Parzival

by Wolfram von Eschenbach

  A light reader might consider the foregoing to be a very loose piece of writing, since the subject under discussion was Time, not Heraldry or Parzival’s state of mind. But it is typical of Wolfram’s art, as of few others’, that so much is linked with so much else. The previous paragraph was the direct outcome of pursuing Wolfram’s internal chronology in terms of symbolic time. The perspicacious young American scholar to whom we owe the interlocking of the two calendars even claims that Parzival’s question to his uncle as to how long ago it was since he was last there, initiates a process whereby Parzival was to be brought into harmony with the liturgical calendar and the divine plan of salvation.

  Another order of time in Parzival, astrological time, has now to be considered, a sort of time which is naturally in keeping with the liturgical through the Creator. Because Wolfram does not use technical language when speaking of the movements of the planets and perhaps also owing to a lack of unanimity of the manuscripts in one instance, his symbolic intentions are clearer than the purely astronomical ones. The former, however, are the more important.

  In Chapter 9, when looking back to the time of Parzival’s first visit to Munsalvæsche, Trevrizent tells his nephew that Saturn, the highest (that is, most distant) planet was at such a point in its course that because of the intense cold of. its influence it caused Anfortas greater agony in his wound than ever before. For the first time there was blood on the Lance, the original wounder of Anfortas, after it had been inserted homeopathically to still the pain. Wolfram’s intention was thus clearly to present the expectancy of the Gral Company that Parzival would deliver Anfortas with almost unendurable intensity. It is, however, an exaggeration to call Parzival’s Failure at this juncture ‘a deviation from the Cosmic Plan’, which is a rather heretical notion; for God will have foreseen Parzival’s spiritual unfitness, which is corrected within five years.

  Saturn was widely regarded as baleful. In his Astrolabe, written for his son Lowis studying in Oxford, Chaucer writes that astrologers call it a fortunate ascendant ‘whan that no wykkid planete, as Saturne or Mars, or elles the Tail of the Dragoun,* is in the hous of the assendent…’ In Parzival, Wolfram tells us that other ‘high’ planets affect Anfortas’s wound too, as does the moon with its changes. Which those other high planets may be is perhaps filled in, however strangely or teasingly, in Chapter 16 at the time leading up to Parzival’s appearance as deliverer, and again to emphasize Anfortas’s agony. ‘The hour had waited till Mars or Jupiter had returned angrily in their courses to where they had set out from…’

  The word which Wolfram uses for a precise point of departure or return, when he uses one at all, means ‘mark’, and scholars have been much exercised to discover what he had in mind.

  One set of starting-points can be rejected out of hand, namely the primordial ones. At the beginning of the Divine Comedy, Dante refers to these initial positions, to the sun ‘mounting with the stars which were with it when God first set them in motion’. The reference here is to the First Spring of the Year. But, as was seen, the time of year which Wolfram had in mind was the onset of Autumn. The following suggestions have also been put forward. i) After their apparent retrograde motion occasioned by the rotation of the earth round the sun, the planets return to their points of departure, the point of intersection of the epicycles of the Ptolemaic system, after which their apparent motion accelerates, ii) The point referred to is the point of transit into a planet’s ‘house’ or ‘mansion’, a position of great astrological potency, iii) The point intended by Wolfram is the point of ‘opposition’ to the sun, and so that, when the sun sets and a planet rises, that planet is very potent. In this case, Wolfram’s ‘mark’ might best be rendered as ‘station’. The propounder of this interpretation, quoted at length above on the subject of the liturgical calendar, notes further that if Wolfram had had the actual conditions of 1203 in mind, Saturn would have been fast approaching opposition to the sun at Michaelmas, and that in 1208 Mars and Jupiter were within 4° of longitude of one another prior to conjunction, though whether this was of benign or malign import in any system is not stated.

  In Chaucer’s and surely all other systems, Mars exerted a malign influence. But Jupiter? And what of Cundrie’s statement towards the end of Chapter 15, implying that at least Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and the Sun (in their Latino-Arabic names), if not all Seven, portend good fortune, for Parzival and therefore better fortune for Anfortas, though not immediately for his wound? Add to this the baffling offhandedness of the preferred manuscript of Parzival, the one followed by all editors: ‘till Mars or Jupiter…’, followed by plural number in both the verb and the possessive adjective, though some minor manuscripts read ‘Mars and Jupiter…’

  Was Wolfram just muddled in his syntax, or unfair? There are strong reasons for believing that Wolfram was pulled up by a theologian after the recital of Chapter 9 for an unguarded statement that the Neutral Angels could have been saved, since Trevrizent retracts in Chapter 15.* Unless a historian of science and a student of medieval German literature in happy conjunction can interpret this constellation of facts satisfactorily, the possibility cannot be ruled out that in a similar way Wolfram was pulled up by an astronomer-astrologer (perhaps by the one who supplied the Arabic names of the planets) for mismanagement of these heavenly bodies, and so was forced to tinker with his text again. Wolfram’s is one of the boldest and firmest voices in narrative poetry, and he was never bolder or firmer than when bouncing his listeners – one has only to think of Kyot. But unless it is a joke, simply the laughing off of an error, ‘Mars or Jupiter…’ is stylistically most uncharacteristic and weak. With an eye to the conditions in 1208, Wolfram’s original text may well have read ‘Mars and Jupiter…’† in keeping with the plural verb and possessive adjective; but after he was pulled up Wolfram emended ‘and’ to ‘or’ to avoid being pinned down. In this event, as on other known occasions, he will have sacrificed those copies of his work in progress that were out and away beyond his control. In other words, it is suggested here that Wolfram’s astrological scheme broke down, so that what we have, though highly suggestive item by item, is opportunistic, not schematic. This would be a sad thing, since Wolfram’s seriousness over Saturn and the Wound is unmistakable. Saturn, however, takes just under thirty years to complete its revolution round the sun, and so was not at Wolfram’s disposal in Chapter 16. If this planet was potent in Chapter 5 for any of the reasons i)–iii) above, Wolfram knew that its powers must have waned five years later, though if it had begun in its house it might still linger there. Thus Saturn was out, leaving, of the ‘higher’ planets, Mars and Jupiter, and that is why they are named at all in Chapter 16. If they were not acceptable in a bunch, then they would have to be accepted as alternatives – let the astrologers work it out for themselves!

  In conclusion, the following brief remarks may also serve the reader as clues through the engaging labyrinth of Parzival.

  According to Wolfram, the fundamental two-way bond of rights and obligations between God and Man, lord and vassal, man and wife, parents and children, kinsman and kinsman, Knight-servitor and Lady, was triuwe – ‘steadfast love’. God Himself showed this feudal bonding-sentiment supremely by condescending, as Lord of the Universe, to take on a human shape and give His life on the Cross.

  Another aspect of the two-way bond, this time nearer to economic activity, was the reciprocity of service and reward: service here on earth, reward in Heaven; service out on campaigns, bounty back at court; service for a lady out on the tourneying field, her favour if possible in bed – though opportunities had to be snatched to cheat surveillance. Only in his third involvement does Gawan achieve a correct and viable relationship with a member of the opposite sex; for his make-believe affair with Obilot was service without reward, his lightning wooing of Antikonie without service almost brought reward, but with Orgeluse arduous service was at last richly rewarded by her person in marriage. The dialectical progression is obvious. Parzival’s difficulty of adjus
tment was with God, and here, too, one detects at least a triad: religious instruction at rising levels of insight, from his mother, from Gurnemanz, and from Trevrizent. It is further significant for Wolfram’s sense of structure that Parzival, too, goes through three stages in his relations with the other sex, though in other terms than Gawan’s: with Jeschute (ignorance-innocence); with Liaze (calflove); with Condwiramurs (marriage and fulfilment). That Wolfram fully intended this last progression is proved by the fact that he invented Liaze for the middle term, since a Liaze-figure is lacking in the Perceval.

  The attentive reader will have noticed how Wolfram tends to harp on ladies who accept the service of knights but fail to reward them, and also on how well he praises the fair. The key to this is to be found in his Apology. Because of an unrestrained expression of anger over treatment meted out to him by one lady he lost the favour of all the others. There can be no doubt that the offence he gave was contained in a song, no longer extant, of ‘lost service’, in which he must have upbraided the lady for bilking him of his due. One only has to recall how in Chapter 12 of Parzival, Wolfram affects to lose his temper with the exacting Orgeluse – Gawan should have given her a green-gown there and then, as has happened to many a fine lady since. So much for Wolfram’s manly pride: concurrently this superb soldierly tactician uses the marvellous gallery of feminine characters he creates to work his way back to the ladies’ favour.

  In the original, Wolfram’s Templars are templeis. Since he gives us a Gral Temple, it seemed legitimate to render templeis as ‘Templar’: yet it would be wrong to read into this term, by association, any more than is told of these knights in Parzival.

  A. T. HATTO

  A GLOSSARY OF PERSONAL NAMES

  The names included here are those of the active characters of Wolfram’s story, together with those of their relations, dead or alive. Omitted are such names as those in catalogues (for example, those on pp. 382 and 383), and names belonging to the sphere of general medieval knowledge, such as Absalom, Alexander, Aristotle, Astiroth, etc.

  ADDANZ Son of Lazaliez; grandson of Mazadan, Parzival’s greatgrandfather in the male line.

  AFFINAMUS OF CLITIERS A companion of Gramoflanz.

  ALIZE Sister of King Hardiz of Gascony; wife to Duke Lambekin of Brabant.

  AMPFLISE (I) Queen, then Queen-Widow, of France, and Gah-muret’s ‘Lady’ in the formalized ‘Lady-Knight-servitor’ relationship.

  AMPFLISE (2) Daughter of Jernis of Ryl; Gral maiden.

  ANFORTAS Parzival’s maternal uncle; Gral King until succeeded by Parzival.

  ANNORE Queen of Averre; loved by Galoes of Anjou.

  ANTANOR ‘THE SILENT’ A knight at Arthur’s court.

  ANTIKONIE Sister to King Vergulaht of Ascalun.

  ARNIVE Widow of King Utepandragun of Britain; mother of Arthur.

  ARTHUR King of Britain; son of Utepandragun; grandson of Brickus; great-grandson of Mazadan; husband of Ginover, who bore him Ilunot; brother of Sangive; maternal uncle of Gawan.

  ASTOR Duke of Lanverunz.

  BEACURS A brother of Gawan.

  BEAFLURS A fairy; wife to Pansamurs and mother of Liahturteltart.

  BELACANE Queen of Zazamanc, first and abandoned wife of Gahmuret, and mother of Feirefiz.

  BENE Daughter of Plippalinot.

  BERNOUT DE RIVIERS Count of Ukerlant, inheriting from his father Narant

  BRANDELIDELIN King of Punturteis; maternal uncle of Gramoflanz.

  BRICKUS Son of Mazadan; grandfather of Arthur and progenitor of Arthur’s line. (Brickus is doubtless a corruption of Britus, via Bricus.*)

  CASTIS King of Waleis and Norgals; partner in unconsummated first marriage of Herzeloyde.

  CIDEGAST Duke of Logroys; first husband of Orgeluse; slain by Gramoflanz.

  CLAMIDE King of Iserterre.

  CLARISCHANZE OF TENABROC Gral Maiden.

  CLAUDITTE (I) Daughter of the Burgrave Scherules; playmate of Obilot.

  CLAUDITTE (2) A queen loved by Feirefiz.

  CLIAS ‘THE GREEK’ A knight at Arthur’s court.

  CLINSCHOR Duke of Terre de Labur; maternal nephew of Virgil of Naples; die lover of Iblis; a castrated sorceror.

  CONDWIRAMURS Wife to Parzival; daughter of King Tampenteire, from whom she inherited the land of Brobarz as Queen in her own right; cousin of Sigune; maternal niece of Gurnemanz.

  CUNDRIE ‘LA SURZIERE’ Sister of Malcreatlure; messenger of the Gral.

  CUNDRIE Daughter of King Lot of Norway and Sangive, and thus sister to Gawan and maternal niece of Arthur; later, wife to Lischois.

  CUNNEWARE A titular Duchess of Lalant (=Lalander); sister to Orilus and Lähelin.

  DODINES A knight at Arthur’s court; brother of Taurian.

  EHKUNAT A count; brother of Gurzgri’s wife Mahaute.

  EKUBA An infidel Queen of Janfuse.

  ENITE Wife to Erec.

  EREC Son of King Lac; a hero of his own Arthurian romance.

  FEIREFIZ Parzival’s infidel half-brother; son of Gahmuret and his first wife Belacane; later baptized and married to Repanse de Schoye, on whom he begets Prester John.

  FLEGETANIS An infidel astronomer and man of science.

  FLORANT OF ITOLAC, ‘THE TURKOYT’ (an exotic name of in determinate meaning) A companion of Lischois in the service of Orgeluse.

  FLORIE OF KANADIC Loved by Arthur’s son Ilinot.

  FLORIE DE LUNEL A Gral maiden.

  FLURDAMURS A paternal aunt of Parzival; wife to Kingrisin, and mother of Vergulaht and Antikonie.

  FRIAM Duke of Vermendoys.

  FRIMUTEL Parzival’s grandfather in the female line and a Gral King; unlike his father Titurel no longer living.

  GABENIS A prince of Punturteis (Brandelidelin’s kingdom).

  GAHERJET A maternal cousin of Gawan and knight of Arthur’s suite.

  GAHMURET Parzival’s father by Herzeloyde, Feirefiz’s by Belacane; younger son of Gandin, King of Anjou; brother of Gandin’s successor Galoes whom he succeeds; knight-servitor of Ampflise.

  GALOES Parzival’s paternal uncle; elder brother of Gahmuret and successor to King Gandin of Anjou; knight-servitor of Annore.

  GALOGANDRES Duke of Gippones

  GANDILUZ Son of Gurzgri, Gurnemanz’s son, and Mahaute.

  GANDIN King of Anjou; Parzival’ grandfather in the male line; son of Addanz; father of Galoes, Gahmuret and Flurdamurs; husband of schoette.

  GAREL A knight in Arthur’s suite.

  GARSCHILOYE OF GREENLAND A Gral maiden.

  GASCHIER ‘THE NORMAN’ A maternal nephew of Kaylet

  GAWAN The hero of the subsidiary and complementary action of Parzival; son of King Lot of Norway and Sangive; maternal nephew of King Arthur; brother of Beacurs, Surdamur, Cundrie and Itonje; marries Orgeluse; distant relation to Parzival through their common ancestor Mazadan, a maternal great-great-grandfather of Gawan’s. Otherwise and elsewhere the paragon of Arthurian knighthood.

  GINOVER As Arthur’s wife, Queen of Britain; mother of ilinot No pedigree, though related to King Segramors.

  GRAMOFLANZ King of an unnamed land whose great fortress and royal residence is Rosche Sabins; son of Irot; maternal nephew of Brandelidelin; slayer of Cidegast; marries Itonje.

  GRIGORZ King of Ipotente.

  GRINGULJETE ‘WITH THE RED EARS’ A Gral war-horse which passes to Lähelin, from him to Orilus, from him to Gawan, to Urjans, to Lischois, and back to Gawan.

  GURNEMANZ Prince of Graharz; Parzival’s first tutor; father of Schenteflurs, Lascoyt, Gurzgri and Liaze; grandfather of Schion-atulander; brother-in-law of Tampenteire; maternal uncle of Condwiramurs.

  GURZGRI Son of Gurnemanz; brother of Schenteflurs, Lascoyt and Liaze; husband of Mahaute; father of Gandiluz.

  GUVERJORZ King Clamide’s castilian war-horse.

  HARDIZ King of Gascony; brother of Alize.

  HERLINDE A lady in some way dear to Vridebrant.

  HERNANT A king slain by Vridebrant on account of Herlinde.

 
HERZELOYDE Parzival’s mother by Gahmuret; granddaughter of Titurel, daughter of Frimutel; sister of Anfortas, Trevrizent, Schoysiane and Repanse de Schoye; partnered in unconsummated marriage with Castis, from whom she inherited Waleis and Norgals, as Queen.

  HIUTEGER A Scottish duke under Vridebrant.

  IBERT King of Sicily; husband of Iblis; castrator of his cuckolder Clinschor.

  IDER SON Of NOYT A knight; slayer of Lascoyt; a formidable opponent at beauty competitions militant; known also from Erec.

  IDŒL Father of Jofreit

  ILINOT Son of Arthur And Ginover; Knight-Servitor of Kanadic and dead in her service.

  IMANE DE BEAFONTANE A young lady abducted by Meljahkanz.

  INGLIART ‘WITH THE SHORT EARS’ Gawan’s war-horse, lost unwittingly to Parzival at Bearosche.

  IPOMIDON OF BABYLON King of Niniveh; slayer of Gahmuret; brother of Pompeius.

  IROT King; father of Gramoflanz; brother-in-law of Brandelidelin.

  ISAJES Utepandragun’s Marshal.

  ISENHART King of Azagouc; son of Tankanis; knight-servitor of Belacane and slain in her service by Prothizilas; maternal cousin of Vridebrant.