Drystan fab Tallwch

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Tristan [ 'drɘstan VAB' taɬux ], also Tristan , Tristran , Tristram , ( latin Drustanus , Welsh Drystan , Trystan ; all of Celtic * drust- , "retainer"), a legend figure from the Artussage in the Welsh mythology . A dark, barely understandable poem is contained in the Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin ("The Black Book of Carmarthen"), there is also a fragmentary Ystoria Drystan in manuscripts from the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries.

mythology

Drystan is named in various triads of the Trioedd Ynys Prydein ("The Triads of the Isle of Britain") together with Coll fab Collfrewi and Pryderi as one of the "three most powerful swineherd in Britain" (No. 26), also as one of the "three great enemies - Subjugator ”(No. 19), the“ three battle diadem-crowned ”( taleithyavc , No. 21), the“ three great lovers ”(No. 71), the“ three stubborn ”( cyndynyavc , No. 72) and the“ three great Noble ”( gogyfurd , no. 73). He is a famous warrior and the lover of Essyllt , the wife of his uncle March fab Meirchiawn . He is also mentioned in the Englynion y Clyweid ("The Proverbs of the Wise").

At least two encounters between Drystan and King Arthur are narrated, on the one hand in Triad No. 26:

Drystan, son of Tallwch, who tended the pigs of March, son of Meirchiawn, while the swineherd was gone, to ask Essyllt to meet Drystan. And Arthur tried to get a pig, either by cunning or by force, and did not get it.

The other story is Ystoria Drystan , the only surviving legend of a meeting between Drystans and Marchs with King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. In it it is reported that Gwalchmei fab Gwyar (Gawain) should settle the dispute between Drystan and March over the love of Essyllt on behalf of Arthur. This succeeds, if only for a short time, because Gwalchmai Drystan tries to change his mind by singing Englyns (a traditional Kymric form of stanzas ).

The infinite wave roars
When the ocean wave is at the height of the tide.
Who are you, fiery warrior?
[...]
Drystane with morals without blame,
I found no mistake in your speech
Gwalchmei was your companion.

Drystan initially reacts angrily to Gwalchmei's attempts to appease him - he is called "Lord of Peace" in the story - but finally lets himself be changed and accepts Arthur as a mediator between him and his uncle. The king announces an arbitration award that grants the two Essylt half a year each (Drystan when the trees are full of leaves, March when they are bare), the cunning Essylt knows how to interpret the verdict so that she can always stay with Drystan .

Three trees are useful for something:
Holly, ivy and oak,
carry the leaves as long as they live:
As long as he lives I belong to Drystan.

The name Drystan and that of his father Tallwch are attributed to the Pictish language , and the legends can also be traced back to Pictish legends. Only later were the locations moved to Wales , Cornwall and Brittany . There are some parallels in Irish literature, such as Baile Binnbérlach mac Buain ("Baile with the beautiful voice, the son of Buan"), Scéla Cano meic Gartnáin ("The story of Cano, Gartnan's son") or Tóragheacht Dhiarmaida agus Ghráinne ( “The persecution of Diarmuid and Gráinne”).

In the courtly literature of France and Germany , verse novels emerged between 1150 and 1210, such as the Tristrant by Eilhart von Oberg or the Tristan by Gottfried von Strasbourg . In Eilhart's work (around 1170), the oldest German Tristan epic, there is also a friendship between Tristrant and Walwan (Gwalchmai / Gawain), which even gives him the opportunity to meet with Isalde (Essylt). The question of the mutual influence of the Tristan poems and the Celtic version is complex and not undisputed.

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Helmut Birkhan: Nachantike Keltenrezeption. P. 167 f.
  2. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Nachantike Keltenrezeption. P. 114.
  3. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Celtic stories from the emperor Arthur. , Part 2, p. 115 f. (full paragraph Ystoria Drystan )
  4. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Nachantike Keltenrezeption. S., 170 f. (full paragraph Ystoria Drystan )
  5. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Celtic stories from the emperor Arthur. , Part 2, p. 196 f.