Black Legend

The Black Legend (in {{ll|Spanish}}, leyenda negra) is the excessive depiction of Spain and the Spaniards as bloodthirsty and cruel, greedy and fanatical. The term was coined by Julián Juderías in his 1914 book La leyenda negra y la verdad histórica (The black legend and the historical truth). This is contrasted with the White Legend (in Spanish, leyenda rosa, which means rosy legend) which promoted an idealized view of Spaniards. Each term tends to satisfy a certain prejudice.

Romantic travellers

In the 19th Century, many writers, such as Washington Irving, Prosper Mérimée, George Sand, and Theophile Gautier, invented a mythical Andalusia. In their writings, Spain is converted into the Orient of the Western World (Africa begins in the Pyrenees), an exotic country full of brigands, economic delays, gypsies, ignorance, machismo, matadores, Moors, passion, political chaos, poverty and fanatical religiosity. From this literature, the figure of the Latin lover still survives.

Related Topics:
19th Century - Washington Irving - Prosper Mérimée - George Sand - Theophile Gautier - Andalusia - Pyrenees - Brigands - Gypsies - Ignorance - Machismo - Matador - Moors - Passion - Latin lover

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In classical music, Georges Bizet with Carmen (1875) and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov with Capriccio espagnol (1887) contributed to this theme.

Related Topics:
Georges Bizet - Carmen - Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - Capriccio espagnol

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