The Rise of the Catalan Chivalric Novel

Eisner: A Chivalric Author

Eisner was born in Valencia in 1410 and died in 1465. A noble knight of his time, he was respected by masters in the exercise of arms. He was a great reader and was well-informed of the developments of the time. He brought a cheerful and fun tone to his work, introducing humor, irony, and caricature into chivalric novels. He is the author of the most important novel in the history of Catalan literature. Years later, Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes would ridicule and mock chivalric novels.

Curial e Guelph: A Hero's Journey

This is a story of love and arms. The novel presents the process of a hero's development, from humble origins until he achieves the recognition, fame, and honor that belong to a knight. Curial is rarely injured because he wins by being more skillful; he observes his opponent's technique in the first moments of combat and uses calculated strokes.

The Medieval Literary Context

Medieval Europe was a tough time with internal and external conflicts, misery, and poverty. A source of entertainment was popular literature (lullabies, fables, legends, etc.) which was transmitted orally.

Minstrels and Troubadours

Minstrels transmitted fables, poems, legends, and news from village to village, as they traveled independently. In aristocratic environments, there was troubadour poetry, which was accompanied by music and written in Occitan.

Fun was often associated with the idea of sin. For example:

• Laughing was considered a sin.
• Man was seen as condemned by God for his sins and work.

Goliards and the Rise of Chivalry

In popular environments, students and alumni created a series of literary genres, some of which had strong ties with classical Latin and Greek literature.

Goliards were wandering people who had ceased to be monks. They engaged in singing and reciting poems in Latin and vulgar languages. They lived on alms. They hung around wearing habits and wandered the world, which meant they were at enmity with the church. They mocked the most holy things and the official culture. Their lifestyle was vagrancy. They were creators of books of chivalry (popular literature and culture). The Catalan chivalric novel was the most modern in Europe in the fifteenth century.