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.
Let us first consider the question as to an English original. After a careful study of Tirant lo Blanch, we have come to the conclusion that it is hardly possible that it ever existed as an English romance. That conclusion is based on a study of its principal sources and on the nature of its contents. A truly Catalan atmosphere pervades by far the greater part of it. The court and military life of the Catalonians and Aragonese, their political problems and aspirations, their hopes and fears,—all these are vividly reflected in this romance of chivalry. Their history and their literature are so closely interwoven with the story of Tirant lo Blanch, that we can scarcely conceive it possible that it is not a Catalan production. We believe that when Martorell says that the work is translated from the English, he means that it has been inspired by an English book. And his statement has the semblance of truth, for his composition contains a reproduction of a considerable part of the English romance, Guy of Warwick, somewhat modified however, together with an account of the institution of the Order of the Garter, of which the scenes of action are all laid in England. To the story based on the above romance has been joined material derived from other sources, and one of these is Raymond Lull’s Libre del Orde d’Cauayleria. In the story, of which the material from these two sources forms the foundation, Guy of Warwick is represented as Guillem de Varoych, and for this reason we shall name this composite reproduction, the William of Warwick episode.[17] Tirant lo Blanch begins with this episode, which occupies a little more than one-eighth part of the complete work. But this is not the only part in which the influence of Guy of Warwick is revealed. We know that Martorell, when he planned his book of chivalry, was acquainted with the story of Guy of Warwick, and in the course of the composition certain features of the latter occurred to him and were incorporated in his work. But these are not very numerous, and they are so sparsely scattered that the pronounced Catalan atmosphere in which they appear absorbs whatever distinguishing characteristics they may have had originally. Our investigations, the details of which will follow, lead us to the conclusion that if Tirant lo Blanch had an English original, this must have been written by a Catalan,—which, to say the least, is improbable. Scholars who have given some attention to this question entertain serious doubts concerning the representations that the work is translated from the English. Menéndez y Pelayo regards the question as very problematic.[18] Givanel Mas, in his excellent study on Tirant lo Blanch,[19] intimates that it is doubtful that there has existed an English original. Still he would consider it bold to deny that the book has ever appeared in English or in Portuguese. But, on the other hand, he sees no reason why we should consider it impossible that the author has followed the custom of writers of chivalry, who, in perhaps a majority of cases, pretend that their works were based on productions found in foreign languages, not only in Greek, Latin, and Arabic, but also in English and German. Bonsoms y Sicart says: “No cabe duda que la celebrada novela es hija de la imaginación del magnífico y virtuoso caballero valenciano.”[20] Rubió y Lluch makes this statement: “El Tirant, en la parte fundamental, en el carácter general del cuadro en que los personajes se mueven con más desembarazo, es indígena, es catalán por sus cuatro costados.”[21]
[17] Why did Martorell change the name from Guy to William (Guillem)? The Catalan form for Guy is Guiu, which may have been easily confused in the MSS. with Guim, a contracted form of Guillem. If this substitution did not result from a confusion in names, the resemblance may have suggested Guillem, which was more popular and therefore may have seemed preferable.
[18] D.M. Menéndez y Pelayo, Orígenes de la Novela, Madrid, 1905; tomo I, p. ccliii.
[19] Juan Givanel Mas, Estudio crítico de Tirant lo Blanch, Madrid, 1912; p. 21.
[20] Discursos leídos en la Real Academia de Buenas Letras de Barcelona en la recepción publica de D. Isidro Bonsoms y Sicart, Barcelona, 1907; por Don Isidro Bonsoms y Sicart y Don Antonio Rubió y Lluch, p. 40.