Sardinian literature

The literature of Sardinia is the literary production of Sardinian authors, as well as the literary production generally referring to Sardinia as an argument, written in various languages.

The beginnings

The existence and understanding of direct statements of the proto-Sardinian (pre-punic and pre-Latin) language or languagesMassimo pittau, Origine e parentela dei Sardi e degli Etruschi, Carlo Delfini Editore, Sassari, 1995; La lingua Sardiana o dei Protosardi, Ettore Gasparini Editore, Cagliari, 2001 being hotly debated, the first written artifact from the island dates back to the Phoenician period with documents such as the Nora Stele or the trilingual inscription (Punic-Latin-Greek) from San Nicolò Gerrei.Theodor Mommsen, CIL, Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, Inscriptiones Sardiniae, G. Reimerum, Berlin, 1883, 7th paragraph, pag.816; Greek text: ᾽Ασκληπίῳ Μήρρη ὰνάθημα βῶμον ἔστμσε Κλέων ό ὲπἰ τῶν άλῶν καιὰ πρόσταγμα – Latin text: Cleon salariorum sociorum servus Aescolapio Merre donum dedit lubens merito merente This last artifact symbolizes the passage of the island from a Punic cultural and linguistic influence to a Roman one. The Carthaginians took control of Sardinia around the year 500 BC, and lost it in 238 BC after the First Punic War. After that the new Roman province of Sardinia et Corsica established an almost exclusive use of written and spoken Latin for more than eight centuries, as a result of the linguistic Romanization of the entire island. After briefly being occupied by the Vandals in approximately 456, it was again taken by the Romans in 534 AD, more precisely the Byzantine Romans from the East, who gradually introduced medieval Greek at all levels of society, while the common people continued to speak a Latin dialect which evolved, after some centuries, into medieval Sardinian Romance. In this period Latin still remained the language of religious culture as the Sardinian Church was strictly related to Rome, while Greek was the language of political power, that of the very far but mighty Emperor of Costantinople. The new millennium brought an attempted conquest by Muslims, which failed on account of the fleets of Pisa and Genua, but at the same time brought a new rapprochement to western Europe, as Byzantines were no longer able to defend the farthest part of their "οικουμένη" (ecumene).

Multilingualism,Giuseppe Marci, In presenza di tutte le lingue del mondo, Letteratura Sarda, CUEC/CFS, Cagliari, 2005 as we shall see, will always be a constant in the literary history of the island: Punic, Greek, Latin, Byzantine Greek, medieval Latin, Sardinian and vernacular Tuscan,Monumenta Historiae Patriae, Tomus XVII, Codex Diplomaticus Ecclesiensis, (13th century, Editor's note), edited by Carlo Baaudi di Vesme, Torino, Tipografia Regia, 1876. Catalan, Spanish, Sardo-Corsican,Raccolta di canzoni in dialetto tempiese di Don Gavino Pes (1724-1795, Editor's note), Sassari, Tipografia Azuni, 1877 Italian,Pietro Delitala, Rime diverse, Cagliari, 1595; Carlo Buragna(1634-1679, Editor's note), Canzoniere edited by Carlo Susanna, C. Castaldo, 1783, Napoli and even FrenchVincenzo Bacallar y SannaDescription géographique, historique et politique du royaume de Sardaigne, Paris, 1714; Memoires pour servir a l'histoire d'Espagne, sous le regne de Philippe V, Amsterdam, Z. Chatelain, 1756. Domenico Alberto Azuni, Système universel des principes du droit maritime de l'Europe, ou Tableau methodique et raisonné, Paris, J. C. Poncelin, 1801-1802; Droit maritime de l'Europe par M. D. A. Azuni, Paris, Charles, 1805; Histoire géographique, politique et naturelle de Sardaigne, Paris, Levrault frères, 1802; Notice sur les voyages maritimes de Pytheas de Marseille par M. D. Azuni, Marseille, Imprimerie de la Société Typographique, 1803-1804. were the languages which Sardinian authors used for two millennia. Of particular importance for the history and anthropology of Sardinia in Roman times, is the text of the table of Esterzili: "The find is of exceptional importance for the inscription of 27 lines with capital letters: it shows the decree by the Proconsul of Sardinia L. Elvio Agrippa March 18 69 A.D. – during the reign of the Emperor Otho – to settle a border between the populations of Patulcenses Campani and Galillenses that have repeatedly violated the limits. The proconsul in particular ordered that the Galillenses had to leave the lands occupied by force and warned them off keeping to rebel. The text ends with the names of the members of the acting council and with the seven witnesses signatures. The scientific value of the finding is having sent along with the names of two of the populations living in Roman Sardinia, a summary of the long dispute occurred between the end of the Republic and early Imperial Age (since the end of the second century. BC to the first century AD).Theodor Mommsen, CIL, Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, Inscriptiones Sardiniae, G. Reimerum, Berlin, 1883, 7th paragraph, pag.812La tavola di Esterzili, Il conflitto tra pastori e contadini nella Barbaria sarda, Attilio Mastino (a cura di), Edizioni Gallizzi, Sassari, 1993; Text: IMP. OTHONE CAESARE AVG COS XV K APRILES DESCRlPIVM ET RECOGNTIVM EX CODICE ANSATO L HELVI AGRIPPAE PROCONS QVFM PROPVLIT GN EGNATIVS FVSCVS SCRIBA QVAESTORIVS IN QVO SCRIPTVM FVIT IT QVOD INFRA SCRIPTVM EST TABVLA V) VIII ET VIIII ET X III IDVS MART L HELVIVS ACRIPPA PROCOS CAVSSA COGNITA PRONVNTIAVIT S CVM PRO VTILITATE PVBLICA REBVS IVDlCATIS STARE CONVENIAT ET DE CAVSSA PATVLCENSI VM M IVVENTIVS RIXA VIR ORNATISSIMVS PROCVRATOR AVG SAEPIVS PRONVNTAVERIT FI NES PATVLCENSIVM ITA SERVANDOS ESSE VT IN TABVLA AHENEA A M METELLO ORDINATI ESSENT VLTIMOQVE PRONVNTIAVERIT GALILLENSES FREQVENTER RETRACTANTES CONTROVER SIAI NEC PARENTES DECRETO SVO SE CASTIGARE VOLVISSE SED RESPECTV CLEMENTIAE OPTVMIIO MAXIMIQVE PRINCIPIS CONTENTVM ESSE EDIERo ADMONERE VT QVIESCERENT ET REBVS IVDICATIS STARENT ET INTRA K OCTOBR PRlMAS DE PRAEDIS PATVLCENSIVM DECEDERENT VACVAM QVE POSSESSIONEM TRADERENT QVODSI IN CONTVMACIA PERSEVERASSENT SE IN AD VEAM AUCTOTERS SEDITIONIS SEVERE ANIMA ADVERSVRVM ET POSTEA CAECILIVS SIMPLEX VIR CLARISSI MVS EX EADEM CAVSSA ADITVS A GALILLENSIBVS DICENTIBVS TABVLAM SE AD EAM REM IS PERTINENTEM EX TABVLARIO PRINCIPIS ADLATVROS PRONVNTIAVERIT HVMANVM ESSE DILATIONEM PROBATIONI DARI ET IN K DECEMBRES TRIVM MENSVM SPATIVM DEDERIT IN TRA QVAM DIEM NISI FORMA ALLATA ESSET SE EAM QVAE IN PROVINCIA ESSET SECVTVRVM EGO QVOQVE ADITVS A GALILLENSIBVS EXCVSANTIBVS QVOD NONDVM FORMA ALLATA ESSET IN K FEBRVARIAS QVAE P F SPATIVM DEDERIM ET MORAMLLIS POSSESSORIBVS INTELLEGAM ESSE IVCVN 20 DAM GALILENSES EX FINIBVS PATVLCENSIVM CAMPANORVM QVOS PER VIM OCCVPAVERANT INTRA K APRILES PRlMAS DECEDANT QVOD SI HVIC PRONVNTIATIONI NON OPTEMPERAVERINT SCIANT SE LONGAE CONTVMAClAE ET IAM SAEPE DENVNTIÀTA ANIMADVERSIONI OBNOXIOS FVTVROS IN CONSILIO FVERVNT M IVLIVS ROMVLVS LEG PRO PR T ATILIVS SABINVS Q PRO PR M STERTINIVS RVFVS F SEX AELIVS MODESTVS P LVCRETIVS CLEMENS M DOMITIVS 2S VITALIS M LVSIVS FIDVS M STERTINIVS RVFVS SIGNATORES CN POMPEI FEROCIS LAVRELI GALLI M BLOSSI NEPOTIS C CORDI FELICIS L VIGELLI CRISPINI C VALERI FAVSTI M LVTA TI SABINI L COCCEI GENIALIS L PLOTI VERI D VETVRI FELICIS L VALERI PEPLI

The earliest record of an artistic literary production in Sardinia can be found in Latin and Greek carmina, carved in the limestone of the tomb-shrine of Atilia Pomptilla, in the necropolis of Tuvixeddu of Cagliari. The most tender ode is written in Greek:

From your ashes, Pomptilla, violets and lilies flourish and may you bloom again in the petals of the rose, of the fragrant crocus, of the eternal amaranth, and of the beautiful flowers of the white panzy, like the narcissus and the sad amaranth, also the time that will, always will have your flower. In fact, when already the spirit of Philip was about to melt from his limbs, and he had his soul on his lips, Pomptilla, leaning on his pale groom, Pontilla the life of him with hers exchanged. And the Gods broke a union so happy, for the sake of her sweet husband died Pontilla; now Philip is living against his will, always longing to be able to confuse soon his soul with that of the bride who loved him so muchTheodor Mommsen, CIL, Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, Inscriptiones Sardiniae, G. Reimerum, Berlin, 1883, 4th paragraph, pag.789. - Greek text: Εἰς ἲα σου, Πώμπτιλλα, καὶ ἐς κρίνα βλαστήσειεν ὀστέα, καὶ θάλλοις ἐν πετάλοισι ρόδων ἡδυπνόου τε κρόκου καὶ ἀγηράτου ἀμαράντου κεἰς καλὰ βλαστήσαις ἄνθεα λευκοίπυ, ὡς ἴσα ναρκίσσῳ τε πολυκλύτῳ θ᾽ ὑακίνθῳ καὶ σὸν ἐν ὀψιγόνις ἄνθος ἔχοι τι χρόνος. Ἤδε γάρ, ἡνίκα πνευμα μελῶν ἀπέλυε Φίλιππος, Χήρην ἀκροτάτοις κείλεσι προσπελάσας, στᾶσα λιποψυκοῦντος ὑπὲρ γαμέτου Πώμπτιλλα τὴν κείνου ζωὴν ἀντέλαβεν θανάτου. Οἵην συζυγίην ἔτεμεν θεός, ὤστε θανεῖν μὲν Πώμπτιλλαν, γλυχεροῦ λύτρον ὑπὲρ γαμέτου· ζῆν δ᾽ ἄκοντα Φίλιππον, ἐπευχόμενον διὰ παντὸς, σουχεράσαι ψυχῇ πνεῦμα φιλανδροτάτῃ. The carmina in the Grotta della Vipera enshrine the beginning of the literary history of the island. From the late Roman period we have received the highly polemical writings of St. Lucifer from Cagliari,Epistole ad Eusebio, De regibus apostaticis, Pro S. Athanasio, De non parcendo in Deum delinquentibus, Moriendum esse pro filio Dei, Opere, a cura di G. di Tilet, vescovo di Meaux, 1568, Opere, in Maxima biblioteca patrum, vol. IV, Lione, 1687, Opere, a cura di S. Coleti, Venezia, 1778 a staunch defender of Catholic orthodoxy against the Arian heresy. Other writings on theology have come to us from the Bishop Eusebius of Vercelli, born in Cagliari,Epistole Antiquorum patrum sermones et epistolae de Sancto Eusebio vercellensi et martire ex codice manuscripto veteri tabularii ecclesiae vercellensis periscorum item patium et aliorum authorum testimonia de eodem. Vita praeterea eiusdem..., Mediolani, 1581 and a contemporary of Lucifer.

The Middle Ages

Literary production was few throughout the Middle Ages: some hagiographic texts, in Latin, in prose and poetry, often extensively reworked in later centuries, have come down to us. Some of them have very ancient origins, perhaps dating back to the monastery and religious literature that was created in Cagliari around the figure of St. Fulgence of RuspeFerrando, Vita Fulgentii: iuxta basilica sancti martyris Saturnini, procul a strepitu civitatis vacantem reperiens solum, Brumasio Calaritanae civitatis antistite venerabili prius sicut decuit postulato, novum sumptibus propriis monasterium fabricavit at the time of his exile during the reign vandal Thrasamund. In this period were written in Cagliari some of the most precious and ancient codes of the time, like maybe the Codex Laudianus, containing one or perhaps the oldest one edition of the Acts of the Apostles, has come down and now preserved in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, and the Codex Basilianus, containing some of the works of St. Hilary of Poitiers, wrote in Cagliari, as a specified in a note in the manuscript and preserved in the Vatican Library.Codex D.182, Archivio di San Pietro: Contuli in nomine Domini Iesu Christi aput Karalis constitutus anno quartodecimo Trasamundi Regis The Passions of the martyrs San Saturno, San Lussorio and San Gavino also come down as well as the hagiographic stories of Sant'Antioco and San Giorgio from Suelli.Officium beati Georgii: "Ave presul Suellensis, semper Deum diligens, habens linguam bone ensis, viam Deo edocens, propter quod es cum immensis / regnum Dei possidens. Tunc in mundo docuisti / Dominum diligere, per opera demonstrasti / ad celos ascendere, et numquam retardasti / languidis occurrere. O fellix pontifex noster, Angelorum concivis, qui semper fuisti pater / adiuvansque miseris, quem portavit tua mater / sanctum semper in ulnis. Pastorali insignitus / huius sedis baculo, gregem pasce quo fulcitus / es celesti pabulo, placa Deum non oblitus / tuo populo.