SOURCE: Hyatte, Reginald. “Tristran's Curving Bow: The Arms of Love's Revenge in Beroul's Tristran.” Tristania 9, nos. 1-2 (autumn-spring 1983-84): 70-80.

In the following essay, Hyatte examines Béroul's use of weapons imagery in Tristran, noting that its main function is to delineate levels of knightly worth, to accent the theme of retribution, and to link narrative.

Beroul arms Tristran with a great variety of weapons—swords, lances, bows, javelins, and clubs—which he wields in the service of love's revenge. In contrast, Thomas' Tristran is usually portrayed as unarmed or impotent. Weapons, like words, are an extension of self; while extending from and beyond the body, they communicate a message about the self's will to act in relation to others. The principal objective in this paper is to define the poetic functions and values of weapons associated with love and revenge in Beroul's Tristran, a dynamic aspect of...