P
rince
of
A
sturias
A
wards
1981-2014. S
peeches
9
The enriching variety of languages and cultures that constitutes Spain has a prominent place
in the works of Professor Martín de Riquer, recipient of the Prince of Asturias Award for Social
Sciences. Brilliant and devoted scholar born in Catalonia, his life has centred on the philological,
critical and historiographical strands of literature —Castilian and Catalan, as well as Provençal
and French— that have been his constant object of study, with research and teaching activities that
have been inseparable for many years.
The numerous studies that exist on
Don Quixote
and other aspects of Cervantes’ art would be
seriously incomplete if it were not for the works of this outstanding researcher.
Yet the passion for Cervantes is not the only one to be found in his work. Martín de Riquer has
written decisive books on the lyrical tradition of the Troubadours, the legendary French romances,
and the Valencian romance
Tirant lo Blanc
, in addition to editing and inspiring the rigorous
publication of many classic texts that, devoid of modern impressions, were not easily approachable
for readers.
His
Anthology of Catalan Poets
, an omnibus compilation of Latin, Provençal, Hebrew, Italian,
French, Castilian and Old Catalan verse, constitutes a corpus which will not easily be surpassed.
Throughhis work,Martínde Riquer has expressed this European and universal knowledge—unbound
by particular interests or borders— that we wish to highlight with this Award.
If education has been the cornerstone of democracy since the Greeks, he shows us, with deep
humanistic insight and a strong desire to share, that only knowledge makes us free and only
instruction and study aggrandise and distinguish us. For all of these reasons, it is an honour to
have him here with us today.
The Prince of Asturias Award for Sports has been granted
this year to the Spanish Marathon Team, made up of athletes
Abel Antón, Martín Fiz, José Manuel García, Fabián Roncero,
Alberto Juzdado and Diego García. Through their example,
this admirable group of athletes reminds us that the primary
aim of sports, which is today revealed as such a powerful and
passionate undertaking, is to serve as a healthy stimulant for
the young, who will always find, in the practice of sport, noble
paths for their personal instruction.
The fact that the members of this team are a group of friends
reinforces the idea of sport as an activity that brings people
together, and must never serve as an excuse for separation.
Their virtues have borne exceptional fruit in the European and world championships of recent
years, with a series of victories achieved during the past world championship in Athens.
All expressions of sport are valuable, but it is perhaps the marathon that stands apart as the
most devoid of means, demanding the greatest efforts by the athlete. We are talking of people who
owe everything to their demands of self-improvement and self-knowledge. The work of these men
confirms that ardently desired dreams are the only ones that come true.
Guatemala, a country which has lived through bloody conflict for thirty years, with thousands
of victims and displaced people and significant material damage, has this year been granted the
Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation.
This Award has deep significance for us, since none of what takes place in our brother- and
sister countries on the other side of the Atlantic is foreign to us. The Firm and Long-lasting Peace
Accords signed in the past month of December between the Government of Guatemala and the
Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity has meant the return to reason, which humanizes us,
and a hopeful solution for this beloved people, as well as a sublime example of human potential in
the arduous, sometimes painful, yet also hopeful road towards coexistence.
We are also pleased and proud that our fellow compatriots have been in charge of the
international military mission that has striven, first and foremost, to avoid clashes between the
contenders and, ultimately, to achieve peace. The President of Guatemala, Álvaro Arzú, whom we
“A democratic Spain, that of the last twenty
years, ruler of its destiny, where every day
we strive to defend that which
Don Quixote
defined as ‘the most precios gift which the
heavens bestowed on humanity’: freedom.”
