Tàrrega
Camino Catalán por San Juan de la Peña
Lleida · LéridaCatalunya · Cataluña
Toponym derived from Andalusian Arabic Ṭarraqa, attested from the 10th century, of debated etymology with two hypotheses: a) Arabic ṭarīqa ('way, route', descriptive of the obligatory passage of the Roman road); b) pre-Roman base *targ- ('slope, inclined terrain') Arabised. The medieval Catalan form preserves the spelling with acute accent Tàrrega.
The town of Tàrrega was a Muslim post of the Upper Frontier of the Cordovan Caliphate, in the basin of the Ondara river (Urgell), until its Christian reconquest by Ramon Berenguer III in 1116. It received charter in 1187 from Alfonso II and consolidated as regional centre of l'Urgell. The historical importance of the place is multiple: the Catalan Cortes were celebrated here in 1376 under Peter IV the Ceremonious, here was born the philologist Pompeu Fabra (1868–1948), codifier of the modern Catalan language, and here is annually celebrated since 1981 the Fira de Teatre al Carrer, street theatre festival of European reference.
Evolution of the name
- Ṭarraqa Andalusi Arabic 9th–11th centuries
- Tàrrega medieval Catalan from the 11th century
Glossary
- Attested
- A form or word documented in writing in historical sources; opposed to "reconstructed" (forms proposed by comparative inference but not actually documented).
- Carta puebla
- A medieval legal document by which a lord or king founded a new settlement, granting privileges and exemptions in exchange for occupying and defending the territory.
- Etymology
- The origin and history of a word and the phonetic and semantic changes it has undergone. An etymology may be confirmed, probable or disputed depending on documentary attestations and linguistic parallels.
- Pompeu Fabra (1868–1948)
- Catalan philologist born in Gràcia (Barcelona) and linked to Tàrrega by family filiation. Codifier of the modern Catalan language through three canonical works published under the patronage of the Institut d'Estudis Catalans: the Normes ortogràfiques (1913), the Gramática catalana (1918) and the Diccionari general de la llengua catalana (1932). His work established the literary standard of modern Catalan and allowed the consolidation of the Renaixença as a stable literary tradition. He died in exile at Prades (French Pyrenees) in 1948.
- Roman road
- A stone-paved Roman highway, part of the imperial communications network (Via Aquitana, Via Augusta, Iter ab Asturica); many such roads became medieval routes and, later, stretches of the Camino de Santiago.
Sources
- Corriente, F. — Diccionario de arabismos
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Camino Catalán por San Juan de la Peña