The major source of Malory's “Tale of Sir Tristram” is the thirteenth-century Old French prose Roman de Tristan. The Prose Tristan, written apparently in emulation of the Prose Lancelot, is a massive romance in which the tragic love story of Tristan and Iseult is interlaced with a version of the history the knights of the Round Table. “The Tale of Sir Tristram” is by far Malory's longest tale. Occupying 481 pages in Vinaver's standard edition, it is more than twice as long as any other tale. Although “The Tale of Tristram” begins with Tristram's birth and follows him through his early development as a knight, it does not have a plot in the modern sense. Rather it follows its large cast though complex interlaced adventures that resemble the variety of life, narrating the deeds of Arthur's greatest knights during the middle years of his reign. As in the Prose Tristan, fairly discrete stories such as that of “La Cote Male Tayle,” “Alexander the Orphan,” and “The Red City” interlace with tournaments and jousts against the backdrop of the story of Tristram, Isode, and King Mark. However, the larger story of the Morte Darthur also advances in this tale. The birth of Galahad foreshadows the quest for the Grail, and the rise of factions loyal to the families of Sir Gawain or to Sir Lancelot leads to the murder of Lamorak by Gawain and his brothers and foreshadows the conflicts that will lead to the fall of the Arthurian realm. Malory ends the tale with the baptism of Sir Palomides, Tristram’s rival for Isode’s love.