Summary of Historias de Galicia (cap. 5: "Lingua de reis, lingua do pobo")

00:00:00 - 00:25:00

This video discusses the history of Galicia's language and how it has been subject to various restrictions over the years. The language has not been fully normalized due to its lack of widespread use, but it continues to be an official language in Galicia. In this chapter, the authors discuss the idea of Galician as a medium, and how it survived thanks to the shield game and the poets' advocacy.

• 00:00:00 In the early 1600s, King Carlos I of Spain commissioned a Galician-Portuguese códice (a book with illustrated poems) to be created in order to document and preserve the Galician language. The work was completed in 1610, and since then has been kept in the Library of Escorial in Madrid. The códice contains three hundred and twelve Galician-Portuguese songs written in both Latin and Galician, many of which are about miracles performed by the Virgin Mary. Alfonso XIII, the last Spanish monarch to rule over Galicia, was also a poet and musician, and wrote his most famous work, the Cantigas de Santa María (Canticles of the Virgin Mary), in Galician.
• 00:05:00 This video discusses the importance of the Galician language in 12th century Portugal, and how it became a language of prestige. It highlights the work of two poets from this period, Fernando II and Afonso III, and highlights the importance of their songs to the nobility. The video also covers the history of the library where the manuscript is located, and how it has played a role in the development of Portuguese literature.
• 00:10:00 In this video, historian and language scholar Fernando Rodríguez explains how the use of Galician language decreased in power over time, eventually becoming an unofficial language of two independent kingdoms - Galicia in the north and Portugal in the south. Galician began to lose its power as a court language and eventually its influence over all 40,000-15,000 speakers of the language apart from the majority of the population in Galicia. Written Galician narratives and histories will continue to be written in the future, but may not be literary in nature, for example in municipal records such as agreements or contracts. Scholars call this "the dark age of Galician" because there were few literary works in the language, but some Galician scholars rediscovered that richness and developed a very accurate understanding of the state's language policies by donating their language to the world. Fernando Rodríguez mentions two important Galician scholars from the 16th century - Pedro José García (also known as Fray Martín) and Gaspar de Sá (better known as Fray Sarmiento). Both of these scholars were born in Galicia and eventually moved to Portugal to become part of the royal court. While there, they studied both Castilian (the court language
• 00:15:00 This video discusses the history of Galicia, focusing on the impact of the Spanish language on the region's culture. It interviews historian Manuel Murguía about the importance of Galician literature in the early days of Spanish democracy, and how it continued to be written even after the language was banned in schools. The interviewee also talks about the current state of Galician culture and its relation to the language.
• 00:20:00 In this video, a history of Galicia is recounted, starting with the 12th century, when Galician writers began to write in the language. However, at the same time, the Galician language was rapidly losing its speakers. One reason for this was the increasing use of Spanish throughout the country, which was gradually displacing Galician. Regional dialects were also losing ground to Castilian. Poets like Roquelía, inspired by the Rey who was fighting against discrimination, and other intellectuals, raised their voices against this treatment in their poetry. One of Roquelía's most famous poems is about a hermit who lived in a tower and could see the landscape below. It was very popular, and there is a songbook with many of Roquelía's poems in it. She also inspired many of the popular refrains in Galician folklore. In the 1970s, Mike Dunn composed Galician folk-songs. It is interesting to note that, when Roquelía wrote her poems, she was not following a trend or style in Spanish literature, but was instead expressing her own concerns about her homeland in her own unique way. This book is meant to show her appreciation to Fernanda Ballesteros, a woman who has written novels that
• 00:25:00 This video discusses the history of Galicia's language, which has been subject to various restrictions over the years due to the Spanish Civil War and Franco's dictatorship. The language has not been fully normalized due to its lack of widespread use, but it continues to be an official language in Galicia. In this chapter, the authors discuss the idea of Galician as a medium, and how it survived thanks to the shield game and the poets' advocacy. Galician is now considered the primary symbol of identity for Donoso country, or Galicia as it was known under Spanish rule. While it has not regained full normalization, it is still spoken by many people in Galicia.