The antiquarians of the nation: archaeologists and philologists in nineteenth-century roussillon
- Autores: Francesca Zantedeschi
- Directores de la Tesis: Enric Ucelay Da Cal (dir. tes.), Joep Leerssen (codir. tes.)
- Lectura: En la Universitat Pompeu Fabra ( España ) en 2016
- Idioma: español
- Tribunal Calificador de la Tesis: Josep Maria Fradera (presid.), Àngel Duarte Montserrat (secret.), Jordi Canal (voc.)
- Materias:
- Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
- Resumen
The purpose of this thesis is to formulate a coherent history of Roussillon in the nineteenth century in an attempt to explain the causes for the weaknesses underpinning its Catalan cultural revival. In order to do so, I will commence by broaching the subject of the French process of nation-building, to illustrate how the initial Roussillonese studies were stimulated by research and inquiries into “national antiquities”. Such studies were indeed promoted by consecutive French governments with the aim of classifying, documenting and preserving all the artistic, linguistic and architectural “monuments” of the French nation. My research then proceeds to examine the Occitan-Catalan cultural context, within which the Roussillonese linguistic and cultural revival should be inserted and analysed. Moreover, I shall attempt to quantify the contribution made by Roussillonese scholars to the reflection on the Catalan language during the nineteenth century, as well as the extent and type of knowledge they possessed of Catalan and how they investigated it.
Within this general broader purpose, my thesis covers three specific aims: 1) To determine the contribution made by Roussillonese scholars to the reflection on the Catalan language during the nineteenth century.
2) In the context of the reflection on Catalan language and culture advocated by Roussillonese scholars, I will also define the nature and value of the role played by the clergy.
3) Finally, I am going to review the traditional interpretation of the "renaixença rossellonesa" and to reveal the implicit limitations contained in its constant comparison with the Catalan Renaixença.
The content of this thesis is developed through two narratives. The first context, the French one, is predominant in the first part of the thesis. It is fundamental to understand how, in the first half on the nineteenth century, the search for vestiges of the French nation (under construction) had been channelled and institutionalised by the architects of the modern state. It was in this context that the first studies on Roussillonese antiquities and monuments were occasioned. They were stimulated by the state institutions, which aimed to direct and organise the historical materials recovered in the provinces.
The second context is the Catalan/Roussillonese/Occitan one. Indeed, this research has to be inserted in the broader context of the history of Catalan-Occitan “germanor”. There remains an aspect of Occitan-Catalan relations that has not been examined, namely, the role played by Roussillonese scholars in both Catalan and Occitan cultural revivals. Since they found themselves between two cultural realities (Occitan and Catalan), not to mention the state borders of France and Spain, their activity was important principally for two reasons. First, they played a fundamental role in the discussion and process of differentiating Catalan from Occitan. Second, they were very active in supporting personal relations between the two sides of Pyrenees borders, thanks to the organisation and participation in literary and linguistic meetings.
As for methodology, I resorted to the methods of transnational history, entangled history, or histoire croisée. Indeed, a transnational approach allows exchange between disciplines, individuals and ideas to be appreciated, as well as the consequences of those exchanges and cultural transfers to be evaluated. Moreover, this methodology allows research to go beyond the narrowness of the territorial boundaries and domains generally admitted in the studies on nationalism (and not only) – i.e., those defined by the modern nation-states. And the geographical, political and cultural position of Roussillon certainly does require this kind of approach, as it sits at the crossroads between cultures, ideas, economic exchanges, and political entities.
To carry out my research, I used primary source documents – such as documents held by the Archives Départementales des Pyrénées-Orientales (ADPO), periodical articles, and manuscripts – as well as secondary sources, in particular bibliography on the history of antiquarianism and archaeology in France, history of philology and linguistic thought, and history of Roussillonese and Catalan cultural and linguistic revivals.
