Slovak literature
Encyclopedia
Middle Ages
The first monuments of literature in present-day Slovakia are from the time of Great MoraviaGreat Moravia
Great Moravia was a Slavic state that existed in Central Europe and lasted for nearly seventy years in the 9th century whose creators were the ancestors of the Czechs and Slovaks. It was a vassal state of the Germanic Frankish kingdom and paid an annual tribute to it. There is some controversy as...
(from 863 to the early 10th century). Authors from this period are Saint Cyril
Saints Cyril and Methodius
Saints Cyril and Methodius were two Byzantine Greek brothers born in Thessaloniki in the 9th century. They became missionaries of Christianity among the Slavic peoples of Bulgaria, Great Moravia and Pannonia. Through their work they influenced the cultural development of all Slavs, for which they...
, Saint Methodius and Clement of Ohrid
Clement of Ohrid
Saint Clement of Ohrid was a medieval Bulgarian saint, scholar, writer and enlightener of the Slavs. He was the most prominent disciple of Saints Cyril and Methodius and is often associated with the creation of the Glagolitic and Cyrillic alphabets, especially their popularisation among...
. Works from this period, mostly written on Christian topics include: poem Proglas
Proglas
Proglas is the foreword to the Old Church Slavonic translation of the four Gospels. It was written by Saint Cyril in 863-867 in Great Moravia...
as a foreword to the four Gospels, partial translations of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
into Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Church Slavic was the first literary Slavic language, first developed by the 9th century Byzantine Greek missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius who were credited with standardizing the language and using it for translating the Bible and other Ancient Greek...
, Zakon sudnyj ljudem, etc.
The medieval period covers the span from the 11th to the 15th century. Literature in this period was written in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, Czech and slovakized Czech languages. Lyric (prayers, songs and formulas) was still controlled by the Church, while epic was concentrated on legends. Authors from this period include Johannes de Thurocz
Johannes de Thurocz
Johannes de Thurocz , was a Hungarian historian in the Kingdom of Hungary, and is the author of Chronicle of the Hungarians , the most extensive 15th century work on Hungary, and the first chronicle on Hungary written by a layman.-Life:Thurocz's parents came from Turóc county , Upper Hungary...
, author of the Chronica Hungarorum
Chronica Hungarorum
Chronica Hungarorum is the title of several works treating the early Hungarian history.-Chronicon Pictum:...
and Maurus
Maurus
Maurus is a Latin given name. It can refer to:*The inhabitants of ancient MauretaniaPersons:* Saint Maurus of Parentium the first bishop of Parentium and the patron saint of Poreč....
. The worldly literature also emerged and chronicles were written in this period.
1500-1650
The character of a national literature first emerged in the 16th century, much later than in other national literatures. Latin dominates as the writing language in the 16th century. Besides the Church topics, antique topics, related to the ancient Greece and Rome.1780-1823
Slovak Classicism was part of the larger European neo-Classicist movement of the EnlightenmentAge of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
. The rise of nationalism in the aftermath of the French Revolution gave rise to a literature of national revival. Until the mid nineteenth century, Slovak was generally written in the form of Czech, with various degrees of Slovakization. Anton Bernolák
Anton Bernolák
Anton Bernolák Anton Bernolák Anton Bernolák (1 October 1762 in Slanica (a now inundated village near Námestovo – 15 January 1813 in Nové Zámky) was a Slovak linguist and Catholic priest and the author of the first Slovak language standard.-Life:...
's Gramatica Slavika used a West Slovak dialect as the standard written form, a transitional step to modern literary Slovak, but ultimately a failure. Even so, significant works were published using Bernolák's standards, beginning with Juraj Fándly
Juraj Fándly
- Life :He was born in Častá, Kingdom of Hungary into a craftsman-farmer's family. His father died soon after his birth, and mother moved to the neighbouring village of Doľany, where he also visited elementary school. He later studied at a Piarist gymnasium in Svätý Jur, later studied theology in...
's 1879 Dúverná zmlúva medzi mňíchom a ďáblom (An intimate treaty between the monk and the Devil). Lutherean Slovaks like Augustin Dolezal, Juraj Palkovič and Pavel Jozef Šafárik
Pavel Jozef Šafárik
Pavol Jozef Šafárik Pavol Jozef Šafárik (Safáry / Schaffáry/ Schafary/ Saf(f)arik / Šafarík/ Szafarzik, Czech Pavel Josef Šafařík, German Paul Joseph Schaffarik, Serbian Павле Јосиф Шафарик, Latin Paulus Josephus Schaffarik, Hungarian Pál József Saf(f)arik) Pavol Jozef Šafárik (Safáry /...
tended to prefer a common Czech-Slovak identity and language.
Pan-Slavic unity served as the template for many poems of this period. Ján Kollár
Ján Kollár
Ján Kollár was a Slovak writer , archaeologist, scientist, politician, and main ideologist of Pan-Slavism.- Life :...
's collection of 150 poems, Slávy Dcera
Slávy Dcera
Slávy Dcera is the greatest work of Slovak poet Ján Kollár, consisting of 5 parts.In this work he worked out the conception of Slavic reciprocity. He expressed his feelings to a woman but this love had transformed to a love to his homeland. The main tematics of this work are:•love•patriotismIt is...
, glorifies pan-Slavic ideals in three cantos named after the Sala, Elbe and Danube. Jan Holly
Ján Hollý
Ján Hollý was a Slovak poet and translator. He was the first greater Slovak poet to write exclusively in the newly standardized literary Slovak language. His predecessors mostly wrote in various regional versions of Czech, Slovakized Czech or Latin...
's epic poem Svätopluk, published in 1833, serves as the most significant text of the period.
1918-1945
As a result of the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and subsequent establishment of CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, the sociolinguistic pressures of Magyarization
Magyarization
Magyarization is a kind of assimilation or acculturation, a process by which non-Magyar elements came to adopt Magyar culture and language due to social pressure .Defiance or appeals to the Nationalities Law, met...
disappeared. During the interwar period, the preeminence of poetry gave way to prose. Milo Urban
Milo Urban
Milo Urban was Slovak writer, translator, journalist and important representatives of modern Slovak literature...
's 1927 work Živý bič (The Living Whip) and Jozef Cíger-Hronský
Jozef Cíger-Hronský
Jozef Cíger-Hronský was a Slovak writer, teacher, publicist, later secretary and manager of the Matica slovenská.-Life:...
's 1933 novel Jozef Mak both focused on the village, and the nature of change.
During the turbulent years of the Slovak Republic and reestablishment of Czechoslovakia, two separate literary movements dominated, the lyrical prose of Hronský, Ľudo Ondrejov
Ludo Ondrejov
Ľudo Ondrejov was a Slovak poet and prose writer.- Biography :...
and Margita Figuli
Margita Figuli
Margita Figuli was a Slovak prose writer, translator and author of literature for children and young people.-Biography:...
, and the Slovak surrealists.