Jacint Verdaguer

Jacint Verdaguer
Jacint Verdaguer monument on Plaça de Mossèn Jacint Verdaguer in Barcelona
Born	(1845-05-17)May 17, 1845 Folgueroles, Spain
Died	June 10, 1902(1902-06-10) (aged 57) Vallvidrera (Barcelona), Spain
Occupation	Poet, priest
Literary movement	Renaixença, Romanticism
Notable works	Canigó, L'Atlàntida
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Jacint Verdaguer i Santaló (Catalan pronunciation: [ʒəˈsin bərðəˈɣe] or [vərðəˈɣe]) (May 17, 1845 – June 10, 1902) was a Spanish writer, regarded as one of the greatest poets of Catalan literature and a prominent literary figure of the Renaixença, a cultural revival movement of the late Romantic era. The bishop Josep Torras i Bages, one of the main figures of Catalan nationalism, called him the "Prince of Catalan poets". He was also known as mossèn (Father) Cinto Verdaguer, because of his career as a priest, and informally also simply "mossèn Cinto" (with Cinto being a short form of Jacint).

He was born in Folgueroles, a town on the Plain of Vic, in the comarca of Osona (Province of Barcelona) to a modest family who valued learning. His father, Josep Verdaguer i Ordeix (Tavèrnoles, 1817 – Folgueroles, 1876), was a brickmason and farmer. His mother, Josepa Santaló i Planes (Folgueroles, 1819–1871), a housewife and farmer, was to exercise great influence over young Jacint, as she conveyed to him a love of literature, especially poetry, and was a deeply religious woman. He was the third of eight children, only three of whom survived. In 1855, at the age of 10, he entered the Seminary of Vic, as was expected for a child who was not the first-born under the system of primogeniture and had to make his livelihood without relying on an inheritance. Until then, he had lived like the other children in his town. The anecdotes told about him show that he stood out from his peers for his intelligence, astuteness and courage, as well as his athletic constitution. He displayed a balanced attitude without any apparent religious inclinations.