Karel Sabina
Encyclopedia
Karel Sabina (29 December 1813 – 8 November 1877) was a Czech writer
and journalist
.
and law
at a university, but did not graduate. In 1848
he became one of the leaders of the Czech radical democrats, the founder of a secret radical political circle "Repeal" (whose name was inspired by Irish
revolutionaries) , a member of the National Committee and the Czech congress. He wrote articles (several of which were censored
) to many magazines during this period.
In 1849 he was arrested for taking part in the "May Coup" (a plan to make an uprising, inspired by Bakunin
, then present in Prague ) and in 1851 sentenced to death
together with 24 other men; but these sentences were changed by the Emperor
to 18 years in the Olomouc
prison; in 1857 he was released, following the Emperor's general amnesty
of May 8. He came back to Prague
and lived as a freelance writer.
In 1870 the newspaper
Vaterland published a letter which indirectly said that Sabina was a police informant
. Sabina won a trial against the newspaper, but in 1872, in an unofficial trial, a jury of eight Czech prominents (including Jan Neruda
and Vítězslav Hálek
) found him guilty of being an informant and he, unable to find exile
abroad, was forced to live in hiding in Prague. He denied the accusations, but now it was taken for proved that he really was a police agent from 1859 . The reason is not quite clear; it was probably a combination of delusion after the unsuccessful revolution and his extreme poverty . He became an outcast - his books were no longer sold, on posters (such as the one for the Prodaná nevěsta
- whose libretto
was seen by some people as Sabina's refutation of the accusations until Miroslav Ivanov
's investigation in 1971 published in Ivanov's book Labyrint proved them incorrect) his name was replaced by his initials, and he risked physical attacks whenever he appeared on the streets. However, he continued to write under pen names, some of which are unknown today, thus disabling the historians to make Sabina's bibliography
of articles complete. Sabina died in poverty and scorn in 1877. The report of his death gives "exhaustion" as the cause .
in the last two, replacing Karel Havlíček Borovský
in both of them).
by Ivan Wernisch
.
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
.
Life
He grew up in poverty as an extramarital child of a daughter of a sugar producing factory's director in the family of a bricklayer and a washerwoman. He claimed he was an illegitimate son of a Polish noble. He studied philosophyPhilosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
at a university, but did not graduate. In 1848
Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas
From March 1848 through July 1849, the Habsburg Austrian Empire was threatened by revolutionary movements. Much of the revolutionary activity was of a nationalist character: the empire, ruled from Vienna, included Austrian Germans, Hungarians, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Ruthenians,...
he became one of the leaders of the Czech radical democrats, the founder of a secret radical political circle "Repeal" (whose name was inspired by Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
revolutionaries) , a member of the National Committee and the Czech congress. He wrote articles (several of which were censored
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
) to many magazines during this period.
In 1849 he was arrested for taking part in the "May Coup" (a plan to make an uprising, inspired by Bakunin
Mikhail Bakunin
Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin was a well-known Russian revolutionary and theorist of collectivist anarchism. He has also often been called the father of anarchist theory in general. Bakunin grew up near Moscow, where he moved to study philosophy and began to read the French Encyclopedists,...
, then present in Prague ) and in 1851 sentenced to death
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
together with 24 other men; but these sentences were changed by the Emperor
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...
to 18 years in the Olomouc
Olomouc
Olomouc is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. The city is located on the Morava river and is the ecclesiastical metropolis and historical capital city of Moravia. Nowadays, it is an administrative centre of the Olomouc Region and sixth largest city in the Czech Republic...
prison; in 1857 he was released, following the Emperor's general amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
of May 8. He came back to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and lived as a freelance writer.
In 1870 the newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
Vaterland published a letter which indirectly said that Sabina was a police informant
Informant
An informant is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential or criminal informants , and can often refer pejoratively to the supply of information...
. Sabina won a trial against the newspaper, but in 1872, in an unofficial trial, a jury of eight Czech prominents (including Jan Neruda
Jan Neruda
Jan Nepomuk Neruda was a Czech journalist, writer and poet, one of the most prominent representatives of Czech Realism and a member of "the May school".-Early life:...
and Vítězslav Hálek
Vítezslav Hálek
Vítězslav Hálek was a Czech poet, writer, journalist, dramatist and theatre critic. He is considered one of the most important representatives of the May school, besides Jan Neruda and Karolína Světlá.- Life :...
) found him guilty of being an informant and he, unable to find exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
abroad, was forced to live in hiding in Prague. He denied the accusations, but now it was taken for proved that he really was a police agent from 1859 . The reason is not quite clear; it was probably a combination of delusion after the unsuccessful revolution and his extreme poverty . He became an outcast - his books were no longer sold, on posters (such as the one for the Prodaná nevěsta
The Bartered Bride
The Bartered Bride is a comic opera in three acts by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana, to a libretto by Karel Sabina. The opera is considered to have made a major contribution towards the development of Czech music. It was composed during the period 1863–66, and first performed at the...
- whose libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
was seen by some people as Sabina's refutation of the accusations until Miroslav Ivanov
Miroslav Ivanov
Miroslav Ivanov was popular Czech nonfiction writer.His father was executed during Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia. Ivanov studied history and Czech language at the Charles University in Prague. He then worked at the university for seven years. In 1960 he started work as a journalist and then...
's investigation in 1971 published in Ivanov's book Labyrint proved them incorrect) his name was replaced by his initials, and he risked physical attacks whenever he appeared on the streets. However, he continued to write under pen names, some of which are unknown today, thus disabling the historians to make Sabina's bibliography
Bibliography
Bibliography , as a practice, is the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology...
of articles complete. Sabina died in poverty and scorn in 1877. The report of his death gives "exhaustion" as the cause .
Selected works
As a journalist, he wrote mainly for Květy, Moravský Týdenník, Humorist, Lípa, Pražské noviny and Wčela (he was an editorEditing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
in the last two, replacing Karel Havlíček Borovský
Karel Havlícek Borovský
Karel Havlíček Borovský was a Czech writer, poet, critic, politician, journalist, and publisher. He lived and studied at the Gymnasium in Německý Brod , and his house on the main square is today the Havlíček Museum...
in both of them).
Novels
- Hrobník (1837), Sexton
- Blouznění (1857), Rapture
- Hedvika (1858), HedwigHedwigHedwig is a German female given name. The name originates from Old High German Hadwig, Haduwig . Hedy is an Anglicised diminutive of the name...
- Jen tři léta! (1860), Three years only!
- Na poušti (1863), In the desert
- Oživené hroby (1870), Enlivened Graves, inspired by his imprisonment, his best novel
- Morana čili Svět a jeho nicoty (1874), MoranaMarzannaMaržanna, Mara, Maržena, Morana, Moréna, Mora, Marmora or Morena is a Slavic goddess associated with death, winter and nightmares. Some sources equate her with the Latvian goddess Māra, who takes a person's body after their death...
or The World and its Nothingnesses
Plays
- Černá růže, The Black Rose
- Inzerát, Advertisement
- Šašek Jiřího z Poděbrad, Jester of Jiří z Poděbrad
- Maloměstské klepny, Smalltown Gossipmongers
Tales
- Obrazy ze 14. a 15. věku (1844), Tales from the 14th and the 15th century
- Povídky, pověsti, obrazy a novely (1845), Stories, legends, tales and novellas
Librettos
- Prodaná nevěsta, by Bedřich SmetanaBedrich SmetanaBedřich Smetana was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style which became closely identified with his country's aspirations to independent statehood. He is thus widely regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music...
- Braniboři v Čechách, by Bedřich Smetana
- Starý ženich, by Karel BendlKarel BendlKarel or Karl Bendl was a Czech composer.He studied at the organ school, where he met and befriended Antonín Dvořák one year before graduating with honors in 1858. By then he had already composed a number of small choral works...
- V studni, by Vilém BlodekVilém BlodekVilém Blodek was a Czech composer, flautist, and pianist.- Biography :Blodek was born into a poor family and was educated at a German Piarist school in Prague...
Others
- Básně (1841), Poems
- Úvod povahopisný (1845), Introducition to a temperament - a very important book, being the very first study on Karel Hynek MáchaKarel Hynek MáchaKarel Hynek Mácha was a Czech romantic poet.- Biography :Mácha grew up in Prague, the son of a foreman at a mill. He learned Latin and German in school...
, who was Sabina's friend. This book recognised and illustrated Mácha's importance and genius. - Duchovní komunismus (1861), Spiritual CommunismCommunismCommunism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
- about everyone's right for educationEducationEducation in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts... - Dějiny literatury československé, The History of the Czechoslovakian Literature
Sabina in popular culture
Karel Sabina is mentioned in several poems in proseProse poetry
Prose poetry is poetry written in prose instead of using verse but preserving poetic qualities such as heightened imagery and emotional effects.-Characteristics:Prose poetry can be considered either primarily poetry or prose, or a separate genre altogether...
by Ivan Wernisch
Ivan Wernisch
Ivan Wernisch is a Czech poet, editor and a collage artist. He studied Ceramics Secondary school in Carlsbad and has since done many jobs, mostly manual. In 1961, after publishing his debut poetry book, he quickly established himself as one of the best and most loved writers of his generation...
.