Abstrakt
Since Chronicle imperatorum et pontificum by Martin Polonus can be described as one of medieval bestsellers, it was widely spread in Bohemia as well; tens of manuscripts are extant in Czech libraries. They originate from the 14th and the 15th centuries and a few of them also from the end of the 13th century.
Apart from Latin copies of the chronicle, there were also several vernacular adaptations of the chronicle written in the Czech Lands. While the Latin text was copied continuously during the Late Middle Ages, Czech vernacular adaptations are dated to the 15th century.
In my paper, I focus firstly on the general function of the chronicle in codices of Czech provenance. In the spotlight there are codices of historiographical contents and position of the chronicle in other contexts serves as a significant contrasting instrument.
Secondly, I examine auctorial strategies having an impact on the process of creating Czech vernacular adaptions. A comparison of three universal chronicles based on the chronicle by Polonus enable to analyse the individual and general paths of a treatment of the original text employed in every single adaptation.