Point of View

Gottfried writes from the perspective of a student of literature and history from around the world, and the past as well as the present. He seeks to tell the best version of the story of Tristan and Isolde as he gathers it from the several who have told it before with the purpose of revealing the best truths about love as demonstrated by two who practiced it as well as it has been practiced. His sources are writers and historians whom he praises and criticizes as occasion calls for it, and in that way sets himself up as a translator of previous literature for his readers, crystallizing what he sees to be the most worthy parts of the lovers' story. He also speaks as a member and student of the culture of chivalry, well acquainted both with its ability to bring forth and accentuate the best...