Ausiàs March: The Life and Legacy of a Valencian Poet

The Early Years and Knighthood

• When and where were you born? I was born in the year 1397. I do not remember exactly because of the passage of time, but I would say it was in Valencia or Gandia.

• What was your first job in the courts? In the year 1409, I was head of the Valencian branch. In 1415, I attended the Cortes of Valencia as a squire, and in 1419, I was conferred a knighthood.

Military Service and Chivalry

• In what year did you begin to devote yourself to writing poems? From the year 1425, I left the military life and began writing poetry.

• What level of life did you lead at court? Well, I lived in a feudal society and acted as a member of the estate of the cavalry. I was lord of land near the city of Valencia, a vassal of King Alfonso V of Aragon, and I was always a little jealous of my prerogatives.

• Did you do any other work for Alfonso the Magnanimous? In 1420, I became involved in the military life of the Crown, serving for four years. I was in Sardinia and Corsica, and then in North Africa.

Royal Favors and Personal Life

• How did the King compensate your work? The King was very grateful for my service and gave me the privilege of receiving the right to the thirteenth, and I could manage civil and criminal justice. In 1425, I was appointed Master Falconer of the King's Household in the Kingdom of Valencia, commissioned with the care of the falconry services that the monarch had established near the Albufera of Valencia.

• Apart from your professional life, tell us something about your personal life. I married twice. First to Isabel Martorell in 1437, and second to Joana Escorna in 1443. I did not have children with either of them, but I did have children with other women, though I will not discuss that issue further.

Literary Legacy and Style

• What do you think has been your most heartfelt work? One of them was the Cants de mort (Songs of Death) that I wrote following the death of my wife, Isabel Martorell. During the period of marriage with my second wife, Joana Escorna, and after her death, I wrote most of my passionate and didactic poems.

• What do you think are your main qualities as a poet? I think my ability to speak the truth and my effective way of expressing myself are my main qualities.

• What was your most striking feature that no other author had? It was that I abandoned traditions and wrote in Catalan rather than Provençal.