Evidence of Idealism in ‘The Romance of Tristan and Iseult’
The medieval European Culture was marked by idealism. Virtue in this age made people believe in spiritual realities and perceived things as they should be rather than how they were in existence. There were superstitious beliefs, and the lack of education made it hard to dispute any of the ideas. The authors during the medieval times also wrote books that authored with the superstitious beliefs. In the book ‘The Romance of Tristan and Iseult’, Bedier gave a story about the romance of two people, bound together by the power of a love spell. This essay will describe how idealism is present in the book ‘The Romance of Tristan and Iseult’.
The book has evidence of idealism in religion. During Medieval times in Europe, people believed that calling unto God solved their problems automatically. After Tristan got wounded in the one-on-one combat with Morholt, he seeks treatment from all healers in Cornwall. Unable to find a cure, Tristan takes to the sea in a boat in the hope that God would steer him in the right direction. True to his expectations, Tristan lands on the coast of Ireland where he finds treatment for his poisoned wound. The mysterious way that Tristan landed on the land where he got treatment asserted the belief that if anyone had some medical issue, they were to wait it out and see what God decides.
Also, the book has evidence of idealism where men set out to slay a dragon. In the medieval age, there was a widespread belief that Kings gave their daughters to men who exhibited extraordinary bravery. When the King of Ireland offers to give his daughter as a bride to the man who slays the dragon terrorizing his land, Tristan sets out on a mission to find and kill the dragon. Since Tristan is a skilled knight as well as a brave and energetic man, he is successful in his conquest of killing the dragon. The King of Ireland keeps his word and gives his daughter Iseult to Tristan (Tristan and Iseult, p. 35). As such, it is evident that people believed in a typical romance where a gallant knight would ride off into the sunset to sleigh a dragon for the love of a princess.
Furthermore, the book presents the idealism belief of love portions. When the King of Ireland offers his daughter Iseult to Tristan, Tristan decides to take Iseult to King Mark as an act of loyalty for his King. Before the two depart, the mother of Yseut prepares a love potion and directs one maid to serve it to Mark and Iseult on their wedding night. However, the maid defiles the instructions and offers the love portion to Tristan and Iseult instead. As Tristan and Iseult took the portion, which they thought was good wine, they became bound by the love spell; a spell that would cause a lifetime of suffering, destruction and eventually death (Tristan and Iseult, p. 44-45). As such, during the medieval age, people believed in love portions that were meant to strengthen the love between couples.
Also, the book presents the idealism where people believed in justice by combat. Typically, a suspect party is supposed to appear before a judge. Based on the evidence brought to him, the judge decides whether the person is guilty of an offence or not. However, Tristan tells Iseult, in a plan to deceit King Mark, that he is ready to walk through fire or undergo one-on-one combat to prove his innocence (Tristan and Iseult, p. 45). Therefore, it is evident that people believed in proving their innocence by attempting dangerous acts such as walking through the fire of one-on-one combat, rather than a fair trial by a judge.
In conclusion, the medieval European culture saw people harbor superstitious beliefs that were far from reality. The idealism is evident in books that were written in by authors during the medieval age. Any book by a medieval author presents numerous cases of idealism that existed during their era.
Reference
Bedier, J. (1900). The Romance of Tristan and Iseult.