At Radio Praha Ian Willoughby has a Q & A with David Cooper about the Rukopis královédvorský and the Rukopis zelenohorský -- two medieval Czech texts discovered in the nineteenth century that turned out to be hoaxes.
Apparently a medieval revival across Europe at the time led to the rediscovery of classic texts all over -- but:
And they were pretty damn successful -- in fact: "It was the most translated work of Czech literature for most of the 19th century into English." (Man, is that sad.)
Apparently a medieval revival across Europe at the time led to the rediscovery of classic texts all over -- but:
The Czechs were looking in their manuscript traditions for similar kinds of material and they weren't finding it.What to do ? Fake it, of course.
And they were pretty damn successful -- in fact: "It was the most translated work of Czech literature for most of the 19th century into English." (Man, is that sad.)