The primary work of the great poet Gottfried von Straßburg: the oldest edition of perhaps the most beautiful German love story of the Middle Ages
Gottfried von Strassburg: Tristan and Isolde
Strasbourg (France) — Second quarter of the 13th century

Gottfried von Strassburg: Tristan and Isolde
Strasbourg (France) — Second quarter of the 13th century
The oldest specimen of the “most lithe and melodious of all German poetry from the Middle Ages”
It is the primary work of arguably the most important poet of the Middle Ages, Gottfried von Strassburg (d. ca. 1210)
This beautifully illuminated manuscript was probably produced either in Swabia or near Lake Constance
Gottfried von Strassburg: Tristan and Isolde
- Gottfried von Straßburg: Tristan und Isolde
Short Description
Elegant ladies in genteel dresses, crowned heads at a feast and agile horses at a tournament. Such courtly portrayals and others like them are found in the artistic illustrations of Gottfried von Strassburg’s Tristan-fragment from the Bavarian State Library in Munich. The oldest surviving manuscript – originating from around 1240/50 – of this “most lithe and melodious of all German poetry from the Middle Ages” amazes not only through the entertaining text, but also through the numerous detailed illustrations.
Gottfried von Strassburg: Tristan and Isolde
Elegant ladies in genteel dresses, crowned heads at a feast and agile horses at a tournament. Such courtly portrayals and others like them are found in the artistic illustrations of Gottfried von Strassburg’s Tristan-fragment from the Bavarian State Library in Munich. The oldest surviving manuscript – originating from around 1240/50 – of this “most lithe and melodious of all German poetry from the Middle Ages” amazes not only through the entertaining text, but also through the numerous detailed illustrations.
The Most Significant Courtly Tale of the Middle Ages
The main work of the most important medieval poet originated, as the name affix of the author indicates, from the Alsace region. Influenced by German and French court poetry, Gottfried von Strassburg revised the widespread Tristan material according to Anglo-Normanic source material. Yet the Tristan poem remained only a fragment, and was resumed and completed by Ulrich von Türheim. To this day, Gottfried von Strassburg’s Tristan and Isolde is considered to be “the most artistically advanced German tale from ca. 1200”. That the poetry was already counted among the most beloved works of literature in Gottfried’s lifetime and across the following centuries is also proven by the fact that the Munich manuscript boasts stark signs of use and stress. The oldest surviving copy of a Tristan manuscript according to Gottfried’s poetry was probably produced in the middle of the 13th century in either the region of Swabia or Lake Constance. On 30 full-page miniatures in addition to the text, the Tristan material is told with fine painting in thrilling pictures. The masterpiece of court poetry, which still leads the canon of Old German literature today along with the Song of the Nibelungs or the Arthurian legends, was organized into two columns respectively and recorded with perfectly legible, fine script with a few initials. A story about the central motif of courtly love was spun in an exciting fashion.
The Courtly World in Powerful and Delicate Colors
The 30 illustrated pages are divided into three strips, respectively. Each of these picture fields shows a primary scene from the geste about the protagonist Tristan. The background of the scenes are mostly monochrome in a luminous color such as intense red, yellow, or blue, as allowed to emerge by the scenes in the foreground. The scenes mentioned are acted out against this powerfully colored background. The figures are either depicted predominantly in monochrome and skillfully drawn with a quill or are additionally colored in what originally were probably luminous, bright colors, which are faded today because of its frequent use. The diverse gestures of the delicate figures are particularly delightful, lending the scenes exciting movement and tension. The manifold, sometimes very expressive faces of the figures exactly express what the depictions and text want to convey. The tale of Tristan and Isolde, like in the text, was imbedded into the contemporary court living environment. Today, Gottfried’s text and illustrated pictures offer us with an entertaining, informative, and intense glimpse in the Middle Ages, its lifestyles, and ways of thinking.
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- Gottfried von Straßburg: Tristan und Isolde
- Size / Format
- 218 pages / 24.0 x 16.0 cm
- Origin
- Strasbourg (France)
- Date
- Second quarter of the 13th century
- Epochs
- Style
- Genre
- Language
- Illustrations
- 30 pages with numberous individual scenes arranged in tapestry-like picture strips
- Artist / School
- Authors: Gottfried von Straßburg
Ulrich von Türheim

Gottfried von Strassburg: Tristan and Isolde
Tristan’s Return to Ireland
Shortly after returning to Ireland on behalf of King Marke of Cornwall, Tristan slays a dragon but is wounded himself and falls in a river. In the top register of this page, Isolde, Brangaene, and her mother the Queen ride out to find the dead dragon. The next scene shows them pulling an unconscious Tristan, wearing a “great helm”, out of the river and taking him back to their castle.
As Tristan bathes, Isolde inspects his sword and determines that it was he who killed her uncle Morold in a duel. In the bottom register, Isolde takes up Tristan’s sword and threatens to kill him, but the Queen, pictured seizing the sword, and Brangaene intervene for the sake of preserving his diplomatic mission of reconciling them with the King of Cornwall.
1 available facsimile edition(s) of „Gottfried von Strassburg: Tristan and Isolde“
Gottfried von Strassburg: Tristan and Isolde
- Limited Edition
- 950 copies
- Binding
- Bordeaux red leather with blind tooling
- Commentary
-
1 volume (146 pages) by Ulrich Montag and Paul Gichtel
Language: German - More Information
- Reproduction of the entire original document as detailed as possible (scope, format, colors). The binding may not correspond to the original or current document binding.
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