GOTTFRIED VON STRASSBURG (ft. 1210), one of the chief German mediaeval poets. The dates of his birth and death are unknown, but he was the contemporary of Hartmann von Aue, Wolfram von Eschenbach and Walther von der Vogel weide, and his epic Tristan, which bears witness to his education, was written about I 2 I o. The story of Tristan had been evolved from its shadowy Celtic origins by the French trouveres of the early 12th century, and had already found its way into Germany before the close of that century, in the unpolished version of Eilhart von Oberge. It was Gottfried who gave it its final form, his version being based on that of a trouvere Thomas, of which only fragments remain. The story centres in the fatal voyage which Tristan, a vassal to the court of his uncle King Marke of Kurnewal (Cornwall), makes to Ireland to bring back Isolde as the king's bride. On the return voyage Tristan and Isolde drink by mistake a love potion, which binds them irrevocably to each other. The epic resolves itself into a series of. love intrigues in which the two lovers ingeniously outwit the trusting king. They are ultimately discovered, and Tristan flees to Normandy where he marries another Isolde—"Isolde with the white hands"— without being able to forget the blond Isolde of Ireland. At this point Gottfried's narrative breaks off and the conclusion is sup plied by Ulrich von Tisrheim and Heinrich von Freiberg. After further love adventures Tristan is fatally wounded by a poisoned spear in Normandy ; the "blond Isolde," as the only person who has power to cure him, is summoned from Cornwall. The ship that brings her is to bear a white sail if she is on board, a black one if not. Tristan's wife, however, deceives him, announcing that the sail is black, and when Isolde arrives, she finds him dead.
Though following closely the narrative of events found in Thomas, Gottfried has introduced into the story an astounding fineness of psychological motive, which, to judge from a general comparison of the Arthurian epic in both lands, is German rather than French; he has spiritualized and deepened the narra tive; he has, above all, depicted with a variety and insight, un usual in mediaeval literature, the effects of an overpowering passion. Yet, glowing and seductive as Gottfried's love-scenes are, they are never disfigured by frivolous hints; the tragedy is unrolled with an earnestness that admits of no touch of humour, and also with a freedom from moralizing. The mastery of style is no less conspicuous. Gottfried had learned his best lessons from Hartmann von Aue, but he was a more original and daring arti ficer of rhymes and rhythms than that master; he delighted in the sheer music of wo: ds, and indulged in antitheses and alle gorical conceits to an extent that proved fatal to his imitators. As far as beauty of expression is concerned Gottfried's Tristan is the masterpiece of the German court epic.