Romanticism and the Renaixença: A Cultural Revival

Romanticism and the Renaixença

Romanticism (from French: *roman* - novel) is based on overwhelming feelings. Born in Germany, [Romanticism] dislikes the climate where it lives and needs to flee. It is a period of cultural and artistic movements, [like] the Renaixença, Romanticism, and Realism. This movement swept across Europe in the early and late 19th century. 1833 is considered the starting point of the Renaixença, with the publication of Bonaventura Carles Aribau's ode, "La Pàtria" (The Homeland) in the journal *El Vapor*. It culminates with the restoration of the Jocs Florals (Floral Games). The term designates:

1. The period between Decadence and Modernism.
2. A cultural movement and nationalist awareness.

Key points highlighted include:

• Reconstructing the history of the Middle Ages.
• Discovering and disseminating classic medieval literature.
• Collecting oral tradition and refining the literary code.
• Recovering the literary language.
• Creating literature in all genres, publishing in the press.
• Strengthening existing institutions around the Catalan language.

There were two trends within the Renaixença:

• One led by figures like Pedro Mata, gathering liberal Romantics around journals such as *El Vapor*. They were skeptical Republicans.
• A more conservative group interested in the medieval past, including figures like Manuel Milà i Fontanals and Josep Pons.

In the end, this [conservative] trend was imposed in the Renaixença.

The Aesthetic Field

Romantic aesthetics opposed rigid Neoclassicism and defended originality and creative imagination. It incorporated concepts considered "ugly."

Jocs Florals (Floral Games)

The Jocs Florals solidified the idea of restoring the "Games of the Gay Science." Restored on May 1, 1859, they thrived with the support of the Barcelona City Council. The slogan "Homeland, Faith, and Love" corresponded to the three ordinary prizes:

• Englantina d'or (Golden Eglantine)
• Viola d'or i argent (Golden and Silver Violet)
• Flor Natural (Natural Flower)

These prizes were crafted with precious metals. A poet who won all three in one or several competitions was awarded the title of "Master in Gay Saber."

The goals of restoring the Jocs Florals were:

• To promote the pleasure of reading and [foster] new generations of writers.
• To return to Catalan literature the prestige it had lost centuries earlier.
• To create an eager public for the first media industry in Catalan literature.
• To create prestigious Romantic poetry.

Realism

Realism emerged in France around 1830 and also spread throughout the rest of Europe in the 19th century.