Luxemburgensia and first classics
The creation of Luxembourg is formalized in words, those of the charter signed in 963 by Sigefroi, descendant of Charlemagne, who took possession of a small fort, certainly Roman, called Luculinburhuc, in place of which he erected a castle, and those of the legend that gives the count a fish-woman, Mélusine, as his wife. The castle will become a city, then a country with boundaries as fluctuating as the borders in times of war. But the Grand Duchy, which is still Luxembourg today, is also a linguistic territory where French, German and a language declared national in 1984,Lëzebuergesch, an offshoot of Middle German whose oldest written trace is the Codex Mariendalensis
, cohabit. In this long epic poem, which is believed to have been written at the very end of the 13th century by Brother Hermann von Veldenz, the life of another tutelary figure of the nation, Yolande of Vianden, who opposed her parents in order to live her faith and became prioress of the monastery she had joined, is revealed.In fact, apart from the 13th century Codex Mariendalensis
, Luxembourg literature did not begin to flourish until six centuries later, in 1839. In that pivotal year, the Treaty of London was signed, recognizing the independence of the Grand Duchy. Although the territory of the Grand Duchy was amputated and the relations of domination with its neighbors were still very strong, a patriotic feeling was born, which was expressed through the affirmation of a common language and was reflected in literature.Thus, a founding text had been published ten years earlier by Antoine Meyer (1801-1857), a professor of mathematics who practiced at the Free University of Brussels and 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 precursor in two respects, he opened 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. He was also a poet, but was influenced by the Romantics, and 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 since 1903 a monument depicting him and Michel Lentz has stood, but also poems. He also collected local customs in his book Luxemburger Sitten und Bräuche. Finally, Michel Rodange is certainly the one who produced the most accomplished work, his Rénart le renard (1872), inspired by Gœthe's Reineke Fuchs, shapes in verse a fascinating tale of adventure while sketching a representation of contemporary mores. With poetry, theater and epic, the basis of Luxembourg literature was laid, and all that remained was to write itself.Multilingualism and openness
While this leading trio used Lëtzebuergësch, the country's other languages also began to inspire writers, following the example of Félix Thyes, the proclaimed author of the first novel written in French and published posthumously in 1855. Marc Bruno: profil d'artiste
, a romantic as well as a realistic text, narrates the professional wanderings and unhappy loves of a young man in the grip of constant doubt.On the German side, it is Nikolaus Welter (1871-1951) who is the leading German playwright with Die Söhne des Öslings in 1904 and the lyric poet with Hochofen in 1913. As for Batty Weber (1860-1940), he began as a serialist in the Das Luxemburger Land in 1883 and then joined the Luxemburger Zeitung
, of which he became editor-in-chief in 1893. Well-received poems and a novel contributed to his reputation: since 1987 a literary prize bears his name.Is it because the two World Wars were particularly cruel to Luxembourg, which found itself the plaything of foreign powers that did not hesitate to violate its neutrality twice, that literature seems to be in a period of withdrawal? Still, the first half of the 20th century was not particularly fruitful, with writings focusing on a certain passimism and on a sometimes disproportionate patriotic love that can be seen in the banishment of Norbert Jacques (1880-1954), who for decades was very legitimately reproached for his association with Nazi Germany, but above all for having dared to harshly criticize his homeland in his novel Der Hafen
.Despite everything, the 1950s and 1960s marked a revival: the romantic vision of the nation, which often rhymes with exacerbated patriotism, finally gave way to the possibility of a certain social criticism, which was also a guarantee of openness to the world. This new generation is perfectly embodied in the European filiation of the poetess Anise Koltz. Born in 1928, she will be rewarded in the year of her 90th birthday by the Goncourt de la poésie, a more than deserved distinction in view of her investment in Luxembourg's cultural life.
Other names will rhyme, and still do, with this literary renewal that will take off in the 1980s. Jean Portante, born of Italian parents but writing in French, became the champion of linguistic travel, making the neologism an art to be savoured in his many collections, while Michèle Thoma devoted herself to serials and chronicles with a willingly sharp pen. 1985 marked the great return of Lëtzebuergesch thanks to the novels of Guy Rewenig, whose publishing house Le Castor astral translated La Cathédrale en flamme in 1997. This fervour for the national language was encouraged by the autobiographical writings of Roger Manderscheid, who won the hearts of his fellow citizens, but writings in both, or even three if you count English, other languages also found their audience. Jean Krier, Guy Helminger, Jean Sorrente, Pierre Joris...: so many names that are destined to be engraved in Luxembourg's literary history.
