by Beroul
The king replied: ‘I will try hard. Go quickly, then, and bring him here.’
Yseut was pleased at this, and the king even more so. Brangain ran out of the door. Tristan was standing by the wall, where he had heard them talking to the king. He caught Brangain in his arms and embraced her, thanking God [that the king was going to allow him] to be with Yseut as he wished. Brangain said to Tristan:
‘Sir, there in his chamber the king has been deliberating about you and your dear love. He is no longer angry with you, and now he hates those who are trying to trap you. He has asked me to come to you. I told him you were angry with me. Make a show of being asked and not coming easily. If the king asks you for something on my behalf, pretend to look angry.’
Tristan embraced her and kissed her, he was so happy and relieved. They went to the curtained room where the king and Yseut were, and Tristan entered.
‘Nephew,’ said the king, ‘come forward. Forgive Brangain for what has made you angry, and I will forgive you.’
‘Uncle, my dear lord, listen to me. That is a very slight apology to make after you have deeply wounded me by making grave accusations of such great wrong-doing and wickedness. If they had been true I should have been damned, and Yseut would have been dishonoured. God knows we never thought of it. You know now that the man who makes you believe such incredible things hates you. From now on take better advice and do not bear malice against the queen or against me, for I am of your own blood.’
‘I shall not do so, fair nephew, by my faith.’
So Tristan and the king were reconciled. The king gave him leave to go into his chamber – how happy he was! Tristan came and went to the chamber and the king took no notice.
3
THE FLOUR ON THE FLOOR
WHO can be in love for a year or two and not reveal it? For love cannot be concealed. Often one lover would wink at the other, often they would speak together both alone and in the sight of others. They could not find their pleasure everywhere and they had to meet many times.
At Mark’s court there were three barons – you never saw more wicked men! They had sworn that, if King Mark did not make his nephew leave the country, they would tolerate it no longer and would retire to their castles to make war on the king. For one day, under a tree in the garden, they had seen Yseut the Fair with Tristan in a place that no man should allow. And they had often seen them lying together, naked, in Mark’s bed. When the king went into the forest, Tristan would say: ‘Sire, I am coming,’ and stay back and go into the king’s chamber and remain there for a long time with Yseut.
‘We ourselves must tell the king. Let us go to the king and say, whether he loves us or hates us, that we want his nephew driven away.’
They came to this decision together. Then they took King Mark to one side and said: ‘Sire, things are going badly. Your nephew and Yseut love each other, and anyone who wants to can find out. We will not tolerate this any longer.’
The king heard this, sighed and bent his head. He walked up and down, not knowing what to say.
‘King,’ said the three villains, ‘we will not consent to this any longer, for we know it is true that you are conniving at their wickedness. You know all about this extraordinary thing. What are you going to do about it? Now be advised! If you do not banish your nephew from court so that he never returns, we shall no longer support you nor keep peace with you. We shall make our neighbours leave the court, for we cannot put up with this. We can set out the problem for you quickly; now tell us your wishes.’
‘My lords, you are loyal to me. As God is my help, I marvel that my nephew should have sought my shame; but he has served me in a strange way. Give me your advice, I beg you. You must advise me well, for I do not want to lose your service. You know I have no wish to act arrogantly.’
‘Sire, then send for the prophetic dwarf. There is no doubt that he is very clever, and a plan will soon be made. Send for the dwarf, then everything will be settled.’
And he came very quickly (cursed be the hunchback!). One of the barons embraced him, and the king revealed why they had sent for him. Now hear what treachery and corruption this dwarf Frocin proposed to the king. (Cursed be all such magicians! Whoever would have thought of such wickedness as this dwarf did? May God curse him!)
‘Tell your nephew that he must go in the morning to King Arthur in walled Carlisle. He is to take to Arthur as fast as he can a letter written on parchment, well sealed and fastened with wax. King, Tristan sleeps at the foot of your bed. Soon, during the night, I know that he will want to talk to Yseut and, by God, he will have to go to her. King, leave the room in the early part of the night. I swear to you by God and the Law of Rome, if Tristan loves her wickedly he will go to see her. If he does go, and I do not know and you do not see him, then kill me and all your men. Otherwise, their guilt will be proved without any trial. King, leave me now to my work and let me try to predict what will happen. Do not tell him of the message until it is time for bed.’
The king replied: ‘It shall be done, my friend.’
Then they separated, each going his own way. The dwarf was extremely cunning, and he did a very underhand thing. He went to a baker and bought four pennyworth of flour and tied the bags to his tunic. (Whoever would think of such a low trick?) That night, when the king had eaten, they lay down to sleep in the hall. Tristan led the king to his bed.
‘Fair nephew,’ said the king, ‘I have a task for you; see that you carry out my wishes. You must ride as far as Carlisle to King Arthur and give him this letter to open. Nephew, give him greetings from me and do not stay there more than a day.’
Tristan heard what he was to do, and replied that he would carry the letter: ‘King, I shall set out in the morning.’
‘Yes, before daybreak.’
Tristan was very agitated. Between his bed and the king’s there was fully the length of a lance. Tristan had a wild idea: he said to himself that he would talk to the queen, if he could, after his uncle had gone to sleep. (God, what folly! He was too rash.). The dwarf slept in the same room. Hear what he did that night: he spread the flour between the two beds so that the footsteps would appear if one went to the other during the night, for flour holds the shape of footprints. Tristan saw the dwarf busy scattering the flour. He wondered what this could mean, since he did not usually do so. Then he realized:
‘Soon this place will be covered with flour to show our footprints if one of us goes to the other. It would be folly to go to her now that he will be able to see.’
The day before in the forest Tristan had been wounded in the leg by a large boar, and this hurt him greatly. The wound had bled very much and it was not bound up, to his misfortune. Tristan did not go to sleep, I believe. At midnight the king arose and went out of the room. With him went the hunch-backed dwarf. It was dark inside the room, no lamp or candle was lit. Tristan rose to his feet. (God, why did he do this? Now listen!) He put his feet together, judged the distance, leaped and landed on the king’s bed. His wound opened and bled a great deal; the blood which came out soaked the sheets. The wound was bleeding but he did not feel it, for he was too intent on his pleasure. The blood gathered in several places. The dwarf was outside; by the moonlight he could see that the two lovers were lying together. He trembled with joy and said to the king:
‘If you cannot take them together, go and hang me!’
The three villains who secretly planned this treachery were also there. The king came in. Tristan heard him coming, rose from the bed in alarm and hastily leaped back to his own. In the leap which Tristan made the blood fell (what bad luck!) from his wound on to the flour. (God, what a pity the queen did not take the sheets off the bed! Neither of them would have been caught that night. If she had thought of it, she could easily have protected her honour. God worked a miracle here when it pleased Him to safeguard them.) The king came back into the room; the dwarf was with him, holding a candle. Tristan was pretending to be asleep and snoring loudly. He was alone in the room except for P
erinis, who lay at his feet without stirring, and the queen lying in her bed. On the flour the warm blood could be seen. The king noticed the blood in the bed, the white sheets were red with it. And on the flour there were traces of the leap. The king threatened Tristan. The three barons came into the room, angrily they took Tristan in his bed. Because of his prowess they had begun to hate him, and also the queen. They abused her and threatened her. They would not rest until justice was done. They could see Tristan’s leg bleeding.
‘This is only too clear proof. You are guilty,’ said the king, ‘you will only waste your time trying to defend yourself. Tristan, you may be sure that you will be put to death tomorrow.’
‘Mercy, sire,’ he cried, ‘for the sake of Our Lord who suffered His passion, have pity on us, sire!’
But the villains said: ‘Sire, avenge yourself!’
‘Fair uncle, it does not matter about me. I know I have come to my end. Had it not been for angering you, though, the barons would have paid dearly for this. Never, by their eyes, would they have thought of laying their hands on me but for your presence. But I have no quarrel with you. Now do what you will with me, for good or ill, and I am ready to suffer it. But, sire, for God’s sake, have pity on the queen.’ Tristan bowed his head. ‘There is no man in your household, if he uttered the treason that I have wrongly and wickedly loved the queen, who would not find me armed in the field. Sire, mercy on her, for God’s sake!’
The three barons who were in the room had taken Tristan prisoner and bound him. Then they bound the queen, and Tristan became very angry. If he had known that he was not going to be allowed to defend himself, he would have risked being torn to pieces rather than let himself and Yseut be captured. But so great was his trust in God that he firmly believed that, if he were allowed to defend himself, nobody would dare to take up arms against him. He counted on being able to defend himself in combat. For this reason he did not want his behaviour to Mark to be incorrect through any hasty action. But if he had known how things were and what was to happen to them, he would have killed all three barons and the king could not have protected them. (God, why did he not kill them? He would have been in a much better position.)
4
THE CONDEMNATION AND ESCAPE OF THE LOVERS
THE cry went through the city that Tristan and Queen Yseut had been found together and that the king wanted to put them to death. Old and young wept, and said to each other:
‘Alas, we have much to weep for! Alas, Tristan, noble knight! What a shame that these wretches have had you taken by treachery. Noble, honoured queen, in what land will a king’s daughter be born who is your equal? Dwarf, your magic has done this! If anyone finds the dwarf anywhere and does not pass his sword through his body, may he never see the face of God! Alas, Tristan, there will be such grief for you, fair sweet friend, brought to such distress! Alas, what sadness your death will cause! When Morholt came to the port here to take away our children our barons quickly fell silent, for none of them was brave enough to take up arms against him. You undertook the battle for all of us in Cornwall and killed Morholt. He gave you a wound with his spear which nearly killed you. We should never let you be put to death.’
The noise and the tumult rose. Everyone ran straight to the palace. The king was very harsh and angry; none of the barons was strong enough or bold enough to dare to speak to the king and ask him to pardon this misdeed. The night ended and at daybreak the king ordered thorns to be brought and a ditch made in the ground. Holding a knife in his hand, the king sent everywhere for vines to put with the white and black thorns and roots. It was already the first hour of the day. It was proclaimed throughout the kingdom that everyone should come to court. They came as quickly as they could until all the Cornish people were assembled. In all the noise and commotion there was no one who did not lament, excepting only the dwarf of Tintagel. The king addressed them, saying that he was going to burn his wife and his nephew on a pyre. All the people of the kingdom cried out:
‘King, you would do them too great a wrong if they were not first brought to trial. Afterwards put them to death. Sire, mercy!’
The king replied angrily: ‘By the Lord who created the world and all things in it, not even if I were to lose my inheritance would I hold back from burning them. If anyone ever thinks of speaking to me about this, I warn you now to leave me completely in peace.’
He ordered them to light the fire and bring his nephew out. He wanted to burn him first. They went to fetch him and the king waited. Then they dragged Tristan out (by God, they acted badly!). He wept much but it was of no avail for they led him on shamefully. Yseut wept and nearly went out of her mind.
‘Tristan,’ she cried, ‘what grief that you are so shamefully bound! Even if I were killed it would be a great joy to me if you escaped, fair friend. Vengeance would yet be taken.’
Hear now, my lords, of the Lord God, of how He is full of pity; He does not seek the death of a sinner. He had heard the cries and laments of the poor people for those who were going to their death. On the way they would pass a chapel on a hill, built on a ledge of rock. It overlooked the sea, facing north. That part which is called the chancel was raised; beyond it was only the cliff. The slope there was all slate; if a squirrel leaped over he would be dead, for he could not come down safely. In the apse was a window of red glass which a holy man had placed there.
Tristan called to his captors: ‘Lords, here is a chapel. For God’s sake, let me go in. My time is nearly at an end. I shall pray God to have mercy on me, for I have sinned greatly against Him. Lords, there is only this way in, and each of you is carrying a sword. You know that I cannot get out, I shall have to return to you. When I have ended my prayer I shall return to you as I say.’
Then they said to each other: ‘We can let him go in.’ They loosed his bonds and he went in. Tristan did not move slowly. He went to the window behind the altar, pulled it towards him with his right hand and leaped through the opening. He would rather jump than be burnt before that assembly. My lords, there was a big, wide stone in the middle of those rocks; Tristan jumped on to it very easily. The wind caught his clothes and prevented him from crashing to the ground – Cornishmen still call this stone ‘Tristan’s Leap’. The chapel was full of people. Tristan jumped to his feet, the sand was soft. They were all on their knees in the church. The others were waiting outside the church, but in vain. Tristan was fleeing, God had shown him great mercy. He ran along the beach with great strides, and he could hear the fire crackling. He had no mind to return and ran as fast as he could.
But now hear of Governal. With his sword at his side he had gone out of the city on horseback. He knew that if he was overtaken the king would have him burnt on account of his master. Fear made him take flight. Tristan’s companion held him very dear and he had not wanted to leave Tristan’s sword behind. He had taken it down and was carrying it with his own. Tristan caught sight of his companion, recognized him at once and hailed him. Governal came up joyfully.
‘Master, God has had great mercy on me. I have escaped and here I am. Alas, what does this matter to me? If I have not got Yseut, the leap I made just now is worth nothing to me. Why did I not simply kill myself? It may bring me much grief that I have escaped. Yseut, you are to be burnt. I escaped in vain. She is being burnt for me, I shall die for her!’
Governal said: ‘For God’s sake, fair sir, be consoled and do not despair. Here is a thick bush surrounded by a ditch. Let us get inside. Many people pass by here, you will hear news of Yseut. And if she is burnt, never get into the saddle again if you do not take vengeance immediately afterwards! You will not go unaided. By Jesus, the Son of Mary, I should never rest inside a house until the three wicked villains who had killed your love Yseut had met their deaths. If you were killed now, fair sir, before vengeance had been taken, I should never be happy again.’
Tristan replied: ‘This vexes you greatly, I know. Fair master, I have not got my sword.’
‘Yes, you have. I brought it with
me.’
‘Good, master,’ said Tristan, ‘now I fear nothing any more, save God.’
‘I have under my tunic something else which will be useful to you and which you will be glad to see: a strong, light hauberk, which may well be of service to you.’
‘In God’s name,’ said Tristan, ‘give it to me. By that God I believe in, I would rather be torn to pieces – if I can reach the fire in time, before my love is thrown on it – than fail to kill the men who are holding her captive.’
Governal said: ‘Do not be in. a hurry. God may give you a far better chance to avenge yourself, when you will not have the trouble that you might have now. I cannot now see any of your men, for the king is furiously angry with you. All the citizens and the townsmen are in his allegiance. He gave them all, publicly, the command that if anyone can ever capture you and fails to do so he will be hanged. Every man loves himself more than he loves you. If a hue and cry was raised for you, a man might well want to let you go free but he would not even dare to think of it.’
Tristan wept and was vexed. In spite of all the men of Tintagel, and even if he were to be torn to pieces, he would never have restrained himself from going straight to his love if his master had not forbidden him.
A messenger ran into Yseut’s room and told her not to weep, for her lover had escaped.
‘Thank God!’ she said, ‘now it does not matter if they kill me or keep me bound or set me loose.’
As the three barons had advised, the king had had her bound, and her wrists were tied so tightly that blood was being squeezed from all her fingers. ‘By God,’ she said, ‘if ever [I lament my own fate now] that the wicked slanderers who had to guard my lover have lost him, thank God, then no one should ever think well of me again. I know that the mischief-making dwarf and the jealous villains who plotted my death will get their deserts. May it be their ruin!’