The Wise Fool in the Slovak Oral and Literary Tradition<br>Múdry hlupák v slovenskej ústnej a literárnej tradícii</br>

Abstract

The article discusses the wise fool cycle in Slovakia, which includes tricksters not in the sense of a mythical character, but rather as a wise-fool hero a cunning trickster as well as hero that is often underestimated. In the narrative tradition of Slovakia there are several heroes known in the rural environment as well as wise fool heroes in the urban environment. At the narration level a hero ceases to be a real man and becomes an aesthetic projection of his community needs. He becomes a code, expressing the details of human experience in a sensitive way, different from proclaimed requirements, thus projecting a more universal and true statement.