Luxemburgensia and first classics
The creation of Luxembourg was formalized in words, those of the charter signed in 963 by Sigefroi, a descendant of Charlemagne, who took possession of a small fort, certainly Roman, called Lucilinburhuc, in whose place he would erect a castle, and those of the legend that gave the count a fish-woman, Mélusine, as his wife. The castle became a town, then a country, with boundaries as fluid as wartime borders. But the Grand Duchy, which is still Luxembourg today, is also a linguistic territory where French, German and a language declared national in 1984,Lëtzebuergesch, an offshoot of Middle German whose oldest written trace is the Codex Mariendalensis, coexist. This long epic poem, estimated to have been written at the very end of the 13th century by Brother Hermann von Veldenz, reveals the life of another of the nation's tutelary figures, Yolande de Vianden, who opposed her parents to live her faith and became prioress of the monastery she had joined.
In fact, apart from the Codex Mariendalensis in the 13th century, Luxembourg literature did not begin to flourish until six centuries later, in 1839 to be exact. It was in this pivotal year that the Treaty of London was signed, recognizing the independence of the Grand Duchy. Although part of its territory was amputated, and relations of domination with its neighbors still prevailed, a feeling of patriotism was born, through the affirmation of a common language and through literature.
A seminal text had been published ten years earlier by Antoine Meyer (1801-1857), a professor of mathematics at the Université libre de Bruxelles who also devoted himself to his native language, reflecting on its grammar and giving it its letters of nobility with his collection of satirical poems entitled E'Schrek ob de lezeburger Panassus. A trailblazer on two counts, he paved the way for three authors who are now classics: Michel Lentz, Edmond de la Fontaine and Michel Rodange.
The first was born in 1820 in Luxembourg, where he died in 1893. Also a poet, but influenced by the Romantics, he is best remembered for having written the lyrics of the national anthem, Ons Heemecht ("Our Homeland"). The second, better known under his pseudonym Dicks, gave his country its first plays, vaudevilles such as De Scholtschäin performed in 1855 at the Cercle littéraire on the Place d'Armes, where a monument depicting him and Michel Lentz has stood since 1903, as well as poems. He also collected local customs in his book Luxemburger Sitten und Bräuche. Last but not least, Michel Rodange's Rénart le renard (1872), inspired by Goethe's Reineke Fuchs, is certainly his most accomplished work, shaping in verse a fascinating tale of adventure while at the same time sketching a depiction of contemporary mores. Poetry, drama and epic: the foundations of Luxembourg literature had been laid, and all that remained was for it to be written.
Multilingualism and openness
While this leading trio all used Luxembourgish, the country's other languages were also beginning to inspire writers, as in the case of Félix Thyes, the proclaimed author of the first novel written in French, published posthumously in 1855. Marc Bruno: profil d'artiste, a romantic as well as realistic text, narrates the professional wanderings and unhappy love affairs of a young man prey to constant self-doubt.
On the German side, Nikolaus Welter (1871-1951) makes his mark as a playwright with Die Söhne des Öslings in 1904 and as a lyric poet with Hochofen in 1913. Batty Weber (1860-1940) began his career as a feuilletonist with Das Luxemburger Land in 1883, before joining the Luxemburger Zeitung, where he became editor-in-chief in 1893. A series of poems and a well-received novel contributed to his reputation: since 1987, a literary prize has been named after him.
Was it because the two world wars were particularly cruel to Luxembourg, which found itself the plaything of foreign powers that twice violated its neutrality, that literature seemed to turn in on itself? In any case, the first half of the twentieth century was not particularly fruitful, with writings focusing on a certain pastism and a sometimes disproportionate patriotic love, as can be seen in the decades of banishment suffered by Norbert Jacques (1880-1954), who was quite rightly reproached for his allegiance to Nazi Germany, but above all for having dared to criticize his homeland harshly in his novel Der Hafen.
Nevertheless, the 1950s and 1960s were a time of renewal: the romantic vision of the nation, which often rhymed with exaggerated patriotism, finally gave way to the possibility of a certain social criticism, which was also a sign of openness to the world. This new generation is perfectly embodied in the European lineage of poet Anise Koltz. Born in 1928, she was awarded the Goncourt de la poésie in the year of her 90th birthday, a distinction more than deserved in view of her investment in Luxembourg's cultural life.
Other names rhymed, and still rhyme, with this literary renewal, which really took off in the 1980s. Jean Portante, born of Italian parents but writing in French, became a champion of linguistic journeys, making neologism an art to be savored in his many collections, while Michèle Thoma devoted herself to soap operas and chronicles with a willingly sharp pen. 1985 saw the return of Lëtzebuergesch, thanks to the novels of Guy Rewenig, whose La Cathédrale en flamme was translated by Le Castor astral in 1997. This fervor for the national language was encouraged by the autobiographical writings of Roger Manderscheid, who won the hearts of his fellow countrymen, but writings in two, or even three if we include English, other languages also found their audience. Jean Krier, Guy Helminger, Jean Sorrente, Pierre Joris...: all names destined to go down in Luxembourg's literary history.
