Tirant lo Blanch; a study of its authorship, principal sources and historical setting - Joseph Anthony Vaeth

[1^a] At that time, which was in	[1^b] The noble King of England,
the beginning of the severe winter,	in order that his people
it happened that a great	should not give themselves up to
king, who was most noble and	absolute idleness and languor,
of many excellent habits, ordered	determined, since he had contracted
an assembly of his court.	marriage, to proclaim a
On account of the great fame	meeting of the General Court
which his court enjoyed all over	where great exercises of arms
the earth, a doughty squire, all	should take place. The news of
alone and riding on his palfrey,	the wonderful festival which the
went thither in order that he	famous king was planning was
might be made a knight; when,	spread throughout all the Christian
on account of the fatigue that he	realms. It happened that
underwent from his riding, he	a nobleman of ancient lineage
fell asleep while going along on	and a native of Brittany, traveling
his steed. And at that moment	in the company of many
the knight who was doing penance	other noblemen who were going
in the forest had come to	to the great festival, fell behind
the spring to contemplate and	all the rest, and, overcome by
to despise the vanity of this	the fatigue of the long journey
world just as he was accustomed	that he had made, dropped
to do every day.	asleep. His steed left the road
While the squire was riding	and followed a path which led
along in this manner, his steed	to the delightful spring where
left the road and entered the	the hermit was, who at that
woods. It went wherever it	very moment was reading with
pleased in the forest until it came	great delight a book entitled
to the spring where the knight	Arbre de Batalles. And he was
was praying. The knight, who	continuously rendering thanks,
saw the squire coming, ceased	while reading that book, to our
praying and seated himself on	Lord God for the singular favors
the beautiful meadow in the	that he had obtained in this
shade of the tree, and began to	world in the service of the Order
read in a book which he had in	of Chivalry. Being occupied in
his lap. When the steed was at	this manner, he saw a man on
the spring, it drank, and the	horseback coming across the
squire who in his sleep felt that	plain, and noticed that he was
the palfrey was no longer moving,	asleep. He ceased reading and
awoke, and saw before him	did not wish to awaken him.
the knight who was very old,	When the steed was in front of
and had a big beard and long	the spring and saw the water,
hair, and clothes that were torn.	it approached, for it wished to
From his vigils and from the	drink, but because the rein was
penance that he was doing he	fastened to the pommel of the
was thin and pale; and from the	saddle it was not able to do so:
tears that he was shedding, his	it stooped so low that the rider
eyes were swollen, and he had	was obliged to wake up, and
the appearance of a man leading	opening his eyes, he found himself
a very holy life. Ramon Lull,	before a hermit with a very
Libre del Orde d’Cauayleria,	big snow-white beard: his clothes
Barcelona, 1879; p. v.	were almost in shreds and he
	was weak and pale. This was
	caused by the great penance
	that he was continuously doing,
	and on account of the many
	tears that his eyes distilled,
	these were very much swollen.
	His appearance was that of a
	venerable and very holy man.
	Tirant lo Blanch, chap. xxviii.
[2^a] When the knight heard the	[2^b] When the hermit heard the
subject of chivalry mentioned,	nobleman say that he was going
and remembered the Order of	so that he might be received into
Chivalry and what pertains to	the Order of Chivalry, he, remembering
a knight, he gave a sigh and	what the order is,
began to reflect deeply, remembering	and all that pertains to a knight,
the honor in which	gave a heavy sigh and began to
chivalry had so long maintained	reflect deeply, recalling the very
him. Ibid., p. v.	great honor in which chivalry
	had so long maintained him.
	Ibid., chap. xxix.
[3^a] “How now, my son,” this	[3^b] “And how now,” said the
said the knight, “and do you	hermit, “do you not know what
not know what the rules and	the rules and the Order of
the Order of Chivalry are? How	Chivalry are? And how can you
can you ask for knighthood before	ask for knighthood before you
you know the Order of	know the order, for no knight
Chivalry? For no knight can	can maintain the order if he
maintain the order that he does	does not know it and all that
not know, nor can he love his	pertains to the order: and no
order nor what pertains to his	knight, if he does not know the
order if he does not know the	Order of Chivalry, is a knight,
Order of Chivalry nor can distinguish	for a poor knight is he who makes
the faults that are	another a knight and cannot
against his order. Neither ought	show him the practices which
any knight if he does not know	pertain to a knight.” Ibid.,
the Order of Chivalry make a	chap. xxx.
knight, for a poor knight is he
who makes a knight and cannot
show him the practices which
pertain to a knight.” Ibid.,
p. vi.
[4^a] “My fair friend,” this said	[4^b] “My son,” said the hermit,
the knight, “the rules and the	“the whole order is described in
Order of Chivalry are contained	this book, which I read sometimes,
in this book in which I read	in order that I may be
sometimes in order that I may	reminded of the grace that our
be reminded of the grace and	Lord granted me in this world,
the favors that God has granted	for I honored and maintained
me in this world, for I honored	the Order of Chivalry with all
and maintained the Order of	my might. And just as chivalry
Chivalry with all my might.	gives all that pertains to a
For just as chivalry gives all	knight, so also a knight ought to
that pertains to a knight, so	give all his strength to honor
also a knight ought to give all	chivalry.” Ibid., chap. xxxi.
his strength to honor chivalry.”
Ibid., p. vi.
[5^a] And on account of this all	[5^b] And for this reason all the
the people were divided into	people were divided into groups
groups of thousands, and from	of thousands and from each
each thousand was selected and	thousand was selected one man
chosen one man who was more	who was more amiable and of
amiable, wiser, more loyal and	greater affability, wiser, more
more powerful, and with more	loyal, more powerful and with
noble courage, with more instruction	nobler courage, with more excellent
and good training than	qualities and good practices
all the others. A diligent search	than all the others. And
was made among all the animals	afterwards they caused a search
to determine which one of them	to be made among all the animals
is the most beautiful and most	to determine which was the most
fleet and which is able to endure	beautiful, most fleet, and which
most fatigue, and which is most	could endure greatest fatigue,
suitable to serve man. And	and which was most suitable for
since the horse is the most noble	the service of man, and from
animal and the most suitable to	all, they selected the horse and
serve man, for this reason, from	gave it to the man, the one who
all the animals one selected the	was chosen from one thousand
horse and gave it to the man	men: and therefore that man
who was chosen from one thousand	was called caualler, since they
men: and therefore that	had adapted the most noble
man is called cauayler. Since	animal to the most noble man.
one has adapted the most noble	Ibid., chap. xxxii.
animal to the most noble
man... Ibid., p. vii.

The five parallel passages given above indicate that Martorell had Lull’s work before his eyes at the time that he was writing the part that treats of the meeting of young Tirant and the hermit and their conversation concerning the order of Chivalry. The first passage from the Libre del Orde d’Cauayleria is an excellent example of the author’s method in selecting a foundation on which to base the various and numerous activities of his hero. The passage is important, for it has furnished an interesting manner of introducing Tirant lo Blanch to the reader, and, moreover, it may have been the author’s starting point. The corresponding passage from Martorell’s work reveals that the source was followed very closely. It is an easy matter to pick out the part of it that he needed to change in order to make it suit his purpose. The details of the latter part give evidence that he consulted the source probably more than once, and that the modifications which we find there are not necessarily due to the processes of translation. The same may be said of the second parallel passages. But the other three are so very nearly alike that the translation theory must be given up. Let us remember what we are asked to believe. We are told that Tirant lo Blanch was translated from the English. Then these passages were translated from Lull’s work (written in Catalan), first into English, then into Portuguese, and finally back into Catalan. And in all these various processes the passages in their final form are practically the same as the original. Is not this a marvelous achievement? We cannot believe the author’s ingenious representations. We are convinced that Tirant lo Blanch was not translated from the English. And since that is the case, is it not probable that it was not written in Portuguese? We admit that by translating from the Catalan into Portuguese, and then back again into Catalan, the resulting passages might not be so very different. But we cannot believe that they could be so similar to the original after two translations. Then, how do we account for the changes? A comparative study of Lull’s style and language and that of Martorell shows that there was considerable difference between them. Of course, it was not the latter’s intention to copy the material word for word. He recast it, adapting it to his style and vocabulary; in other words, he took in general merely the ideas and expressed them in his own way. If Lull’s manner of expression in certain cases agreed with his own, he did not make any changes. He added or omitted incidents at his own pleasure. Sometimes he made a reproduction, and at other times a copy with only such alterations as were necessary to make the passages conform to his own style, which presumably he considered an improvement over the original. Some few changes may have been caused by misreading or in the process of copying. Now and then we get the impression that he made certain alterations in order to avoid a literal transcription. A glance over the above passages shows that Martorell changed certain words. For “palaffre” he substituted “roci”; for “vestiments,” “vestidures”; for “magre,” “flach”; for “ausi” (heard), “hoy”; for “remembrar,” “recordar” or “esser en recort de”; for “consirer,” “entrar en gran pensament”; for “honrament,” “honor”; for “tro,” “fins”; for “en axi,” “axi”; for “pus” in comparisons, “mes.” A study of Martorell’s vocabulary reveals that the words for which he made substitutions are lacking in it. Other similar cases may be found, but, to prove our point, we do not feel it necessary to make an exhaustive study of the vocabularies of these authors. We shall, however, call attention to the ending of the first parallel passages. Lull says: “... e per les lagremes que gitaua, sos hulls foren apoquits.” The corresponding passage of Martorell reads: “e per les moltes lagremes quels seus hulls destillauen li eren los hulls molt apoquits.” There is much weeping in Tirant lo Blanch, and the author’s favorite way of describing it is something like this: “los seus hulls destillaren vives lagremes.” Without making an exhaustive search for this expression, we find twenty-one instances in Tirant lo Blanch where the words “hulls,” some form of “destillar,” and “lagremes” are used to describe this emotional manifestation. He expresses it in other ways, but he never uses the verb “gitar,” which is employed by Lull in this connection. Martorell never uses this word, but, on the other hand, he frequently employs “lançar” with the very same meaning.

After a careful comparison of the above passages, we are satisfied that the book under consideration is not a translation from an English original, nor was it first written in Portuguese. However, if the reader is still doubtful in regard to these questions, let us examine other parallel passages, of which the originals are found in another Catalan production, which bears the title Lo Somni d’En Bernat Metge.

Lo Somni d’En Bernat Metge[27]	Tirant lo Blanch[28]
[1^a] Tamaris reyna de Scithia,	[1^b] ... Tamarits Reyna de Sicilia
no fo de menor coratge; la qual	la qual no fo de menor
en venjança de la mort de son fill	animo. Car en veniança de la
y consolacio sua mata batallant	mort de son fill per consolacio
aquell famos y molt temut Cirus,	sua mata en batalla aquell famos
rey d’Assia, ab dos cents milia	e molt temut Cirius Rey d’dasia
Persians.	ab. CC. milia persians.
[2^a] ... y apres que la hague	[2^b] ... Lo dit Cornelio obtengue
dompdada, se’n glorieja tant	della victoria. E sen
com si hagues vençut lo major	glorieja tant com si hagues
y pus victorios princep del	vençut lo major princep del
mon.	mon.
[3^a] ... E aquella [amor] que	[3^b] ... E aquella Porcia filla
Porcia filla de Catho, hague a	d’l Rey Tracio sabent que lo
Brut, marit seu, la qual encontinent	marit seu mort era.
que sabe la mort
d’aquell, per tal com no habia	E com no pogues
prest ferre ab que’s matas, desitjant	hauer ferro prest ab ques matas
seguir l’espirit del dit	cobejant seguir lesperit de
Brut begue carbons foguejants	aquell begue carbons foguejants
y mort.	e mort.
[4^a] Be fo cordial e memorable	[4^b] Mes fon cordial e memorable
amor que Artemisia, reyna,	lamor que Artemisa reyna
hague a Mauseolo, marit seu;	hague a Menaculo, marit seu, la
la qual apres que ell fo mort y	qual apres que ell fon mort e li
li hague celebrades solempnes	hague celebrades solemnes exequies
exequies, lo feu polvoritzar, y’l	lo feu poluorizar e begues
begue, mostrant que ella volia	la polvora mostrant que ella
esser sepulcre d’ell.	volia esser sepultura dell.

[1^a] Tomyris, Queen of Scythia,	[1^b] ... Tomyris, Queen of
was not of less courage: who	Sicily, who was not of less
in avenging the death of her	courage. For in avenging the
son and her consolation killed	death of her son, for her consolation
battling that famous and much	she killed in battle that
feared Cyrus, King of Asia, with	famous and much feared Cyrus,
two hundred thousand Persians.	King of Asia, with two hundred
	thousand Persians.
[2^a] ... and after he had defeated	[2^b] The aforesaid Cornelius
her, he boasted about it	won a victory over her. And
as if he had vanquished the	he boasted about it as if he had
greatest and most victorious	vanquished the greatest prince
prince in the world.	in the world.
[3^a] ... and that [love] which	[3^b] ... and that Portia,
Portia daughter of Cato had for	daughter of the King Tracio,
Brutus her husband, she, who,	knowing that her husband was
as soon as she knew of his death,	dead. And since she could not
for the reason that she had no	get an iron instrument immediately,
iron instrument immediately at	being eager to follow his
hand with which to slay herself,	spirit, ate burning coals and
desiring to follow his spirit, ate	died.
burning coals and died.
[4^a] Very cordial and memorable	[4^b] More cordial and memorable
was the love which Queen	was the love which Queen
Artemisia had for Mausolus her	Artemisa had for Menaculo
husband; she, who, after he was	her husband, she, who, after
dead and she had solemn exequies	he was dead and she had solemn
celebrated for him, caused	exequies celebrated for him,
his body to be converted into	caused his body to be converted
dust, and she swallowed it,	into dust, and she swallowed the
showing that she wished to be	dust, showing that she wished to
his sepulcher.	be his sepulture.

[27] Lo Somni d’En Bernat Metge, edited by R. Miquel y Planas, Barcelona, 1907; Libre quart, pp. 93-95.

[28] Chap. cccix, cols. 3 and 4.

All that we have said in support of our contention that the excerpts from Tirant lo Blanch in the first series of parallel passages have been taken directly from Lull’s work, and not from a translation, is borne out by a comparison of the passages just given. We feel that the evidence is conclusive and that comment would be superfluous. And with all this array of evidence we feel justified in concluding that Tirant lo Blanch was written originally in Catalan. Martorell was a learned Catalan; he was well versed in the history of his country and its literature; he was a master of his native language; and he composed his voluminous work in the tongue that he knew so well. If Tirant lo Blanch was translated into Portuguese, it was not from an English but from a Catalan original that the translation was made.