Thomas of Britain facts for kids

Thomas of Britain (also known as Thomas of England) was a poet who lived in the 12th century. He is famous for his poem called Tristan. This poem was written in Old French, which was a language spoken in France a long time ago.

The Tristan poem tells a version of the well-known Tristan and Iseult legend. Unfortunately, only parts of Thomas's poem still exist today. We have eight pieces, which add up to about 3,300 lines of poetry. Most of these pieces are from the end of the story. Experts believe that these fragments are only about one-sixth of the original, much longer poem.

His Famous Poem: Tristan

Thomas's poem Tristan was likely written after the year 1155, probably around 1160. This is because it seems to have been influenced by another poem called Roman de Brut, which was finished in 1155.

It's thought that Thomas might have written his poem for Eleanor of Aquitaine. She was a very important queen at the time, married to King Henry II. The poem suggests that Thomas had connections to their royal court. We don't know much else about who Thomas was. Some people have wondered if he was the same "Thomas" who wrote another story called Romance of Horn, but there's no strong proof for this idea.

Thomas's Tristan also has some similarities to another Tristan story called Chevrefoil by a poet named Marie de France. It's possible one writer borrowed ideas from the other, or they both got their ideas from an even older story.

What Happened to the Full Story?

Even though Thomas's original poem is only in pieces, we can still figure out what the full story was like. This is because other writers later adapted his work. They wrote their own versions of the Tristan story, based on what Thomas had written.

Here are some of the later versions that help us understand Thomas's original poem:

• Gottfried von Strassburg wrote his own Tristan poem in Middle High German (an old form of German). He started it around 1210 but didn't finish it. Luckily, his poem covers all the parts of Thomas's story that are now missing. Gottfried made the story about a third longer, but he still stayed pretty true to Thomas's original ideas.
• Brother Robert wrote the Tristrams saga ok Ísöndar (Saga of Tristram and Isond) in Old Norse (an old form of Norwegian and Icelandic) in 1226. This was a prose version, meaning it was written like a regular story, not a poem. He made the story shorter.
• The Middle English Sir Tristrem was a poem written in the late 13th century. This version was a much shorter retelling of the story.
• The Italian La Tavola Ritonda was a prose story written in the 14th century.

Different Versions of the Tristan Story

Thomas's version of the Tristan legend is the earliest example of what is called the "courtly branch" of the story. Gottfried von Strassburg's version also belongs to this group.

The "Courtly" vs. "Common" Styles

The "courtly" versions are different from the "common" or "primitive" versions, like those by Béroul and Eilhart von Oberge. The "courtly" stories focused more on pleasing the feelings and expectations of a royal court audience. They often had more refined language and focused on themes of noble love and manners.

Some experts have suggested there might have been an "Ur-Tristan." This would be an original, very old French version of the story that inspired all the later accounts. A scholar named Joseph Bédier tried to put together what this original story might have been like by looking at all the different versions that came after it.

See also

In Spanish: Tomás de Inglaterra para niños