CHAPTER I

THE WILLIAM OF WARWICK EPISODE

In the preceding part, wherein was made a comparative study of three important sources of _Tirant to Blanch_, we have had occasion to mention the real historical facts that form, in a more or less general way, the basis of Tirant’s career while in the service of the Emperor of Constantinople. Let us now transfer our researches to the field of history and try to determine what historical events underlie the hero’s various undertakings. Let us, moreover, examine all the features of _Tirant lo Blanch_ that give any indication of historical influence, in order that we may attain a better understanding of the author’s method in composing this work. The first question that confronts us is: What historical basis is to be found in the William of Warwick episode?

The hero of the English romance of _Guy of Warwick_ is more or less a legendary personage. John Rous, a learned scholar and writer who lived between 1411 and 1491, in his writings concerning the legendary history of Warwickshire, names Guy as the second of the Saxon Earls of Warwick. We cannot cite any authentic historical facts about him. The story probably represents an old Saxon legend, perhaps in the form of a ballad, which in the course of time became a romance in French, and this was later translated into English. In the two fourteenth-century versions to which we have referred in Part III of this work, Aethelstan is represented as the King of England. This fixes the supposed time of Guy’s career as prior to 940, which marks the end of Aethelstan’s reign. The latter annexed Danish Northumbria, and, in 937, won the great battle of Brunanburh over the Danes, Scots, and Strathclyde Britons. This fact shows that there are at least some traces of authentic history in the romance, for in _Guy of Warwick_ we read of an invasion of the Danes.

In _Tirant lo Blanch_, no dates are mentioned so that if we wish to establish the period in which the events described took place, we shall have to depend on the historical characters that are named, and the incidents, occurrences, and events that are narrated. The data that we may gather for this purpose probably will throw light on other matters in which we are interested.

The document that was given to Tirant in which he was declared the best knight of all those that participated in the exercises of arms at the English court was signed “Rex Enricus.” This king was young and feeble, and for that reason the hermit William of Warwick suggested that the Duke of Lancaster should take the place of the king in the approaching personal combat with the strong and valiant Moorish king of Canary; but the suggestion caused loud protests from the Dukes of Gloucester, Bedford, and Exeter, who claimed that their kinship to the king was closer than that of the Duke of Lancaster. It is quite clear that the author had in mind the English king, Henry VI, who during his minority was represented by his two uncles, the Duke of Bedford as protector of the realm, and the Duke of Gloucester as regent in England while the protector was in France. The Duke of Exeter was the grand-uncle of the young king. There was no Duke of Lancaster at that particular period. Richard de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, also was closely associated with the boy-king. When Henry V was on his deathbed, he sent for the earl and asked him to be the master of his son, the future Henry VI, requesting him at the same time “to be gentle with him and guide and instruct him in the condition of life to which he belonged.”[64] Henry V died in 1422, and the Earl of Warwick became the tutor and governor of the new king, although that title was not conferred upon him until 1428. The coincidence is striking! In the story William of Warwick was the fatherly adviser of the young English king, and in history Richard of Warwick was the tutor and governor of the English boy-king. And here the question arises: Could Martorell have had in mind Richard de Beauchamp when he wrote certain parts of his work?

[64] The Countess of Warwick, _Warwick Castle and its Earls_, New York and London, 1903; vol. I, p. 121.

Let us here give a brief account of the career of Richard de Beauchamp. Upon his father’s death in 1401, he became Earl of Warwick, being at that time twenty years old. His early years were spent chiefly in performing feats of arms, as did the knights of old. At the coronation of Queen Jane he defended the field against all those that dared to joust with him. Not finding sufficient opportunities for knightly exercises and adventures at home, he went abroad. He made a pilgrimage to Rome and from there went to Verona, where he engaged in a joust with another knight. After the jousting they fought with axes, next with swords, and finally with daggers. From Verona he went to Venice and then to Jerusalem. There the sultan’s lieutenant, upon being informed that Richard was a descendant of Guy of Warwick of whom he had read in books in his own language, entertained him royally, and gave him precious gifts. Richard then made his way overland to England, frequently interrupting his journey by taking part in tournaments. Shortly after his return, he was sent to the town of Calais and made Captain of that place. Longing for a little excitement, he made up a tournament of his own. Three days in succession, mounted on his caparisoned steed, he went out on the field, and each day he returned victorious. Later he was sent as ambassador to Constance in Germany, to attend the well-known Council of Constance. There he was challenged by some great duke, who was slain in the encounter. The German emperor expressed his admiration for him by saying that “no Christian prince hath such another knight for Wisdom, Nurture, and Manhood; that if all courtesy were lost, yet it might be found again in him.”[65] His principal military activities were in the war against the French. In 1416 he was sent to relieve Harfleur; was at the siege of Caen; captured several places; was made Captain of Beauvais; and was present at the siege of Rouen. When that city finally fell, the capitulation was made to him. He was appointed to several offices at home and abroad, his last and most important one being the Governorship of France and Normandy. In the year 1439 he died in the castle of Rouen at the age of fifty-eight.

[65] _Ibid._, vol. I, p. 113.

A strong resemblance between Richard de Beauchamp and Guy of Warwick is evident. Is it not probable that this similarity was to some degree instrumental in causing Martorell to give the William of Warwick episode a setting of the fifteenth century? There are several references made to deeds of William of Warwick which cannot be found in the English romance, _Guy of Warwick_. One of them, however, concerns without doubt Richard de Beauchamp. When the hermit-king told the countess where the arms were that he desired, she begged him to reveal to her how he happened to know so much about her husband. He answered that he was with the earl when the latter, as Capita Major of the city of Rouen, won a signal victory over the large army of the French king. Richard de Beauchamp was a popular hero, and if Martorell had been in England, as he claims in his dedicatory letter, he might have heard of many feats of the great knight and soldier that are not recorded in history. However, we have already learned the method of our author, and we must not expect too many historical data on any subject. But, as a rule, he gives us sufficient real facts to determine what events or periods in history he has in mind. Other historical personages cited in connection with the William of Warwick episode are the Earl of Salisbury, the Earl of Northumberland, the Duke of Clarence, and the Prince of Wales. These names also indicate that the historical period represented is the first half of the fifteenth century.

When Tirant asked the hermit to name the greatest living knights in England, the latter gave the names of Sir John Stuart and the Duke of Exeter. History mentions but one great knight named John Stuart, and he was of this period. From 1419 to the time of his death in 1429, Sir John Stuart of Darnley was fighting valiantly on the continent on the side of the French. Charles VII appreciated his worth, and rewarded him several times: first he granted him the seigneurie of Aubigny in Berry, next the comté of Evreux in Normandy, and finally the “glorious privilege of quartering the Royal arms of France with his paternal arms of Stuart.” He fell fighting bravely in a battle near Orleans. In the well-known old French play, “Le Mistère du Siège d’Orléans,” written some time after his death, the following tribute is paid to him:

Est mort tout le noble barnaige Qui deffendoit la fleur de lis Ha! le connestable d’Escosse, Le plus vaillant dans la terre, Est demeuré à fine force Qui estoit tant prudent en guerre On ne pourroit son bruit exquerre Tant estoit vaillant et hardi Or le convient il mectre en terre.[66]

[66] _Documents inédits sur l’histoire de France, première série_, Paris, 1862; p. 342.

Martorell did well to name him as one of the greatest knights of that period.

Sir Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter, also was a great warrior. He rendered distinguished services to the English nation in the struggle with France. He was made Duke of Exeter in 1416, and in the same year appointed Lieutenant of Normandy. He died at Greenwich in 1427.

Thus we see that Martorell has reproduced the latter part of the _Guy of Warwick_ story, but has given it a setting in the fifteenth century. It has been changed considerably, and the historical personage, Richard de Beauchamp, has had some influence in giving form to this reproduction. The career of this great knight reveals that the exploits of Tirant at the English court were not the result of a vivid imagination, but, on the contrary, were based in great part on knightly customs and practices of the times. Martorell is a realist; when he describes anything, it is usually based on something that he had observed directly, or something that he had read or heard related which impressed him as having really occurred. It is true that occasionally we find the narration of some incredible incidents in his work, but it is hardly probable that he expected us to believe them. It is owing to the realistic temperament of the author that the different enterprises of Tirant are based on historical events. He had a remarkable talent for selecting interesting elements, and joining them so as to produce an artistic whole. It was evidently not his purpose to make any part of his work an accurate narration of some historical event. He distorts facts or makes use of them under conditions different from those under which they originally happened. Heroic deeds that called forth his admiration, and historical incidents that were interesting to him and of such a nature that he could utilize them in the work that he had undertaken, furnished him with an abundance of material for his book of chivalry. _Tirant lo Blanch_ is indeed a composite work, made up of elements gathered here and there, logically connected and fashioned into a consistent whole which impresses the reader with a feeling of reality, because it is based, in the main, on actual experiences and happenings in life.