The Czech specialists of theory of literature distinguish a few terms referring to Gothic fiction: gotický román, hruzostrašný román, román hruzy, cerný román, krvavý román (krvák, krvas). The existence of so many names of this genre results from the adaptation of various terms belonging to different (national) literary traditions, for example gotický román is a translation of an English term The Gothic novel; román hruzy derives from the German word Schauerroman, whereas černý román is a translation of a French expression roman nor. Krvavý román was popularized by Josef Váchal, who in his work not only attempted to show the prototype of the “bloody novel”, but also presented his own opinion concerning the position of this genre in Czech literature. The writer believes that krvavý román derives from the traditional Medieval tales of knights, as well as from the 16th century court tales, particularly those referring to the history of papal court. The author of the article decided to describe the development of this particular type of Gothic fiction, seeing the roots of the Czech Gothic novel in low literature, composed to entertain the common people, particularly via picaresque stories and tales about brigands.
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