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The Lovespotters
The Lovespotters serve as a sort of Greek chorus that comments on the action from the outside. But they're based on a very real group of British hobbyists called "trainspotters."
To put it simply, trainspotters literally spot trains. The earliest trainspotters emerged around the 1840s, which is the same time as the railway boom in Great Britain. The photo on the right is of a 14-year-old trainspotter (c. 1890s). If you want to read some of his journal entries, click here.
Trainspotting became much more widespread after World War I. Railway fans of all ages would gather on train platforms and write down locomotive numbers to collect them all - sort of a low-tech Pokemon situation. One station built a separate trainspotting platform to avoid overcrowding on the traveler platform. Watch this 2-minute film about 1950s trainspotters.
Before long, the watchers were pushing boundaries, trespassing, and getting a bit too bold in approaching the trains. British Railways got nervous, and trainspotting went from sort of wholesome to illicit. To be fair, these photos below would make anyone nervous.
Here's a short video made by someone who is a trainspotter today!
Variations
The story of Tristan and Yseult and their tragic love have seen endless changes throughout history and across nations. For more information about their varied stories, visit the Historical Context page.
Class Hierarchies in Medieval Cornwall
One of the hallmarks of the middle ages is the feudal class structure. This is a strict hierarchy of power in which it is virtually impossible to move up in the ranks. As a member of a certain class, it's very important to know where you stand and who is higher or lower than you.
King Mark
Tristan
Brangian
Frocin
Lovespotters?
Yseult
Yseult #2
(Whitehands)
Murderer (Probably)
Morholt*
*Morholt is a king in Ireland, which has its own class system. But the play takes place in Cornwall, and he IS a king, which puts him at the top of the Irish pecking order.
The Tristan Chord
In Wagner's opera, the Prelude began with a dissonant chord, which came to be known as the Tristan Chord. In music, dissonance, or lack of harmony, typically resolves into consonance, or harmony. Our brains expect that resolution.
The Tristan Chord does not resolve into a consonant chord until the end of the opera. Today, we have more of a tolerance for dissonance, because our music plays with it much more than when Wagner was writing. But to his audiences, the Tristan Chord was actually shocking.
The chord creates tension that builds throughout the opera until Tristan and Isolde die together. Listen to it and see how it makes you feel! Does it give you any insight into the tension your character might feel?
Fact or Fiction?: The Tristan Stone
Although the story of Tristan and Yseult has been told in many ways and many different cultures, there is very little evidence of a matching historical account.
The photo on the right shows what is called the Tristan Stone. According to legend, it was once the grave marker for the real Tristan, nephew of the Cornish King Mark. It has been moved several times since it was erected around 6th century CE, so there's no hope of CSI-ing the monument.
Inscribed on the stone is a t-shape (likely a Christian cross) and a Latin phrase: "DRUSTANS HIC IACET CUNOMORI FILIUS," which means "Here lies Drustanus, the son of Cunomorus." Historians speculate that "Drustanus" might be an old form of Tristan. Plus, there is a historical King Mark (ruling Cornish and Breton nations) who was also named Qunomomorius (Cunomorus).
Fact or Fiction?: Castle Dore
Castle Dore is certainly real place, situated in Cornwall. It may look like alien crop circles to us, but these are the ruins of a hill fort (or a ring fort) built in the 4th or 5th centuries BCE. It enters the Tristan and Yseult mythology due to belief that Castle Dore was where King Mark lived and ruled.
Fact or Fiction?: The Lover's Gate
In Golant, Cornwall, the entrance gates of the St. Sampson churchyard are commonly called "The Lover's Gate." St. Sampson is rumored to be the church where King Mark married Yseult. It's close to Castle Dore, which was supposedly King Mark's castle. The Tristan Stone is also reportedly nearby.
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