The phase of less use of the Catalan turns into a reinassance at the XIXth century thanks to an increasing national and linguistic sensibilization
In the secoond third of the XIXth century begins the Catalan reinassance, movement of recovering the national signs of Catalonia: the folklore, the literature, the history ... and, specially, the language, that had to recover the uses it had been lost in the age of its decandence.
One of the initiatives of this movement was the recovering of the Floral Games. It is a poetic cintest celebrated since the Middle Age in Catalonia and Provence the first Sunday of May. This contest was recovered in 1859 thanks to the initiative of intellectuals as Joaquim Rubió Ors or Manuel Milà i Fontanals. There were three poetic awards: la Flor natural (the Natural Flower), for the best poem dedicated to love; la Viola de Plata (the Violet of Silver), for faith, and the Englantina de Oro (the Jasmine of Gold) for the poem about the nation. Who was awarded with the three prizes was proclamed mestre en gai saber. Many authors of ths age (Jacint Verdaguer, Ángel Guimerà ...) became famous through this awards, that were very popular. The language used was archaic and not modernized.
At that moments magazines in Catalan began being published, as La Renaixensa, Lo Gay Saber, El Calendari Català and La Ilustració Catalana, in Catalonia, and La Roqueta and L’Ignorància, in Majorca.
- Jacint Verdaguer (Folgueroles, 1845 - Vallvidrera, 1902). He made the eclesiastic studies at the seminar of Vic, where he familiarized himself with the rethoric and the Classics and began writing poetry. His wok, marked by Catholicism and conservationism, includes epic and lyric poetry, narrative and journalistic prose, and literature of travels. Some titles are remarkable, as L'Atlàntida y Canigó, epic poems related to Romanticism, and the poetic compilations Idil·lis i cants místics, Pàtria, Montserrat, Flors del Calvari and Aires del Montseny. He was proclamed master in gai saber at the Floral Games of 1880. His production had a great popular impact; many poems have been musicalized and also translated to other languages.
- Ángel Guimerà (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 1845 - Barcelona, 1924). Scriptwriter and poet. He was born in Tenerife, son of Catalan father and Canarian mother, he moved to Catalonia when he was eight. His first works are included within the tradition of the historic Romanticism. With the theatre piece Mar i cel he obtained a great succes and began the prime of his life, during which his most representative plays were performed for the first time: Maria Rosa, Terra baixa and La filla del mar, that realistic describe the life in the Catalonia of his age. He had also an important role at the policy of the moment; the volume Cant a la pàtria collect his speeches , pronounced by the whole region of Catalonia.
- Frederic Soler, (Serafí Pitarra, pseudonimous), (Barcelona, 1839 - 1895). Scriptwriter, poet and theatre business man. Key author of the Catalonian romantic theatre, he also dealt with all the topics of this genre in satiric and homouristic plays that had a great success of public, as L'esquella de la torratxa or El castell dels tres dragons, among other examples. Later he opted by drama, with plays as Les joies de la Roser or Batalla de reines. At the theatre Romea, he created a specialized company in plays in Catalan, and later he was the businessman and artistic director of this theatre. He also practised poetry, both satiric and refined, and was appointed master in gai saber at the Floral Games.
- Narcís Oller (Valles, 1846 - Barcelona, 1930). He studied Law and was solicitor of the courts until almost his death. He is the first great Catalan novelist of the revival and he is considered to be the creator of the Catalan modern novel, thanks to the titles of realistic novels as La papallona, L'Escanyapobres, Vilaniu, La febre d'or, La bogeria o Pilar Prim. With his romantic formation, he progresively opted towards the aesthetic option of naturalism similar to Émile Zola, but he got his own style; Oller starts from real facts and characters, to which he applies imagination, with the aim of analyzing a universal passion through a certain social and historical context.
- Marià Aguiló (Palma, 1825 - Barcelona, 1897). Son of a well-off family, he studied in Barcelona and soon he joined the literary and cultural atmosphere he found. He registered at the body of archivists and was director of the Universitarian library of Barcelona. VEry young he began witing poems and later he became master in gai saber at the Floral Games. His poetry is popular and has a declared patriotism. He was one of the key people of the revival of the catalan in Majorcaand had always present the need of restoring the literary language and the consciousness of unity of the Catalan. He also wrote folkloric studies, notes of Catalan grammar and a dictionary of Catalan.
- Ángel Guimerà (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 1845 - Barcelona, 1924). Scriptwriter and poet. He was born in Tenerife, son of Catalan father and Canarian mother, he moved to Catalonia when he was eight. His first works are included within the tradition of the historic Romanticism. With the theatre piece Mar i cel he obtained a great succes and began the prime of his life, during which his most representative plays were performed for the first time: Maria Rosa, Terra baixa and La filla del mar, that realistic describe the life in the Catalonia of his age. He had also an important role at the policy of the moment; the volume Cant a la pàtria collect his speeches , pronounced by the whole region of Catalonia.
- Frederic Soler, (Serafí Pitarra, pseudonimous), (Barcelona, 1839 - 1895). Scriptwriter, poet and theatre business man. Key author of the Catalonian romantic theatre, he also dealt with all the topics of this genre in satiric and homouristic plays that had a great success of public, as L'esquella de la torratxa or El castell dels tres dragons, among other examples. Later he opted by drama, with plays as Les joies de la Roser or Batalla de reines. At the theatre Romea, he created a specialized company in plays in Catalan, and later he was the businessman and artistic director of this theatre. He also practised poetry, both satiric and refined, and was appointed master in gai saber at the Floral Games.
- Narcís Oller (Valles, 1846 - Barcelona, 1930). He studied Law and was solicitor of the courts until almost his death. He is the first great Catalan novelist of the revival and he is considered to be the creator of the Catalan modern novel, thanks to the titles of realistic novels as La papallona, L'Escanyapobres, Vilaniu, La febre d'or, La bogeria o Pilar Prim. With his romantic formation, he progresively opted towards the aesthetic option of naturalism similar to Émile Zola, but he got his own style; Oller starts from real facts and characters, to which he applies imagination, with the aim of analyzing a universal passion through a certain social and historical context.
- Marià Aguiló (Palma, 1825 - Barcelona, 1897). Son of a well-off family, he studied in Barcelona and soon he joined the literary and cultural atmosphere he found. He registered at the body of archivists and was director of the Universitarian library of Barcelona. VEry young he began witing poems and later he became master in gai saber at the Floral Games. His poetry is popular and has a declared patriotism. He was one of the key people of the revival of the catalan in Majorcaand had always present the need of restoring the literary language and the consciousness of unity of the Catalan. He also wrote folkloric studies, notes of Catalan grammar and a dictionary of Catalan.