Tristan and Isolde

A timeless tale of two lovers unknowingly drinking a magic potion and ultimately dying in one another's arms, the story of Tristan and Isolde is still told centuries after the songs and the ladies of the French Court are long, long forgotten.

The story of Tristan and Isolde is often held up as an example of true and perfect love. All the ingredients for a satisfactory narrative are present; the lightning bolt of desire, the inevitable tragedy, ritual sacrifice, the denial of satisfaction and the purity of renunciation. Essentially, we are told, this is a story with profound religious meaning.

Be that as it may, Tristan and Isolde is a ripping good yarn, a medieval Mills and Boone with enough minor characters and side plots to keep any writer of soap operas lucratively employed for a lifetime. There are all sorts of mystical reworkings and enthralling new spins on this irresistibly romantic old tale, it's been dished up to us in opera, science fantasy, romantic fiction, on stage and on the silver screen.

While you wait for the movie to reach you, read the rest of The Timeless Tale of Tristan and Isolde