Catalan Literary History: Renaissance to the Renaixença

The Renaissance: Humanism and Classical Culture

The Renaissance in the 16th century was built around two core concepts: the assessment of the individual and, above all, the rediscovery of classical culture. The use of religious language was conditioned by several factors: the growing political influence of Spain and the new trends that drove the Renaissance, using Latin as the primary language of culture. In sacramental acts, theatrical pieces were developed as one-act plays with an allegorical character.

Prose works included the Colloquies of the Famous City of Tortosa by Cristòfor Despuig, which covered a variety of topics in what was a first attempt at the essay form. In poetry, Joan Timoneda published Flor d'enamorats, featuring a fifth of the poems in Catalan. This work influenced the output of Pere Serafí, an author of Petrarchan poetry who sought to express abstract ideas. Additionally, Joan Pujol wrote The Unique and Admirable Victory of Lepanto, recognized as the first Catalan epic.

The Baroque: Pessimism and Stylistic Complexity

In the 17th century, the Baroque replaced the Renaissance confidence in moral and social progress with pessimism and repression. The harmony and beauty of Renaissance literature were replaced by lexical and syntactic overloading, conceptual obscurity, and biting satire. In this style, the language underwent a significant revision characterized by:

• The contrast between powerful concepts or transcendental ideas.
• Deformation at two levels: a realistic approach that leads to caricature, and an idealistic approach that seeks absolute beauty.
• Exaggeration and the use of hyperbole for stylistic ends.
• Dynamism and vitality based on the alteration of syntactic order.

A key figure of this period was Francesc Vicent Garcia (the Rector of Vallfogona).

Neoclassicism: Precision and Classical Models

Neoclassicism was a movement that originated in France in the late 17th century. It is characterized by precision in the use of artistic forms and a return to classical models, standing in opposition to the sensuality and over-decoration of the Baroque. It vindicates the classical hero, as this model best fits enlightened despotism—the absolute power of the king in all areas of life.

The Enlightenment: The Age of Reason

The 18th century is known as the Age of Enlightenment (the segle de les llums). This period saw the great development of mercantilism, the birth of industrialization, and the replacement of courtly refinement with bourgeois subjectivism. There was a clear predominance of reason versus faith. The scientific method enabled experimental discoveries and established critical expertise as the primary method for analyzing all phenomena.

The Renaixença: National and Cultural Recovery

After three centuries of social and cultural decay, and influenced by Romantic ideas, written Catalan culture gained new momentum through the Renaixença. This was a movement of national recovery impregnated by social, economic, political, and cultural Romantic ideals.