| Author | unknown |
| Genre | Lyric, Poem |
| Keywords | 14th century, folk song, love song, Old Czech |
| Title (in Czech) | Andělíku rozkochaný |
| Title (in English translation) | My Beloved Angel |
| Editors | Andrea Svobodová – Kateřina Voleková |
| Translator | Walter Schamschula |
| Edited source | Praha, Národní knihovna České republiky, XVII F 9, front pastedown |
| Introduction | Walter Schamschula – Andrea Svobodová |
| TEI P5 XML Encoding | Matěj Čermák – Michal Mocňák – Ondřej Tichý |
| Summary of content | Old Czech love song, a seven-line admiring apostrophe to a beloved lady by an unknown author. |
Introduction to the Text
The song Andělíku rozkochaný (‘My Beloved Angel’) is on the threshold between courtly song (minnesang, ‘minstrel song’) and popular poetry. It may be the work of a wandering student (clericus, scholaris), who addresses his partner in a tender way (andělíku – ‘little angel’), but also in the language of courtly love (já tvój sluha jediný – ‘I, thy only servant’). The text, which was first published by Václav Hanka in 1829, is preserved with musical notation. According to musicologist Zdeněk Nejedlý, the melody shows a combination of professionalism (Czech literary song in the style of minstrel songs) and folklore (cf. Nejedlý 1954, pp. 214-216).
Introduction to the Sources
The song has been preserved in a manuscript from 1396 (Praha, Národní knihovna České republiky, XVII F 9, front pastedown; available online).
About this Edition
The given transcription was made according to the manuscript, taking into account the edition of Walter Schamschula, which selectively includes different readings of previous editions (cf. Schamschula 1991, see Existing editions below).
The present translation has been taken, with the permission of Walter Schamschula, from the text of his edition. No textual changes have been made to the text, and only obvious typographical errors have been removed (cf. Schamschula 1991, see Existing editions below). The introductory information, based on Schamschula´s edition, has been supplemented from new contributions on the topic.
Existing Editions
Dvě staré písně z XV. století, Václav Hanka (ed.), Časopis Společnosti vlastenského museum v Čechách 3, 1829, no. 1, p. 81 [semi-diplomatic transcription].
Altčechische Leiche, Lieder und Sprüche des XIV. und XV. Jahrhunderts, Julius Feifalik (ed.), Sitzungsberichte der Wiener Akademie der Wissenchaften (Philosophisch-Historische Klasse) 39, 1862, pp. 636-638 [semi-diplomatic transcription].
Staročeská lyrika, Jan Vilikovský (ed.), Praha 1940, p. 72 [standardized transcription].
Dějiny husitského zpěvu 1, Zdeněk Nejedlý (ed.), Praha 1954, pp. 214-216 [standardized transcription with notation].
Andělíku rozkochaný, in: Česká středověká lyrika, Jan Lehár (ed.), Praha 1990, p. 225 [standardized transcription].
Andělíku rozkochaný/My beloved angel, in: An Anthology of Czech Literature. 1st Period: from the Beginnings until 1410, Walter Schamschula (ed.), Frankfurt am Main – Bern – New York – Paris 1991, pp. 74-75 [standardized transcription].
Existing translations
Andělíku rozkochaný/My beloved angel, in: An Anthology of Czech Literature. 1st Period: from the Beginnings until 1410, Walter Schamschula (ed.), Frankfurt am Main – Bern – New York – Paris 1991, pp. 74-75.
Andělíku rozkochaný, Historická antologie hudby v českých zemích (do cca 1530), Jaromír Černý (ed.), Praha 2005, pp. 128-129 [with notation].
Further Reading
Nejedlý, Zdeněk: Dějiny husitského zpěvu 1, Praha 1954, pp. 214-216.
Tichá, Zdeňka: Andělíku rozkochaný, in: Lexikon české literatury 1 (A-G), Praha 1985, p. 66 [encyclopedic entry listing editions and literature up to 1985]. Available at: https://service.ucl.cas.cz/edicee/lexikon/lexikon/254-lexikon-ceske-literatury-osobnosti-dila-instituce-1-a-g
