Because Thomas's Tristan has an "obvious dependence" on Wace's Roman de Brut, which was completed by 1155,[1] it is likely that Thomas wrote it after 1155, and probably by 1160, possibly for Eleanor of Aquitaine,[2] since the work suggests close ties with the court of Henry II.
[3] Although Thomas's own text is fragmentary, later adaptations of his work make it possible to reconstruct what is missing: Thomas' version is the earliest known representative of the "courtly branch" of the legend, to which Gottfried's also belongs.
This branch differs from the "common" or "primitive" versions of Béroul and Eilhart von Oberge, in that greater emphasis is placed on pleasing the sensibilities and expectations of a courtly audience.
Some scholars have theorized an "Ur-Tristan", an original French version that inspired all later accounts.
Joseph Bédier attempted to reconstruct this original from the evidence provided by the later versions.