Romanization of Hispania: Culture, Provinces, and Legacy
Romanization of Hispania
Romanization is understood as the assimilation of Roman culture and way of life by the Roman Hispanians. The conquered peninsular territory was divided into provinces. In the time of Augustus, there were three provinces: two imperial and one senatorial. The imperial provinces were ruled by the emperor due to their potential for conflict. These were:
- Lusitania (Emerita Augusta)
- Tarraconensis (Tarraco)
The Senate controlled:
- Baetica (Cordoba)
Finally, in the 4th century, the peninsula
Read MoreCatalan Literature Evolution: 1906-1939
Catalan Literature Between 1906 and 1939
Since the beginning of the 20th century, Catalan literature enjoyed a period of renewal. Noucentisme and Avant-garde movements, two opposites, gave impetus to literature, especially poetry.
Noucentisme (1906-1923)
- Dominant cultural movement between 1906 and 1923, which intended to provide Catalan society with institutions of all kinds (political, social, cultural, etc.).
- During the 20th century, there was collaboration between artists, intellectuals, and politicians
The Bible and Classical Literature: Origins and Evolution
The Bible was written primarily in Hebrew, with some portions in Aramaic. The New Testament was written in Greek. The transmission of the Bible initially relied on oral tradition before being written down. This process began around the time of King David and Solomon. Several authors, writing styles, and periods contributed to the final text. The Old Testament was largely completed by the 1st century BC.
Genesis explains the creation of the universe by God as a triumph of order against chaos, culminating
Read MoreMester de Clerecía: Origins, Characteristics, and Key Figures
Mester de Clerecía: An Overview
- Thirteenth to the fourteenth century. Literary school.
- Cultivated by the clergy (who were any educated person with legal and ecclesiastical Latin education).
- Incorporation of the vernacular to reach out to ordinary people.
- Coexisted with mester de juglaría (minstrelsy). Both use the same language, target the same audience, and supply popular topics.
- Think of the illiterate people for whom the writer wrote.
Metric: Poems written in stanzas of Alexandrine verse (14 syllables
El Cid: An Epic Poem of Honor, Exile, and Triumph
The single epic poem is almost complete, preserved in a manuscript of 3730 verses kept in the National Library of Madrid. The manuscript is dated 1207 and signed by Per Abbat, presumably a mere copyist. Past studies have proposed a date of composition around the end of the 12th or beginning of the 13th century. Early authorship agreements suggest it could be the work of a cultured poet, drawing on both epic oral traditions and literary sources.
Argument
The poem is structured in three parts:
Song of
Read MoreRomantic & Reneixença Poetry: Key Authors & Themes
Romantic Lyric Poetry: An Overview
Romantic lyric poetry stands out as being suitable for the expression of feelings. In Germany, Goethe was a prominent author. In England, Byron, author of The Corsair, is a prototypical romantic hero.
Two Kinds of Poetry
- Lyric Poetry: Focuses on the expression of feelings. The style is often rhetorical and bombastic. The metric is innovative, employing polymetry. Main themes include feelings, the ideal woman, the broken heart, and the landscape reflecting the poet’