Gottfried von Strassburg facts for kids
Gottfried von Strassburg was a famous German writer who lived a long time ago, around the year 1200. He wrote one of the most important stories from the German Middle Ages called Tristan. This story is based on the old legend of Tristan and Iseult. Gottfried's Tristan is considered one of the greatest German stories from that time, right up there with the Nibelungenlied and Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival. His work even inspired Richard Wagner's famous opera Tristan und Isolde.
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Life of Gottfried
We don't know much about Gottfried's life. He likely came from or lived near the city of Strasbourg. People called him Meister (master), not Herr (sir). This suggests he was not a knight. He might have held an important job in Strasbourg.
Gottfried died around 1210. He never finished his story Tristan. Other writers later tried to complete it. We know he wrote his story in the early 1200s.
Gottfried knew a lot about Latin books, music, and hunting. This shows he had a very good education. He was also influenced by Christian thinkers of his time. The oldest copies of his story show he spoke a dialect from the Strasbourg area.
Gottfried's Writing Style
Gottfried's writing style was very unique for his time. He used complex and balanced structures in his story. He also played with words, rhymes, and sounds. This made his writing very musical.
One of the most special parts of Gottfried's style is his clever use of irony. Irony is when you say something but mean the opposite. He used it for funny parts and sad parts. He might have even used irony to hide his criticisms of society.
Where the Story Came From
Gottfried said his story Tristan came from an older French work. This was written by a writer named Thomas of Britain around 1160. Gottfried chose Thomas's version because he felt it "told the tale correctly." He wanted to be different from other, less fancy versions of the story.
Sadly, Thomas's work is also incomplete. So, it's hard to compare Gottfried's story directly. But Thomas's version was used by other writers too. This helps us understand what Gottfried might have used. Gottfried definitely added a lot to the story. He also made the characters' feelings much deeper.
The original story of Tristan and Iseult comes from old Celtic legends.
About the Story Text
Gottfried's Tristan is very long, with 19,548 lines. Like most courtly romances, it is written in rhyming couplets. This means two lines rhyme together.
The beginning of the story has a special part called the "strophic prologue." It uses groups of four lines. The first letters of these groups of lines spell out names. They spell Gotefrid-Tristan-Isolde throughout the poem. In the prologue, they also spell Dieterich. This is thought to be the name of the person who supported Gottfried.
If Gottfried had finished his story, it would have been around 24,000 lines long.
The Story of Tristan and Isolde
The story begins with Tristan's parents. Riwalin, King of Parmenie, visits King Marke in Cornwall. There, he falls in love with Marke's sister, Blanschefleur. Blanschefleur becomes pregnant. The couple secretly return to Parmenie. But Riwalin is killed in battle. Blanschefleur dies from sadness after hearing the news. But her baby survives. He is named Tristan because of the sad way he was born.
Tristan grows up in Parmenie. Everyone thinks he is the son of Riwalin's marshal, Rual. Tristan becomes a perfect young nobleman. One day, Norwegian sailors kidnap him from a merchant ship. A storm hits their ship. The sailors think God is punishing them for taking Tristan. So, they leave him on shore. This land turns out to be Cornwall.
Tristan meets a hunting party. He amazes them with his skills. He goes with them to King Marke's court. Everyone likes Tristan because he is so talented. King Marke especially likes him. After many years, Rual finds Tristan in Cornwall. It is then revealed that Tristan is King Marke's nephew. Tristan is made a knight.
Cornwall has to pay money to Gurmun, the King of Ireland. Gurmun's giant brother, Morold, collects this money. Tristan challenges Morold to a fight. Tristan wins, but Morold wounds him with a poisoned sword. To find a cure, Tristan travels to Ireland in secret. He uses the name Tantris. Gurmun's Queen Isolde (Isolde the Wise) cures him. Tristan is amazed by the beauty of her daughter, Isolde the Fair. He returns to Cornwall, praising her beauty.
King Marke's advisors are jealous of Tristan. They tell Marke to marry so Tristan won't be his heir. They suggest Tristan go to Ireland to ask Isolde to marry Marke. They hope Tristan will be killed. Tristan goes to Ireland again, still as Tantris. He kills a dragon that was scaring the countryside. This wins him Isolde's hand in marriage.
However, Isolde finds a piece of Morold's sword in Tantris's head. She realizes Tantris is actually Tristan! She almost kills him. But her mother and cousin, Brangaene, stop her. Tristan explains why he came. This leads to peace between Ireland and Cornwall. Tristan leaves for Cornwall with Isolde, who is to marry King Marke.
Isolde the Wise gives Brangaene a magic love potion. Marke and Isolde are supposed to drink it on their wedding night. This will make them love each other forever. But on the ship, Tristan and Isolde drink it by mistake. They fall deeply in love. But they know their love must be a secret. They enjoy a short, happy time on the ship before arriving in Cornwall.
After this, the lovers try to trick King Marke many times. Marke is suspicious but Tristan and Isolde are very clever.
Finally, Marke accepts their love and sends them away from his court. They go into the wilderness to a special place called the Love Grotto. There, they live a happy life away from everyone. By chance, Marke finds the grotto. He sees them lying next to each other. But Tristan had placed his sword between himself and Isolde. This tricked Marke into thinking they were not lovers.
Once their secret hideaway is found, the lovers return to court. But Marke's suspicions return. He eventually finds them together again. Tristan runs away to Normandy. There, he meets Isolde of the White Hands. Gottfried's story ends with Tristan feeling confused about the two Isoldes.
In the older story by Thomas, Tristan marries Isolde of the White Hands. Later, Tristan is wounded by a poisoned spear. He sends for Isolde the Fair, because only she can cure him. The ship sent for her will have a white sail if she is on board, and a black sail if she is not. But the jealous Isolde of the White Hands lies about the sail's color. Isolde the Fair arrives to find Tristan dead from sadness. She kisses him and then dies too.
Gottfried and Other Writers
One very important part of Tristan is where Gottfried talks about other writers. He praises some poets for their music and others for their clear writing. These were qualities he also used in his own style.
However, he also criticized Wolfram von Eschenbach. He didn't name him directly. But he said Wolfram's writing was unclear and used rough words. This part of the story is the first time anyone in German literature wrote about other writers' styles.
See also
In Spanish: Godofredo de Estrasburgo para niños
