Linguistic Varieties and Medieval Catalan Authors
Linguistic Varieties
Geographical Varieties (Diatopic)
Geographical varieties, also known as dialects, are the modalities that a language presents in a specific geographical area. Linguistic atlases characterize dialects. Despite their differences, speakers of different dialects can generally understand each other.
Historical Varieties (Diachronic)
Historical varieties correspond to the various stages a language has gone through up to the present day. Languages are the result of historical evolution.
Social Varieties (Diastratic)
Social varieties reflect the relationship between speakers and social organization.
Functional Varieties (Diaphasic)
Functional varieties give rise to registers and are associated with specific communicative contexts, to which the speaker must adapt. The standard variety is valid throughout the territory of a language.
The Standard Language
The standard is a common variety that serves as a formal reference model for all members of a linguistic community. It is established as general and above any other variety.
Medieval Catalan Authors
Francesc Eiximenis
Francesc Eiximenis was the author of a book animated by his desire to reform society. He was a figure admired and valued both in life and after death. He entered the Franciscan order at the age of twenty-five and expanded his studies at the universities of the time.
Literary Production
Eiximenis appears as a soul-driven compiler. A revision of the life of Christ is the goal of his most important work, Lo Crestià . In it, he exposes Christian dogma and morality, not only to the learned but also to the general public. Eiximenis’s main objective was to guide the less skilled to follow “the straight path” and not deviate from dogma.
Saint Vincent Ferrer
Saint Vincent Ferrer did not intend to create literature but to dedicate his life to the conversion of sinners. He spread his message in the form of sermons and, from an ecclesiastical point of view, prepared souls for the impending final judgment. Born in Valencia, he was admitted to the convent of the Dominicans. His sermons could last two or three days, always facing the same public that came to hear him. He was accompanied by a group of collaborators who copied his sermons. There are 280 preserved sermons, each likely lasting more than three hours. He preached in his native Valencian, with a lively and popular language, keeping in mind the audience he was targeting. He used numerous techniques to make his discourse more engaging: rhyme, examples, onomatopoeia, controlled gestures, and even hallucinations. In addition, he employed a large set of rhetorical and theatrical resources. His ultimate goal was to attack corrupt social customs and return them to the provisions of the church.
Anselm Turmeda
Anselm Turmeda escaped orthodoxy. The observation of a corrupt reality and the evidence of moral hypocrisy drove him away from his religion and even his nation. He was a Franciscan and studied at the universities of Bologna and Paris. He received the revelation of a secret grand master in theology and, therefore, understood that Islam was the true religion. He embarked for Tunis, where he publicly apostatized from his Christian faith and adopted an Arabic name. Turmeda wrote his works in Catalan after his apostasy. In addition to Catalan, he also wrote in Arabic. His most famous work is The Dispute of the Ass. It features a long dispute between Brother Anselm and an ass, who represents humans before animals, to determine who holds supremacy.