The Romance of Tristan Justice and Judgment Quotes

This passage raises an interesting question: is justice really justice when it is undertaken out of spite? The barons are technically within their rights to insist that Tristan and Yseut be prosecuted for treason, but they do so not out of an impartial love for justice, but out of hatred for Tristan and jealousy of his prowess. It may not be fair to call prosecution undertaken with such motives "justice."

The medieval justice system had no concept of "innocent until proven guilty," and even if it did, we have to admit that the evidence against Tristan—blood all over Yseut's bed and the floor around it, plus a bleeding wound on his leg—is pretty incriminating. (But hey, they could just have been jumping on the beds, right?) The ultimate word on guilt or innocence is not a jury, but the king. This means that the quality of justice depends on the king's powers of reason and judgment. That means the king is more than just another human being influenced by selfish motives. People think that he is divinely appointed and that he possesses appropriate powers for his office because of his divine ordination.

The kind of trial Tristan is after is not a trial-by-jury; he wants a trial-by-combat in which he pits his armed strength against the skills of a knight representing those who accuse him of a crime. The thinking goes that God will allow the innocent to prevail in such a trial. Of course, Tristan knows he is not innocent, but he places just as much faith in his superior knightly skills as he does in God. His certainty about his ability to prevail reveals the flaw in the trial-by-combat system.

Since we know from earlier lines that the Cornish people do not want Tristan and Yseut to die, they must be convinced that a fair trial will prove their innocence. Mark's refusal to do what his barons want him to do suggests that their importance to the process of justice goes only so far. They must assemble to serve as witnesses to the death penalty to elevate it above the charge of petty vengeance. The presence of the audience legitimates Tristan and Yseut's deaths as part of the legal system. But the audience's opinion seems to count for nothing with the "judge," King Mark, who has already passed sentence on his "criminals."

The leper's suggestion that Mark give Yseut to the lepers rather than burn her plays upon Mark's understanding of the purpose of punishment. Rather than viewing it as a way to uphold justice, Mark seems to value it as a means of exacting personal vengeance and bolstering his own power and reputation.

Once again, Tristan requests to be allowed to prove his innocence in a trial-by-combat. The continued refusal of Mark's barons to face Tristan in such a trial lends support to Tristan's claim of innocence, even though what motivates the barons' refusal is likely simple fear.

As far as Mark's barons are concerned, Yseut is guilty until proven innocent. They want her to prove her innocence by taking an oath never to have loved Tristan wickedly. The barons try to play on Mark's sense of honor and pride, implying that continued speculation about Yseut's integrity reflects shamefully on the king.

Yseut craftily demands to have Arthur and his court as "surety" for her oath. They will witness it and prevent anyone from accusing her again by defending the integrity of her word with their swords. The system of surety reveals how medieval justice depends upon a network of loyal friends and allies for its operation: trial outcomes must be backed by swords. (Yeah, we have some questions about this, too.) Yseut's request for Arthur also buys her time to arrange a plan to come through the trial unscathed.

Yseut will prove her innocence by swearing an oath over these relics—pieces of the bodies of saints or objects associated with them. She appears to take seriously the belief that God will immediately strike her dead if she lies while swearing on the holy objects. She goes to elaborate lengths to be sure she can give a truthful oath without implicating herself for infidelity.

Since the leper who carried Yseut across the ford is in fact Tristan in disguise, Yseut's oath here is technically true, but it's still deceptive. Everyone present assumes that her oath exonerates her of an affair with Tristan when in fact, it does just the opposite. This story's definition of a truthful oath is extremely literal. If what Yseut says is technically true, her oath is truthful whether or not it really fulfills the intention of the trial—to prove her innocence.