outset OF every account OF Bohemian
literature we are encountered by the 'ques-
ton OF tho manuscripts" which turns on the
genuineness OF two documents which first be-
came known at the beginning of tho present
century. and were supposed to be the most
ancient writings in the Bohemian language.
One OF these manuscripts was said to have
been found In the Deancry church OF k6nigin-
hof. and the other in the castle OF GrnneberR
As the preliminary inquiry whether or not
these ostensiblc specimens OF ancient poetry
are forgeries is yet undecided. we need not
further dwell upon them here. The earliest
Bohemian writings. the authenticity OF which
is uncontested. have a distinctly Christian and
religious character. One OF the oldest indis-
putable documents in the Bohemian Ian
guaGe Is HYMN penned in tongue
which resembles the old Slavonic. but
has many characteristic Bohemian locutions
The date OF the composition Of this hymn can
not be fixed. but according to Tomas OF Prague
60 -" ''i'Pa i'ot"""tion as curry
10 700 IN anioosrhlHeu version IL may sun be
"'"'u VI 'io hymn W 81 'ehees'as inc Exist
ing version dates from the thirteenth century
During tho HUSTLE wars this was the favorite
war song OF the Catholics while the UtraQuists
or Hussites. sang the no less famous hymn,
" All Ie Warriors OF God" Undeniable literary
value pe'ongst 10 some OF the early bohemian
,cHeho9 t"a' nave "een preserved IN Two col
'se.,ohs' known respectiVelvas the manuscript
VI h"n'kRra'A' ana tnat OF ~. NltuS in the
,"'"eu'", 'nu,'" y, irasue' Inc hohemlan
ieseno OF JUDAS differs greatly from other
rieu'"Nh' iegehus dehlihg with the same SUBJ
Jec'' ana mas ulstlhct oriental tone: 1t en-
nlpits strange similarity to the Greek tales
OF 'Ealpus' Inc legend OF st. Prokop. which
forms part OF 'he manuscript OF honiggratz
DESERVES sre'lhi ho'ice' because II incidentally
throWs iieht on the traditions OF Bohemia at
the period when Christianity was introduced
lhere was 'hrh great ahtagonism between the
rart'sahs OF the Greek ritual which Cyrillus
anu MethouIus hau introduced in the ninth
century ana the followers OF the Latin Church
VINO from Germany. had imported their
ritual INTO bohemla Inc monastery on the
saZapa' OF whlch frokop became abbot. was
the centre OF 'hose VINO sympathiHcd with the
Eastern 'hurch' Up TO the time when the
SlaVonic MONKS were replaced by priests OF the
lhtin Chur"h. tine religious services were held
therc according to tho Eastern ritual. and
wheh charles ~. fourteenth century, again
es'aphSheu n community OF SlaNonic monks at
Prague ne outaIhed Tor II tho Pope's permits
sion 10 use the HlhNonic tongue IN all ccc!e-
slasucni iuhctiohs' ana 10 employ the GlaGo-
lite alphabet which is similar to that OF st.
Iyrl'lus' though not Identical with 1t.
among the WORKS pertaining TO early Bohe-
milan literature are several poems of an epic
character. wh'ch resemble the chivaIrous
poetry OF o'her European countries. AS the
bohohliahs loon considerable part III the
Crusaues. anu rendered great service to Gen.
tra' Europe py rePe'Ilhg the Mohgol INVASION.
IL was natural mat a great exchange OF ideas
should take place between them and the in
habitants OF countries lying further west. The
attempts. however. OF German writers to prove
thdt all the bohemian remains OF chivalrous
poetry are mere ADAPTATIONS aid TRANSACTIONS
IRON the GERMAN nave proved unsuccessful.
Inc bohemian Alexandreis Is undoubtedly n
paraphrase OF the Latin poem Of Philip
Walter de ChatllIon. who lived In tho
twelfth century. ana who based his mar
ratlve on tho work OF Quintus Curtius.
For Chatilon's heXameters the bohemian
author has substituted rhymed meter con-
sistlng OF verses OF eight syllableS. 1t is easy
TO recognize In tho book the hand OF Bohe-
milan noble who regards the German towns
folk as intruders. 1t should be borne in
mind that. up to the time OF John lIuss. the
Bohemian cities, as contradistinguished from
the rural districts. were mainly inhn bited by
Germans. DESCRIPTIONS OF tournaments and
single combats occupy large part of the
narrative. Closely connected with the chiv-
alrous poetry OF an epic character were the
early lyric poems. some of which have
heen preserved A favorito form OF these