This article examines parody in medieval literature and in folk literature and culture up to the 19th century. It analyses sacred parody (Bible parody), its significant aspects and role in literature and culture. The study focuses primarily on Cena Cypriani and Mesiáš přišel na svět pravdivý [The True Messiah Has Come into the World]. The Cena Cypriani is an anonymous prose work written in Latin. The text was probably written around 400 and tells the story of a banquet held at Cana in Galilee, where a king invites many biblical figures to attend a wedding. The song Mesiáš přišel na svět pravdivý is written in Czech, comes from the 18th century and narrates the story of a wedding feast at Cana. This article examines the origin of the song Mesiáš přišel na svět pravdivý and its dissemination throughout central Europe (in Slavic literatures, primarily in Polish).
The major function of the dream book as a genre is the evaluation of entities as “good” or “bad”, which is also the basis for the interpretation of dream images. Therefore, on the basis of dream books, it is possible to reconstruct the values of folk culture. The relevant texts are of the following type: eggs mean gossip, lice mean money, a ring – a wedding, in which the first element is a dream image and the second is its explanation. The two elements together constitute the frame of the genre “If one dreams of X, in reality Y will happen”. Values are connected with explanations (Y), but evaluation in the dream book is also found in the images themselves. Generally speaking, what is young, light, clear, complete, healthy is explained as signifying life, health, youth, wealth, good harvest, harmony or happiness. On the other hand, what is dead, old, dark, dirty, incomplete, ill is explained as something bad, in particular death, illness, old age, poverty, bad harvest, quarrel, unhappiness or sorrow. The most important values for the folk dream interpreter are practical ones, connected with basic human needs, therefore the center of the folk world is life and its protection.
JavaScript is turned off in your web browser. Turn it on to take full advantage of this site, then refresh the page.