Tirant lo Blanch; a study of its authorship, principal sources and historical settingVaeth, Joseph Anthony
History
Tirant lo Blanch; a study of its authorship, principal sources and historical setting
Vaeth, Joseph Anthony
Martorell, Joanot, -1468. Tirant lo Blanch
[15] Thus ends the book of the valorous and brave knight,
Tirant lo Blanch, Prince and Caesar of the Grecian Empire of
Constantinople, which was translated from English into the
Portuguese language, and afterwards into the Valencian vernacular
by the illustrious and excellent knight, Sir Johanot Martorell,
who by reason of his death was not able to translate more than
the three parts. The fourth part, which is the end of the book,
has been translated at the request of the noble lady, Dona Isabel
de Loriç by the illustrious knight, Sir Marti Johan d’Galba: and
if there are any defects in it, may they be attributed to his
ignorance.
Then is appended the colophon:
Fon acabada d’empremptar la present obra en la Ciutat de Valencia a
.xx. del mes de Nohembre del any de la natiuitat de nostre senyor deu
Jesu crist mil .cccc. lxxxx.[16]
[16] The printing of this work was completed in the city of
Valencia on the twentieth day of November of the year of the
nativity of our Lord God, Jesus Christ, 1490.
According to the above representations, _Tirant lo Blanch_ existed
originally as an English romance of chivalry which was translated into
Portuguese by Martorell; then the Portuguese version was translated
into the Valencian language, three parts of it by Martorell and the
fourth part by de Galba.
But the literary world knows no English _Tirant lo Blanch_, nor, so
far as can be discovered, has it ever seen a reference to a romance
of that description except the statements in the Catalan book.
Consequently no little doubt arises as to an English original. The same
is the case concerning a Portuguese _Tirant lo Blanch_, and the doubt
as to the accuracy of Martorell’s and de Galba’s assertions increases
considerably. And then, finally, the contents of the work, its spirit,
its sources, and the fact that there is a _Tirant lo Blanch_ in the
Catalan language, strongly impel the reader to conclude that the
Catalan book is the original.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account