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Albert Wratislaw

November 29, 2023

Albert Henry Wratislaw (5 November 1822 – 3 November 1892) was an English clergyman and Slavonic scholar of Czech descent.

Albert Henry Wratislaw

Early life edit

Albert Henry Wratislaw was born 5 November 1822 in Rugby, the eldest son of William Ferdinand Wratislaw (1788–1853), a solicitor of Rugby by his wife, Charlotte Anne (d. 1863), and grandson of Marc (Maximillian, 1735–1796), styled "Count" Wratislaw von Mitrovitz,[a] who emigrated to Rugby ca. 1770.[2][1]

Albert Henry entered Rugby School, aged seven, on 5 November 1829 (Register, i. 161), and matriculated at Cambridge from Trinity College in 1840, but migrated to Christ's, where he was admitted 28 April 1842; he graduated B.A. as third classic and twenty-fifth senior optime in 1844. He was appointed fellow of Christ's College (1844–1852) and became a tutor, ordained as a priest of the Church of England in 1846,[3] and commenced M.A. in 1847.[4] As a result, in collaboration with Dr Charles Anthony Swainson of the college, he published Loci Communes: Common Places (1848).[4][5] He left Christ's in 1852, and on 28 December 1853, married Frances Gertrude Helm (1831–1868).[b][4]

He was elected a member of the Cambridge Camden Society on 8th November 1841.[6]

During the long vacation of 1849 he visited Bohemia, studied the Czech language in Prague, and in the same autumn published at London Lyra Czecho Slovanska, or Bohemian poems, ancient and modern, translated from the original Slavonic, with an introductory essay, which he dedicated to Count Valerian Krasinski, as "from a descendant of a kindred race".[c][4]

Headmaster positions edit

In August 1850 Wratislaw was appointed headmaster of Felsted School, his being the last appointment made by the representatives of the founder, Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich. During the previous 24 years under Thomas Surridge, the school had greatly declined in numbers. Wratislaw commenced with 22 boys, and the revival of the school was inaugurated by him. Unfortunately he found the climate of Felsted too bleak for him, and in 1855 he migrated, with a number of his Felsted pupils, to Bury St Edmunds, to become headmaster of King Edward VI School there. At Bury also he greatly raised the numbers of the school, which controversy about the book Jashar of his predecessor, Dr John William Donaldson, is said to have helped to empty.[4]

During the twenty years that followed his appointment at Felsted scholastic work took up nearly all Wratislaw's time.[4]

He was one of the dozen who attended the historic December 1869 meeting of headmasters gathered by Edward Thring of Uppingham School, considered to be the very first Headmasters' Conference.[8] In 1879 he resigned his headmastership at Bury St Edmunds, and became vicar[5][6] (or rector[9]) of the college living of Manorbier in Pembrokeshire.[4]

Writing edit

After his early publication of translated poetry in 1849, he published several texts and school books, but found it difficult to keep up his Bohemian studies.

Wratislaw published The Queen's Court Manuscript, with other ancient Bohemian Poems in 1852, a translation from the original Slavonic into English verse, mostly in ballad meter.[4][d] Wratislaw was aware that regarding the Queen's Court Manuscript (Rukopis královédvorský) allegedly discovered by Václav Hanka, there were rising suspicions regarding its authenticity. But he dismissed the doubt, because sceptics had not laid out concrete arguments from rational grounds.[11] Later developments branded the manuscript as a forgery, so that Professor Morfill, while extolling the excellence of Wratislav's 1849 and 1852 translations, had to make a regretful remark on the inclusion of forged poetry.[12]

He later published Adventures of Baron Wenceslas Wratislaw of Mitrowitz (1862), which was a translation of a 1599 account by the then-young Count Václav Vratislav z Mitrovic [cz] (1576–1635), from whom the Wratislaw family claim descent.[1] This was literally translated from the Bohemian work first published from the original manuscript by Pelzel in 1777, and prefaced by a brief sketch of Bohemian history.[4]

It was followed in 1871 by a version from the Slavonic of the Diary of an Embassy from King George of Bohemia to King Louis XI of France. Two years later, as the result of much labour, Wratislaw produced the Life, Legend, and Canonization of St. John Nepomucen, Patron Saint and Protector of the Order of the Jesuits, being a most damaging investigation of the myth contrived by the Jesuits in 1729. Among the small group of scholars in England taking an interest in Slavonic literature, Wratislaw's reputation was now established, and in April 1877 he was called upon to deliver four lectures upon his subject at the Taylor Institution in Oxford, under the Ilchester foundation. These were published at London next year as The Native Literature of Bohemia in the Fourteenth Century.[4]

While in Pembrokeshire, he wrote a biography of Jan Hus (John Huss, the Commencement of Resistance to Papal Authority on the part of the Inferior Clergy, London, 1882, 8vo, in the Home Library), based mainly upon the exhaustive researches of František Palacký and Václav Vladivoj Tomek [cz].[4]

His last work was Sixty Folk-Tales from exclusively Slavonic sources (London, 1889), a selection translated from Karel Jaromír Erben's Sto prostonárodních pohádek a pověstí slovanských v nářečích původních ("One Hundred Slavic Folk Tales and Legends in Original Dialects", 1865), also known as Čitanka slovanská s vysvětlením slov ("a Slavic Reader with Vocabulary").[4] It was given a mixed review by Alfred Nutt, who said the quality of the translations cannot be reproached with auspices given by Prof. Morfill, but the work did not rise above a "charming" anthology of tales due to its shortage of critical material.[13] Wratislaw included creation myth stories from Carniola involving the supernatural being called Kurent; Wratislaw defended this as being genuine ancient tradition, which Nutt disputed.[13]

Later life edit

He gave up his benefice (college living), owing mainly to failing sight, in 1889, and retired to Southsea. He died there at Graythwaite, Alhambra Road, on 3 November 1892, aged 69.[4]

Family edit

One of his sons, Albert Charles Wratislaw (1863-1938) joined the British consular service as a Student Interpreter in the Levant in 1883, and retired in 1919 after serving in various posts in the Middle East.[14]

Explanatory notes edit

  1. ^ William Ferdinand Wratislaw devoted considerable effort to prove their lineage from this family of counts, but with little success.[1]
  2. ^ They were married at High Wycombe. She was the second daughter of the Rev. Joseph Charles Helm (d. 1844).
  3. ^ It is noted that he took command of the Czech language at extraordinary speed, but that he may have previously been to the country, accompanying him five years earlier.[7]
  4. ^ In 1852 were issued a Prague edition with numerous typographical errors and a corrected edition of Cambridge and London.[10]

References edit

Citations
  1. ^ a b c Auty & Tyrrell (1969), p. 36.
  2. ^ Wratislaw (W. F.) (1849), p. 9.
  3. ^ Anon. (1847), "University and Clerical Intelligence (Oxford)", The Ecclesiastical Gazette, IX: 85
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Seccombe (1900), Dictionary of National Biography '63, p. 68.
  5. ^ a b Schaff, Philip, ed. (1891), "Wratislaw, Albert Henry", A Religious Encyclopaedia: Or Dictionary of Biblical, Historical, Doctrinal, and Practical Theology, vol. 4, Samuel Macauley Jackson, David Schley Schaff, Funk & Wagnalls, p. 244
  6. ^ a b "List of Historical Members of the Ecclesiological Society Published | The Ecclesiological Society". ecclsoc.org. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  7. ^ Auty & Tyrrell (1969), pp. 36–37.
  8. ^ Elliott, Robert Winston (1963), The Story of King Edward VI School, Bury St. Edmunds, Foundation Governors of the School, p. 119
  9. ^ Auty & Tyrrell (1969), p. 37.
  10. ^ Notes and Queries (1870), Series IV, 5, p. 556, "Bohemian Ballad-Literature" replied to by Wlatislaw on p. 605, "Queen's Court Manuscript"
  11. ^ Wratislaw (1852), p. xiv.
  12. ^ Morfill, William Richard (1890), An Essay on the Importance of the Study of the Slavonic Languages, Frowde, pp. 10–11
  13. ^ a b Auty, R (1890), "(Review) Sixty Folk-tales from exclusively Slavonic Sources by A. H. Wratislaw", The Archaeological Review, 4 (6): 450–452 JSTOR 44243872
  14. ^ Wratislaw, A.C. 1924. A Consul in the East Edinburgh, UK: W. Blackwood & Sons.
Bibliography
  • Seccombe, Thomas (1900). "Wratislaw, Albert Henry" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 63. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 1968. sources: [Athenæum, 12 Nov. 1892; Times, 5 Nov., and Guardian, 9 Nov. 1892; Luard's Graduati Cantabr.; Sargeaunt's Felsted School, 1889, p. 34.]
  • Wratislaw, William Ferdinand (1849), Memoir of the Family of Wratislaw of Rugby, G. J. Palmer
  • Wratislaw, Albert Henry (1852), The Queen's Court Manuscript, with Other Ancient Bohemian Poems, Cambridge: John Deighton
  • Auty, R.; Tyrrell, E. P. (1969), "A. H. Wratislaw's Slavonic Books in the Library of Christ's College Cambridge", Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society, 5 (1): 36–46 JSTOR 41154478

External links edit

  •   Works by or about Albert Henry Wratislaw at Wikisource
  •   Media related to Albert Henry Wratislaw at Wikimedia Commons

November 29, 2023
albert, wratislaw, albert, henry, wratislaw, november, 1822, november, 1892, english, clergyman, slavonic, scholar, czech, descent, albert, henry, wratislaw, contents, early, life, headmaster, positions, writing, later, life, family, explanatory, notes, refere. Albert Henry Wratislaw 5 November 1822 3 November 1892 was an English clergyman and Slavonic scholar of Czech descent Albert Henry Wratislaw Contents 1 Early life 2 Headmaster positions 3 Writing 4 Later life 5 Family 6 Explanatory notes 7 References 8 External linksEarly life editAlbert Henry Wratislaw was born 5 November 1822 in Rugby the eldest son of William Ferdinand Wratislaw 1788 1853 a solicitor of Rugby by his wife Charlotte Anne d 1863 and grandson of Marc Maximillian 1735 1796 styled Count Wratislaw von Mitrovitz a who emigrated to Rugby ca 1770 2 1 Albert Henry entered Rugby School aged seven on 5 November 1829 Register i 161 and matriculated at Cambridge from Trinity College in 1840 but migrated to Christ s where he was admitted 28 April 1842 he graduated B A as third classic and twenty fifth senior optime in 1844 He was appointed fellow of Christ s College 1844 1852 and became a tutor ordained as a priest of the Church of England in 1846 3 and commenced M A in 1847 4 As a result in collaboration with Dr Charles Anthony Swainson of the college he published Loci Communes Common Places 1848 4 5 He left Christ s in 1852 and on 28 December 1853 married Frances Gertrude Helm 1831 1868 b 4 He was elected a member of the Cambridge Camden Society on 8th November 1841 6 During the long vacation of 1849 he visited Bohemia studied the Czech language in Prague and in the same autumn published at London Lyra Czecho Slovanska or Bohemian poems ancient and modern translated from the original Slavonic with an introductory essay which he dedicated to Count Valerian Krasinski as from a descendant of a kindred race c 4 Headmaster positions editIn August 1850 Wratislaw was appointed headmaster of Felsted School his being the last appointment made by the representatives of the founder Richard Rich 1st Baron Rich During the previous 24 years under Thomas Surridge the school had greatly declined in numbers Wratislaw commenced with 22 boys and the revival of the school was inaugurated by him Unfortunately he found the climate of Felsted too bleak for him and in 1855 he migrated with a number of his Felsted pupils to Bury St Edmunds to become headmaster of King Edward VI School there At Bury also he greatly raised the numbers of the school which controversy about the book Jashar of his predecessor Dr John William Donaldson is said to have helped to empty 4 During the twenty years that followed his appointment at Felsted scholastic work took up nearly all Wratislaw s time 4 He was one of the dozen who attended the historic December 1869 meeting of headmasters gathered by Edward Thring of Uppingham School considered to be the very first Headmasters Conference 8 In 1879 he resigned his headmastership at Bury St Edmunds and became vicar 5 6 or rector 9 of the college living of Manorbier in Pembrokeshire 4 Writing editAfter his early publication of translated poetry in 1849 he published several texts and school books but found it difficult to keep up his Bohemian studies Wratislaw published The Queen s Court Manuscript with other ancient Bohemian Poems in 1852 a translation from the original Slavonic into English verse mostly in ballad meter 4 d Wratislaw was aware that regarding the Queen s Court Manuscript Rukopis kralovedvorsky allegedly discovered by Vaclav Hanka there were rising suspicions regarding its authenticity But he dismissed the doubt because sceptics had not laid out concrete arguments from rational grounds 11 Later developments branded the manuscript as a forgery so that Professor Morfill while extolling the excellence of Wratislav s 1849 and 1852 translations had to make a regretful remark on the inclusion of forged poetry 12 He later published Adventures of Baron Wenceslas Wratislaw of Mitrowitz 1862 which was a translation of a 1599 account by the then young Count Vaclav Vratislav z Mitrovic cz 1576 1635 from whom the Wratislaw family claim descent 1 This was literally translated from the Bohemian work first published from the original manuscript by Pelzel in 1777 and prefaced by a brief sketch of Bohemian history 4 It was followed in 1871 by a version from the Slavonic of the Diary of an Embassy from King George of Bohemia to King Louis XI of France Two years later as the result of much labour Wratislaw produced the Life Legend and Canonization of St John Nepomucen Patron Saint and Protector of the Order of the Jesuits being a most damaging investigation of the myth contrived by the Jesuits in 1729 Among the small group of scholars in England taking an interest in Slavonic literature Wratislaw s reputation was now established and in April 1877 he was called upon to deliver four lectures upon his subject at the Taylor Institution in Oxford under the Ilchester foundation These were published at London next year as The Native Literature of Bohemia in the Fourteenth Century 4 While in Pembrokeshire he wrote a biography of Jan Hus John Huss the Commencement of Resistance to Papal Authority on the part of the Inferior Clergy London 1882 8vo in the Home Library based mainly upon the exhaustive researches of Frantisek Palacky and Vaclav Vladivoj Tomek cz 4 His last work was Sixty Folk Tales from exclusively Slavonic sources London 1889 a selection translated from Karel Jaromir Erben s Sto prostonarodnich pohadek a povesti slovanskych v narecich puvodnich One Hundred Slavic Folk Tales and Legends in Original Dialects 1865 also known as Citanka slovanska s vysvetlenim slov a Slavic Reader with Vocabulary 4 It was given a mixed review by Alfred Nutt who said the quality of the translations cannot be reproached with auspices given by Prof Morfill but the work did not rise above a charming anthology of tales due to its shortage of critical material 13 Wratislaw included creation myth stories from Carniola involving the supernatural being called Kurent Wratislaw defended this as being genuine ancient tradition which Nutt disputed 13 Later life editHe gave up his benefice college living owing mainly to failing sight in 1889 and retired to Southsea He died there at Graythwaite Alhambra Road on 3 November 1892 aged 69 4 Family editOne of his sons Albert Charles Wratislaw 1863 1938 joined the British consular service as a Student Interpreter in the Levant in 1883 and retired in 1919 after serving in various posts in the Middle East 14 Explanatory notes edit William Ferdinand Wratislaw devoted considerable effort to prove their lineage from this family of counts but with little success 1 They were married at High Wycombe She was the second daughter of the Rev Joseph Charles Helm d 1844 It is noted that he took command of the Czech language at extraordinary speed but that he may have previously been to the country accompanying him five years earlier 7 In 1852 were issued a Prague edition with numerous typographical errors and a corrected edition of Cambridge and London 10 References editCitations a b c Auty amp Tyrrell 1969 p 36 Wratislaw W F 1849 p 9 Anon 1847 University and Clerical Intelligence Oxford The Ecclesiastical Gazette IX 85 a b c d e f g h i j k l m Seccombe 1900 Dictionary of National Biography 63 p 68 a b Schaff Philip ed 1891 Wratislaw Albert Henry A Religious Encyclopaedia Or Dictionary of Biblical Historical Doctrinal and Practical Theology vol 4 Samuel Macauley Jackson David Schley Schaff Funk amp Wagnalls p 244 a b List of Historical Members of the Ecclesiological Society Published The Ecclesiological Society ecclsoc org Retrieved 2 March 2021 Auty amp Tyrrell 1969 pp 36 37 Elliott Robert Winston 1963 The Story of King Edward VI School Bury St Edmunds Foundation Governors of the School p 119 Auty amp Tyrrell 1969 p 37 Notes and Queries 1870 Series IV 5 p 556 Bohemian Ballad Literature replied to by Wlatislaw on p 605 Queen s Court Manuscript Wratislaw 1852 p xiv Morfill William Richard 1890 An Essay on the Importance of the Study of the Slavonic Languages Frowde pp 10 11 a b Auty R 1890 Review Sixty Folk tales from exclusively Slavonic Sources by A H Wratislaw The Archaeological Review 4 6 450 452 JSTOR 44243872 Wratislaw A C 1924 A Consul in the East Edinburgh UK W Blackwood amp Sons BibliographySeccombe Thomas 1900 Wratislaw Albert Henry In Lee Sidney ed Dictionary of National Biography Vol 63 London Smith Elder amp Co p 1968 sources Athenaeum 12 Nov 1892 Times 5 Nov and Guardian 9 Nov 1892 Luard s Graduati Cantabr Sargeaunt s Felsted School 1889 p 34 Wratislaw William Ferdinand 1849 Memoir of the Family of Wratislaw of Rugby G J Palmer Wratislaw Albert Henry 1852 The Queen s Court Manuscript with Other Ancient Bohemian Poems Cambridge John Deighton Auty R Tyrrell E P 1969 A H Wratislaw s Slavonic Books in the Library of Christ s College Cambridge Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society 5 1 36 46 JSTOR 41154478External links edit nbsp Works by or about Albert Henry Wratislaw at Wikisource nbsp Media related to Albert Henry Wratislaw at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Albert Wratislaw amp oldid 1187106166, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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