Tristan

Gottfried Von Strassburg's "Tristan" has a different tone from earlier works that we've read so far. While Geoffrey of Monmouth's "History of the Kings of Britain" encompassed detailed lists of names and descriptions of articles of armor and weaponry, "Tristan" is much more of a story of adventure, revenge, and love. Von Strassburg even notes that his text is different by declining to describe in detail the splendorous raiment: "Knightly pomp, I declare, has been so variously portrayed and has been so overdone that I can say nothing about it that would give pleasure to anyone." (105) I appreciate his effort to keep the story moving and give us more adventure and less trivia.

Tristan's name means "sadness" (67) and this tale has a more serious feel than we've seen before. Tristan is young but a capable leader who is courageous and honorable, and seems to avoid the foolishness and awkwardness that Perceval experienced. Thanks to the help of his "father" Rual, Tristan is schooled and travelled, giving him a more urbane or sophisticated manner than the backwoods Perceval.

The story of how Tristan came into the world very much reminded me of the fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty", where the princess is taken as a baby to live in hiding in the woods but ultimately realizes her royal lineage. Tristan as well is hidden from birth from everyone except Rual and his wife who raise the infant as their own. Like Sleeping Beauty, Tristan also realizes his royal ancestry and returns to his homeland to regain control.

In terms of Arthurian legend, there was only one very minor mention of Arthur as far as I could see so far, but maybe he is part of the story in future chapters. There was also no real magic afoot, but I did think it was interesting that Von Strassburg mentions Greek mythology by talking about Orpheus and Aphrodite--that section was the only place he mentions it but I haven't seen any mention of Greek mythology in any of the other texts.