Medieval Literature: Church, Nobility, and the People
The Middle Ages
The Christian church boasted great power and established the basic values of society: Theocentricism (God as the center of reality) and social hierarchy. In art, there are two major styles: Romanesque and Gothic.
Medieval Lyric
Its origin can be found in the Roman world. Lyric poetry expressed personal feelings and sensations and had to be sung. The author had to be a poet and singer.
- Minstrels: Composed songs in the vernacular about profane topics that were performed in front of a courtly audience.
- Jesters: Interpreters who had to convey the song with meticulous precision.
- Poets: Versified poems in Latin, often of religious inspiration, and intended for individual reading.
Highbrow Poetry Written in Latin
The church estate cultivated poetry written in Latin, both on secular and religious themes.
Ripoll Monastery: Founded in 879 and reformed in 1008, it was a cultural center of Catalonia’s most important training until the 14th century. The monks cultivated poetry and wrote lives of saints. The Ripoll Bible, from the 11th century, contains an impressive quantity of miniatures and drawings.
Highbrow Poetry Written in Occitan
The noble estate cultivated troubadour lyric poetry, which was the first sign of serious literature written in a Romance language.
Art of Composition: It consists of the creation of songs by following rigid rules of composition (couplets and consonant rhyme).
Poetic Genres
- The Song of Fin’amors: A love song exalting the dignity of the lady of the court.
- Dawn: Expresses the pain felt by lovers upon perceiving the arrival of daylight (separation of the lovers).
- The Pastorela: Tells of the random encounter between a knight and a shepherdess, who is requested for her love.
- The Sirventes: A genre characteristic of war themes. It can address personal Sirventes (a feudal lord expressing their hatred for another, often resorting to slander), political Sirventes (events and political struggles of the time), and moral Sirventes (social customs).
- The Planh: A funeral song that expresses the pain felt for someone’s death. It often ends with a prayer for their soul.
Berenguer de Palol: The oldest Catalan troubadour, thanks to whom twelve songs are known that follow the canon of the song of fin’amors. Berenguer sings of a lady through whom joy, love, and song are made present. She occupies his thoughts night and day.
Cerverà de Girona: A Catalan troubadour professionally linked to the royal household and the Duke of Cardona. He also wrote songs imitating the style and terms of folk poetry.
Lyric Poetry Written in Catalan
The popular estate had a long tradition of popular music: songs of love, parties, work, etc.
Ramon Llull was the first lyric poet who wrote in Catalan. Llull wrote poems of an autobiographical nature, such as the Song of Ramon. Llull differs from troubadour poetry because he shows the reader the reality of his own person (and how he feels).
The Medieval Epic
Minstrels were responsible for disclosing epic feat songs (oral and variable in form, which the minstrels amended based on the audience and time) in castles and town squares. The chronicles of James I, Ramon Muntaner, and Bernard Desclot collected prose versions of some Catalan feat songs.