The "Renaixença" Myth. Language and Literature in Catalonia (1789-1859)
Queen Mary University
In this lecture Dr Joan-Lluis Marfany, Dr en Fil. Honorary Research Fellow School of Histories, Languages and Cultures at the University of Liverpool, will address «The "Renaixença" Myth. Language and Literature in Catalonia, 1789-1859». A talk co-organized by Instituto Cervantes London and the Centre for Catalan Studies, Queen Mary University of London, to celebrate the annual Joanot Martorell Lecture in Catalan Studies.In the canonical version of the history of Catalan literature, a glorious medieval period was followed by three centuries of well-nigh complete abandonment of Catalan as a literary language. Then, starting from the 1830s, there began a revival (the Renaixença, literally «the Rebirth») which reached a first consolidating, milestone in 1859, with the foundation of the Jocs Florals, a poetry competition-cum-public festival which would go on taking place every year until the end of the century and beyond.All the while, the process of restoration of Catalan literature went on gathering momentum until what one might call normality, as defined by the neighbouring great national literatures, was achieved in the early decades of the twentieth century. In this lecture, it will be argued that this narrative runs counter to the historical evidence and an alternative one will be offered, based on a comprehensive look at the whole historical record which replaces the so-called Renaixença in the context of all the literary activity taking place in Catalonia during the first half of the nineteenth century.
