Jocs Florals

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Els Jocs Florals ( Catalan for the flower games , Occitan : Jòcs Florals also Jòcs Floraus ) were a medieval poetry contest at the Occitan court in Toulouse and at the Catalan-Aragonese court in Barcelona . From 1859, in romantic Catalonia (and later also in Valencia), this competition was revived. Under themotto Patria, Fides i Amor ,introducedby Antoni de Bofarull into the modern Jocs Florals of Barcelona, the best patriotic poetry with the Englantina d'or , the golden jasmine, the best religious poetry with the viola d'or or the viola d 'argent , the silver or golden violet, and the best love poetry with the flor natural , usually a red rose. While the rose was fading, the excellent love poem lived on forever and made the poet immortal in it.

The medieval Jocs Florals of Toulouse and Barcelona

The medieval poetry contest seems to be inspired by the festival for the goddess Flora in ancient Rome, which was celebrated at the end of April. In 1323, the Sobregaya Companhia dels Set Trobadors (Joyful Gathering of the Seven Troubadours), a poetry competition, was launched in Toulouse to revive troubadour lyric poetry and poetry in Occitan. The first competition took place in May 1324. Arnaud Vidal de Castelnaudari was awarded the golden violet . In the 15th century these festive poetry competitions were celebrated less and less at the court in Toulouse, probably for the last time in 1484. The norms for the competition with regard to grammar and poetics were written by the Toulouse lawyer Guilhelm Molinièr . These have been preserved to us in three versions. 1.) Las leis d'amors (1328–1337, in prose form), 2.) Las flors del gay saber (1337–1343, in compact verse form) and 3.) in another prose form (1355–1356). As part of these poetry games, around 100 poems were created, mostly with religious themes, which were thematically far removed from the love poetry of the troubadours.

First connections from Catalonia with the city council of Toulouse arose through Joan de Castellnou from Roussillon, who with Alfonso III. and whose brother Peter (Père) had close connections. These relationships resulted in numerous Catalan participations in the Occitan poetry competition: Joan Blanc , Jaume Rovira , Bernat de Palaol , Llorenç Mallol , apparently also Joan Basset , Gabriel Ferrús , Lluís Icart and Guillem de Masdovelles . A first Catalan poetry competition, which we do not know for sure whether it was really the first, probably on royal initiative, was celebrated in Lleida in 1338 . Jaume Marc and Lluís d'Averço received from John I on February 20, 1393 the right to organize the games ( Gaia Ciència ) in Barcelona. They organized two of these competitions in 1394 and 1395, which the city of Barcelona paid for. Martin I of Aragon reinstated the Gaia Ciència , the poetry games, from May 1, 1398 and gave them royal authority. Ferdinand I of Aragon confirmed the construct from 1398 that the city hall of Barcelona had to name the organizers of the games. Few works of these medieval Barcelona Jocs Florals have survived. Gilabert de Proixida and Guillem de Masdovelles certainly took part in these competitions , and with a high probability Andreu Febrer too . Other names mentioned cannot be easily confirmed. Without wanting to belittle the Jocs Florals of Tolosa , the Jocs Florals of Barcelona offered more clearly the possibility of spreading the troubadour poetry of the 14th and early 15th centuries. In the 15th century these competitions were then discontinued. It was not until 1859 that the Jocs Florals de Barcelona and from 1879 the Jocs Floral de Lo Rat Penat in Valencia and later from 1924 the Jocs Florals in Roussillon , the Companyia Literària de la Ginestra d'Or , were established.

The romantic Jocs Florals of Barcelona

Joan Cortada , Josep Lluís Pons i Gallarza , Víctor Balaguer , Manuel Milà i Fontanals , Joaquim Rubió i Ors , Miquel Victorià Amer and Antoni de Bofarull applied to the Barcelona City Council in March 1859 to reinstate the Jocs Florals and Gaia Ciència , the happy ones Science originally started in 1393 by John I of Aragon . The aim of these romantic Jocs Florals was to rediscover and consolidate the Catalan identity and culture that had been lost in the centuries of Castilian domination. The city of Barcelona took up this proposal constructively. She provided an annual budget for the purchase of the first three prizes. The so-called Consistori del Jocs Florals , which consisted of the mayor of the city and his two assessors, took over the patronage and thus the protection of these celebrations . Specifically, this consistory had to control and promote an institution founded by the medieval kings of Catalonia and Aragon. More specifically, these poetry games should encourage young people to promote and develop the Catalan language and culture.

On the first Sunday of May in 1859, the first modern Jocs Florals opened in Barcelona in the Sala de Consell de Cent . Under the presidency of Antoni Milà, a total of seven responsible persons, who also acted as the jury, directed the competition. This jury was re-elected every year. In addition, there was a permanent management structure consisting of an actual management committee and a supervisory board. In some years, especially during the Jocs Floral in exile, an honorary committee was founded to organize the poetry games. There were three regular prizes: The Englantina (the large-flowered jasmine) for the best patriotic poetry. The viola (the violet) for the best religious poetry. The Flor natural (The natural flower, usually a red rose) for the best love poetry. Additional prizes were donated by private and public sponsors. If a poet was able to win one of these three regular prizes for three years in a row, he could call himself Mestre en gai saber , master of cheerful science. The following poets succeeded: Joaquim Rubió i Ors, Marià Aguiló, Josep Lluís Pons i Gallarza, Àngel Guimerà, Jacint Verdaguer, Víctor Balaguer , Miquel Costa i Llobera, Joan Alcover , Joan Maragall, Josep Carner and Josep Maria de Sagarra .

The Jocs Florals were held annually in Barcelona from 1859 to 1936 with two exceptions. In 1902, the country's military leadership prohibited the competition in Barcelona. This year the competition took place in Sant Martí de Canigou in the south of France. In 1924 the competition was held in Toulouse . Overall, this competition brought strong impetus to the Catalan Renaixença . It was becoming anachronistic by the end of the 19th century. Above all, he showed massive opposition to the standardization of the modern Catalan language by Pompeu Fabra . This modern Catalan language standard was not widely accepted in the context of this poetry competition until 1934. As early as 1914, Carner, then a member of the supervisory board, tried to modernize Jocs Florals.

In 1936, after 77 years, the tradition of the Jocs Florals in Barcelona was interrupted by the civil war. Jocs Florals were held as a private event in Barcelona on the first Sunday of May from 1940 to 1970. From 1941 to 1977 the annual Jocs Florals de la Llengua Catalana was recorded in exile. These took place in Zurich (1968), Tübingen (1970), Geneva and, for the last time, in 1977 in Munich . In 1978 the poetry competition was held again in Barcelona. From 1984 to 2005 only the three original flower prizes were awarded. In 2006 the three prizes were consolidated into the one Premi de Poesia Jocs Florals de Barcelona . The winner may adorn himself with the title Poeta de la Ciutat de Barcelona .

Award winners

Romantic Jocs Florals from Barcelona

Awarded the Flor natural from 1984 to 2005

Premi de poesia Jocs Florals de Barcelona from 2006

The Valencian Jocs Florals by Lo Rat Penat

As early as 1859, Marià Aguiló had organized a literary competition in which Victor Balaguer , Teodor Llorente and Vicent W. Querol won the prizes. From 1879, the Lo Rat Penat (The Bat) cultural association in Valencia organized regular Jocs Florals . They became bilingual from the start, i.e. H. Catalan and Spanish, performed. Lo Rat Penat's Jocs Florals quickly became a social event. A lot of artists and politicians took part. The curators' introductory speeches were often politically influenced. Numerous Valencian as well as participants from other Catalan-speaking areas took part in these competitions. From 1936 to 1939, during the Spanish Civil War, these competitions were suspended. In addition to the poetry competitions, there were also prizes for prose, music, theater and history. Overall, these competitions have strengthened the Catalan language and culture in the Valencian areas.

Individual references and comments

  1. ↑ a b Enciclopèdia.cat: Jocs florals. Retrieved April 7, 2018 (Catalan).
  2. ↑ For the places of exile poetry see the article Jocs Florals de Barcelona in the Enciclopèdia Catalana.
  3. ↑ Paragraph: Romantic Jocs Florals from Barcelona after: Enciclopèdia Catalana: Jocs Florals de Barcelona . In: Gran enciclopèdia catalana. 2nd edition 5th reprint 1992. Volume 13 . Enciclopèdia catalana, Barcelona 1987, ISBN 84-7739-008-8 , p. 257 f . (Catalan).
  4. ↑ Ajunatement de Barcelona Jocs Florals de Barcelona (winner). Retrieved February 16, 2019 (Catalan).
  5. ↑ Special price to commemorate 1714.
  6. ↑ Special price for the 150th anniversary of Jocs Florals.
  7. ↑ Salvador Espriu Special Prize.
  8. ↑ Paragraph: The Valencian Jocs Florals by Lo Rat Penat after: Enciclopèdia Catalana: Jocs Florals de Lo Rat Penat (Valencia) . In: Gran enciclopèdia catalana. 2nd edition 5th reprint 1992. Volume 13 . Enciclopèdia catalana, Barcelona 1987, ISBN 84-7739-008-8 , p. 258 (Catalan).

literature

  • Enciclopèdia Catalana: Jocs Florals de Barcelona . In: Gran enciclopèdia catalana. 2nd edition 5th reprint 1992. Volume 13 . Enciclopèdia catalana, Barcelona 1987, ISBN 84-7739-008-8 , p. 257 f . (Catalan).
  • Enciclopèdia Catalana: Jocs Florals de Lo Rat Penat (Valencia) . In: Gran enciclopèdia catalana. 2nd edition 5th reprint 1992. Volume 13 . Enciclopèdia catalana, Barcelona 1987, ISBN 84-7739-008-8 , p. 258 (Catalan).
  • Neu-Altenheimer, Irmela: The "flower games" of Barcelona in the 19th century. In: Polyglotte Romania. Homenatge a Tilbert Dídac Stegmann. Edited by Brigitte Schlieben-Lange and Axel Schönberger. Vol. 1: Contributions to the language, literature and culture of Catalonia and the history of German-language Catalan studies. Domus Editoria Europaea, Frankfurt am Main, 1991, pp. 39-50. ISBN 3-927884-16-2 .

Web links