Karel Jaromír Erben (Czech pronunciation: [ˈkarɛl ˈjaromiːr ˈɛrbɛn]; 7 November 1811 – 21 November 1870) was a Czech folklorist and poet of the mid-19th century, best known for his collection Kytice, which contains poems based on traditional and folkloric themes.

He was member of the Czech National Revival, and politically he was also a sympathizer of Illyrian movement and Russian Slavophilia for entrenched populations of Slavs in other parts of the world.

As practitioner of his ideals, he published Sto prostonárodních pohádek a pověstí slovanských v nářečích původních ("One Hundred Slavic Folk Tales and Legends in Original Dialects"), also known by its subtitle Čitanka slovanská ("Slavic Reader"), that was influenced by the Grimms' collection of fairy tales.

2, Dlouhý, Široký a Bystrozraký ("Long, Broad and Sharpsight", translated into English by Albert Henry Wratislaw).

[3][4] The entire volume was translated by W. W. Strickland, and eventually published as Panslavonic Folk-lore in 1930.