GRZESZNE KOBIETY I KOBIECE GRZECHY W ŚWIECIE CZESKIEJ PIEŚNI KRAMARSKIEJ
SINFUL WOMEN AND WOMEN’S SINS IN THE WORLDVIEW OF CZECH BROADSIDE BALLADS

Summary/Abstract: Written and distributed by men, Czech broadside ballads (kramářske písně) and the worldview promoted within were inherently conservative and patriarchal. Nevertheless, most of their readers and recipients, were women – housewives, mothers or young girls preparing for those social functions. Broadside ballads played an important role in creating and perpetuating family models and patterns of behaviour. Their protagonists were shown as modest role models or – on the contrary – as sinful anti-models, contesting the proper social and religious order. The sinful women of Czech broadside ballads are those breaking social and sexual taboos, mainly by mocking the sanctity of motherhood and marriage. The other kind of sins are those aimed directly at Catholic religion. According to the magical and religious worldview of such ballads, the sinners receive just punishment, often imposed by supernatural powers or forces of nature.

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