Guillem de Torroella (also written Torroelha) was a

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bale ...

n poet whose family came from Empordà. He was born in 1348. He wrote the ''Faula'' in Occitan (and a small part in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

) around 1370. It was edited in 2007 in the ''Library of Majorcan Writers'' by Anna María Compagna Perrone.

La Faula

''La Faula'' (''The Tale'') is a tale written by Guillem of Torroella, part of the

Matter of Britain The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Weste ...

, which explains in first person how he was kidnapped and taken to the Enchanted Island by

Morgan le Fay Morgan le Fay (, meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan ''n''a, Morgain ''a/e Morg ''a''ne, Morgant ''e Morge ''i''n, and Morgue ''inamong other names and spellings ( cy, Morgên y Dylwythen Deg, kw, Morgen an Spyrys), is a ...

who, with the presence of Torroella, wants to end the invincible sadness of her brother,

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as ...

. The presence of the foreigner comforts the king, who had fallen in a deep sadness over the decline of chivalry. King Arthur finally entrusts Torroella with a mission: go back to the real world and explain all he has seen. The story begins in the valley of

Sóller Sóller () is a town and municipality near the north west coast of the Balearic Island of Mallorca, Spain, 3 km inland from Port de Sóller, in a large, bowl-shaped valley that also includes the village of Fornalutx and the hamlets of Biniar ...

. Torroella arrives on horseback at the port of Santa Caterina, where he sees a parrot on a rock. Torroella decides to approach to bird but just at that moment the "rock", which in reality was a whale, carries him through the sea until he arrives at the Enchanted Island (Sicily, for many scholars) where his adventure begins and he meets an occitan-speaking serpent then the famous king Arthur. This book was a model for some later writers like

Bernat Metge Bernat Metge (; ( 1350 – 1410) was a Catalan writer and humanist, best known as the author of '' Lo Somni'', which he wrote from prison (c. 1398), in which Metge discusses the immortality of the soul. He was a courtier and Secretary for Joan I ...

Anselm Turmeda Anselm Turmeda (), later known as Abd-Allah at-Tarjuman ( ar, عبد الله الترجمان; 1355–1423), was a Christian priest from Mallorca who converted to Islam and settled in Tunis. He is one of the earliest writers to have written in bo ...

and

Joanot Martorell Joanot Martorell (; c. 1410 – 1465) was a Valencian knight and writer, best known for authoring the novel '' Tirant lo Blanch'', written in Valencian and published at Valencia in 1490. This novel is often regarded as one of the peaks of the ...

References

External links

''La Faula'' at RIALC

Guillemos Of Torroella: ''La Patraña'' (fragments)

2007 edition by Anna Maria Compagna Perrone
{{Authority control Spanish writers 14th-century Spanish writers Writers of Arthurian literature 1348 births Majorcan writers Arthurian legend 14th-century people from the Kingdom of Aragon