Tirant Lo Blanc : Tales of the White Knight (1460)

Film tie-in: The European collaboration film production of this major Spanish classic will be filmed on location in Constantinople, Morocco and Spain and feature Giancarlo Giannini.

To be released in Italy and Spain in 2005 and the USA and the UK in 2006.

In brief: New English-language edition of famous 15th-century Moorish medieval classic romance to coincide with the international film production.

Tirant lo Blanc, the great novel that inspired Cervantes' Don Quixote, relates the daring romances and chivalrous adventures of a brave young knight.

Translated by Robert S Rudder as part of the Project Gutenberg. 'It's normal', said Stephanie, 'for maidens in the court to be loved and courted, and for them to have three kinds of love: virtuous, profitable and vicious.

The first one, which is virtuous, is when some grandee loves a maiden, and she feels very honoured when others know that he dances, jousts or goes into battle for her love.

The second is profitable, and it is when some gentleman or knight of ancient and virtuous lineage loves a maiden and sways her to him with gifts. The third is vicious, when the maiden loves the gentleman or knight for her own pleasure, and he is generous in words that give her life for a year, but if they go too far they can end in a heavily curtained bed among perfumed sheets where she can spend an entire winter's night.

This last kind of love seems much better to me than the others.' 'While they were frolicking this way the empress was coming to her daughter's chamber to see what she was doing, and with their games they did not hear her until she was at the chamber door.

Tirant quickly lay on the floor and they spread clothes over him.

Then the princess sat on top of him, and began combing her hair.

The empress sat down at her side, nearly on Tirant's head.

Only God knows how shamefully afraid Tirant was then!

He was in anguish while they talked about the celebrations they were planning, until a maiden came with the Hours.

Then the empress got up and withdrew to one side of the room to say the Hours.

The princess was afraid the empress might see him, and did not dare move.

When the princess had finished combing her hair, she put her hand under the clothes and combed Tirant's hair.'