A few notes on the spread of the song "Vímť já jeden stromeček jest krásná oliva" in Slovakia

Abstract

During the Baroque period in Bohemia, Moravia, and Slovakia there was a significant development in the creation of spiritual love lyrics. This includes the anonymous song "Vímť já jeden stromeček" ("I know a little tree"), probably of Bohemian origin, which was also spread as a broadside ballad as early as the 17th century. While in Bohemia and Moravia the song entered the folk singing tradition, in Slovakia it was mainly known as a hymn in the church tradition of Slovak Lutherans. This study is devoted to variants of the hymn and its setting in Lutheran manuscript and printed sources in Slovakia from the second half of the 17th century. The analysis of manuscript sources shows that the song spread on the territory of Slovakia at least from the 1660s, earlier than we had previously assumed.