Joanot Martorell

Joanot Martorell (1413 – 1468) was the Valencian author of the novel Tirant lo Blanch, which is written in the Valencian dialect (Martorell calls it "the Valencian vernacular" "vulgar llengua valenciana" used in the Crown of Aragon). 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 knight novel. Martorell himself was a chivalrous man and suffered an early death due to court intrigue, leading to a colleague, Marti Joan de Galba, finishing the novel.