The Evolution of Catalan Literature: From Origins to Renaissance

Origins of Catalan Literature

Catalan literature emerged from Vulgar Latin in the 12th century. The earliest known texts include legal judgments from the 12th century and the Homilies of Organyà (sermons).

Medieval Catalan Literature (13th-15th Centuries)

From the 13th to the 15th centuries, Catalan literary works achieved a high standard compared to other Romance languages. Scribes were significantly influenced by Occitan poets of the 15th century.

Prose in Medieval Catalan Literature

• Religious and Moral Prose: Notable figures like Ramon Llull and Vincent Ferrer produced numerous works rich in lexical and syntactical complexity, revealing a deep Christian rhetorical culture.
• Narrative Background: This genre encompassed historical accounts, personal experiences, or references to written testimonies. It often drew from oral traditions and aimed to defend Catalan kings.
• Philosophical Prose: This branch of prose explored themes such as immortality, good and evil, and the nature of love for women.

Courtly Love

Courtly love was a refined amorous sentiment, appropriate to the courtly environment. It typically involved a troubadour (the lover), a noble lady (the object of affection), and a jealous husband.

Catalan Literature in the 16th Century: An Era of Decline

The 16th century marked a period of decline for Catalan literature, largely due to the imposition of Spanish by the Castilian royal court.

Literary Movements and Concepts

• Renaissance: This era placed humanity and its capacity for free judgment at the center of the universe.
• Baroque: Expressed the spiritual crisis and religious wars of the period.
• The Enlightenment (18th Century): This movement saw a recovery of trust in human reason and the possibility of rationally re-educating individuals.

Key Poetic Genres and Concepts

Medieval and early modern Catalan literature featured a variety of distinct poetic forms and concepts:

• Song (Cançó): The amorous genre par excellence, its stanzas typically follow a 5 or 7-line structure.
• Dance (Dansa) and Ballad (Ballada): Romance-themed love ballads, often associated with the Ballater genre.
• Alba: A composition depicting a specific moment in the experience of love, often at dawn.
• Pastorella: An amorous composition in the form of dialogues between a knight and a shepherdess.
• Tensó and Partimen: Dialogue forms between two troubadours (real or fictional) who discuss amorous, literary, moral, or political issues in alternate stanzas.
• Sirventes: A genre of moral or political commentary that troubadours used to argue for a character or to create satire.
• Planh (Lament): A funeral lament or praise in memory of a deceased lord or friend.
• Vidas: Brief narrative texts found in songbooks, preceding compositions, providing biographical information about the bard.
• Locus Amoenus: A pleasant, idealized place, often a natural setting, used in literature.
• Dolce Stil Novo: A literary movement that idealized the lady, portraying her as angelic and divine.