Manuel Milà i Fontanals (; May 4, 1818 – July 16, 1884) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

scholar. He was born at

Vilafranca del Penedès Vilafranca del Penedès, or simply Vilafranca (), is the capital of the ''comarca'' of the Alt Penedès in Catalonia, Spain. The Spanish spelling of the name, ''Villafranca del Panadés'', is no longer in official use since 1982 (Law 12/1982, of ...

, near

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, and was educated first in Barcelona, and afterwards at the

University of Cervera The Royal and Pontifical University of Cervera ( es, Real y Pontificia Universidad de Cervera) was a Spanish university located in Cervera, Province of Lleida, Catalonia. The institution was founded in 1717 by Philip V of Spain, who sought to co ...

. In 1845, he became professor of literature at the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...

, and held this post until his death at Vilafranca del Penedès on the July 16, 1884. The type of the scholarly recluse, Milà i Fontanals was almost unknown outside the walls of the university until 1859, when he was appointed president of the ''

jocs florals Floral Games were any of a series of historically related poetry contests with floral prizes. In Occitan, their original language, and Catalan they are known as '' Jocs florals'' (; modern Occitan: ''Jòcs florals'' , or ''floraus'' ). In French ...

'' at Barcelona. On the publication of his treatise, ''De Los trovadores en España'' (1866), his merits became more generally recognized, and his monograph, ''De la poesía heróico-popular castellana'' (1873) revealed him to foreign scholars as a master of scientific method. He brought the chivalric romance ''

Curial e Güelfa ''Curial e Güelfa'' is an anonymous Catalan chivalric romance of the fifteenth century, notable for incorporating elements of Italian humanism. Known from a single manuscript and unpublished until the twentieth century, it is today considered ...

'' to scholarly notice in 1876.John W. Wheeler (ed.), ''Curial and Guelfa: A Classic of the Crown of Aragon'' (John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2011), p. 1.

References

External links

Page about Manuel Milà i Fontanals
by the Association of Catalan Language Writers. In English, Catalan and Spanish. 1818 births 1884 deaths People from Alt Penedès Renaixença writers Spanish male writers Spanish scholars {{Catalonia-writer-stub