Her name is variably given as Iseult, Isolde, Yseult, Ysolt, Isode, Isoude, Iseut, Isaut (Old French), Iosóid (Irish), Esyllt (Welsh), Ysella (Cornish), Isolda (Portuguese, Spanish), Izolda (Serbian) and Isotta (Italian), among others. The oldest source, Béroul's 12th-century romance, spells her name as Yseut or Iseut. The etymology is uncertain, with most sources linking it to the Old High German words īs ("ice") and hiltja ("battle").[1][2] Other writers derive it from a Brythonic *Adsiltia, "she who is gazed upon."[3][4]
Iseult is first seen as a young princess who heals Tristan from wounds he received fighting her uncle, Morholt. When his identity is revealed, Tristan flees back to his own land. Later, Tristan returns to Ireland to gain Iseult's hand in marriage for his uncle, King Mark of Cornwall. She is betrothed to an evil steward who claims to have killed a dragon and displays its head, but when Tristan proves he killed the dragon by showing that he already took its tongue, Iseult's parents agree to let him take her to Mark. On the journey back to Cornwall, Iseult and Tristan accidentally drink a love potion prepared for her and Mark by Iseult and guarded by Brangaine, Iseult's lady-in-waiting. The two fall hopelessly in love, and begin an affair that ends when Mark banishes Tristan from Cornwall.
In the verse tradition, the lovers do not meet again until Tristan is on his death bed (see below), but in the later Prose Tristan and works based upon it, Tristan returns from Brittany and they resume their affair. Mark is much less sympathetic in these versions, and the lovers eventually flee from his wrath. Lancelot gives them refuge in his estate Joyous Garde, and they engage in many further adventures.
In the prose versions, the lovers' end comes when Mark finds them as Tristan plays the harp for Iseult beneath a tree. The cruel king stabs his nephew in the back, and Tristan, at Iseult's request, fatally crushes his beloved in a tight embrace as his final act. One of her rumored burial sites is Chapelizod in Dublin, Ireland.
After King Mark learns of the secret love affair between Tristan and Iseult, he banishes Tristan to Brittany, never to return to Cornwall. There, Tristan is placed in the care of Hoel of Brittany after receiving a wound. He meets and marries Hoel's daughter, Iseult Blanchmains (Iseult "of the White Hands"), because she shares the name of his former lover. They never consummate the marriage because of Tristan's love for Iseult of Ireland.
During one adventure in Brittany, Tristan suffers a poisoned wound that only Iseult of Ireland, the world's most skilled physician, can cure. He sends a ship for her, asking that its crew fly white sails on the return if Iseult is aboard, and black if she is not. Iseult agrees to go, and the ship races home, white sails high. However, Tristan is too weak to look out his window to see the signal, so he asks his wife to check for him. In a moment of jealousy, Iseult of the White Hands tells him the sails are black, and Tristan expires immediately of despair. When the Irish Iseult arrives to find her lover dead, grief overcomes her, and she passes away at his side.
This death sequence does not appear in the Prose Tristan. In fact, while Iseult of the White Hands figures into some of the new episodes, she is never mentioned again after Tristan returns to Cornwall, although her brother Kahedin remains a prominent character. The plot element of the fatal misunderstanding of the white and black sails is similar to—and might have been derived from—the story of Aegeus and Theseus in Greek mythology.
In Tennyson's The Last Tournament Isolt is depicted much less favorably. "She is petulant and demanding, disdainful of Mark, and prideful towards Tristram, loving and hating irrationally and unevenly."[5]
Author, scholar and historian Rosalind Miles wrote a trilogy of fictional novels based upon the romance of Iseult, beginning with Isolde: Queen of the Western Isle (2002), followed by The Maid of the White Hands (2005), and concluding with The Lady of the Sea (2005).
^Mackensen, Lutz (June 27, 1988). Das grosse Buch der Vornamen: Herkunft, Ableitungen und Verbreitung, Koseformen, berühmte Namensträger, Gedenk- und Namenstage, verklungene Vornamen. Ullstein. ISBN9783548344256 – via Google Books.
^Kohlheim, Rosa; Kohlheim, Volker (March 1, 2016). Lexikon der Vornamen: Herkunft, Bedeutung und Gebrauch von über 8 000 Vornamen. Bibliographisches Institut GmbH. ISBN9783411911790 – via Google Books.
^Bromwich, Rachel (November 15, 2014). Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain. University of Wales Press. ISBN9781783161478 – via Google Books.
^Ellis, Peter Berresford (June 27, 1996). Celtic Women: Women in Celtic Society and Literature. W.B. Eerdmans Pub. ISBN9780802838087 – via Google Books.
^Heckel, N.M., "Tristan and Isolt", The Camelot Project, University of Rochester
^Ranum, Ingrid. "A woman's castle is her home: Matthew Arnold's Tristram and Iseult as domestic fairy tale", Victorian Poetry, vol. 47, no. 2, 2009, p. 403+
^"The Last Kingdom – Queen Iseult". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
^"'The Last Kingdom' Beautifully Blends Fact with Fiction (SPOILERS)". Distractify. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
SourcesEdit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tristan and Iseult.
Ronan Coghlan The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Arthurian Legends, New York, 1993.
Norris J. Lacy (editor) The New Arthurian Encyclopedia, New York: Garland, 1996.
iseult, other, uses, isolde, given, name, alternatively, isolde, other, spellings, name, several, characters, legend, tristan, most, prominent, ireland, wife, mark, cornwall, lover, tristan, mother, queen, ireland, also, named, third, white, hands, daughter, h. For other uses see Isolde given name Iseult ɪ ˈ s uː l t ɪ ˈ z uː l t alternatively Isolde ɪ ˈ s oʊ l d e ɪ ˈ z oʊ l d e and other spellings is the name of several characters in the legend of Tristan and Iseult The most prominent is Iseult of Ireland the wife of Mark of Cornwall and the lover of Tristan Her mother the queen of Ireland is also named Iseult The third is Iseult of the White Hands the daughter of Hoel of Brittany and the sister of Kahedin Isolde la princesse Celte by Gaston Bussiere 1911 Contents 1 Name 2 Iseult of Ireland 3 Iseult of Brittany 4 Modern portrayals 5 References 6 Sources 7 See alsoName EditHer name is variably given as Iseult Isolde Yseult Ysolt Isode Isoude Iseut Isaut Old French Iosoid Irish Esyllt Welsh Ysella Cornish Isolda Portuguese Spanish Izolda Serbian and Isotta Italian among others The oldest source Beroul s 12th century romance spells her name as Yseut or Iseut The etymology is uncertain with most sources linking it to the Old High German words is ice and hiltja battle 1 2 Other writers derive it from a Brythonic Adsiltia she who is gazed upon 3 4 Iseult of Ireland Edit nbsp La Belle Iseult by William Morris 1858 The Irish princess Iseult of Ireland is the daughter of King Anguish of Ireland and Queen Iseult the Elder She is a main character in the Tristan poems of Beroul Thomas of Britain and Gottfried von Strassburg and in the opera Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner Iseult is first seen as a young princess who heals Tristan from wounds he received fighting her uncle Morholt When his identity is revealed Tristan flees back to his own land Later Tristan returns to Ireland to gain Iseult s hand in marriage for his uncle King Mark of Cornwall She is betrothed to an evil steward who claims to have killed a dragon and displays its head but when Tristan proves he killed the dragon by showing that he already took its tongue Iseult s parents agree to let him take her to Mark On the journey back to Cornwall Iseult and Tristan accidentally drink a love potion prepared for her and Mark by Iseult and guarded by Brangaine Iseult s lady in waiting The two fall hopelessly in love and begin an affair that ends when Mark banishes Tristan from Cornwall In the verse tradition the lovers do not meet again until Tristan is on his death bed see below but in the later Prose Tristan and works based upon it Tristan returns from Brittany and they resume their affair Mark is much less sympathetic in these versions and the lovers eventually flee from his wrath Lancelot gives them refuge in his estate Joyous Garde and they engage in many further adventures In the prose versions the lovers end comes when Mark finds them as Tristan plays the harp for Iseult beneath a tree The cruel king stabs his nephew in the back and Tristan at Iseult s request fatally crushes his beloved in a tight embrace as his final act One of her rumored burial sites is Chapelizod in Dublin Ireland Iseult of Brittany Edit nbsp Isolde by Percy Anderson 1906 After King Mark learns of the secret love affair between Tristan and Iseult he banishes Tristan to Brittany never to return to Cornwall There Tristan is placed in the care of Hoel of Brittany after receiving a wound He meets and marries Hoel s daughter Iseult Blanchmains Iseult of the White Hands because she shares the name of his former lover They never consummate the marriage because of Tristan s love for Iseult of Ireland During one adventure in Brittany Tristan suffers a poisoned wound that only Iseult of Ireland the world s most skilled physician can cure He sends a ship for her asking that its crew fly white sails on the return if Iseult is aboard and black if she is not Iseult agrees to go and the ship races home white sails high However Tristan is too weak to look out his window to see the signal so he asks his wife to check for him In a moment of jealousy Iseult of the White Hands tells him the sails are black and Tristan expires immediately of despair When the Irish Iseult arrives to find her lover dead grief overcomes her and she passes away at his side This death sequence does not appear in the Prose Tristan In fact while Iseult of the White Hands figures into some of the new episodes she is never mentioned again after Tristan returns to Cornwall although her brother Kahedin remains a prominent character The plot element of the fatal misunderstanding of the white and black sails is similar to and might have been derived from the story of Aegeus and Theseus in Greek mythology Modern portrayals EditGerman composer Richard Wagner composed the opera Tristan und Isolde based upon Tristan a tale of chivalrous romance from the Middle Ages by Gottfried von Strassburg In Tennyson s The Last Tournament Isolt is depicted much less favorably She is petulant and demanding disdainful of Mark and prideful towards Tristram loving and hating irrationally and unevenly 5 Matthew Arnold in his 1852 poem Tristram and Iseult focuses on Iseult of Brittany in the context of the Victorian cult of domesticity 6 Iseult of Ireland as Isolde was played by Sophia Myles in the 2006 film adaptation Tristan amp Isolde Isolde is confused with Minerva in the 1960 film by Jean Cocteau The Testament of Orpheus Author scholar and historian Rosalind Miles wrote a trilogy of fictional novels based upon the romance of Iseult beginning with Isolde Queen of the Western Isle 2002 followed by The Maid of the White Hands 2005 and concluding with The Lady of the Sea 2005 Iseult was played by Irish actress Charlie Murphy 7 in The Last Kingdom a British historical fiction television series based on Bernard Cornwell s The Saxon Stories series of novels where Iseult hails from Kernow or Cornwalum modern Cornwall 8 References Edit Mackensen Lutz June 27 1988 Das grosse Buch der Vornamen Herkunft Ableitungen und Verbreitung Koseformen beruhmte Namenstrager Gedenk und Namenstage verklungene Vornamen Ullstein ISBN 9783548344256 via Google Books Kohlheim Rosa Kohlheim Volker March 1 2016 Lexikon der Vornamen Herkunft Bedeutung und Gebrauch von uber 8 000 Vornamen Bibliographisches Institut GmbH ISBN 9783411911790 via Google Books Bromwich Rachel November 15 2014 Trioedd Ynys Prydein The Triads of the Island of Britain University of Wales Press ISBN 9781783161478 via Google Books Ellis Peter Berresford June 27 1996 Celtic Women Women in Celtic Society and Literature W B Eerdmans Pub ISBN 9780802838087 via Google Books Heckel N M Tristan and Isolt The Camelot Project University of Rochester Ranum Ingrid A woman s castle is her home Matthew Arnold s Tristram and Iseult as domestic fairy tale Victorian Poetry vol 47 no 2 2009 p 403 The Last Kingdom Queen Iseult www bbc co uk Retrieved 2021 01 22 The Last Kingdom Beautifully Blends Fact with Fiction SPOILERS Distractify Retrieved 2021 01 22 Sources Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tristan and Iseult Ronan Coghlan The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Arthurian Legends New York 1993 Norris J Lacy editor The New Arthurian Encyclopedia New York Garland 1996 See also Edit211 Isolda Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Iseult amp oldid 1177251977, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
