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Drystan
The Cymric, Brythonic and Pictish Hero, also known as Trystan, Tristan, Droston, Drustanos: Thorny
Drystan (Trystan, Tristan, Droston, Drustanos) is a Cymric, Brythonic and Pictish hero known from the Welsh Triads and the Black Book of Camarthen. Drystan is the archetype for Tristan (from Tristan and Isolde) and may represent a Pictish hero who became part of Brythonic and then Cymric legends. |
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Cym, Bryth, Pick: Throny
Generally known as Drystan mab Tallwch (son of Tallwch) he is known from several of the Trioedd. This Drystan is the same figure as the tragic hero of Tristan ac Esyllt (Tristan et Iseolt). As Trystan he is known from the only surviving Cymric fragment of his origingl romance, the Ystoria Trystan and a fragment of an obscure early poem in the Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin. Though Drystan is the usual Cymric form of the name, the form of Tristan does also occur in Old Cymric sources such as the form Avel mab Tristan encountered in the Llyfr Du Llandaf. As pointed out by Rachel Bromwich in the Trioedd Ynys Prydain the French form of Tristan may well be derived from a written Old Cymric version of the name; for though the spellings are the same the pronunciations (especially of the initial 'T' consonant) are quite different.
Drystan is derived from the primitive Celtic form Drŭstanos; a name which is attested in varinat forms across both Britain and Ireland and which may be related to the archaic Cymric form of *Drys (meaning thorny). Drust and it diminutive Drostan seem to be applied most particularly to those of Pictish descent and it seems that the name was borrowed fairly early into Cymric and possibly later into Irish. Indeed, the mane Drystwrn Hayarn (Thorny Iron-fist) is encountered in Culhwch ac Olwen. Indeed, Drystan's father's name, Tallwch, may also be a Pictish name, derived from Talorc thus both names and possibly the origin of the tale may derive from Pictland. Also, though merely fragmentary the language of the Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin Dau Ddarn of Chwedl Trystan seems to predate 1100 and thus both the Norman conquest and the continental versions of the stories. The poem also refers to Trystan himself and to his uncle, March, two of the principals in the later tales. Unfortunately the surviving Cymric writings are only fragmentary and we must rely on the French and German versions of the tale for a complete account.
As Bromwich has pointed out in the Trioedd Ynys Prydain there are analogies to the tale of Drystan in Irish literature. A good example being the parallel to Drystan's 'Dragon Fight' in the CúChulainn tale of the 'Wooing of Emer' in which the figure of Drust mac Sieirb is found. This is a name unknown elsewhere in Irish literature and it may be that he was the original hero of the tale. This may represent a survival of an ancient archetype of the story, an adventure of the Pictish Drust who later became the Cymric Drystan and then the French Tristan.
There are a few other survivals even in the continental versions of the tale that might represent a north-British origin of the tale. The name Loonis or Leonis may represent Lothian and represents the location of Tristan's home. The name of the forest, Morrois may contain the place-name Moray. Representations of Drystan in the Cymric Trioedd may also shed some light on the origins of the tale. He is variously mentioned in six of the triads as one of the three: enemy-subduers of the Island of Britain; battle-diademed men of the Island of Britain; lovers of the Island of Britain; stubborn men, peers of Arthur's court. Of most note is Triad 26 that describes Drystan as one of the three Powerful Swineherds of the Island of Britain. Here Drystan is guarding the swine of his uncle Math mab Meirchiawn whilst the true swineherd seeks-sout Esyllt (Math's wife) to arrange a tryst with Drystan that evening. At this time Arthur rides up and attempts to steal some of the swine but by (some unspecified means) Drystan defeats him. This poem, along with the other tirads, and the Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin fragments hints at lost heroic exploits of Drystan and that in the native tradition he was far more than a legendary lover.
There may be a conflation here between a real Pictish king (Drust) and a Celtic archetype, for in all the eraliest tales Drystan/Tristan is presented as a master of a triad of skills: hunting, harping and deception. Indeed, Drystan (Trystan) is described as one of the "three enchanter knights of Arthur's court" and is a ble to shape-stift, a definite trickster attribute. This may hint at a lost Cymric version of Tristan's dragon-slaying exploits where he uses his shape-shifting abilities; a battle that might be reminiscent of the giant encounters in Culhwch ac Olwen or at least belonging to the same tradition as them. In this respect Drystan can be viewed as a 'trickster' figure. The love triangle between Drystan, Esyllt and March may have been a later gloss on the earier trickster tale.
If you would like to try the foods of the time of the ancient Celts, then why not have a look at the ancient recipes section of this site. For the foods of the time when some of these tales were written down, take a look at the Medieval recipes section of the site and, in particular, the recipes from The Forme of Cury.
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