HISTORY

Once the Intellectual Haven of Moss èn Alcover
and the Birthplace of the Great Catalan Dictionary

In the heart of Palma de Mallorca, a city full of history and rich cultural heritage, Calatrava house project location is no exception, being once the home of Antoni Maria Alcover Sureda (Manacor, 1862- Palma de Mallorca, 1932), a prominent religious, modernist writer, teacher, linguist, intellectual and Spanish publicist.

Mossèn Antoni Maria Alcover (1862–1932) was a pivotal figure in the preservation and promotion of Catalan language and culture, particularly in Mallorca. Born in

Santa Cirga, Manacor, Alcover distinguished himself as a priest, linguist, and folklorist, and is especially remembered as the driving force behind the “Diccionari Català-Valencià-Balear,” a monumental work that gathered words and expressions from across the Catalan-speaking regions.

The House in Calatrava: A Cultural Hub.

A privileged location: His house was situated in the Calatrava neighborhood, a historic area of Palma de Mallorca, near the Cathedral of Palma and the Episcopal Palace, places where Alcover carried out much of his ecclesiastical and cultural work. The neighbourhood’s narrow streets and houses with inner courtyards gave an intimate and protected air to the residence.

A Mallorcan noble house:

It was not merely a home, but also a place of intellectual and creative work. Alcover had installed a printing press in his house, from which he published some of his works, such as the “Rondaies Mallorquines”, and texts that defended his philological views. This printing press transformed the house into a center of cultural production, in addition to being his residence.

Library and research:

As a scholar, Alcover’s house housed an extensive library with numerous volumes dedicated to the study of the Catalan language, philology, and probably religious texts. The house also served as a workspace where he compiled materials for his Diccionari Català-Valencià-Balear.

An intellectual atmosphere:

Alcover’s house was a space with an intellectual and academic ambiance, marked by his dedication to research and writing. For much of his life, Alcover lived in this house in the Calatrava neighbourhood of Palma de Mallorca. This location, where he resided from the 1890s until his death in 1932, was the epicenter of his intense cultural activity.

The choice of the Calatrava neighborhood is unsurprising, given its prestige and proximity to important institutions such as the Cathedral and the Episcopal Palace, where he conducted his ecclesiastical work, made this home a strategic space for his linguistic research and the creation of his most significant work.

The house was not just his residence, but also his production center. In the lower level, he set up a printing press, which allowed him to control the distribution of his work, especially the compilation of Mallorcan folk tales in his renowned Aplec de Rondaies Mallorquines.

This printing press played a fundamental role in disseminating his work, allowing him to publish many of his projects without relying on external publishers. The press, known as the “Imprenta de la Casa Alcover”, was used primarily to print volumes of his folk tale collection, Aplec de Rondaies Mallorquines, as well as other works of linguistic and religious content.

The decision to have his own printing press reflected both his entrepreneurial spirit and his desire to control the publishing process, ensuring that his works were distributed without the restrictions that other presses or publishers might impose. This gave him the freedom to publish regularly, with the format and content he deemed appropriate for his projects.

This also highlights the importance Alcover placed on written culture and the preservation of Catalan, during a time when the language was at risk of losing ground to Spanish in the public and academic spheres.

One of the most interesting anecdotes from the years when Mossèn Antoni Maria Alcover printed from his house in the Calatrava neighbourhood is related to his combative nature and his steadfast determination to see his projects through. Alcover used his printing press not only to spread his work but also to respond to critics and publicly confront those who disagreed with his ideas or sought to hinder him.

These anecdotes reveal both Alcover’s tenacity and his strong commitment to the Mallorcan language and culture. The printing press in his house in Calatrava became a symbol of his independence and his desire to have full control over the dissemination of his work, without being subjected to the rules or limitations imposed by others.

The Man of the Dictionary

Alcover is known as “L’home del Diccionari” (The Man of the Dictionary) for his dedication to creating the Diccionari Català-Valencià-Balear, a monumental project that he did not live to see completed. His goal was to document and preserve the linguistic richness of Catalan in all its variants, from Catalonia to the Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community. This dictionary, later completed by Francesc de Borja Moll, remains an essential reference for the study of the Catalan language Myth and Man Alcover was a figure who sparked both admiration and controversy. On the one hand, he was admired for his tireless passion for Catalan and his philological work.

On the other, his combative character led him to clashes with institutions such as the Institut d’Estudis Catalans (IEC), with which he broke ties due to disagreements over linguistic norms. During these years of conflict, he used his printing press to publish critical texts and keep his battle for his convictions alive.

An Invaluable Legacy

Alcover’s legacy is vast and fundamental for the Catalan language and culture:

1. Diccionari Català-Valencià-Balear: His most enduring and monumental contribution, key to the study of Catalan.

2. Mallorcan folk tales: The compilation of tales in his Aplec de Rondaies Mallorquines preserved the oral tradition of Mallorca.

3. A staunch defender of Catalan: Alcover was a fierce defender of the language at a time when Catalan was in danger of being overshadowed by Spanish in public life.

4. The Norms of 1913: He played a crucial role in establishing the first Catalan orthographic norms, as laid down by the Institut d’Estudis Catalans.