Claret

Klaret ( also Magister Bohemarius Bartholomeus de Solencia dictus Claretus, birth name Bartoloměj z Chlumce , * around 1320 in Chlumec nad Cidlinou ; † around 1370 and 1379) was a Czech writer and doctor, canon on St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague , master and scholar at Prague University .

He was one of the first students at the newly established Charles University in Prague. Master Klaret was first canon and schoolmaster (teacher) at St. Vitus Cathedral and taught the so-called Prague teaching, a preparatory course for visiting the university. He also wrote medical books, poems and scientific treatises.

He did not only write his encyclopedic works in Latin , as was customary at the time , but also used the Old Bohemian language . As was customary at the time, he used the verse form, as it was used to better absorb the knowledge of the students. Numerous scholars were involved in these encyclopedias and it is believed that Emperor Charles IV was also directly involved .

According to the historian Wesselski, Klaret took over half of his encyclopedic explanations from ancient sagas and free paraphrase Phaedra - Anonymus Neveleti from the 12th century, explanations from the Bible, as well as from common knowledge of the Middle Ages .

While his life remained in the dark, his books had a great influence on the further course of Bohemian history. They were fertile ground for Jan Hus's efforts to reform the Bohemian language and the terms and references can still be found in the literature of the 16th century.

Works

Encyclopedias

• Bohemarius (Bohemář) - 981 verse hexameters of scientific terms. Klaret only describes the nouns of 2,500 technical terms with the use of neologisms . Eight chapters explain terms relating to God, nature, people, society, church, clergy, war and profession. In conclusion, he states that he took many topics from the books of learned doctors. However, he does not list who it was.
• The Treasure of the Poor - Glossary (Poklad chudých - Glosář or Glossarius), around 1360 - 2,688 explanations in verse. It includes the terminology of the trivia and quadrivium . Expansion of the Bohemář. The book is divided into eight chapters and, in contrast to Bohemarius, also contains nouns, adjectives, pronouns and adverbs. From the beginning it was designed as a prestige object of the Claret, on which also named personalities have collaborated, including Charles IV Archbishop Arnošt z Pardubic , Olomouc Bishop Johann Očko von Wlašim , Imperial Doctor Havel ze Strahova and authors of scientific works that he wrote partially lists. However, he often used the names of famous personalities, whose books he did not use, but rather drew knowledge from the works of lesser-known authors. By naming Solina, Ambros of Milan and other famous scholars, he wanted to convey a certain quality to his book.
• Grammar - Vocabulary (Vokábulář gramatický) - textbook on specialized terminology of the seven liberal arts . All 7,000 terms are explained in Latin and Old Bohemian verses.

Scientific literature

• Medicaminarius - explains in verse the content of the book Regimen scholae Salernitanae
• Complexionarius - describes four different behaviors and their consequences.
• Astronomicus (Astronominarius) - A book in which he writes about astronomy and the influence of stars on human destinies.
• Secundus liber de naturalibus, - continuation of the Astronomicus
• Exemplarius auctorum (Vzorník autorů), 1366 - A list of human and mythical personalities. Birds, animals and things. Unfinished.

poetry

• Bird Garden (Ptačí zahrádka) - Latin poems

Other publications

• Enigmatiku - A riddle book with 153 mostly two-verse puzzles
• Ortulus phizologye (Garden of Physiology - Zahrádka fyziologie) 1365, A Physiologis, scientific book, but peppered with un- and half-truths and legends. Animals are described like the unicorn , phoenix or beings like sirens . In the chapter on lions, for example, it is reported that the lion gives birth to a stillborn child, to which the male lion breathes life on the third day (a comparison with the resurrection of Jesus ).

literature

• Václav Flajšhans : Klaret a jeho družina - Complete Works , Praha 1926
• Jana Nechutová : Claretus: Ptačí zahrádka. Brno 1991
• Bohumil Ryba : K rukopisným latinsko-českým slovníkům ostřihomským. in Listy filologické, year 75, 1951, pages 89–123.
• Pavel Spunár : Smích a pláč středověku. Prague 1987, pages 183-199: Bartoloměj z Chlumce řečený Klaret: Hádankář.
• Anežka Vidmanová - Mistr Klaret a jeho spisy. in: Listy filologické, year 103, 1980, pages 213–223 and Sestra Múza. Světská poezie latinského středověku. Praha 1990 Pages 404–417: Bartoloměj Klaret z Chlumce: Z pokladu chudých. Z Fyziologické zahrádky
• Albert Wesselski : Klaret and his glossator. Bohemian folk and monk tales in the Middle Ages. Brno-Praha-Leipzig-Vienna. 1936
• Emanuel Michálek : Česká slovní zásoba v Klaretových slovnících. Academia Praha 1989

Web links

• http://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/slavica/bohemica/klaret/frame.htm His work GLOSSARIUS De aereis et monstrosis in the original