Tristram and Isolde, 1916

Whitford and Hughes

In the tales of King Arthur, Tristram was injured in a foreign land, and the only way to heal the wound was to return to that land. He came under the care of the king and his daughter Isolde (sometimes spelled Yseult). As she was nursing him back to health, her mother discovered that Tristram had killed her brother. In a fit of rage he was banished, even though he and Isolde had fallen in love.

Later, Tristram's uncle Mark sends him on a quest to find Isolde, wanting to marry her based on Tristram's praise. Isolde's father agrees to the marriage and sends his daughter off with Tristram. On the voyage, Tristram and Isolde accidentally drink a love potion made for Isolde and Mark. Isolde is forced to marry Mark even though she and Tristram continue to be lovers.

At last Tristram and Isolde are found in bed, and Tristram is forced to leave. Time goes by and he marries another Isolde but never has the same love for her as for the first. As he is dying, Tristram sends for Isolde, and they die side by side. To see Sir Dicksee's Yseult, click here.