Tristan
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Tristan (Latin/Brythonic: Drustanus; Welsh: Trystan; Italian: Tristano), also known as Tristran or Tristram and similar names, is the folk hero of the legend of Tristan and Iseult. While escorting the Irish princess Iseult to wed Tristan's uncle, King Mark of Cornwall, Tristan and Iseult accidentally drink a love potion during the journey and fall in love, beginning an adulterous relationship that eventually leads to Tristan's banishment and death.
The character's first recorded appearance is in the 12th-century poetic tellings initiated by Béroul and Thomas of Britain, which were eventually vastly expanded in the later tradition from the vast Prose Tristan. In later versions of his story he is featured in Arthurian legend, including the seminal compilation Le Morte d'Arthur, as a great Knight of the Round Table and friend of Lancelot.
The historical roots of Tristan are unclear; his association with Cornwall may originate from the Tristan Stone, a 6th-century granite pillar in Cornwall inscribed with the name Drustanus (a variant of Tristan). He has been depicted in numerous historical and modern works of literature, music, and cinema.
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