Editing Catalonia (section)

=== Literature ===
{{Main|Literature of Catalonia}}
The oldest surviving literary use of the Catalan language is considered to be the religious text known as [[Homilies d'Organyà]], written either in late 11th or early 12th{{nbsp}}century.

There are two historical moments of splendor of Catalan literature. The first begins with the historiographic chronicles of the 13th{{nbsp}}century (chronicles written between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries narrating the deeds of the monarchs and leading figures of the Crown of Aragon) and the subsequent Golden Age of the 14th and 15th{{nbsp}}centuries. After that period, between the 16th and 19th{{nbsp}}centuries the Romantic [[historiography]] defined this era as the {{lang|ca|[[Decadència]]}}, considered as the "decadent" period in Catalan literature because of a general falling into disuse of the vernacular language in cultural contexts and lack of patronage among the nobility.

[[File:Rodoreda.jpg|upright=0.65|thumb|left|[[Mercè Rodoreda]] ]]
The second moment of splendor began in the 19th{{nbsp}}century with the cultural and political {{lang|ca|[[Renaixença]]}} (Renaissance) represented by writers and poets such as [[Jacint Verdaguer]], [[Víctor Català]] (pseudonym of [[Caterina Albert i Paradís]]), [[Narcís Oller]], [[Joan Maragall]] and [[Àngel Guimerà]]. During the 20th{{nbsp}}century, avant-garde movements developed, initiated by the Generation of '14 (called [[Noucentisme]] in Catalonia), represented by [[Eugenio d'Ors]], [[Joan Salvat-Papasseit]], [[Josep Carner]], [[Carles Riba]], [[Josep Vicenç Foix i Mas|J.V. Foix]] and others. During the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera, the Civil War ([[Generation of '36]]) and the Francoist period, Catalan literature was maintained despite the repression against the Catalan language, being often produced in exile.

[[File:Ana María Matute.jpg|upright=0.65|thumb|[[Ana María Matute]] ]]
The most outstanding authors of this period are [[Salvador Espriu]], [[Josep Pla]], [[Josep Maria de Sagarra]] (who are considered mainly responsible for the renewal of Catalan prose), [[Mercè Rodoreda]], Joan Oliver Sallarès or "[[Pere Quart]]", [[Pere Calders]], [[Gabriel Ferrater]], [[Manuel de Pedrolo]], [[Agustí Bartra]] or [[Miquel Martí i Pol]]. In addition, several foreign writers who fought in the [[International Brigades]], or other military units, have since recounted their experiences of fighting in their works, historical or fictional, with for example, [[George Orwell]], in ''[[Homage to Catalonia]]'' (1938) or [[Claude Simon]]'s ''Le Palace'' (1962) and ''Les Géorgiques'' (1981).

After the transition to democracy (1975–1978) and the restoration of the Generalitat (1977), literary life and the editorial market have returned to normality and literary production in Catalan is being bolstered with a number of language policies intended to protect Catalan culture. Besides the aforementioned authors, other relevant 20th-century writers of the Francoist and democracy periods include [[Joan Brossa]], [[Agustí Bartra]], [[Manuel de Pedrolo]], [[Pere Calders]] or [[Quim Monzó]].

[[Ana María Matute]], [[Jaime Gil de Biedma]], [[Manuel Vázquez Montalbán]] and [[Juan Goytisolo]] are among the most prominent Catalan writers in the Spanish language since the democratic restoration in Spain.