The Canigó Poem

The Canigó poem, by Mosén Cinto Verdaguer.

The Canigó poem, by Mosén Cinto Verdaguer about Pyrenees but there are three mountains magical in Catalonia: The Canigó, The Pedraforca and Montserrat. But this does not mean that other mountains in Catalonia don’t have charm, mystery and legends. But today we’ll talk about Canigó.

El Canigó is a magical mountain, linked to witches of water and fire, and their spells of fantasies and dreams in the heart of the Pyrenees.

El Canigo, is a poem written by Mosen Cinto Verdagure. It describes the epic of Catalonia, the magic of the mountains, and the Saracens reconquest in Spain.

Characters.

Three brothers: Tallaferro (count of Besalú), Guifre (count of Cerdanya) and Oliba (abbot of Santa Maria de Ripoll)

Gentil the son of Tallaferro

Griselda a shepherdess

Flordeneu the queen of witches

The Palace is Canigó

La Guilda is the wife of Guifre

Synthesis of the Canigó poem.

In the Canigó, (like a giant magnolia), Gentil son of Tallafero hired a knight who carried four bars on his shield and a relic of Saint George on the grip of the sword. Gentil met the shepherdess Griselda and falls in love with her. Her father does not like him and wants to prevent it. A minstrel tells of the origin of the garlands that are in the form of a cross, put on the doors by the minions to avoid the entrance of the Devil. By and by, the emissary delivers the news of the capture of Elna and Ceret by the Saracens.

The poem explains the gathering: the circle dances (The sardana traditional dance as a thread of pearls); the touch of the drum and the flabiol (like rivers of fire); the fallaires, ignited, which spread the fire to the plains.

The snow-covered Canigó is like a mantle of an ermine. If Gentil gets this kind of mantle, then he’ll possess the shepherdess Griselda, and become transformed into Flordeneu, the witch’s queen. The shepherdess charmed with Gentil, her love, would leave the battlefield. While the Saracens conquered Prada and the Castle, Guifre watched his nephew go insane. To destroy the curse of men being possessed by fairies and witch, Flordeneu makes a funeral walk, showing her mourning in nature.

Prior to the these events, Flordeneu and Gentil take a flight throughout the Pyrenees to the Aneto and Maladeta (Mont Maleit) on their carriage. At Peak Perefita, in the stormy weather, the flocks are turned into rocks, because the shepherds didn’t want to contribute to God. Later they return to the Canigou.

All the fairies prepared gifts for the bridesmaids. Each brought a present: a peephole that looks at everything; a necklace of topaz threaded with gold thread; a golden crown; a golden threaded veil; pearl rams; a wedding ring and the gold claw. All of these were given to Flordeneu, the Queen of Canigou, while they sang their legends.

The fairy Lanós’ told that Princess Lampéia, daughter of the Duke of Aquitaine, who fell in love with her kidnapper, Abú Neza, a Saracen prince and governor of the Cerdanya, who lives in Fort Julia LLivia, It was a hunting day and he captures her, and adored her. Love will not last though. Abderramn, his father, persecutes them with the scream of a traitor’s death, at the Regina source. Abú Neza commits suicide and was buried in a triangle on the Plains, which is his mausoleum. Saracens then took Lampéia to the harem of Damascus.

Pyrenees vs Apls

The Fairy Mirmanda, narrated Finestrelles, the events of Annibal by the narrows of the Pyrenees. There where woodcutters with great axes, making use of the war machines and the African army, with its one hundred elephants to break through. But, there was another higher wall: the Alps. The Pyrenees are a flat hills compared to the Alps.

The Fontargent fairy tells us the origin of the Garona and the Noguera in Aran. El Noguera, by Alós, meets Segre and reaches the Mediterranean. Garonne for Aran arrives to the Atlantic. One plays and the other swallows the soil. Flordeneu makes Gentil a solemn funeral using a boat on the lake of Cadi. The first recapture of the Saracens, Tallaferro is wounded and taken prisoner. The galiots of the dead fleet in Cotlliure could be burned. Guifré kills the giant Saracen in Gedhur on the Fossar del Gegant.

When Tallaferro found out Guifre had killed his son, Gentil. Oliba, the other brother (the abbot), had to separate them to prevent more killing.

Tallaferro would be killed when going to Bellcaire by the wives of his son Guillem (with Adela de Provenza) and his brother Guifré. Guifré was sorry for his crime and decided to become a hermit. He asked Oliba to plant La Creu at the top of Canigó.

The second recapture began with the Christian monks of the Canigó mountain, expelling the fairies of the magical mountain. They raised a great Cross at the top of the Canigó. Thus the two bell towers of Sant Marti del Canigó and Sant Miquel de Cuixa were rebuilt by the Christians.