Honza


Honza is a Czech archetypal stock character, commonly appearing in Czech folklore as a fairy tale hero. He often appears as Hloupý Honza, Líný Honza or Chudý Honza. He is a similar character to German Hans in Luck or Russian Ivan the Fool.

Name

The name Honza is common hypocorism of the Czech name Jan, so it may be translated as Johnny. It comes from German Johann(es) → Hans → Honza. Diminutives include Honzík and Honzíček.

Portraying of Honza

In original uses, Líný Honza is the "lazy" and inept son of village farmers. His parents send him "to the world" to take care of himself and get experience. On his way, he meets seemingly impossible obstacles but outsmarts them all and returns home with fame, riches and a princess as his wife.
While sometimes called Hloupý Honza, he is not really stupid and in more modern fairy tales he often loses other negative characteristics too.
Such figures became national personification – often suggested as mirroring the national character of Czechs. Comparison of "stupid" Honza with lot of "common sense" with aristocracy portrayed by princes which are unable to overcome obstacles Honza did overcome might also refer to fact that for big part of history Czech aristocracy was separated from people and often not really Czech.
Food writer Michael Krondl mentions that often Honza is portrayed leaving home with a sack of Czech sweet pastry buchty. Krondl sees this as an assertion of Czech identity distinct from the German ruling class.

Selected works

Literature

  • A collection of classic fairy tales, thirteen different editions between 1940 and 2024.
The name of a stupid Hans is often translated as "Honza" in Czech. For example, Hans in Luck is translated as Jak Honza ke štěstí přišel. The name "Hans" from "Blockhead Hans" by Hans Christian Andersen was variously translated as "Honza", Jano", or "Janek".

Theatre

Film