# Isolt of Ireland — Idylls of the King character guide

> Isolt of Ireland in Idylls of the King by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Isolt, Queen Isolt, Isolt of Britain

**First appearance:** 0011-the-last-tournament

## Snapshot

The Irish queen whose love for Tristram splits her loyalty between two kingdoms and two men.

## Who they are

Isolt of Ireland is bound to King Mark by marriage and to Tristram by a passion that neither can set down, so every meeting becomes a risk to the peace of two realms. She is the 'daintier namesake' whose name Tristram plays against his Breton bride's, the woman Dagonet names when he accuses the harper of breaking Arthur's music. Her presence turns private desire into public fracture at the court.

## In the story

### [The Last Tournament](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/idylls_of_the_king_se/chapters/the-last-tournament)

Isolt of Ireland awaits Tristram at Tintagil, expressing her hatred for King Mark and her love for Tristram.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/idylls_of_the_king_se/characters/isolt_of_ireland
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/idylls_of_the_king_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/idylls_of_the_king_se/characters