Karel Jaromír Erben

Portrait of Karel Jaromír Erben by Jan Vilímek

Karel Jaromír Erben (Czech pronunciation: [ˈkarɛl ˈjaromiːr ˈɛrbɛn]) (1811–1870) was a Czech historian, poet and writer of the mid-19th century, best known for his collection Kytice (Czech for The Bouquet), which contains poems based on traditional and folkloric themes.

He also wrote Písně národní v Čechách which contains 500 songs and Prostonárodní české písně a říkadla, a five-parted book that brings together most of the Czech folklore.

Biography

He was born on November 7, 1811 in Miletín u Jičína. He went to college in Hradec Králové. Then, in 1831, he went to Prague where he studied philosophy and later law. He started working in the National Museum (Národní muzeum) with František Palacký in 1843. He became editor of a Prague's newspaper in 1848. Two years later, in 1850, he became archives' secretary of the National Museum. He died on November 21, 1870 of tuberculosis.

Personal life

He was married with Alžběta and they had two daughters - Blažena and Ladislava.

References

Profile by School of Modern Languages and Cultures at University of Glasgow