The White Knight: Tirant Lo BlancMartorell, Joanot
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The White Knight: Tirant Lo Blanc
Martorell, Joanot
Adventure and adventurers -- Fiction; Adventure stories; Knights and knighthood -- Fiction
"Oh, my lady, what a thing love is! That Philippe! When we are
in our lodgings or away from here his lips never tire of praising
Your Majesty, and when you are present he is overcome with love,
and finds it difficult to speak. In truth, I tell you, if I were
a woman and I found someone with his genteel quality, and I knew
he was of a long and good lineage, I would forget everyone else
and would love only him."
"Oh, Tirant," said the infanta. "Your words sound nice, but if
it turns out that he is vulgar by nature, what pleasure would it
be for a maiden to have everyone laugh at him. For love's sake,
don't tell me such things; I would prefer a man who was prudent
and discreet, rather than for him to be vulgar and avaricious."
"My lady," said Tirant, "you are right, but he doesn't fit that
description. He's young and of tender years, but he's old in the
best sense, generous, more valiant than anyone, and very amiable
and gracious. During the night he gets up and doesn't let me
rest the way I would like. If I want to give him pleasure I have
only to speak of Your Majesty. If this isn't love, tell me, what
could it be? My lady, love someone who loves you. He is the son
of a king, like you, and he loves you more than his life. If he
does not talk as much as Your Grace would like, that is a virtue.
Guard yourself, my lady, from those men who boldly dare to court
a maiden. That kind of love is not good love: it comes and goes.
And men like those are called corsairs, because they make booty
of everything. My lady, give me a man who appears before his
lady with great fear and shame, with his hands trembling, and who
can scarcely utter a word."
"Tirant," said the infanta, "because of your great friendship
with Philippe, you are right to honor him so much. With your
noble order of chivalry, you can do nothing but what is expected
of you, and that's why I think highly of you. But don't imagine
that I'm a woman who is easily convinced. I have to put my hands
in up to the elbows in the sense of knowing his manners, his
station and condition, and if he could bring me happiness.
Although I'm happy when I see him, experience tells me that he
seems vulgar and avaricious, and both of those vices are
incurable."
"I beg Your Highness to give me an audience, and not to be angry
at what I say to you. I see ambassadors from the Pope coming to
the court to arrange a marriage between Your Highness and his
nephew (and some wonder if he isn't his son). And I also see
ambassadors from the King of Naples, the King of Hungary, and the
King of Cyprus. Although I may not have the power of the most
Christian King of France, I would like to talk to your father and
Your Highness about the wedding. I see that you are wise and
discreet, my lady. But because of your perfection you deserve to
be on the imperial throne and subject to the crown of France: it
is of greater height than the Roman Empire."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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