An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List

Joanot Martorell

2 books referenced

Books by Joanot Martorell

Tirant lo Blanc

Referenced in 2 episodes

384. The Fall of the Aztecs: The Adventure Begins (Part 1)

November 06, 2023

Context:

Described as 'the most popular romance of the day' that Cortez would have been familiar with - a chivalric romance about Christian knights fighting the Ottomans and recapturing Constantinople

157. Byzantium and the Ghosts of Rome

March 01, 2022

Context:

Mentioned as 'a romance is written, Tiron le Blanc, I think in Catalonia, a few years after the fall of Constantinople' - a counterfactual story where Constantinople is recaptured.

Tirant lo Blanch

Referenced in 2 episodes

306: Columbus: The Adventure Begins (Part 1)

February 20, 2023

Context:

Described as 'the most famous of all those chivalric romances' which appeared in 1490 in Valencian, two years before Columbus sailed. Referenced in discussion of the cultural context of adventure and exploration

275: Argentina: The Welsh Colony

December 07, 2022

Context:

Referenced as one of the early Spanish chivalric novels containing a giant character called Patagon, after whom Patagonia was named by Magellan's chronicler