Carlism in literature explained

On March 21, 1890, at a conference dedicated to the siege of Bilbao during the Third Carlist War, Miguel de Unamuno delivered a lecture titled La última guerra carlista como materia poética.^[1] It was probably the first-ever attempt to examine the Carlist motive in literature, as for the previous 57 years the subject had been increasingly present in poetry, drama and novel. However, it remains paradoxical that when Unamuno was offering his analysis, the period of great Carlist role in letters was just about to begin. It lasted for some quarter of a century, as until the late 1910s Carlism remained a key theme of numerous monumental works of Spanish literature. Afterward, it lost its appeal as a literary motive, still later reduced to instrumental role during Francoism. Today it enjoys some popularity, though no longer as catalyst of paramount cultural or political discourse; its role is mostly to provide exotic, historical, romantic, and sometimes mysterious setting.

Romanticism

The First Carlist War broke out when Spanish Romanticism was in its heyday. The literary response to the conflict was immediate and massive; its key features were propagandistic objectives of both sides and often close follow-up to the events as they were unfolding. Two genres serving as key literary battlefields were poetry and drama, the most adapt ones in terms of responsiveness. On both the Cristinos gained immediate advantage, which in the aftermath of the war became visible also in prose, especially in the nascent novel. On the other hand, the popular oral rural response, which made it to literature once written down in the future, was predominantly pro-Carlist. No Romantic work touching upon the Carlist subject is considered part of the great Spanish literature.

Drama

The 1833 outbreak of the First Carlist War, usually considered the birth moment of Carlism,^[2] has almost immediately triggered a literary response. The literary genre which responded first was drama. There were a number of theatrical pieces written as the war was unfolding and it seems that most of them were actually staged, as they served mostly propagandistic purpose of mobilizing support; only few were rather comments to recent or even ongoing events.^[3] Anti-Carlism clearly prevailed, a phenomenon obviously linked to Cristinos controlling almost all the urban zones, centers of cultural and theatrical life.^[4] Most of the dramas seem to be short, one-act pieces, characterized by strong message and boldly sketched protagonists. Unlike in case of poetry, there is no anthology available. It seems that the anti-Carlist dramas fall into two categories: satiric pieces closely related to recent or ongoing events and dramas in historical setting, advancing a general Liberal outlook and in particular aimed against Inquisition and the Absolutist formula.

Among the writers excelling as authors of satires the one re-appearing in numerous works as the most prominent one is Jose Robreño y Tort. He made his name as author of theatrical pieces already in the mid-1820s; venomous caricatures of "los serviles", e.g. La Regencia de la Seo de Urgell o las desgracias del padre Liborio (1822) might be considered pre-configuration of his later anti-Carlist dramas and perhaps the first pieces of anti-Carlist literature.^[5] Robreño's brief works written during the conflict were again intended for popular audience and are known to have been played in Barcelona in the 1830s.^[6] Another Liberal author of the same genre is Manuel Bretón de los Herreros, recognized for the anti-Carlist comedy El plan de un drama (1835).^[7] Among the dramas set in history there is El trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez (1836), Antonio Pérez y Felipe II by José Muñoz Maldonado (1837), Doña Mencia by Juan Eugenio Hartzenbusch (1838)^[8] and Carlos II el Hechizado by Antonio Gil y Zárate (1837); especially the last one was a success among the public.^[9] The Carlist response is little known; it seems that Carlist values were defended generally "por el teatro conservador católico".^[10] The best known author of this breed is José Vicente Alvarez Perera, high Carlist official during the war and also a poet, author of Calendario del año de 1823^[11] and Palabras de un cristiano.^[12] José Zorilla was sympathetic to Carlism and even briefly stayed at the Carlist court, yet in his theatrical pieces he did not touch upon the issue.^[13]

Poetry

The poets^[14] responded to the conflict almost as fast as authors of theatrical pieces did. The conflict and its immediate aftermath produced a spate of rhymed pieces, usually first published in press titles of the era. Alfonso Bullón de Mendoza, who attempted to gather them together but limited his work to authors contemporary to the warfare, arrived at a total of 110 works.^[15] Being a historian but not a historian of literature, he refrains from offering philological comment, be it in terms of evaluating quality or discussing style; however, it seems that most items were written with clear propagandistic intentions in mind and that none of them made it to the annals of Spanish poetry. This vast assortment^[16] so far can be analyzed mostly in statistical terms; in terms of genre the poetry remains pretty differentiated, with odes, sonnets, eposes, lyrics, cantos, canciones, anthems, marches, satire and other. In terms of key themes, the ones listed are: military buildup, wartime actions, peace accord, foreign intervention, ideology, personalities, enemy and wartime love.^[17] Some of the items were re-printed in anthologies or personal poetic volumes in the 1840s and 1850s. Following the war victory of Cristinos and then following the coronation of Isabella II a flow of court poetry continued for two decades; in endless volumes various authors used to pay homage first to the regent Maria Christina^[18] and then to the queen and at times made references to peace and prosperity, which reigned thanks to triumph over the Carlists.^[19]

Some of the works identified remain anonymous, yet most are attributable; their authors include José de Espronceda – who fathered a militantly anti-Carlist poem Guerra (1835), concluded with "death to the Carlists!" cry,^[20] Juan Arolas, Marcial Busquets, Ramón de Campoamor, Lorenzo de Hernandorena, José Marti Folguera, Alberto Lista, Antonio Martínez, Juan Martínez Villergas, Valentin Mazo Correa, Francisco Navarro Villoslada, Emilio Olloqui, Antonio Ribot y Fontsere, Josep Robreno, Manuel de Toro, Niceto de Zamacois and Francisco Zea. Statistically pro-Cristinos seem to prevail, and their poetic zeal reached as far as to Andalusia, a region less affected by the First Carlist War.^[21] Some wartime episodes drew particular attention: the so-called Abrazo de Vergara attracted at least 5 works, by Jose Vicente Echegaray (1839), Juan Nicasio Gallego (1850), Marcial Busquets (1858) Martí Folguera (1869) and Emilio Olloqui (1869), while battle of Luchana was acknowledged by Antonio Martínez (1855) and Francisco Navarro Villoslada (1840).^[22] The latter stands out for his personal U-turn; while Luchana presented the Carlists as fanatic reactionaries,^[23] Navarro later embraced the Traditionalist perspective.^[24] Some scholars refer to a minor Asturian poet Robustiana Armiño as “propagandista del carlismo”,^[25] but in her literary works one might find merely endorsement of traditional social roles^[26] and in 1864 she penned an exalted poem honoring Isabella II.^[27] Despite their mostly propagandistic purpose some of these works contain interesting historical detail, e.g. shedding new light on origins of the word "guiri", a popular abuse used by the Carlists.^[28]

Prose

Prose was the last one to acknowledge the Carlist theme. Though Mariano José de Larra launched his first anti-Carlist works in 1833, they fall in an area in-between belles-lettres and journalism, at times looking like short stories and at times like satirical pamphlets.^[29] There were other works sharing the hybrid characteristics, e.g. the large Panorama de la Corte y Gobierno de D. Carlos by Manuel Lázaro (1839), also a satire on the Carlist claimant and his entourage.^[30] The first work which might clearly be considered a novel was Eduardo o la guerra civil en las provincias de Aragón y Valencia by Francisco Brotons (1840); set in the last war, it offered the Cristino perspective.^[31] Other novels soon followed; Los solitarios (1843) by unidentified author presented the court of Carlos V from a highly sympathetic perspective,^[32] Espartero by Ildefonso Bermejo (1845–1846) advanced vehemently anti-Carlist vision,^[33] while Diario de un médico by Máximo López García (1847) was an adventure story written in a truly Romantic fashion.^[34]

The Romantic historical novel reached its ultimate embodiment in works of Wenceslao Ayguals de Izco,^[35] especially in his Cabrera, El Tigre del Maestrazgo ó sea De grumete a general: historia-novela (1846–1848), sort of personal revenge on part of the author.^[36] Anti-Carlist threads feature prominently also in other of his novels, though these works do not fall into the historical novel rubric: María la hija de un jornalero (1845–1846), El palacio de los crímenes (1855)^[37] or La marquesa de Bellaflor (1869).^[38] Ayguals de Izco, hugely successful as a novelist,^[39] initiated the tone which would later turn dominant in terms of treatment of Carlists in the Spanish novel: they are presented as power-hungry hypocrites, ran by treacherous clergy^[40] and their ranks populated by criminals, prostitutes, assassins, thieves^[41] or simply mad cruel brutes.^[42] Fray Patricio from María, who runs the Angel Exterminador organization, was perhaps first in the gallery of Carlist literary monsters.^[43] A number of second-rate novels lambasting the Carlists as brainless brutes followed; an example is El Idiota ó los trabucaires del Pirineo (1857) by Pedro Mata y Fontanet.^[44]

When Spanish novel of the mid-19th century gradually emerged as important cultural weapon against the Carlists, their own response on the field was meager. Navarro Villoslada, now converted into legitimism, fathered a number of acclaimed and popular historical romantic novels, yet they are set in earlier times and at best might be viewed as offering a general Traditionalist perspective.^[45] Similarly Gabino Tejado Rodriguez, an active Carlist politician and editor, in his historical novels steered clear of Carlist themes, again saturating them with vague Traditionalism.^[46] Some sympathy for the Carlist cause might be traced in La Gaviota by Fernán Caballero (1849), a novel about the old and the new confronting each other in an Andalusian town.^[47] The only novel which might be considered obvious exaltation of Carlism is El orgullo y el amor by Manuel Ibo Alfaro (1855).^[48] Narciso Blanch e Illa, later a combatant during the Third Carlist War, in his historical novel Doce años de regencia (1863) used the romantic 15th-century setting to advocate the Carlist cause.^[49] Antonio Aparisi y Guijarro did not write belles-lettres and would not merit attention here if it had not been for his later peculiar role; in literature written two generations afterwards his writings would be presented as responsible for Carlist deviation of other literary protagonists.^[50]

Rural and international response

A separate genre which might not fully fit into the literature rubric is a flood of rhymes of mostly popular and rural origin, which remained alive at times for generations when passed on in oral tradition; they entered literature only when put into writing by later scholars, be it ethnographers or historians. Two such Carlist-related anthologies are available for rhymes in Castellano and in Euskara;^[51] both demonstrate overwhelming support for the Carlist cause among the rural folk, though principally among the Basques. Among mostly anonymous though at times identified authors (or co-authors), the one which definitely stands out is José María Iparraguirre, the best known Carlist bertsolari, author (or co-author) of perhaps the most famous Basque verses, Gernikako arbola, by some considered the iconic genuine poetic embodiment of Carlism.^[52] Others note Vicenta Moguel, herself a Carlist and author of Traditionalist poems in Basque.^[53] On the Catalan side, one has to note Lo cant de las veritats (1857) by an anonymous and so far unidentified author; it represents probably the first case of Carlist theme acknowledged in popular Catalan literature and is a blend of romantic sentimentalism, philosophical didactics and adventure story, half prosaic and half in rhymes.^[54]

In the European Romantic literature, always in pursuit of a myth, Carlism was not very popular.^[55] The Carlists met many criteria of Romanticism to qualify for heroes,^[56] yet they failed to make it to the standard Romantic imagery of the era.^[57] The German culture remained in constant quest for a cultural role model, with many and rather unintuitive candidates advanced,^[58] yet the Carlists have scarcely been considered.^[59] The exception is Zumala-Carregui, oder der Tod des Helden (1836) by Friedrich Seybold, a 5-act drama which presented the Carlist military commander as an exemplary Romantic hero.^[60] A novel Die Reise in das Leben (1840) by Friedrich Steger contains a typical blend of romance and travel in exotic and wartime setting.^[61] Merced (1845) by the Austrian writer Betty Paoli might appear to be in the same genre, though in fact the novel was a bitter treaty on the role of woman in the Biedermeier era.^[62] The Carlist volunteer from Germany, Felix Lichnowsky, was ridiculed in Leben und Thaten des berühmten Ritters Schnapphahnski (1849) by Georg Weerth.^[63] In France Carlism earned few sympathetic verses from legitimist poets like Edouard Turquety or Juliette Lormeau,^[64] but is only marginally present in great novels of the era.^[65] The second-rate one is Rosita. Souvenir d'Espagne (1839) by Pitre-Chevalier,^[66] translated to other languages^[67] and turned into a theatrical play by Laurencin;^[68] later it was attributed to Balzac.^[69] In Italian the Carlist cause was endorsed in poetry of Antonio Capece Minutolo.^[70] In Russian Romantic literature Carlists appear marginally and merely as a decorum.^[71] Though the British intervened militarily in the First Carlist War, literary traces of their engagement are few.^[72] One is The African wanderers; or the adventures of Carlos and Antonio (1844) by Sarah Lee.^[73] In The Wayside Cross: Or, the Raid of Gomez, a Tale of the Carlist War (1847) by E. A. Milman the Carlists are a wild bunch, spreading terror across Andalusia.^[74] A Walterscottian formula is replicated in a Canadian novel Jack Brag in Spain (1842) by John Richardson^[75] and the Polish one Pan Zygmunt w Hiszpanii (1852) by Teodor Tripplin.^[76] A Castle in Spain (1869) by a Canadian James De Mille^[77] and Isabella, Spaniens verjagte Königin (1869) by Georg Füllborn^[78] belong already to the new literary era.

Realism

Realism shifted the attention of writers tackling the Carlist theme from poetry and drama to prose; it was the novel which emerged as the key genre where the question was discussed and it stays so until today. Very much like during the Romantic period, literature remained a battleground between the Carlists and the Liberals, the latter clearly gaining advantage. The single personality which was enough to shift the balance was Galdós, the first of Spanish literary giants who placed Carlism in centre of their attention; it was his writings which set the tone for decades and it was his hideous Carlist protagonists who populated imagination of the Spaniards for generations to come.

Early works

Like everywhere in Europe, periodization remains a problem in history of Spanish literature. Among many in-between figures of Spanish literature, Fernán Caballero with her Carlism-related works is often counted among the post-Romantic writers. The same is the case of Manuel Tamayo Baus, whose early works are counted into Romanticism and the later ones into Realism. Himself a Neocatólico who in the early 1870s joined the Carlists Tamayo was immensely popular as a playwright in the 1850s and 1860s. Tamayo's plays confront Liberalism from general Catholic Conservative positions,^[79] yet his Traditionalist leaning remained hardly veiled; according to one scholar, "el españolismo de Tamayo consiste en ser católico y carlista”.^[80] Though Carlism was a heated topic in the 1860s and early 1870s, especially in terms of legal/political debate and mostly thanks to works of the neocatólicos, it still failed to make it as a literary offer. Apart from partisan works, the drama of the 1860s was marked also by a current advancing pacifist threads and lamenting the horror of fratridical wars;^[81] it persisted well into the 1870s.^[82]

The first novel clearly tackling the Carlist theme and classified as falling into the Realism rubric is El patriarca del valle (1862) by Patricio de la Escosura, the Isabelline officer during the First Carlist War and a friend of O’Donnell later on. El Patriarca is a key work of early realist period; in terms of literary style it advances techniques typical for a new era, yet in terms of key message it conveys the same anti-Carlist narrative, presenting the opponents as hypocrites ran by the Jesuits and as murderers of bestial cruelty. The novel, fairly popular in the 1860s, features an extremely complex plot, covering also events of 1830 in France. It is valued by historians, as sections referring to the Madrid setting during the early phases of the war are possibly based on the author's first hand experience.^[83] Matilde o el Angel de Valde Real by Faustina Sáez de Melgar (1863), a historical novel partially set during the war and issued almost simultaneously as Escosura's work was far less popular amongst the public because of the sex of its author rather than because of its literary quality.^[84] Ellos y nosotros by Sabino de Goicoechea (1867) is the work based on extensive factual research and appearing to be of historiographic value; e.g. the discourse to what extent "fueros" formed part of the Carlist ideario of the 1830s is partially based on this very work, considered veristic in its literary style.^[85] Among the authors in transition between Romanticism and Realism Antonio Trueba^[86] was the one who made Carlism very much present in his novels and short stories, published mostly in the 1860s and 1870s.^[87] At times he might have appeared equidistant towards the Liberals and the Carlists; due to his Basque fuerismo some suspected him even of nurturing Carlist sympathies. However, though missing the usual anti-Carlist venom and liberal militancy, Trueba's works like Cuentos del hogar (1875) presented the fuerista and the Carlist causes as entirely incompatible.^[88]

In terms of literature outbreak of the Third Carlist War triggered some modest international response.^[89] Ernesto il disingannato (1873–1874)^[90] was a novel written by a so far unidentified Italian author; formatted as “political romance” it advanced the Traditionalist and Carlist cause.^[91] An entirely different type of adventure narrative is a story Der Gitano. Ein Abenteuer unter den Carlisten (1875), one of the first works by Karl May; cruel and barbarous lot, the Carlists resemble Comanches from his later world-famous writings.^[92] The genre championed by Jules Verne is followed in France by Alexandre de Lamothe in La Fille du Bandit (1875)^[93] and in Italy by Luigi Previti in I diamanti della principessa di Beira (1875);^[94] in England works of Edmund Randolph are formatted as a struggle with Catholic identity.^[95] A Brazilian-Portuguese poet António Gonçalves Crespo acknowledged Carlist savagery in poetry.^[96]

Novel: realismo, naturalismo, costumbrismo

Following the Third Carlist War the tone set by Ayguals de Izco has generally been reinforced and literary Carlists petrified in their role of fanatic cruel rednecks, ran by treacherous clergy. This time it was clearly the novel which became the key literary weapon, though it fell into two general genres: the historical one and the so-called novel of manners. Out of the former, Rosa Samaniego o la sima de Igúzquiza by Pedro Escamilla (1877) represents a new tone, unheard of in Romanticism. Focused on atrocities of the Carlist commander Samaniego, active during the last war – at that time the last was the Third Carlist War – it tended to brutal veracity. The same feature marks another novel dedicated to the same protagonist, Vida, hechos y hazañas del famoso bandido y cabecilla Rosa Samaniego (1880); its author remains yet to be identified.^[97] Brutality was brought to even higher, naturalistic levels in La sima de Igúzquiza by Alejandro Sawa (1888); at times it might seem that the author was more concerned about dazzling the reader with horrors and atrocities rather than with denouncing the Carlists or telling the right from the wrong.^[98]

A novel of manners which made great impact was Marta y María by Armando Palacio Valdés (1883). It is centred around the question of faith, yet it treats Carlism in a collateral way; one of the protagonists, María, represents religious fanaticism disguised as romantic contemplative vocation; the Carlist sympathies help to complete her portrait.^[99] Hugely popular La Regenta by Clarín (1884–1885) discussed threads of daily life, portraying Carlist supporters as fanatics basking in money and influence.^[100] Even minor authors of the genre denigrate Carlism; this is i.e. the case of Jacinto Octavio Picón^[101] or Manuel Curros Enríquez.^[102] Few novelists demonstrate an opposite stand, though; these to be named first are José María de Pereda^[103] and Emilia Pardo Bazán.^[104] Their novels, usually classified as costumbrismo or novela de tésis, steer clear of political themes, though in terms of the outlook advanced Pereda is by some considered one of few authors who pursue "Carlist thesis";^[105] in this respect his key work is Peñas arriba (1895).^[106] Both Pereda and Bazán demonstrate understanding for their Carlism-related protagonists, usually marginal ones,^[107] even though some of them are ambiguous.^[108] A second-rate novelist who nurtured the very same longing for traditional values was Eva Canel; it was best expressed in Manolín (1891) and Oremus (1893);^[109] the same can be said about Modesto H. Villaescusa, who in novels like La tórtola herida (1892) explored late Carlism-flavored costumbrista threads in the Murcian cultural ambience.^[110] In case of the others, Carlism serves the purpose of building the atmosphere of tension.^[111] Cuadros de la guerra by Concepción Arenal (1880) is flavored with sentiment for author's record in the Carlist Hospital de Sangre in Miranda de Ebro^[112] yet in general it is considered an anti-war manifiesto. Julio Nombela contributed heavily to the Carlist cause as publisher and editor,^[113] yet his massive literary production was politically muted.^[114] Valentín Gómez Gómez had abandoned Carlism for Conservatism before he commenced the literary career.^[115]

Galdós

Chronologically the first among giants of the Spanish literature who made Carlism a recurring and key motive of their works is Benito Pérez Galdós. The first two series of his monumental string of historical novels named Episodios nacionales are set before 1833 and it is the following ones, technically written already during the modernist period, which tackle the issue head on. However, they still represent typical Realism of their author and differ significantly – be it in terms of style or the role of Carlism – from the later modernist works. Also, besides Episodios Galdós fathered other numerous works featuring Carlism as a theme, written already since the 1870s. His objectives were clearly educative; his declared intention was to teach his compatriots their past. His political militancy made him par excellence the Spanish Liberal Crusader;^[116] as such, he intended to demonstrate what damage Carlism had inflicted upon the nation. Though Carlism enjoyed visible role in earlier historical novel, all the above rendered Galdós a figure who shaped the literary portrait of Carlism for generations to come.

In history of literature the prevailing view is that galdosian position on Carlism remains fairly stable and can be viewed as homogeneous. According to this theory, Galdós' Carlism was a monstrous beast that, thanks to enormous sacrifice of blood, has been driven away to the woods. People can roam the streets freely, but howling and groaning of the monster can be still heard; since the brute might re-appear in town any minute, vigilance is the order of the day.^[117] Such perspective offered no room for subtleties or impartial study and in these terms the work of Galdós does not differ from earlier partisan literature; perhaps the best example of such uncompromising educative hostility is Doña Perfecta (1876). A somewhat competitive view is that the author's perspective changed over time, especially after the American War disaster; the Liberal-Carlist confrontation became somewhat re-defined by a new perspective, and Galdós became less of a militant and more of a historian.^[118] Though clearly he demonstrated no sympathy for Carlism in volumes from the third and fourth Episodios Nacionales series, the movement is reportedly less and less pictured in Manichean and infernal terms;^[119] at times it might even appear that some personalities, e.g. the title protagonist of Zumalacárregui (1898), are presented as role models.^[120]

Carlist voice

Also the Third Carlist War triggered popular cultural response, this time reduced almost entirely to the Basque linguistic realm and evading typical historical categories; this production is acknowledged in Karlisten Bigarren Gerrateko bertsoak, anthology edited by Antonio Zavala (1997).^[121] The Catalan response is usually^[122] associated with Jacinto Verdaguer Santaló, by some of his contemporaries considered "prince of the Catalan poets". A Traditionalist through all his life and a militant Carlist in his youth, he fathered a number of poems intended as a praise of Carlism. They are written in Catalan, exalted in style and very explicit politically. One of them is dubbed "the Carlist anthem" by later scholars,^[123] yet it seems it has never been printed and was re-constructed on basis of Verdaguer's manuscripts.^[124] The most explicit Carlist works ever written in Gallego were poems of Evaristo Martelo Paumán.^[125] Another Carlist militant Juan María Acebal wrote in Asturian dialect and was dubbed "el príncipe de los poetas bables"; his only volume Cantar y más cantar: impresiones de Asturias was published posthumously in 1911.^[126] There is no notable Carlist poetry in castellano; most pieces are related to wartime events and hail Carlist triumphs, like e.g. La Boina del Rey (1874) by Silvestre Ortiz y Peiro^[127] or later production of José Suárez de Urbina.^[128] A Carlist militant, José María Gabriel y Galán, wrote lyrics (also in Extremaduran dialect) saturated with religious reflection and traditional outlook, yet not with explicit Traditionalism.^[129] Attempts by top party politicians, like Cerralbo^[130] or Francisco Martín Melgar^[131] are rather literary curiosities, though the latter was awarded a literary prize.^[132] The claimant himself gained a few volumes of homage poems, conventional in style and falling into the general court poetry genre;^[133] a similar piece, addressed to María de las Nieves de Braganza, stands out as it was written in Occitan by the Carlist sympathizer and later Nobel Prize winner, Frédéric Mistral.^[134] Sure there was a parallel and much broader flow of similar production dedicated to the Alfonsist pretenders.^[135]

In prose the Carlist voice is down to few authors. Francisco Hernando Eizaguirre tried his hand mostly as historian yet he penned also a novel, Los Conspiradores (1885). Guerra sin cuartel by Ceferino Suárez Bravo (1885) is the exaltation of Carlism which has made most impact among its contemporaries until today; it got awarded the Academia prize.^[136] Manuel Polo Peyrolón fathered a number of novels, some vaguely and some explicitly promoting Carlism. The former group consists of Los Mayos (1878),^[137] a rural love story intended as a praise of loyalty and fidelity^[138] and considered his best work,^[139] Sacramento y concubinato (1884)^[140] and Quién mal anda, ¿cómo acaba? (1890), all aimed against liberal and secular lifestyles.^[141] The latter group consists of Pacorro (1905),^[142] which confronted deeds of a young liberal with virtues of a young Carlist, the story cast against the background of a small town undergoing the turbulent period of 1868–1876,^[143] and El guerrillero (1906),^[144] more of an adventure story; set during Third Carlist War, it was heavily based on wartime recollections of Polo's brother Florentino. Appreciated in the conservative realm^[145] as antidote to "the venom of Zola"^[146] today he is considered a second-rate representative of "novelas de tesis".^[147] In drama the only Carlist voice heard was this of Leandro Ángel Herrero, a historian and editor rather than a playwright.^[148] A Murcian Carlist militant Carlos María Barberán has been contributing stories and poems since the 1860s, but remained known only locally; his unpublished drama Los Macabeos (before 1891) was homage to ancient people defending their religious identity.^[149]

Modernism

In terms of Carlist motives, the key difference between Modernism and earlier literary eras was that the movement ceased to be perceived as a direct threat. The Romantic and Realist literature was defined by political militancy; the Modernist writers can already afford another position. For them Carlism is rather a vague phenomenon from the past, fading away yet still casting its dark shadow.^[150] Hence, in Modernist literature its role is rather to catalyze the discourse on national self and human condition. Modernism was also the period when Carlism as a motive enjoyed top popularity among the Spanish literary greats.

Unamuno

Among the giants of Generación de 1898 Miguel de Unamuno was chronologically the first one to address the Carlist question in a literary work; Paz en la guerra (1897) remained also his only novel featuring Carlism,^[151] though the phenomenon was discussed also in his numerous essays, treaties, studies and all genres which do not fall into belles-lettres. Nevertheless, Paz en la guerra is – perhaps along Baroja's Zalacaín el aventurero and Valle-Inclán's Sonata de invierno – the best known literary work related to Carlism.^[152] It is also one of the most ambiguous ones; analysis of its message and the role of Carlism is often heavily aided by quotations from Unamuno's non-literary works or private papers.^[153] One scholarly opinion is that Unamuno nurtured some sympathy for Carlism since he viewed it plainly as a form of regionalism.^[154] The opinion which prevails is that for Unamuno there were two Carlisms. One was genuine, rooted in the rural population but largely unconscious, communitarian if not socialist, federative and anarchist in spirit.^[155] This Carlism formed the most intimate layers of Spanish self and was present in "intrahistoria", a term coined by Unamuno and compared to massive, silent and invisible moves of waters in the depths of the ocean. Another Carlism was an ideological superstructure, built by "bachilleres, canónigos, curas y barberos ergotistas y raciocinadores",^[156] infected with Integrism and forming part of political history, this one compared to splashing waves on the ocean surface, noisy and picturesque, but built in one second and disappearing in another.^[157]

The two Carlisms are constantly present in Paz en la guerra, confusing both the protagonists and the readers; initially Unamuno was accused of nurturing Carlist sympathies, something he immediately denied. In fact, for him Carlism was an element in a dialectic process of forming national identity and as such could not have been simply ignored or rejected. The vision of Pachico from last pages of the novel, namely that "both sides were right and neither was right", is usually attributed to Unamuno himself. The title of the novel might be interpreted in two ways: as citizens of Bilbao finding internal peace amongst the Carlist siege, and as new life being born out of a dialectic confrontation. This confrontation was not necessarily symbolic; in numerous works and statements Unamuno openly praised civil war as means of overcoming dialectic differences. It was only once he had learnt the deadly toll of first months of the Spanish Civil War that he changed his view.^[158] He considered re-writing Paz en la guerra, probably with much less understanding for Carlism; in the last document written before death Unamuno claimed that the emerging Nationalist regime was spiritually governed by a Carlism-inspired "Catholic Traditionalist paganism".^[159]

Valle-Inclán

Among noventayochistas Valle-Inclán is perhaps the most controversial figure when it comes to defining his position towards Carlism.^[160] It remains beyond doubt that the motive, though not omnipresent, features very prominently in his novels, from the Sonatas tetralogy (1902–1905) to the La Guerra Carlista trilogy (1908–1909) to the El ruedo ibérico series (1927–1932), apart from works which do not fall into the above cycles, first of all La Corte de Estella (1910). The controversy is whether the apparent exaltation of Carlism, demonstrated by many of his protagonists and not infrequently also by storytellers of his novels, should be taken at face value or whether it is part of an ironic and perhaps provocative discourse.^[161] Quoting numerous and undeniable biographical details^[162] some claim that Valle-Inclán was a genuine though somewhat heterodox Carlist.^[163] Others point to apparently incompatible episodes from his biography, e.g. being awarded a high Carlist honor in 1931,^[164] co-founding Asociación de Amigos de la Unión Soviética in 1933 and declaring himself an admirer of Fascism and Mussolini in 1936;^[165] they square the circle by concluding that Carlism was one of many masks that Valle-Inclán used to wear.^[166]

Settling the issue on basis of literature only seems close to impossible. For some, Valle-Inclán's Carlism represents grandeur of history, tradition, idealism, authenticity, spirit of freedom and heroism, as opposed to bourgeoisie narrow-mindedness and the Spain of mean niggards;^[167] it is part of regeneracionismo, a call to do away with the Restoration regime. For others,^[168] Carlism represents an ambiguous myth, an illusion, sometimes bordering farce; its role is to catalyze a discourse about Spanish history, which blends glory with absurd.^[169] Carlist setting is not to evoke a romantic gloom but quite to the contrary, "para presentar personajes satánicos, brutales o por lo menos misteriosos".^[170] According to this reading, Valle-Inclán's Carlism is about irony, caricature, grotesque, parody and farce.^[171] Always longing for grandeur and idealism, in fact he finds scarce authenticity in the movement, as in some of Valle-Inclán's novels "solo los ancianos suspiran por lealtad ya desaparecida".^[172] His key protagonist and perhaps the only goody among Carlists populating the great Spanish literature, Marqués de Bradomín, is a Carlist of his very own breed.^[173]

Baroja

Among the giants of Spanish Modernism Baroja was the one who experienced most personal contact with Carlism, from his infancy days in the besieged Donostia^[174] to his senility in Vera de Bidasoa. Carlism is the key theme in a few of his works – the best known of them Zalacaín el aventurero (1908), and is very much present in many others – e.g. 11 out of 22 volumes of Memorias de un hombre de acción (1913–1935) are set during the Carlist wars, though it is also entirely absent in many other novels. Among the noventayochistas – perhaps except Blasco Ibañez – Baroja is also the one most hostile to Carlism.^[175] Though he considered it "cosa muerta"^[176] and viewed rather the corrupted Restoration regime as key enemy of his Republican ideal,^[177] he still approached the gloomy Carlist legacy as haunting the Spanish and more specifically the Basque self. From his Nietzschean perspective Carlism was the movement of the weak, animated by the Church and luring those unable to become "men of action". Heavily attracted to rural vitality, at times primitive and brutal yet authentic, he lamented that it got hijacked by ideology powered by the priests, with the result of "double bestiality of being a Catholic and a Carlist".^[178]

Hardly anyone of numerous Carlists, populating the novels of Baroja, is a man who joined the movement out of conviction: they are foreigners, adventurers, criminals escaping justice, blinded fanatics incapable of reasoning, little men curing their inferiority complex, exalted boys who have read too much, village dumbs, those seeking personal revenge, those trying to get rich, those brainwashed by priests, those broken by failure in love, those willing to indulge, those bullied to join by their family, those conscripted by force, and so on and so on. Though Baroja was attracted to what he saw as authentic rural virility in the Carlist ranks, he believed it endured despite, not because of their very Carlist nature. His best known protagonist, Zalacaín, as a genuine man of action not only abandons the Carlists but he also beats them up and tricks them. Baroja is careful to strip the Carlists of their notorious machista appearance, in his vision reduced to cowardly brutality. Not only they can not wage the war like men, pursuing cowardly tactics and harassing women and children, but they are also beaten in one-to-one juvenile fistfights and lose miserably in pelota; of course, they are neither a match for their opponents when it comes to attracting females.^[179] A specific appendix to Baroja's concept of Carlism was written in July 1936, when he left his home in Vera to watch a Requeté column on the march across Navarre. He was identified, personally and as enemy of religion and Carlism, and at a roadside he was held by the Carlists at gunpoint. Following a brief discussion whether he should be executed, the 64-year-old got off with a punch in the face.^[180]

Other writers

Baroja, Valle-Inclán and Unamuno made Carlism the key protagonist of the greatest Modernist works; another of the noventayochistas, Vicente Blasco Ibañez, preferred to fight the Carlists on the streets^[181] and only marginally allowed them presence in his novels. The most explicit case is La catedral (1903); the work is resemblant of an old-style militant assault rather than of the Modernist ambiguous discourse, as the Carlists are portrayed typically as hypocrites, who in the name of God engage in most ungodly atrocities or simply indulge in most earthly pleasures.^[182] Other personalities of Generación de 1898 did not feature Carlism or Carlists in their works; Azorín confronted them a number of times in his press contributions, yet they are not considered here.

The genuine Carlist literary voice^[183] was hardly heard during the Modernist era. In prose the most popular author was Antonio de Valbuena,^[184] who developed a genre dubbed "novela de edificación";^[185] perhaps its samples, first of all Aqua turbiente, should rather be viewed as part of the late Realist literature.^[186] Historical novel is represented by Ramón Esparza Iturralde.^[187] Novels of a Carlist zealot Domingo Cirici Ventalló fall into a political fantasy genre; advancing a Carlist perspective^[188] they assault the Liberal outlook; his best known works are La República española en 1.91... (1911) and La tragedia del diputado Anfrúns (1917).^[189] In Catalan a very particular position is held by Marian Vayreda i Vila. As author of heterogeneous short pieces Recorts de la darrera carlinada (1898) he is compared to such authors of war stories as Hemingway or Babel,^[190] while his novel La Punyalada (1904) is counted among masterpieces of Catalan literature of all time.^[191] Both are set in the Carlist milieu, yet their message remains ambiguous; some consider La Punyalada a veiled discourse on the very nature of Carlism.^[192] In gallego a novel with clear Traditionalist message was A Besta! by Patricio Delgado, serialised in a local weekly in 1899–1900.^[193] The novel by a former Carlist was Blancos y negros (1898) by Arturo Campión, a discourse on Basque identity.^[194] Another former Carlist Ciro Bayo^[195] released Dorregaray. Una correría por el Maestrazgo (1912), half-way between historical novel, adventure story and a memoir.

Perhaps the best-known Carlist rhymes were born in 1908, when Ignacio Baleztena wrote Spanish lyrics to the originally Basque Carlist anthem Oriamendi.^[196] The first attempts at Carlism-flavored written Basque poetry were recorded by Ramos Azcarate Otegui.^[197] Three Carlist poets somewhat popular at the time were Pilar de Cavia,^[198] Enrique de Olea, and Florentino Soria López;^[199] especially Soria was rather unambiguous in his political sympathies, on display in the Cantos a la Tradición volume (1911).^[200] Joan Bardina during his Carlist phase in the 1890s fathered militant and exalted poems^[201] and satires.^[202] In case of drama, not exactly Catalan but rather Valencian was the language that Eduard Genovès i Olmos, "un Jaumiste de pura sang", used when writing his drama Comandant per capità (1915).^[203] Juan Ortea Fernandez fathered a one-act comedy Requeté (1912).^[204] The "comico y costumbrista" Carlos Arniches, author of vastly popular comical theatrical pieces who ran at the Carlist ticket to the Cortes, steered clear of political topics.^[205] The case of virulent anti-Carlist zarzuela was a joint work Vaya calor (1908).^[206] Among foreign authors there was US-born John Oliver Hobbes^[207] and four Britons, who fathered fast-paced adventurous novels: Henry Seton Merriman,^[208] Arthur W. Marchmont,^[209] G. A. Henty,^[210] and Heber Daniels.^[211] A history of its own is a very short story Ego te absolvo (1905), by some attributed to Oscar Wilde.^[212] Authentic or not, it demonstrates that the prevailing Spanish image of a Carlist crossed the Pyrenees: a Carlist was brutal, wild, and loose about his religious principles;^[213] however, there were also opposite stereotypes held.^[214] In France, Comte de Saint-Aulaire released a conventional historical novel Carlistes et Christinos (1895),^[215] while La Troisième Jeunesse de Madame Prune by Pierre Loti (1905) marginally but sympathetically featured the Carlist infant, Don Jaime.^[216] In Italy Giovanni Martini, the representative of literary cattolicesimo intransigente, wrote a drama Don Pedro di Elisonda (1900).^[217]

Catastrophism

Spanish literature of the 20th century poses a major problem in terms of periodisation, with many conflicting proposals offered; it seems close to impossible to single out an aesthetic literary trend generally accepted as prevailing or even to specify temporal borderlines for any given period, regardless of its would-be name.^[218] The periodisation accepted here is focused on breakdown of traditional structures and extreme instability, entangled in conflict and eventually producing confrontation. Harboring a concept of violent clash as unavoidable outcome of current crisis, from the late regeneracionistas to the personalities of the Second Republic, is at times dubbed "catastrofismo".^[219] In terms of the Carlist theme, this period differs from Modernism very clearly; the interest in Carlism deteriorated, and during Primoderiverismo and the Second Republic the motive almost disappeared from literature, save for some noventayochistas continuing their older threads. The Civil War produced a brief spate of literature intended to mobilise support for the belligerent parties, including the Carlists.

Interwar novel: great names

Among great writers from the 1898 generation Baroja kept writing along the lines he had developed during Modernism, and at least in terms of the Carlist thread the late novels from Memorias de un hombre de acción released in the 1920s/30s and Zalacaín of 1908 form the same homogeneous opus. Unamuno has abandoned the Carlist motive, though he kept tackling the phenomenon in his treaties and studies. Some scholars claim that in case of Valle-Inclán one can speak of a new quality, resulting from his experiences during the First World War. Initially when in his role of a war correspondent Valle-Inclán posed as a Carlist-like patriarch, touring the frontlines in red beret and semi-military gear, but many students claim that war changed his perspective on grandeur and glory. They maintain that Valle-Inclán abandoned his earlier reportedly genuine Carlism and turned towards new ideas, perhaps somewhat attracted by the appeals of both Fascism and Communism. El ruedo ibérico (1927–1932) is viewed as increasingly saturated with grotesque and farcical Carlism; the change is sealed when Marqués de Bradomín eventually abandons legitimism.^[220]

One of few rare cases of Carlism featured as key motive in writings of a literary giant who did not come from a Hispanic culture is The Arrow of Gold by Joseph Conrad (1919). The Polish-English writer claimed he had been himself involved in smuggling arms for the rebels along the Mediterranean coast during the Third Carlist War, yet historians of literature do not agree whether these claims should be taken seriously.^[221] However, he must have at least witnessed Carlist conspiracy in Southern France of the early-1870s and some suspect even a flaming love affair with Carlist motives in the background. The Arrow of Gold seems heavily based on these juvenile experiences, yet Carlism serves mostly as a background evoking an atmosphere of mystery. It is difficult to find either particular sympathy or particular hostility for the movement, yet many scholars claim that the key protagonist considered Conrad's alter-ego was cynically used by Carlist conspirators. On the other hand, the mysterious heroine he falls in love with, Doña Rita, is a Carlist, though this seems to have little to do with the love affair. Overall, the novel is considered a treaty on "emotional boundary between people";^[222] Conrad has never again displayed any literary interest in Spanish issues.

Carlism attracted also another English writer, at that time yet to become eminent, Graham Greene. Either in the late 1920s or in the very early 1930s he wrote The Episode, the novel which traced the experiences of an idealistic young man against very loose background of revolutionary turmoil in the 19th-century Spain; the narrative contained non-marginal Carlist threads.^[223] The novel has never been published,^[224] but some of its threads and protagonists were recycled in Rumour at Nightfall (1931),^[225] the work considered Greene's "first Catholic novel",^[226] set during the First Carlist War.^[227] The novel's torrid action focuses upon a love affair and jealous relationship of two Englishmen, which dominates over potentially exciting political action.^[228] The protagonists become infatuated with a beguiling Catholic woman, highly resemblant of Conrad's female protagonist Doña Rita, while another elusive protagonist, a Carlist commander Cavera, bears some resemblance to Cabrera. By critics the novel is considered a rather unfortunate attempt “to combine the conflicting forms of a Christian morality drama and an international adventure story";^[229] the role of Carlism is to evoke moral dilemmas related to "intense spirit of religious devotion".

Interwar novel: not-so-great names

Another foreigner who demonstrated interest in Carlism was Pierre Benoit, one of the most-read French writers of the 20th century and himself a Traditionalist; he adhered to its specific secular breed, in France shaped by the personality of Charles Maurras. His Pour don Carlos (1920) was marked by Benoit's trademark style: well-constructed adventurous plot combined with good historiographic research and somewhat simplified psychology; in terms of political sympathies it clearly hailed the legitimist cause.^[230] The novel was fairly popular and in 1921 it served as a screenplay for a movie of the same title, perhaps the first one featuring the Carlist theme.^[231] A legitimist sympathiser Jules Laborde fathered Une vengeance carliste (1927), set during the Third Carlist War.^[232] In Nazi Germany Johannes Reinwaldt released a novel Der Königsthron (1937), set during the First Carlist War.^[233] Carlist themes featured also in third-rate sensational prose, e.g. Don Jaime was a protagonist of Piętno przekleństwa (1924), a novel in Polish by a Russian author Nikolay Breshko-Breshkovsky.^[234] Distant Carlist echoes reverberate in II figlio del pastore (1930) by Lorenzo Viani, a novel based on infant recollections of the author from Viareggio.^[235]

Amongst the Spanish novelists Gabriel Miró is a writer counted among Generación de 1914. He is worth noting because his Oleza novels,^[236] e.g. El abuelo del rey (1915), provide a veiled discourse on tradition and change with Traditionalism present in the background.^[237] Moreover, in his later novels some of his Carlist personalities, like Don Alvaro from Nuestro Padre San Daniel (1921) and El obispo leproso (1926) escape the usual scheme and provide an ambiguous and rather mysterious point of reference.^[238] Due to his Carlist motives, some scholars consider Miró one of key writers who formed the Carlist literary image.^[239] Estanislao Rico Ariza, active under the pen-name "Francisco de Paula Calderón", was a Carlist militant involved in clashes with the Anarchists. Banking on his first-hand experience he released a unique novel on Anarchist terrorism, Memorias de un terrorista: Novela episódica de la tragedia barcelonesa (1924); 12 years later he paid for it with his life.^[240] Benedicto Torralba de Damas fathered En los nidos de antaño (1926), a novel which in the Traditionalist realm earned him the prestige of "distinguido literato".^[241] Dolores Gortázar, a Carlist militant active as a propagandist in the early 1920s, during the primoderiverista period was very popular as a novelist; however, she penned banal prose deprived of ideological threads.^[242] Benjamin Jarnés penned his Zumalacárregui, el caudillo romántico (1931) in a very peculiar way; his protagonist is presented as more than a military hero, a genius embodiment of individuality who could have been an icon of both the Carlists and the Liberals, "artista de la acción".^[243] Villaescusa excelled in historical prose with La odisea de un quinto (1930), the Traditionalism-flavored novel set during the Third Carlist War;^[244] of similar genre, Florentino Soria López released Los titanes de la raza (1925), featuring exalted patriotism rather than Carlism. Antonio Pérez de Olaguer commenced his later longtime literary career with a somewhat new genre, a grotesque novel La ciudad que no tenía mujeres (1932).^[245]

Among writers advancing clearly anti-Carlist views the one to be singled out is Félix Urabayen, who set some of his novels in Navarre. In El barrio maldito (1925) he portrays the province as held in reactionary grip of the Carlists, who themselves are traditionally presented as hyprocrytes;^[246] in Centauros del Pirineo (1928) in a somewhat Barojian manner he hailed smugglers, who represent "sensibilidad fina, moderna, europea" as opposed to "elemento tradicionalista".^[247] In another Carlist stronghold, Catalonia, one has to note Pere Coromines, whose anti-Carlist zeal climaxed in the novel Silèn (1925);^[248] however, though a man of vehemently liberal convictions, he still preferred Carlist triumph to continuation of the corrupted Alfonsine monarchy.^[249] The future prime minister and president of Spain, Manuel Azaña, in his Fresdeval (1931) pictured Carlism as a half-dead relic – even if depicted with some melancholy – of old aristocratic Spain.^[250]

Drama and poetry

Drama lost importance as political battleground already in the mid-19th century, yet echoes of Carlism-related debates were heard also among the playwrights. Among the spate of pro-Republican theatrical pieces of the 1920s or even more militantly left-wing dramas of the early 1930s many contained more or less explicit Carlist threads. Because of its author a good example is La corona (1931) by Manuel Azaña; it featured a Traditionalist, Aurelio, who first leads a coup against the legitime ruler and then murders a Liberal protagonist.^[251] Works written by the Carlists were far less popular, staged on local scenes, Carlist circulos or religious establishments. Within this realm a particular position was held by Manuel Vidal Rodríguez, related to the Integrist breed of Traditionalism. In three first decades of the 20th century, he was contributing as a prosaist and publisher, though especially as a playwright; his dramas embrace religious topics in historical setting, like La Reina Lupa (1924).^[252] His stand in the realm of letters, however, stemmed rather from his role as professor of lengua y literatura castellanas in the University of Santiago de Compostela.^[253] Sympathy for Carlism is clearly visible in early works of José del Rio Sainz;^[254] they climaxed in his poema dramático La amazona de Estella (1926),^[255] considered a Carlist homage.^[256] There were also a few, usually young people associated with Carlism who tried their hand as playwrights. Antonio Pérez de Olaguer made his name within the Carlist realm of the early 1930s as a novelist and essayist, though he contributed also to drama. Together with Benedicto Torralba de Damas he was the author of Más leal que galante (1935), a fairly unique, explicit theatrical Carlist manifiesto which earned him the status of a party literary celebrity.^[257] Few militant and moralizing dramas classified as costumbrismo nostalgico^[258] were written by Jaime del Burgo. Today plays like Lealtad (1932), Cruzados (1934), Al borde de la traición (1936) are considered "ejemplos de teatro carlista tradicionalista”,^[259] with their key objective identified as presenting genuine Navarre and its customs as the fortress of traditional values.^[260]

In poetry Cristóbal Botella y Serra kept publishing poetry under pen-names in Integrist periodicals like El Siglo Futuro until he died in unclear circumstances in the early 1920s.^[261] Another Carlist poetic offshoot was Florentino Soria López, who abandoned Jaimismo and sided with the rebellious Mellistas, later amalgamating into primoderiverista institutions.^[262] The old orthodox party executive José Pascual de Liñán y Eguizábal also went on with poetic pieces, his classic verses praising traditional Spanish virtues, commenting ongoing events and honoring great men of Carlism.^[263] Some foreigners considered him "the best Spanish poet".^[264] A poet from the younger generation, Manuel García-Sañudo, whose literary Carlist zeal carried him behind bars during the late Restoration years, moved from early lyrics of Sonetos provincianos (1915) and Romance de pobres almas (1916) to more belligerent strophes related to his assignment to Morocco. Francisco Ureña Navas, a Carlist publisher from Jaen, was locally recognized for his traditionalist poems, published in Alma española (1918) or Hojas y flores (1922); he was the leader of a local poetic grouping "El Madroño".^[265] Luis Carpio Moraga, a writer from Baeza, wrote a sonnet in honour of the Carlist politician Juan Vázquez de Mella a few days before the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.^[266] Last but not least, on the vanguard end there was José María Hinojosa, the young Carlist jefe in the province of Málaga^[267] and contributor to Spanish surrealist poetry; however, instead of Carlist themes he advanced somewhat icononoclastic vision.^[268] Hinojosa, along Ureña Navas, Torralba de Damas, Carpio Moraga and Rico Ariza, is among Carlist writers killed by their political opponents.^[269] In Gallego the Traditionalist poetry was contributed by Enrique García-Rendueles.^[270]

War literature

The 1936 outbreak of the warfare triggered a spate of literary works intended to mobilize support and sustain enthusiasm. Literary production of the Republicans remained far lower than on the opposite side; in none of some 30 works identified there is a Carlist personaje worth noting,^[271] though some feature Carlist themes, like A sangre y fuego by Manuel Chaves Nogales (1937)^[272] or Loretxo by Txomin Arruti (1937).^[273] Among the nacionales there were at least 10 novels which featured the Carlists as major protagonists. They all fall into the wartime version of novela de tésis; written with clear moralizing objectives in mind they offer unelaborate narrative and sketchy Manichean personalities.^[274] This surge of novels glorifying Carlism lasted shortly and is at times dubbed the Carlist literary "swan song"; following the 1937 unification decree literature was increasingly tailored to fit in official propaganda, which permitted Carlist threads only when leading to amalgamation into FET.^[275]

The novel singled out as the most typical of Carlist literary vision of the war is El teniente Arizcun by Jorge Claramunt (1937);^[276] other candidates are El Muro by José Sanz y Díaz (1937)^[277] Guerra en el frente, paz en las almas (1936), Hágase tu voluntad (1937), La Rosa del Maestrazgo (1939) by Concepción Castella de Zavala;^[278] Rosa-roja y flor de lis (1936), La mochila del soldado (1937) by Juan Bautista Viza, and the novels of Jesús Evaristo Casariego:^[279] Flor de hidalgos (1938)^[280] and especially La ciudad sitiada (1939), the latter dubbed "patética apología del carlismo".^[281] La promesa del tulipán by Ignacio Romero Raizábal (1938) is slightly distinct as its protagonist is not the usual idealist but a sybarite who undergoes evolution before he volunteers to Requeté and finds reward, also in matters of the heart.^[282] La enfermera de Ondárroa by Jorge Villarín (1938) untypically focuses on female figure, who dies with Viva Cristo Rey on her lips.^[283] Unlike a characteristically post-unificación work of Villarín^[284] and like Casariego, Pérez de Olaguer in short stories Los de siempre (1937) and a novel Amor y sangre (1939) advanced the Carlist cause up to the limits permitted by censorship, heroic Carlists are also protagonists of Por mi Patria y por mi dama by Ramón Solsona y Cardona (1938).^[285] Triunfo and En el gloria de amanacer by María Sepulveda (both 1938) are samples of novels where the Carlists do not dominate, merged in a patriotic blend perfectly as expected by the regime. An infantile version of wartime literature was a Carlist review Pelayos.^[286]

The Spanish Civil War triggered massive literary response abroad, yet most authors ignore Carlist threads; they are absent either in well-known works like The Confidential Agent by Graham Greene (1939) and L’Espoir by André Malraux (1945),^[287] or in most minor pieces,^[288] though there are exceptions.^[289] Definitely the most famous literary work written during or shortly after the Spanish Civil War, For Whom the Bell Tolls of Ernest Hemingway (1940), is only marginally related to the Carlist theme. A minor character lieutenant Paco Berrendo does not resemble a typical Carlist literary monster;^[290] also an anonymous mounted requeté, shot by Robert Jordan, is portrayed with compassion, resulting perhaps not that much from Hemingway's idea of Carlism but because of his fascination with Navarre. The Carlist theme attracted also few less-known writers, though. A novel of above-the-average literary quality is Requeté by the French author Lucien Maulvault (1937).^[291] The work stands out for psychological undertones, unpredictable twists and turns of the plot and the overall tragic perspective.^[292] Sympathetic to the requeté effort rather than to Carlism as such, the novel laments the horror of civil war and seems pre-configuration of existentialist literature;^[293] others underline rather that it "articulates the aesthetics of engagement".^[294]

Francoism

Terminology and periodization problems related to history of Spanish literature in the 20th century apply also to the years after the Civil War. "Francoism" is generally a term used to denote a political system, not a prevailing cultural or literary trend, though it might be employed also in this mode. Alternative designations applied to culture of the era are "nacionalcatolicismo"^[295] or "fascismo",^[296] though both are disputed. In terms of the Carlist motive in literature, the period is marked by a specific approach, which was heavily related to official control over cultural life and which reflected political role of Carlism in the Francoist Spain. Carlism was welcome when presented as a glorious movement of the past; on the other hand, Carlism was unwelcome as a cultural proposal for the present. The novel which turned into a best-selling book set in the Civil War and published in Francoist Spain, Un millón de muertos by José María Gironella (1961), also presented the Carlists in highly ambivalent terms.^[297]

Novela de tesis

During first decades of post-war Spain the trend which clearly prevailed when it comes to the Carlist theme was continuation of the wartime-style novels; it was visible in the 1940s but started to dry out and disappeared almost completely in the 1950s. None of the key features changed: nagging moralising objectives, sketchy and Manichean characters, Civil War setting, lively yet predictable plot. As Falange was clearly gaining the upper hand in internal power struggle, also the Falangist historical perspective started to prevail, with Carlist characters relegated to secondary roles in the narrative; this is the case of Rafael García Serrano and his La fiel infanteria (1943), Cuando los dioses nacían en Extremadura (1947), Plaza del Castillo (1951) or Los ojos perdidos (1958). Casariego kept writing, but the most successful of his wartime novels, Con la vida hicieron fuego (1953), did not contain Carlist threads. Re-published a number of times and translated into French, English, German and Italian, it featured a fisherman's son turned navy commander; the novel soon served as screenplay for a movie.^[298] José Sanz y Díaz kept writing, releasing – among numerous non-narrative works – the novels El secreto del Lago (1943) and La herrería de Hoceseca (1950). Con capa y chistera (1945) and Mi ciudad y yo (1948) are Spanish translations of originally Catalan novels of Ramón Solsona, both heavily based on his own experience when in hiding in the Republican zone.

In the 1940s Eladio Esparza wrote a number of novels which did not explicitly endorse Carlism, but rather formed a praise of general Traditionalism which gave rise to Carlist currents.^[299] The novels of Jaime del Burgo assumed a heterogeneous format. His Huracán (1943) was a fairly conventional novel initially set in pre-war Barcelona.^[300] El valle perdido (1942) involved magic threads.^[301] Finally, Lo que buscamos (1951) traditionally acclaimed patriotic merits but embraced the tone of bitterness and naturalism, if not indeed melancholy.^[302] La casa by a Carlist militant Dolores Baleztena (1955) traces a Navarrese family which cultivated family and regional values when living in Idaho.^[303] Chronologically the last novel of the genre is ¡Llevaban su sangre! by a prolific Carlist publisher Francisco López Sanz (1966).^[304] The novel stands out due to its political intransigence, especially that it was recommended more than quarter of a century after the end of the Civil War; López argued that the defeated Republicans did not deserve any compassion, as they would respond with "imperdonable ingratitud".^[305] Novels which clearly confronted the Francoist unification had no chance of being published and remained in manuscript, like Camino de la Cartuja by Ramón Niubó Aymerich.^[306] The only related novelas de tésis written on exile identified are Ekaitzpean by José Eizagirre (1948) and Laztantxu eta Betargi by Sebert Altube (1957). The former features a patriarch Basque Carlist who decides to join the gudaris,^[307] the latter pictures a girl from a well-off family who has to overcome resistance of her Carlist relatives to marry a simple worker, a Basque nationalist.^[308] Not exactly novelas de tésis but rather novels which offer a Traditionalist historiographic vision of Italian past are works of Carlo Alianello, some of which – like L'eredità della priora (1963) contain explicit Carlist threads.^[309] Foreign version of novela de tesis is Hermanos! (1969) by William Herrick, where requetes are depicted as monstrous beasts; similar perspective prevails in The Armed Rehearsal (1960) by Peter Elstob.^[310]

Adventure novel

Many of the wartime novelas de tesis were built upon action-packed intrigues, yet nagging moralising objectives and clear pedagogical if not propagandistic purpose usually prevailed over their adventurous features. This is not the case of another novelistic subgenre, where adventure is on the forefront; it might be cast in historical or contemporary setting. In Spanish history of literature they are dubbed "novela de aventura" or – usually when romance threads prevail – "novela rosa", the latter intended mostly for female audience.^[311] This kind of literature was another one featuring the Carlist threads and Carlist protagonists; unlike novela de tesis works falling into this rubric were usually though not always cast against the historic framework, especially during the Carlist Wars of the 19th century.^[312] Especially in case of Carlist authors such background allowed more flexibility when promoting their political cause, subject to much more rigorous censorship scrutiny in case of the last civil war. This literature was on the rise since the 1940s, in mid-Francoism becoming the key platform of sustaining Carlist presence in culture. One of its last examples is Los hermanos carlistas (1969) by Juan Cepas.^[313]

Most of the Carlist authors who contributed to party propaganda as editors, publishers or authors of novelas de tesis tried their hand in adventure novel. Casariego published Jovellanos, o el equilibrio: ideas, desventuras y virtudes del inmortal hidalgo de Gijón (1943) and Romances modernos de toros, guerra y caza (1945). Pérez de Olaguer specialized in travel literature yet he fathered also Hospital de San Lázaro, sub-titled "autobiografia novelesca" (1953). Sanz y Díaz was closest to formatting his novels as novela histórica when focusing on historic figures in Santo Tomás de Villanueva (1956), Castillos (1959) or Tirso de Molina (1964). Ignacio Romero Raizábal saturated with Traditionalism his Como hermanos (1951), Héroes de romance (1952), 25 hombres en fila (1952), and El príncipe requeté (1965). However, two prolific Carlist authors who excelled in this literature were females, Concepción Castella de Zavala (some 15 novels),^[314] and Miguel Arazuri (some 40 works). Their novels are cast in vastly different settings, from the early 19th century to contemporary Spain. Intended for popular audience they indeed make an easy read, featuring adventurous or romantic plots; the Carlists often appear as key protagonists. While writings of Romero Raizabál, who penned also poetry, reflect a penchant for sentimental format, it is not the case of Arazuri/Gutíerrez. An analytical intellectual, she diagnosed that in culture dominated by mass media the dissemination was key, and Carlism would be better served by simple but popular novels rather than by great sophisticated works read by few.^[315] Les històries naturals of Joan Perucho (1960) was a vastly popular vampyrical fantasy which commenced the trend, popular later, to increasingly deviate from a typical adventure story.^[316] A place of his own is held by Josep Pla, by some referred to as "obsessed with Carlism".^[317] The theme is frequently featured in his discursive writings, yet also in fiction – e.g. in Un senyor de Barcelona (1951);^[318] he portrayed it "com un tret important de la nostra historia i com un antecedent d'un determinat corrent dins el catalanisme".^[319]

Poets

In poetry José Bernabé Oliva released, among prosaic attempts, Hispánica: Romancero de Mío Cid y otros poemas (1942), but his contribution is dwarfed – at least in numerical terms – by poems of Manuel García-Sañudo, who kept writing since the 1910s;^[320] his poetic volumes Las razones de Alonso Quijano (1941), El dolor de Cádiz (1947), Elogio de Marchena (1951) revolve around traditional themes.^[321] A straightforward exaltation of Carlism is poetry of a religious, Antonio Sánchez Maurandi,^[322] a requete combatant Germán Raguán, the author known for his single poetic collection Montejurra (1957),^[323] and this of Maximo Gonzalez del Valle, whose poems – e.g. Elegía de los Requetés (1966) – are scattered across a few volumes.^[324] However, it was Ignacio Romero Raizábal who emerged as the best-known clearly Carlist man of belles-lettres of Francoism, especially that he kept publishing until the early 1970s and became sort of a Carlist literary patriarch; apart from novels and non-fiction he used to release also poems, some included in a 1955 anthology of all-time Spanish poetry.^[325] An author who remains almost forgotten but whose poetic work is among most-performed ones during official military ceremonies in present-day Spain is Martin Garrido Hernando, who volunteered to Carlist troops during the Civil War at the age of 40. He penned a poem titled Soneto a los Caídos, intended as a lament of the Carlist and Nationalist dead.^[326] Over time the poem with accompanying music was accepted by the army and is performed during military funerals. However, the original lyrics have been changed: passages "Inmolarse por Dios" and "servir al Rey" were replaced.^[327]

The rising star of poetry was Rafael Montesinos, who as teenager volunteered to requeté. Since the 1940s he regularly kept publishing poetry, which earned him Premio Ateneo de Madrid of 1943 and Premio Ciudad de Sevilla of 1957; during Francoism he released at least 10 volumes: Balada del amor primero (1944), Canciones perversas para una niña tonta (1946), El libro de las cosas perdidas (1946), Las incredulidades (1948), Cuaderno de las últimas nostalgias (1954), País de la esperanza (1955), La soledad y los días (1956), El tiempo en nuestros brazos (1958), La verdad y otras dudas (1967) and Cancionerillo de tipo tradicional (1971). Deprived of clearly Carlist or Traditionalist threads, his poetry is spanned between irony and melancholy.^[328] In terms of style he is considered a disciple of a Romantic Sevillan poet Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, to whom Montesinos dedicated a separate study. However, he is best known as the moving spirit behind La Tertulia Literaria Hispanoamericana, weekly sessions of live poetry; the event was launched in 1952 and has been operating as part of various institutional frameworks; the project outlived Francoism and earned Montesinos prestigious standing especially among the younger generation.

Contemporary literature

The fall of Francoism marked a change in Spanish cultural setting, though it was as late as in the 1990s that the anti-Francoist backlash started to prevail over the previously dominant "let's not get back to this" approach. In terms of the Carlist theme, the literary works fall into two rubrics. The majoritarian one is about Carlism as a setting for adventure stories, usually combined with elements of historical novel, psychology, romance, fantasy, alternative history, horror and so on; historically these works are usually though not always set in the 19th century. Another, the minoritarian one, is part of broadly designed discourse about the Spanish self, with key points of reference set by democratic, tolerant, progressive mindset; these works tend to focus on the 20th century. In none of the above Carlism occupies a central or first-rate position.

Literatura juvenil

Definitely the most popular role of Carlism in contemporary literature is to provide a setting for adventure novels, by some scholars dubbed also "literatura juvenil".^[329] The authors "tailor their proposals to the new values within current subgenres for young readers such as mystery, historical novel, books of knowledge, metafiction", with protagonists styled after Zalacaín.^[330] The novels continue the adventurous literature of the Francoist era; the difference is that they are increasingly sophisticated and no longer contain veiled Carlist propaganda. In terms of key message they advance praise of general values such as friendship, loyalty, courage, and can hardly be associated with any particular camp, though in some cases, e.g. Atxaga or Landaluce, Carlist protagonists seem to be treated with particular sympathy; they also usually convey more or less explicit message about absurdity of civil wars.^[331] They are typically set in the 19th century; the last civil war still appears too sensitive a topic for such a literature.

There are at least 50 novels falling into the genre identified. Among the early ones the titles to be noted are El capitán Aldama by Eloy Landaluce Montalbán (1975)^[332] and Un viaje a España by Carlos Pujol (1983), by some considered at the borders of "juvenile literature".^[333] Later on subgenres started to emerge. The mainstream one was basically an adventure story: El cementerio de los ingleses by José María Mendiola (1994), Un espía llamado Sara by Bernardo Atxaga (1996), El oro de los carlistas by Juan Bas (2001)^[334] or Corazón de roble by Emili Teixidor (2003). An example of educative literature for children is Las guerras de Diego by Jordi Sierra i Fabra (2009),^[335] Las huellas erradas by Eduardo Iriarte (2010) reveals features of a gothic story,^[336] Un carlista en el Pacífico by Federico Villalobos (1999) approaches exercise in alternative history,^[337] Veinticinco cartas para una guerra by Arantzazu Amezaga Iribarren (1999) is more of a romance,^[338] while El capitán carlista by Gerardo Lombardero (2012) is tilted towards psychology.^[339] Some like Sangre de guerrillero by Alain Martín Molina (2016) do not care much about historical detail.^[340] The novel of the "literatura juvenil" genre which stands out for clear Traditionalist zeal is Ignacio María Pérez, acérrimo carlista, y los suyos by Maria Luz Gomez (2017); it follows the history of 6 generations, from the First Carlist War to the post-Franco era.^[341] Somewhat similar is Heterodoxos de la causa by Josep Miralles Climent (2001), a novel written by a Partido Carlista militant; it traces a Carlist Castellón family across the last 100 years.^[342] Beyond Spain Carlism lost its appeal as a literary theme and is almost absent. One exception is a "transpossible" novel The Flame is Green by R.A. Lafferty (1971), at times categorized as science fiction and at times as Christian literature;^[343] another is Viva Zumalakarregui! by Valentino Pugliese (2009), more of a typical adventure prose.^[344]

Historical novel

There is a group of novels which might be classified as falling into the adventure genre, yet they stand out because they focus on historical detail, feature – at times extensively or as key protagonists – historical figures, and their authors seem concerned with historical analysis rather than with offering an interesting plot. The borderlines cases are Galcerán, el héroe de la guerra negra by Jaume Cabré Fabré (1978)^[345] and La filla del capità Groc (La hija del capitán Groc) by Víctor Amela (2016), both awarded literary prizes.^[346] Focused on Carlist commanders Jeroni Galceran and Tómas Penarrocha they offer perhaps too much of psychology and brutality for a typical adventure story; the latter was compared to La Punyalada^[347] and criticized for excessive Carlist zeal.^[348] There is a number of novels focused on Ramón Cabrera, some offering original perspectives. El tigre rojo by Carlos Domingo (1990) is styled as unorthodox homage to a free man, always willing to pursue his convictions regardless of political circumstances; hailing late departure of Cabrera from the legitimist path, by no means can it be considered an orthodox Carlist lecture.^[349] A blend of erudition and creativity is El testamento de amor de Patricio Julve by Antón Castro (1996). El rey del Maestrazgo by Fernando Martínez Lainez (2005) focuses on last days of the general and this is also the case of El invierno del tigre: la aventura vital del héroe carlista Ramón Cabrera by Andreu Carranza (2006),^[350] both works calibrated as psychological analysis. La bala que mató al general by Ascensión Badiola (2011) is focused on Zumalacárregui.^[351] None of the claimants, especially the picturesque and charismatic Carlos VII, has attracted attention of the present-day authors.^[352]

Noticias de la Segúnda Guerra Carlista by Pablo Antoñana (1990) is to be noted for its epic scale, popularity and standing of the author. It reflects the Unamunian attempt to follow "the inner history" made by the mute masses and adheres to the theory of two Carlisms, the popular one and the elitist one.^[353] It repeats also the Unamunian error of taking at face value the alleged Marx's praise of Carlism; besides, it is seen as delivering the pessimistic vision of civil warfare as intrinsic part of Spanish history.^[354] La flor de la Argoma by Toti Martínez de Lezea (2008), the author specializing in juvenile literature, is this time intended for mature audience and is a symbolic discourse on paroxysms of ideology. El médico fiel by Antonio Villanueva (2010) depicts the First Carlist War in terms of horrors of the armed conflict,^[355] while La sima by José María Merino (2009) is a bit more typical lament of casualties of fratricidal wars.^[356] El baró d’Herbes by Antonio Calero Picó (2001) is a case of extreme erudite knowledge – this one about Maestrazgo – prevailing over narrative skills of the author.

Literature on 1936–1939 Civil War

The Spanish Civil War is immensely popular as a setting for contemporary narrative prose and as a matter of literary discourse. There were thousands of related fiction titles published in Spain since the fall of Francoism; in the 21st century only there were 1,248 such works which appeared on the market.^[357] Many of them do not feature Carlist motives at all.^[358] Many novels contain only marginal Carlist motives, supposed merely to add authenticity to the plot; some like El ultimo invierno by Raúl Montilla (2012) can be reconciled against historiography,^[359] some like El jinete polaco by Antonio Muñoz Molina (1991) can be not.^[360] In some novels Carlism appears as a thing of the past, which contributed to sectarian divisions within the society, to be shaken off by the protagonists; this is the case e.g. of the novels by Miguel Delibes, like Las guerras de nuestros antepasados (1975) or Madera de héroe (1987). The only Spanish novelist awarded the Nobel Prize in literature, Camilo José Cela, set most of his Mazurca para dos muertos during the 1936–1939 civil war; the Carlist thread is almost absent, save for few comments and one marginally mentioned historical figure, María Rosa Urraca Pastor, who receives her share of ridicule no larger than that reserved for other protagonists.^[361] Scholarly works on the last civil war as reflected in the Spanish literature either do not mention Carlism or mention it only marginally.^[362]

Novels where Carlism is granted more than a negligible role are few. It is moderately present in Herrumbrosas lanzas by Juan Benet (1983), an extraordinary and monumentally epical volume which if only because of its sheer size offers numerous comments on Carlism.^[363] Not exactly the same scale yet not that different approach is demonstrated in Poliedroaren hostoak by Joan Mari Irigoien Aranberri (1983), a vision of recent history of the Basque region told as tale about two families, a Carlist and a Liberal one; written in Euskara, it was awarded a number of prizes.^[364] Gironella published the 4th novel of his epic series, Los hombres lloran solos (1986), and Carlist characters he created 25 years earlier assumed a somewhat post-Francoist shape.^[365] Verdes valles, colinas rojas by Ramiro Pinilla (2004–2005) advances the thesis that once commenced, the wars never end; the protagonist to prove the point is a Carlist priest padre Eulogio del Pesebre,^[366] obsessed with visions of conflict and revenge.^[367] El requeté que gritó Gora Euskadi by Alberto Irigoyen (2006) is written by an Uruguayan descendant of a requeté; portrayed as key protagonist of the novel, the Carlist ex-combatant realizes injustice of the war.^[368] The novel most hostile to Carlism is probably Antzararen bidea by Jokin Muñoz (2008), which repeatedly refers to anti-Republican repression, exercised in Navarre by the Carlists. Its Manichean personalities^[369] are representative for "novela do confrontacion historica",^[370] penned by young authors who construct their own identity by means of "acto afiliativo" versus the Republican combatants.^[371] La enfermera de Brunete by Manuel Maristany (2007) is an example of adventure-romance genre, unusually featuring a Carlist as its key protagonist.^[372] Sort of a milestone is En el Requeté de Olite by Mikel Azurmendi (2016); it is the first novel identified which clearly and with no reservations sympathizes with a Carlist because he is a Carlist.^[373] Celebrated in Carlism-flavored groupings^[374] it drew heavy fire from many other sides.^[375]

Drama and poetry

The Carlist theme has almost entirely disappeared from drama,^[376] yet one theatrical piece merits attention: Carlismo y música celestial by Francisco Javier Larrainzar Andueza (1977) offered the author's vision of Carlist history; it climaxed in almost byblical confrontation of two brothers from the Carlist dynasty, Carlos Hugo and Sixto.^[377] The very latest work is Bake lehorra/La paz esteril by Patxo Telleria (2022), a play built around so-called Convenio de Amorebieta of 1872; it is structured as a 3-level discourse about responsibility and suffering during "guerra civil vasca".^[378]

Jaime del Burgo, who launched his career as a poet in 1937,^[379] parted the poetic muse for the next 50 years; he dedicated himself to prose and historiography. By the end of his life he returned to drama with Llamada sin respuesta (1978) and to poetry with Soliloquios: en busca de un rayo de luz perdido (1998).^[380] The old former requeté, now almost blind, ostracized and personally accused of being a murderer,^[381] has given himself to bitterness and melancholy as certified by titles of the works quoted. Efrain Canella Gutiérrez, not very much younger than del Burgo and also an active Carlist,^[382] fathered poetry, stories and novels flavored with Traditionalism yet evading Carlist threads, like Balada del sargento Viesca (2009). Few of his verses, however, are fairly explicit in their political militancy. This is especially the case of El Quijote carlista, a poem which gained sort of iconic status in the Carlist realm^[383] and is itself – like in case of del Burgo's late poems – a demonstration of pessimism if not defeatism among the Carlists. Carlist theme has barely surfaced in poems of a Pamplona party activist and editor, María Blanca Ferrer García.^[384]

A place of his own in the realm of poetry was already held by Rafael Montesinos; after the fall of Francoism he published Último cuerpo de campanas (1980), De la niebla y sus nombres (1985), Con la pena cabal de la alegría (1996), Madrugada de Dios (1998) and La vanidad de la ceniza (2005). The Tertulia Literaria Hispanoamericana he launched and animated since 2005 are named La Tertulia Literaria Hispanoamericana Rafael Montesinos and are still held weekly, usually in Madrid on Tuesdays. A different chord is struck with Luis Hernando de Larramendi, the third in sequence from a dynasty of Carlist authors. Since his 40s he had been publishing poetic volumes;^[385] Traditionalist zeal^[386] is more than explicit in his latest collection, Fronda Carlista (2010), much of its content dedicated to Carlist kings and leaders.^[387] The leader of Comunión Tradicionalista Carlista, Javier Garisoain, is also a poet; some of his poems advance explicit Carlist themes and threads.^[388] A Navarrese Carlist poet in the Basque bertsolari tradition is Pello Urquiola Cestau, author of Nere hitze bertsoatan (2007) and Kanka, kanka, kanka (2014).^[389]

The author whose poetic contribution to the Carlist cause is by many considered of greatest literary value – not only in terms of contemporary poetry but in terms of 200 years of Carlist history – came from a somewhat unexpected side. José Antonio Pancorvo was a Peruvian author of various prosaic volumes, yet he gained recognition for his unique poetry, considered baroque or neo-baroque in terms of style^[390] and millenarian, mystic and prophetic in terms of breadth.^[391] His volume Boinas rojas a Jerúsalem (2006) combines unique technique with militant Carlist zeal; the volume was dedicated to Comunión Tradicionalista and Sixto Enrique de Borbón.^[392]

See also

• Carlism
• Spanish literature

Further reading

• Rafael Botella García-Lastra, Juan Manuel Rozas Valdés, El carlismo en la novela, [in:] Miguel Ayuso (ed.), A los 175 años del carlismo, Madrid 2011,, pp. 401–434
• Alfonso Bullón de Mendoza, Las Guerras Carlistas en la literatura, [in:] Alfonso Bullón de Mendoza, Las Guerras Carlistas. Catálogo de la exposición celebrada del 6 de mayo al 13 de junio de 2004 en el Museo de la Ciudad de Madrid, Madrid 2004, pp. 124–143
• Alfonso Bullón de Mendoza, La Primera Guerra Carlista en la Poesía, [in:] Alfonso Bullón de Mendoza, Las Guerras Carlistas, Madrid 1993,, pp. 291–419
• Ermanno Caldera, Liberalismo y anticarlismo en la dramaturgia romántica, [in:] Crítica Hispanica 16/1 (1994), pp. 103–117
• Biruté Ciplijauskaité, Configuraciones literarias del Carlismo, [in:] Stanley G. Payne (ed.), Identidad y nacionalismo en la España contemporánea, el Carlismo, 1833–1975, Madison/Madrid 1996,, pp. 55–65
• Biruté Ciplijauskaité, The "Noventayochistas" and the carlist wars, [in:] Hispanic review 3 (1976), pp. 265–279
• Javier Cubero de Vicente, Del Romanticismu al Rexonalismu: escritores carlistes na lliteratura asturiana, Ovieu 2014,
• Armando J. Escobedo, Proyección literaria del Carlismo religioso en la novelistica espanõla [PhD thesis University of Florida], Tampa 1983
• Fermín Ezpeleta Aguilar, Las guerras carlistas en la literatura juvenil, [in:] Tejuelo 16 (2013), p. 35-46
• José Javier López Antón, Escritores carlistas en la cultura vasca, Pamplona 2000,
• Jean-Claude Rabaté et al., Imagenes del carlismo en las artes, Estella 2009,
• Alberto Ramos Santana, Marieta Cantos Casenave, La sátira anticarlista en el Cádiz romántico, [in:] Ermanno Caldera (ed.), Romanticismo: actas del V Congreso, Roma 1995,, pp. 69–72
• Pedro Rújula, Una guerra literaria, [in:] Jordi Canal (ed.), Rompecabezas carlistas, insert to La Aventura de la Historia 77 (2005), pp. 59–63
• Josep Maria Solé i Sabaté, Literatura, cultura i carlisme, Barcelona 1995,
• Julio Rodríguez-Puértolas, Historia de la literatura fascista española, vol. 2, Madrid 2008,

External links

• Zalacaín el aventurero online
• Paz en la guerra online
• Sonata de invierno online

Notes and References

1. Amelina Correa Ramón, Otra novela histórica del carlismo: La sima de Igúzquiza (1888) de Alejandro Sawa, [in:] María de los Angeles Ezama Gil (ed.), Aún aprendo: estudios dedicados al profesor Leonardo Romero Tobar, Zaragoza 2012,, p. 281
2. the birth moment of Carlism is fairly clear: October 2, 1833, around 7 PM. At that time a post official in Talavera de la Reina, Manuel María Gonzalez, gathered his armed men on the town square and raised the "Viva Don Carlos" cry. For detailed discussion compare e.g. Felix Rubio López de la Llave, El pronunciamiento carlista de Talavera de la Reina, Toledo 1987,
3. Ermanno Caldera, Liberalismo y anticarlismo en la dramaturgia romántica, [in:] Crítica Hispanica 16/1 (1994), pp. 103-117
4. Caldera 1994, pp. 103-105
5. other Rebreño's anti-serviles dramas penned in the mid-1820s are Tragedia para los serviles y sainete para los liberales, La vuelta del faccioso, Ex expatriado en su patria, Los milicianos de Porrera o Numencia de Cataluña, Manuel Morales Muñoz, Inaugurando la modernidad. Teatro y política en el liberalismo democrático, [in:] Baetica. Estudios de Arte, Geografía e Historia 28 (2006), p. 622
6. Pedro Rújula, Una guerra literaria, [in:] Jordi Canal (ed.), Rompecabezas carlistas [insert to ''La Aventura de la Historia'' 77/2005], pp. 60-61, Pere Anguera i Nolla, El teatre anticarli de Robrenyo, [in:] Josep María Solé i Sabaté (ed.), Literatura, cultura i carlisme, Barcelona 1995,, pp. 3-21
7. Gregorio de la Fuente Monge, Introducción. Los estudios sobre el teatro político de la España del siglo XIX, [in:] Historia y Política 29 (2013), p. 21
8. Fuente Monge 2013, pp. 22-23
9. Fuente Monge 2013, p. 22
10. Fuente Monge 2013, p. 21
11. full title Calendario del año de 1823 para la ciudad de Oviedo: dispuesto por el observatorio ultra-pirenaico y arreglado á las beatificaciones y canonizaciones hechas por la gran Junta de Oriente
12. Fermín Canella y Secades, Historia de la Universidad de Oviedo y noticias de los establecimientos de enseñanza de su distrito, Oviedo 1873, p. 449
13. José Zorilla y el carlismo, [in:] El Matiner Carlí service 31.10.12, available here
14. there is an unedited monograph dedicated to the Carlist theme in poetry and covering the period up to the mid-20th century, Melchor Ferrer, Musa carlista: El tema carlista en la poesia, referred after Rafael Gambra, Melchor Ferrer y la ‘Historia del tardicionalismo [sic!] español, Sevilla 1979, p. 4 [in sequence, no pagination in original text]
15. [:es:Alfonso Bullón de Mendoza|Alfonso Bullón de Mendoza]
16. Bullón de Mendoza 1993, pp. 291-419
17. fragmentation referred after Bullón de Mendoza 1993
18. see e.g. Cristina. Poesías patrióticas, compuestas y dedicadas a S. M. la Reina Gobernadora (1836) by Francisco Nieto Samaniego, del Burgo 1978, p. 694
19. the collections were frequently related to events marking the royal life, like births, marriages, anniversaries etc, for a sample see e.g. Poética en conmemoración del fausto natalicio de la Princesa de Asturias (1852); an extensive list in Jaime del Burgo, Bibliografia del siglo XIX. Guerras carlistas, Pamplona 1978,, pp. 243-244
20. he recited it on 22nd Oct. 1835 in the Teatro de la Cruz of Madrid. José Sanromá Aldea, Introducción a cinco clásicos de nuestra literatura, Madrid 1976,, p. 123. One of the verses quite explicitly said: ¡Al arma!, ¡al arma!, ¡mueran los carlistas!, Guerra, available here
21. Alberto Ramos Santana, Marieta Cantos Casenave, La sátira anticarlista en el Cádiz romántico, [in:] Ermanno Caldera (ed.), Romanticismo : actas del V Congreso, Roma 1995,, pp. 69-72
22. dates quoted are the first identified publication, yet it seems that in case of most of the works quoted they have appeared earlier in the press
23. Carlos Mata Indurain, Navarro Villoslada y el carlismo: literatura, periodismo y propaganda, [in:] Imagenes en carlismo en las artes, Estella 2009,, p. 193 and many other works of the author on Navarro Villoslada
24. Navarro Villoslada has later served as personal secretary to the claimant, Carlos VII, Carlos Mata Indurain, Navarro Villoslada, periodista. Una aproximación, [in:] Príncipe de Viana 60/217 (1999), p. 598
25. María del Carmen Simón Palmer, La mujer y la literatura española del siglo XIX, [in:] Actas del VIII Congreso de la Asociación Internacional de Hispanistas, vol. 2, Madrid 1986, ISBN 847090163X, p. 593
26. Susan Kirkpatrick, Las Romanticas: Women Writers and Subjectivity in Spain, 1835–1850, Berkeley 2022, ISBN 978-0-520-33558-5, p. 285
27. Bernardino M. Hernando, Robustiana Armiño, la moderada exaltación, [en:] Arbor 190 (2014), p. 5
28. origins of the word are usually associated with "guiristino", the specific Basque pronunciation of "cristino". However, some poems suggest the word might rather be derived from GRI, abbreviation of Guardia Real de Infantería, Bullón de Mendoza 1993, p. 324
29. María de los Ángeles Ayala, La primera guerra carlista a través de la mirada de Larra y Galdós, [in:] José Manuel González Herrán et al. (eds.), La historia en la literatura española del siglo XIX, Barcelona 2017,, pp. 175-177
30. full title Panorama de la Corte y Gobierno de D. Carlos o un viaje a las Provincias, por un faccioso
31. Alfonso Bullón de Mendoza, Las Guerras Carlistas en la literatura, [in:] Alfonso Bullón de Mendoza, Las Guerras Carlistas. Catálogo de la espoxisición delebrada del 6 de mayo al 13 de junio de 2004 en el Museo de la Ciudad de Madrid, Madrid 2004, p. 125
32. Bullón de Mendoza 2004, p. 126
33. J. Worth Banner, Ildefonso Antonio Bermejo, iniciador del teatro en el Paraguay, [in:] Revista Iberoamericana 33 (1951), pp. 98-99
34. Bullón de Mendoza 2004, 128
35. for details see Sylvie Baulo, Carlismo y novela popular: Ayugals de Izco y la historia-novela, [in:] Príncipe de Viana 17 (1996), pp. 59-68
36. Ayuguals de Izco was member of Milicia Nacional during the First Carlist War and lost his own brother, killed by the Carlists during the fights against the Cabrera troops, Snezana Jovanovic, El costumbrismo en la narrativa de Wenceslao Ayguals de Izco. La realidad urbana madrileña [PhD thesis Complutense]. Madrid 2016, p. 19, also А.А. Терещук, Языковые средства создания образа антигероя в произведении В. Айгуалса де Иско "Тигр Маэстразго", [in:] Вестник Самарского университета. История, педагогика, филология 29/3 (2023), pp. 121-128
37. full title El palacio de los crímenes: o, El pueblo y sus opresores
38. full title La marquesa de Bellaflor o El niño de la inclusa
39. Rújula 2005, p. 61
40. Jovanovic 2016, p. 78
41. Jovanovic 2016, pp. 156-157
42. Jovanovic 2016, p. 196
43. Jovanovic 2016, p. 289
44. the author declared up-front: "No vayáis a creer tampoco que nuestro único objeto en El Idiota es presentar a los carlistas, que, concluida la guerra de los siete años, se han echado a la vida bandolera, para ofrecerlos a los ojos de la civilización como engendros de horror y blanco de la animadversión general, tanto más cuanto que con sacrilego insulto se proclaman a sí mismos defensores del altar y del trono", referred after del Burgo 1978, p. 635
45. works to be named are Doña Blanca de Navarra (1847), Doña Urraca de Castilla (1849), and especially Amaya y los Vascos en el siglo VIII (1879). Set in the medieval era the works do not refer to Carlism, yet they advance some ideas from the Carlist toolset, like Christian unity of Spain and confronting the unfaithfull, compare Mata Indurain 1999, Mata Indurain 2009
46. these are the cases of El caballero de la reina (1847), El puñal del capuchino (1848), La camelia blanca (1852), Amor después de la muerte (1852), Víctimas y verdugos (1859) and La mujer fuerte (1859)
47. Armando J. Escobedo, Proyección literaria del Carlismo religioso en la novelistica espanõla [PhD thesis University of Florida], Tampa 1983, pp. 44-45
48. Fermín Ezpeleta Aguilar, Las guerras carlistas en la literatura juvenil, [in:] Tejuelo 16 (2013), p. 37
49. Montserrat Ribao Pereira, Catalina de Lancaster y Leonor López de Córdoba en la novela decimonónica española: 'Doce años de regencia' (1863), de Narciso Blanch e Illa, [in:] Anales de literatura española 31 (2019), pp. 247-266
50. Miguel de Unamuno in his Paz en la guerra blames Aparisi for implanting Carlist myths in the young protagonist, Ignacio. Aparisi's writings are dubbed „énfasis nebuloso” and "nieblas de Aparisi". For scholarly discussion see e.g. José Manuel Cuenca, Parlamentarismo y antiparlamentarismo españoles. De las cortes de Cádiz a la Gloriosa, [in:] Boletín de Real Academia de la Historia CXCI/1 (1994), p. 147
51. Joseba Agirreazkuenaga Zigorraga, Antologia de versos, canciones y sonetos relacionados con los fueros, la guerra y el Convenio de Bergara, [in:] Joseba Agirreazkuenaga Zigorraga (ed.), 150 años del Convenio de Bergara, Vitoria 1990, pp. 509-572; Antonio Zavala (ed.), Karlisten Leenengo Gerrateko bertsoak, Oiartzun 1992,
52. Fernández del Pino Alberdi, Iparraguirre o la expresión poetica del carlismo, [in:] Tiempo de historia IV/42 (1978), pp. 52-57
53. she is at times named as the first female writer in Basque, though others contest this statement. Some historians of literature mention even "the Carlist writers grouped around Vicenta Moguel", Jon Kortazar, Bilbao and the literary system in the Basque Country, [in:] Fernando Cabo Aseguinolaza et al. (eds.), A Comparative History of Literatures in the Iberian Peninsula, vol. I, Amsterdam/Philadelphia 2010, ISBN 9789027288394, p. 225
54. Joaquim Auladell, Carlins a la primera novel-la catalana moderna, [in:] L'Erol 76 (2003), p. 40
55. a scholarly work which tackles the Romantic gloom of Carlism fails to mention a single literary work related, though it refers a number of non-fiction titles, like works falling into the travel literature genre, see Francisco Javier Caspistegui Gorasurreta, Carlistas: un romanticismo perdurable, [in:] Nuestro tiempo 665 (2010), pp. 32-41, also Alfonso Bullón de Mendoza, Viajeros en España durante la Primera Guerra Carlista, [in:] Aportes 34 (1997), pp. 97-118. A monographical volume which focuses on historical novel in 19th-century Europe discussed Carlism exclusively against the Spanish background, see Brian Hamnett, The Historical Novel in Nineteenth-Century Europe: Representations of Reality in History and Fiction, Oxford 2011,
56. like being rural, being idealistic, being uncompromising, being exotic and last but not least being rebels
57. a brief review of Carlist echoes in France is offered in the introductory chapter to Emmanuel Tronco, Les Carlistes espagnols dans l’Ouest de la France, 1833–1883, Rennes 2010, . The works quoted as related are not literary fiction, like the auto-biographic recollections of George Sand, Un hiver à Majorque. No title from the French belles-lettres is quoted as related. Similarly, no literary threads are identitifed in Mathieu Llexa, L’influence du contexte politique espagnol sur la diffusion des oeuvres littéraires entre les Pyrenées-Orientales et la Catalogne au XIXe siècle (1808–1886), [in:] Revista História e Cultura 3/1 (2014), pp. 189-203. Similarly, no great or even not-so-great work of English literature refers to the Carlist War. Tennyson was himself in Spain shortly before outbreak of the war, yet all found is vague references "to these inquisition dogs and the devildoms of Spain". Contemporary scholar notes that ballad-makers, so active during the Peninsular War, "kept quiet about Spanish politics", Rubén Valdés Miyares, Eloquent silence: the transformation of Spain in British balladry between the Peninsular War and the Carlist Wars, [in:] The Grove. Working Papers on English Studies 23 (2016), p. 180
58. like Greeks fighting the Turks, Poles fighting the Russians, later North American Indians fighting the Whites
59. the Carlists were rather associated with Romantic icons of monstrosity, the reaction and the politics of Holy Alliance, pitted against revolutionary and freedom-seeking national movements; for a sample from Eastern Europe compare a democratic theorist, Wiktor Heltman, Rewolucyjne żywioły w Hiszpanii, ich walka od 1833 roku, [in:] Pismo Towarzystwa Demokratycznego Polskiego 2 (1840), pp. 471-499. The work presents Carlism as obscurantism, absolutism and religious fanaticism
60. see a brief summary in Wilhelm Zimmermann, Die Befreiungskämpfe der Deutschen gegen Napoleon, Stuttgart & Leipzig 1836, p. 774
61. it does not demonstrate any political preferences. The protagonist is a young German named Julius, who gets trapped in Spanish civil war; equally disilussioned with both Cristinos and Carlists, he falls in love with a local girl Isabella, Die Reise in das Leben [review], [in:] E. G. Gersdorf, Repertorium der gesammten deutschen Literatur, Jahrgang 1841, Leipzig 1841, p. 568
62. the protagonist, Leo M., who happened to be in Spain in times of the First Carlist War, fell in love with Merced, wife to a Carlist. A string of erratic and at times exotic turns happens. The novel presents the Carlists in a somewhat sympathetic, romantic gloom, Karin Wozonig, Spanischer Skandal im österreichisch-ungarischen Almanach. Betty Paolis Novelle "Merced" im literarischen Taschenbuch Iris, 1845, [in:] Aussiger Beiträge: germanistische Schriftenreihe aus Forschung und Lehre 2 (2008), pp. 43-44
63. one chapter of the novel was dedicated to the Spanish war. The novel was serialized between August 1848 and January 1849 in Neue Rheinische Zeitung. It was a virulent pamphlet and almost every historical person mentioned received his share of ridicule; in the chapter titled "Spain" the Carlist claimant is presented as a dumb aristocrat who welcomes the supply of fresh cannon fodder from Germany; "Kanonenfutter! Kanonenfutter! dachte der Spanier und es versteht sich von selbst, daß er Sr. Hochgeboren auch nicht das geringste Hinderniß in den Weg legte, sich bei der nächsten Bataille vor den Kopf schießen zu lassen". Lichnowsky appeared in two much later Catalan novels, Les històries naturals (1960) by Joan Perucho and in Els estranys (2017) by Raül Garrigasait. He was also a protagonist of the Czech historical novel, Slezský šlechtic Felix Lichnovský: poslední láska kněžny Zaháňské (2009) by Dušan Uhlíř, with minor passages dedicated to Lichnowsky's Spanish adventures
64. there were also numerous autobiographic or historiographic accounts from the First Carlist War published in France; some of them adhere to a narrative format, are impossible to verify and actually resemble a novel, compare e.g. M. A. T. (actual author so far unidentified), Campagnes et aventures d'un volontaire royaliste, Paris 1869
65. Carlism is barely mentioned in Stendhal's Lucien Leuwen; Victor Hugo visited Vascongadas in 1843 and provided account of this journey in En voyage, which contains a few references to Carlism
66. though the narrative fell short of advancing the Carlist cause, the Carlists are presented as honorable and righteous soldiers, while the liberals appear as unprincipled and unscrupulous lot
67. in Cadiz it was issued in 1843 as Rosita. Ecos de Castilla, allegedly a translation from Balzac by an "Emilio Polanco". In London it appeared in 1851 as Rosita, or Spain in 1839, signed by an "Elizabeth O'Hara" and in 1858 as non-attributed Rivals
68. titled Rosita, ou Tenir sa promesse. It was translated into German as Die Braut aus Navarra; it was actually staged, at least in Hamburg, compare here
69. attribution to Balzac was accepted by few scholars, e.g. Jaime del Burgo. Until recently it was rather considered an anonymous fraudulent work, Edina Polácska, Karlista emigráció Franciaorszagban (1872–1876) [PhD thesis University of Szeged], Szeged 2008, p. 147. The issue was clarified in Gianandrea de Antonellis' introduction to reprint of the 1843 Spanish version, Napoli 2023, ISBN 9788887215731, pp. 5-8. Balzac mentioned Carlists in a number of his novels, though in some cases "carlistes" and "carlisme" refer rather to the defunct French king Charles X and his followers; this is the nomenclature employed also e.g. by Chopin, who in 1832 declared "kocham Karlistów, nie cierpię Filipistów"
70. Capece Minutolo, Principe di Canosa, penned at least 3 poems highly sympathetic to Carlism, Cadra l'Idra... sonnet, Inno 1823 and Gli Spagnoli; written probably in the mid-1830s they remain in manuscript, Gianandrea de Antonellis, Carlismo e letteratura, Chieti 2022 [in corso di pubblicazione], p. 24
71. compare The Vampyre (1841) by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy ("Он опустился в кресла и продолжал с необыкновенно сладкой улыбкой: - Много нового-с! Карлисты претерпели значительные поражения.") or Karolina Pavlova's Double life (1846): "племянник Веры Владимировны привез к ней неожиданно только что прибывшего в Москву путешественника -- испанского графа, преинтересного, смуглого, гордого карлиста с блестящими глазами. Он, разумеется, сделался тотчас предметом общего внимания, средоточием всех женских взоров, центром салона". Vague reflections of the Spanish dynastic crisis of 1833 are present in Diary of a Madman by Nikolai Gogol, though the Carlists are not mentioned
72. political pamphlets or travel literature is not considered here. Both genres are represented by British authors of anti-Carlist and pro-Carlist leaning, compare Santiago Leoné, Before and after the First Carlist War: changing images of the Basques, [in:] Geronimo de Ustaritz 43 (2008), pp. 58-65
73. the novel falls into the adventure and travel literature rubric; it is set mostly in Africa, but the narrative contains many episodes from the Spanish war. Though the work is entangled in “aristocratic-chivalric assumptions of the traditionalist Carlist cause”, in general it remains “ideologically aloof from the factions in the Spanish war”,Karen Lawrence, Penelope Voyages: Women and Travel in the British Literary Tradition, New York 1994,, p. 116. The plot is about the African adventures of a British officer. During his earlier military service in Spain he had adopted local boys, orphans who lost their parents in the war turmoil; the novel contains a few flashbacks from the Spanish warfare
74. Edward Augustus Milman was ensign in the 33. Yorkshire Foot Regiment; still in his teens, in the mid-1830s he served in Gibraltar. Before his premature death in 1851 he published 2 novels, the other one set in the West Indies
75. Richardson served in the British legion in Spain between 1834 and 1837, later to work for the London Times. Jack Brag was serialised in The New Era and Comedian Chronicle between 1841 and 1842, del Burgo 1978, p. 858
76. the novel is in clear adventure format and does not demonstrate particular sympathy for any of the belligerent sides. The narrative tells a story of an officer serving in a Polish unit within the French army. The French "leased" the unit to the Madrid government and as a result, the Poles fought on the Cristinos side. Some scholars summarise the book as "complicada intriga sentimental con evidentes connotaciones cervantinas", Piotr Sawicki, Don Quijote vence en Polonia. Correrías eslavas de un caballero manchego, [in:] Eslavística Complutense 6 (2006), p. 103
77. set in the First Carlist War, the novel is sort of an adventure story, "the union of sensationalism and extravagant humor"; the Carlists are portrayed with playful mockery, James De Mille, Malcolm Parks, Strange Manuscript found in a Copper Cylinder, New York 1986,, p. XXV
78. full title Isabella, Spaniens verjagte Königin oder: Die Geheimnisse des Hofes von Madrid. Romantliche Erzählung aus Spaniens neuester Geschichte; Füllborn used the per-name of "Georg F. Born"
79. José Rubio Jiménez, Un drama nuevo, de Manuel Tamayo y Baus: las paradojas del comediante y del juego dramático, [in:] Arbor CLXXVII (2004), pp. 677-690
80. Narciso Sicars y Salvadó, Tamayo. Estudio critico-biográfico, Barcelona 1906, p. 122
81. compare D.A.S. Martínez de Rosas, Martin Zurbano (1851), Antonio Berzosa, Quemas las naves (1859), Manuel Ortíz de Pinedo, Culpa y castigo (1859), Luis Mariano de Larra, El bien perdido (1866), Cándido Casti Erro, Frutos del fanatismo (1868), Manuel Godino, El aniversario (1868), Emilio Alvárez, La buena causa (1868), referred after Waldo de Mier, Las guerras civiles espanolas en el teatro del siglo XIX, [in:] Diario Espanol 18 to 28.07.74
82. Gerardo Blanco, El mejor abrazo (1873), José Estrañi, El Retrato del Muerto (1874), Leandro Torromé, Luchas civiles (1874), Rafael del Castillo, Juan J. Uguet, ¡Maldita sea la guerra! (1874), Eduardo Navarro y Gonzalvo, El pecado de Caín (1874), Ricardo Caballero, Miguel Ortíz de Tejada, Ecos de Nochebuena (1875), Rafael María Liern, ¡Viva La Paz! (1876), Ricardo de la Vega, La muerte de los cuatro sacristanes (1876), Leopoldo Cano y Masas, La mariposa (1878), de Mier 1974
83. Bullón de Mendoza 2004, p. 127
84. Bullón de Mendoza 2004, p. 128
85. Bullón de Mendoza 2004, p. 129
86. by some Trueba is counted among authors of “Segundo Romanticismo español”, Begoña Regueiro Salgado, Las guerras carlistas en la obra de Antonio Trueba y en la tercera serie de los Episodios nacionales de Benito Pérez Galdos, [in:] José Manuel González Herrán et al. (eds.), La historia en la literatura española del siglo XIX, Barcelona 2016,, p. 310; some tend to place him rather in the Realism rubric, as a follower of Fernán Caballero, Mariano Baquero Goyanes, El cuento español: del romanticismo al realismo, Madrid 1992,, pp. 67-75
87. ”existe un autor que alude al conflicto [carlista] en prácticamente toda su obra”, Regueiro Salgado 2016, p. 310
88. if fighting in the Carlist ranks the Basques are usually presented as drafted by force; Trueba himself twice fled the Vascongadas to avoid the Carlist rule, Regueiro Salgado 2016, pp. 315-322
89. like in case of the First Carlist War also the Third One triggered a spate of travel literature among the English, see e.g. Francisco Javier Caspistegui, Pablo Laraz, Joaquín Ansorena, Aventuras de un gentleman en la tercera carlistada, Pamplona 2007, . The war was followed closely also far away, compare the 1873–1874 sections of Dostoyevsky's Writer's Diary, an extremely hostile account, interesting when combined with Dostoyevsky's anti-democratic and highly religious outlook. De Amicis toured Spain shortly before outbreak of the war, but Carlism is rather marginally treated in his Spagna; besides, "De Amicis del carlismo sa molto poco e meno ancora capisce", see Giorgio Spini, "La Spagna" de Edmondo de Amicis, [in:] Dimensioni e Problemi della Ricerca Storica 2 (1995), pp. 209-214. However, none of the works mentioned qualifies as belles-lettres.
90. the first part, titled Il passato e il presente ossia Ernesto il disingannato, was serialized in a Naples daily Il Trovatore between August and November 1873; the second one went to print as La fine di Ernesto il disingannato and was published between June and September 1874; both were combined in a 2017 edition titled Ernesto il disingannato
91. considered “il primo romanzo “borbonico” scritto a Napoli ed è il primo romanzo italiano a parlare di Carlismo”, it was set in Naples and in Spain between 1858 and 1873, Gianandrea de Antonellis, Introduzione. Dal Legittimismo al Carlismo, [in:] Gianandrea de Antonellis (ed.), Ernesto il disingannato, Salerno 2017,, pp. III-XX
92. the story was published in a review Der Beobachter an der Elbe; the protagonist is trade representative of a German company, travelling across Spain during the Third Carlist War. He is captured by a bunch of Carlists, but with some assistance on part of governmental troops he manages to set himself and his companions free. The story makes references to a few historical figures, like Jovellar, Dorregaray and the Carlist claimant himself
93. the work is recognized more for its excellent graphics rather than for literary value, del Burgo 1978, p. 531
94. the author, a Jesuit priest (1822–1892), centred his novel upon the personality of Zumalacarregui, del Burgo 1978, p. 789
95. in 1886 Randolph, himself a Roman Catholic in brushes with the Catholic Church, released Mostly Fools; a Romance of Civilisation, a dystopian alternative history; its protagonist Roland Tudor, a heroic projection of Randolph himself, emigrates to make a name for himself in the Carlist wars, David Lodge on Edmund Randolph – forgotten Catholic novelist, [in:] Jot101 blog, 08.12.15 [page blocked by WP]
96. see his O Cura Santa Cruz, Pedro Nava, Chão de ferro, vol. 3, Sao Paulo 2001, ISBN 9788574800226, p. 131. The poem lamented brutality of the Carlist guerrilla commander Manuel Santa Cruz; its exact publication date is unclear, probably late 1870s
97. Correa Ramón 2012, p. 282
98. Correa Ramón 2012, p. 286
99. Escobedo 1983, p. 87
100. Escobedo 1983, pp. 47-49
101. and his novel El enemigo (1887), Noël Maureen Valis, Jacinto Octavio Picón, novelista, Madrid 1991,, p. 137
102. and his novel Paniagua y Compañía (1877), see currosenriquez service, available here
103. José María de Pereda was an active Carlist in the 1860s, and he excelled as the party progagandist, author of numerous articles and pamphlets; by some he is referred to as "José María Pereda, el carlista que fundó la narrativa realista y anunció la novela social", Josep Carles Clemente, Raros, Heterodoxos, Disidentes y Viñetas Del Carlismo, Barcelona 1995,, pp. 155-157
104. one scholar claims that during much of her lifetime Pardo Bazán located her political sympathies between Integrism and Carlism, see José María Paz Gago, Una nota sobre la ideología de Pardo Bazán. Doña Emilia, entre el carlismo integrista y el carlismo moderado, [in:] La Tribuna: cadernos de estudios da Casa Museo Emilia Pardo Bazán 5 (2007), pp. 349-366
105. the opinion of Miguel Ayuso, see a TV debate Lágrimas en la lluvia aired on March 17, 2003, 32:40 at youtube service
106. when preparing an exposition on Carlism in literature, at display in the Carlist Estella museum in late 2019 and early 2020, a British hispanista Stephen Roberts focused on 5 works; apart from Galdos' Doña Perfecta, Unamuno's Paz en la guerra, Valle-Inclan's Sonata de invierno and Baroja's Zalacaín el aventurero it was Pereda's Peñas arriba singled out, see e.g. ¿Agonía o transformación? El carlismo en la literatura española (1876–1912) at the Cultura Navarra service, available here
107. in case of Pereda political threads are present in Don Gonzalo (1879), Los hombres de pro (1888) and Peñas arriba (1895), Benito Madariaga de la Campa, José María de Pereda y su tiempo, Santander 2003, pp. 43, 73. Pardo in her non-fictional writings like Mi romería (1888) adhered to a heroic, idealist vision; her novels like La Mayorazga de Bouzas (1886), Morrión y boina (1889) or Madre gallega (1896) display watered-down sympathy for Traditionalist outlook rather than for Carlism.
108. Madariaga de la Campa 2003, p. 69, Correa Ramón 2012, p. 282
109. Manolín lamented disappearing traditional Asturian customs and lifestyle; Oremus was set in the Third Carlist War, Jean Kenmogne, Una escritora asturiana en América: Eva Canel, [in:] Cuadernos Hispanoamericanos 546 (1995), p. 60
110. contemporary critic noted that Hernández Villaescusa was the Murcian equivalent of Fernán Caballero for Andalusia, Trueba for Vascongadas, Pereda for Cantabria or Polo y Peyrolón for Aragón, El Correo Español 27.10.92, available here
111. e.g. in Los Pazos de Ulloa (1886), Armando J. Escobedo, Proyección literaria del Carlismo religioso en la novelistica espanõla [PhD thesis University of Florida], Tampa 1983, pp. 49-50, or even horror, like in La madre naturaleza (1887), Escobedo 1983, pp. 50-51
112. Ezpeleta Aguilar 2013, p. 38
113. Jordi Canal i Morell, Banderas blancas, boinas rojas: una historia política del carlismo, 1876–1939, Madrid 2006,, p. 131
114. Maria de los Angeles Ayala, Impresiones y recuerdos de Julio Nombela, [in:] Anales de la Literatura Española 14 (2001), pp. 11-28
115. his numerous plays, e.g. La dama del Rey (1877), La flor del espino (1882) or El perro del hospicio (1888) advance Traditionalist outlook politically enveloped in pidalismo, a breed of Carlism which broke away from legitimism and accepted the Restoration regime as "hypothesis", José Carlos Clemente, El carlismo en el novecientos español (1876–1936), Madrid 1999,, p. 44
116. Chronon H. Berkowitz, Pérez Galdós, Spanish Liberal Crusader, Madison 1948
117. Biruté Ciplijauskaité, Configuraciones literarias del Carlismo, [in:] Stanley G. Payne (ed.), Identidad y nacionalismo en la España contemporánea, el Carlismo, 1833–1975, Madison/Madrid 1996,, p. 64, Madeleine de Gogorza Fletcher, The Spanish Historical Novel, 1870–1970: A Study of Ten Spanish Novelists, and Their Treatment of the "episodio nacional", London 1974,, p. 9
118. Hans Hinterhauser, Los episodios nacionales de Benito Pérez Galdós, Madrid, 1964, p. 92
119. Juan Carlos Ara Torralba, Pérez Galdós y Baroja frente al carlismo, [in:] Imagenes en carlismo en las artes, Estella 2009,, p. 32
120. Peter A. Bly, De héroes y lo heroico en la tercera serie de Episodios Nacionales de Benito Pérez Galdós: ¿Zumalacárregui como modelo a imitar?, [in:] Salina 14 (2000), pp. 137-142, Pedro Rújula, Cabrera y Zumalacárregui nei tempi della letteratura, [in:] Memoria e Ricerca 24 (2007), pp. 7-20
121. Antoni Zavala (ed.), Karlisten Bigarren Gerrateko bertsoak, Oiartzun 1997,
122. though not always, see e.g. samples of Catalan poetry by F. S. Pomell from his Un de margarides. Poesies carlistes volume (1871): "Si Deu vol que algún dia — vingau entre nosaltres / La Mengua catalana — també vos parlarém, / Lo crit gloriós y mágich — de Visca nostra Reyna / Que pels espays retrunvi — en catalá 'I darem", quoted after del Burgo 1978, p. 783
123. Ramon Pinyol Torrents, Verdaguer i el carlisme. Notes aproximatives, [in:] eHumanista 5 (2014), pp. 110-119
124. Ricard Torrents, Verdaguer. Estudis i aproximacions, Vic 1995,, pp. 243-244
125. especially his collection El siglo XIX. Cuatro verdades (1902), though Carlist themes are present also in his earlier volumes, published since the 1880s, compare "bandeira santa do sacramento / a quen divina non porás ley / brandendo as fouces / y berrando con forte alento /¡Deus, Patria e Rei!". For strictly Traditionalist interpretation of his opus see Francisco Elías de Tejada Spinola, La tradición gallega, Madrid 1944, esp. the sub-chapter Martelo-Pauman, añoranza viva, pp. 173-177
126. for details see Acebal y Gutiérrez, Juan María, [in:] Gran Enciclopedia Asturiana, vol. I, Gijon 1981, p. 17, José Miguel Caso González, La poesía de Juan María Acebal, [in:] Lletres asturianes II (1982), pp. 42–51, Antón García, Prólogu, [in:] Xuan María Acebal, Obra poética, Oviedo 1995, pp. 9–60, Antón García, Xuan María Acebal, [in:] Lliteratura asturiana nel tiempu, Oviedo 1994, pp. 67–68, Enrique García-Rendueles, D. Juan Mª Acebal y Gutiérrez, [in:] Los nuevos bablistas, Gijon 1925, pp. 42–73, Miguel Ramos Corrada, Sociedad y literatura bable (1839–1936), Gijon 1982, pp. 59–66, Milio Rodríguez Cueto, Tiadoru y Acebal, [in:] Vistes lliteraries, Oviedo 1993, pp. 59–63, Xuan Xosé Sánchez Vicente, Cantar y más cantar : un comentariu testual, [in:] Lletres asturianes 36 (1990), pp. 51–57
127. see a sample: "Boinas azules / y coloradas / y blancas boinas / que en densas masas / Del alto monte / A el llano bajan, / Llenando cerros / Poblando campos, / ¡Oh cómo hechizan! / ¡Oh cómo encantan", quoted after del Burgo 1978, p. 725
128. known also as Conde de Guernica, see e.g. his Dios, Patria, Rey. Campaña Real (1887); for the complete listing of his volumes see del Burgo 1978, p. 938
129. see Jesús Gabriel y Galán Acevedo, José María Gabriel y Galán, Mérida 2004, ISBN 9788476717677
130. in 1898 one of the press critics noted with melancholy: “what a pity that such a man dedicated himself to politics!”, Eduardo Valero, El marqués coleccionista, [in:] Historia urbana de Madrid website. Cerralbo's El Arco Romano de Medinaceli has even made it to a contemporary Spanish poetry anthology; his style, like this demonstrated in Leyenda de Amor, merged classical perfection of verse with romantic sentiment, appealing to contemporary taste
131. he published poems in the press and almanacs of the era, his items grandiose in style and revolving around religious topics, see e.g. La Cruzada 27.02.69, available here or La Esperanza 09.02.72, available here
132. for his poem dedicated to the First Vatican Council see Francisco Melgar, Veinte años con Don Carlos. Memorias de su secretario, Madrid 1940, p. 8. In the 1870s Melgar was known as "poeta y periodista" rather than as a militant, see 1873 comments of Alejandro Pidal, quoted after José Manuel Vázquez-Romero, Tradicionales y moderados ante la difusión de la filosofía krausista en España, Madrid 1998,, p. 95
133. see e.g. Religión, Patria y Rey. Ecos españoles (1873) by Arcadio Garcia Gonzalez, del Burgo 1978, p. 421
134. see his volume Almana provenzau (1874), del Burgo 1978, p. 662. Some authors claim that Mistral, a monarchist and supporter of Accion Francaise, was sort of a Carlist himself, see Alfred Camdessus, Mistral était-il carliste?, Bayonne 1932. In France Mistral was not alone when tempted by pro-Carlist passion. In 1875 Verlaine boasted to Rimbaud of his decision to join the Spanish legitimists. He soon had second thoughts, reflected in a pastiche Ultissima verba; he ironically refers to himself as "carlisse"
135. see e.g. España por D. Alfonso (1875) by Jose Lamarque y Novoa, del Burgo 1978, p. 560, or Poesía dedicada á S. M. D. Alfonso XII en el segundo aniversario de su entrada en Barcelona (1877) by Felipe de Saleta Palomeras y Cruixent, del Burgo 1978, p. 891
136. and was held in high esteem by Marcelino Mendendez Pelayo, though surely it received its share of abuse on part of the liberal press, José María Martínez Cachero, Más noticias para la bio-bibliografía de Ceferino Suárez Bravo, [in:] Biblioteca Virtual de Miguel Cervantes service, available here
137. full title Los Mayos. Costumbres populares de la Sierra de Albarracín
138. Roberto Sanz Ponce, La Sierra de Albarracín y Polo y Peyroloñ: historia de una relación ascética, [in:] Rehalda 13 (2010), p. 23
139. Javier Urcelay Alonso, Introducción, [in:] Memorias políticas de M. Polo y Peyrolón (1870–1913), Madrid 2013,, p. 12
140. full title Sacramento y concubinato. Novela original de costumbres aragonesas
141. Sanz Ponce 2010, p. 23
142. full title Pacorro. Novela de costumbres serranas
143. Sanz Ponce 2010, p. 24
144. full title El guerrillero. Novela tejida con retazos de la historia militar carlista
145. Among his contemporaries Polo was appreciated usually by those sharing similar traditional outlook, like Emilia Pardo Bazán, Jesus Bregante, Diccionario espasa. Literatura española, Madrid 2003,, p. 753; relations between Polo and Baztan soured as she later accused him of plagiarism. Other great figure appreciative of Polo's works was Marcelinó Menéndez y Pelayo, Paula Lázaro Izquirerda, Lengua patria y dialectos regionales: una convivencia necesaria en el pensamiento de Manuel Polo y Peyrolon, [in:] Rehalda 5 (2007), p. 28, and José María de Pereda, Jose Maria de Pereda, Cuarenta cartas ineditas a Manuel Polo y Peyrolon, Santander 1990, . A conservative literary review Ilustración Católica identified him as a brilliant follower of Fernán Caballero, Ulpiano Lada Ferreras, La narrativa oral literaria: estudio pragmático, Oviedo 2003,, p. 96, classified his writings as "novela de familia" and hailed his prose as "restauradora de la novela castellana en los tiempos modernos", quoted after María del Carmen Servén Díez, La ilustración católica frente a la novela: 1877–1894, [in:] Revista de literatura 127 (2002), p. 229
146. compare his theoretical study El naturalismo ¿ es un signo de progreso ó de decadencia en la literatura?, published in 1885
147. Bregante 2003, p. 753. It was noted for conventional plots which can hardly support the weight of nagging moralizing objectives, Sanz Ponce 2010, p. 22, Magdalena Aguinaga Alfonso, El costumbrismo de Pereda: innovaciones y técnicas narrativas, Oviedo 1996,, p. 154. On the other hand, it is today appreciated as inexhaustible source of perfectly captured anecdotes and customs, Polo y Perolón, Manuel entry in Gran Enciclopedia Aragonesa online, available here
148. author of Leyes de honor (1873), Enseñar al que no sabe (1877), Trabajar por cuenta propia (1878), La tabla de salvación (1878) and La mejor victoria (1880), Pedro Gómez Aparicio, Historia del periodismo español: De la Revolución de Septiembre al desastre colonial, Madrid 1967, p. 330.
149. Barberan's writings do not contain explicit political threads, even though their author due to his political engagements spent some time behind bars. He is currently classified as "last romantic" or "pre-modern" writer, see Juan Antonio Fernández Rubio, Carlos María Barberán y Plá: semblanza biográfica y estética literaria (1821–1902), [in:] Alberca: Revista de la Asociación de Amigos del Museo Arqueológico de Lorca 15 (2017), pp. 281-318
150. e.g. for Unamuno the nascent Basque nationalism was exactly this long shadow of Carlism, compare Jean-Claude Rabaté, Miguel de Unamuno frente al 2 de mayo de 1874: entre memoria y mito, [in:] Hispanisme 3 (2014), pp. 159. Detailed discussion of Generation 1898 and Carlism in Biruté Ciplijauskaité, The "Noventayochistas" and the carlist wars, [in:] Hispanic review 3 (1976), pp. 265-279
151. yet extremely important one. In 1924 Unamuno, somewhat disappointed that the first edition did not receive much attention, re-published it with a specific prologue. Throughout the 1930s and especially after the outbreak of the 1936 civil war he considered re-writing the entire novel to re-emphasize some threads, Rabaté 2014, pp. 161-162
152. however, unlike Sonata and Zalacaín, Paz en la guerra did not make it to the list of 100 best novels in Spanish language, compiled by El Mundo, compare El Mundo 13.01.01, available here
153. Rabaté 2014, pp. 151-164
154. Gogorza Fletcher 1974, pp. 70-79
155. opinion expressed in his letter to Ganivet, Manuel Fernández Espinosa, Quien niega la historia, se condena a la intrahistoria: el caso Unamuno, [in:] Raigambre. Revista Cultural Hispanica 14.10.13, available here
156. Rabaté 2014, p. 153
157. the Traditionalists claimed that Unamunian "intrahistoric" Carlism was his pure invention, Fernández Espinosa 2013. Progressists from Partido Carlista keep banking on Unamunian opinion about proto-socialist Carlism until today, see comments of their leader Evaristo Olcina, [in:] EKA-Partido Carlista service, available here
158. Rabaté 2014, p. 162
159. Francisco Blanco Prieto, Unamuno y la guerra civil, [in:] Cuadernos de la Cátedra Miguel de Unamuno 47/1 (2009), p. 50
160. for a comprehensive review of scholarly views on Valle and Carlism see the second chapter of Margarita Santos Zas, Tradicionalismo y literatura en Valle-Inclan: 1866 1910, Madrid 1993,
161. the very same paragraph from La Corte de Estella, discussing how conde Pedro Soulinake compared liberal troops ('ejercito de almas muertas') to the Carlist ones ('mancebos encendidos y fuertes'), might be quoted as ironic, see Ciplijauskaité 1996, p. 64, and as genuine, see José F. Acedo Castilla, La segunda guerra carlista en las novelas de Valle-Inclán, [in:] Boletín de la Real academia Sevillana de Buenas Letras: Minervae Baeticae 21 (1993), p. 77
162. in 1910 Valle-Inclán declared in public that the only arm he had was at the service of the Carlist claimant; also in 1910 he was supposed to run on the Carlist ticket for the Cortes; in the 1920s was on friendly terms with Jaime III; in 1931 he was awarded the Carlist Order of Legitimidad Proscrita; according to some accounts, portraits of Carlist claimants were always on his desk, Josep Carles Clemente, Valle-Inclán y el carlismo, [in:] Tiempo de historia VI/67 (1980), pp. 129-130. A Carlist pundit, Joaquín Argamasilla de la Cerda Bayona, was the godfather of Valle-Inclán's son; Valle-Inclán prologued a novel by Argamasilla, El yelmo roto (1913); though dedicated to conde Rodezno, the novel did not contain any Carlist threads and dwelled upon decline of an aristocratic family living in the cosmopolitan Paris ambience
163. one scholar names Valle-Inclán "carlista atípico", Clemente 1995, pp. 153-154. Similar opinion in María José Alonso Seoana, Prologo, [in:] Ramón Valle-Inclan, La guerra carlista, Madrid 1980, Eugenio G. de Nora, La novela española contemporánea, Madrid 1953, p. 76, Carlos Luis Valle-lnclán Blanco, Prólogo, [in:] Ramón Valle-Inclan, Gerilfaltes de Amaño, Buenos Aires 1945, p. 8. This is the view that the author of so far most exhaustive work on the issue tends to agree with, see Santos Zas 1993. However, reviewers point out to some problematic omissions in her work, e.g. she did not note that in the late 1890s Valle contributed to Don Quijote, a weekly generally perceived as an anti-Carlist, and he must have been aware of it, Eliane Lavaud-Fage, Review: Tradicionalismo y literatura en Valle-Inclán (1889–1910) by Margarita Santos Zas, [in:] Reseñas iberoamericanas. Literatura, sociedad, historia 3 (1996), p. 59
164. the issue is not entirely clear. One scholar claims that in early 1931 Jaime III addressed Valle-Inclán with a very cordial letter, informing him about the intention to decorate the writer. It is not clear whether Valle-Inclán accepted the honor and whether he bothered to respond at all; shortly afterwards Jaime III passed away and the issue was not resumed by his successor, Alfonso Carlos, Jacek Bartyzel, Nic bez boga, nic wbrew tradycji, Radzymin 2015,, p. 298
165. Acedo Castilla 1993, p. 80
166. Melchor Fernández Almagro, Vida y literatura de Valle -lnclán, Madrid 1943, pp. 143-144, Ramón Gómez de la Serna, Don Ramón M. del Valle-lnclán, Buenos Aires 1948, p. 71, all referred after Ciplijauskaité 1996, p. 62
167. compare Acedo Castilla 1993
168. Gaspar Gomez de la Serna, España en sus episodios nacionales, Madrid 1945, Alison Sinclair, Valle-Inclan's Ruedo Ibérico: A Popular View of Revolution, London 1977, Emma Sperati-Piñeiro, e Sonata de otoño al esperpento, London 1968, Leda Schiavo, Historia y novela en Valle-Inclán, Madrid 1980, all referred after Ciplijauskaité 1996, p. 62
169. Ciplijauskaité 1996, p. 57
170. Leda Schiavo, Historia y novela en Valle-Inclán, Madrid 1980, p. 29, referred after Ciplijauskaité 1996, p. 62
171. Ciplijauskaité 1996, p. 62
172. Fernandez Almagro 1966, p. 170, referred after Ciplijauskaité 1996, p. 62
173. Bradomin is reportedly skeptical "about the practicality of Carlism", Gogorza Fletcher 1974, p. 82
174. Baroja claimed that his first recollections from infancy are the horrors of Bilbao being pounded by the Carlist artillery. The siege of Bilbao lasted until May 1874; Baroja was 16-months-old at the time
175. some scholars, though, claim that Baroja along Unamuno and Valle nurtured a "pro-Carlist sentiment", with the reservation that this Barojian Carlism was not "theocratic and reactionary ideology" but "popular regionalist movement", Gogorza Fletcher 1974, p. 9
176. though his mother warned their sons that "the Carlists always return", anecdote circulated by Caro Baroja and referred after Evarist Olcina, Hijo, los carlistas vuelven siempre, [in:] Naiz 27.02.17, available here
177. Ara Torralba 2009, p. 36
178. Ara Torralba 2009, p. 37
179. this vision has well filtered into the present-day Spanish culture; in a celebrated movie Vacas (1992) a Carlist protagonist is sure beaten by his opponent in the Basque woodchopping competition
180. according to one of numerous and not necessarily coherent versions of the incident he later propagated. Following the incident Baroja was detained and spent a night in the Guardia Civil prison in the nearby Santesteban, yet he seemed to prefer this option, as he felt safer in prison than among the Carlists. He later recalled that "Los carlistas tenían tomado todo aquello con el mismo espíritu de siempre. Se mantenían con el mismo terror con que los he dibujado a lo largo de mis libros", La Voz 01.08.36, available here
181. Blasco Ibañez was among instigators of riots, intended to prevent public address of the Carlist leader Marqués de Cerralbo in Valencia in 1890, Canal i Morell 2006, p. 143
182. Escobedo 1983, pp. 52-54
183. with reservations related to Valle-Inclán in mind
184. Valbuena was a high Carlist official during the last civil war, holding the post of auditor general del ejército
185. marked by clear educative purpose; it was known also as novela católica, moral, casta, integrista, didáctica, docente, Jean-Francois Botrel, Antonio de Valbuena y la novela de edificación (1879–1903), [in:] Revista Tierras de León 1984, p. 134
186. see also Capullos de novela (1891), Novelas menores (1895), Rebojos (1901) and Parábolas (1903)
187. Esparza served in the Aragon Junta de Armamento during the Third Carlist War and as jefe de intendencia of the household of Carlos VII afterwards. His historical novels which exalted the Carlist cause were El ángel de Somorrostro (1877) and En Navarra (1895)
188. "sempre des de la seva optica carlina", Àngels Carles Pomar, Domingo Cirici Ventalló, escriptor i publicista, [in:] Ciutat. Revista cultural d'Amics de les Arts i Joventuts Musicals 10 (2000), p. 26
189. his most popular novel, El secreto de lord Kitchener (1914), is a display of anglophobia and germanophilia, rampant among some Carlist circles during the Great War
190. Vicanç Pagés Jordá, "Records de la darrera carlinada" – Marià Vayreda, [in:] vicencpagesjorda service
191. "en un dels lloca més alts, si no el més alt, de la novella catalana", Maurici Serrahima, Maria Teresa Boada, La novella històrica en la literatura catalana, Montserrat 1996,, p. 140
192. L’Ibo (with his masculine appeal attractive as it may seem) stands for wild non-reflexive violence, Albert (with his apparent timidity and indecision) stands for order, family values and religion. On Vayreda and Carlism see Jordi Canal, Carlisme i catalanisme a la fi del segle XIX. Notes sobre unes relacions complexes, [in:] Le discours sur la nation en Catalogne aux XIXe et XXe siècles. Hommage à Antoni M. Badia i Margarit, Paris 1995, pp. 211–230, Jordi Canal, ¿En busca del precedente perdido? Tríptico sobre las complejas relaciones entre carlismo y catalanismo a fines del siglo XIX, [in:] Historia y Politica 14 (2005), p. 45-84, Jordi Canal, Marian Vayreda, entre el carlisme i el catalanisme, [in:] Revista de Girona 225 (2004), pp. 41–46
193. Danny M. Barreto, ‘Sen pátrea nin lareira’: los espacios nacionales y domésticos en la novela transatlántica ¡A Besta! de Xan de Masma, [in:] Bulletin of Hispanic Studies 95 (2018), pp. 1071–1083. The title beast was a local cacique, representative of the corrupted liberal regime, who set his eyes on innocent Pepiña; traditionalist virtues are represented by another protagonist, Pedro
194. the Carlists and the liberals are presented as agents of currents which are threatening the Basque self, though the Carlists are at least rooted in the local community and perhaps less corrupted, Rafael Botella García-Lastra, Juan Manuel Rozas Valdés, El carlismo en la novela, [in:] Miguel Ayuso (ed.), A los 175 años del carlismo, Madrid 2011, ISBN 9788493678777, pp. 412-413
195. himself a Carlist volunteer during the Third Carlist War
196. for history of the anthem see Rafael Garcia Serrano, Cantatas de mi mochila, [in:] Navarra fue la primera, Pamplona 2006,, pp. 523-530
197. Ramos Azcarate Otegui (1847–1904) initially sided with the Liberals but then turned a Carlist. Example of his Carlist poetry in Basque is Baldespiña-Co Marques Chit Gueidiatia Jaunari Oroitza Bat (1891), poems dedicated to the Gipuzkoan Carlist leader marques de Valdespina. Otegui fathered also stories and other short pieces in Basque
198. Alberto Culebras Mayordomo, Rescatada la obra poética de la hermana de Mariano de Cavia, [in:] ABC 25.06.21, available here
199. who published under the pen-name "Pedro Sánchez Egusquiza"
200. Dios. Patria. Rey. Cantos a la Tradición (1911), a collection of 16 poems dedicated to Don Jaime, del Burgo 1978, p. 897
201. one of the poems, A mi novio, was styled as a letter from a girl to her fiancé; she explained why she would never marry a Liberal; in another one, A Carlos VII, en lo dia del seu sant, Bardina was offering his life to the claimant, Carlos VII
202. they remain unknown even in the Catalan literature, published mostly in a satirical weekly El Voluntario, Jordi Canal, El carlismo catalanista a la fi del segle XIX: Joan Bardina i Lo Mestre Titas (1897–1900), [in:] Recerques 34 (1996), p. 48
203. the drama was set in the Third Carlist War and featured historical figures like Don Carlos and Doña Margarita. It was performed in Jaimista circulos, see Diario de Valencia 27.01.15, available here.
204. Ortea was a longtime editor of Gijón Traditionalist periodicals. For his drama, see the Asturian digital archive copy, available here
205. Begoña Rodríguez Acuña, Pruebas Acceso Grado Superior: Lengua castellana y Literatura: Ciclos Formativos, Madrid 2014,, p. 305
206. fathered by Salvador Granes, Luis Arnedo and Ernesto Polo. It ridiculed the Carlist infant Don Jaime, which led to disturbances, organized by the Carlist youth, see La Opinion 30.09.08, available here. Eventually the zarzuela was banned by the civil governor, Eva Parra Membrives (ed.), Trivialidades literarias. Reflexiones en torno a la literatura de entrentenimiento, Madrid 2013, ISBN 9788498951448, p. 331
207. a Catholic convert, in 1897 Hobbes released The School For Saints, a romance partially set in Spain prior to outbreak of the Third Carlist War. Some apparent sympathy for the Carlists, traceable in the text, was made plain in Hobbes' one-act drama Repentance (first staged in London in 1899); one of its protagonists, count Des Escas, declares loyalty to Don Carlos though he knows he would be shot by his captors, Mildred Davis Harding, Air-bird in the Water: The Life and Works of Pearl Craigie (John Oliver Hobbes), Madison 1996,, pp. 223-229
208. his In Kedar's Tents (1897), set during the First Carlist War, contained some historiosophic comparisons between the Chartists and the Carlists, John Sutherland, The Stanford Companion to Victorian Fiction, Stanford 1990,, p. 561. The protagonist, an Irish lawyer Frederick Conyngham, flees Britain fearing charges related to Chartist riots; in Spain he inadvertently becomes immersed in political intrigue masterminded by an evasive anti-hero, a Carlist ringleader Esteban Larralde
209. a second-rate but fairly popular novelist, Marchmont (1852–1923) authored Sarita, the Carlist (1902). The protagonist, an impoverished English nobleman Lord Glisfoyle, in diplomatic British service in Spain, gets involved in Carlist conspiracy, co-ran by his Spanish attractive female cousin, Sarita Castelar. The action is apparently set in the 1890s, as the narrative contains vague references to a "Cuban crisis". Eventually, Glisfoyle realizes he was being manipulated and acknowledges authority of the Madrid king; in love, he and Sarita leave Spain
210. With the British Legion: A Story of the Carlist Wars (1903), also set in the 1830s, is currently classified as fairly typical "children's fiction" of the era. Henty was a vastly popular author of numerous adventurous novels intended mostly for juvenile readers. His typical protagonist was a clean-cut if somewhat unruly boy who matures throughout a series of adventures; in With the British Legion he appears as Arthur Hallett, who volunteers to the British unit fighting the Carlists, John Cooper, Children's Fiction 1900–1950, London 2019,, pp. 72-73
211. "Heber K. Daniels" was a pen-name of Farquhar E. B. Palliser; his Dona Rufina (1900), marketed as "interesting story of intrigue and love", is set in 1898 against a background of Carlist conspiracy, unfolding in England; the romance was issued at least twice, Susan Jones, A Girl of the North, London 1900, p. 177, see here
212. authenticity of Ego te absolvo is disputed. The story was first published in a volume issued in Paris in 1905; it contained French translations of Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories collection, but also a number of previously unknown stories, also in French. Ego te absolvo was among them, reportedly a translation from an earlier publication in an unidentified US magazine. It was soon claimed that the story was among those "fraudulently attributed to Oscar Wilde, generally by unscrupulous publishers"; this was e.g. the opinion of Robert Harborough Sherard, The life of Oscar Wilde, London 1906, p. 460. Since then Ego te absolvo is generally ignored in the English-language publications, compare e.g. the University College Cork collection available here, and generally attributed to Wilde in the Spanish-language ones, compare e.g. Cuentos de Oscar Wilde, Santiago de Chile 2005,, or the online Biblioteca Virtual de Miguel de Cervantes, available here. The story was also included in a volume Tres cuentos carlistas, published by Museum of Carlism, Estella 2010,
213. the story is set during the Third Carlist War; two Carlists argue about an unknown woman, treated as a war booty, and both die during the altercation
214. not exactly literature is La Navarraise, an opera by Jules Massenet (1894); it was set in the Third Carlist War and seemed quite sympathetic towards the Carlists, Francisco Javier Caspistegui Gorasurreta, Between repulsion and attraction: Carlism seen through foreign eyes, [in:] Revista internacional de los estudios vascos 2 (2008), p. 128. Carlism at least 3 times features in writings of the Nobel-prize winner Sienkiewicz. In a grotesque story Szkice węglem (1877) an exalted and pretentious protagonist in the Polish middle-of-nowhere gets his anti-religious outlook reinforced by lecture of a novel on the First Carlist War. Another story Latarnik (1881) sets as a protagonist a 70-year-old Pole, who apperently took part in the First Carlist War (probably in liberal ranks). In a novel Bez dogmatu (1891) the key protagonist, an aristocratic Polish dandy raised in Italy and France, during his youth in the 1870 volunteered to Carlist troops
215. the second edition went to print in 1895; the year of the first edition is not clear, del Burgo 1978, p. 888
216. Jacek Bartyzel, Tradycjonalizm bez kompromisu, Radzymin 2023, ISBN 9788366480605, p. 688; the author claims that Loti "dedicated lots of pages" to Don Jaime, which is incorrect; Don Jaime appears 3 times in the narrative
217. Giovanni Martini (1876–1905) set his drama in the First Carlist War. The title Carlist protagonist represents moral principles against vile and treacherous enemies; among dramatis personae there is also a servant from Africa, unique literary case of a black Carlist, Angelo d'Ambra, Don Pedro di Elisonda, il dramma storico carlista di un scrittore vicentino, [in:] Historia Regni service 25.08.21, available here
218. in terms of language some scholars speak about "época de Valle, Ortega y Lorca", lasting from 1902 to 1939, Francisco Abad, Problemas de periodización y caracterización en historia de la lengua literaria española, [in:] Revista de Filologia Románica 15 (1998), p. 32. The same author when discussing history of literature singles out "Edad de Plata", lasting from the late 19th century to 1939 and followed by a period named "literatura actual de hoy", Francisco Abad, Sobre la periodización de la literatura española, [in:] Cuadernos Hispanoamericanos 469-470 (1989), pp. 205-206. Another scholar suggests to single out a long "Vanguardias y posguerra" period, which follows "La crisis finisecular" and precedes "hacia el siglo XXI", Juan González Martínez, Breve historia de la literatura española, Barcelona 2009, . Another one proposes to distinguish between a period spanned between generation 1898 and generation 1927, "wartime and Francoism" and present day, Alberto de Frutos Dávalos, Breve historia de la Literatura española, Madrid 2016, . One more proposal is to tell "Siglo XIX" from "Modernidad y nacionalismo" (1900–1939) and "Siglo XX" (which commences in 1939), José-Carlos Mariner (ed.), Historia de la literatura española, Madrid 2007–2011, . Others simply follow the sequence set by the centuries, see Felipe B. Pedraza Jiménez, Milagros Rodríguez Cáceres, Historia esencial de la literatura española e hispanoamericana, Madrid 2000,
219. for application to the regeneracionistas, see e.g. Julián Casanova, Carlos Gil Andrés, Historia de España en el siglo XX, Barcelona 2009,, p. 9. For application to the Second Republic, see e.g. Eduardo González Calleja, Los discursos catastrofistas de los líderes de la derecha y la difusión del mito del «golpe de Estado comunista», [in:] El Argonatua Espanol 13 (2016)
220. Alison Sinclair, Valle-Inclan's Ruedo Ibérico: A Popular View of Revolution, London 1977
221. the key skeptic is Zdzisław Najder, Życie Conrada-Korzeniowskiego, Warszawa 1980,, pp. 45-50. Some scholars accept the account with no reservations, see Marek Jan Chodakiewicz, Affinity and Revulsion: Poland reacts to the Spanish Right (1936–1939), [in:] Marek Jan Chodakiewicz, John Radzilowski (eds.), Spanish Carlism and Polish Nationalism: The Borderlands of Europe in the 19th and 20th Centuries, Charlottesville 2003,, p. 48
222. see brief review at GoodReads service, available here
223. exact plot is not clear; according to some sources it might have been at least partially set during the First Carlist War, see Michael G. Brennan, Graham Greene: Political Writer, London 2016,, p. 19; in the 1980s Greene believed it was rather set in Victorian London among Spanish refugees, Mike Hill, Jon Wise, The Works of Graham Greene, Volume 2, New York 2015,, page unavailable, seehere. The manuscript survived and is now in the Georgetown University
224. it is not clear why it did not go to print in the 1930s, perhaps because Greene thought it an unfinished work of low quality. He considered publication in the 1990s, but eventually abandoned the idea, Hill, Wise 2015
225. completed in April 1931. Greene was later profoundly unhappy about the novel and suppressed it. He described it as "badness beyond the power of criticism", pretentious and excessively influenced by "Conrad's worst novel", The Arrow of Gold, Graham Greene, Ways of Escape: An Autobiography, New York 1980,, p. 19
226. Greene converted to Roman-Catholicism in his mid-20s and was baptised in 1926; he ceased to practice in the 1940s and later he called himself a "Catholic agnostic". During the Spanish Civil War the Left Review sent to many English writers questionnaires to determine which side their supported; Greene did not respond, but shortly afterwards declared that "I stand with the people and the Government of Spain". His biographer claims he indeed tended to support the Republicans, but was estranged by their perceived atrocities. His intuitive preferences were reportedly with the Basques, as he perceived them as Catholics not engaged in brutal terror, Norman Sherry, The Life Of Graham Greene, vol. 1, London 2016,, page unavailable, see here. Two later Greene's works related to Spain, The Confidential Agent (1939) and Monsignor Quixote (1982) demonstrate clear preference for the Republicans; they do not touch upon the Carlist theme
227. Michael G. Brennan, Graham Greene: Fictions, Faith and Authorship, London 2010,, p. 19,
228. Brennan 2016, p. 19
229. Brennan 2010, p. 20
230. Rújula 2005, p. 62
231. see e.g. the brief film tag in Webmuseo service, available here
232. the novel was serialized in 1926–1927 in Courrier de Bayonne
233. full title Der Königsthron: Roman aus dem spanischen Karlistenkrieg. Nothing closer is known about the novel, Carmen Alonso Ímaz, La novela histórica alemana y los austrias españoles, Madrid 2007,, p. 88
234. the narrative is set mostly in Odessa in early 1919. Don Jaime is manipulated by a Paris banker Goldfinger, who intends to marry his daughter with the infant. However, Don Jaime eventually realises the plot and engages in works to thwart the Jewish conspiracy; the pdf version of the novel is available here The work is worth attention since it demonstrates that as far away as in Eastern Europe Carlism and Don Jaime were perceived as allies in the struggle against Judeo-Bolshevik attempt to rule the world
235. in the late 19th century his father was domestico di fiducia at Tenuta Reale, the Viareggio estate held by wife and then descendants of Carlos VII; the servants were jointly referred to as "canaglia", Giovanni Scarabelli, La Reggia e la Tenuta Borbone, [in:] Argonauti service 15.06.20, available here
236. numerous Miró's novels are set in the late 19th century in a fictitious city of Oleza; by scholars it is identified with Orihuela, the city of his youth
237. for in-depth treatment of the Carlist motive in Miró's writings see the sub-chapter Carlism in Marian G. R. Coope, Reality and Time in the Oleza Novels of Gabriel Miró, London 1984,, pp. 110-123
238. Carlos Ruiz Silva, Introducción, [in:] Gabriel Miró, El obispo leproso, Madrid 1984,, p. 45, Escobedo 1983, pp. 56-58. Another opinion is advanced by the author who claims that Miró was fairly unambiguous in his criticism of Carlism, the movement built "on false religious values", Coope 1984, p. 122
239. Bartyzel 2015, p. 13
240. for more insight on the Barcelona pistolerismo see Eduardo González Calleja, El máuser y el sufragio: órden público, subversión y violencia política en la crisis de la Restauración (1917–1931), Madrid 1999, (esp. p. 197), for Rico's death see César Alcalá, Diálogos sobre la Guerra Civil, Barcelona 2000, p. 66
241. El Siglo Futuro 02.11.33, available here
242. she might be noted rather for poems revolving around Christian virtues, advantages of family life and patriotic values. They are scattered across various periodicals and in the volume Nimias (1898). She contributed also to drama, having written two one-act comedies Margarita (1890) and En el buen retiro (1909), both featuring "tipos y costumbres leonesas" and played in León, La Tradición 16.06.00, available here, El Pueblo 10.06.09, available here. Some scholars claim they were inspired by Zorilla and Campoamor, María del Camino Ochoa Fuertes, Dolores Gortázar Serantes, [in:] Filandón 7 December 1997, p. 8
243. Rújula 2005, p. 63
244. the "quinto" was a conscript, who later switched sides and joined the Carlists; the novel was widely acclaimed for torrid narrative action combined with non-partisan perspective, see e.g. Contemporanea 12 (1935), available here, El Sol 20.02.31, available here, La Vanguardia 30.07.30, available here, El Siglo Futuro 07.06.30, available here, La Hormiga de Oro 11 (1931), available here
245. it was originally sub-titled "novela humoristica", compare here. It seems that the novel was soon turned into a theatrical play, the joint work of Perez and Torralba de Damas, and staged in Barcelona theatres, compare La Libertad 12.07.33, available here
246. they are presented as ostentatiously religious but in fact the last ones to "stop blaspheming" ("y hasta los carlistas dejaron de blasfemar"). Some scholars have taken this fairly typical literary anti-Carlism at face value and quote Urabayen as authority on Carlism, compare Jeremy MacClancy, The Decline of Carlism, Reno 2000,, p. 64
247. Antonio Linage Conde, Félix Urabayen en su edad de plata, [in:] Anales toledanos 37 (1999), p. 277
248. Canal 2006, p. 261
249. Andreu Navarra Ordoño, La región sospechosa. La dialéctica hispanocatalana entre 1875 y 1939, Barcelona 2013,, page unavailable, see here
250. the Carlist protagonist of the novel, Falcón de Saavedra, is depicted as "característico figurón señoral, arquetípico y representativo del más acrisolado tradicionalismo carlista", Jesús Ferrer-Solá, Manuel Azaña: una pasión intelectual, Alcala de Henares 1991,, pp. 83-84
251. María del Carmen Gil Fombellida, Rivas Cherif, Margarita Xirgu y el teatro de la II República, Madrid 2003,, pp. 150-151
252. Revista católica de las cuestiones sociales 7 (1924), p. 40.
253. Guía oficial de España 1923, p. 745
254. though coming from a family of Liberal writers, in his youth he was a Carlist, Jose Ramon Saiz Fernandez, Apuntes sobre José del Río Sainz, Pick, [in:] Cantabria 24 Horas 19 October 2014, available here
255. Luis Alberto de Cuenca, José del Rio Sainz, un poeta olvidado, [in:] Hispanic Poetry Review 1-2 (1999), p. 78
256. Gerardo Diego, Obras completas, Vol. VII: Prosa, Madrid 2000,, p. 296. Following outbreak of the civil war del Río fled the revolutionary Santander and, apparently totally disillusioned as to his former liberal ideal, asked to be admitted back to Carlism; in 1943 he released a biography of Zamalacarregui. Some place him in "gloriosa galeria de los grandes escritores del Carlismo", see Ignacio Romero Raizabal, De cómo volvió al Carlismo el gran "Pick", [in:] Montejurra 46 (1964), p. 7. According to others some of his later works demonstrate “actitud de extrema derecha, cavernicola incluso”, which a historian of literature refused to accept as genuine and interprets as “cautelas que exigía la vida en un Madrid muy franquista”, Jesús Pardo (preface to) José del Río Sáinz, El Capitancito, Santander 1998, ISBN 788481022032, p. 31
257. in literature the work is attributed either to Torralba, or to Pérez de Olaguer or to both. For the Pérez de Olaguer attribution see Javier Domínguez Arribas, El enemigo judeo-masónico en la propaganda franquista, 1936–1945, Barcelona 2009,, p. 264; for Torralba attribution see e.g. casadellibro service, available here. Perez de Olaguer has later claimed the work was the result of their common work, see his Mi padre, un hombre de bien, Madrid 1967, p. 89. Torralba was killed in 1936
258. Ainhoa Arozamena Ayala, Cristina Aznar Munárri, Jaime del Burgo Torres entry, [in:] Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia
259. Francisco Javier Caspistegui Gorasurreta, „Esa ciudad maldita, cuna del centralismo, la burocracia y el liberalismo": la ciudad como enemigo en el tradicionalismo español, [in:] Actas del congreso internacional "Arquitectura, ciudad e ideología antiurbana", Pamplona 2002,, p. 92
260. "todos ellos coinciden en reflejar en sus obras cómo la perniciosa influencia de lo foráneo va pervirtiendo las sanas y católicas costumbres locales de la Navarra ‘auténtica’", Javier Dronda Martínez, Con Cristo o contra Cristo. Religión y movilización antirrepublicana en navarra (1931–1936), Tafalla 2013,, p. 22
261. El Siglo Futuro 21.03.21, available here
262. Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada Europeo-Americana (Espasa) 1927, pp. 548-549
263. in 1928 he responded with rhymes to the death of Juan Vázquez de Mella, see La Lectura Dominical 11.02.28, La Lectura Dominical 06.02.29
264. Mundo Grafico 13.10.15
265. Manuel Fernández Espinosa, La poesía en Jaén. D. Francisco de Paula Ureña Navas y el grupo literario "El Madroño", [in:] Giennium: revista de estudios e investigación de la Diócesis de Jaén 11 (2008), pp. 169-210
266. Carpio Moraga, author of numerous dramas, literary chronicles and patriotic poems, also contributed as a literary critic to the Carlist daily El Eco de Jaén and was killed by the Republicans soon after the outbreak of the war, see Carpio Moraga (Luis), [in:] Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada Europeo-Americana (Espasa), 1936–1939 supplement, vol. 1, 1944, pp. 380-381
267. Leandro Alvarez Rey, La derecha en la II República: Sevilla, 1931–1936, Sevilla 1993,, p. 316
268. Hinojosa remains a forgotten figure. For the Republicans and their followers he was a reactionary señorito, for the Nationalists he was the author of extravagant iconoclastic poems. For attempts to recover his memory see Joselu, José María Hinojosa, el poeta olvidado, [in:] Profesor en la secundaria blog, available here, or Francisco Torres, José María Hinojosa, el otro poeta asesinado por los otros, [in:] La Nación, re-published by Fundación Nacional Francisco Franco service, available here
269. there were many Carlist authors executed by the Republicans during the Civil War, the key names being these of Víctor Pradera, Juan Olázabal and Emilio Ruiz Muñoz (Fabio). However, all of them were periodistas or political theorists who did not contribute to belles-lettres
270. discussed in detail in Javier Cubero de Vicente, Del Romanticismu al Rexonalismu: escritores carlistes na lliteratura asturiana, Ovieu 2014,
271. Piotr Sawicki, La narrativa española de la Guerra Civil (1936–1975). Propaganda, testimonio y memoria creativa, Alicante 2010, p. 20. Scarce literary production in the Republican zone might seem surprising, given left-wing preferences of most men of letters and given the fact that urban population, key social basis of potential readers, found themselves mostly in the Republican zone. None of the works consulted analysed the phenomenon. It well might be that increasingly chaotic economy, including the printing industry, rendered literary production difficult. Moreover, mounting hardships of daily life, including shortages of food and basic supplies, have probably relegated books to marginal position
272. with the personality of "viejo Tudela"
273. a girl from accommodated family falls in love with a simple worker; she has to overcome resistance of her conservative, Carlist family to marry him, Amaia Serrano Mariezkurrena, Narrativa vasca sobre la Guerra Civil: historias para al recuerdo. La literatura vasca abriendose al realismo, [in:] Agnieszka August-Zarębska, Trinidad Marín Villora (eds.), Guerra. exilio, diaspora. Approximaciones literarias e históricas, Wrocław 2014,, pp. 31-32
274. Derek Gagen, David George, La Guerra Civil Española: arte y violencia, Murcia 1990,, p. 19
275. Didier Corderot, La biblioteca Rocío (1937–1939) o las virtudes de la novela rosa durante la Guerra Civil Española, [in:] Tropelias. Revista de la Literatura y Literatura Comparada 23 (2015), p. 39
276. Sawicki 2010, p. 65
277. Sanz Martínez 2015, p. 146
278. she was mother to the later Partido Carlista secretary general, José María Zavala Castella
279. detailed discussion in José María Martínez Cachero, Liras entre lanzas. Historia de la Literatura «Nacional» en la Guerra Civil, Madrid 2009,, pp. 288-289
280. the novel is fairly simple in terms of plot and personalities; requeté’s love for a communist girl might have developed into a psychodrama but ended up in rather banal way, as the girl was declared unworthy and the two parted, Sawicki 2010, pp. 57-58
281. it contains also some veiled anti-Falangist features, Sawicki 2010, p. 135. For a review of the genre – equally hostile as the review penned by Sawicki – see Julio Rodríguez-Puértolas, Historia de la literatura fascista española, vol. 2, Madrid 2008,, especially chapter V, Literatura fascista espanola, 1939–1975. La narrativa
282. Sawicki 2010, pp. 66-67
283. Sawicki 2010, p. 69
284. some scholars single this novel out as one of the most typical cases of literature servile to the Francoist regime, Iker González-Allende, La novela rosa de ambientación vasca e ideología franquista durante la Guerra Civil española, [in:] Revista Internacional de Estudios Vascos 50/1 (2005), pp. 79-103
285. Corderot 2015, p. 38
286. animated mostly by Catalan refugee artists settled in Donostia, it stuck to high graphical standards until it was amalgamated into the Francoist propaganda machine and turned into Flechas y pelayos.
287. L'Espoir does not mention either Carlism or Carlists and in general refers to the rebels as "Fascists". However, at one point its Republican protagonists mention "paysans monarchistes, béret sur la tête et couverture sur l’épaule", who arrived at Burgos to drink with aristocratic ladies in big hotels, "se faisaient tuer pour les comtesses qui ne se faisaient pas tuer pour les paysans"
288. for review of British literature see Gabriel Insausti (ed.), La trinchera nostálgica: escritores británicos en la guerra civil española, Sevilla 2010,, especially the chapter of Francisco Javier Caspistegui Gorasurreta, El peso del pasado en los relatos británicos sobre la guerra civil espanóla, pp. 401-459. The Carlist theme was rather present in travel literature or correspondence, presented according to political preference of the author. For a Communist propagandist Arthur Koestler Carlist-controlled Navarre was like "the shadows of the Middle Ages appeared to have come alive", for a Polish Nationalist Jędrzej Giertych Navarre was (quoting Joan Pujol) "religiosa sin fariseísmo, alegre sin corrupción, laboriosa y valiente sin jactancia"
289. e.g. Różaniec z granatów, a 1946 story by Ksawery Pruszyński, a pro-Republican Polish war correspondent during the civil war, featured a Polish international brigades volunteer who taken POW, was spared by Irish requetes, intrigued by the rosary found in his pocket. The American novelist Helen Nicholson introduced some Carlists as episodic figures in her The Painted Bed (1937), a Gothic-style novel; it hailed the Catholic tradition embodied in Nationalist Spain fighting "canalla marxista"
290. though he shots a wounded Republican soldier and orders his men to chop off heads of fallen enemies Berrendo also demonstrates empathy and laments the horrors of war. At one point he also represents prudence against exaltation of his fellow officer, a non-Carlist, a rather unique representation of a Carlist in literature. See e.g. David Caute, Politics and the Novel During the Cold War, London 2017,, p. 41, Ichiro Takayoshi, American Writers and the Approach of World War II, 1930–1941, Cambridge 2015,, p. 88. Some go as far as claiming that Berrendo represents "one more Civil War equation of hunter and hunted in the novel's overall pattern", A. Robert Lee, Gothic to Multicultural: Idioms of Imagining in American Literary Fiction, New York 2009,, p. 295. Another opinion in Martin Blinkhorn, Carlism and Crisis in Spain, Cambridge 1975 [re-printed with no re-edition in 2008],, p. 356; for Blinkhorn "requete appears as the incarnation of Nationalist fanaticism" in the Hemingway's novel
291. the author penned also short stories set in the wartime Carlist milieu, titled Lasarte maison morte
292. the key protagonist Juan Vicente is a requeté, but his friend Gil Harispe is an anarchist; the two sort of depend on one another during a complex plot, featuring getting Vicente's father out of the Republican prison
293. Gagen, George 1990, pp. 161-162
294. Martin Hurcombe, France and the Spanish Civil War: Cultural Representations of the War Next Door, Farnham 2013,, p. 55
295. compare e.g. Antonio Martín Puerta, El franquismo y los intelectuales: La cultura en el nacionalcatolicismo, Madrid 2014,
296. Julio Rodríguez-Puértolas, Historia de la literatura fascista española, vol. 2, Madrid 2008,
297. the key Carlist protagonist, Javier Ichaso, appears to be a rather unsophisticated if not raw young man; incapable of genuine religious reflection, he approaches faith as "family heritage". Other requetes – though some of them heroic – are "monstruosa mezcla de fe y de ignorancia". The Carlists were particularly irritated by a scene of requetes executing a Basque priest, compare La "pella" de Gironella, [in:] Montejurra 5 (1961)
298. María del Carmen Alfonso García, Llamas y rescoldos nacionales: Con la vida hicieron fuego, novela de Jesús Evaristo Casariego (1953) y película de Ana Mariscal (1957), [in:] Arbor 187 (2012), pp. 1088–1093.
299. Oyarzun 2008, pp. 502-503, Carlos Mata Indurain, Eladio Esparza (1888–1961). Poeta sin versos del atardecer, [in:] Rio Arga, Pamplona 1976, pp. 32-35
300. the protagonist, a young Santiago, was constantly harassed by revolutionary mob, until during the war he fled to the Nationalist zone and enlisted to the Carlist units, wreaking havoc on his enemies; the only non-conventional motive was his Communist friend, who at the end abandoned the false prophets, Sawicki 2010, p. 127
301. two Nationalist pilots who during the Civil War crash-landed somewhere in the Pyrenees found themselves in a valley cut off from the outer world. It was inhabited by descendants of those fighting in the 19th-century Carlist wars; for a century they lived in complete isolation, descendants of the Carlists becoming an honest, brave community, and descendants of the Liberals becoming an immoral, bestial bunch, Sawicki 2010, pp. 140-141
302. Sawicki 2010, p. 240
303. Manuel Martorell Perez, Otra vision. Dolores Baleztena Ascarate, [in:] Maria Juncal Campo Guinea (ed.), Mujeres que la historio no nombro, Pamplona 2018, p. 234
304. López Sanz excelled as a periodista and historian, though he also tried "algunas incursiones en el campo literario", Sawicki 2010, p. 198
305. the case is presented by a story of longtime rivalry between two Navarrese families, a Carlist and a Liberal one, Sawicki 2010, p. 198
306. the novel featured a friendship between a Carlist and 3 maquis; the former declares that "vergüenza de al confesarlo, los tradicionalistas no tenemos nada, por impedinoslo el Decreto de Unificación", Xavier Perez, Sant Fost, santuari del carlisme catala, [in:] Notes 13 (1999), p. 46
307. Marí Jose Olaziregi Allustiza, La recuperación de la memoria histórica en la novela contemporánea vasca, [in:] Euskera 54/2-2 (2009), p. 1035
308. Serrano Mariezkurrena 2014, p. 32
309. see e.g. the character of José Borjes, Piero Nicola, Carlo Alianello, scrittore cattolico, esploratore delle contraddizioni dell’uomo (seconda e ultima parte), [in:] Riscossia Cristiana service 04.01.14, available here;
310. Blinkhorn 2013, p. 356
311. Iker González-Allende, La novela rosa de ambientación vasca e ideología franquista durante la Guerra Civil española, [in:] Revista Internacional de Estudios Vascos 50/1 (2005), p. 80
312. there are a few works de-constructing Carlist mythologisation threads in the culture of Francoism. This anthropologic approach is championed by Francisco Javier Caspistegui, see his Spain's Vendee: Carlist identity in Navarre as a mobilising model, [in:] Chris Ealham, Michael Richards (eds.), The Splinering of Spain, Cambridge 2005,, pp. 177-195, Del „Dios, Patria, Rey” al „Socialismo, Federalismo, Autogestión”: dos momentos del carlismo a través de Montejurra (1963 y 1974), [in:] III Congreso General de Historia de Navarra, Pamplona 1997, pp. 309-329, (with Gemma Pierola Narvarte) Entre la ideología y lo cotidiano: la familia en el carlismo y el tradicionalismo (1940–1975), [in:] Vasconia: cuadernos de historia-geografía 28 (1999), pp. 45-56, Los matices de la modernización durante el franquismo, [in:] Abdón Mateos López, Angel Herrerín López (eds.), La España del presente: de la dictadura a la democracia, Madrid 2006,, pp. 251-270, La construcción de un proyecto cultural tradicionalista-carlista en los inicios del franquismo, [in:] Alvaro Ferrary Ojeda, Antonio Cañellas (eds.), El régimen de Franco: unas perspectivas de análisis, Madrid 2012,, pp. 93-148, Montejurra, la construcción de un símbolo, [in:] Historia contemporánea 47 (2013), pp. 527-557 and other
313. typical adventure novel written by the author dubbed "Jack London malagueño", himself not a Carlist, it was set in the Third Carlist War
314. Ópalos de fuego (1940), Santina (1940), Las nietas del Cid (1941), El castillo de Fierro-Negro (1943), Isabel Reyes (1945), Las que saben amar (1945), Nómadas del destino (1945), Dogal de oro (1947), Tristeza de amor (1948), Rosas de fuego (1949), La razón de vivir (1950) and Tierra en los ojos (1950)
315. apart from being a college teacher she was also the moving spirit of Radio Stella, Manuel Santa Cruz Alberto Ruiz de Galarreta, Rafael Gambra. un hombre cabal, [in:] Anales de la Fundación Francisco Elías de Tejada 2004, p. 176
316. another adventure story – a typical one – was Ganich de Macaye – gentilhomme basque by Henry Panneel (1946), the unique one written abroad
317. Josep Josep Maria Mundet Gifre, El carlisme en l'obra de Josep Pla, [in:] Josep Maria Solé i Sabaté, Literatura, cultura i carlisme, Barcelona 1995,, p. 315
318. first original Catalan edition. The Spanish translation was published earlier, in 1945
319. Mundet Gifre 1995, p. 319
320. see the poetic volumes Del dietario de un joven loco (1915), Sonetos provincianos (1915), Romance de pobres almas (1916), Pasa el tercio: himno a la Legión (1926)
321. in his youth he was considered "una de las figuras más brillantes de la Juventud intelectual jaimista española", El Correo Español 04.11.15, available here; generally he excelled as a periodista and editor
322. see his collection titled La revolucion desde el carcel (1942), which contains poems dedicated to Manuel Fal Conde or María Rosa Urraca Pastor
323. for a sample see "Estamos en Primavera / y en Montejurra florecen / millares de Margaritas... / Son flores de nuestro campo / Flores del campo carlista / que llevan nombre de reina / de una reina que en Irache, / con sus manos delicados / a los heridos curaba / sin ponerse a meditar / si eran del campo carlista / o lo eran del liberal"
324. a Catholic priest, Gonzalez released numerous volumes – Oraciones del barro, Otra cosa, Poemas niños, Cúpula y abanico and others in the early 1970s
325. Federico Carlos Sáinz de Robles, Historia y antología de la poesía española (en lengua castellana) del siglo XII al XX, Madrid 1955, p. 1571
326. known also as Mártires de la Tradición, Víctor Javier Ibáñez, Una resistencia olvidada: Tradicionalistas mártires del terrorismo, s.l. 2017, p. 157
327. see infovaticana service, available here
328. references to melancholy are present both in comments from the 1960s, see G. R. Bonastre, Rafael Montesinos, poeta de la nostalgía, [in:] Revista de la Universidad del Litoral 43 (1960), pp. 95-107, and in contemporary blogs, compare entrenandopalabras blog, available here
329. Ezpeleta Aguilar 2013, pp. 35-46
330. Ezpeleta Aguilar 2013, p. 35
331. e.g. La bala que mató al general by Ascensión Badiola (2011), set during the First Carlist War. One of its protagonists becomes a member of the firing squad, and as such he has to execute enemy prisoners; one of them turns out to be his own father. It was perhaps not by case that the son was a Carlist and the father was a Cristino, not the other way round
332. Ezpeleta Aguilar 2013, p. 37
333. Ezpeleta Aguilar 2013, p. 40. The novel is sort of adventure story set in the First Carlist War, thought it might be also read as a historical or psychological novel, Valentí Puig, La importancia de Carlos Pujol, [in:] Fabula: revista Literaria 32 (2012), p. 63
334. Ezpeleta Aguilar 2013, pp. 39-40
335. Ezpeleta Aguilar 2013, p. 40
336. though it already serves as such in the cinema, with numerous horror or fantasy stories set in the Civil War milieu
337. featuring personalities like Valle-Inclán and Conrad, it dwells about a mission to turn the Marianas into a Carlist fiefdom
338. Amézaga Iribarren, Arantzazu entry, [in:] Auñamendi Eusko Entzikopedia, available here
339. El capitán carlista entry, [in:] Anikeentrelibros service, available here
340. e.g. on its very cover page the book, set in the First Carlist War, features Cruz de Borgoña. In fact, the symbol was accepted by the Carlists as their standard much later
341. Maria Luz Gomez, because of her marriage herself personally related to Carlism, is the author of numerous novels intended mostly for children, often in historical setting and highly saturated with Catholic sentiments. The author claims that most events as narrated in Ignacio María Pérez are based on facts, see the Google.Books service, available here
342. Josep Miralles Climent, Heterodoxos de la causa, Madrid 2001, ; the novel is set in a fictitious village of Libero, apparently contains some autobiographical threads and features historical personalities, from Valle-Inclan to Sixto Enrique de Borbon
343. the novel deals with adventures of a young Irishman Dana Coscuin, who sets out from Ireland in 1845; he tours Europe with special attention to Carlist Spain, Paris, and Krakow. The narrative, of unique Lafferty trademark, blends magic, adventure and apparently historiosophy. The Carlists are led by a Polish priest named "The Black Pope" and seem to form part of a trans-national and trans-temporal bulwark against eternal revolution, John J. Reilly, The Flame is Green [review], [in:] Squarespace service, available here, David Randall, R.A. Lafferty: “The Greatest Catholic Novelist You Never Heard Of”, [in:] Benedict XVI institute service, available here
344. the novel tells the story of a French painter Isidore Magues, who travels across the Vascongadas in midst of the First Carlist War
345. focused on Jeroni Galcerán, a Carlist militant from the Third Carlist War; he is presented as a personality in pursuit of his own fame
346. the book was awarded 60,000 euros of 2016 Premio Lull
347. Carles Barba, El último carlista, [in:] La Vanguardia 24.03.16, available here
348. "there are some moments that seem to be so pro-El Groc that one has to wonder if Amela is going to go on the streets with the Carlist flag tied to a bayonet", an opinion of an anonymous reader posted at GoodReads service, available here
349. see brief summary at Amazon service, available here
350. see brief summary at GoogleBooks service, available here
351. see AscensionBadiols service, available here
352. unlike during previous literary eras, especially Modernism, when the claimants attracted some attention. Usually the most venomous ridicule was reserved for them, especially for Carlos V and for Carlos VII. The former is "el monstruo" which sheds blood to fulfill his ambitions. The latter is a grotesque person from a zarzuela, a clown, a hypocrite, or simply a fool, both being despotic power-hungry fanatics. Even their physis seems repulsive; though photographs from the Third Carlist War show Don Carlos as a fairly handsome, tall, bearded man, Unamuno presents him as an overweight hombrachón, which he indeed became in the late 19th century. Also other historical personalities were usually presented in the worst possible way. In Modernist and Realist literature Ramón Cabrera is not a tiger but a fat cat, Cura Santa Cruz is a small man who disguises his fragility with demonstrations of cruelty, general Lizzarága is an incompent devot, general Ellíó is a doctrinaire who leads own troops into ambush, Rosa Samaniego is a psychopatic sadist and Alfonso Carlos is a shaky señorito. .
353. most of his writing were published by Pamiela, a militantly left-wing Navarrese publishing house
354. Antonio Muro Jurío, Pablo Antoñana y la historia: Noticias de la Segunda Guerra Carlista, [in:] Huarte de San Juan 16 (2010), p. 251
355. see review at Lecturalia service, available here
356. Ezpeleta Aguilar 2013, p. 41
357. calculations of José Manuel Pérez Carrera, referred after Manuel Morales, 70 novelas al año en España sobre la Guerra Civil, [in:] El Pais 19.10.18, available here
358. this is the case e.g. of the celebrated El corazón helado by Almudena Grandes (2007), though the author herself is known for personal antipathy towards the Carlists, dubbed "fascistas"”, see interview with Almudena Grandes, El País 13.2.16
359. the novel is set in Madrid during early 1939 and has nothing to do with Carlism, yet the Carlists are a few times evoked
360. "moros y requetés" are twice listed among victorious Nationalist troops entering Mágina, a fictitious town identified by scholars as Úbeda; in fact, no Carlist unit entered the city in March 1939, Julio Aróstegui, Combatientes Requetés en la Guerra Civil española, 1936–1939, Madrid 2013,, p. 939
361. Urraca Pastor is also mocked in Inquietud en el Paraíso, a novel by Óscar Esquivias (2005)
362. Carlism is mentioned just once in Raquel Macciuci y María Teresa Pochat (eds.), Entre la memoria propia y la ajena. Tendencias y debates en la narrativa española actual, La Plata 2010. It is entirely missing in Mar Langa Pizarro, La novela histórica española en la transicióñ y en la democracia, [in:] Anales de Literatura Española 17 (2004), pp. 107-120
363. its key protagonist, Eugenio Mazón, comes from a Carlist family and at one stage is himself seduced by Carlism; the discourse is very much a reference to Barojian and Unamunian concepts of various ingredients in fusion, Pedro Pablo Serrano López, Sorna, lamento y laberinto en Herrumbrosas lanzas de Juan Benet [PhD thesis Universidad Autónoma de Madrid]. Madrid 2010, p. 138
364. Premio de la Crítica and Premio Azkue
365. Javier Ichaso, the mutilated requete combatant from Un millón de muertos, started to write a novel on the Civil War; it was guided by the principle that only love ensures progress. He also concluded that the Civil War "no fue una guerra de «buenos» y «malos», sino de malos en ambas partes". According to some scholars, Javier became alter ego of Gironella himself, Sara Polverini, Letteratura e memoria bellica nella Spagna del XX secolo: José María Gironella e Juan Benet, Firenze 2013,, p. 21
366. padre Eulogio de Pesebre features in a number of his other writings and is perhaps (at the moment) the last in a huge gallery of Carlist literary monsters. Just to name fictitious personalities (among the historical ones Cabrera and Cura Santa Cruz are the first to be named) from the great literature it features a cowardly señorito Carlos Ohando, shaky, unstable and treacherous El Cocho, manipulative José María, fanatic priest don Pascual, mentally immature abogadito Celestino, murderous exalted conspirator Fray Patricio, bestial and primitive l’Ibo, jealous dandy Captain Blunt, barbaric and sick of ambition Caballuco, deceitful and greedy Sanjuanena family, glutton and guzzler Praschcu, cynical player José Fago, hypocritic Carlos Navarro, cowardly Salvador Monsalud, cold-blooded murderer who executes Liberal POWs teniente Nelet, a psychopatic sidekick of Samaniego Jergón, a drunkard priest obsessed with vengeance Padre Contento, vain priest-manipulator Tirso Resmilla, fanatic millionaire Francisco Carraspique, ruthless butcher Cara-rajada, exalted ultramontane doña Petronilla and sentimental, pretentious and bewildered María Elorza
367. Mercedes Acillona López, Ramiro Pinilla: el mundo entero se llama Arrigunaga, Bilbao 2015,, p. 104
368. Alberto Irigoyen narra las experiencias de un emigrante navarro en "El requeté que gritó Gora Euskadi", [in:] Euskalkutura 06.06.06, available here. The protagonist, Ignacio, is a Navarrese Basque village boy rather indifferent to Carlism; he is persuaded by his cousin to join Carlist troops on assumption that requeté would not be sent on dangerous and distant combat missions, and that volunteering is a way to gain prestige and respect at a relatively low cost
369. "La caracterización de los personajes de esta obra es, con frecuencia, maniquea y estereotipada. A quienes vivieron en tiempos de la Guerra Civil el autor los separa en grupos contrapuestos: vencedores y vencidos", Amaia Serrano Mariezkurrena, La memoria histórica inspiradora de la ficción en Antzararen Bidea (El camino de la oca) de Jokin Muñoz, [working paper delivered at a Conference Siglos XX y XXI. Memoria del I Congreso Internacional de Literatura y Cultura Españolas Contemporaneas, La Plata 2008], no pagination
370. Serrano Mariezkurrena 2014, p. 34, see also Amaia Serrano Mariezkurrena, Por los senderos de la memoria: El camino de la oca, de Jokin Muñoz, [in:] Cuadernos de Alzate 45 (2011), pp. 109-132
371. "acto de asociación consciente, basadas menos en la genética que en la solidaridad, la compasión y la identificación", Sebastian Faber, La literatura como acto afiliativo. La nueva novela de la Guerra Civil (2000–2007), [in:] Palmar Alvarez-Blanco, Toni Corda (eds.), Contornos de la narrativa española actual (2000–2010). Un dialogo entre creadores y criticos, Madrid 2011,, p. 103
372. Javier, a terrateniente señorito from a Carlist family, following execution of his father enlists to the Requeté Montserrat tercio to give himself in to hatred and revenge. He is heavily wounded during the battle of Brunete, where he falls in love with a highly aristocratic nurse, married and 10 years his senior. The ensuing scandalous love affair ends when she dies; Javier is left embittered and disillusioned
373. the novel is based on a true story of Ignacio Larramendi. Its protagonist is a teenage boy who travels across the war mayhem trying to find his older requeté brother. The author is a former ETA member.
374. e.g. during a session organized by, compare here
375. especially from the Basque nationalists, see Pascual Tamburri, Falsificar el carlismo para combatir lo mejor de sus ideales, [in:] La Tribuna del País Vasco 03.03.17, available here
376. in the Catalan town of Manresa there is a theatrical grouping named Els Carlins; its origins are indeed related to Carlism and a so-called Teatre dels Carlins, in the early 20th century animated by Joventud Carlista Manresana and later sponsored by Joaquín Gomis Cornet, but currently it has nothing to do with the movement, compare Els Carlins service, available here
377. the Carlist theme was not unusual in many other Larrainzar's works; for brief overview see Angel-Raimundo Fernández González, Historia literaria de Navarra el siglo XX. Poesía y teatro, Pamplona 1989, pp. 563-538
378. La paz esteril, [in:] Tartean teatroa service, May 2022, available here.
379. En Pos. Ensayo poético, Ainhoa Arozamena Ayala, Cristina Aznar Munárri, Jaime del Burgo Torres entry, [in:] Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia claim it was published 1927, which is probably a typo and should read 1937, see Jaime del Burgo, Catalogo bio-bibliografico, Pamplona 1954, p. 275
380. the sub-title is a commentary to del Burgo losing his eyesight in the last years of his life. Del Burgo fathered also an adventure story La Cruz del fuego (2000), a well-documented intrigue from the times of Henry I of Navarre
381. see the account of Francisco Inza Goñi published in Navarra 1936 – de la Esperanza al terror, Tafalla 2003,, p. 483, widely quoted also in cyberspace
382. In memoriam Efraín Canella Gutiérrez (1930–2015), [in:] Comunión Tradicionalista service, available here
383. Poesía Carlista, [in:] Noticias y actualidades de Ferrer-Dalmau service, available here
384. Fernández González 1989, p. 109
385. titled Horas vividas (1997), A fuerza de corazón, a fuerza de razón (2002) and Poemario de la luz (2006).
386. Jorge del Arco, Versos de ocasión, [in:] AndaluciaInformación service, available here
387. the volume is subtitled Versos hechos en honor de los reyes proscritos y sus paladines
388. his only volume published so far is Sonetos variopintos (2001); these and other of his writings are available online here
389. Jesús Arana Palacios (ed.), La poesía in Navarra. Siglo XXI. Poesia Nafarroan. XXI. Mendea [special issue of ''Asnabi''], 2017/12, pp. 241-243
390. Jacek Bartyzel, Poeta karlizmu nie żyje, [in:] Myśl Konserwatywna service 02.03.16, available here, recently Fernán Altuve-Febres, Miguel Ayuso (eds.), José Pancorvo. Poeta y místico del Incarrey, Lima 2022, ISBN 9786124628450
391. see e.g. Bruno Isla Heredia, Libro de la semana: “Profeta el cielo”, de José Pancorvo, [in:] Casa de la Literatura Peruana service, available here
392. Lima: in memoriam José Antonio Pancorvo Beingolea, [in:] Comunión Tradicionalista service 29.02.16, available here