„Slyšme jeden strašlivý příběh“
„Let us hear a terrible tale‘‘

On 17th and 18th century exempla, particularly in Czech postils

Summary/Abstract: This study refers to the current neglect over research into early modern exempla. Exempla have an unclear genological underpinning (some researchers tend towards the view that they do make up a genre, while others see them more as a literary procedure), while in Bohemia they lack specific catalogues. Studies of period terminology and practice indicate how exempla were perceived in 17th and 18th century homiletic literature and the extent to which preachers might be influenced by their rhetorical rules. It indicates the differences between the use of exempla among preachers upholding traditional rhetorical practice (eloquentia antiqua) and those employing new rhetoric (eloquentia nova). While the former (e.g. Matěj Václav Štajer) had to adapt the entire structure of their preaching in order to incorporate a frequently extensive section of inserted narratives, the latter (e.g. Bohumír Hynek Josef Bilovský and Fabián Veselý) incorporated exempla directly into expository passages in various ways (using them as expository material, removing the compositional seams, inserting their own commentaries, compositionally dividing selected exempla and so forth). The author concludes by considering the reasons for the disappearance of exempla after the middle of the 18th century. As an example of the interpretational possibilities he adds the use of the same narrative by three preachers and points out the varied nature of the issues which the quest for the usage origins of specific exempla might raise.

• Details
• Contents