''Tirant lo Blanch'' (; modern spelling: ''Tirant lo Blanc''), in English ''Tirant the White'', is a

chivalric romance As a literary genre, the chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the noble courts of high medieval and early modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a chivalri ...

written by the

Valencian Valencian can refer to: * Something related to the Valencian Community ( Valencian Country) in Spain * Something related to the city of Valencia * Something related to the province of Valencia in Spain * Something related to the old Kingdom of ...

knight Joanot Martorell, finished posthumously by his friend Martí Joan de Galba and published in the city of

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

in 1490 as an incunabulum edition. The title means "Tirant the White" and is the name of the romance's main character who saves the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

. It is one of the best known

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

works of literature in

Valencian language Valencian () or the Valencian language () is the official, historical and traditional name used in the Valencian Community to refer to the Romance language also known as Catalan language, Catalan, 'hour'. However (although regarded as non ...

. It is considered a masterpiece in the Valencian literature and in the literature in

Catalan language Catalan () is a Western Romance languages, Western Romance language and is the official language of Andorra, and the official language of three autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous communities in eastern Spain: Catalonia, the Balearic I ...

as a whole, and it played an important role in the evolution of the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

through its influence on the author

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelist ...

. The book has been noted for its use of many Valencian proverbs.

Plot

''Tirant lo Blanch'' tells the story of a knight Tirant from

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

who has a series of adventures across Europe in his quest. He joins in knightly competitions in England and France until the Emperor of the

asks him to help in the war against the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...

, Islamic invaders threatening

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, the capital and seat of the Empire. Tirant accepts and is made Megaduke of the Byzantine Empire and the captain of an army. He defeats the invaders and saves the Empire from destruction. Afterwards, he fights the Turks in many regions of the eastern Mediterranean and

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

, but he dies just before he can marry the pretty heiress of the Byzantine Empire.

Themes

Compared to books of the same time period, it lacks the bucolic, platonic, and contemplative love commonly portrayed in the chivalric heroes. Instead the main character is full of life and sensuous love, sarcasm, and human feelings. The work is filled with down to earth descriptions of daily life, prosaic and even bitter in nature.

Influence

''Tirant lo Blanch'' is one of the most important books written in Valencian. Written by Joanot Martorell in the 15th century, the ''Tirant'' is an unusual chivalric novel in its naturalistic and satirical character, which also appears to have a strong autobiographic component. It tells the feats and adventures of Knight Tirant lo Blanc from

. At times, it parallels the life and adventures of

Roger de Flor Roger de Flor (c. 1267 – 30 April 1305), also known as Ruggero/Ruggiero da Fiore or Rutger von Blum or Ruggero Flores, was an Italian military adventurer and condottiere active in Aragonese Sicily, Italy, and the Byzantine Empire. He was ...

, main leader of the mercenary Company of

Almogàvers Almogavars (; ; ; ; originally ) is the name of a class of light infantry soldier originated in the Crown of Aragon used in the later phases of the Reconquista, during the 13th and 14th centuries. Almogavars were lightly clad, quick-moving fr ...

, which fought in Asia Minor and Greece, both for and against the Emperor of Byzantium. This historical resemblance is evident in the description of events occurring around

and the defeat of

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

Mehmed II Mehmed II (; , ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror (; ), was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from August 1444 to September 1446 and then later from February 1451 to May 1481. In Mehmed II's first reign, ...

"the conqueror". While Roger de Flor's almogàvers had the upper hand in the region, the

Fall of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city was captured on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 55-da ...

in 1453 was a huge shock to

Christian Europe The terms Christendom or Christian world commonly refer to the global Christian community, Christian states, Christian-majority countries or countries in which Christianity is dominant or prevails.SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christen ...

, marking an end to the Byzantine Empire that Martorell's contemporaries wished to change. In writing his novel, Martorell perhaps rewrote history to fit what he wanted it to be - which in a way makes it a precursor of the present-day genre of

alternate history Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...

. The Spanish text of ''

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

'' praises the book, in Chapter 6 of Part I, because of certain characteristics of ''Tirant lo Blanch'' – characters with unlikely or funny names such as Kirieleison de Montalbán, the presence of a merry widow, the fact that in the book knights eat, sleep, and die in their beds having made a will, and the title can be understood as "Tirant the Blank", lacking a major victory to put on his shield – the book is quite different from the typical

. These aspects make the book exceptional, and made Cervantes state that "por su estilo", which can be translated "because of its style" but more likely means "in its own way", the book is "a treasure of enjoyment and a gold mine of recreation" ("un tesoro de contento y una mina de pasatiempos"), the "best book in the world." It is an (unintentionally) funny book, and Cervantes liked funny books, believed the world needed more of them, and wrote his own in ''Don Quixote''. Cervantes saw this 100-year-old book as the crown jewel of his library.

Translations and adaptations

Translations

The book has been translated into several languages including French, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Russian, Finnish, German, Dutch, Swedish and Chinese. Modern translations of the book into English include ''Tirant lo Blanc'', translated by David H. Rosenthal (1983, 1996), ''Tirant lo Blanc: The Complete Translation (Catalan Studies, Vol 1)'', translated by Ray La Fontaine (1994) and ''The White Knight: Tirant lo Blanc'' (Project Gutenberg), translated by Robert S. Rudder (1995). There's also an adaptation in modern CatalanJoanot Martorell, translation by Màrius Serra. https://www.llibres.cat/products/482338-tirant-lo-blanc.html

Film adaptation

The plot of the 2006 film adaptation is based on the later part of the adventures of Tirant and events leading to his involvement in Constantinople and afterwards.

Notes

References

External links

Full text in a slightly revised orthography version, in Catalan

(full text in a web page, in Catalan) edited and translated into English by Robert S. Rudder

* ttp://ca.wikisource.org/wiki/Tirant_lo_Blanc ''Tirant lo Blanc'', Wikisourcebr>In the opinion of some experts Tirant is different from similar works see "Origenes de la novela..." By Marcelino Mendendez y Pelayo, Adolfo Bonilla y San Martin El ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha By Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra Tirant Lo Blanch: A Study of Its Authorship, Principal Sources and historical setting" by Joseph A. Vaeth (1918)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tirant Lo Blanch 1490 books Alternate history novels Novels set in the Byzantine Empire Catalan-language novels Chivalry Fictional knights Incunabula Medieval Catalan literature Romance (genre) Spanish novels adapted into films Valencian literature