Historical Dictionary of the Catalans

Helena Buffery is senior lecturer in Hispanic Studies at the University of Birmingham. She was Honorary Secretary of the Anglo-Catalan Society from 1998 to 2009 and lectures on Catalan history and culture.Elisenda Marcer is lecturer at the University of Birmingham, where she teaches courses on Catalan language, society, and culture.

Although the Catalans occupy the geographic area along Spain’s eastern seaboard, including Valencia and Barcelona as well as the Balearic Islands, Andorra, and bits of France and Sardinia, their identification has generally been determined by linguistic and sociological factors. This historical dictionary gives a remarkably thorough and detailed picture of Catalan culture, language, and history. The focus is primarily on the history of the community from the nineteenth century onward. However, the detailed chronology and introduction cover the history of the Catalan people from the eighth century onward. The body of the dictionary is alphabetically organized and contains entries for significant individuals, political and cultural groups, arts organizations, and broad topics such as Law and Publishing. Weighting is appropriate, with general topics receiving 2 to 3 pages compared to more specific entries’ paragraph length. The 3-page list of acronyms and their meanings in the front of the volume is invaluable. The volume concludes with a full 53 pages of bibliography. Though the authors, university professors both, have labored to include English-language sources whenever possible, the majority of the citations are to Catalan materials. The extensive list of websites is well worth mentioning. This is a valuable addition to university collections serving departments with a focus on regional cultures and languages.