| Parzival |
Articles about Parzival |
Information AboutParzival |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT PARZIVAL | |
| arthurian literature | |
| german poems | |
| medieval literature | |
| holy grail | |
|
THE TEXT ''Parzival'' is divided into sixteen books, each composed of several thirty-line Stanza s of Rhyming Couplet s. The stanza lengths fit perfectly onto a manuscript page. For the subject matter, Wolfram von Eschenbach relied on the never-completed Grail romance, '' Perceval, The Story Of The Grail '' by Chrétien De Troyes . Though he claimed a certain Kyot the Provençal supplied an additional source, this is not taken seriously by scholars. THE STORY Book I opens with the death of King Gandin, Parzival's grandfather. His oldest son, Galoes, receives the kingdom but offers his brother Gahmuret the land of Anjou in Fief . However, Gahmuret departs from his brother and mother, determined to serve under the "Baruch of Baghdad" and gain renown. At the end of worldwide adventures — which receive no more than a summary in the text — he travels to the African kingdom of Zazamanc.Zazamanc's capital, Patelamunt, is under siege by two armies. A European army led by Hiuteger of Scotland, Gaschier of Normandy, Killirjacac of Champagne, and Gahmuret's cousin Kaylet attack the eight eastern gates. The Moorish army of King Razalic of Azagouc attacks the eight western gates. Gahmuret offers his services to the city, and his offer is accepted by Queen Belakane . He conquers Gaschier, Hieuteger, and Razalic, and avoids a joust with Kaylet because of their kinship. As Killirjacac was already captured by the army of Patelamunt, victory is won. Gahmuret marries Queen Belakane and becomes king of Zazamanc and Azagouc. Growing bored with peace, Gahmuret steals away on a ship, abandoning his wife, who is twelve weeks pregnant. Belakane gives birth to a son whose skin is black with white spots whom she names Feirefiz . Gahmuret returns to the West, where he meets and marries Queen Herzeloyde. Ever restless, however, he soon returns to the Far East to fight for the Baruch once again. While there, he is killed by treachery. Grief stricken by her husband's death, the pregnant Herzeloyde soon bears a child, swearing to protect him forever from the ways of knighthood. Parzival is thus brought up by his mother, who — after her husband died the death of a knight — retires to a lonely forest. She does not want Parzival to become a Knight to spare him his father's fate, and raises him ignorant of even his own name. But one day four knights passing by awaken the interest of the boy, and learning from them about King Arthur, he decides to go off to join King Arthur 's court. Before he leaves his mother gives him advice on how to act in civilization, and then dresses him in ridiculous clothes, hoping knights will leave him alone. Heart broken, she dies. The first part of the journey takes place completely in the world of King Arthur and Parzival gets entangled in first guilt. Because he does not know the meaning of the pledge of love ( Minnepfand ), he snatches a ring and a brooch away from Jeschute , the wife of duke Orilus . Orilus thinks his wife has committed adultury and treats her brutally, vowing to kill any knight he meets until he finds Parzival. Parzival meets his cousin Sigune , whose lover had just been killed by Orilus, and she reveals his true name. Before the gates of Nantes , Ither , the red knight, has pitched his tents. Parzival goes into the town to king Arthur, and reports meeting Ither and requests to fight him so as to obtain his beautiful red armor. The colourful and strange appearance of Parzival awakens the interest of the court. During the fight he kills Ither with a javelin and puts on his armor. Without returning to the court of Arthur he rides away; still wearing his rustic clothes underneath the armour. Now he meets Gurnemanz from whom he learns every right and duty of a knight, but above all self-control and moderation, Gurnemanz gives him the advice to avoid curiosity: "ir ensult niht vil gefragen". As a physically perfect knight Parzival helps Condwiramurs as her town gets besieged, and marries her. He leaves to seek news of his mother and arrives at the castle of the Grail , but he does not ask his host, the Fisher King Anfortas, about his mysterious wound or the magical object before him, remembering Gurnemanz' advice to be not too curious. The next morning Parzival finds himself completely alone in a totally deserted castle. This was the first time Parzival had crossed the limits of this world - and he failed. Parzival returns to the world of Arthur and meets again Sigune, who now explains him that his mother Herzeloyde is the sister of the dangerously ill Anfortas , king of the grail. He also meets Jeschute again, who was unwittingly humiliated by him the last time, and he defeats Orilus in a single combat. Eventually Parzival renews the marriage of Jeschute and Orilus. Parzival returns as a perfect potential member of the Round Table to King Arthur. But during a festive meal Cundrie , messenger of the grail, appears, curses Parzival in the name of the grail and claims that Parzival had lost his honour. Parzival immediately leaves the court, even though he is not able to understand his guilt. For a while Gawan takes over as the central figure of the book while Parzival appears as a red knight who fights on "the other side." All along he fights for the good, but he suffers from his distance to God. After nearly five years of wandering and fighting, from combat he gains a new horse, one owned by a grail knight, and this horse leads the despairing knight one Good Friday to Trevrizent to whom he introduces himself as a regretful sinner. He stays with this holy man for fourteen days. From him he learns about the hidden meaning of life and the true meaning of the grail. With that action Parzival makes the first step to a life of spiritual understanding. Through his loneliness and through his yearning for the grail and for Condwiramurs he puts himself outside the world of Arthur. He is called to another world, that of the grail. He fights with a knight who is the first to seem more adept even that he. Parzival's sword breaks, but instead of slaying him, the other knight sees no honor in such a feat and both retire to the grass. There they learn that they share the same father. "I was against my own self," says Parzival to Feirefiz, his brother from afar. Again Cundrie appears and proclaims now that Parzival's name has appeared on the grail, marking him as the new grail king. During his journey to the grail Parzival reunites with his wife and takes Feirefiz as a companion. Feirefiz cannot see the grail, but he can see the grail maiden and falls in love. The ill Anfortas is healed by Parzival. EDITIONS The standard edition of the text is Karl Lachmann's, 1926. This is the basis for all modern editions, including:
TRANSLATIONS English
Modern German Many recent editions of the text include a translation into Modern German, including
EXTERNAL LINKS
SOURCES
|
|
|