Stredoškolské literárne dimenzie cyrilo-metodského odkazu (1862-1990)
High School Literary Dimensions of the Legacy of ss. Syril and Methodius (1862-1990)

Summary/Abstract: For 160 years, the literary education at secondary Slovak schools has reflected the Cyril-Methodian traditions in textbooks and extracts from preserved literary documents. This article describes how the work of Constantine-Cyril and Methodius has been reflected in school documents, particularly in textbooks by Emil Černý, since the first gymnasia were established in Slovakia in the so called Matica period (the second half of the 19th century). After the Czechoslovak Republic was established in 1918, the Cyril-Methodian tradition was closely linked with the official ideology of the first republic – the ideology of Czechoslovakism. At that time, literature textbooks and readers brought only very brief information about the missionary work of Cyril and Methodius. Textbooks published during the first Slovak Republic (1939 1945) provide more in-depth information regarding the work of the Thessalonian brothers. Readers published in this period include extracts from the literary heritage preserved from the Great Moravian Empire, as well as samples from research conducted after World War I. Under the new social-political conditions (1948 – 1989), when the Marxist-Leninist ideology and atheism were imposed by the government, students gained only basic information on the mission of Cyril and Methodius which was being interpreted according to the requirements of the ideology. As to the literary documents, only some of them were made available for students, particularly extracts from Moravian-Pannonian legends of from Proglas. Students only learned some facts about the missionaries which were then interpreted schematically, without the deep understanding of concrete literary documents. Rote learning of textbook facts about Cyril and Methodius caused students to be passive and not to show any interest in reading extracts from original literary works originated in the Great Moravian Empire. The current secondary education needs to overcome this schematic attitude towards the studies of the old Slovak literature, particularly its beginnings, because the values created by our ancestors are part of our heritage and present.

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