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
[51] And Brother Roger ... thus had ten galleys, and he loaded
them with grain at Sciacca and came to Syracuse and waited for a
strong wind to come up from the southeast or south. And when the
wind came it was so strong that the whole sea began to rage, so
that no man who was not so good a mariner as he, dared think of
setting sail. He set sail from Syracuse when night had come, and
at dawn he entered the Strait of Faro; and it is the greatest
wonder in the world that anything can survive in the Strait
of Faro when there is a strong wind from the southeast or the
south, for the currents there are so powerful and the sea rages
so violently that nothing can stand it. And he decided to enter
first with his own galley provided with large sails in which
there were holes. And when the galleys of the duke saw them, all
began to shout and they wished to raise the anchors but they were
unable to do so. And thus the ten galleys with Brother Roger
entered the harbor of Messina safely and securely, but there was
not a man who had on him a dry thread ... and thus Messina was
relieved and the next day the duke raised the siege and returned
to Catania. _Chronica_, chap. cxcvi.
The above comparative study of _Tirant lo Blanch_ and that part
of Muntaner’s _Chronica_ that deals with Roger de Flor and the
Catalan-Aragonese expedition presents strong evidence that Martorell
was acquainted with Muntaner’s work. But yet what a difference! Were
it not for the fact that Tirant reconquered practically all the lost
territory of the Greek empire and was made Caesar of the empire, we
should hardly associate his name with that of Roger de Flor. Such being
the case, are not the statements that Roger de Flor’s career forms the
principal source of this book rather misleading? However that may be,
we are willing to admit that the martial and adventurous spirit of
Roger de Flor and the members of his expedition finds expression in
_Tirant lo Blanch_, and this constitutes the strongest resemblance.
CHAPTER V
OTHER MATERIAL FROM GUY OF WARWICK
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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