LOMNICK^'S SMALLER POEMS

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siderable number of religious poems from the pen of Lomnicky have also been preserved, mostly in MS. only. They are written from the Roman Catholic standpoint, which the author generally recognised, though he seems at the time of the coronation of Frederick of the Palatinate to have developed a sudden zeal for communion in the two kinds, I have already mentioned that in my opinion the minor works of Lomnicky possess far greater value than his more extensive works. Of such poems the song in celebration of the marriage of Joachim Ulrick, Lord of Hradec, and the recently printed Epithalamium on the marriage of William, Lord Stavata of Chlum, to the noble Lady Lucy of Hradec, have great interest. The last-named song contains a good deal of coarse wit, and offensive allusions to members of the Bohemian nobility who were present at the wedding. The recent editor of this curious poem remarks, that on this occasion the only remuneration which Lomnicky deserved from his noble patrons was a sound thrashing ! It must not, however, be forgotten that Lomnicky held somewhat the position of a licensed buffoon in the houses of the great Bohemian nobles. Very different from this and similar writings of Lomnicky is the burial-song which he wrote on the occasion of the death of his principal patron, Lord Peter Vok of Rosenberg,^ in 1611, and which, it is said, he recited when walking in the funeral procession. It is characteristic of the enigmatic nature of Rosenberg that, though perhaps not generally popular, he should yet have inspired with a sincere feeling of affection not only men such as Bfezan, but even so thoroughly egotistical and un1

See Chapter

VI.