s steed,
And flew against Tristan with speed
Still greater than is falcons' flight;
But warlike too was Tristan's might."
GOTTFRIED VON STRASSBURG (Dippold's tr.).

Terrible blows were given and received, and at last Tristan sank to the
ground on one knee, for his opponent's poisoned weapon had pierced his
side.

Morold then called upon him to acknowledge himself beaten, promising to
obtain a balsam from his sister Iseult (Isolde, Ysolde), who knew a remedy
for such a dangerous wound. But Tristan, remembering that, if he
surrendered, three hundred innocent children would be sold as slaves, made
a last despairing effort, and slew Morold. Such was the force of the blow
he dealt that he cut through the helmet and pierced Morold's skull, which
was so hard that a fragment of his sword remained imbedded within the
wound.

The people of Cornwall were, of course, delighted; and while the Irish
heralds returned empty-handed to Dublin with Morold's remains, the King of
Cornwall loudly proclaimed that as he had no son, Tristan should be his
heir.

[Sidenote: Tristan's wound.] Tristan, however, was far from happy, for the
wound in his side refused to heal, and gradually became so offensive that
no one could bear his presence. As none of the court doctors could relieve
him, he remembered Morold's words, and resolved to go to Ireland, in hopes
that Iseult would cure him. Conscious, however, that she would never
consent to help him if she suspected his identity, he embarked alone, or
with Kurvenal, in a small vessel, taking only his harp, and drifted toward
Ireland, where he arrived at the end of fifteen days. When he appeared at
court, Tristan declared that he was a wandering minstrel called Tantris,
and bespoke the kind offices of the queen, Iseult. Charmed by his music,
she hastened to cure him of the grievous wound from which he had suffered
so much.

Tristan, still unknown, remained at the Irish court for some time, spending
many hours with Iseult, the daughter and namesake of the queen, whom he
instructed daily in the art of music. After some months passed thus in
pleasant intercourse, Tristan returned to Cornwall, where he related to
Mark the story of his cure, and so extolled the beauty of young Iseult that
the king finally expressed a desire to marry her. By the advice of the
courtiers, who were jealous of Tristan, and who hoped that this mission
would cost him his life, the young hero was s