Four Czech hymnbooks of the Habrovany Brethren from the first half of the sixteenth century
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| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Requested lectures |
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| Description | Four Czech hymnbooks of the Habrovany Brethern from the first half of the sixteenth century At the beginning of 1528, in the Moravian village of Routka, followers of Reformation ideas, especially the teachings of Ulrich Zwingli, founded their own religious community. The unity leader Jan Dubčanský initiated the establishment of a local printing house which also published, probably between 1530 and 1537, four hymnbooks, which altogether contained over 300 hymns. Most of the hymns were taken from older Utraquist and Brethren hymnbooks, nevertheless around sixty hymns can be found only in the Habrovany editions. In my contribution I will present the Habrovany hymnbooks as a proof of unique, regional Moravian tradition in the period of the Humanism and Renaissance and its extraordinary national, religious, opinion and literary-esthetic diversity. I will introduce the editorial strategies of the publishers, motivated by the desire to create a multifunctional publication, especially handbook for collective singing during a liturgy, the guide for the religious life of an individual and tool of promotion and defense of the newly established religious group. Attention will also be paid to modifications of older songs, mostly because of different beliefs or aesthetic reasons. The Habrovany hymnbooks will be presented as a remarkable example of the intertwining of the global European Reformation tradition and local movements, e.g. Hussite and Czech Brethern. |
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