French Literature Reviews - 2026

The Romances of Tristan and Iseut: Thomas of Britain, Béroul, and the Oxford and Berne Folies
Medieval and Renaissance Studies

The Romances of Tristan and Iseut
Thomas of Britain, Béroul, Folies of Oxford and Berne

Translated by Nathalie Desgrugillers-Billard

Editions Paleo
Coll. "L'Encyclopédie médiévale"
2007
ISBN: 978-2-84909-275-0
230p.
33€

Publisher's blurb:

"I am Tristan, who lives in sorrow and distress! I am Tristan, who suffers for love of Queen Iseut! Do you remember, dear Brangain, our departure from Ireland? The Queen was holding you by the right hand and placed your hand in mine. Remember, fair Brangain, how the Queen commended Iseut and you to my care. She asked me to protect you and watch over you. She handed you a small cask: I remember it was very small. She insisted that you keep it safe. Once we were out on the open sea, the heat became oppressive.
I was wearing a tunic and felt very hot; the sweat began to bother me. I asked for something to drink. A servant grabbed the small cask and poured the liquid into a goblet, which he handed to me. I drank to quench my thirst and offered half of it to Iseut. This potion, dear Brangain, I drank to my own undoing."

The legend of Tristan and Iseut remains a foundational narrative of the medieval period, representing the courtly tradition of tragic love. The works of Thomas of Britain and Béroul constitute primary surviving versions of the Tristan story in Old French. The Folies, or madness episodes, explore the theme of identity through the protagonist's feigned insanity. These texts illustrate the evolution of the Tristan myth across different stylistic approaches within the twelfth-century literary landscape.

This volume includes translations of works by Thomas of Britain, Béroul, and the Folies of Oxford and Berne. Readers interested in the development of Arthurian romance and the literary treatment of courtly love in the Middle Ages may find these translated texts relevant to their study of the tradition.