“Tristan and Isolde” J. Bedier in brief summary
The Queen, the wife of Meliadouk, King Loonua, was released from the burden by a boy and died, barely having kissed her son and called his name Tristan, for he was born in sorrow. The baby was entrusted to the Governor by the King, and soon married again. The boy grew strong and handsome like Lancelot, but his stepmother disliked him, and so, fearing for the life of the pet, Governor took him to Gaul, to the court of King Faramon. There Tristan received a proper knight education, and twelve years of age went to Cornwall to serve his uncle, King Mark.
Cornewels at that time was forced to pay Ireland every year a heavy tribute: one hundred girls, one hundred boys and one hundred purebred horses. And the powerful Morhult, the brother of the Irish queen, once again came to Mark for tribute, but then, to everyone’s surprise, young Tristan called him to a duel. King Mark dedicated Tristan to knights, and the place of the duel appointed the island of Saint Samson. Having assembled,
Tristan suffered greatly from the wound, and no one could help him until one lady advised him to seek healing in other lands. He listened to her advice and sat alone in the boat, without satellites; her two weeks wore on the sea and finally nailed to the Irish shore at the castle, in which lived King Angen and the queen, who was sister of Morhult. Hiding his real name and calling himself Tantris, Tristan asked if there was a skilled healer in the castle, the king replied that his daughter, Blond Isolde, was very well versed in the art of medicine. While Isolde was nursing a wounded knight, he managed to notice that she was very beautiful.
When Tristan recovered from the wound, a terrible serpent appeared in the kingdom of Angen, who daily repaired robbery and devastation in the vicinity
King Angen fulfilled Tristan’s request; Isolde was put on the road, and the queen gave her daughter’s daughter, Brangieren, a jug with a love drink, which was to be drunk to Mark and Isolde when they ascended to the marital bed. On the way back, the heat became hot, and Tristan ordered to bring him cold wine with Isolde. By oversight, the young man and the girl were served with a jug with a love drink, they tried it, and then their hearts were hammered in a different way. From now on, they could not think of anything except about each other…
King Mark was struck in the heart of the beauty of Isolde, so the wedding was played immediately upon the arrival of the bride in Cornwall. So that the king did not notice Isolde’s fault, Gouvernal and Brangeson decided to make sure that he spent the first night with Brangeson, who was virgin. When King Mark went into the bedchamber, Isolde blew out the candles, explaining this with the ancient Irish custom, and in the dark gave way to her maid. The king was pleased.
Time passed, and Mark’s hatred for the nephew began to boil with renewed vigor, for the views exchanged between Tristan and the queen left no doubt that they were both filled with irresistible mutual attraction. Mark instructed to supervise the queen of a trusted servant named Odra, but a long time passed before he realized that Tristan and Isolde were seen alone in the garden. Odre told his master about this, and the king, arming himself with a bow, sat down in the crown of the laurel tree to see for himself everything. However, the lovers noticed the spy in time and led a conversation intended for his ears: Tristan ostensibly wondered why Mark so hated him, so selflessly loving his king and sincerely bowing before the queen, and asked Isolde whether there was a way to overcome this hatred.
The king succumbed to the cunning of lovers; Odre fell into disgrace for slander, and Tristan is again surrounded by honor. Odre, however, left no thought of betraying Tristan in the hands of the king. Once he scattered sharp braids in the queen’s bedroom, and Tristan cut himself in the dark about them, without noticing it. Isolde felt that the sheets were wet and sticky with blood, she understood everything, sent the beloved, and then deliberately injured her leg and screamed that she had been assassinated. Guilty of this could be either Odra or Tristan, but the latter so vehemently insisted on a duel in which he could prove his innocence that the king stopped the trial for fear of losing such a faithful servant as Odre.
On another occasion, Odra assembled twenty knights who had a tooth on Tristan, hid them in the bedroom next to the bedroom, but Tristan was warned by Brangeson and without armor, with one sword rushed at the enemies. They fled in disgrace, but Odre partly achieved his:
Isold Mark was imprisoned in a high tower, which no man could penetrate. Separation from his beloved caused Tristan such suffering that he fell ill and almost died, but the devoted Branjen, giving him a woman’s dress, nevertheless led the young man to Isolde. For three days, Tristan and Isolde enjoyed the love, until Odra finally found out about everything and sent fifty knights to the tower, who grabbed Tristan sleeping.
Enraged, Marcus ordered to send Tristan to the fire, and leave Isolde as a leper. However, on his way to the place of execution, Tristan managed to escape from the hands of the guards, and Iswold had repelled Governor from the lepers. Having reunited, the lovers took refuge in the Castle of the Wise Virgin, which is in the Morua Forest. But their tranquil life did not last long: King Mark knew where they were hiding, and in the absence of Tristan, he came to the castle and took Isolde by force, and Tristan could not help her, because on that day he was insidiously wounded by a poisoned arrow. Brangier said to Tristan that only his daughter, Hoel’s daughter, Byeloruka Isolde, could heal from such a wound. Tristan went to Brittany, and there the royal daughter, very fond of the young man, really cured him. No sooner had Tristan recovered from the wound, as the castle of Hoel was besieged with a large army by a certain Count Agrippa. Leading a sortie,
They played a wedding. When the young ones lay down on the couch, Tristan suddenly remembered another, Blond Isolde, and therefore did not go any further than hugging and kissing. Not knowing that there are other pleasures, the young one was quite happy. Queen Isolde, when she learned of the marriage of Tristan, almost died of grief. He, too, could not endure separation from his beloved for a long time. In the guise of a madman, Tristan arrived in Cornwall and, amused by Mark’s speeches, was left in the castle. Here he found a way to open Isolde, and for two full months the lovers met each time the king happened to be away from the castle. When it was time to say goodbye, Isolde wept bitterly, foreseeing that she was no longer destined to meet with Tristan. Once again, Tristan was again wounded, and the healers again could not help him. Feeling worse and worse, he sent for Isolde,
The sailor managed to steal Izold from Mark by stealth and already introduced his ship under white sails to the harbor, when another Isolde, having learned about the meaning of the color of sails, hurried to Tristan and said that the sails were black. This Tristan could not stand, and the soul departed from his torn heart.
Going ashore and finding the beloved dead, Isolde embraced her lifeless body and also died. By the will of Tristan his body, along with Isolde’s body, was taken to Cornwall. To his sword, before his death, he tied a message to King Mark, in which he spoke of an unintentionally drunk love drink. After reading the message, the king regretted that he had not learned about everything before, for then he would not pursue lovers, powerless to resist passion.
At the behest of King Mark Tristan and Isolde were buried in one chapel. Soon a beautiful thistle rose from the grave of Tristan and, spilling over the chapel, grew into the grave of Isolda. Three times the king ordered to cut off this bush, but every time he appeared the next day, as beautiful as before.
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