"The Romance of Tristram of Lyones and la beale Isoude" (1913), illustrated by Evelyn Paul (Spirit of the Ages)

The Romance of Tristram of Lyones and la beale Isoude (1913)

Illustrated by Evelyn Paul

On the left, we show a copy of The Romance of Tristram of Lyones

and La Beale Isoude produced by George G Harrap & Company

Limited (London) in 1913 - an edition that was printed at the

Camperfield Press in the English town of Saint Albans.

This copy shows the original decorative Evelyn Paul design to the

cover inspired by illuminated Celtic manuscripts from the early

Medieval period, such as The Book of Kells. Paul draws from

Celtic illuminations for inspiration through the tale and in doing

so, provides a visual feast.

To the right, we show Evelyn Paul's illumination - in the early medieval Celtic style - for the title

page of The Romance of Tristramof Lyones and

La beale Isoude.

On the left, we show Evelyn Paul's illumination of

the introduction to the tale.

The introduction reads as follows:

Here beginneth the Romance of

Sir Tristram de Lyones and La beale Isoude

Lordys that be in mirth and play

Merry and blithe as summer's day

Leave and listen while I sing

'Tis nought of elf or færy

Nor eke of bird upon the spray

But most of magic love lonying.

On the left, we show one of Paul's highly ornamented monotone illustrations to the

tale - this example introduces the element related to the Quest for the Holy Grail.

The text reads as follows:

They prayed to Christ with much fervour

Their inward foes to Quell:

Sans fear they rode in high ardour

Good issue to compel.

Glory to Holy Trinity

That be of most avail!

Honour to Heaven's sweet Ladye

That prays for us, Salin Fayle

To Joseph, Hight Arimathie,

And to the Holy Greal!

Above, we show two of the numerous marginal illustrations designed by

Paul to accompany this tale

The Romance of Tristram of Lyones and La beale Isoude - as illustrated by Evelyn Paul - draws on the Celtic

French tradition for this tale of tragically mismatched love. The earliest example of the tale may be found

in the 12th Century work of the French poets Thomas of Britain and Béroul. Later version of the tale were

largely based on the 13th Century work, Prose Tristram. Elements of both influences are reflect in the work

illustrated by Paul, including the portions of the tale establishing Tristram as one of King Arthur's knights

that are questing for the Holy Grail - an element drawn from Prose Tristram.

Our Greeting Cards and Reproduction Prints

We have prepared sets of 12 Greeting Cards displaying each of the colour images from The Romance of Tristram of Lyones and la beale Isoude (1913) and on the left, we show an example of how these Greeting Cards appear. Ordering one of those sets is as easy as selecting the "Add to Cart" feature below and following the prompts provided with our Shopping Cart secured through PayPal. Multiple purchases will be consolidated by that feature and shipping and handling costs to any destination in the world are accommodated by our flat-rate fee of US$20 for every US$200 worth of purchases.

Code: EP RTLBI CS(12)
Price: US$60.00

When presented on Greeting Cards, these images are prepared as tipped-in plates - in homage to the hand-crafted

approach typical of prestige illustrated publications produced in the early decades of the 20th Century.

Hand-finishing is used to replicate the visual appearance of a tipped-in plate and the images are presented on

Ivory card stock (in the case of colour illustrations) or White card stock (in the case of monotone illustrations)

with an accompanying envelope. We have left the cards blank so that you may write your own personal

message.

To purchase, simply click on the "Add to Cart" button and you'll be taken through to our Shopping Cart secured

through PayPal.

Should you wish to order a Reproduction Print or an individual Greeting Card from this suite of images, we

welcome your contact through ThePeople@SpiritoftheAges.com.

In the meantime, enjoy perusing these wonderful images from Evelyn Paul.

The colour illustrations


Sir Murrogh and Sir Tristram	Sir Tramtrist and Sir Palomides	La beale Isoude and Sir Tristram	Sir Tristram and La beale Isoude in the woodland

Sir Tristram kneeled before La beale Isoude	Sir Tristram and the harp	La beale Isoude, Dame Brangwene and Sir Tristram	Sir Tristram smitten down by a fiery beam

Sir Tristram followed no path	La beale Isoude weeping and mourning	Sir Tristram lies mortally wounded by King Mark	Sir Tristram and La beale Isoude lie dead