Tristan, or Tristram, was a legendary medieval knight whose love affair with Princess Isolt (Isolde) became one of the most famous love stories of all time. Accounts of Tristan’s love usually include several key episodes. Tristan defeats the giant Morholt (Morold) but suffers a serious wound, which is healed by the queen of Ireland and her daughter Isolt. Tristan accidentally drinks a love potion that makes him love Isolt, the intended bride of his uncle, King Mark of Cornwall. Tristan and Isolt, enchanted by the love potion, deceive Mark and live together in the forest.
The story of Tristan originated in ancient Celtic lore. It eventually merged into the legend of King Arthur, with Tristan as a knight of the Round Table. By the 1100’s, the tale was popular in French and German poetry. Gottfried von Strassburg’s poem Tristan und Isolde (about 1210) became the basis of Richard Wagner’s opera Tristan und Isolde (1865).
