W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1978 "The tale of Sir Tristam": its role in Malory's "Le morte Darthur" Barbara Ann Crump College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the English Language and Literature Commons, and the Medieval Studies Commons Recommended Citation Crump, Barbara Ann, ""The tale of Sir Tristam": its role in Malory's "Le morte Darthur"" (1978). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539625025. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-htc5-sz84 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. "THE TALE OF SIR TRISTRAM”--ITS ROLE IN *V MALORY'S LE MORTE DARTHUR A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of English The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by t Barbara Crump 1978 APPROVAL SHEET This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Barbara Crump Approved, April 1978 / Q^^JbuL^* ^ s f o \ \ x \W. Conlee, Ph.D. Charles E. Davidson, Ph.D. fCter D. Wiggins^^hTo. ii 6 8 810 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. iv ABSTRACT ... v INTRODUCTION . 2 Chapter I. THE KINGS AND THEIR COURTS. 4 II. ISOUD AND GUENEVERE 13 III. TRISTRAM AND LANCELOT . 20 CONCLUSION.. .... 31 NOTES............. ..... 34 BIBLIOGRAPHY . .... 36 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank Dr. John W. Conlee for his suggestions, criticisms, and most of all his patience in the preparation of this thesis. Without his support, the paper never would have been completed. ABSTRACT In his late medieval retelling of the Arthurian legends, Sir Thomas Malory purposefully included "The Tale of Sir Tristram" to provide a literary counterpoint to the tale of Camelot. In particular, Malory created each of the characters in the Mark/Isoud/Tristram love triangle to serve as a foil to his or her parallel character in the Arthur/Guenevere/ Lancelot triangle. Mark is systematically blackened, making him a complete antithesis to the noble King Arthur. Isoud, portrayed as a more noble heroine than in the earlier romances, is made more appealing not only to justify the conflict between Mark and Tristram for her love, but also to enable her to function as a foil to the less appealing, albeit romanticized, Queen Guenevere. Tristram’s divided loyalties and inner conflicts as he tries to decide to whom he owes loyalty serve to mirror the equally agonizing dilemma tormenting Lancelot, while at the same time emphasizing the weaknesses inherent in the chivalric code. Therefore, it becomes apparent that Malory included "The Tale of Sir Tristram" in his work to provide a principal contrast to the Arthurian love story. Although there is still critical discussion as to the wisdom of Malory's inclusion of the Tristram section within Le^ Morte Darthur, nevertheless "The Tale of Sir Tristram," when viewed in conjunction with the central love story, aids the reader in seeing the Arthur-saga in a clearer perspective. v "THE TALE OF SIR TRISTRAM"--ITS ROLE IN MALORY'S LE MORTE DARTHUR INTRODUCTION Sir Thomas Malory's decision to include "The Tale of Sir Tristram" in Le Morte Darthur creates a major obstacle for critics who view Malory's great work as having a coherent unity. By including the story of Tristram with the story of Arthur, Malory has introduced materials which had never before been linked closely with the Arthurian legend and which have no direct bearing on the rise and fall of the fellowship of the Round Table. One must consider, then, what purpose, if any, "The Tale of Sir Tristram" was intended to serve in relation to the larger work. Thomas C. Rumble, the author of the Tristram chapter in Robert Lumiansky's book Malory's Originality, provides the most extensive justification for Malory's inclusion of "The Tale of Sir Tristram."^ For Rumble the chief importance of the Tristram section lies in the fact that this section contains certain crucial events in the feud between Gawain and Lamorak. In one sense Rumble's point is well taken: the Gawain-Lamorak feud is_ vital to the final outcome of the Arthur story. But the inclusion of this material within the Tristram section is not in itself sufficient justification for the existence of the entire Tristram section: there is no apparent reason why Malory felt it necessary to position the Gawain-Lamorak material within the Tristram section rather than elsewhere in the Morte. In a way, then, Rumble1 discussion is beside the point, for the fundamental question still remains: why did Malory Include the material relating to Tristram, Isoud, and Mark in Le Morte Darthur? Rumble does, however, touch in passing on a more per­ tinent justification when he suggests that Malory uses "The Tale of Sir Tristram" in order to magnify the virtues of Camelot when compared with the turmoil and unrest plaguing Cornwall, thereby serving to intensify the pathos created when Arthur's "ideal" society of peers ultimately collapses. But Rumble is content to leave this important observation unexplored and unsubstantiated. I intend, therefore, to explore the ways in which Malory uses the Tristram section of the Morte as a principal contrast and literary counter­ point to the tale of Arthur, Guenevere, and Lancelot. I wish to demonstrate that through his use of parallel themes, motifs, and episodes, Malory unites the "Tristram" with the rest of the Morte and in so doing he creates for his readers a "correlative of, not a sequel to, the story of Arthur's 2 fellowship." Of particular importance are the love triangl of Arthur/Guenevere/Lancelot and Mark/Isoud/Tristram; there­ fore, this study will focus on the various parallels which Malory so carefully draws for his readers between the kings and their courts, the ladies, and the knights. CHAPTER I THE KINGS AND THEIR COURTS At the end of Book III, when all of his knights have returned to Camelot, King Arthur sets forth the chivalric code by which the Round Table - the very life-blood of his kingdom - shall be governed: . never to do outrageousity nor murder, and always to flee treason; also, by no means to be cruel, but to give mercy unto him that asketh mercy, upon pain of forfeiture of their worship and lordship of King Arthur for ever­ more; and always to do ladies, damosels, and gentlewomen succour, upon pain of death. Also, that no man take no battles in a wrongful quarrel for no law, nor for no world's goods.3 The code is lofty in its idealism and sentiment; as the knights of the Round Table strive to uphold it, the kingdom of Camelot comes to represent the pinnacle of earthly power and glory: Also Merlin made the Round Table in tokening of roundness of the world, for by the Round Table is the world signified by right, for all the world, Christian and heathen, repair unto the Round Table; and when they are chosen to be of the fellowship of the Round Table they think them more blessed and more in worship than if they had gotten half the world; . (XIV.ii). Unfortunately, there are inherent contradictions and weak­ nesses in Arthur's chivalric code, for it ignores human frailties and failings. For example, although a knight was expected never to betray his country or his liege lord, and he was expected always to serve ladies in time of need, there is no provision for establishing the knight's priorities if these ideals should conflict. Arthur's subjects strive to 4 5 live by these high standards of behavior, and as a result Camelot becomes a model for the ideal society; yet the inability of Arthur's knights to live up to these standards ultimately results in the collapse of the Round Table. In contrast with Camelot, the court of Cornwall is known for its ineffectual government and its cowardly knights. Perhaps Sir Kay best expresses this view: "Fie on you false knight, said Sir Kay, for ye of Cornwall are not worth" (IX.xxxviii). This judgment of Cornwall's knights reappears often in the Morte. Thus Camelot is viewed as the potentially ideal society while Cornwall is viewed with disfavor. In Book VIII, Malory presents an incident which links the two kingdoms and clearly reveals the manner in which each is regarded. In this incident Morgan le Fay sends a horn of adultery to Arthur's court. The horn is intended to reveal Guenevere as an adulteress and Arthur as a cuckold. Lamorak confiscates the horn, diverts it to King Mark's court, and is chided by Tristram for doing so. Lamorak replies that he would rather disgrace Mark's court than Arthur's, "for the honour of both courts be not alike" (VIII.xxxviii). The reputation of each of these kingdoms is closely bound to the reputation of its monarch. Just as there is a huge chasm between the way the courts of Camelot and Cornwall are viewed, so also is there a significant difference between Mark and Arthur as monarch and as men. In the early French versions of "The Tale of Sir Tristram," King Mark is por­ trayed as a kind and generous ruler who becomes the hapless victim of the tragic but unconquerable love shared by Tristram 6 and Isoud.