[164.] fay. Faith. (Obsolete except in poetry.)
[180.] Tristram, having been discovered by King Marc in his intrigues with Iseult, was forced to leave Cornwall; hence his visit to Brittany and subsequent marriage to Iseult of the White Hands. See introductory note to poem.
[192.] lovely orphan child. Iseult of Brittany.
[194.] chatelaine. From the French, meaning the mistress of a château—a castle or fortress.
[200.] stranger-knight, ill-starr'd. That is, Tristram, whose many mishaps argued his being born under an unlucky star. See also the account of his birth, note, ll. [81-88], Part II.
[203.] Launcelot's guest at Joyous Gard. Prior to his visit to Brittany, Tristram had imprisoned his uncle, King Marc, and eloped with Iseult to the domains of King Arthur. While there he resided at Joyous Gard, the favorite castle of Launcelot, which that knight assigned to the lovers as their abode.
[204.] Welcomed here. That is, in Brittany, where he was nursed back to health by Iseult of the White Hands. See introductory note to poem.
[215-226.] His long rambles ... ground. Account for Tristram's discontent, as indicated in these lines.
[234-237.] All red ... bathed in foam. The kings of Britain agreed with Arthur to make war upon Rome. Arthur, leaving Modred in charge of his kingdom, made war upon the Romans, and, after a number of encounters, Lucius Tiberius was killed and the Britons were victorious.—GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH, Book IV, Chapter XV; Book X, Chapters I-XIII. According to Malory, Arthur captured many French and Italian cities (see ll. 250-251); during this continental invasion, and was finally crowned king at Rome. It seems that he afterward despatched a considerable number [p.171] of his knights to carry the Christian faith among the heathen German tribes. See ll. 252-253.
[238.] moonstruck knight. A reference to the mystical influence the ancients supposed the moon to exert over men's minds and actions.