Hi! I’m austrian, writing a scientific paper on the outer-christian easter traditions.
I found the tradition of Pomlázka to have great similarities with one austrian easter tradition (Weihfeuertragen) and to be a potetial reason for the usage of willow branches with colorful ribbons in austrian Palm Sunday celebrations. I found this article\* stating the first written mention of the tradition to be dated back to the 14th century, however it doesn’t give a source to it or mentions where that may have been found. Now my language skills are limitted and do not include czech, or any slavic language, sadly. Therefore so are my sources when it comes to slavic traditions.
I was wondering if anyone here may be so kind to help me figure out where said written mention comes from, what it is and ideally what it translates to in english (or german in the case that that works better)
Thank you!
(PS: I hope the way I use the word “Pomlázka” makes sense, the way I understood it is that it describes both the whip itself and the tradition surrounding it)
\*[https://www.tasteofprague.com/pragueblog/czech-easter-tradition-explained](https://www.tasteofprague.com/pragueblog/czech-easter-tradition-explained)
5 comments
Wikipedia states, it comes from *Postily studentů pražských* of the preacher Konrád Waldhauser from year 1369. Allegedly it’s stated there, that women beat men on Monday so that they (men) don’t initiate coitus and men had their revenge on Tuesday. Later writings by Jan Hus speak in a similar way.
Konrad von Waldhausen was the first one to write about it. There’s Konrad von Waldhausen wiki page in German, maybe the sources will help you.
There is a [map](https://cja.ujc.cas.cz/e-cja/heslo/2/215) with regional/dialect names for “Pomlázka”. The map is on the bottom of the page.
Though pomlázka is a specific object that doesn’t exist in English, you could most accurately describe it as “a switch.” A switch is a piece of wood that has been cut from a tree, sometimes woven together, and used for beating someone as punishment.
but one would think that the fact that when girls are beaten with the pomlazka they are supposed to give the boys and egg which seems to hint at some obvious fertility rite (given that’s what at least pagan easter is all about). So I’d think it must date to much older period than the 14th century.