The Controversy between Josef Truhlář and Václav Flajšhans over the Catalogue of the Writings of Jan Hus
Abstract
The paper deals with the controversy over the catalogue of the writings of Jan Hus between Josef Truhlář (1840-1914), a curator of the Prague University Library, and Václav Flajšhans (1866-1950), a high-school professor, which took place from 1898 until 1905. The latter had been preparing an inventory of the works of Jan Hus from 1898 (published in 1900), while the former had been working on the catalogue of Prague university manuscripts from 1897 (published in 1905/1906).
They discussed the evidence of the extant manuscripts of the works of Jan Hus in detail. Especially the first phase of the controversy showed that Flajšhans wanted to present himself as a skilled scholar who could interpret Hus's works in the context of contemporary national discourse and whose research was based on a close examination of manuscript sources.
However, he encountered the incisive judgment and tenacity of Truhlář, who pointed out errors and shortcomings in Flajšhans's works and fallacies in his polemical articles. Moreover, Truhlář sometimes resorted to certain simplifications, for example, regarding the number of the manuscripts discovered, and he also made minor mistakes, which he later openly admitted, as did Flajšhans in some cases.
Nevertheless, the contribution of both scholars to the research on Jan Hus has been essential.