Tristan and Isolde

Tristan and Isolde Synopsis

"The story of Tristan and Islode was one of the most popular in the Middle Ages. Resonances of it appear in other narratives, in poetry, and especially in art in the form of wall paintings, wall hangings, tapestries, bed coverings, tablecloths, and other needle work, floor tiles, marriage caskets, mirrors, purses, shoes, and combs. More publicly, scenes from the story appear on misericords from English cathedrals and on Baltic city halls; stone figures grace facades and mantlepieces of grand palaces of the rich bourgeouisie. In addition to listing all the extant manuscripts, artefacts, and objects d'art and describing all the scenes depicted on thme, the purpose of this book is to promote the notion of specific and generic episodes and scenes as a method of composing and identifying narratives, and to examine what the various narrative sequences of illustrations have to tell us about the reception of the story of Tristan and Isolde." --