Catalan Literature: A Journey Through Medieval & Renaissance
Humanism (14th-16th Centuries)
Influences: Greco-Latin language and culture.Key Figures: Bernat Metge (1340-1414) known for his skeptical attitude.
Curial e Güelfa (15th Century)
Author: Joanot Martorell
Characteristics: Verisimilitude, humor, sensuality. The protagonist is a knight.
Themes: Chivalry, courtly love, social ascension.
The Song of Gestes (12th-15th Centuries)
Evolution from the First Chansons de Geste:
- Characters: Shift from real heroes to fantastical ones.
- Setting: From real locations to indefinite places.
- Audience: From a popular audience transmitted orally by minstrels to an aristocratic reading public.
Themes: Idealization of chivalry, individual combat, love, and Arthurian legends.
Tirant lo Blanc (Late 15th Century)
Author: Joanot Martorell
Characteristics: Original features, credible story, realistic battles. Deep psychological development of characters, localizable settings, plausible and logical events.
Curial e Güelfa (Continued)
Characteristics: Wandering protagonist, humor, realism, and sensuality. Describes Curial’s social ascension. Complex characters, real geographical locations, historical figures like Peter II. Elements of humor and sensuality.
Troubadour Poetry (12th-13th Centuries)
Origins: Emerged in 12th-century Provence.
Influences: Prestige of Occitan language and culture, feudal system.
Themes: Secular subjects like love and war.
Courtly Love
Characteristics: Romantic ideology.
Key Figures: The Lover, the Lady, the Jealous Husband, the Spies (lausengiers).
Troubadours and Minstrels
Formal Elements: Rigorous standards, rhyme schemes for memorization and oral transmission.
Themes and Subgenres
Love Poetry:
- Canso: Subtle and connotated language of courtly love.
- Pastorela: Dialogue between a knight and a shepherdess.
- Alba: Song about the arrival of dawn and sadness.
Other Genres: War poetry, personal attacks, moralizing poems, literary reflections, sociopolitical commentary, planh (lament), tenso (debate).
Catalan Troubadours (12th-13th Centuries)
Key Figures:
- Alfons I: Patron of troubadour poetry.
- Guillem de Berguedà: Known for his conflicts and courtly style.
- Cerverí de Girona: Moralistic intentions.
Catalan Lyric Poetry (15th Century)
Key Figures: Ausiàs March, Jaume Roig.
Ausiàs March (1397-1459)
Life: Participated in Alfonso IV’s expedition, served as falconer major. Married twice.
Themes: Love, morality, relationships with women, spirituality, death.
Style: Realistic portrayal of human emotions, everyday imagery, pure Catalan language.
Prose (16th-18th Centuries)
Didactic Prose: Philosophical dialogues.
Key Figures: Cristòfor Despuig (1510-?) author of “Colloquies of the Famous City of Tortosa”.
Poetry (16th-17th Centuries)
Renaissance Poetry: Focus on love, nature, classical myths.
Baroque Poetry: Themes of disillusionment, frustration, death, duality, pessimism. Use of artifice, contrast, and twisted figures.
Theater (16th-18th Centuries)
Baroque Theater: Diverse forms.
Neoclassical Tragedy: Influenced by Latin works.