The ''Renaixença'' (; also written ''Renaixensa'' before
spelling standardisation), or Catalan Renaissance, was a
romantic revivalist movement in
Catalan language
Catalan () is a Western Romance languages, Western Romance language and is the official language of Andorra, and the official language of three autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous communities in eastern Spain: Catalonia, the Balearic I ...
and culture through the mid 19th century, akin to the
Galician ''
Rexurdimento'' or the
Occitan ''
Félibrige'' movements. The movement began in the 1830s and lasted until the 1880s, when it branched out into other cultural movements. Even though it primarily followed a romantic impulse, it incorporated stylistic and philosophical elements of other 19th century movements such as
Naturalism or
Symbolism. The name does not indicate a particular style, but rather the cultural circumstances in which it bloomed.
Overview
Along with the later ''
modernisme'', this movement ended a period of Catalan cultural decline commonly known as
Decadència, that dated back at least to defeat in the
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...
(1701–1714)
[Art Nouveau in Catalonia](_blank)
on GaudiAllGaudi.com. Accessed 26 March 2006. and the subsequent
Nueva Planta decrees, which suppressed
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
's traditional institutions, privileges, and ''
furs'' beginning January 16, 1716. Thus, the aim of this movement was the full restoration of Catalan as a language of culture, not only through the promotion of various forms of
art,
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...
and
literature
Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...
in this language, but also attempting to establish a normative standard for the language, something however not fully accomplished until the first quarter of the 20th century.
As with most of the other Romantic movements, it was noted for its admiration of the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, which was often reflected in art, and in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 c ...
, the literary contest known as
Jocs Florals or ''Jocs de la Gaia Ciència'' was revived.
The Renaixença occurred not only in Catalonia proper, but also in other Catalan-speaking regions such as the
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...
.
The Renaixença
, part o
Els Moviments Literaris Contemporanis a les Balears
, on mnm.uib.es. Accessed 26 March 2006.
A journal particularly associated with the movement was the magazine '' La Renaixença'', from which the name was taken- originally spelt ''Renaixensa'' before the Fabrian spelling reform.
Notable individuals related to Renaixença
* Bonaventura Carles Aribau, writer. His poem '' Oda a la pà tria'' is usually acknowledged to have kick-started the movement.
* Manuel Milà i Fontanals, linguist, philologist and troubadour literature scholar, of great influence and one of the main initiators of the ''Renaixença''.
* Joan Maragall, poet, translator from Greek and German, journalist and essayist.
* Jacint Verdarguer, poet, penned L'Atlà ntida and the Catalan national epic, '' Canigó''.
* Àngel Guimerà , playwright.
* NarcÃs Oller, novelist influenced by Émile Zola's naturalism, chronicled the Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
, society and changing mindsets in his novels.
* Frederic Soler, known as ''Pitarra'', playwright using colloquial Catalan.
* Joaquim Rubió i Ors, poet, known variously as ''Lo Gayté del Llobregat'', ''El Gaiter del Llobregat'', among others
* VÃctor Català (real name Caterina Albert i ParadÃs), symbolist writer.
* Martà GenÃs i Aguilar, writer.
* Antoni Puig i Blanch, poet.
* Francesc Camprodon, poet.
* VÃctor Balaguer, writer. Used the pseudonym ''Lo trovador de Montserrat''.
* Antoni Gaudi, architect. Greatest exponent of Catalan Modernism.
* Maria Antònia Salvà i Ripoll, poet.
Notes
Further reading
* Joan Badia i d'altres, ''Llengua Catalana Cou'', Ed.Teide, Barcelona, 1988,
* Enciclopèdia catalana de l'estudiant ''Llengua i literatura catalanes'' núm. 5
External links
Renaixença
from the ''Nou diccionari 62 de la literatura catalana'' (2000). Page also contains extensive links to other reference-quality material. In Catalan.
Renaixença, civisme i nacionalisme
on the site of the Museu d'Història de Catalunya. In Catalan.
La Renaixença
{{DEFAULTSORT:Renaixenca
19th century in Catalonia
Culture of Catalonia
Catalan-language literature
Catalan symbols
Catalan words and phrases
Submovements of Romanticism
ca:Renaixença#Renaixença a Catalunya