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Isolt
Isolt (Tennyson, in The Last Tournament, spells the name
Ysolt). There are two ladies connected with Arthurian romance of
this name: one, Isolt “the Fair,” daughter of Anguish
king of Ireland; and the other Isolt “of the White
Hands,” daughter of Howell king of Brittany. Isolt the Fair
was the wife of sir Mark king of Cornwall, but Isolt of the White
Hands was the wife of sir Tristram. Sir Tristram loved Isolt the
Fair; and Isolt hated sir Mark, her husband, with the same
measure that she loved sir Tristram, her nephew-in-law.
Tennyson’s tale of the death of sir Tristram is so at
variance with the romance, that it must be given separately. He
says that sir Tristram was one day dallying with Isolt the Fair,
and put a ruby carcanet round her neck. Then, as he kissed her
throat—
Out of the dark, just as the lips had touched,
Behind him rose a shadow and a shriek—
“Mark’s way!” said Mark, and clove him
thro’ the brain.
Idylls of
the King by Alfred, Lord Tennyson The
Last Tournament. (See Isond.)
