'Joanot Martorell' (
1413–
1468) was the
Valencian
author of the novel
Tirant lo Blanch, which is written in
Catalan, (Martorell calls it "the Valencian vernacular" "''vulgar llengua valenciana"'' used in the
Crown of Aragon). First published in
Valencia in
1490, it was re-pressed in
Barcelona in
1497, and some consider it the first modern
novel in
Europe.
It deals with the adventures of a
knight in the
Byzantine Empire with echoes of the real-life
Catalan Company.
Miguel de Cervantes in the
book burning scene of
Don Quixote considers it the best
knight novel. Martorell himself was a chivalrous man and suffered an early death due to court intrigue, leading to a colleague,
Marti Joan de Galba, finishing the novel.
External links
★ See
Tirant lo blanc, by Joanot Martorell (Lletra, espai virtual de literatura)
★