Albert Hauf facts for kids

Albert Guillem Hauf i Valls, born in 1938 in Sóller, Mallorca, Spain, is a smart person who studies languages and old books. He is an expert in Catalan and Occitan literature from the Middle Ages. He is known for his work as a philologist, which means he studies language in old texts. He also studies the history of literature and works as a literary critic, giving his opinions on books.

Life and Studies

Albert Hauf studied languages and literature at the University of Barcelona. He got a special scholarship from the Joan March Foundation to help him with his studies. For his first big project, he worked on an old book about farming called Agriculture Treatise, which was written in Aragonese.

Later, he earned his PhD, which is a very high degree, at the same university. His professor, Martí de Riquer, helped him with his research. Albert's main project for his PhD was about a medieval book called Vita Christi. This book was written by the Catalan writer Francesc Eiximenis. His excellent work won him the Nicolau d'Olwer prize in 1977.

Moving to Wales and Valencia

In 1964, Albert Hauf moved to Cardiff University in Wales. He started working there as a lecturer, teaching Spanish and Catalan. Later, he became a professor of Hispanic Studies. He was the first to start teaching Catalan language and literature courses at Cardiff.

In 1987, he decided to leave the United Kingdom. This was because he disagreed with the policies of the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. He then joined the University of Valencia in Spain, where he became a professor of Catalan Philology.

Research and Teaching

Since 1992, Professor Hauf has led many research projects. These projects were supported by the Spanish Ministry of Culture and the Valencian Culture Department. His main focus was on the "golden age" of Valencian literature, which happened in the 15th century.

He has helped sixteen students get their doctorate degrees by 2007. He also helped organize many important meetings and conferences. These events covered topics like the culture in Valencia in the 15th century, and famous medieval writers and books. Some of the topics included Tirant lo Blanch, James I, Ausiàs Marc, and Francesc Eiximenis.

Important Groups and Roles

Albert Hauf is a member of several important groups that study language and literature. He is part of the Valencian Academy of the Language. He is also a member of the Interuniversity Institute of Valencian Philology and the Institute of Catalan Studies.

He helped start and was the first president of the International Association of Catalan Language and Literature. He has also been a part of many other important committees and boards. These include the executive board of the Madrid National Library and the jury for several national literature prizes in Spain. He has also worked with different journals that publish articles about language and literature.

Works and Publications

Albert Hauf has written many articles for both popular magazines and scientific journals. He has also appeared on radio and TV shows to talk about his work. He even worked with famous writers like Martí de Riquer and Mario Vargas Llosa on a special CD-ROM about Joanot Martorell's book, Tirant lo Blanch.

He has written around 200 research papers and books. Some of his notable works include:

• Editing the Speculum Humanae Salvationis.
• Working with Teresa Pérez Higuera on Estudios y comentarios (2000).
• Editing Isabel de Villena's Vita Christi (1995).
• Editing Speculum Animae, also thought to be by Isabel de Villena (1993).
• His book D'Eiximenis a Sor Isabel de Villena. Aportació a l'estudi de la nostra cultura medieval (1990), which won a prize.
• Editing Tirant lo Blanch in two volumes (1990 and 1992).
• His work on La Flor de les Istòries d'Orient (1989), which also won a prize for the best work about medieval topics.
• Editing Joan Eiximeno's Quarantena de Contemplació (1986).
• His work Contemplació de la Passió (1983).
• Editing Francesc Eiximenis' Lo Crestià (1983).
• His book El Ars Praedicandi de Fr. Alfonso d'Alprao (1979).

He has also written introductions for other books, like José Pou's Visionarios, beguinos y fraticelos and Joan Fuster's Misògins i enamorat. Many of his articles have been published in a large German book series about Romance literatures. He has also translated books from German, English, and French into Spanish. One important translation was Arthur Terry's Catalan Literature: Literatura Catalana.

See also

In Spanish: Albert Hauf para niños