Slovo a Smysl (Nov 2017)
Roráte karlo-arnoštské Kapitola z historie českých obrozenských mystifikací
Abstract
One of the most significant changes in the manner of reproduction, distribution, usage and interpretation of Czech Rorate chants took place in the 1830s and 1840s. It was then that Czech catholic priest Václav Michael Pešina (1782–1859) provided an interpretation of early modern Czech utraquist liturgical Rorate chants (which were newly available in the edition published in 1823 by Jan Hostivít Pospíšil) as Charles-Ernest Rorate, i.e. as old Czech chants of an advent worship for people, which, according to Pešina, were introduced into St. Vitus Cathedral and other Czech churches by Archbishop Ernest of Pardubice with the support of Charles IV. Pešina also put into effect new ways in which Czech Rorate chants were reproduced and distributed, and initiated their introduction into Czech catholic churches, including the Prague cathedral, as revived Old Czech morning advent catholic worship for the people. In this paper, we analyze the strategies which were used to assert the interpretation of Czech Rorate chants, such as the Charles-Ernest Rorate, in the Czech cultural domain, as well as the strategies which led to the Rorate from the year 1823 being determined as the primary source. We also focus on the demystifying processes which resulted in the rejection of the concept of the Charles-Ernest Rorate, and in the virtually complete erasure of Pešina’s person from the Czech collective memory. Attention is also paid to the identity- and culture-forming function of this Revivalist mystification and its potential to become a valuable analytic tool for the modern-day Czech society.
