Parzival

Wolfram von Eschenbach, a poet and knight, wrote the medieval chivalric romance Parzival in Middle High German. Scholars usually place its composition in the first quarter of the 13th century. The story follows the Arthurian hero Parzival (known as Percival in English) on his lengthy search for the Holy Grail, which he initially fails to obtain.

The narrative opens with the knightly exploits of Parzival’s father, Gahmuret, his marriage to Herzeloyde (whose name means “heart’s sorrow” in Middle High German), and Parzival’s birth. After encountering three elegant knights, Parzival decides to seek out King Arthur, and his journey becomes both a physical and spiritual quest for the Grail. A substantial portion of the work focuses on Parzival’s friend Gawan, who must clear himself of a false murder charge and win the hand of the maiden Orgeluse. The romance stresses humility, compassion, sympathy, and the pursuit of spirituality. Love also plays a major role: true love inspires heroic acts of chivalry, and these are ultimately fulfilled within marriage.

Legacy

Considered a masterpiece of the Middle Ages, Parzival was the most popular vernacular verse narrative in medieval Germany. It is still read and translated into modern languages worldwide. Wolfram began a prequel, Titurel, which another writer later continued, and two full romances adapted his story of Loherangrin. Richard Wagner based his famous opera Parsifal, completed in 1882, on this work.

Synopsis and structure

The romance is divided into sixteen books, each made up of several thirty-line stanzas of rhyming couplets. These stanza lengths fit perfectly onto a manuscript page. Wolfram largely adapted his material from Chrétien de Troyes’ unfinished Grail romance, Perceval, the Story of the Grail. He claimed that a certain Kyot the Provençal supplied extra material from Arabic and Angevin sources, but most scholars now believe Kyot was Wolfram’s own invention, part of the fictional narrative.

Backstory and early life

Book I begins with the death of King Gandin, Parzival’s grandfather. His eldest son, Galoes, inherits the kingdom and offers his brother Gahmuret the land of Anjou as a fief.

Gahmuret, however, leaves to win renown. He travels to the African kingdom of Zazamanc, whose capital is under siege by two armies. He offers his services to Queen Belacane, defeats the invaders, marries her, and becomes king of Zazamanc and Azagouc.