Społeczeństwo i kultura Europy Środkowej w czasach panowania Rudolfa II w zwierciadle czeskiej beletrystyki historycznej XIX wieku .......... 185

SOCIETY AND CULTURE OF CENTRAL EUROPE DURING THE REIGN OF RUDOLPH II IN THE CZECH HISTORICAL FICTION OF THE 19TH CENTURY

The paper deals with works of the 19th century novelists in the time of Rudolph II and compares their contents with the situation at the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century. After a brief assessment of the evolution of belles-lettres during the life and reign of Rudolph II attention is paid to various ways of capturing the emperor and circumstances of his administration in regard to the social and political transformations of Czech society in the 19th century. Moreover, the style of make-up in Rudolph’s court, has been described, as well as its national structure and frequently stereotyped historical personalities who often accompanied the Emperor. The particular attention is also paid to alchemy, astrology and art, which became an integral part of tools used by the novelists to form ideas of the Rudolphine epoch. The last part of the text is devoted to the topic of representation of Slavs, but this type of literature is not very common.