Catalan literature
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What is Catalan literature?
Catalan literature originated from the Occitan language and the poetic forms used by troubadours in northern Spain, northern Italy, and southern France.
The creation of a poetic academy in Barcelona by King John I of Aragon in 1393 led to poetry competitions that aimed to preserve the style of troubadour poetry. The unification of Spain in 1479, however, caused the Castilian dialect to become more dominant, resulting in a decline in Catalan literature.
In the second half of the 20th century, Catalan literature saw a resurgence, with writers exploring the relationship between literature and film. By the 21st century, Catalan literature was thriving, with new novelists and poets emerging.
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In which region is Catalan literature mostly written and read?
Catalan literature is primarily written and read in the Spanish autonomous regions of Catalonia, Valencia, and the Balearic Islands, where the Catalan language is spoken. It is also spoken in the Roussillon region of France, in Andorra (where it is the official language), and in the city of Alghero, Sardinia, Italy. Catalan is most closely related to the Occitan language of southern France and to Spanish, but it is clearly distinct from both. Catalan literature is among the strongest of the nonnational literatures of Europe and continues to flourish in the 21st century.
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What language do authors use in Catalan literature?
Authors in Catalan literature primarily use the Catalan language, a Romance language spoken in Catalonia, Valencia, and the Balearic Islands autonomous regions of Spain.
In its early stages, Catalan literature used the Occitan language and poetic forms from troubadours. However, over time, Catalan evolved into a distinct literary language. The Institut dâEstudis Catalans, founded in 1907, has played a significant role in enriching and standardizing Catalan for contemporary expression.
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Who are some famous writers in Catalan literature?
Catalan literature includes many famous writers who have contributed significantly to its development and recognition. During the Renaixensa, Bonaventura Carles Aribau, Joaquim RubiĂł i Ors, and Jacint Verdaguer stand out as key figures. Verdaguer, an epic poet, renewed literary Catalan, while Joan Maragall is known as Catalonia's first great modern poet.
Other notable writers include Ăngel GuimerĂ , known for his drama Terra baixa, and essayist Eugenio dâOrs. In the latter half of the 20th century, MercĂš Rodoreda gained international recognition, and Josep Pla and Joan Fuster were known for their essays. More recently, writers like Alfred Bosch, Ada Castells, and Albert SĂĄnchez Piñol have seen their works translated into other European languages, contributing to the continued flourishing of Catalan literature.
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What are some important themes in Catalan literature?
Catalan literature, rooted in the Occitan language and troubadour poetry, evolved to embrace romance themes and French narratives. The jocs florals (poetry competitions) in Barcelona, starting in 1393, helped to preserve the language and style of troubadour poetry.
Key themes include depictions of society, particularly the rural world, social defiance, and spiritual regeneration. After a period of repression, writers addressed social issues and experimented with metafiction, bridging literature and film. Historical moments, previously ignored, were reconsidered, and Catalan culture was portrayed through its key figures.
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How has Catalan literature changed over time?
Catalan literature began using the Occitan language and poetic forms of troubadours. Catalan poets turned to northern France for inspiration in the 14th century, adopting French narratives and writing in octosyllabic rhymed couplets.
After the unification of Aragon and Castile in 1479, the Castilian dialect predominated, causing a decline in Catalan literature. The Renaixensa (Rebirth) in the Romantic period was heralded by the publication of Josep Pau Ballot's Gramatica y apolog\u00eda de la llengua cathalana in 1813, leading to a literary and linguistic revival.
The dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera (1923â30), who banned the use of Catalan, and the Civil War of 1936â39 delayed the further development of modern Catalan literature. Catalan theatre started to recover in the mid-1970s, promoting younger playwrights. At the turn of the 21st century, Catalan poetry moved away from personal expression, and theatre became increasingly exploratory.
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Catalan literature, the body of literature written in the Catalan language, a Romance language spoken primarily in the Spanish autonomous regions of Catalonia, Valencia, and the Balearic Islands.
Medieval period
Poetry
Catalan literature has its roots in the Occitan language and the poetic forms cultivated by the troubadours, who dominated the courts of southern France, northern Spain, and northern Italy from the 11th through the 13th century. The early Catalan troubadours Guillem de BergadĂ , Hug de Mataplana, and Guillem de Cervera were genuine Provençal poets. In the 14th century the influence of the troubadours began to lessen, and Catalan poets turned to northern France for inspiration. They took over the long French narratives based on romance themes, such as the Arthurian cycle, and wrote in octosyllabic rhymed couplets (called noves rimades [ârhymed newsâ]).
In 1393 King John I of Aragon created a poetic academy in Barcelona where he inaugurated a series of poetry competitions called jocs florals (âfloral gamesâ). Prizes named after flowers were awarded yearly to poems by a kind of learned society called the Consistori del Gai Saber (âConsistory of the Gay Scienceâ; see also gai saber), the main aim of which was the preservation of the language and style of troubadour poetry. This groundwork would make the 15th century the great period of Catalan poetry. After Johnâs death, in 1395, his successors Martin I and Ferdinand I continued to encourage poetry and helped to emancipate Catalan literary style from foreign influences. As the 15th century advanced, Valencia emerged as a new centre of literary activity.
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The influence of the cants dâamor (âsongs of loveâ) and cants de mort (âsongs of deathâ) of Ausias March, considered by some the finest poems ever written in Catalan, extended to 16th-century Castile and beyond. Jaume Roigâs Spill o llibre de les dones (c. 1460; âThe Mirror or Book of Womenâ), a caustic satire of more than 16,000 lines, offers a vivid portrait of contemporary Valencian life. Another Valencian writer, Joan Roiç de Corella, is perhaps the best representative of the Renaissance.
After the union of Aragon with Castile in 1479, which unified Spain and ended Cataloniaâs independence, the Castilian dialect of the Spanish language predominated throughout Spain, spelling a long eclipse of Catalan literature. Juan BoscĂĄn was emblematic of the status of Catalan literature during this period: Catalan by birthâhe was born in Barcelonaâhe wrote solely in Castilian and inaugurated a new school of poetry in that dialect. By the time his works were published in 1543, a year after his death, Catalan poetry had been all but dormant for 50 years.
Prose
Literary prose emerged with the Homilies dâOrganyĂ (12th- or 13th-century homilies found in the parish of OrganyĂ in the county of Urgell) but did not flourish until the end of the 13th century. Four great chronicles, together with the works of Ramon Llull, represent the peak of medieval Catalan prose. The anonymous chronicle Llibre dels feyts del rey en Jacme (âBook of the Deeds of King Jamesâ), compiled after James Iâs death in 1276 but purportedly autobiographical, is distinguished by its skill of narration and its quality of language. The same qualities are present in Ramon Muntanerâs chronicle, which combines accounts of the Grand Catalan Companyâs expedition to the Morea in southern Greece, of the failed French invasion of Catalonia, and of King James IIâs conquest of Sardinia. Bernat Desclotâs chronicle deals with the reign of King Peter III; King Peter IV planned and revised the last of the four great chronicles.
Llullâs encyclopaedic works, written in Catalan, Arabic, and Latin, cover every branch of medieval knowledge. His exhaustive theological treatise Llibre de contemplaciĂł en DĂ©u (c. 1272; âBook of the Contemplation of Godâ) begins the golden age of Catalan literature; it also provides a wealth of information on 13th-century Catalan society. His Llibre dâEvast e Blanquerna (c. 1284; âBook of Evast and Blanquernaâ) is the founding text of Catalan fiction. Known as Blanquerna, it is the narrative of the lives of Blanquerna and his parents, Evast and Aloma, whose marriage comes to represent an ideal Christian marriage; successive chapters tell of stages in the life of Blanquerna, who ascends from altar boy to the papacy but then abandons his throne to enter monastic life. The narrative aims at representing all aspects of Christian existence. It includes the Llibre dâamic e amat (The Book of the Lover and the Beloved), a masterpiece of Christian mysticism. Llullâs Llibre de lâorde de cavalleria (between 1275 and 1281; The Book of the Order of Chivalry) and FĂ©lix (c. 1288) are didactic works in a narrative framework.
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Bernat Metge translated Giovanni Boccaccioâs story of Griselda from Petrarchâs Latin version and, clothing his scholastic learning with poetic imagination, achieved the stylistic masterpiece of early Catalan prose. Metge also wrote Lo somni (c. 1409; The Dream of Bernat Metge) in the tradition of medieval fantasy literature; the narrator converses with mythological characters and with the dead John I, who, from purgatory, exculpates Metge. The chivalric romance Tirant lo Blanc (c. 1460; Eng. trans. Tirant lo Blanc) by Joanot Martorell and MartĂ Joan de Galba offers a fictional treatment of Catalan exploits in the Middle East. The anonymous Curial e GĂŒelfa (late 14th century; Eng. trans. Curial and Guelfa) draws on Desclot, the only other Catalan romance to do so.
The beginnings of Catalan drama were represented by a 15th-century mystery play, Misteri dâElx (âMystery of Elxâ), which through the turn of the 21st century was performed annually in Spain at Elche (Elx), near Valencia, on the Feast of the Assumption.