The Homilies of Organyà

The Homilies of Organyà

The Catalonian language has great meaning within the linguistic area of the Iberian Peninsula. The manuscript of the famous Homilies of Organyà impressively bears witness to the meaning of that tradition, which was already established in the 13th century. This historic document was presumably the commission of an unknown Augustinian, probably a capitular in the cathedral of Tortosa. The 16-page text of six homilies in the Catalonian language was written at his behest in the 13th century.

Literary Bible-Commentary in Catalonian

These homilies are commentaries on the Gospels and other biblical texts and contain, inter alia, a homily for Ash Wednesday. The Catalonian text is probably a translation of homilies with a provincial origin, which was widely circulated at the time. The religious themes were presented in language that is expressive and lively, cultivated and polished. With that said, The Homilies of Organyà is the first Catalonian literary document.

Of Historical Significance

The Homilies of Organyà is considered to be the oldest known and surviving literary manuscript in Catalonian, aside from a few older and little-known documents that deal with legal and non-literary subjects. Thus they bear witness to the entrenchment and expansion of Catalonian language and culture in the lifeworld of the 13th century. The document came from the collection of the St. Maria de Organyá church. It was discovered there and made public in the year 1904 by the historian Dr. Joaquim Miret i Sans and is found today under the shelfmark Ms. 289 in the Biblioteca Nacional de Catalunya in Barcelona.