Jan Blahoslav (20 February 1523 – 24 November 1571) 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 *Czech (surnam ...

humanistic Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

writer, poet, translator, etymologist, hymnographer, grammarian, music theorist and composer. He was a Unity of the Brethren bishop, and translated the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

into

in 1564. This was incorporated into the Bible of Kralice.

Life

Blahoslav was born in

Přerov Přerov (; ) is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 41,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Bečva River. In the past it was a major crossroad in the heart of Moravia in the Czech Republic. The historic city centre is we ...

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

. He studied theory under Listenius and Hermann Finck at

University of Wittenberg Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...

from 1544. At Wittenberg he became acquainted with

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

, and he was also acquainted with

Philipp Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, an intellectual leader of the ...

. After a short period at

Mladá Boleslav Mladá Boleslav (; ) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 47,000 inhabitants. It lies on the left bank of the Jizera (river), Jizera River. Mladá Boleslav is the second most populated city in the region. I ...

(1548–9) he continued his education at Königsberg and Basle. He was a linguist who strove to preserve the purity of his native tongue and succeeded in bridging the gulf between Christianity and humanism. He was ordained at Mladá Boleslav in 1553, and became a bishop of the Fraternity of Czech (or Moravian) Brethren in 1557. In the following year he established himself at

Ivančice Ivančice (; ) is a town in Brno-Country District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,900 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zone ...

, where before long he installed a printing press. Towards the end of his life he moved to

Moravský Krumlov Moravský Krumlov (; ) is a town in Znojmo District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,700 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone. Administrative divisi ...

, where he died, aged 48. Blahoslav was the editor of the 1561 Czech-language hymnal of the Unity, a hymnal which was reprinted and revised at least 10 times over the next 50 years. His ''Muzika'' (1558) -- a "theoretical instruction book for the singing of hymns"—has been called "the first book in Czech presenting the theory of music and singing."Ríčán, Rudolf, ''The History of the Unity of the Brethren'', translated by C. Daniel Crews, Bethlehem, PA and Winston-Salem, NC, Moravian Church in America, 1992, p. 220. Blahoslav's work influenced Jan Amos Komenský.

Works

* ''O původu Jednoty'' – Rules of Unity * ''Filipika proti misomusům'' * ''Gramatika česká'' – Czech Grammar * ''Bratrský archiv'' * ''Naučení mládencům'' * ''Akta Jednoty bratrské'' – Rules of the Unity of the Brethren * ''Rejstřík skladatelů bratrských písní''

Works on music

* ''Muzika'' (

Olomouc Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region. Located on the Morava (rive ...

, 1558) – On Music * ''Šamotulský kancionál'' (1561) – Cantionale * ''Věčný králi, pane náš'' – Song published in ''Staročeské hymny a písně'' (Old Czech Hymns and Songs) (1940)

Bibliography

* Brown, Marshall T., ''Jan Blahoslav: Sixteenth-Century Moravian Reformer'', Edinburgh, The Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 544, January 2009, pp. 1–9. *

References

External links