Cénacle is the name given to a
Parisian literary group of varying constituency that began about 1826 to gather around
Charles Nodier. The group sought to revive in
French literature
French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by French people, French citizens; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of Franc ...
the old monarchical spirit, the spirit of medieval mystery and spiritual submission. The chief members were
Vigny and the brothers
Deschamps. They were soon joined by
Lamartine
Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine (; 21 October 179028 February 1869) was a French author, poet, and statesman. Initially a moderate royalist, he became one of the leading critics of the July Monarchy of Louis-Philippe, aligning more w ...
,
Hugo, and
Sainte-Beuve, who describes the group as "royalists by birth, Christians by convention and a vague sentimentality." Their organ was ''La Muse Française''.
Musset,
Mérimée, and the elder
Dumas were involved within the Cénacle, too. Time and the revolution of 1830 wrought changes in the attitudes of the members of Cénacle.
Théophile Gautier
Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic.
While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rema ...
and
Gérard de Nerval
Gérard de Nerval (; 22 May 1808 – 26 January 1855), the pen name of the French writer, poet, and translator Gérard Labrunie, was a French essayist, poet, translator, and travel writer. He was a major figure during the era of French romantici ...
were attracted to the group at the time of the revolution, but the reasons for the existence of the Cénacle dissolved. The group lost its reason for existence with the triumph of
Hugo's
Hugo's Family Marketplace is a family-owned chain of supermarket grocery stores located in the U.S. states of North Dakota and Minnesota. It was founded by Hugo and Dorothy Magnuson in 1939. Hugo's is headquartered in the city of Grand Forks, No ...
''
Hernani'' (1830). The group also included women, such as writer
Louise Crombach.
References
Further reading
*
Cultural organizations based in France
1826 establishments in France
French male writers
{{France-writer-stub