Brother Robert was a cleric working in
Norway who adapted several
French literary works into
Old Norse during the reign of King
Haakon IV of Norway (1217–1263). The most important of these,
Tristrams saga ok Ísöndar, based on
Thomas of Britain's
Tristan, is notable as the only example of Thomas' "courtly branch" of the
Tristan and Iseult legend that has survived in its entirety. It was the earliest Scandinavian version of the story, and is thought to be the first Norwegian adaptation of an Old French work. Its success may have inspired the spate of translations during King Haakon's reign.