"El gran Carlemany" (pronounced[əlˈɣɾaŋˌkaɾləˈmaɲ]; "The Great
Charlemagne") is the
national anthem of the
Principality of Andorra. Enric Marfany Bons composed the music, while the lyrics were authored by
Joan Benlloch i Vivó, written in a first-person narrative from the point of view of Andorra. It was adopted as the national anthem on 8 September 1921, which is also the national day of Andorra. The lyrics make reference to several key aspects of
Andorran culture and
history, such as the heritage of the
Carolingian Empire.
History
"El Gran Carlemany" was composed by Enric Marfany Bons (1871–1942),[1] who was a priest.[2] The lyrics to the song were penned by
Juan Benlloch i Vivó (1864–1926), who served as the
Bishop of Urgell from 1906 to 1919. This position also made him an ex officioCo–Prince of Andorra.[2][3] The song was officially designated as the country's national anthem on 8 September 1921,[4][5] when it was sung at the country's cathedral for the first time.[6] The day it was adopted – 8 September[2] – is the
National Day of Andorra. This coincides with the feast day of
Our Lady of Meritxell, the country's patron saint, who is mentioned in the lyrics.[4]
Lyrics
The lyrics of "El Gran Carlemany" give a short account of Andorra's history "in a
first-person narrative".[4] It recounts the traditional Andorran legend that
Charlemagne reconquered the region from the
Moors between 788[7] and 790, after the
Catalan people had guided his army through the rugged valleys, which Charlemagne compensated with granting Andorra its independence,[8] and its first borders were delineated that same year.[7] It formed part of the Marca Hispanica, a
buffer zone formed by Charlemagne in order to protect his state (the
Carolingian Empire).[9] According to legend, he was responsible for restructuring the country, reintroducing
Christianity to its people and overseeing the construction of monasteries. Because of these accomplishments, he was given "a mythical aura" and is regarded as the founder of Andorra.[10]
The hymn begins with "El gran Carlemany mon pare" ("Great Charlemagne my father")[11] and memorialises this view and celebrates the country's status as "the only remaining daughter of the Carolingian empire",[12] since it is the only remnant of the Marca Hispanica.[9]
^Sometimes written me,[18][19] which is the forma plena ("full form") of the weak (unstressed) first person singular
personal pronoun, usually appended with a hyphen to verbs ending in a consonant when they are infinitives, gerunds or positive imperatives, while em is the forma reforçada ("reinforced form"), usually used before verbs starting with a consonant when they are conjugated or negative imperatives, but in some
varieties of Catalan, it is replaced with the full form.[20]
^Pineda, Enric Bassegoda (2010).
"Carlemany No Va Conquerir Girona". Revista de Girona (in Catalan). 261. Diputació de Girona: 39. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
^Jornada, Associaó d'amics del professor Antoni M. Badia i Margarit (2005).
Els mètodes en dialectologia: continuïtat o alternativa? (in Catalan). Institut d'Estudis Catalans. p. 165.
ISBN978-84-7283-798-0. In Ibizan and Western Catalan, on the other hand, after a period of coexistence, dos has triumphed as the feminine ...