Parzival

Wolfram, Parzival 1,1ff (Prologue) - Ist zwiffel hertzen noch gebur... (Heidelberg, Cod. Pal. germ. 339, fol. 6r)

Parzival (also Perceval, Peredur, Perlesvaus) is the title character of the Middle High German verse novel of the same name by Wolfram von Eschenbach, probably completed between 1200 and 1210, and describes the search for the Holy Grail with close reference to the Arthurian legend. Eschenbach's main source was the Grail tale Li Contes del Graal ou Le roman de Perceval by Chrétien de Troyes, written about 20 years earlier but left unfinished, which in turn is based on the Welsh romance of Peredur fab Efrawg ("Peredur, the son of Efrawg").

Wolfram, however, does not refer to Chrétien de Troyes, but to an otherwise unknown Provençal poet named Kyot as a source, whom he mentions for the first time quite abruptly in the 8th book of his poetry and whose story he then presents in more detail in the 9th chapter. Kyot, for his part, refers to a forgotten manuscript by a certain Flegetanis, who was an Arab astronomer and astrologer. Friedrich von Suhtscheck-Hauschka has even expressed the opinion - though not shared by other scholars - that the Grail narrative is of Persian origin (Lit.: Suhtscheck, Die iranischen Quellen in Wolframs Parzival).

In any case, Eschenbach expanded the tale, which is known from Chrétien de Troyes, many times, especially with the prehistory of Parzival's father Gahmuret and Parzival's encounter with his dark half-brother Feirefiz at the end of the tale. Richard Wagner adapted the material very vividly and independently in his stage festival Parsifal, which premiered in 1882.

Literatur

• Wolfram von Eschenbach, Karl Simrock (Übers.): Parzival und Titurel. 2 Bände, Stuttgart 1862 pdf
• Wolfram von Eschenbach, Karl Lachmann (Hrsg.), Parzival, 5. Auflage, Berlin 1891 pdf
• Eugen Kölbing: Die nordische Parzivalsaga und ihre Quelle, Druck und Verlag von Carl Gerold's Sohn, Wien 1869 pdf
• Fridrich von Suhtscheck: Die iranischen Quellen in Wolframs Parzival in: Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft Bd. 82 (1928), LXXXII - LXXXIV online pdf
• Fridrich von Suhtscheck: Herrn Wolframs v. Eschenbach gereimte Parsivalnamä-Übersetzung in: Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft Bd. 84 (1930), S. 106-107 online pdf
• Walter Slaje: Fridrich von Suhtscheck und das „Parsiwalnamä“ in: Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft Bd. 139 (1989), S. 93 - 103 online pdf
• Wolfram von Eschenbach/Marit Laurin: Parzifal, Vlg. Freies Geistesleben, Stuttgart 2014
• Parzifal - Der Weg zum heiligen Gral. Ein Bilderzyklus von Werner Diedrich. Text von Jakob Streit, Vlg. Die Pforte, Dornach 1997
• Rudolf Steiner: Der Orient im Lichte des Okzidents, GA 113 (1982), ISBN 3-7274-1130-9 English: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.org
• Rudolf Steiner: Aus der Akasha-Forschung. Das Fünfte Evangelium, GA 148 (1992), ISBN 3-7274-1480-4 English: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.org
• Rudolf Steiner: Christus und die geistige Welt. Von der Suche nach dem heiligen Gral, GA 149 (2004), ISBN 3-7274-1490-1 English: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.org
• Rudolf Steiner / Marie Steiner-von Sivers: Briefwechsel und Dokumente 1901–1925, 2., völlig überarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage, GA 262 (2002), ISBN 3-7274-2620-9 English: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.org
• Rudolf Steiner: Zur Geschichte und aus den Inhalten der ersten Abteilung der Esoterischen Schule 1904 bis 1914, GA 264 (1987), ISBN 3-7274-2650-0 English: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.org

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