Petit Cénacle

French literary group

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July 2, 2026

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The Petit Cénacle was a literary group of young, bohemian Romantic writers in France. This group formed around Théophile Gautier, Gérard de Nerval, and Petrus Borel. They were known for their more turbulent and bohemian approach to Romanticism.12

The Petit Cénacle played a significant role in the "battle of Hernani" in 1830. This was a cultural clash surrounding the performance of Victor Hugo's play, where the Petit Cénacle's enthusiastic support helped to overcome the opposition from traditionalists, marking a victory for the Romantic movement and a shift away from outdated Classicism.1

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…Romantics, became known as the Petit Cénacle. When Hugo’s poetic drama Hernani was performed in 1830, their clamour and applause supporting the play overwhelmed the scorn of the traditionalists who had come to disparage it, thus ending the battle of the Romantics—the so-called battle of Hernani—for the demise of the…
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…Romantics, became known as the Petit Cénacle. When Hugo’s poetic drama Hernani was performed in 1830, their clamour and applause supporting the play overwhelmed the scorn of the traditionalists who had come to disparage it, thus ending the battle of the Romantics—the so-called battle of Hernani—for the demise of the…
Read More