"History flies over the gables" : a forgotten short-story collection by Mirek Elpl

The study analyses a collection of seven historical short-stories by Mirek Elpl Tři zlaté poháry (Three Gold Goblets; 1940). It tries to describe the collection's subject matter and valid actualisation aspects, and accentuate the timelessness of its testimony (achieved mainly by focusing on the in-ner worlds of the fictional characters and their psychology). The study also addresses the dominant motifs of the work and its formal aspects, paying special attention to the lyrical and dramatic dimensions of the texts. In tales situated in from the history of the royal town of Ivančice, taking place between the 14th and 18th centuries, Mirek Elpl demonstrates a great poetic insight into past times and his ability to convey literary settings in a suggestive manner. His unrightfully forgotten short-story collection represents the most artistically valuable branch of historical fiction written in the period of the Second World War – combining lyrical prose with psychological insight.