Tristan, while Mark’s name is Marcus Cunomorus. So the final contentious reading is “Tristan, son of Mark lies here.” How much more powerful the tragic love story had later scribes made Tristan elope with his stepmother!

Another historical “footstep” was found by the Celtic scholar Professor Joseph Loth, who found Iseult’s name associated with a site on the Lizard peninsula, Cornwall, in a charter of a.d. 967. Hryt Eselt (Iseult’s ford) was described as a boundary for the lands of Lesmanaoc in St. Keverne. See also Trystan.

Trystan

Having seen from the previous entry that the oldest extant versions of the “Tristan and Iseult” romance are to be found in French and German sources and not in Celtic, we should refer to the first Celtic language version of the tale, which occurs in a sixteenth century Welsh manuscript [edited by I. Williams, Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies, vol. 115]. In this version Trystan elopes with Esyllt, wife of March ap Meirchion. They go to the woods of Kelyddon accompanied by Trystan’s servant, Bach Bychan (Little Little-one), and Esyllt’s maid, Golwg Hafddydd (Aspect of a Summer’s Day). March complains to Arthur and sets out to fight Trystan. Trystan overcomes three armies led by March, and the news is taken by Trystan’s companion, Kae Hir, to Esyllt. Kae Hir is promised the hand of Golwg if the news be true. Arthur now intervenes at March’s request and mollifies Trystan, sending him Gwalchmei (Hawk of May) as a peacemaker. Trystan comes to Arthur, who offers a judgment on the problem. One of the two men shall have Esyllt when there are leaves on the trees, the other when there are no leaves on the trees. March, as husband, is given first choice and chooses the leafless period (winter) because the nights are longer during it. But Trystan points out that the yew tree always bears leaves. Therefore March cannot have Esyllt at all, for there are always leaves on the trees.

Trystan and Ysolt

The only version in Cornish, the language that gave the romance its birth, is a modern Cornish translation of the medieval Beroul and Thomas texts, as edited by J. Bédier, by A. S. D. Smith, the bard “Caradar” (1883–1950). It was published in 1951. However, Smith had not completed his translation at the time of his death, and 1,000 lines of the poem were left uncompleted. The work was finished by David Watkins, “Carer Brynow”