As Sant Jordi, Catalonia’s most iconic festival, approaches, the legend comes to life again in shop windows, schools, and squares. We all know the story: the dragon terrorizes the town of Montblanc, a lottery designates the king’s daughter as a sacrifice, and a brave knight appears just in time to save her, causing roses to bloom from the beast’s blood.
However, in the collective imagination, she has always been simply “the princess.” A secondary character, almost anonymous, whose identity has been buried by the centuries.
The two theories about her identity
Upon researching the chronicles and lesser-known versions of the legend, we discover that there is no clear consensus. As is often the case with oral traditions, the female protagonist has been given different names depending on who is telling the story:
- Cleodolinda: This is possibly the most common name in the versions that dare to name her. It sounds ancient, regal, and possesses the strength necessary to star in a medieval epic.
- Violant: Another school of thought favors this name, closely linked to the Catalan and Aragonese nobility of the time, which would give it a somewhat more “historical” flavor within the fantasy.
The definitive answer from Montblanc
In search of an official truth, we consulted the tradition of Montblanc, the village in Tarragona where, according to tradition, the feat took place. The answer is curious: in the purest and oldest version preserved in the municipality, the princess never had a name. She is the embodiment of innocence and the people, an unsigned archetype.
However, legends are not static museum pieces; they are living stories that evolve with the society that tells them. Perhaps 2026 is the time to start calling her by her name—whether Cleodolinda or Violant—sothat the tale may, at last, be a story of two.
