It may be interesting here, and may help to the better understanding
of the poem, if we describe the armour of a knight at the end of the
twelfth century. The principal piece of defensive armour was the
Hauberk (Halsberg), a coat formed of rings of steel which reached to
the knee, and had sleeves ending in iron gauntlets. Attached to this,
and forming one piece with the Halsberg, was the Härsenier, a cap of
chain mail which was drawn over the head below the helmet. The upper
part of the face was protected by the 'Nasen-band,' a band of iron
provided with eye-holes; and the lower part by the 'Fintäle,' a part of
the 'Härsenier' which passed round and over the chin; above this the
helmet was fastened. (The use of the word 'visor' in the translation
is an anachronism, as the visor proper was not introduced till later,
but there was no other word which would express what was meant with
equal brevity and clearness.) Foot and leg were clad in hose of iron,
and the knee and elbow were specially protected by plates of iron or
_schinnelier_. Over this harness many knights wore the _Waffen-rock_,
a long sleeveless garment of silk on which the badge of the knight was
embroidered in gold and jewels. The sword was girt above this garment.
The knight would also bear his distinguishing badge on helmet, shield,
and the truncheon of his spear. The shield was of wood, strengthened
with bands of metal, and often decorated with precious stones, cf. the
description of Feirefis' shield in Book XV. The shield was long-shaped,
three-cornered, and was held in the left hand close to the body, the
spear was carried in the right, so that the horse was guided by the
_knee_, not by the _hand_, of the rider. The spear was a blade of
steel, set into a long heft of wood, or reed, _Röhr_, probably Bamboo,
sometimes even the rough trunk of a young tree, as in Book IV. p.
519. Shield and spear were alike painted in the same colours as the
robe of the knight, and the horse had a like covering of silk beneath
the saddle and over the coat of mail with which it was protected. The
description given by Wolfram of the arms and accoutrement of the Red
Knight of Parzival, Book IV. p. 19, and Orilus, Book V. pp. 147-148,
_seq._, will give a very clear idea of the appearance of a knight in
full battle-array.
Page 83, line 570--'_To the Table Round I came_.' Here we find an
allusion to two methods of laying claim to a property. There seems a
difference of opinion as to the first; Simrock holds that the pouring
out of the wine constituted the claim; Bartsch, that the point of
the action lay in carrying off some part of the property claimed.
This seems the more probable interpretation, the pouring out of the
wine then, as well as the sprinkling the queen, would be accidental.
In Chrêtien the indignation of king and queen at the insult is far
more strongly emphasised. The burning of a wisp of straw, as a
declaration of rights claimed, is mentioned by Grimm in his _Deutsche
Rechtsalterthümer_.
Page 83, line 586--'_Iwanet_.' The diminutive of Iwein, the well-known
hero of Hartmann's poem (the Owain, son of Urien of Rheged, of Welsh
tradition).
Page 83--'_Parzival at the court of King Arthur_.' There are some
distinctive features in Wolfram's version of this incident. Parzival's
behaviour towards the King, though unconventional, is far less
discourteous than that ascribed to him either by Chrêtien or by the
English 'Sir Percyvelle.' In Chrêtien's poem, Perceval rides into the
hall, where he finds the king and courtiers plunged in grief at the
insult offered to them by the Red Knight. The king does not reply to
Perceval's greeting, and the lad rides so close to him that his horse's
head knocks off the king's cap. A reason for the failure of the Knights
of the Round Table to avenge the insult offered by the Red Knight
is suggested in the fact that they are already wounded in battle.
[The student of Irish heroic saga cannot fail to recall the strange
disability under which the knights of Conchobor's court suffered at
times and which completely prostrated them. The province of Ulster
would have lain defenceless were it not that the Cuchulainn alone was
free from the disability, and single-handed defied the men of the rest
of Ireland. There are many points of contrast between the _enfances_ of
Cuchulainn and those of Perceval--A.N.] The kindly feeling shown both
by Arthur and Guinevere towards Ither is not paralleled in Chrêtien,
where the Red Knight is represented as Arthur's deadliest foe, and
Guinevere is like to die of shame and wrath at the insult offered to
her. Chrêtien also places Perceval's refusal to dismount here, whereas
Wolfram places it on his arrival at Gurnemanz' castle. In Chrêtien the
hero tells the Red Knight of his intention to demand his armour from
Arthur, and there is no trace of the courteous and poetical greeting
which Ither here addresses to Parzival. The confusion of the Red Knight
with the hero's own personal foe is of course due to the introduction
of the Lähelein episode which is peculiar to Wolfram; but Chrêtien has
a most curious passage connected with Perceval's inability to disarm
his dead antagonist:
'Ains auroie par carbonées
Trestout escarbelliè le mort,
Que nule des armes enport;'
which as it stands is decidedly difficult of interpretation; while in
the English Sir Percyvelle we find the hero saying:
'My moder bad me,
Whenne my dart solde brokene be
Owte of the irene brenne the tree,'
which evidently indicates the source of Chrêtien's curious remark. An
examination of the different versions seems to show that, while the
German is the fuller and more poetical, the French is here closer to
the original form of the story.
Pages 85 and 86, lines 635, 658--'_Kay the Seneschal_.' The character
of Kay is one of the problems of the Arthurian legends. In all the
tales he is represented as filling the office of Seneschal, and in
all he is represented as a man of rough manners, violent temper, and
bitter tongue. The Seneschal (_Senes-schalh_), the oldest servant,
was master of the ceremonies, one of the chief personages of a
royal household, and not unfrequently the trusted confidant of the
king; but such a chastisement as Kay here, and in other versions,
inflicts upon Kunnewaaré, was distinctly _outside_ his office, and,
taking into consideration the standing of Kunnewaaré and Antanor,
quite inconceivable. Here, as in other instances, we have traces of
an original tradition dating from a time when a far rougher code of
manners and customs obtained. Wolfram, while adhering closely to his
source, and to the traditional representation of Kay's character, was
evidently extremely puzzled by the undignified and discourteous part
allotted to him, and in Book VI. (p. 169) he diverges from the story in
order to explain what he feels to be a difficulty, and to defend Kay at
some length. The Northern French poets apparently felt the same, and as
Kay is generally represented as Arthur's foster-brother they invented
the fable that the unknightly traits in his character were due to his
having been committed to the care of a peasant nurse when his mother
took charge of the infant Arthur.
Page 85, line 652--'_The maiden Kunnewaaré_.' The 'laughing damsel'
seems to be an archaic and misunderstood element in the Grail romances.
A common incident of folk-tales is for the hero, fool, lout, or
tatterdemalion, to win to wife a princess who has not laughed or spoken
for years by inducing her to do either of these things. Some such
incident has apparently been woven into an heroic romance, the main
outlines of which were already fixed, so that the actual conclusion,
marriage of the hero with the laughing damsel, has been disturbed.
Note, however, the homage paid by Parzival to Kunnewaaré, and her
evident affection for him (Book VI. pp. 181-185). Her name too is
suggestive, it has been derived from _la pucele a la gonne vaire_
(the maiden with the coloured robe), but in its present form it is
suspiciously like Kondwiramur, and it should be noted that it is the
rejected lover of this queen whom Kunnewaaré eventually marries. Is it
possible that the Perceval romance from which both Chrêtien and 'Kiot'
drew contained doublets of this personage? In the one case in her
original, in the other in a modified form. An instructive parallel may
be adduced from the saga of Cuchulainn. He is the hero of an Andromeda
episode and should by rights wed the delivered heroine, but the story
being already fixed before the episode was assimilated, the heroine is
passed on to a companion of the hero.--[A. N.]
Page 89, line 766--'_Maestricht, or e'en Cologne_.' German art, in the
early Middle Ages, reached its highest level in the Rhenish provinces,
especially at Cologne.
Page 91, line 828--'_Gurnemanz of Graharz_.' The old knight who
instructs the hero in knightly duties is a traditional part of
the story, and belongs to most of the versions. In Peredur, he is
identified with the Fisher King, Perceval's uncle. In Chrêtien his name
is given as Gonemans of Gelbort; in Gerbert, Chrêtien's continuator, he
is, _Gornemant_ (one of several points of contact between Gerbert and
Wolfram's source).
Page 91, line 847--'_He bade them lead the guest in_.' This is one of
the many passages which afford an interesting glimpse of the manners
and customs of a bygone age. It may be well to summarise here what we
know of the reception and treatment of a guest in the Middle Ages. If a
strange knight rode into the courtyard of a castle he was received by
squires and pages, who held his bridle and assisted him to dismount.
The guest was then conducted to a chamber where he was disarmed and
provided with suitable robes. In every important household there was a
_Kleider-kammer_, or wardrobe, presided over by a chamberlain, whose
office it was to see that all guests were provided with garments fitted
to their station. The preparation of these dresses was the work of the
women of the household, and it can have been no light task, as even
if a whole company arrived they would all expect to be provided with
the requisite dress. The guest, being robed, was then conducted to the
great Hall, which was in the upper story of the castle. Half-way on
the staircase leading to it, he would be met, and welcomed with the
kiss of greeting, by both host and hostess (cf. Book IV. p. 107),
and led by them into the Hall where he would receive the greeting of
the assembled company. When all were seated the guest would say who
he was, and whence he came, but, if he kept silence on this point, it
was not etiquette to ask him till the next morning (cf. Book III. p.
95). The evening meal then followed, after which, on occasions of great
festivity, such as that recounted in Book XIII. (marriage feast of
Gawain and Orgeluse) there would be dancing, otherwise the time seems
to have been spent in conversation till the appearance of the wine-cup,
_Nacht Trunk_, gave the signal for separation. Then knights conducted
the guest to his chamber, where pages disrobed him, and apparently
waited with lighted tapers till he fell asleep. The account given
here of Parzival's visit to Gurnemanz gives a very good idea of how
the following day would be spent, indeed Wolfram's love for detailed
description, and accuracy of statement render this poem peculiarly
valuable to a student of the manners and customs of the Middle Ages.
From various hints in the Gawain episodes, notably Books X. and XI.,
it seems as if the privilege extended to a guest might on occasion be
construed with a freedom decidedly repellent to modern ideas.
Page 96, lines 984, 985--'_Full five shall thy senses be_.' Cf. Book
IX. p. 200.
Page 98, line 1055--'_The prince bade his daughter hither_.' The
introduction of Gurnemanz' daughter, and her incipient love affair with
Parzival is peculiar to this version. There is a curious discrepancy
to be noted between the apparent susceptibility of the hero here
and in Book IX. pp. 260, 261, and his indifference to feminine
charms displayed elsewhere, notably in his rejection of Orgeluse's
advances and neglect of the Château Merveil adventure. The latter
presentment seems most in accordance with Parzival's character; is the
susceptibility to be ascribed to the _poet_?
Page 99, line 1080--'_I lose once more a son_.' The sons of the old
knight are mentioned in other versions, but Wolfram alone names them.
The circumstances of Schenteflur's death are recounted in Book IV. p.
121; the account given of the other two sons is largely borrowed from
Hartmann's _Erec_, where the strife for the hawk at Kanedig, and the
venture, Schoie-de-la-kurt (which is not a person, but an expedition),
is fully recounted. Brandigan is Klamidé's kingdom, cf. Book IV.;
Mabonagrein, his cousin, Book IV. p. 123. Mahaut is another form of the
name Matilda. From _Titurel_ we learn that Gurzgrei and Mahaut were the
parents of Schionatulander, Siguné's lover, cf. also Book VIII. p. 245
and note.
BOOK IV
TRADITIONAL EVENTS
Arrival at besieged city; maiden Chrêtien and his continuator
of the castle beseeches the hero's Gerbert; Peredur; Sir Percyvelle.
aid; overthrowal of her enemies
and final marriage with maiden.
Name of the maiden; Chrêtien, Blanche-fleur; Sir Percyvelle Lufamour;
Peredur unnamed.
Page 103, line 17--'_Who rideth astray, etc_.' According to Simrock
this passage in the original contains a play upon words which cannot
be reproduced in translation: Slegel--schlegel, the word employed for
_axe_ here, signifying, in some parts of Germany, 'a fallen tree.'
Page 104, line 26--'_The city of Pelrapär_.' In Chrêtien the name of
the city is 'Beau-repaire,' of which this is evidently the German
rendering. The substitution of _p_ for _b_ is still a distinguishing
mark of German pronunciation of French. In _Sir Percyvelle_ it is 'the
maiden land.'
Page 104, line 38--'_The King Klamidé_.' This character is named
by Wolfram and Chrêtien only; in _Peredur_ he is the Earl; in Sir
Percyvelle, 'Sowdane.' Chrêtien calls him 'Clamadex,' and it is worthy
of note that in _Perceval li Gallois_ the son of the Red Knight slain
by Perceval is called 'Clamadas,' evidently a variant of the same name.
Page 105, line 78--'_My lord the Count of Wertheim_.' Wertheim is in
Lower Franconia. Bartsch thinks either Poppo I. or his son Poppo II. is
referred to here. From the expression used, 'my lord,' it seems as if
Wolfram had at one time been in his service.
Page 106, line 89--'_Trühending_.' There are three places of
this name in the neighbourhood of Eschenbach: Hohen, Alten, and
Wasser-Trühending. The latter is still famous for its _krapfen_, a kind
of pancake.
Page 107, line 119--'_Kiot of Katelangen_ (_i.e._ Catalonia) _and
Manfilot_.' Kiot is the father of Siguné, and appears again in Book
XVI. The account of his marriage with Schoisianè, her death, and his
subsequent adoption of the life of a hermit will be found in Book IX.
p. 274. From Wolfram's unfinished poem of _Titurel_ we learn that
Manfilot was his companion.
Page 107, line 133--'_The twain Isoldé_.' An allusion to Isoldé la
Belle, the wife of King Mark of Cornwall, and mistress of Sir Tristan;
and Isoldé of the white hand, Tristan's wife.
Page 109, line 208, _seq._--'_Till the cry of heart-sorrow woke him_.'
This nocturnal visit of the Lady of the castle to the hero's chamber
seems to be part of the original tradition, and it is evident by the
apologetic manner in which Wolfram tells the story that he is somewhat
puzzled by Kondwiramur's conduct. From the Introduction to Book VII.,
and also from the blame he bestows on Chrêtien for having done a wrong
to the story, _Diese Märe unrecht gethan_, we gather that Wolfram set a
high value on fidelity to his source, and these and similar apologetic
passages must be explained by the unwillingness of the poet to depart
from the traditional form of the legend, while, at the same time, the
story, representing as it did the manners and customs of an earlier and
ruder period, was somewhat distasteful to him.
Page 110, line 243--'_Kingron the Seneschal_.' This character is
Aguigrenons in Chrêtien, elsewhere he is unnamed. Mr. York Powell
points out that Wolfram's form presupposes an Aguigrenons, which
would either indicate that the existing MSS. of Chrêtien, or Chrêtien
himself, misread _u_ for _n_, or that Wolfram did _not_ get his version
by ear as he maintains (or that Wolfram was following a source other
than Chrêtien).
Page 114, line 365, seq.--'_The marriage night_.' A similar account
is given by Gerbert, one of the continuators of Chrêtien. (Chrêtien
himself does not record the marriage, which takes place on a later
visit of the hero to Beau-repaire.) In Gerbert's version we have an
indication of later influence, as the motive-power is the recognition
by both Perceval and his bride of the superiority of virginity to the
married state. Wolfram's version seems far more in accordance with the
character of the hero, and is probably closer to the original form of
the story.
Page 116, line 420--'_Galogandres, Duke of Gippones_.' This character
and Count Narant only appear here. Uckerland is probably a corruption
of Oultreland, as noted in Book III.
Page 118, line 505--'_Gringorz_.' The French _Gringoire_--Gregory. All
this account of Klamidé's arms, charger, etc., is peculiar to Wolfram;
whose fondness for minute and descriptive detail is a noticeable
characteristic.
Page 121, line 598--'_Dianasdron_.' Dinaderon en Gales in Chrêtien, who
does not mention Karminöl. In the roll of King Arthur's knights we find
such names as Sir Dinas, Sir Dinant, Sir Dinadan; all of which seem to
come from the same root. The name is probably Keltic, and belongs to
the original version of the story.
Page 123, line 660--'_Mabonagrein_.' Cf. Book III. p. 108 and note.
BOOK V
TRADITIONAL EVENTS
Hero meets with the Fisher King; Chrêtien and continuators:
visits the Grail Castle, sees Peredur; Perceval; Perceval li
the Grail, lance, etc., but asks Gallois. (Sir Percyvelle omits
no question, and is therefore everything connected with the
reproached by maiden with dead Grail.)
knight.
(The reader will find all this part of the legend, the varying forms
of the visit to the Grail Castle, the Fisher King, the Grail, etc.,
fully discussed in Mr. Alfred Nutt's _Studies on the Legend of the Holy
Grail_.)
Page 131, line 58--'_Abenberg's field_.' Castle and town of Abenberg,
in the neighbourhood of Eschenbach.
Page 131, line 75--'_Repanse de Schoie_.' This name appears to signify
'Thought of joy.' The Grail maidens are not named in other versions.
Page 132, line 87--'_Then one to the host would call him_.' This was
evidently the Court Jester, always a privileged person.
Page 132, lines 109, 110--'_Lignum Aloe_.' Bartsch holds this to be a
mistake of the poet, who has misunderstood the old French word _Aloer_.
Chrêtien has simply _seces boises_. 'Wildberg' was the home of the
poet, who is here making allusion to his poverty, as in Book IV. p. 106.
Page 132, line 111--'_And the host had bid them lay him_.' 'The Maimed
King' invariably figures in the Grail Romances, whether they deal
only with the Quest, as here, or with the early history of the Grail.
He is generally wounded through the thighs, either with a lance, or
with a sword, but the circumstances under which he receives the wound
vary greatly. In most of the versions he is met with while engaged in
fishing, and is known as the Fisher King, or the 'Rich Fisher.'
Page 132, line 125--'_The bleeding lance_.' This is a feature in most
of the Grail Romances, and seems to have been an original feature of
the story, though it had not the close connection with the _Grail_,
which the fully developed Christian legend has given to it. In the
earlier versions of the story it is the weapon with which the Maimed
King was wounded; finally, it became the spear with which our Lord's
side was pierced on the cross. Wolfram, who never appears to connect
the Grail with the Passion, gives it the first meaning. The visit to
the Grail Castle is told in varying forms, but the King, the Grail,
Sword, and Lance almost invariably appear, and the hero is either
Perceval or his companion Gawain, but Perceval is, undoubtedly, the
original hero of the Quest.
Page 133, line 137 and _seq._--'_The Grail Procession_.' In Chrêtien
this is much more simply treated. There are two squires bearing
candlesticks, and two maidens, one of whom carries the Grail, the other
a silver dish, _tailleor_. Wolfram has evidently seized the opportunity
to give play to his love of detailed description, and his account of
the Grail Feast and the Grail Maidens is far more elaborate than any
given elsewhere.
Page 136, line 223--'_The food-supplying powers of the Grail_.' In
other romances of the cycle we find similar powers attributed to the
Grail. Malory, who borrowed largely from the _Queste_ and _Grand S.
Graal_, gives a like account. There is evidently a connection between
this feature of the Grail, and the food-supplying talismans which
figure largely in the legendary lore of most countries.
Page 137, line 247--'_A squire who a sword did bear_.' Cf. p. 144,
lines 472 and _seq._ This incident also occurs in Chrêtien, and in
varying form in most of the versions. In this poem the meaning and use
of the sword are somewhat inexplicable. In Chrêtien that sword will
break in _one_ peril, known only to its maker, and then can be made
whole by dipping it in a _lake_. Wolfram's account seems to be based on
a misunderstanding of a French original. In some of the other versions
the sword is already broken, and can only be made whole by the achiever
of the Quest. In Wolfram the sword is a very puzzling feature of the
story, with which indeed it seems to have little or no connection.
The sword, which breaks in Parzival's deadly combat with his unknown
brother, is not _this_ sword, but the one taken from Ither of Gaheviess.
Page 137, line 267--'_The fairest of old men ancient_.' Titurel, cf.
Book IX. p. 287.
Page 137, line 273--'_'Tis a symbol good, the bowstring_.' Introduction
to Book I., line 9, and note.
Page 139, line 325--'_The garden of Paradise_.' This is one of the
allusions which seem to connect the Grail in Wolfram's version with an
Oriental source, cf. p. 135.
Page 141, line 371--'_A hidden hand drew the rope taut_.' Chrêtien has
the incident of the drawbridge rising, but in no other version are the
reproaches addressed to the hero immediately on his leaving the castle,
they are invariably put into the mouth of the maiden with the dead
knight. In the _Perceval_ the maiden's words, 'The Lord hates thee,'
recall Wolfram's _Ihr sult varen der sunnen has_, which Bartsch says is
an ancient formula of declaring a person accurst, and unworthy of the
light of day.
Page 141, line 381--'_Doubled the throw of sorrow_.' Cf. Book III. p.
100; Book II. p. 47. Similes borrowed from games of chance are not
unusual in this poem.
Page 141, line 397--'_A woman's voice make moan_.' This meeting with
the maiden _after_ the visit to the Grail Castle is in most versions
the only one. In Chrêtien she now tells the hero his name which he
learns or guesses for the first time. It was not improbably this
incident which led either Wolfram, or his source, to place a first
meeting earlier in the story while still retaining one in the original
position. Wolfram, with characteristic love for detail, follows up the
history of Siguné far more fully than other writers of the cycle.
Page 142, line 427--'_Monsalväsch_.' Probably 'Mont Sauvage,' in
allusion to its wild and lonely position. A full account of the Grail
and its keepers is given in Book IX. pp. 270, 271.
Page 143, line 463--'_Lunete_.' A character in Hartmann's _Iwein_, from
which the episode is quoted. Cf. Book IX. p. 252, and opening of Book
XII.
Page 144, line 475--'_Trebuchet_.' This name is also given in Chrêtien;
he is alluded to again p. 147, and in Book IX. p. 281, in connection
with the knives of silver mentioned in line 498 of this book.
Page 147, line 595--'_Tenabroc_.' Also p. 133, line 146. This name is
borrowed from Hartmann's Erec. Chrêtien has 'Danebroc.'
Page 147, line 601--'_Beàlzenan_.' According to Bartsch this name
is combined from Provençal, _beal_, fair; _enan_, height='the fair
height,' which would suit very well with the position of Angers, the
capital of Anjou.
Page 152, line 760--'_Wild Taurian, Dodine's brother_.' Cf. Book IX.
p. 265. Taurian does not seem to have been identified, but _Dodine_
appears, in many of the Arthurian romances, always with the title of
'Le Sauvage.' So we find him named in Malory. Wolfram seemed to have
transferred the characteristic from one brother to the other.
Page 155, line 849--'_Iofreit the son of Idöl_.' This is the French
name Geoffrey. Mentioned again in Book VI. line 168. Most critics
identify this character with Chrêtien's _Giflès li feus Do_.
BOOK VI
TRADITIONAL EVENTS
Blood drops on the snow and Chrêtien: Peredur.
love-trance of hero.
Overthrows Kay and Segramor. (Perceval Li Gallois relates a
similar incident of Gawain.)
Hero is cursed by Grail messenger Chrêtien: Peredur. (In Perceval
for his failure to ask the there is a cursing by Merlin.)
question.
Page 159, line 2--'_From Karidöl and his kingdom_.' Karidöl=Carduel
or Cardoile, the Anglo-Norman form of Carlisle. This is undoubtedly
Arthur's original capital, but throughout this poem Nantes seems to
be regarded as the royal city. Curiously enough we find the two names
combined in Gautier de Doulens, one of the continuators of _Li Conte
del Graal_, who introduces, as one of his _dramatis personæ_, Carduel
of Nantes.
Page 160, line 29--'_Whitsuntide_.' An examination of the Romances will
show this statement to be correct; Pentecost and Christmas seem to have
been the two feasts held in especial honour at King Arthur's court.
Page 160, line 49--'_Blood-drops on the snow_.' Both Wolfram and
Chrêtien insist only on the _two_ colours, red and white, and the
fact that they are puzzled by, and think it necessary to explain, the
presence of snow at Whitsuntide shows that they are taking over the
incident from an older source. As a matter of fact it is to be found in
tales unconnected with the Arthurian cycle, and of varying nationality.
In Peredur (Welsh) a raven has settled upon the body of a wild goose
killed by a falcon, and the hero thinks of _three_ colours (black, for
hair; white, for skin; red, for cheeks); in the _Fate of the Sons of
Usnech_, an Irish tale written down before the middle of the twelfth
century, and probably centuries older, these three colours are likewise
present, but it is a calf instead of a wild goose that is slain, and
it is the heroine, not the hero, who is fascinated by the colours. The
incident has always been a favourite one with Celtic story-tellers (cf.
_Argyll Tales_, M'Innes and Nutt, pp. 431-34), and curiously it is the
slain-_bird_, instead of the slain-_calf_ version which predominates,
although the _Fate of the Sons of Usnech_ is probably the most famous
of all Irish stories, and no traceable literary influence of the Welsh
tale upon Irish romance is known. Those familiar with Grimm's fairy
tales will remember a similar incident in the story of _Snowdrop_,
where the queen pricks her finger, and wishes for a daughter with hair
as black as the ebony window-frame, skin as white as the snow, and
cheeks as red as the blood; but here, of course, the 'fascination'
element is absent. I have attempted to show ('the _lai_ of Eliduc and
the mürchen of Schneewittchen,'_Folk Lore_. iii. I), that the Gaelic
version of the Schneewittchen type of story represents the earliest
attainable form of the story.--[A. N.]
Page 162, line 87--'_Segramor_,' or Saigremors. This knight is a
familiar figure in the Arthurian Romances, and the episode is quite in
accordance with his general character. Chrêtien calls him 'Le Desreè'
(uncurbed, impetuous). In Malory he is 'Le Desirous.' Cf. also Book
VIII. p. 241.
Page 163, line 121--'_To seek for the magic pheasant_.' Simrock thinks
this an allusion to a popular folk-tale, in which a magician, condemned
to death, contrives to escape by setting his judges and executioner to
seek for the fallen bird, by the irresistible strains of his magic pipe.
Page 166, line 235--'_Heinrich of Veldeck_.' A German poet who lived
towards the end of the twelfth century. His translation of the _Æneid_,
founded on a French version of the poem, was extremely popular, and
Wolfram frequently refers to it in his _Parzival_.
Page 169, line 321--'_Herman of Thuringia_.' This Landgrave of
Thuringia is well known to history as a generous patron of the
literature of his day. His court at the Wartburg was the resort of all
the leading poets, and it filled a place in the literary life of the
twelfth century only comparable to that taken by the neighbouring court
of Weimar six hundred years later. The terms in which Wolfram speaks of
the guests at the Wartburg is quite in keeping with what is known of
the Landgrave's lavish hospitality.
Simrock renders a passage from Walther von der Vogelweide which
describes the tumultuous life of the court as follows:
'Wer in den Ohren siech ist oder krank im Haupt,
Der meide ja Thuringen's Hof, wenn er mir glaubt.
Käm er dahin, er würde ganz bethöret;
Ich drang so lange zu, dass ich nicht mehr vermag,
Ein Zug fährt ein, ein andrer aus, so Nacht als Tag,
Ein wunder ists, dass da noch Jemand höret.'
The _Wartburg-krieg_, a poem of the end of the thirteenth century,
in which the principal poets of the age are represented as competing
in song before the Landgrave, supposes this contest to take place in
1207, and is doubtless an echo of what was no unusual incident at that
date. Wolfram's poem of _Willehalm_ was composed at the wish of the
Landgrave, and in it he speaks of the death of his patron. Herman died
in 1216, and the brilliant life at the Wartburg came to an end; his
successor Ludwig, the husband of S. Elizabeth, having little taste for
literature.
Page 169, line 325--'_And so Knight Walter singeth_.' Walther von
der Vogelweide, one of the most famous of German lyric poets, was of
knightly birth but small means; he seems to have supported himself by
his art, leading a wandering life at the principal courts of his day.
Of his connection with Wolfram nothing is known, save the fact of their
being together at the court of the Landgrave Herman in the early years
of the thirteenth century. The line here quoted does not occur in any
of Walther's extant poems.
Page 169, line 328--'_Heinrich of Rispach_.' Nothing seems to be known
of the character here referred to. From the fact that there is a
Rispach in the neighbourhood of Eschenbach, Bartsch conjectures that it
was some one personally known to Wolfram.
Page 171, line 385--'_The time when the knife's sharp blade_.' Wolfram
is here quoting from an unknown source. No such adventures are recorded
in any Romance that has come down to us; but they are quite in keeping
with Gawain's character.
Page 176, line 529--'_The right of the Round Table_.' This custom is
alluded to in other Arthurian Romances, and we meet with it again in
Book XIII. Here Wolfram seems to imply merely that the king did not eat
in public with his knights, _i.e._ at the Round Table, before they had
heard of some knightly venture; in Book XIII. he speaks as if no meal
might be partaken of by any of the courtiers till this came to pass.
The first rendering seems to be the correct one. [The whole incident
is thoroughly in keeping with the conventions of early Irish romance,
in which the personages are invariably subject to strict rules and
obligations, _geasa_, to use the Irish word.--A.N.]
Page 177, line 585--'_The Grail Messenger_.' This incident occurs
in both Chrêtien and Peredur, but the messenger is unnamed, or
simply termed 'The Loathly Damsel.' Such a damsel is met with in the
_Perceval_, but when she reaches King Arthur's Court she is transformed
into a maiden of surpassing beauty. It will be noted that one of the
queens imprisoned in Château Merveil also bears the name of Kondrie
(p. 189). Mr. Nutt, in his _Studies on the Legend of the Holy Grail_,
suggests this was originally the Loathly Damsel released from the
transforming spell. (It may be noted that Wagner has kept this idea,
and in the first act his Kundrie is the Loathly Messenger; in the
second, 'Kondrie la Belle.') Chrêtien's description of Kondrie's
appearance is even more repulsive than Wolfram's. In Book X. we have a
curious account of the origin of these strange people.
[The 'Loathly Damsel' is one of those personages that most clearly
testify to the reliance of the romance-writers upon a traditional
popular basis, and also in this instance to the specific Celtic origin
of that popular basis. A commonplace of folk-tales of the 'task' class
is that the hero is helped by a personage having private ends of his
or her own to serve, as, until the hero achieves the Quest (which
he never does unaided), the helper cannot be released from a spell,
generally of transformation into an animal, but sometimes into a shape
of surpassingly hideous ugliness. The oldest European variant of this
latter type with which I am acquainted is to be found in an Irish
folk-tale imbedded in the so-called Cormac's Glossary, a compilation
of the tenth century. I have given this in full (_Argyllshire Tales_,
M'Innes and Nutt, pp. 467, 468). In its _outré_ horror the description
of the bespelled king's son strikingly recalls that of Kundrie. Such
a task story, in which the hero is helped by a transformed personage,
who cannot be delivered until the Quest is achieved, is one of the
main staples of the Perceval cycle, but it is only in the Welsh tale
of _Peredur_ that the incident appears in a straightforward and
intelligible form. The sudden transformation from foulness to radiant
beauty is met with in another connection earlier in Ireland than
elsewhere in Europe: the incident of the Perilous Kiss, in which the
embrace of a courteous knight frees a bespelled damsel from loathly
disguise, an incident frequently associated with Gawain, is, as I have
shown (_Academy_, April 30, 1892), of early occurrence in Ireland.
Another element which goes to the complex individuality of Kundrie
can be paralleled from early Irish romance. As the female messenger
of the fairy dynasty of Mazadan, she corresponds to Leborcham, the
female messenger of the semi-mythic King Conchobor, the head and centre
of the oldest Irish cycle of heroic romance. Like Kundrie, Leborcham
was of startling and unnatural hideousness, and she is brought into
special connection with Cuchulainn the chief hero of the Ulster cycle,
as Kundrie is with Perceval the chief hero of one group of the Arthur
romances.--A.N.]
Page 181, line 697--'_Château Merveil_.' The adventure of this magic
castle, achieved by Gawain, is related at length in Book XI.
Page 184, line 806--'_Kingrimursel_.' The name of this character
in Chrêtien is Guigambresil, of which this is evidently the German
rendering. Here, again, Wolfram either heard or read Gingambresil.
Page 185, line 839--'_Tribalibot_.' This is India.
Page 186, line 859--'_The heathen queen of Ianfus_.' The name of this
queen, we find from line 1009, was Ekuba; one of the few classical
names we find in this poem.
Page 189, line 977--'_The Greek, Sir Klias_.' This is Cligès, the hero
of Chrêtien's poem of that name, son of the Greek Emperor Alexander
and Surdamour, sister to Gawain, cf. Book XII. Malory has Sir Clegis,
probably the same name.
Page 190, line 1002--'_Twelve spears of Angram_.' Angram was probably
in India, and noted for its steel. Oraste-Gentesein seems to be the
name of the country from which the reed, or bamboo, was brought. Cf.
Book VII. pp. 218, 219.
BOOK VII
TRADITIONAL EVENTS
Meeting with army of Meljanz of Chrêtien: Perceval relates
Lys; Gawain takes part in the the same incident, with the
tournament, and overthrows Meljanz. difference that Perceval
overcomes both Gawain and Melians.
Introduction, line 1-16--This passage is somewhat obscure, but the
meaning appears to be that the poet thinks he may possibly be blamed
for leaving the history of Parzival, his chief hero, to follow the
fortunes of Gawain; and would excuse himself for so doing by the plea
of fidelity to his source. Very few of the romances of this date can
be considered _original_ works in the sense in which we would now
employ that term; they were mostly a re-statement, or re-combining of
traditional material, and it was a point of honour to adhere closely,
in the march of incident, to the original form, though the poet was
free to do as Wolfram has done, and introduce personal and contemporary
allusions, or give his own interpretation of the meaning of the tale.
The fact that Wolfram here so strongly blames those who depart from the
traditional form of the story, and at the end of his poem specially
accuses Chrêtien of having sinned in this way, seems a strong argument
against the theory that Chrêtien, and Chrêtien alone, was Wolfram's
source of information.
Page 195, line 2--'_Gawain_.' _Gauvain_ (French), _Gwchlmai_ (Welsh).
In all the earlier versions of the Grail story this knight plays a part
only secondary to that of the chief hero Perceval. Certain episodes
of which he is sole hero, in Chrêtien as in Wolfram, break the course
of the Perceval story, though Wolfram, with considerable skill, has
brought them into close connection with the main thread of the legend.
With Chrêtien's continuators, too, Gawain is an important character,
he also visits the Grail Castle and fails to ask the question; and
a German version of the Grail legend, _Diu Krône_, by Heinrich von
Türlin, makes him the chief hero, it is he who achieves the Quest and
heals Anfortas. It is noticeable that none of the earlier versions know
anything of either Lancelot or Galahad as Grail-seekers; Wolfram does
mention the former, but only incidentally, and throughout his poem he
evidently looks upon Gawain as the typical Arthurian knight, the pride
and glory of the Round Table. It is curious that, though he feels
himself compelled to apologise for some of the characters, to make an
elaborate defence for Kay, and find excuses for Kondwiramur, Wolfram
never has a word of blame for Gawain, and strong as the contrast is
between his morality and that of Parzival, he certainly never draws a
comparison to the disadvantage of the former; as husband of Orgeluse
and lord of the Château Merveil, Gawain's lot in life is brilliant
enough to awaken the envy of Kay who is jealous for King Arthur's
honour. The whole presentment of Gawain in the poem is an eloquent
commentary on the moral teaching of the original Arthurian legend, of
which he is the oldest representative. Later compilers seem to have
felt this, and as the legend gradually became ecclesiasticised, and
assumed the form of a religious romance, so the original heroes of
the story were gradually supplanted by others, whose characters, in
the opinion of monkish compilers lent themselves more to purposes of
moral edification. Thus Perceval the married man was forced to yield to
Galahad the celibate, and, though he was never driven out of the story,
was relegated to a secondary position; and Gawain, whose character in
the early romances defied any attempt at converting him into a moral
example, became merely a foil to the superior virtue of his companions,
while the adventures originally ascribed to him were passed over to
the repentant sinner Lancelot. The order of Grail heroes seems to have
been as follows: Perceval, Gawain; Perceval, Gawain, Lancelot; Galahad,
Perceval, and Lancelot. It is in this last order that they have come
down to us through Malory's redaction of the legends.
Page 196, line 34--'_The steed from Monsalväsch came_.' Cf. Book IX. p.
273, where Parzival's possession of a Grail-steed leads to his being
mistaken for Lähelein.
Page 198, line 96--'_Meljakanz_.' Cf. Book III. p. 72 and note.
Page 198, line 105--'_Meljanz of Lys_.' It will be seen, from the list
of traditional events given above, that this character appears in other
versions of the Perceval legends. Though the context is different, the
name with but little variation appears in other of the Grail romances,
Malory has Melias de Lile, in every instance the name indicates a
French origin.
Page 198, line 119--'_Lippaut_.' The name of this character in Chrêtien
is Tiebaut of Tintaguel, the German is evidently a rendering of this
French name. Tintaguel seems to point to a Keltic original.
Page 199, line 124--'_Obie and Obilot_.' Bartsch considers that both
these names are derived from a French source, Obie, from the verb
_obier_, signifying excitable, passionate; Obilot, from the French
_belot_, a fair child. In Chrêtien the sisters are unnamed, but the
younger is called _La pucièle as mances petites_.
Page 199, line 136--'_Galoes and Annora_.' Here we learn, for the first
time, the name of Galoes' love, cf. Book II. p. 46 and note. Annora is
the same name as Eleanor.
Page 200, line 168--'_Lisavander_.' The French has several variations
of this name, Teudaves, Travezdates, Trahedavet.
Page 205, line 318, and p. 219, line 781--'_A charger the king
bestrode_.' This is an allusion to the captivity of Queen Guinevere
and her rescue by Lancelot. Kay was among her would-be liberators, and
was smitten by Meljakanz: 'enbor ûs dem satele hin, daz in ein ast der
helm gevienc, und bi der gurgelen hienc.' This incident is related
in Hartmann's _Iwein_; but the subsequent freeing of the queen by
Lancelot, referred to on p. 219, is taken from Chrêtien's _Chevalier de
la Charrette_. The adventure is again alluded to in Book XII.
Page 210, line 493--'_Gawain and Obilot_.' Though Chrêtien and Wolfram
agree here in the main outline of the story, yet the details differ
completely, and the episode as related by the German poet is far more
graceful and poetical in treatment. In Chrêtien the elder sister
strikes the younger in the face, and it is in order to avenge this
insult that the child begs Gawain to fight for her. It is the father,
and not the child herself, who suggests presenting the knight with
a token; he bids Gawain at first pay no attention to her request,
and there is no trace of the pride and affection with which Lippaut
evidently regards both his daughters, or of the confidence between
father and child which is so charming a feature in Wolfram's poem.
Gawain, according to Chrêtien, does not present his little lady
with the captured monarch, but only with his steed, a compliment
she shares too with his hostess and her daughters. In the French
poet we have nothing of the amusing assumption of maiden dignity by
the child Obilot, or of the graceful courtesy, half serious, half
laughing, with which Gawain falls in with her whim, and sustains his
part in the pretty play. Critics have bestowed much praise on this
book, and on the character of the child Obilot, and some have thought
that, in the picture of father and child, and in the words put into
Lippaut's mouth, we have a glimpse of the home life of the poet, and
an expression of personal feeling. In _Willehalm_, Wolfram refers to
his daughter's dolls, and throughout his poems he frequently alludes
to children, their ways, and their amusements. However that may be,
nowhere else in the poem does _Gawain_ appear to so much advantage as
in this episode.
Page 211, line 522--'_Parzival_.' Cf. Book VI. p. 188, line 941.
Page 216, line 668--'_Even now shall the Erfurt vineyards_.' _etc._ An
allusion to the siege of Erfurt by the Landgrave Herman in 1203. As the
poet speaks of the traces of strife as being yet visible, this book of
the Parzival must have been written not long after that date.
Page 217, line 715, and _seq._--'_The captive Breton knights_.' It is
doubtful to what romance Wolfram here makes allusion. Chrêtien, in
his _Chevalier la Charrette_, relates the capture of some of Arthur's
knights by King Bagdemagus-Poidikonjonz, when Meljakanz carried off
Guinevere, but they were released by Lancelot. Wolfram seems to
have known another version of the story, as he evidently did know a
romance dealing with the fate of Arthur's son, Ilinot, of whom we
know nothing. He refers to this at length in Book XII. Cluse seems to
betoken an enclosed space, a ravine, Chrêtien calls it _Le passage des
pierres_--The Gampilon was a fabulous beast of the dragon type, also
mentioned in the _Gudrun_.
Page 218, line 733--'_The Red Knight_.' It is worth noticing that,
throughout the Gawain episodes, Wolfram never loses sight of his
principal hero; if Parzival does not appear personally, as he does
in this book, he is always alluded to in direct connection with the
development of the story, _e.g._, Book VIII. pp. 242, 243. This is
not the case in Chrêtien, where the Gawain episodes are entirely
independent. Some critics have evolved an elaborate theory to account
for the importance assigned to Gawain in this and following books, and
maintain that Wolfram felt that while Parzival was a prey to spiritual
doubt and despair, it was more artistic to keep him in the background
than to make him the hero of a series of chivalrous adventures. The
more probable solution seems to be exactly the opposite, viz., that
the Gawain episodes were already introduced into the legend, that
Wolfram, or his source, felt it a flaw that they should have so little
connection with the main thread of the story, and therefore conceived
the idea of introducing the principal hero, and, by keeping him always
more or less _en évidence_, making it possible to weave the Gawain
adventures into the fabric of the legend, instead of leaving them an
excrescence on its surface--a conception which was finally perfected by
the connection of Orgeluse, Gawain's lady-love, with both Parzival and
Anfortas, thereby bringing all the different elements of the tale into
touch each with the other.
BOOK VIII
TRADITIONAL EVENTS
Arrival of Gawain at castle; committed to Chrêtien: Peredur.
care of lady to whom he makes love; is
attacked by her people and defends himself
with a chess-board.
The _Perceval_ gives an account of an adventure with a lady and a
chess-board of which Perceval is the hero, but the circumstances differ
entirely, being similar to those of an episode found in _Gautier de
Doulens_ and also in _Peredur_.
Page 229, line 14--'_Askalon_.' The name of this city in Chrêtien is
Escavalon, apparently a variant of Avalon. The name in Wolfram may
be either a misunderstanding of the French original, or it is not
impossible that Askalon, being well known to the Crusaders of that
time, was purposely substituted for a similar sounding-title.
Page 230, line 26--'_Æneas and Dido_.' An allusion to the _Æneid_ of
Heinrich von Veldeck, to which Wolfram often refers. We learn from line
121 that the writer was already dead. Cf. note, Book VI.
Page 230, line 41--'_Where Mazadan reigned as Monarch_.' Cf. Book I. p.
31, and Book IX. p. 263. There is evidently a confusion here between
the fairy and her kingdom. Fay-Morgan is, of course, the fairy-queen,
and the name seems later to have been transferred to Arthur's sister,
who is called Morgan le Fay in Malory. Terre-de-la-schoie, given in
Book I. as the name of the lady, is her kingdom; the confusion probably
arises from a misunderstanding of the French source. We find, on p.
240, that the mother of King Vergulacht, Fleurdamur, was sister to
Gamuret, consequently Parzival and Vergulacht are first cousins, and we
are meant to understand that Gawain, who, as a lad, had seen Gamuret
at Kanvoleis (Book II. p. 39), was struck by the king's likeness
to his uncle and cousin, though he evidently knows nothing of the
relationship; cf. Appendix A for notes on the supposed origin of the
Angevin race.
Page 231, line 58--'_Not such as in Karidöl_.' This is the longest of
the many allusions to the _Erec_ of Hartmann von Aue, and refers to the
same incident as Book III. p. 81, cf. note on passage.
Page 232, line 106--'_The Margravine of Heitstein_.' This name varies
greatly in the MSS., but both Lachmann and Bartsch give the reading
in the text. The Margravine mentioned is identified with the wife of
Berchtold von Chamm and Vohburg, who died in 1204.
Page 233, line 146--'_Of my father's sister_,' _etc._ This line is
curious as giving a very early instance of a play upon words familiar
to us in modern puzzles. Gawain, of course, simply states that he is
'his father's son,' and gives the queen no information whatever as to
his birth.
Page 234, line 181, and _seq._--'_At length did she chance on some
chess-men_,' _etc._ It should be noted that chess-men, in the Middle
Ages, were often of a very large size, and would form no despicable
weapons. In Chrêtien's version of the incident he specially speaks of
these as ten times larger than other chess-men, and of very hard ivory.
Adventures in which a chess-board plays a part are of not infrequent
occurrence in the Grail romances.
Page 234, line 190--'_The Burger maids of Tollenstein_.' Tollenstein is
a town in the neighbourhood of Eschenbach; the allusion is evidently
to some kind of Carnival sports held there. Mock Tournaments, in which
women took part, are often alluded to in old French and German poems.
The point of the allusion evidently is that they fought for mere sport,
while Antikonie fought in defence of her guest, and her action is
therefore held the more praiseworthy.
Page 235, line 221--'_The knight who to battle bade him_.' Cf. Book VI.
p. 184 and note.
Page 236, line 257--'_With a lance-thrust by Ekunât_.' Ekunât has been
already named in Book III. p. 99. It seems doubtful whence Wolfram
derived this incident.
Page 238, line 316--'_As Kiot himself hath told us_.' This is the
first time Wolfram names the source whence he drew his poem. It has
already been noted in the Introduction that the existence of this Kiot
is a matter of debate, as no poem of his has come down to us, and
apparently no other writer mentions his name. This passage should be
compared with Book IX. p. 262, where the nature of the MS. in which
Kiot found the story of Parzival and the Grail is stated. It certainly
seems clear that Wolfram _had_ a source of information other than the
poem of Chrêtien de Troyes; his other statements as to contemporary
events and contemporary literature are perfectly accurate, and we do
not find him inventing feigned names for other writers of the day; it
therefore seems somewhat unreasonable to conclude, simply because we
know nothing of Kiot's work, that Wolfram here, and in other passages,
is, to put it mildly, inventing an elaborate fiction. The fact of the
great popularity obtained by Chrêtien's version of the Grail legend is
quite enough to account for the disappearance of a version which, for
some reason or other (very probably its curious account of the Grail),
had failed to attract the popular fancy.
Page 240, line 363--'_If Turnus thou fain wouldst be_.' An allusion to
the _Æneid_ of Heinrich von Veldeck, where Turnus reproaches Tranzes
for cowardice, and is answered in much the same strain as Liddamus
answers Kingrimursel.
Page 240, line 387--'_Nay, why should I be a Wolfhart?_' This
passage to line 398 is an allusion to the great German epic, the
_Niebelungenlied_, the various lays composing which seem to have been
brought into order and welded into a literary whole about this time.
Wolfram's version of the cook's appeal to Gunther varies slightly from
the received text and probably represents an older form.
Page 241, line 407--'_Sibech ne'er drew a sword_.' This is an allusion
to the story of Dietrich von Berne, parts of which were incorporated in
the _Niebelungenlied_, where, however, this special incident is not to
be found. Ermenrich was uncle to Dietrich and Emperor of Rome; Sibech,
who seems to have been as faithless as he was cowardly, to avenge a
personal injury, counselled the Emperor to a course which brought about
the ruin of himself and his people.
Page 242, line 452--'_The wood Læhtamreis_.' Tamreis, as we find from
Book XII., is the name of a tree, this proper name seems to be combined
from _Læh_, old French _les_ = near, and _tamreis_ (tamarisk?). The
knight is, of course, Parzival. Chrêtien has not this incident; which
is a proof of Wolfram's superior skill in controlling the thread of his
story.
Page 245, line 541--'_At Schoie-de-la-Kurt_.' Cf. note to Book III.,
where we find the account of this venture, and of the death of
Gurzgrei, son of Gurnemanz. Gandelus is the brother of Schionatulander,
Siguné's love.
Page 247, line 597--'_To the Grail must his pathway wend_.' It is
a very curious feature, both in this poem and in that of Chrêtien,
that the Grail Quest, undertaken by Gawain, is allowed to drop into
oblivion. Wolfram only makes one more allusion to it, Book XI., and
Chrêtien apparently ignores it altogether. In other versions of the
story, and notably in Chrêtien's continuators, the achievement of
the Grail Quest by Gawain is an important feature. It is true that
Chrêtien's portion of the _Conte_ breaks off short before the end of
the Gawain episode, and that those who maintain that Wolfram had no
other source than Chrêtien point to this as a proof of their theory,
urging that had Chrêtien finished the poem he would undoubtedly have
brought Gawain to Monsalväsch, and that Wolfram, deserted by his
source at this point, carried the Gawain Quest no further. But it must
be noted that Wolfram, who, according to this theory, has hitherto
followed Chrêtien with remarkable fidelity, shows no embarrassment at
the loss of his guide, but, by bringing Gawain promptly into touch with
Parzival, finishes his poem in a thoroughly coherent and harmonious
manner, his conclusion agreeing, in certain peculiar features, with
his Introduction, which, also, is unknown to Chrêtien. The simplest
solution appears to be that _both_ Chrêtien and Wolfram were in
possession of a common source, wherein the Gawain episodes were
presented in an incomplete and abbreviated form. Mr. Nutt points out
that the Gawain Quest, as related by Chrêtien's continuators, not only
fails to agree with Chrêtien's commencement, but also presents features
more archaic than those of the Perceval Quest.
BOOK IX
TRADITIONAL EVENTS
Hero meets with pilgrims who reproach Chrêtien: Peredur: Perceval
him for bearing arms on Good Friday, and
direct him to a hermit, who points out his
sins and gives him absolution.
Introduction to line 25. This spirited opening, with its invocation
of the embodied 'Frau Aventiure,' is peculiar to Wolfram. The entire
episode is much more briefly treated by Chrêtien, who brings his hero
at once in contact with the pilgrims, and has neither the meeting with
Siguné nor the combat with the Grail knight.
Page 251, line 5--'_Frau Aventiure_.' This is a personification of the
'story' and of the spirit of romantic story-telling. Grimm (_Kl. Sr._
i. 83-112) claims that we have here a survival of the personifying
instinct which led the northern poets to make 'Saga' a daughter
of Odin. The word itself is simply taken over from French romance
where _or dist l'Aventure_ is a standing initial formula, in which
_Aventure_ exactly renders the _maere_ of the opening quatrain of the
_Niebelungenlied_.--[A. N.]
Page 251, line 6--'_Whom Kondrie, to find the Grail_.' Cf. Book VI. p.
187.
Page 252, line 34--'_The sword that Anfortas gave him_.' Cf. Book V.
pp. 137 and 144, and note.
Page 252, line 47--'_Schionatulander and Siguné_.' This is Parzival's
third interview with his cousin, who has a much more important rôle
assigned to her in this poem than in the other romances. The hero meets
her at every important crisis in his life; on his first entrance into
the world, Book III. p. 79; after his visit to the Grail Castle, Book
V. p. 141; now, previous to his interview with the hermit; and finally,
in Book XVI. after he has won the Grail kingdom and been reunited to
his wife, he finds her dead, and buries her with her lover. Siguné's
parentage is fully given on p. 274 of this book.
Page 257, line 204--'_The Templar bold_.' This identification of
the knights of the Grail with the Templars (Templeisen) is a marked
peculiarity of Wolfram's poem. Nothing at all answering to the Grail
kingdom and its organisation, as described in the Parzival, is to be
found elsewhere. The introduction of this spiritual knighthood, chosen
by Heaven, and, with special exceptions, vowed to celibacy, seems
intended as a contrast with, and protest against, the ideal of worldly
chivalry and lax morality portrayed in Arthur's court. Are we to
attribute this feature of the poem to Wolfram himself or to his source?
Judging from the value Wolfram placed upon fidelity to tradition it
seems scarcely probable that he would have departed so far from his
model as to introduce such an entirely new and striking element into
the story; nor have we any trace of the poet-knight's connection with
the order of Templars; but if the writer of the admitted French source
was an Angevin, who had been in the East during the Angevin rule in
Jerusalem, the connection is easily explained. Certainly, to judge from
the freedom with which the introduction to the story has been handled,
'Kiot' does not seem to have been hampered with an undue respect for
the traditional form of the legend.
Page 258, line 223--'_Nor Lähelein, nor Kingrisein, etc_.' Kingrisein
is the father of Vergulacht, supposed to have been slain by Gawain, cf.
Book VIII. p. 240. King Gramoflanz plays an important part in the poem
from Book XII. onward. Count Laskoit, cf. Book III. p. 99.
Page 258, line 230, and _seq._--'_One turning the ground was
snow-clad_.' Cf. reference to spring snow in Book VI. p. 160. The
pilgrim train met by Parzival differs in the versions. The Montpellier
MS. of Chrêtien has three knights and ten ladies; other MSS. one knight
and twenty ladies. Wolfram's account is more natural and more poetical.
Page 259, line 263--'_Dost thou mean Him, etc_.' The address of the
knight in Chrêtien is longer and conceived in quite a different spirit.
It contains one remarkable passage; speaking of the Crucifixion
the knight says: '_Li fol Juis--c'on devroit tuer comme ciens_,' a
speech entirely out of keeping with the spirit of love and charity
characterising Wolfram's Old Knight, and Hermit. The German poem is,
throughout, remarkable for the wide spirit of tolerance displayed
towards those outside the Christian pale; note, _e.g._, Book I. and
especially the character of Feirefis as depicted in the two closing
books of the work. The religious teaching in this ninth book is not
only fuller than in Chrêtien, but seems based on a much clearer
realisation of the position of the _individual_ soul towards its
Creator. The elementary truths of Christianity are much more fully
stated, and display a familiarity with the theological speculations
of the day which renders them peculiarly interesting. There is no
parallel, either, in Chrêtien to the fine speeches which Wolfram puts
into the mouth of his hero. The whole episode in the French poem
lacks the dignity and impressiveness which stamp it in the German
version; it is in this book, and in the account of Parzival's boyhood,
that Wolfram's poetical genius touches its highest point, and his
superiority to Chrêtien is most clearly seen.
Page 261, line 337--_'Towards Fontaine Sauvage_,' _etc._ Cf. Book V. p.
151.
Page 261, line 348--'_Kiot_.' Cf. note to Book VIII. It is noticeable
that there is no corresponding passage to this in Chrêtien; the
explanation of the Grail mystery given in the _Conte du Graal_ is due
to Chrêtien's continuators, and occurs in the later part of the poem.
Page 262, line 359--'_Flegetanis_.' A curious contradiction will be
noted here. A few lines above we read that no heathen skill could
have revealed the mysteries of the Grail, and yet apparently it was a
heathen who first wrote of them. The whole account of the Grail reads
like a not-too-successful attempt to Christianise a purely pagan legend.
Page 263, line 383--'_And in Britain, France, and Ireland, etc_.' Cf.
Appendix A and note on Mazadan, Book VIII. Nevertheless, the connection
of the Grail race with the House of Anjou, save through Herzeleide's
marriage with Gamuret, is nowhere stated, nor how Titurel was descended
from Mazadan, the ancestor alike of Arthur and of Gamuret.
Page 265, line 465--'_The altar and shrine_.' Wolfram appears to
be absolutely correct here; during the Middle Ages, a shrine, or
reliquary, was generally placed on the altar, the use of a cross was
of comparatively late date. It is curious that Chrêtien, otherwise
more ecclesiastical in his details than Wolfram, has missed the
characteristic feature of the stripped altar; on the other hand, he
notes that Perceval spends _Easter_ with the Hermit, and receives the
Sacrament, while Wolfram passes Easter over without mention. (It is
rather odd to find Chrêtien's Hermit saying _Mass_ on Good Friday!)
Page 267, line 531--'_Ashtaroth_.' Bartsch says that these names are
derived from Talmudic tradition; Belcimon being Baal-Schemen, a god of
the Syrians; Belat, the Baal of the Chaldeans. Rhadamant is, of course,
the Greek ruler of the under-world.
Page 267, line 533, and _seq._--'_When Lucifer and his angels_.' The
belief that the creation of man was directly connected with the fall of
the rebel angels was very widespread, though the relation of the two as
cause and effect was sometimes the reverse of that stated here. None
of the editions of the Parzival give a direct reference to the source
of the curious 'riddling' passage which follows, but the theory of the
maidenhood of the earth was a favourite one with Mediæval writers.
Page 268, line 572--'_Plato and the Sibyls_.' A curious proof of the
belief of the Mediæval Church in the Christian nature of the Sibylline
prophecies is found in the first line of the _Dies Iræ_:
'Dies Iræ, Dies Illa,
Solvet sæclum in favilla
Teste David cum Sibylla.'
Page 270, line 615, and _seq._--'_The Grail_.' The account of the
Grail given by Wolfram is most startling, differing as it does from
every other account which has come down to us. Wolfram evidently knows
nothing whatever of the traditional 'vessel of the Last Supper,' though
the fact that the virtue of the stone is renewed every _Good Friday_ by
a _Host_ brought from Heaven seems to indicate that he had some idea
of a connection between the Grail and the Passion of our Lord. Various
theories have been suggested to account for the choice of a precious
stone as the sacred talisman; Birch Hirschfeld maintains that it arose
entirely from a misunderstanding of Chrêtien's text, the French poet
describing the Grail as follows:
'De fin or esmeree estoit;
Pieres pressieuses avoit
El graal, de maintes manieres,
Des plus rices et des plus cieres
Qui el mont u en tiere soient.'
But how Wolfram, who, in other instances appears to have understood
his French source correctly, here came to represent an object of
gold, adorned with _many_ precious stones, as _a_ precious stone,
does not appear. And it must be noted that this importance assigned
to a jewel is not out of keeping with the rest of the poem. From the
jewel of Anflisé, the ruby crown of Belakané, and the diamond helmet
of Eisenhart in the first book, to the long list of precious stones
adorning the couch of Anfortas in the last, the constant mention of
jewels is a distinct feature of Wolfram's version, and cannot be
paralleled by anything in Chrêtien. Moreover, in two other instances,
viz. the armour of Feirefis in Book XV., and the couch of Anfortas
already mentioned, mystical and strengthening powers are attributed to
them. The MSS. vary in their spelling of the stone, giving _Lapis_,
_Lapsit_, _Jaspis_, _exillis_, _exilix_ or _erillis_; and it is
impossible to identify the stone of the Grail with any known jewel. The
fact that Wolfram alone of all the writers of this cycle gives this
version of the legend, seems to point rather to a peculiarity in his
source than to a genuine tradition of the origin of the Grail-myth. In
any case it is most probable that the responsibility for the statement
rests with the author of Wolfram's French source rather than with
Wolfram himself.
Page 271, line 665--'_They who took no part in the conflict_.' This
account of the neutral angels is partially contradicted by Trevrezent
in Book XVI. during his last interview with Parzival, when he openly
admits that he had spoken untruly in order to induce Parzival to give
up his Quest for the Grail. This contradiction introduces a good deal
of uncertainty as to what really is the moral aim of the poem.
Page 273, line 711--'_The white dove I see on its housing_.' This,
the badge of the Grail knights, is peculiar to the German poem. Those
familiar with Wagner's _Parsifal_ will not need to be reminded that the
dove and the swan are represented by him as the sacred birds of the
Grail. The connection with the swan will be found in Book XVI.
Page 273, line 737--'_O thou son of my sister_.' The relationship of
uncle and nephew between the hermit and the hero of the Quest obtains
in most of the versions. The relationship with the wounded king varies,
sometimes he is the hero's grandfather.
Page 274, line 759--'_Thou wast the beast that hung_,' _etc._ Cf. Book
II. p. 58. This incident of the mother's dream is peculiar to Wolfram.
Page 274, line 771--'_Repanse de Schoie_.' Cf. Book V. p. 135 and Book
XVI. She finally marries Feirefis, Parzival's half-brother.
Page 375, line 785--'_But if love the Grail King seeketh_.' This
explanation of the wound of Anfortas as the punishment of unlawful love
is peculiar to Wolfram, and is in accordance with the superior depth
and spirituality of his treatment of the legend. In the other versions
the king is wounded in battle or accidentally. The various remedies
tried for the wound, related on pp. 276,277, give a curious idea of
the surgical skill of the Middle Ages, and seem drawn from a mixture
of Oriental and classical sources. The names in line 830 are derived
from the Greek, and signify various serpents, with the exception of
Ecidemon, which we learn in Book XV. was an animal greatly feared by
snakes, perhaps the Ichneumon. The reference to Æneas and the Sibyl is
from the _Æneid_ of Heinrich von Veldeck.
The legend of the pelican is well known, and the first part of the
passage referring to the unicorn, its love for a spotless maiden, was
a widespread fiction of the Mediæval times, but the assertion that the
carbuncle is found under the unicorn's horn seems peculiar to Wolfram,
and illustrates what has been said above as to his employment of
precious stones.
On p. 281 we find a full account of the influence of the planets upon
the wound.
Page 278, line 867--'_A knight should come to the castle_.' This
promised healing of the king by means of a question put by the hero is
a marked 'folklore' feature of the tale. Mr. Nutt points out in his
_Studies_ that in the Grail legend we have a version of the well-known
visit to a magic castle influenced by two distinct formulas familiar
to folklore students, (_a_) where the object of the hero is to avenge
the death, or wounding, of a relative--the Feud-quest; (_b_) to release
the inhabitants of the castle from an enchantment--the un-spelling
quest. The bleeding lance seems to be connected with the first (perhaps
also the sword, but its employment both in Wolfram and Chrêtien is so
enigmatic that it is difficult to know what import to attach to it),
the question with the second. The form of the question differs here;
in all the other versions it is connected with the Grail: 'Whom serve
they with the Grail?' Here, directly with the wounded king, 'What
aileth thee, mine uncle?' Birch Hirschfeld maintains, first, that the
question was a 'harmless invention' of a predecessor of Chrêtien's
(thus ignoring the archaic character of the incident); secondly, that
Wolfram, having misunderstood Chrêtien's account of the Grail, was
naturally compelled to invent a fresh question. Of the two, Wolfram's
question seems distinctly the more natural, and the more likely to
occur to the mind of a simple youth like Parzival; and he has also
made much better use of the incident. It is Parzival's failure in the
spirit of charity, in the love due 'as a man to men,' that constitutes
the sin of the omitted question. Mr. Nutt well remarks that 'It is the
insistence upon charity as the herald and token of spiritual perfection
that makes the grandeur of Wolfram's poem.'
Page 283, line 1038--'_If a land be without a ruler_.' Here we have
the germ of the well-known story of Lohengrin, related in Book XVI.
We learn from this passage that Lohengrin's mission was no isolated
instance, but a part of the office of the Grail knights. Wolfram's
whole presentment of the Grail kingdom, as won by an act of love to
a fellow-man, and used for the benefit of others, offers an ideal,
not only curiously modern in tone, but in striking contrast to the
glorification of spiritual selfishness which we find in other Grail
romances. Elsewhere, the aim of the achiever of the Quest is purely to
save his _own_ soul, and, the task accomplished, he passes away leaving
the world none the better for his work. If we look at the concluding
lines of the poem, Book XVI., we shall find that Wolfram had quite a
different idea of a man's duty to the world of his day.
Page 283, line 1045--'_King Kastis wooed Herzeleide_.' Cf. Book II. p.
48.
Page 284, line 1070--The account of Trevrezent's wanderings is
curious, as it mixes up fabulous places such as Agremontin, the home
of the Salamanders, and Fay-Morgan, with such well-known names as
Seville, Sicily, and Aquilea. Rohas has been identified with a range
of mountains in Styria; Celli is also in Styria. The derivation of
'Gandein' from a Styrian town is very curious. Whether the name was in
Wolfram's source or not, we cannot decide, but the connection can only
have been introduced by the German poet.
Page 286, line 1127--'_Two mortal sins_.' It is curious that in no
other version of the story is the slaying of the Red Knight regarded
as a sin. Here, however, it is quite in keeping with the pronounced
knightly character of the poem. Ither is Parzival's near kinsman,
apparently both cousin, and uncle by marriage (lines 1108 and 1119),
and to fight with one connected either by the tie of blood or of
friendship is regarded throughout as a breach of knightly faith, cf
Books XIV. and XV. where Parzival fights, unwittingly, with Gawain and
Feirefis. In Chrêtien the hermit tells Perceval that it is his sin
in causing the death of his mother which has sealed his lips before
the Grail; Wolfram seems to regard his silence independently, and, as
noted above, the sin, there, seems to be failure in charity and in
recognising the bond of universal brotherhood; which failure, indeed,
is at the root of the 'two mortal sins.'
Page 287, line 1159--'_Titurel_.' The father of the Fisher King is not
named in Chrêtien, and indeed is only alluded to in an obscure and
enigmatical passage as being nourished by the Grail. This statement is
peculiar to these two writers, and seems to indicate that they were in
possession of a common source.
Page 287, line 1169--'_An thou wouldst that thy life be adornèd_.' The
passage which follows here to line 1180 should be noted, as it seems to
be an interpolation; it has no connection whatever with the context,
and is in quite a different tone from the knightly and unecclesiastical
character of the rest of Trevrezent's teaching.
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Transcriber's Notes:
Simple spelling, grammar, and typographical errors were
silently corrected.
Anachronistic and non-standard spellings retained as printed.
Italics markup is enclosed in _underscores_.
Bold markup is enclosed in =equals=.
Asterisms are denoted by ***.
End of Project Gutenberg's Parzival (vol. 1 of 2), by Wolfram von Eschenback