Page:Tirant lo Blanch; a study of its authorship, principal sources and historical setting (IA cu31924026512263).pdf/44

 each of them in mortal combat, and vanquished them all. (Chaps. 68-73)

Some time after came the knight Villa Fermosa from Scotland. The lady who had captivated his soul would not listen to him, nor would she speak to him until he had vanquished the renowned knight, Tirant lo Blanch. But the latter did not wish to accept the challenge, for his wounds were not yet healed. The Scottish knight, however, would not take a refusal, and finally Tirant consented to meet him, and promised that he would not fight any other knight until after their combat. (Chap. 74)

But this promise Tirant was obliged to break, for the following reasons. When the news of the death of the King of Friesland reached his kingdom, there was great grief among his subjects. The favorite of the dead king, Kirielayson de Muntalba, who was a man strong and valorous, and descended from a race of giants, determined to make Tirant pay dearly for slaying his lord the king. He sent a challenge, in which he accused him of having vanquished the two kings and the two dukes through treachery. Tirant, in his answer, gave him the lie and accepted the challenge. The giant-knight came, but before the combat he went to visit the tombs of those whose death he wished to avenge. Seeing the shields of the vanquished, over which the shields of Tirant had been placed, he began to weep and lament. In a fit of anger he took down Tirant's shields and threw them on the ground. Then he noticed that they were painted on the tabernacle over the tomb. Blind with rage, he struck them with his head so violently that he fell half unconscious. A few moments later, when he opened the tabernacle and saw the lifeless body of his king and sovereign, his gall bladder burst, and he died instantly. (Chaps. 74-80)

The unsuccessful avenger of the King of Friesland had a brother whose name was Thomas de Muntalba, and he