Vindex duliae Divus Joannes Nepomucenus
- First performance: 21st May 1731, Prague – New Town , the highest grammar class (syntax)
- Author: Antonius Machek, SJ (1705–1760)
In the play St. John of Nepomuk as an Advocate of the Veneration of Saints, the saint himself does not appear. Its plot centres around the battle of John’s worshippers and their adversaries: the worshippers strive to promote the cult of the Saint and probably also his canonization (even though the play was written two years after the event). The first group is led by John’s worshipper (Joanneus Cultor), but Veneration of Saints (Dulia) or Faith (Religio) also belong here. The adversaries are led by Iconoclast (Iconoclasta) and Heresy (Haeresis), who hide their evil doings under the guise of true faith, arguing that reverence only pertains to God and not to saints. At the beginning, Scrupulous Worshipper of God (Scrupulosus Latriae Zelotes) also belongs in their camp but later converts. Vindex duliae might well be regarded as a veiled polemic with non-Catholic Christianity and a defence of the veneration of saints. More info in Czech
Text
Antonius Machek: Vindex duliae Divus Joannes Nepomucenus. Pro theatro exhibitus ab academica syntaxi Neo-Pragae 1731, 21. Maji National archives CR, fond Stará manipulace, sign. J 20/17/18, box 999, f. 585r–592v
Synopsis
Not preserved
Kateřina Bobková-Valentová – Alena Bočková – Magdaléna Jacková – Martin Bažil – Eva Pauerová – Jan Zdichynec – Zdeněk Žalud: Sv. Jan Nepomucký na jezuitských školních scénách. Praha: Academia, 2015. (= Theatrum Neolatinum. Latinské divadlo v českých zemích, 1.), p. 304-353.
Bibliography
Alena Bočková: From sanctulus to sacer. Suggested Typology of Jesuit School Plays Featuring St. John of Nepomuk in the Czech Province, Acta Universitatis Carolinae – Philologica, Graecolatina Pragensia 25, 2015, p. 113–133.
