384 ROMANCES. 



arms." Ysolt leans over Tristan, who takes her into his wasted arms, and 

 presses her so tightly that her heart bursts, and he expires with her, thus 

 mingling their last sigh. 



The description of the beautiful Ysolt, as Luce du Gault, author of the 

 prose version of the fourteenth century, makes Tristan himself trace it, will 

 complete this touching story, and show what was the ideal of female beauty 

 at this period : " Her beautiful hair shines like golden threads ; her forehead 

 is whiter than the lily ; her eyebrows are arched like small crossbows ; and a 

 narrow line, milk-white, dimples her nostrils. Her eyelids are brighter 

 than emeralds, shining in her forehead like two stars. Her face has the 

 beauty of morning, for it is both white and vermilion, each colour having 

 its due proportion. Her lips are a trifle thick, and ardent with bright 

 colour ; her teeth, whiter than pearls, are regular and of good size. No 

 spices can be compared to the sweet breath of her mouth. The chin is 

 smoother than marble. From her stately shoulders sweep two thin arms, 

 and long hands, the flesh of which is tender and soft. The fingers are long 

 and straight, and her nails are beautiful. Her waist is so narrow that it can 

 be spanned with the two hands." There is nothing, perhaps, in the old 

 French language so graceful and picturesque as these two prose romances of 

 " Tristan " and " Launcelot of the Lake." 



The romance of " Launcelot " appears to be a fresh embodiment of the 

 Armorican legends relating to Tristan. Launcelot, the son of the King of 

 Beno'ic (Bourges), and nephew of the King of Gannes, falls in love with 

 Queen Guinivere (Fig. 311), wife of King Arthur, and he deceives the latter 

 in as great good faith as Tristan had deceived King Mark. M. Paulin Paris 

 points out that there is a mixture in these two romances of the souvenirs of 

 ancient Greek and of Celtic traditions. Thus King Mark has many points 

 of resemblance with King Midas, and Tristan, in his expedition against the 

 Morhouet of Ireland, is no other than Theseus, who slew the Minotaur of 

 Crete ; while, when he dies reconciled with King Mark, the black veil 

 attached to the vessel is also a reminiscence of the death of Theseus's father. 

 In the romance of " Launcelot " the giant who asks young Launcelot riddles 

 which he must solve under penalty of death is an imitation of the Sphinx 

 which (Edipus faced upon Mount Cithseron. Launcelot at the court of the 

 Lady of the Lake is Achilles at the court of the King of Scyros, and 

 Guinivere, the wife of King Arthur, is Dejanira, who proved fatal to 



