Maria del Pilar Maspons i Labrós

Maria del Pilar Maspons i Labrós (1841 in Barcelona – 1907 Barcelona) was a Spanish poet, novelist and writer of Catalan descent. Writing under the pseudonym Maria de Bell-lloc (sometimes spelled Bell-lloch), that she used her entire career, she is notable as one of the first Spanish women folklorists and the first woman novelist to be published in Catalan.[1][2][3]

Maria del Pilar Maspons i Labrós
Maria de Bell-lloch, from the New York Feather magazine of March 1879
Born	1841 Barcelona
Died	1907 Barcelona
Pen name	Maria de Bell-lloc
Language	Spanish, Catalan
Nationality	Spanish
Genre	poet, novelist, folklorist

Biography

Maria de Bell-lloc (in English: Maria of the Beautiful Place) was a writer of the Renaissance Catalan period and was very active from her start in 1865. She was influenced by trends in this movement, which became known for romanticism of medieval characters, patriotism and traditionalism. She was also one of the first folklorist women, conducting field work to collect and transcribe Catalan legends and ethnographic narratives that she later recreated and edited.[2][4]

Maria wrote about her Catalan heritage and her stories and poems were set in the themes and landscapes of the Vallès region near Barcelona, Spain. It was a place that was very dear to her as the Maspons family owned the manor house at Bigues and often visited there.[3]

Her poetry was published in numerous magazines and Catalan periodicals during her lifetime. Between 1865 and 1882, her writing appeared in such reviews as Calendari Català (Catalan Calendar), Lo Gay Saber, La Renaxensa, La Veu de Montserrat, La Llumanera de Nova York (The New York Feather), La Veu de Catalunya and Il·lustració Catalana. She also published two collections of poems Salabrugas (1874) and Poesies (Poems, undated).[2][3]

In a presentation of the book Llegendari (Book of Legends), Joan Armangué i Herrero confirmed that Maria was an essential member of the folklorist movement.[2]

She is known for being the first author to publish a novel in contemporary Catalan literature, Vigatans i botiflers (Loyalists and Traitors, published between 1878-1879), and set during the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714). (The war was triggered by the death of the childless monarch Charles II of Spain). Her book describes the deaths of fighters for independence during the war and the loss of Catalan rights.[2][5][6]

In May 1879, Maria published two special poems and legends in a special issue of The New York Feather dedicated to Catalan women and created by writer Dolors Monserdà.[3]

On May 13, 1880, the Catalan Excursions Association organized a literary evening in which Maria's Montseny traditions were read. In 1885 Maria was named an honorary member of the Catalan Folklore Section of the Catalan Excursions Association. A few years later, Maria would face the final stage of her production with the publication in The Catalan Illustration of "Four Traditions" (1889) and "Four Other Traditions of the Time of the Recapture" (1894).

Maria Maspons was known to have carried out exhaustive fieldwork of Catalan folklore with her brother, the writer Francisco Maspons y Labrós (in Catalan, his name is Francesc de Sales Maspons i Labrós), and her brother-in-law Francesc Pelai Briz. Together, they set out to gather manifestations of Catalan folk literature. Francesc de Sales collected fables, children's games and traditions, Francesc Pelai concentrated on songs and riddles, and Maria de Bell-lloc gathered legends and traditions.[2][3]

Selected works

Her works include poems and legends.[2][3]

• Lloances (Praises) (1866)
• Salabrugas, poesias catalanas (Salabrugas, Catalan Poetry) (1874), featuring a prologue by Joan Sardà[3][7]
• Narracions y llegendas (Stories and Legends) (1875)
• Vigatans y botiflers, novela histórica (Loyalists and Traitors, historical novel) (1878)
• Montseny (1880), a collection of six legends about this mountain.
• Llegendas catalanas (Catalan legends) (1881)
• Costums i tradicions del Vallès (Customs and traditions of the Vallès) (1882), with a first part dedicated to the description of customs, beliefs and popular festivals, and a second part with 22 legends about places in the Vallès region.[3]
• Elisabeth de Mur (Elizabeth of Mur) (1924), which included more than 70 stories and narratives.[3]
• Poesies (Poems, undated)

Awards

While she did not receive any prizes for her poetry, she did earn several for other writing.[2][3]

• First accession to the jasmine of silver in Lleida in 1869.
• Special Mention at the Floral Games literary competition of Barcelona in 1875, for Narrations and legends.
• Artistic and Allegorical Jewel award of the Catalan Excursions Association in 1880 for her collection of legends titled Montseny.
• Scientific-Literary Prize of the Granoller's Casino in 1882 for a collection of stories, Costums i tradicions del Vallès (Customs and Traditions of the Vallès).

References

1. "Maria del Pilar". Escriptors Catalan. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
2. "Maria del Pilar Maspons i Labrós (Maria de Bell-lloc) | Associació d'Escriptors en Llengua Catalana". www.escriptors.cat. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
3. Maspons, Maria (2010). "Biographical dictionary of women" (in Catalan). Retrieved February 17, 2020.
4. Bleiberg, Germán; Ihrie, Maureen; Pérez, Janet (1993). Dictionary of the Literature of the Iberian Peninsula. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-28732-9.
5. Bleiberg, Germán; Ihrie, Maureen; Pérez, Janet (1 January 1993). Dictionary of the Literature of the Iberian Peninsula. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 1046–. ISBN 978-0-313-28732-9.
6. Bleiberg, Germán; Ihrie, Maureen; Pérez, Janet (1993). Dictionary of the Literature of the Iberian Peninsula. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-28732-9.
7. "Maria del Pilar Maspons i Labrós | enciclopèdia.cat". www.enciclopedia.cat. Retrieved 2020-02-17.

External Links

http://www.dbd.cat/fitxa_biografies.php?id=18: In 2010, the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Consell de Mallorca and the Vives Network of Universities activated this free, publicly accessible online dictionary that offers an extensive tour of the history of Catalan-speaking territories between the 1st and 21st centuries through 655 biographies. The project aims to highlight the participation of women in the history of Catalan society. It is published in the Catalan language.