Tirant lo Blanc: New Approaches

New interpretations of the text and context of the 15c Catalan romance telling of Tirant's heroic exploits and adventures in love. In Don Quixote, Cervantes describes Tirant lo Blanc as `the best book in the world'. A remarkable work of fiction, probably the finest to appear anywhere in Europe before Rabelais, it has recently become increasinglyfamiliar to English readers. However, it is a problematic book to categorise: on the one hand, it is an exciting story of Tirant's military exploits and his love for the Princess Carmesina; on the other, it is an encyclopedic work treating many aspects of late fifteenth-century society in vivid detail. The essays collected in this volume offer a variety of fresh interpretations. They cover a vast amount of material, from questions of authorship toclose readings of particular episodes, bringing a varietyof new interpretations to bear. ARTHUR TERRY is Emeritus Professor of Literature at the University of Essex. Contributors: RAFAEL BELTRAN, JOSEP GUIA, THOMASR. HART, ALBERT G. HAUF, JEREMY LAWRANCE, MONTSERRAT PIERA, JOSEP PUJOL, JESUS D. RODRIGUEZ VELASCO, MARIA JESUS RUBIERA Y MATA, ARTHUR TERRY, CURT WITTLIN