Joanot Martorell (Valencia 1413 – 1468) was a Valencian knight and the author of the novel Tirant lo Blanch, which is written in Valencian (Martorell calls it "the Valencian vernacular" "vulgar llengua valenciana" spoken in the Kingdom of Valencia, nowadays considered to be a Catalan variant). First published in Valencia in 1490, it was reprinted 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 chivalry novel. Martorell was a chivalrous man and suffered an early death due to court intrigue, leading to a colleague, Martí Joan de Galba, finishing the novel.

[edit] External links

• Tirant lo Blanc, by Joanot Martorell (Lletra, espai virtual de literatura)
• Works by Joanot Martorell at Project Gutenberg

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