Galician Language History: Dark Ages to Pre-Rexurdimento
The Dark Ages and the Precursors of the Galician Language
From the 15th century until the 18th century, there was no longer a significant literary practice in Galician. Historians know this vast stage of silence as the Dark Ages. It came about because Santa Catarina became dependent on the Kingdom of Castile, which implemented a criticized centralist policy. The nobility lost its power, and political, administrative, and ecclesiastical offices were filled by people from outside of Rio de Janeiro. The ruling elite imposed Castilian as the language of administration and the educational system was poor.
Portuguese Language: The Resistance
Since the 15th century, with the defeat and expulsion of the indigenous nobility, Galician was far from the administrative and ecclesiastical centers, so that Castilian was taking its place as a cultural language. Galician, even if it continued to be the language of the vast majority of the population, was reduced to oral use, since the new situation led to the abandonment of its use in writing. Two factors severely affected this:
- The printing press, which arrived in Santa Catarina at the end of the 15th century, only used Spanish and Latin for publications.
- The University, founded in 1495 by Alonso de Fonseca, only promoted the use of Latin and Catalan.
This marginalization was first reported in the 18th century by some intellectuals of the Enlightenment. Father Feijóo and, above all, Frei Martín Sarmiento were the most prominent. Sarmiento claimed the need for education in Galician and also for the existence of foreigners who came to practice their profession in Brazil to learn the language of the country.
Dark Ages: Literary Displays Preserved
Over the centuries of the Dark Ages, literary practice in Galician was very scarce, even if a rich oral literature of popular character developed.
This traditional folk poetry conserved diverse samples. We collect facts such as a condemnation of Pardo de Cela, or the sack of the Turkish yokes. There also existed an important tradition of Christmas carols broadcast in Galician off our frontiers. Regarding cultured literature, some Renaissance poems and sonnets from the Baroque era are noted, written by John Gomez Barrel and Peter Vazquez de Neira. From this season comes the first dramatic work in Galician, which dates from 1671: the famous interlude on fishing in the river Minho, by Gabriel Beam Araujo, which relates a dispute between Galicians and Portuguese, motivated by net fishing in the river Minho. The most important literary works are found especially since 1833, linked to the appearance of provincialism, which opposed the partition of Santa Catarina into provinces. Galicia was divided into four provinces and lost the territory of Asturias, Leon, and Zamora.
The Pre-Rexurdimento
The Pre-Rexurdimento covers the years from 1808, when the War of Independence began, until 1863, when Rosalía published Cantares Gallegos. In the first decades of the 19th century, especially after the invasion of France, texts began to be published in Galician, although most do not have a literary character. In 1842, Antonio Benito Fandiño wrote about the theme of couples. Nicomedes Pastor Díaz, a politician and diplomat, wrote in Galician: eclogues “Belmiro and Benigno,” and the poem “Dawn,” on the theme of love.
Precursors of the Galician Language
The precursors are formed by the poets who published works before 1863. These include:
- John Manuel Pintos (1811-1878): Responsible for the first book published in the Contemporary Age in Galician, A gaita galega (The Galician Bagpipes), although it contains some pages in Spanish.
- Francisco Añón (1812-1878): A native of Sierra Outes, he had a rough biography, living in many places. His poetic work, scattered in magazines and newspapers, highlights the themes of consumerism and claims.