Sorbian literature

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Sorbian literature describes the literary works of the Sorbs past and present that were written in Sorbian .

history

Bautzen citizen oath

First texts and oral tradition

The oldest surviving Sorbian text is the Bautzen citizen oath from 1532, an oath of homage in Upper Sorbian . A Sorbian literature emerged only in connection with the Reformation , which remained dependent on the Sorbian vernacular for its expansion. Until the 19th century, written and printed Sorbian literature was almost exclusively limited to religious and economic content. In 1548, Mikławš Jakubica handwritten the New Testament into Lower Sorbian . The first printed work is in the Lower Sorbian Martin Luther's hymn book in the translation of Albin Mollers (1574), in Upper Sorbian Luther's Small Catechism (1597). At the end of the 16th century the catechism translation of Upper Sorb Wenceslaus Warichius followed , at the beginning of the 17th century the Lower Sorbian catechism of Andreas Tharaeus appeared . The Thirty Years' War brought an interruption, only afterwards the translation of the New Testament by Michał Frencel followed .

In the Baroque era , a philological interest in the Sorbian language arose for the first time, which was reflected in the extensive grammatical and lexical works of Lower Sorbian Johannes Choinan and Upper Sorbs Jurij Hawštyn Swětlik and Xaver Jakub Ticin .

In addition, however, the oral tradition of Sorbian songs, fairy tales and legends was cultivated, which also entered German-language literature . Jurij Brězan (1968, 1976, 1993) and Otfried Preußler (1971) , for example, took up the subject matter of the Sorbian crab legend .

Modern Sorbian literature

Handrij Zejler , founder of modern Sorbian literature

With the development of the national feeling in the 19th century, an independent modern Sorbian literature arose, the founder of which is considered to be the upper sorbian Handrij Zejler (1804–1872). Jan Arnošt Smoler (1816–1884) and Jan Pětr Jordan (1818–1891) made important contributions to the flourishing Slavic studies with their philological work, the collection of Sorbian folk songs and their journalistic activities .

Jakub Bart-Ćišinski (1856–1909) and the Lower Sorbian poet Mina Witkojc (1893–1975) are also classics of this period . In the second half of the 19th century, a lively scientific and cultural-political activity began, which originated mainly from the Maćica Serbska association , which Zejler founded in Bautzen in 1847 to publish Sorbian works. The philologist Michał Hórnik (1833-1894) founded the Catholic newspaper Katolski Posoł and worked on the standardization of the Upper Sorbian written language. Křesćan Bohuwěr Pful (1825–1889) reformed the spelling and thus laid the foundations for the modern written Sorbian language. Hendrich Jordan pioneered the Lower Sorbian department of Maćica Serbska, which was founded in Cottbus in 1880. The Smoler'sche publishing bookstore , founded by Jan Arnošt Smoler in Bautzen in 1851 and led by Marko Smoler from 1877 onwards , made it easier to make the existence of Sorbian literature visible, among other things through its publishing activities.

The philologist Arnošt Muka (1854–1932) founded the journal Łužica in 1882 , which became the most important publication organ in Sorbian literature. Only gradually did this break away from the national-folkloric area, for example with the poetry of experiences by Jakub Bart-Ćišinski and Jan Skala (1889–1945), who took up social motives for the first time. Folk village stories and variations on historical-romantic material continued to dominate the prose, such as Jakub Lorenc-Zalěski (1874–1939) and Marja Kubašec (1890–1976). The only exception are the humorous, realistic travel reports by Měrćin Nowak-Njechorński (1900–1990). The dramatic products were intended almost exclusively for amateur stages.

During the time of National Socialism , the Sorbian language and culture was suppressed, and written statements were even banned from 1937. Writers like Marjana Domaškojc composed illegal poetry and allowed democratic Sorbian literature to live on. During the GDR era , Sorbian literature was once again strongly promoted, but above all in the sense of “building socialism”. From the 1970s onwards there were modernization tendencies in the monthly literary magazine Rozhlad , founded in 1950, and its spectrum has expanded again since the fall of the Wall. The now privatized and the Domowina independent Domowina publishing has opened in 1991 in Bautzen its own bookstore and Smoler'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung called. The historical name provides a reference to the visualization of the entire Sorbian literature.

Representatives of contemporary Sorbian literature include Jurij Brězan , Kito Lorenc , Jurij Koch , Angela Stachowa , Róža Domašcyna , Jan Cyž , Marja Krawcec and Marja Młynkowa .

Selection of Sorbian literature

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literature

  • Petr Malink: The Sorbian Literature. 2 volumes, Bautzen 1958-59.
  • Elisabeth Pribič-Nonnenmacher: The literature of the Sorbs. In: Kindlers Literatur Lexikon im dtv in 24 volumes. , Volume 2, Munich 1974, ISBN 3-423-03142-5 , p. 402.
  • Jürgen Joachimsthaler: "Wendish" fairy tales and Sorbian literature . In: ders .: Text margins. The cultural diversity of Central Europe as a problem of representation of German literature . Winter, Heidelberg 2011, Vol. 1, pp. 323-483, ISBN 978-3-8253-5919-5

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Smolerjec kniharnja / Smolerʼsche Verlagbuchhandlung in Bautzen. Domowina-Verlag, accessed on May 3, 2020 .

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