International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Markéta Kulhánková
Masaryk University, Faculty of Arts, Department of Classical Studies, Brno, Czech Republic; 
[e-mail]
Translating Byzantine Literature into Czech: Development, Approaches, Trends
The beginnings of translating Byzantine literature in the western Slavonic milieu were 
connected with the splendid activity of Constantine-Cyril and Methodius and the early stages of 
Slavonic literature. Byzantine text were translated in the Southern Slavonic region even after the 
adoption of Catholicism by the rulers of Great Moravia and the expulsion of Constantine’s and 
Methodius’ disciples, even though the contacts of the Czech (that is Bohemian and Moravian) lands 
with Byzantine culture were limited to a couple of short episodes, which eventually had no impact 
on the development of the Czech culture. Thus, the “second act” of translating Byzantine literature 
in the Czech milieu begun more than 1000 years later, at the end of the 19
th
century, with a never 
published translation of Procopius and other early Byzantine historiographers.
Translations from such remote both geographically and chronologically cultures as Byzantium 
remain somewhat underestimated in modern Czech. And yet their importance should increase 
in the light of the diminishing knowledge of Greek and Latin and growing interest in studying 
inter-cultural topics and relations. Moreover, an awareness of the history of translation and various 
techniques of translating could significantly contribute to the potential success of the publications.
In my communication, I will briefly present the history of translation of Byzantine literature 
from its rather modest beginnings during the first decades of the 20
th
century, through the “Golden 

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Age” of translating Classical and, to a smaller extent, Byzantine texts after the 2
nd
World War, this is 
when high quality translations had been published and disseminated in many copies, until the decline 
of this field around the turn of the millennium. I will also discuss the modern trends in translating 
Byzantine texts into Czech. I will attempt to examine some social, political and academic influences, 
which could influence translation work in a more general way, and I will suggest some approaches to 
translating Byzantine literature, which could be perhaps applicable also in other countries.
The presentation comprises a part of the project “Research Network ‘The receptions of Byzantium. 
Towards the new field of reception studies’, funded by Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.”

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