Product Description

One of the earliest extant versions of the Tristan and Yseut story, Beroul’s French manuscript of The Romance of Tristan dates back to the middle of the twelfth century. It recounts the legend of Tristan, nephew of King Mark of Cornwall, and the king’s Irish wife Yseut, who fall passionately in love after mistakenly drinking a potion. Their illicit romance remains secret for many years, but the relentless suspicion of the king’s barons and the fading effects of the magic draught eventually lead to tragedy for the lovers. While Beroul’s work emphasizes the impulsive and often brutal behaviour of the characters, its sympathetic depiction of two people struggling against their destiny is one of the most powerful versions of this enduringly popular legend.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #412292 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-31
• Original language: French
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

Customer Reviews

Folksy and Fabulous
It is usually the case that within a page or two of reading an introduction, the reader knows whether or not they are in the hands of a reliable editor and translator. Alan Fedrick inspires such confidence. His is a scholarly, readable prose translation, adequately but not overwhelmingly annotated. Beroul's account of the Tristan and Yseult legend (in others, the lovers' names appear variously as Tristram, Isolde, Iseut, etc.) is the oldest extant version, although it now exists only in fragmentary form. Its fascination lies partly in that it belongs to an older form of storytelling, with quite different conventions from modern forms. So be prepared for characters dying more than once, events occurring out of sequence, and plenty of unapologetic author intervention. Some of the plot elements are wonderful, and have been borrowed and reworked ever since, by Shakespeare and others. Some have become interwoven with the Arthurian cycle. Read this if you are interested in seeing how the art of fiction has evolved in Europe through the ages, or if you enjoy fables that have a folksy (and sometimes vulgar) flavour.

Bitty and shallow
Sorry to the other reviewer here but I have to disagree: this version of Tristan is shallow with no psychological penetration or motivation and also incredibly bitty. I'm sure it is beautifully and professionally edited but that doesn't make it a good read. Gottfried de Strasbourg's version is far deeper and delineates real emotion so I would recommend that version over this one. Or, if you haven't already read it, Malory's Morte D'Arthur for a medieval/chivalric fix.