Tristan and Isolde

The heart-rending tale of Tristan and Isolde has gone through its iota of story-telling sessions. The story takes place during medieval times during the reign of King Arthur. The immortality of this tale is quite evident from the way it has been told and retold through numerous stories and manuscripts. Isolde was name of the pretty daughter of the King of Ireland. Her father had chosen King Mark of Cornwall for Isolde and both got engaged. Tristan was nephew of King Mark who sent him to Ireland to escort Isolde back to Cornwall and that’s where the story took a different turn. Love knows no boundaries and never cares for any barriers.

Isolde and Tristan both sensed a strong sense of attachment and fulfilment in each other. The seeds of love were sown but destiny had something else in store. Isolde had to marry Mark of Cornwall but then heart was longing for Tristan. As a result of that, the love affair between the two continued even after her marriage.

They say, you cannot hide love and King Mark finally came to know about their affair. Tristan was banned from Cornwall but King forgave Isolde. Tristan was forced to move to Brittany where he encountered Iseult and the similarity of her name with Isolde made Tristan felt attracted towards her. He kept looking for signs of Isolde in Iseult and finally decided to marry her. But Tristan’s undying love for Isolde did not let him consummate his marriage with Iseult. His hopes started to fade away and soon grief-stricken Tristan fell severely ill.

In the deep recess of his heart, Tristan knew Isolde would be able to cure him. He sent for Isolde and if Isolde agreed to come, the sails of returning ship would be white. However, in case the sails are black, that would indicate Isolde has not decided to come. The call of love soon became evident as the sails were white but scorned love is extremely dangerous. Iseult could not accept the return of Isolde and subsequently lied to Tristan and told him that the sails were black. Tristan could not take it and died of grief even before Isolde could reach for her lover. The pain of Tristan’s death did not spare and Isolde either and she died soon after of a broken heart. Though, both of them died yet gave the world something to remember for eternity.