Tristan and Isolde

Edmund Blair Leighton (1853-1922), Tristan and Isolde

 

Marie de France (c. 1160), Chevrefoil ("Honeysuckle"), lay about Tristan and Isolde, based on Celtic/Breton legends

Thomas, Le Roman de Tristan (c. 1160-1170), poetic version by Anglo-Norman poet at the court of Henry II, only fragments survive

Béroul (c. 1170-1190), Norman poet, produced fragmentary version

Eilhart von Oberg (c. 1170-1175), German version based on the work of Thomas

Gottfried von Strassburg, Tristan und Isolde (c. 1210), German verse romance based on the work of Thomas

A very long French prose version was very popular during the 13th century, likely source for Malory's treatment of the legend in Morte d'Arthur

Sir Tristrem (c. 1300), English verse romance

Richard Wagner's opera, Tristan und Isolde (1857-1859, first performed 1865), based on the work of Gottfried

Joseph Bédier (1864-1938), Le Roman de Tristan et Iseult (The Romance of Tristan and Isolde) (1900), later translated into English by Hillaire Belloc and Paul Rosenfeld

 

Jean Delville (1867-1953), Tristan and Yseult (1887), Drawing, 44 x 75 cm, Musees Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels, Belgium