Here is the translation of the Roman de Tristan et Iseult of 1900 by Joseph Bedier. Here is the sixth part: Le Grand Pin.
Le Grand Pin
Ce n’est pas Brangien la fidèle, c’est eux-mêmes que les amants doivent redouter. Mais comment leurs cœurs enivrés seraient-ils vigilants ? L’amour les presse, comme la soif précipite vers la rivière le cerf sur ses fins ; ou tel encore, après un long jeûne, l’épervier soudain lâché fond sur la proie. Hélas ! amour ne se peut celer. Certes, par la prudence de Brangien, nul ne surprit la reine entre les bras de son ami ; mais, à toute heure, en tout lieu, chacun ne voit-il pas comment le désir les agite, les étreint, déborde de tous leurs sens ainsi que le vin nouveau ruisselle de la cuve ?
Already the four court felons, who hated Tristan for his prowess, prowl around the queen. Already they know the truth of his beautiful loves. They burn with lust, hatred and joy. They will bring the news to the king: they will see tenderness turn to fury, Tristan driven out or delivered to death, and the queen's torment. They feared Tristan's anger, however; but, at last, their hatred overcame their terror; one day the four barons called King Mark to parliament, and Andret said to him:
« Beau roi, sans doute ton cœur s’irritera, et tous quatre nous en avons grand deuil ; mais nous devons te révéler ce que nous avons surpris. Tu as placé ton cœur en Tristan et Tristan veut te honnir. Vainement nous t’avions averti : pour l’amour d’un seul homme, tu fais fi de ta parenté et de ta baronnie entière, et tu nous délaisses tous. Sache donc que Tristan aime la reine : c’est vérité prouvée, et déjà l’on en dit mainte parole. »
The noble king staggered and replied:
" Cowardly ! What a felony have you been thinking! Certainly, I placed my heart in Tristan. On the day when the Morholt offered you battle, you all bowed your heads, trembling and like mutes; but Tristan faced him for the honor of this land, and with each of his wounds his soul might have flown away. That's why you hate him, and that's why I love him, more than you, Andret, more than all of you, more than anyone. But what do you claim to have discovered? what did you see ? what did you hear?
'Nothing, indeed, Lord, nothing that your eyes cannot see, nothing that your ears cannot hear. Look, listen, handsome sire; perhaps there is still time. "
And, having retired, they left him at leisure to savor the poison.
Le roi Marc ne put secouer le maléfice. À son tour, contre son cœur, il épia son neveu, il épia la reine. Mais Brangien s’en aperçut, les avertit, et vainement le roi tenta d’éprouver Iseut par des ruses. Il s’indigna bientôt de ce vil combat, et, comprenant qu’il ne pourrait plus chasser le soupçon, il manda Tristan et lui dit :
“Tristan, get away from this castle; and when you have left it, be no longer so bold as to cross its ditches and its lists. Felons accuse you of a great treachery. Do not question me: I could not relate their words without shaming us both. Do not look for words that appease me: I can feel it, they would remain in vain. However, I do not believe the felons: if I believed them, would I not have already cast you to your shameful death? But their evil talk has troubled my heart, and only your departure will calm it. Leave, no doubt I will call you back soon; go, my always dear son! "
When the felons heard the news:
« Il est parti, dirent-ils entre eux, il est parti, l’enchanteur, chassé comme un larron ! Que peut-il devenir désormais ? Sans doute il passera la mer pour chercher les aventures et porter son service déloyal à quelque roi lointain ! »
No, Tristan didn't have the strength to leave; and when he had crossed the lices and the ditches of the castle, he knew that he could not go further away; he stopped in the village of Tintagel itself, took a hotel with Gorvenal in a bourgeois house, and languished, tortured by fever, more wounded than before, in the days when Morholt's spear had poisoned his body. Not long ago, when he was lying in the cabin built by the sea and everyone was fleeing the stench of his wounds, three men nevertheless assisted him: Gorvenal, Dinas de Lidan and King Mark. Now Gorvenal and Dinas were still standing at his bedside; but King Mark was no longer coming, and Tristan was moaning:
« Certes, bel oncle, mon corps répand maintenant l’odeur d’un venin plus repoussant, et votre amour ne sait plus surmonter votre horreur. »
But relentlessly, in the heat of the fever, desire dragged her, like a carried away horse, towards the well-closed towers which kept the queen locked up; horse and rider smashed against the stone walls; but horse and rider rose again and again took the same ride again and again.
Behind the tightly closed towers, Iseut the Blonde also languishes, even more unhappy: for, among these strangers who spy on him, she has to feign joy and laugh all day long; and at night, stretched out beside King Mark, she must tame, motionless, the agitation of her limbs and the twitching of the fever. She wants to flee to Tristan. It seems to her that she gets up and runs to the door; but, on the dark threshold, the felons have stretched out great faulx: the sharp and wicked blades seize his delicate knees as they pass. It seems to her that she is falling and that, from her sliced knees, two red fountains shoot up.
Soon the lovers will die, if no one helps them. And who will help them, if not Brangien? Risking her life, she slipped towards the house where Tristan is languishing. Gorvenal happily opens the door to her, and, to save the lovers, she teaches Tristan a trick.
No, no lords, you will never have heard of a more beautiful ruse of love.
Behind the castle of Tintagel, an orchard stretched out, vast and enclosed by strong palisades. Beautiful trees grew there without number, laden with fruit, birds and fragrant clusters. At the furthest point from the castle, close to the stakes of the palisade, a pine rose, tall and straight, the robust trunk of which supported a large branch. At its foot, a living spring: the water first spread in a large sheet, clear and calm, enclosed by a marble staircase; then, contained between two narrow banks, it ran through the orchard, and, entering the very interior of the chateau, crossed the women's rooms.
Now, every evening, Tristan, by Brangien's advice, skillfully cut pieces of bark and small branches. He crossed the sharp stakes, and, coming under the pine, threw the shavings into the fountain. Light as foam, they floated and flowed with her, and, in the women's rooms, Iseut watched their coming. Immediately, on the evenings when Brangien had known how to ward off King Mark and the felons, she would come to her friend.
She comes, agile and fearful, however, watching at each of her steps if felons have lurked behind the trees. But as soon as Tristan sees her with open arms, he rushes towards her. So the night protects them and the friendly shade of the great pine tree.
« Tristan, dit la reine, les gens de mer n’assurent-ils pas que ce château de Tintagel est enchanté et que, par sortilège, deux fois l’an, en hiver et en été, il se perd et disparaît aux yeux ? Il s’est perdu maintenant. N’est-ce pas ici le verger merveilleux dont parlent les lais de harpe : une muraille d’air l’enclôt de toutes parts ; des arbres fleuris, un sol embaumé ; le héros y vit sans vieillir entre les bras de son amie, et nulle force ennemie ne peut briser la muraille d’air ? »
Déjà, sur les tours de Tintagel, retentissent les trompes des guetteurs qui annoncent l’aube.
“No,” said Tristan, “the wall of air is already broken, and this is not the marvelous orchard here. But, one day, friend, we will go together to the fortunate country from which no one returns. There rises a white marble castle; at each of its thousand windows shines a lighted candle; at each, a juggler plays and sings an endless melody; the sun does not shine there, and yet no one regrets its light: it is the happy land of the living. "
But at the top of the Tintagel towers, dawn lights up the large blocks alternating between vert and azure.
Iseut has regained his joy: Mark's suspicion dissipates and the felons understand, on the contrary, that Tristan has seen the queen again. But Brangien keeps such good guard that they spy in vain. Finally, Duke Andret, God hate! said to his companions:
“Lords, let us take advice from Frocin, the hunchbacked dwarf. He knows the seven arts, magic and all kinds of enchantments. At the birth of a child, he knows how to observe the seven planets and the course of the stars so well that he recounts all the points of his life in advance. He discovers, through the power of Bugibus and Noiron, the secret things. He will teach us, if he wants, the tricks of Iseut the Blonde. "
In hatred of beauty and prowess, the wicked little man traced the characters of witchcraft, cast his charms and spells, considered the course of Orion and Lucifer, and said:
“Live in joy, beautiful lords; tonight you will be able to seize them. "
They brought him before the king.
"Sire," said the sorcerer, "tell your huntsmen to put the leash to the sleuths and the saddle for the horses; announce that seven days and seven nights you will live in the forest, to lead your hunt and you will hang me on the pitchforks, if you do not hear, this very night, what speech Tristan is making to the queen. "
The king did so, against his heart. At nightfall, he left his hunters in the forest, took the dwarf on his back, and returned to Tintagel. Through an entrance he knew he entered the orchard and the dwarf led him under the great pine.
"Handsome king, it is fitting that you climb in the branches of this tree. Carry your bow and your arrows up there: they will perhaps be of use to you. And keep quiet: you won't wait long.
- Go away, enemy dog! Marc replied.
And the dwarf went away, taking the horse away.
Il avait dit vrai : le roi n’attendit pas longuement. Cette nuit, la lune brillait, claire et belle. Caché dans la ramure, le roi vit son neveu bondir par-dessus les pieux aigus. Tristan vint sous l’arbre et jeta dans l’eau les copeaux et les branchages. Mais, comme il s’était penché sur la fontaine en les jetant, il vit, réfléchie dans l’eau, l’image du roi. Ah ! s’il pouvait arrêter les copeaux qui fuient ! Mais non, ils courent, rapides, par le verger. Là-bas, dans les chambres des femmes, Iseut épie leur venue ; déjà, sans doute, elle les voit, elle accourt. Que Dieu protège les amants !
She comes. Sitting motionless, Tristan looks at her, and in the tree, he hears the screech of the arrow which notches in the string of the bow.
She comes, agile and cautious, however, as she used to. " What is it ? she thought. Why doesn't Tristan come running to meet me this evening? would he have seen some enemy? "
Elle s’arrête, fouille du regard les fourrés noirs ; soudain, à la clarté de la lune, elle aperçut à son tour l’ombre du roi dans la fontaine. Elle montra bien la sagesse des femmes, en ce qu’elle ne leva point les yeux vers les branches de l’arbre : « Seigneur Dieu ! dit-elle tout bas, accordez-moi seulement que je puisse parler la première ! »
She approaches again. Listen as she gets ahead and warns her friend:
“Sire Tristan, what have you dared? Attract me to such and such a place, at such an hour! Many times already you had summoned me to beg me, you said. And by what prayer? What are you expecting from me ? I came at last, because I could not forget it, if I am queen, I owe it to you. So here I am: what do you want?
- Queen, you cry thank you, so that you appease the king! "
She trembles and cries. But Tristan praises the Lord God, who has shown the peril to his friend.
« Oui reine, je vous ai mandée souvent et toujours en vain : jamais, depuis que le roi m’a chassé, vous n’avez daigné venir à mon appel. Mais prenez en pitié le chétif que voici ; le roi me hait, j’ignore pourquoi ; mais vous le savez peut-être ; et qui donc pourrait charmer sa colère, sinon vous seule, reine franche, courtoise Iseut, en qui son cœur se fie ?
"In truth, Sire Tristan, are you still unaware that he suspects us both?" And what treachery! Is it necessary, in addition to shame, that it is me who teaches you? My lord believes that I love you with guilty love. God knows it however, and, if I lie, let him shame my body! I have never given my love to any man, except the one who first took me, a virgin, in his arms. And you want me, Tristan, to beg your forgiveness from the king? But if he only knew that I came under this pine, tomorrow he would throw my ashes to the winds! "
Tristan moans:
« Bel oncle, on dit : « Nul n’est vilain, s’il ne fait vilenie. » Mais, en quel cœur a pu naître un tel soupçon ?
- Sire Tristan, what do you mean? No, the king, my lord, would not of himself have imagined such villainy. But the felons of this earth made him believe this lie, for it is easy to disappoint loyal hearts. They love each other, they told him, and congratulate them we have turned him into a crime. Yes, you loved me, Tristan, why deny it? Am I not your uncle's wife and had I not saved you from death twice? Yes, I loved you in return: are you not of the king's lineage, and have I not heard my mother repeat many times that a woman does not love her lord until she loves? the kinship of his lord? It was for the love of the king that I loved you, Tristan; even now, if he receives you in favor, I will be happy. But my body is trembling, I am terrified, I am leaving, I have already stayed too much. "
In the branches, the king took pity and smiled softly. Iseut fled, Tristan called her back:
“Queen, in the name of the Savior, come to my aid, out of charity! The cowards wanted to keep away from the king all those who love him; they succeeded and are now mocking him. That is ; I will therefore go out of this country, far away, miserable as I once came there: but, at least, obtain from the king that in recognition of past services, so that I can without shame ride far from here , he gives me enough of his to pay my expenses, to free my horse and my weapons.
- No, Tristan, you shouldn't have made that request to me. I am alone on this earth, alone in this palace where no one loves me, without support, at the mercy of the king. If I say one word to him for you, don't you see that I risk shameful death? Friend, may God protect you! The king hates you very wrongly. But wherever you go, the Lord God will be a true friend to you. "
Elle part et fuit jusqu’à sa chambre, où Brangien la prend, tremblante, entre ses bras ; la reine lui dit l’aventure. Brangien s’écrie :
“Iseut, my lady, God has done a great miracle for you! He is a compassionate father and does not want the harm of those he knows to be innocent. "
Under the large pine tree, Tristan, leaning against the marble steps, lamented:
“May God take pity on me and make amends for the great injustice that I suffer from my dear lord! "
When he had crossed the fence of the orchard, the king said with a smile:
"Beautiful nephew, blessed be this hour!" See: the distant ride you were planning this morning is already over! "
Over there, in a forest clearing, the dwarf Frocin questioned the course of the stars; he read there that the king was threatening him with death; he blackened with fear and shame, swelled with rage, and fled swiftly to the land of Wales.
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