EARLY BOHEMIAN LEGENDS

9

" Beautiful is the court of heaven — Happy he who enters there— Into eternal life — And the clear light — Of the Holy Ghost — Kyrie Eleison. " Thy help we implore — Have mercy on us — Comfort the mournful

— Deliver

— Kyrie Eleison."

us from all evil — Holy Venceslas

Many further strophes were added to this hymn when it became famous. During the Hussite wars it was the favourite war-song of the "lords sub una" ( = Catholics), while the utraquists or Hussites sang the famous " All ye warriors of God." 1 Among the very ancient documents written in the Bohemian language are a considerable number of missals, psalm-books, and translations of portions of the Holy Scriptures, which, though of great archaeological and historical interest, hardly require notice in an account of Bohemian literature. Undeniable literary value, on the other hand, belongs to some of the many early Bohemian legends that have been preserved. Some have been known since the beginning of the revival of Bohemian literature, while others have been discovered quite recently, sometimes in parish churches or the libraries of remote monasteries. Such discoveries indeed continue up to the present day. A considerable number of these legends (with a few small writings of a more secular character) are contained in two collections, known respectively as the manuscripts of Koniggratz and of St. Vitus, the cathedral church of Prague.^ Many of these legends are very similar in character, ' See Chapter IV. ^

Both manuscripts Adolphus Patera.

have recently

been edited

and

published

by

Mr.