From Pondal (1835-1917) to Cabanillas (1876-1956): Ossian and Arthur in the making of a Celtic Galicia

Abstract

The second part of the 19th century witnessed the upsurge of the other cultures, languages and literatures of Spain, main dormant since the late Middle Ages, when Spanish or Castilian became the new national language of a united Spain (1492). Among these, Galicia, the humid, green north-west corner of the Iberian Peninsula led the way. The Romantic Movement taking place in this region was given the name of Rexurdimento or ‘Resurgence’. But there is something that makes Galicia different form other parts of Spain experimenting similar processes such as Catalonia or the Basque Land. Galicia made its collective mind up to turning into a full Celtic nation. Manuel Munguía (1833-1923), historian and main leader of the Rexurdimento movement published a Historia de Galicia or ‘History of Galicia’ in 1865, where he claimed the two main elements of the Galician identity were the language and its Celtic roots. He elaborated and reconstructed the history of Galicia and claimed that the pre-Roman Celtic past was the real nature of Galicia and that Celtic Galicia has always been at war with the Romans, the Germanic invaders, the medieval kingdoms, etc. These polemical, surprising, but fascinating theories soon became very popular, not only among the intellectuals but among the people at large. It constituted a very curious cultural, social and political phenomenon which helped build a national identity of their own, frequently opposed to mainstream Spanish culture and nation. Of course, this peculiar Galician Celtic Revival proved an excellent source of inspiration for many Galician writers who committed to write in Galician and to promote an independent Galician culture. On the one hand, this paper will focus its attention on Eduardo Pondal (1835-1917), the so-called Bard of Galicia and his book of poems Queixumes dos pinos (1886) (Complaints of the Pine-Trees). On the other, on Ramón Cabanillas (1876-1956), named the National Poet of Galicia, and his Na noite estrelecida (1926) (Under a Starry Night), which consists of three narrative poems: A espada Escalibor, O cabaleiro do Sant Grial, A son do rei Arturo. Both of them represent the final triumph in literature of the idea of a Celtic Galicia. Their compositions are full of Ossianic, Arthurian and other Celtic motifs, which this article will try to disclose as well.