The Romance of Tristan and Iseult

Tristan, the finest knight of Cornwall, is sent to escort the Irish princess Iseult home to marry his uncle, King Mark. On the voyage they drink, by mistake, a potion brewed to bind the royal couple in undying love, and from that moment the two of them belong to each other, and to catastrophe. Bound by loyalty to Mark and by a love neither chose, they lie, flee, hide in the forest of Morois, and are forgiven and fall again, while the court fills with spies eager to destroy them.

Joseph Bédier's celebrated retelling stitches the medieval fragments of the legend into one seamless, swift-moving tale, the great doomed romance that stands behind Lancelot and Guinevere, Wagner's opera, and eight centuries of love stories since. It has the pace of an adventure and the ache of a ballad, and it closes with one of the most devastating final images in all of legend.

At roughly 26,500 words, The Romance of Tristan and Iseult runs about 3 hours at 1x narration speed. That figure is an estimate based on a typical narration pace. The exact length depends on the voice and the playback speed you choose.

The Romance of Tristan and Iseult is in the public domain, so the complete text is free on Project Gutenberg and LoudReader has the entire Project Gutenberg catalog built in. To listen:

1. Download LoudReader for Mac or iPhone (free, no account).
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