Jordi de Sant Jordi (; late 1390s – c. 1424) was a Valencian poet and knight. Along with his contemporary

Ausiàs March Ausiàs March (Catalan and ; 1400March 3, 1459) was a medieval Valencian poet and knight from Gandia, Valencia. He is considered one of the most important poets of the "Golden Century" (''Segle d'or'') of Catalan/Valencian literature. Biog ...

, Sant Jordi was among the earliest and most representative figures of the so-called Valencian Golden Age, one of the peak periods of the

Catalan literature Catalan literature is the name conventionally used to refer to literature written in the Catalan language. The focus of this article is not just the literature of Catalonia, but literature written in Catalan from anywhere, so that it includes writ ...

. He was patronised by Queen-Dowager Margarida of Aragon-Prades, widow of King Martí I. Jordi de Sant Jordi

Sant Jordi was born in the Kingdom of Valencia, the son of a freed

morisco Moriscos (, ; pt, mouriscos ; Spanish for "Moorish") were former Muslims and their descendants whom the Roman Catholic church and the Spanish Crown commanded to convert to Christianity or face compulsory exile after Spain outlawed the open ...

slave. He was

Chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

at the court of King Alfons V of Aragon (Alfons III of Valencia) but he is best known for his

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

. Sant Jordi took part in King Alfonso's expedition to the Kingdom of Naples, where he was captured by the forces of

Francesco Sforza Francesco I Sforza (; 23 July 1401 – 8 March 1466) was an Italian condottiero who founded the Sforza dynasty in the duchy of Milan, ruling as its (fourth) duke from 1450 until his death. In the 1420s, he participated in the War of L'A ...

on 30 May 1423. During his captivity, he wrote one of his best-known poems, 'Prisoner'. He died around 1424. Among later writers who appear to draw from his work is

Joan Roís de Corella Joan Roís de Corella (; Gandia or Valencia, 1435 – Valencia, 1497) was a Catalan-language writer from the Kingdom of Valencia. He was born into a minor noble family of Aragonese origin in either Gandia or Valencia and apparently followed ...

. Iñigo López de Mendoza's work ''The Coronation of Lord Jordi'' is dedicated to him.

References

* Pujol-Gomez, J, "Jordi de Saint Jordi" in Gauvard, C., de Libera, A. & Zink, M. (eds), ''Dictionnaire du Moyen Âge.'' Paris: PUF/Quadrige, 2nd edn, 2004.

External links

* * 1390s births 1424 deaths Writers from the Valencian Community Medieval Catalan-language writers 15th-century Spanish writers 15th-century Spanish poets Catalan-language poets Spanish poets Spanish male poets 15th-century people from the Kingdom of Aragon {{Valencia-stub

References

Further reading

External links