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Mercadera
(c.1245-1300)
The Farmer Who Caught a Knight
1 The conflict in question was the Aragonese Crusade – not to be confused with the Aragonese Conquest. The Crusade actually was tangentially related to the story of Isabella of France.[2. “Mercadera” translates directly from Catalan to “merchant,” despite what Google Translate might tell you (the fiend!). The original calls her “Na Mercadera,” which indicates she was the town’s only female merchant, and is perhaps best translated as “The Merchant” or “Our Merchant.” Thanks to arigata-the-neko on Tumblr for the help!]
2 That’s based on a modern-day picture of Peralada, and it may not be accurate as to what buildings were built when. Sorry! 
3 The translation I got a friend to do from the original Catalan said he was in a stream running between different farm plots. There’s an English translation that says it was a bit of a ravine. I had trouble picturing how that a stream detain a soldier for long, so I portrayed it as him having trouble with a disobedient horse. 
4 Apparently she did come outside with a spear, shield, and sword, all of which are described in the source text.
5 The story makes a point of saying how she obeyed the laws of chivalry in allowing him to surrender, and then additionally heaps praise on her for bandaging him up — making a note how she’d done both masculine (warrior) and feminine (healer) acts.
6 I love the idea that they made the French guy just perform over and over. In all likelihood they just kept him locked up, but I like this visual better.
Footnotes
| ↑1 | The conflict in question was the Aragonese Crusade – not to be confused with the Aragonese Conquest. The Crusade actually was tangentially related to the story of Isabella of France. |
| ↑2 | That’s based on a modern-day picture of Peralada, and it may not be accurate as to what buildings were built when. Sorry! |
| ↑3 | The translation I got a friend to do from the original Catalan said he was in a stream running between different farm plots. There’s an English translation that says it was a bit of a ravine. I had trouble picturing how that a stream detain a soldier for long, so I portrayed it as him having trouble with a disobedient horse. |
| ↑4 | Apparently she did come outside with a spear, shield, and sword, all of which are described in the source text. |
| ↑5 | The story makes a point of saying how she obeyed the laws of chivalry in allowing him to surrender, and then additionally heaps praise on her for bandaging him up — making a note how she’d done both masculine (warrior) and feminine (healer) acts. |
| ↑6 | I love the idea that they made the French guy just perform over and over. In all likelihood they just kept him locked up, but I like this visual better. |
Art Notes
- This is my first time trying out filigree borders! I think they look nice. They fit this story, but I don’t know if they’d fit, say, the tale of an African queen or an Inuit woman. I’d like to keep doing it, and even go back to older entries and work that in. Maybe add marginalia as easter eggs. It’s a ton of work though.
- My biggest regret with this story is that I couldn’t work in a “my cabbages” joke.
- I’m really pleased with the art for the pages on this one. I tried a new technique for shading, and it shows promise. The poster image could use some work, but hey, only so much time in the world.
- I actually got a better translation for the story after starting it, which necessitated I change a couple things, like put the rider in a stream, and exaggerate Mercadera’s physicality to be bigger and bulkier. The colors of her outfits were based off the yellow-and-red stripes that were such a distinctive marker for Aragonese knights.
- Many thanks to Jon Truitt, Gustavo Sanchez-Perez, and Merche Delgado for translation help!
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Next Time on Rejected Princesses
This Miami queen may have gotten married 5 or 6 times, but her only true love was named Harley.
