Václav Tille
Václav Tille ( born February 16, 1867 in Tabor, † June 26, 1937 in Prague) was a Czech literary historian, ethnographer, comparatist and writer. He used the pseudonym Václav Říha His literary works.
Life and work
Václav Tille was a man with a broad range of interests, but always focused on the history of folk literature, traditional legends, fairy tales and stories. He eventually was one of the most famous connoisseurs of this genre in the Czech Republic.
Tille went through the typical academic career by studying Slavic and Romance studies at the Charles University in Prague and Paris. It exerted on him the thoughts of historian January Gebauer great influence. Until 1912 he worked as a librarian at the University Library, and this year was the successor of Jaroslav Vrchlický when he was appointed full professor of comparative literature.
In the 80 years of the 19th century, he discovered for himself the landscape of Wallachia, which he attended regularly. He devoted himself more and more to the study of folk narrative. However, he was also active in journalism and wrote reviews about theater premieres and contributions to the cultural sections of newspapers and magazines. From his study trips abroad, he brought the established knowledge in the organization of the university, and participated actively in the scientific and public discussions.
In his interpretations of folk tales he tried to free them, especially by later additions and interpretations and thus to obtain the original core of the narrative. To this end, he wrote in 1909 his Analytical study of Czech fairy tale since 1848, where he deepened the scientific work of Karel Jaromír Erben and Bozena Nemcova.
His methodological work is his Soupis českých pohádek (1929-1934; inventory Czech fairy tales). His own tale he wrote under the name Václav Říha. Under this name he is known to a wide public. His stories are a commitment to the traditional form of folk inspiration. His overall works have an extensive collection of materials that have been published in numerous monographs and specialized publications. His work began Albert Prazak continues.