Pidal María Goyri de Menéndez
Encyclopedia
María Goyri de Menéndez Pidal (1873–1955) was a Spanish
Hispanist
, literary critic, researcher, educator and advocate for women's rights. In 1896 she became the first Spanish
woman to earn a degree in Philosophy
and Letters
and the first to earn her doctorate, in 1909, at a Spanish
university (the University of Madrid
). She was the wife of Ramón Menéndez Pidal
.
to a Basque
family, she spent her early years in Algorta
, a seaside village in the province of Biscay
. She returned to Madrid with her mother, Amalia Goyri, a seamstress of great character and culture. Due to her delicate health she was educated at home by her mother who frequently gave her lessons outdoors in the Buen Retiro Park to help combat her tubercular arthritis. Ignoring the conventions of the time she enrolled María in a gym and when she was twelve she began business courses at the Association for the Education of Women. There she discovered she enjoyed the study of grammar and in 1887 she enrolled in the School for Governesses to become a teacher. In 1890 she and another young student, Carmen Gallardo, audited classes in the School of Philosophy
and Letters
at the University of Madrid
. In 1892 she received permission from the General Secretary of Public Instruction to register officially as a female student in order to attend classes on the condition that her presence not distract male students. Prior to each class she was not permitted to wait in the corridor and had to wait in an office adjacent to her classroom. Her professor would then escort her to her own individual desk near his. At the end of class she would be escorted out the same way. One of her professors was the foremost academic of the day, the Spanish
scholar and historian, Marcelino Menéndez Pelayo. In her first year she heard Emilia Pardo Bazán
's presentation of "The Education of Men & Women" in which she attacked Rosseau
and François Fénelon
as anti-feminist and defended John Stuart Mill
and Gottfried Leibniz
for their progressive advocacy of educational reforms for women. When Concepción Arenal
's presentation of her views on women's duties and rights provoked violent attacks, María stood up and vehemently defended the elderly activist. María Goyri obtained the titles of normal school professor
(1893), licentiate
in philosophy and letters (1896), and Doctor of Philosophy
and letters (1909).
when Menéndez Pelayo took her to hear his former student give a lecture at the Graduate School of the University. Ramón was now a university professor and had obtained the chair in Romance Philology
. Finding they shared the same interests she became his student and then his assistant. They were married in 1900 and for their honeymoon they retraced the geographic locales of the Poem of the Cid (Poema de mío Cid
), the oldest preserved Spanish epic poem
.
They had three children: Ramón, who died in childhood, Jimena and Gonzalo.
María and Ramón devoted their lives to research on everything related to philology
and the preservation of ancient Spanish
history and ballads. She also collaborated with the Protectorado del Niño Delincuente (Child Delinquent Protectorate), an organization founded in 1916 to help prevent the incarceration of youths under the age of 16. When the Instituto Escuela de segunda enseñanza (High School Institute) was established in 1918 she taught language and literature. On October 23, 1933 she was elected board member of the Patronato del Centro para Ampliación de Estudios (Board for Advanced Studies) and worked along with Blas Cabrera
, Luis Calandre, María de Maeztu and Luis de Zulueta. She taught at the Institute of Free Education (Junta para Ampliación de Estudios) until the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War
combining physical exercise along with intellectual studies.
to the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso, when the Civil war
broke out taking them completely by surprise. They were with their daughter Jimena, her husband, Miguel Catalán Sañudo and their son Diego Catalán
in an area controlled by military who had risen against the Second Spanish Republic
. After bombardment by planes from the Cuatro Vientos Airport
they were forced to flee to El Espinar
and later to Segovia
for safety. The war was a catastrophe for Goyri. They were on the side of Francisco Franco
but she still defended her liberal views including equal rights for women in all areas, especially education. In the Archivo General de la Guerra Civil Española (General Archive of the Spanish Civil War) is a report that was made up by the National Defense Council led by Franco
. It reveals that the family members of Menéndez Pidal-Catalán and their circle of friends were being discreetly watched and their correspondence checked. The report sent to Burgos
, the base of the Nationalist government, said that "Ramón Menéndez Pidal
, Director of the Royal Spanish Academy
, was weak of character and totally dominated by his wife, María Goyri, a cultured woman of great talent and extraordinary energy who has perverted her husband and children. She is very persuasive and one of the most dangerous people in Spain. Without doubt one of the more robust roots of the revolution."
After the war the Free Institute of Education and all schools under the auspices of the Board for Advanced Studies were banned and teachers forbidden to promote women's equality in education and other liberal causes. In addition to teaching María devoted her later years to research, gathering and archiving different versions of ancient oral ballads that are now kept in the Fundación Ramón Menéndez Pidal, a non-profit center dedicated to developing historical and philogical studies and humanistic research. Located at the olive grove garden of Olivar de Chamartin in the north of Madrid it is an indispensable source for scholars and is today considered part of the "National Treasure" of Spain.
Her niece was the writer and activist María Teresa León
(daughter of her sister Oliva) and her grandson was the Spanish
philologist Diego Catalán
who presided over the "Fundación Ramón Menéndez Pidal". There are streets in Alicante
, Cordoba
, Granada
and Guadalajara
named after her (Calle María Goyri).
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
Hispanist
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
, literary critic, researcher, educator and advocate for women's rights. In 1896 she became the first Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
woman to earn a degree in Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and Letters
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
and the first to earn her doctorate, in 1909, at a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
university (the University of Madrid
Complutense University of Madrid
The Complutense University of Madrid is a university in Madrid, and one of the oldest universities in the world. It is located on a sprawling campus that occupies the entirety of the Ciudad Universitaria district of Madrid, with annexes in the district of Somosaguas in the neighboring city of...
). She was the wife of Ramón Menéndez Pidal
Ramón Menéndez Pidal
Ramón Menéndez Pidal was a Spanish philologist and historian. He worked extensively on the history of the Spanish language and Spanish folklore and folk poetry. One of his main topics was the history and legend of The Cid....
.
Life
Born in MadridMadrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
to a Basque
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
family, she spent her early years in Algorta
Algorta
Algorta is a locality within the municipality of Getxo, in the province of Biscay, Basque Country, Spain. In 1996, the population of Algorta was 35,600....
, a seaside village in the province of Biscay
Biscay
Biscay is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Biscay. Its capital city is Bilbao...
. She returned to Madrid with her mother, Amalia Goyri, a seamstress of great character and culture. Due to her delicate health she was educated at home by her mother who frequently gave her lessons outdoors in the Buen Retiro Park to help combat her tubercular arthritis. Ignoring the conventions of the time she enrolled María in a gym and when she was twelve she began business courses at the Association for the Education of Women. There she discovered she enjoyed the study of grammar and in 1887 she enrolled in the School for Governesses to become a teacher. In 1890 she and another young student, Carmen Gallardo, audited classes in the School of Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and Letters
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
at the University of Madrid
Complutense University of Madrid
The Complutense University of Madrid is a university in Madrid, and one of the oldest universities in the world. It is located on a sprawling campus that occupies the entirety of the Ciudad Universitaria district of Madrid, with annexes in the district of Somosaguas in the neighboring city of...
. In 1892 she received permission from the General Secretary of Public Instruction to register officially as a female student in order to attend classes on the condition that her presence not distract male students. Prior to each class she was not permitted to wait in the corridor and had to wait in an office adjacent to her classroom. Her professor would then escort her to her own individual desk near his. At the end of class she would be escorted out the same way. One of her professors was the foremost academic of the day, the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
scholar and historian, Marcelino Menéndez Pelayo. In her first year she heard Emilia Pardo Bazán
Emilia Pardo Bazán
Emilia Pardo Bazán was a Spanish author and scholar from Galicia.-Life:...
's presentation of "The Education of Men & Women" in which she attacked Rosseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
and François Fénelon
François Fénelon
François de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon, more commonly known as François Fénelon , was a French Roman Catholic archbishop, theologian, poet and writer...
as anti-feminist and defended John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill was a British philosopher, economist and civil servant. An influential contributor to social theory, political theory, and political economy, his conception of liberty justified the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state control. He was a proponent of...
and Gottfried Leibniz
Gottfried Leibniz
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a German philosopher and mathematician. He wrote in different languages, primarily in Latin , French and German ....
for their progressive advocacy of educational reforms for women. When Concepción Arenal
Concepción Arenal
Concepción Arenal was a Spanish feminist writer and activist.Born in Ferrol, Galicia, she excelled in literature and was the first woman to attend university in Spain...
's presentation of her views on women's duties and rights provoked violent attacks, María stood up and vehemently defended the elderly activist. María Goyri obtained the titles of normal school professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
(1893), licentiate
Licentiate
Licentiate is the title of a person who holds an academic degree called a licence. The term may derive from the Latin licentia docendi, meaning permission to teach. The term may also derive from the Latin licentia ad practicandum, which signified someone who held a certificate of competence to...
in philosophy and letters (1896), and Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
and letters (1909).
Marriage
María met Ramón Menéndez PidalRamón Menéndez Pidal
Ramón Menéndez Pidal was a Spanish philologist and historian. He worked extensively on the history of the Spanish language and Spanish folklore and folk poetry. One of his main topics was the history and legend of The Cid....
when Menéndez Pelayo took her to hear his former student give a lecture at the Graduate School of the University. Ramón was now a university professor and had obtained the chair in Romance Philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
. Finding they shared the same interests she became his student and then his assistant. They were married in 1900 and for their honeymoon they retraced the geographic locales of the Poem of the Cid (Poema de mío Cid
Cantar de Mio Cid
El Cantar de Myo Çid , also known in English as The Lay of the Cid and The Poem of the Cid is the oldest preserved Spanish epic poem...
), the oldest preserved Spanish epic poem
Epic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
.
They had three children: Ramón, who died in childhood, Jimena and Gonzalo.
María and Ramón devoted their lives to research on everything related to philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
and the preservation of ancient Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
history and ballads. She also collaborated with the Protectorado del Niño Delincuente (Child Delinquent Protectorate), an organization founded in 1916 to help prevent the incarceration of youths under the age of 16. When the Instituto Escuela de segunda enseñanza (High School Institute) was established in 1918 she taught language and literature. On October 23, 1933 she was elected board member of the Patronato del Centro para Ampliación de Estudios (Board for Advanced Studies) and worked along with Blas Cabrera
Blas Cabrera Felipe
Blas Cabrera y Felipe was a Spanish physicist.-Biography:Cabrera received his baccalaureate in La Laguna . He then moved to Madrid where he began studying law, following family tradition. He met at that time Santiago Ramón y Cajal, who convinced him to abandon law and study science...
, Luis Calandre, María de Maeztu and Luis de Zulueta. She taught at the Institute of Free Education (Junta para Ampliación de Estudios) until the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
combining physical exercise along with intellectual studies.
Spanish Civil War
María and Ramón were at their country house at San Rafael, a town nestled on the royal road linking MadridMadrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
to the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso, when the Civil war
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
broke out taking them completely by surprise. They were with their daughter Jimena, her husband, Miguel Catalán Sañudo and their son Diego Catalán
Diego Catalán
Diego Catalán was a Spanish philologist. He was the grandson of famed philologist, Ramón Menéndez Pidal. Catalán died of heart disease on April 9, 2008, at the age of 83.- References :...
in an area controlled by military who had risen against the Second Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
. After bombardment by planes from the Cuatro Vientos Airport
Cuatro Vientos Airport
Madrid-Cuatro Vientos Airport , also known as Cuatro Vientos Airport, is the oldest Spanish airport and one of the three civil airports of Madrid along with Madrid-Barajas and Torrejón Air Base....
they were forced to flee to El Espinar
El Espinar
El Espinar is a municipality in the province of Segovia, Castile and León, Spain. It is located 60 km north-west of Madrid. According to the 2009 census , the municipality has a population of 9,535 inhabitants.Many residents commute to Madrid...
and later to Segovia
Segovia
Segovia is a city in Spain, the capital of Segovia Province in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is situated north of Madrid, 30 minutes by high speed train. The municipality counts some 55,500 inhabitants.-Etymology:...
for safety. The war was a catastrophe for Goyri. They were on the side of Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
but she still defended her liberal views including equal rights for women in all areas, especially education. In the Archivo General de la Guerra Civil Española (General Archive of the Spanish Civil War) is a report that was made up by the National Defense Council led by Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
. It reveals that the family members of Menéndez Pidal-Catalán and their circle of friends were being discreetly watched and their correspondence checked. The report sent to Burgos
Burgos
Burgos is a city of northern Spain, historic capital of Castile. It is situated at the edge of the central plateau, with about 178,966 inhabitants in the city proper and another 20,000 in its suburbs. It is the capital of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León...
, the base of the Nationalist government, said that "Ramón Menéndez Pidal
Ramón Menéndez Pidal
Ramón Menéndez Pidal was a Spanish philologist and historian. He worked extensively on the history of the Spanish language and Spanish folklore and folk poetry. One of his main topics was the history and legend of The Cid....
, Director of the Royal Spanish Academy
Real Academia Española
The Royal Spanish Academy is the official royal institution responsible for regulating the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, but is affiliated with national language academies in twenty-one other hispanophone nations through the Association of Spanish Language Academies...
, was weak of character and totally dominated by his wife, María Goyri, a cultured woman of great talent and extraordinary energy who has perverted her husband and children. She is very persuasive and one of the most dangerous people in Spain. Without doubt one of the more robust roots of the revolution."
After the war the Free Institute of Education and all schools under the auspices of the Board for Advanced Studies were banned and teachers forbidden to promote women's equality in education and other liberal causes. In addition to teaching María devoted her later years to research, gathering and archiving different versions of ancient oral ballads that are now kept in the Fundación Ramón Menéndez Pidal, a non-profit center dedicated to developing historical and philogical studies and humanistic research. Located at the olive grove garden of Olivar de Chamartin in the north of Madrid it is an indispensable source for scholars and is today considered part of the "National Treasure" of Spain.
Her niece was the writer and activist María Teresa León
María Teresa León
María Teresa León was a Spanish writer, activist and cultural ambassador. Born in Logroño, she was the niece of the Spanish feminist and writer María Goyri . She herself was married to the Spanish poet Rafael Alberti...
(daughter of her sister Oliva) and her grandson was the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
philologist Diego Catalán
Diego Catalán
Diego Catalán was a Spanish philologist. He was the grandson of famed philologist, Ramón Menéndez Pidal. Catalán died of heart disease on April 9, 2008, at the age of 83.- References :...
who presided over the "Fundación Ramón Menéndez Pidal". There are streets in Alicante
Alicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...
, Cordoba
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
, Granada
Granada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
and Guadalajara
Guadalajara
Guadalajara may refer to:In Mexico:*Guadalajara, Jalisco, the capital of the state of Jalisco and second largest city in Mexico**Guadalajara Metropolitan Area*University of Guadalajara, a public university in Guadalajara, Jalisco...
named after her (Calle María Goyri).
Publications
- "Romance de la muerte del Principe D. JuanDon JuanDon Juan is a legendary, fictional libertine whose story has been told many times by many authors. El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra by Tirso de Molina is a play set in the fourteenth century that was published in Spain around 1630...
," in the Bulletin Hispanique, volume iv, (1902) - "Romances que deben buscarse en la tradición oral," in Revista de Archivos, Bibliotecas, y Museos, (1907)
- various articles on "El Conde Lucano," in Revue Hispanique (1899)
- Romania (1900)
- Revista de Archivos, etc, (1902)
- La difunta pleiteada en la literatura española: estudio de literatura comparada, in Revista de Archivos, (1909)
- Fábulas y cuentos en verso, Madrid: Sucesores de Hernando, (1933)
- Don Juan Manuel y los cuentos medievales, Madrid: Instituto Escuela, (1936)
- De Lope de Vega y del Romancero, Zaragoza: Librería General, (1953)
- Romancero tradicional de los lenguas hispánicas, 7 vols. Madrid: Gredos, (1957–1970)