Page:Tirant lo Blanch; a study of its authorship, principal sources and historical setting (IA cu31924026512263).pdf/128

 she were the daughter of the richest king on earth, she could not refuse Guy her love. Felice chided the maid for her speech, but nevertheless took compassion on the unhappy lover and promised him her love if he should become a great knight. And finally Guy, by his valor, love, and true worth, won her, although he was beneath her in station.

Tirant, as we have observed in the analysis, was afflicted in much the same manner, when first he beheld Carmesina. He, too, was below his lady in station, and his confession of love was received as an insult. The emperor sent his physicians to him, and he claimed that his sickness was due to change of climate. Just as the maid interceded for Guy, so Stephania pleaded in behalf of Tirant. And in the end his love, prowess, and great service to the empire removed the obstacle which the difference in station had placed between them.

The Chronica of Muntaner does not give us any information concerning a love affair between Roger de Flor and the niece of the Emperor of Constantinople. Nor are there any love scenes at all in that part of the Chronica that deals with the career of the Catalan hero.

While Guy of Warwick was at Spires with the Emperor of Germany, they went hunting along the river. When Guy was returning from the hunt, he noticed a dromond coming to the shore. He greeted the men in the boat, and learned that they were merchants who had left Constantinople because the sultan, after having devastated nearly all of the Grecian empire, laid siege to the imperial city. Guy, with his faithful companion from England, Heraud, and one hundred of the most stalwart knights that he could find in Germany, went to Constantinople to succor the unfortunate emperor. When he arrived His Imperial Majesty greeted him with these words: