Speaker: Rafael Beltran, University of Valencia

Rafael Beltrán Llavador is a Professor of Medieval Spanish and Catalan Literature at the University of València (Spain). He specializes in Hispanic chivalry books, chivalric biographies, Cancionero poetry and medieval historical prose. He is also the general editor of the academic journal Tirant. Professor Beltrán is the author of two of the most prominent books about the 15th century Valencian author Joanot Martorell: Tirant lo blanc: Evolució i revolta de la narració de cavalleries (1983) and Tirant lo Blanc de Joanot Martorell (2006).

He is also the sole editor of a key volume on medieval travel, Maravillas, peregrinaciones y utopías: literatura de viajes en el mundo románico (2002), and of the collection Literatura de caballerías y orígenes de la novela (1998), as well as the co-editor of several other books, among them Cinco siglos de Celestina: aportaciones interpretativas (1997), co-edited with J.L Canet and Poesía de cancionero del siglo XV: Estudios seleccionados (2007) co-edited with Alan Deyermond.

Furthermore, he has also produced the authoritative edition of Pero Niño’s chivalresque biography El Victorial as well as an important edition of popular Valencian ballads, Rondalles populars valencianes: Antologia, catàleg i estudi dins la tradició del folklore universal (2007). He has also published innumerable articles in academic journals.