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
The combat took place at the sultan’s court. When Guy beheld the
horrible giant, he declared that it was the devil and no man. After a
long and fierce fight, Guy cut off his adversary’s right arm, then
his left, and finally his head. Let the reader note the following
coincidences: Guy and Tirant both made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem; from
there they came to Alexandria; the ransom of prisoners is mentioned in
_Guy of Warwick_, and the ransom of captives is a fact in _Tirant lo
Blanch_. Martorell did not reproduce this story, but he seems to have
retained the words Jerusalem, Alexandria, and ransom of Christians, and
from these he developed his own story. In the lines quoted above, Guy’s
fervent religious spirit is brought into prominence, and at the same
time a struggle for supremacy between the Christian and the Mohammedan
religions is suggested. In _Tirant lo Blanch_ also, the hero is filled
with religious zeal and fervor, and under his leadership Christianity
triumphs in all Barbary.
We have pointed out above the more important points of resemblance in
_Guy of Warwick_ and _Tirant lo Blanch_. Let us now mention a few of
the minor ones.
In the English romance, the following words are spoken of Felice:
She was therto curteys and free ywys,
And in the .vii. arts well learned withoute mys.
All the .vii. artis she kouthe well,
Noon better that euere man herde tell.[54]
[54] Caius MS., p. 7.
In _Tirant lo Blanch_ the empress confesses that she cannot argue as
well as Carmesina, “per yo no hauer studiat les liberals arts com ma
filla.”[55]
[55] ... because I have not studied the liberal arts as my
daughter has. _Tirant lo Blanch_, chap. clxxxii, col. 2.
When Guy made his confession of love to Felice, he said:
Bot thou haue mercy on me,
Myself y shall for sorwe slee.[56]
[56] Caius MS., p. 23.
When Tirant made his confession to the princess, he said: “puix lo meu
cor ha tant fallit que es stat causador de tant agreujar la vostra
singular persona e percaçar tant de mal per a mi, ab la mia ma plena de
cruel vengança ans que lo sol haja passat los columnes de Hercules yol
partire en dues parts....”[57]
[57] ... since my heart has been so delinquent that it has been
the cause of afflicting so grievously your excellent personage
and producing so much pain through me, with my hand full of cruel
vengeance I shall cut it in two before the sun has passed the
columns of Hercules. _Tirant lo Blanch_, chap. cxxix, col. 3.
In _Guy of Warwick_, Oisel beholds her betrothed, Tirri, lying before
her as if dead, and in her despair she utters these words:
A, leman Tirri,
In wroched time mi bodi thou say,
When thou shalt for me day.
Dye ich-il forth with the:
For sorwe lives no may y be.
Bot y may dye ichil me quelle:
Len to libbe is nought mi wille.[58]
[58] Auchinleck MS., p. 278.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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