František Vladislav Hek (11 April 1769 – 4 September 1847) was a Czech writer, composer, and patriot active in the early phases of the Czech National Revival. He was a major inspiration behind the fictionalized novel '' F. L. Věk'' (1906) by Alois Jirásek.

Biography

Hek was born on 11 April 1769 in Dobruška,

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

. He was the son of a shopkeeper (of Dutch origin). He received his primary education in Dobruška and in

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(from 1779) and from 1782 he studied at a Piarist gymnasium in Prague. In Prague, Hek met the Czech patriots concentrated around Václav Matěj Kramerius' publishing house ''Česká expedice'' and around the Czech theatre groups. In the second half of the 1780s, he returned to Dobruška to take over his father's shop. Hek also served as a local agent for Kramerius, loaned books from his large personal library (3,284 volumes in 1806) and tried to organize a local Czech theatre, which was forbidden by authorities. A fire in 1806 completely destroyed his shop and he lost money during the state bankruptcy of the

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in 1811. From 1806, he cooperated with Josef Liboslav Ziegler (1782–1846), a patriotic priest. In 1821, his wife died and he retired. Hek then lived, among other places, in the Saxonian town of Herrnhut (), a centre of Czech

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exile, and for the last years of his life in Kyšperk (today Letohrad) with his daughter. He died on 4 September 1847 in Kyšperk. The historical novel ''F.L. Věk'' by Alois Jirásek is based on Hek's life, as described in his autobiography. A television series, '' F.L. Věk'', was shot in 1971. The City Museum of Dobruška owns Hek's birth house, and has hosted an exhibition about Hek in the building since 1972. Dobruška's main square was named after F.L. Věk.

Work

The majority of the Hek's works were published after 1806; the 1820s were his most active period. The most important were his satirical

epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word derives from the Greek (, "inscription", from [], "to write on, to inscribe"). This literary device has been practiced for over two millennia ...

s. In 1820, he published book of epigrams ''Velký pátek'' (), a scathing critique of provincialism in Dobruška. An example of his epigrams is: "The greater the fool, the more titles he needs" (). Predictably, the work was banned and confiscated, and only two original copies are known today. Hek was sentenced to three weeks in prison, though he was pardoned due to bad health, and was harassed by authorities in Dobruška ever thereafter. While living in Ochranov (Herrnhut), he translated old texts of Czech exiles into German. His best known music works were composed during the 1830–40s. Hek also wrote his own autobiography in German.

Literature

* Jan Jakubec: ''Dějiny literatury české'' istory of Czech Literature volume I 1929, volume II 1934. * Alois Jirásek: F.L. Věk * Ladislav Hladký (director of the museum in Dobruška): ''F. Vl. Hek (F. L. Věk)'', 1972.

External links

Museum in Dobruška: Biography of Hek
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hek, Frantisek Vladislav 1769 births 1847 deaths People from Dobruška Czech male writers Czech language activists Immigrants to the Kingdom of Saxony 18th-century writers from the Holy Roman Empire