Václav Hanka
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Václav Hanka (also written as ''Wenceslaus Hanka'') (10 June 1791 – 12 January 1861) 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, ...
philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...
.


Biography

Hanka was born at Hořiněves near
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 ...
. He was sent in 1807 to school at Hradec Králové, to escape the conscription, then to the University of Prague, where he founded a society for the cultivation of the Czech language. At
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
, where he afterwards studied
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
, he established a Czech periodical; and in 1813 he made the acquaintance of
Josef Dobrovský Josef Dobrovský (17 August 1753 – 6 January 1829) was a Czech philologist and historian, one of the most important figures of the Czech National Revival along with Josef Jungmann. Life and work Dobrovský was born at Balassagyarmat, Nó ...
, an eminent philologist. On 16 September 1817 Hanka claimed that he had discovered some manuscripts of 13th- and 14th-century Bohemian poems in the church tower of the town of
Dvůr Králové nad Labem Dvůr Králové nad Labem (, german: Königinhof an der Elbe) is a town in Trutnov District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. It lies in the Elbe river valley. Dvůr Králové nad Labem is kno ...
and later some more at Zelená Hora Castle near Nepomuk. The '' Manuscripts of Dvůr Králové and Zelená Hora'' were made public in 1818, with a
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 ...
translation by Swoboda. The originals were presented by him to newly founded National Museum at Prague, of which he was appointed librarian in the same year. Great doubt, however, was felt as to their genuineness, and Dobrovský, by pronouncing the latter manuscript (also known as ''The Judgment of Libuše''), to be an obvious fraud, confirmed the suspicion. Some years afterwards Dobrovský saw fit to modify his decision, but modern Czech scholars regard the manuscript as a forgery. A translation into English, ''The Manuscript of the Queen's Court'', was made by Albert Henry Wratislaw in 1852. In 1846 Hanka edited the ''
Reims Gospel Reims Gospel ( French: ''Texte du Sacre'' which means "coronation text"; also referred to in some Czech sources as the ''Emmaus Evangelie'' or ''Remešský kodex'') is an illuminated manuscript of Slavonic (Slavic) origin which became part of th ...
'' and made it available to the general public, for which he received the cross of the
Order of St. Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holst ...
by the Tsar Nicholas I and a brilliant ring by Emperor Ferdinand I. In 1848 Hanka, who was an ardent
pan-Slavist Pan-Slavism, a movement which crystallized in the mid-19th century, is the political ideology concerned with the advancement of integrity and unity for the Slavic people. Its main impact occurred in the Balkans, where non-Slavic empires had rule ...
, took part at the Prague Slavic Congress, 1848 and other peaceful national demonstrations, being the founder of the political society ' ("Slavonic Linden"). He was elected to the Imperial Diet at Vienna, but declined to take his seat. In the winter of 1848 he became lecturer and in 1849 professor of Slavonic languages in the University of Prague. He died in Prague on 12 January 1861.


Works

His chief works and editions are the following: *''Hankowy Pjsne'' (Prague, 1815), a volume of poems *''Starobyla Skiadani'' (1817–1826), in 5 vols, a collection of old Bohemian poems, chiefly from unpublished manuscripts *''A Short History of the Slavonic Peoples'' (1818) *''A Bohemian Grammar'' (1822) *''A Polish Grammar'' (1839) (these two grammars were composed on a plan suggested by Dobrovský) *''Igor'' (1821), an ancient
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
n epic, with a translation into Bohemian *a part of the Gospels from the Reims manuscript in the
Glagolitic alphabet The Glagolitic script (, , ''glagolitsa'') is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. It is generally agreed to have been created in the 9th century by Saint Cyril, a monk from Thessalonica. He and his brother Saint Methodius were sent by the Byzan ...
(1846) *the old Bohemian ''Chronicles of Delimit'' (1848) *''History of Charles IV'', by Procop Luph (1848) *''Evangelium Ostromis'' (1853) *Hanka also composed the song Moravo, Moravo!, sometimes used as a
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 m ...
n
national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...
.


Notes


Further reading

* *Die ältesten Denkmäler der böhmischen Sprache, Prag 1840

*Václav Hanka, Josef Linda: Manuscript of the Queen's Court: A Collection of Old Bohemian Lyrico-epic ..., 185

*Albert Henry Wratislaw: The Queen's Court Manuscript, with Other Ancient Bohemian Poems., 1852

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanka, Vaclav 1791 births 1861 deaths People from Hradec Králové District People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Czech philologists Czech poets Czech male poets Czech fraudsters Charles University alumni Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Eastern Orthodox Christians from the Czech Republic Burials at Vyšehrad Cemetery