Tristan+and+Iseult

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Tristan and Iseult
There seems to be a lot of speculation about where the story of Tristan and Iseult had its beginnings. Some say it has its roots in Celtic legend about a Pictish prince in Scotland who saved a princess from pirates in the year 780. It could also date back to the 11th century with the Persian story of Vis and Ramin. It was made popular in the 12th century France when it was written by two French romantic poets, Thomas of Britain and Beroul. The poem they wrote was turned into a story in the 15th century by Sir Thomas Malory. His popular story was called “La Morte d’Arthur”. It is believed that the story of Tristan and Iseult gave rise to the well-known stories of Arthur and Genevieve and the even more well-known Romeo and Juliet.

The story became popular in northern France and then spread across Europe. Even though the story has been retold and re-written many times and the spelling of both of their names has changed, the basics behind the story are about the same every time. Tristan (who was supposedly a knight) is traveling to the kingdom of his uncle who is a king to help with trouble from either dragons or invaders. Tristan and the king’s wife, Iseult, accidently drink a magic potion meant for someone else. Because of this, they fall madly in love. Knowing their romance can’t happen, they are together only briefly before being found out. The king has Tristan put to death. Or, if you don’t like that ending, there are endings where they both escape and live out their days in the forest and have lots of kids, or the one where they were turned into trees and grew entwined even though the King kept chopping them apart, or the one where Tristan is put to death and out of sadness Iseult kills herself. There are so many stories made from the original that you can definitely find one with the ending you would like best.

This story of a love triangle about forbidden love, honor, loyalty, chivalry and all things knightly has returned again and again over the centuries because everyone loves a good love story and this is one of the best. Because romance was more of a new idea in medieval times, this is why it became so popular so quickly. The story itself seems to have changed as the definition of marriage changed over the years to fit what was culturally accepted at that time. This is why the story of Tristan and Iseult is so important and helped to shape the romance world of literature as we know it today.