EN
The article deals with the origins of the much discussed travelling motive, made popular by B. Smetana, who used it in his opera Hubička (1874). As a lullaby, this motive appears in the Bohemian collections of folkloric songs, and in the 17th–19th century Christmas pastorellas. Recent research revealed its existence also in the Austrian and South-German folklore, as well as in the (mainly pastoral) works by other composers, such as J. S. Bach, M. Haydn, or W. A. Mozart. The search for its origins lead back to the late medieval Christmas antiphon Resonet in laudibus, known as contrafactum Joseph lieber, Joseph mein. The existence of a Bohemian contrafactum, Publisher in the 17th century Czech Catholic hymn-books, (such as J. Hlohovský, F. Bridel, or M. V. Šteyer), and relating to the cantio Magnum nomen Domini , found in the important 15th and 16th century sources, (among others the Jistebnice Gradual, and the Franus Hymn-book), as well as to the earlier xantip Ecce nomen Domini, helped to add substantially to the picture of the origins and reception of the motive, which appears in the music of several centuries, and links together music history, hymnography and ethnomusicology.