Bernat Metge
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Bernat Metge (Catalan pronunciation: [bəɾˈnad ˈmedʒə]; (c. 1350 – 1410) was a Catalan writer and humanist, best known as the author of The Dream of Bernat Metge[1] (Lo Somni, "The dream"), which he wrote from prison (c. 1398), in which Metge discusses the immortality of the soul.[2]
Bernat Metge was born in Barcelona between 1340 and 1346, the son of an apothecary, Guillem Metge, and a mother named Agnès. This background allowed him to become familiar with Medieval pharmacopoeia, which would later allow him to write the satyric poem Medecina apropiada a tot mal. Upon his father's death, his mother married Ferrer Saiol, scrivener notary of queen Elionor of Sicily. It was under his stepfather's influence that he pursued a career as a notary in the royal court. He was a courtier and Secretary for Joan I of Aragon, queen Violant of Bar, and following some troubles, once more served Martin the Humane of Aragon from 1403 to 1410.[3][2]
His influences included the literature of Provence, Petrarch, and De vetula, wrongly attributed to Ovid and now sometimes claimed for Richard de Fournival.[4]
He had a profound impact on the Catalan letters and was a catalyst for Italian letters to reach the Iberian Peninsula.[2]
