Kralice Bible

The Bible of Kralice is a landmark Czech Bible, produced by scholars of the Unity of Brethren and named for the Moravian town of Kralice, where it was printed in the later sixteenth century. It is a complete Protestant Bible translated from the original languages, with the Hebrew and Greek texts serving as its base, and it is classified as a fresh translation rather than a revision of earlier Czech versions. Its method reflects the humanist principle of returning to the original tongues, an approach shared with other vernacular Bibles of the Reformation era. It first appeared in six parts accompanied by scholarly notes, a form that gave the work its early reputation for learning. Beyond its use in worship and study among Czech Protestants, it is regarded as a major work of Czech prose and exerted a lasting influence on the literary language.