Tristan: With the Surviving Fragments of the 'Tristran of Thomas' (Penguin Classics) [Paperback]

Gottfried von Strassburg (Author), A.T. Hatto (Translator), A. T. Hatto (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 2004

One of the great romances of the Middle Ages, "Tristan", written in the early thirteenth century, is based on a medieval love story of grand passion and deceit. By slaying a dragon, the young prince Tristan wins the beautiful Isolde's hand in marriage for his uncle, King Mark. On their journey back to Mark's court, however, the pair mistakenly drink a love-potion intended for the king and his young bride, and are instantly possessed with an all-consuming love for each another - a love they are compelled to conceal by a series of subterfuges that culminates in tragedy. Von Strassburg's work is acknowledged as the greatest rendering of this legend of medieval lovers, and went on to influence generations of writers and artists and inspire Richard Wagner's Tristan and Isolde.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gottfried von Strassburg was probably a member of the urban patriciate in Strassburg. Judging from his writing he appears to have been a cultured man, well read in Latin, French and German; a lover of music and hunting, and a skilled linguistic stylist. He chose Thomas as his source for Tristan, and completed five-sixths of the work. A.T. Hatto has translated The Niebelungenlied and Eschenbach's Parzival for Penguin Classics.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics; Reprint edition (September 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140440984
• ISBN-13: 978-0140440980
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #45,623 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great literature, great edition, November 11, 2006

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Peter Reeve (Thousand Oaks, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tristan: With the Surviving Fragments of the 'Tristran of Thomas' (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

Around the middle of the 12th century, an author we know only as Thomas wrote a French version of the popular legend of the star-crossed lovers Tristan and Ysolt (usually known in English as Tristram and Yseult). Thomas may have been French or English. Most of his poem has been lost. A generation or two later (the dates for both authors are uncertain) a Strassburger named Gottfried wrote a German version of the story, using Thomas as his source. Gottfried died before completing the work. By extraordinary coincidence, the bulk of what remains of Thomas's work is the very part that Gottfried did not live to write. Thomas carries on exactly where Gottfried leaves off. The obvious thing therefore, is to translate Gottfried and Thomas in one volume, to give a complete narrative. That's what Hatto does, in his usual accurate, precise and elegant English, in this excellent Penguin Classics edition.

Hatto's editorial contributions, consisting of an Introduction and 7 Appendices, give as much information as most readers will require. One can sense the effort of will Hatto needed, to stop himself writing volumes more.

So how good a story is it? Well, it's a classic romance, from a time when sexual relations were being redefined, and which has provided inspiration for countless other romances since, most notably Romeo and Juliet. It does not read like a modern novel, for the very good reason that it isn't one. It is a medieval German poem translated into modern English prose, so much of the underlying social logic, and many of the aesthetics, will inevitably be lost to us. But it does contain some very memorable moments and it stands as an important milestone on the progress of western literature, and as an invaluable insight into European medieval culture.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Version of Tristan with extras and great Translation, March 6, 2006

By 

Robert E. Murena Jr. "tedmurena" (Fairfield, CT United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tristan: With the Surviving Fragments of the 'Tristran of Thomas' (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

While not many preople read Strassburgs "tristan" it has been around for 800 years for some reason. It must be because it is a good. The story itself has been told and retold in opera and whats present in this version is an embelishement of the english "Tristram" romance - much of which is lost. This version is translated by the great A T Hatto who was among the greatest scholars of Middle Ages Romances. Though originally translated in 1961 or a story first appearing in 1215 this book is suprisingly readable and far more engrossing than Parsival or some of the other Aurthurian romances.

But if you are reading this book I assume you are not reading this simply for enjoyment while waiting for Dan Brown's next Work. You are probably reading this in some sort of acedemic setting whether it be in univesity or your own pursuit. Here is where the book should be really useful. The introductrion which includes much of the orginal text and explains how the story developed into what makes up the body of the text. There are footnotes on nearly every other page and while I prefer more I wont say that they are necessary.

This is a great work for study of Middle Ages German literature. This work was written in the 13th Century which is the start of a great awakening of the spirit and the time that can be called the high middle ages. Beyond this this is also a great romance and a readable story. No matter on what level you choose to read this work it should be satisfying and be a work what you will want to reread.

- Ted Murena

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, June 21, 2009

By 

Cymry (California, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Tristan: With the Surviving Fragments of the 'Tristran of Thomas' (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

I wish I could get every romantic idealist I know to read this book. It's the core stuff of romantic obsession... and if you haven't studied the subject in depth, it's probably not what you thought it would be! Much like many relationships in modern days that are unknowingly based on this myth -- replayed, as it is, in countless novels, tv stories, movies and even tv news reports -- this story holds surprises that should no longer be surprising. But that is the stuff, as Joseph Campbell would have said, of living Myth -- it is not living unless it is believed, not as myth, but as fact.

This book should be taught in every high school. Not likely, though. It is so fundamental to modern mythical thinking, it is virtually taboo.

Highly recommended.