Galician-Asturian - Literature in Galician-Asturian Language

Literature in Galician-Asturian Language

The first known writer in Eonavian language perhaps could be Fernan Soares de Quiñones or Quinhões dos cancioneiros, troubadour of the last third of the thirteenth century. This troubadour was author of four songs of moral satire, known as (cántigas de escarnio y maldecir). One of these cántigas relates, in ancient Galician-Portuguese language, to the "costumes" (manners) and "feituras" (facts) of the "Cavalon" (old horse), which tells the adventures of a nobleman who lived in Seville, and had come from Oscos Region in “Esturas” (Asturias) on the border with Galicia. These verses are included in a “Cántiga” that is within the theme of “escarnio“ (ridicule) and “maldecir” (cursing) but with the impersonation which is typical of the “Cántiga de amigo” (friend song). Any way, It seems that the reference to the knight of Oscos presents allegorical connotations with the origin of the Asturian knight that might be related with the type of speech used in the cantiga.

As has been indicated, after the arrival of the Castillian Congregation at the Monastery of Santa María de Villanueva de Oscos in 1511, there ends the written record of this language until its resurgence in the late nineteenth century.

In the early years of the twentieth century there is an identification with the Galician Language, reflected in authors like Cotarelo Valledor and Antolin Santos Ferraria who operates entirely in Galician. Fernandez and Fernandez and Bernardo Acevedo Huelves were the first authors who are aware of the peculiarities of this language. The latest one is usually attributed the first sonnet in this language: “Vusté era un gran señor, Eu era un gran probe”(You was a great lord, I was a large poor man). Poet contemporary of those is Ramón García González, (1870-1938) who shows the influence of the modernist spirit, prevailing in the early Twentieth Century. His best-known work is a long poem entitled "El xardín". Another poet recognized in that time, was Villar Conrado Loza (Taramundi 1873-Tapia 1962), who provides to focus on the themes around migration, recurring theme in the folk literature on the early Twentieth Century.

After theSpanish Civil War, it was produced a decline of the literature in Asturian Galician, losing the identity features that were beginning appear. This is a folk literature in which was mixing the Galician and Castilian languages. This literature tends to be anecdotic rather than the purely literary. In the decade of the seventies, thanks to the work of authors such as Damaso Alonso, the writers of the western end Asturian begin to reaffirm the identity of this language. Among these writers were authors as Manuel Garcia Sanchez, known Manolo Galano, author particularly concerned about the popular culture of the region, who published in 1994 with the Jacinto López Díaz "Vocabulario da Roda" and who ten years earlier had published in 1984: "Cuentos Parzamiques". Frequent contributor to the magazine Entrambasauguas, he publishes in 2005 a recast of twenty written contributions to the magazine in the book "Vento d'outono". Beside those, can quote be some more recent authors as Xose Miguel Suarez (Mantaras, Tapia, 1965) and Xavier Frias Conde. These writers start their literary careers, from the philological study of the language, (albeit from very different perspectives).

Due to the difficulty of publishing books for an audience so small, the most remarkable of all this literature is its projection through various magazines of the region. The oldest magazine is "A Freita" which appeared eleven numbers; this is a general magazine that started to being published in 1992. Among its contributors, was writers as Benigno Fernandez Braña, Xan Castañeira, Xosé Maximo Fernandez Muniz, Adela Valledor Conde, etc. In 1995, the magazine attached a literary supplement, published with the will to make available to the authors of Eo-navia other formats, through a kind of book edition less formal.

Since 1996, by the Department of Linguistics of Eo Navia was published the magazine “Entrabasauguas”. Among the writers which often encouraged to collaborate with the magazine, are writers as Veiguela Crisanto (Vegadeo 1959), Alejandro Blanco Antunez, (Navia 1933), Teresa Lopez, (Boal 1950), Xoxe Carlos Alvarez Blanco, Xavier Vilareyo (Mieres 1967), Fredo de Carbexe (El Franco 1967), etc.

In the genre of theater, as is mentioned above, there is some tradition the writers who develop a folk literature, such as Villar and Manuel Galano. Lately, it has recovered old plays as: "Condo el cariño è de Verdá” comedy released in 1936 by the Association Armal and “El tratto de FF Arias”, premiered in Figueras in 1926.