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
Do not imagine that during the entire mass the princess could
finish saying her Hours as she looked at Tirant and all his men
dressed in the French fashion. When Tirant had gazed at the
striking beauty of the princess, he let his mind play over all
the ladies and maidens he could remember seeing, and he thought
to himself that he had never seen or hoped to see anyone as well
endowed by nature as she, for in lineage, in beauty, in grace, in
wealth, along with infinite wisdom, she seemed more angelic than
human.
When mass was finished they returned to the palace, and Tirant
took his leave of the emperor and of the ladies, and went to his
quarters with his men. As they reached their quarters he went
into his chamber and fell upon the bed, thinking of the
princess's great beauty. And her beautiful features only served
to make him feel worse: so that while he had felt one pain
before, he now felt one hundred. Diafebus went into the chamber,
and when he saw him with such a sad face he said:
"My captain, you are the most extraordinary knight I have ever
seen in my life. Anyone else would hold a great celebration for
all the joy they had when they saw their lady. And the flattery
and honor she paid you--more than to all the great lords there.
And then she presented the brocade pillow to you with such grace
and love in everyone's presence. Here, when you should feel like
the most fortunate man in the world, you seem to have lost all
reason."
When Tirant heard Diafebus' comforting words he said in a
mournful voice:
"The reason my heart is grieving is that I am in love, and I
don't know if my love will be returned. This is what torments me
most, and makes my heart colder than ice. I have no hope of
gaining my desire, because fortune always opposes those who are
in love."
When Diafebus saw how tormented Tirant was, he would not let him
continue, and he said:
"If you keep on behaving that way, infamy will follow you the
rest of your life. And if this should reach the emperor's ears,
God forbid, what would happen to you and the rest of us? He
would say that you fell in love with his daughter the day you
arrived in order to bring shame to his entire realm, the crown
and the empire. So, my captain, use your discretion, and don't
let anyone guess you're in love."
Tirant listened to the wise words of Diafebus, and he was very
glad to have the advice of his good friend and relative. He
thought for a moment, and then got out of bed and went to the
hall to join his men who had been surprised at Tirant's
discourteous behavior.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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