Catherine Servant

Une « année en sept » dans l’histoire tchèque : 1817 et la découverte du Manuscrit de Dvůr Králové

• 1817 and the discovery of the Czech Manuscript of Dvůr Králové
• Famous in the Czech lands and in the Czech Republic until now, less generally known in Europe, the Czech Manuscripts of Dvůr Králové and Zelená Hora were “discovered”, so to speak, at the end of the 1810s, containing ancient lyrical and epic poems allegedly written in old Czech, and dated, according to the first estimations, from the 9-10th and 12-13th centuries. The Manuscripts acquired a leading position in the set of myths and stereotypes supporting the national discourse all through the 19th century and quickly became an indisputable part of the literary, historical and symbolic patrimony of the Czech nation, experiencing at that time, like many others, its awakening in the centre of the Habsburg monarchy. They gave a decisive impulsion to Czech creativity in all the intellectual fields – with some very detrimental consequences, especially in sciences. Their authenticity was disputed from the very beginning, but every opponent had to face the same implacable resistance from the patriotic society. The public denunciation finally occurred in the middle of the 1880s. Defying a large part of the Czech cultural community and a fervent public sentiment, a team of new scientists of “realistic” orientation under the leadership of Tomas Garrigue Masaryk proved the Manuscripts to have been forged rather than discovered in 1817 and 1818 by some enthusiastic awakeners. This conflict opened the first serious national crisis of the end of the 19th century, leading to a real interrogation about the meaning and the future of the Czech national movement. This contribution focuses mainly on the first glorious and critical moments following the “discovery” of 1817-1818, wondering – at the other end of the chronological spectrum – what kind of bicentenary celebrations the Manuscripts still arouse in the very beginning of 21th century.