The medieval legend of Tristan and Isolde - Iseult Gillespie

After witnessing a bird carrying a single golden hair,

King Mark of Cornwall declared his future bride must have equally radiant locks.

Unfortunately, the only royal matching this description

was Princess Isolde of Ireland—

Cornwall’s sworn enemy.

But the king had a plan to replace this old grudge with new love.

He’d heard rumors of a dragon terrorizing Ireland.

So he sent Tristan— his bravest knight, loving nephew, and loyal heir—

to slay the beast and extend an olive branch to Ireland's royal family.

As soon as Tristan landed, the dragon attacked.

Dodging poisonous venom and blasts of fire,

the knight eventually struck a fatal blow, slicing off the beast’s tongue

as proof of his victory.

But when he grasped his trophy, the poison seeped into his skin.

Writhing in agony, Tristan feared for his life.

Yet a savior was soon upon him— Princess Isolde herself.

A talented healer versed in every herb and antidote,

she carried him to the palace and nursed the knight back to health.

Upon waking, Tristan was captivated by his caretaker.

But he pushed these feelings aside and stuck to the plan.

The king and queen were heartened by the prospect of peace,

and Isolde was impressed by the knight’s bravery both in court and combat.

Intrigued, she agreed to accompany Tristan home and marry his king.

At the start of their journey,

the knight and the princess kept a respectful distance.

But when Isolde went to retrieve water from their supplies,

she mistakenly grabbed a chalice prepared by her mother.

It contained a love potion, intended for her wedding night.

And after Tristan and Isolde drained the bottle,

neither could continue hiding their true feelings.

By the time they reached Cornwall, the potion’s effect had worn off,

but the lovers knew there was no turning back.

Desperate to maintain their loyalty to the king,

the pair decided to honor their duties... in public.

For a time, King Mark’s love for his bride and his nephew

made him deny the court’s rumors.

But when fresh blood appeared in Isolde’s room

just hours after Tristan was wounded hunting,

the king confronted them.

With a heavy heart, he banished Tristan,

leaving Isolde only enough time to slip the knight her ring as a parting gift.

As Isolde languished in Cornwall, Tristan wandered the islands.

He took to brawling other travelers and singing of doomed love.

To most, the songs were tragedies.

But in Brittany, another Isolde, Princess of the White Hands,

heard them as a ballad intended for her.

And when this princess confronted her would-be suitor,

Tristan was so lonely and startled by her name that he proposed.

At first, Isolde of the White Hands was entranced by her mysterious husband.

But as years passed, she despaired at the distance between them.

Tristan spent weeks sulking in the woods, sinking deeper into despair.

The disgraced knight engaged in more fighting,

eventually sustaining a mortal wound from a poisoned lance.

Knowing only one person with the skill to heal him,

Tristan ordered his men to retrieve Isolde of Cornwall,

using her ring as proof of who called on her.

But Tristan also feared his love had forgotten him.

Refusing to be kept in suspense even a moment longer than necessary,

he told his men to raise the white sails if Isolde accepted the call,

or black sails if she refused.

Desperate to live for the first time in years,

Tristan waited by his window.

His wife, however, was more bewildered than ever.

She begged Tristan’s men for the truth— and cursed them when they gave it to her.

Crushed by the realization that her husband had never loved her,

she told Tristan she would keep watch.

And when her fog of betrayal and despair was pierced by white sails on the horizon,

she murmured that she only saw black.

Hearing this news, Tristan died instantly.

And when his true love saw the corpse of the man she’d never stopped loving,

she chose to die by his side.

The bodies were shipped back to Cornwall,

where a grieving King Mark placed their graves side by side.

Together at last, briars grew atop their tombs,

finally reuniting the star-crossed lovers.