Galician Literary History: From Medieval Cantigas to 1863

Medieval Literature: Cantigas de Santa Maria

The Cantigas de Santa Maria are poems composed at the court of Alfonso X of Castile, under the direction of the monarch, who was also the author of a number of texts. These compositions can be classified into two groups: narrative songs and lyrical songs.

Structure of Narrative Cantigas

The narrative songs recount a miracle attributed to the Virgin and always follow this structure:

• A threshold that indicates the specific miracle the song develops, followed by a refrain that is repeated at the end of each stanza.
• The presentation of the protagonist and the conflict they are involved in, followed by the intervention of the Virgin, who resolves all problems.
• A conclusion expressing praises toward Santa Maria.

Lyrical Cantigas and Their Characteristics

Lyrical songs are found interspersed among the narrative texts. They are composed in the form of a prayer, using resources very similar to the Cantigas de Amor (songs of love).

Songs of Scorn and Scolding

The Songs of Scorn and Scolding (Cantigas de escarnio e maldicir) have a satirical and burlesque character. Through these, troubadours and joglars could criticize people and their habits over time. They were born with a ridiculed character in order to amuse the public.

In these songs, procedures such as irony, ambiguity, and wordplay are used. Often, an ironic gloss is added after the first stanza and distributed through the rest of the composition, covering a variety of topics.

The Dark Centuries and the Prerrexurdimiento

The Prerrexurdimiento starts in the period of 1808-1863, the year in which Rosalía de Castro published Cantares Gallegos. During this time, the publication of Galician texts began. An important figure was Nicomedes Pastor Díaz, a politician and diplomat who wrote two songs in Galician: Bermiro and Dawn.

Key Precursors of the Galician Revival

The group of precursors is formed by those poets who published works in the Galician language. Two authors stand out:

• Francisco Cordeiro (1812-1878), who published in the Album de la Caridad.
• Juan Manuel Pintos (1811-1878), responsible for the first book published in the Contemporary age, A Gaita Gallega (The Galician Bagpipe).

Resistance and the Role of the Enlightenment

During the Dark Centuries, although the Galician language was followed by the immense majority of the population, it was reduced to oral use. Two factors strongly influenced this: the press and the university, which promoted only Latin and Castilian. However, figures like Father Feijóo and Martín Sarmiento were the most prominent defenders of the language during this era of resistance.