Václav Hanka Facts for Kids

Václav Hanka (also known as Wenceslaus Hanka) was a Czech expert in languages and old texts, called a philologist. He was born on June 10, 1791, and passed away on January 12, 1861. Hanka is famous for his work with old Czech writings and for helping to bring back interest in the Czech language.

Early Life and Studies
The Famous Manuscripts
Honors and Later Career
Main Works
Images for kids
See also

Early Life and Studies

Václav Hanka was born in a small town called Hořiněves, close to Hradec Králové. In 1807, he went to school in Hradec Králové. This helped him avoid being forced to join the army. Later, he went to the University of Prague. There, he helped start a group focused on improving the Czech language.

Hanka then studied law in Vienna. While there, he also started a Czech newspaper. In 1813, he met Josef Dobrovský, who was a very important language expert.

The Famous Manuscripts

On September 16, 1817, Hanka announced something exciting. He said he had found old Czech poems from the 1200s and 1300s. He claimed to have found them in a church tower in Dvůr Králové nad Labem. Later, he said he found more old writings at Zelená Hora Castle.

These writings, known as the Manuscripts of Dvůr Králové and Zelená Hora, were shared with everyone in 1818. They even had a German translation. Hanka gave the original papers to the new National Museum in Prague. He became the museum's librarian that same year.

However, many people wondered if the manuscripts were real. Josef Dobrovský, the expert Hanka knew, thought one of the papers was clearly fake. This made people even more suspicious. Later, Dobrovský changed his mind a bit. But today, most Czech experts believe the manuscripts were not truly old. An English version, The Manuscript of the Queen's Court, was made in 1852.

Honors and Later Career

In 1846, Hanka worked on the Reims Gospel. He made this important old book available for everyone to see. For this work, he received an award from Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. He also got a special ring from Emperor Ferdinand I.

In 1848, Hanka was very active in Czech national movements. He strongly believed in pan-Slavism, which was about all Slavic people working together. He joined the Prague Slavic Congress, 1848 and other peaceful events. He also started a political group called Slovanská lípa [cs] (which means "Slavic Linden").

Hanka was chosen to be part of the Imperial Diet in Vienna, which was like a parliament. But he decided not to take his seat. In late 1848, he became a lecturer at the University of Prague. By 1849, he was a professor of Slavonic languages there.

Václav Hanka passed away in Prague on January 12, 1861.

Main Works

Here are some of the important works and books Hanka helped create:

Hankowy Pjsne (Prague, 1815) – a book of his own poems.
Starobyla Skiadani (1817–1826) – a five-volume collection of old Bohemian poems. Many of these came from papers that had not been published before.
A Short History of the Slavonic Peoples (1818).
A Bohemian Grammar (1822) – a book about the rules of the Czech language.
A Polish Grammar (1839) – a book about the rules of the Polish language. These two grammar books followed ideas from Josef Dobrovský.
Igor (1821) – an old Russian epic story, which Hanka translated into Bohemian.
A part of the Gospels from the Reims manuscript (1846) – written in the old Glagolitic alphabet.
The old Bohemian Chronicles of Delimit (1848).
History of Charles IV (1848) – by Procop Luph.
Evangelium Ostromis (1853).
Hanka also wrote the song Moravo, Moravo!. This song is sometimes used as a Moravian national anthem.