BOOK I
Introduction, lines 1-66. This introduction, which is confessedly obscure, both in style and thought, appears to have been written after the completion of the poem, and to have been intended by the writer to serve both as a key to the meaning of the poem, and as a defence of his method of treatment. That Wolfram was blamed by his contemporaries, notably by Gottfried von Strassbourg, for his lack of a polished style, and obscurity of thought, we know; and in Willehalm he speaks, in the following words, of the varying judgment passed upon his Parzival:—
'Swaz ich von Parzivâl gesprach,
des sîn aventiur mich wîste,
etzlich man daz prîste:
ir was ouch vil, diez smœthen
Und baz ir rede wæhten.
and it is evidently to these critics that the first part of the Introduction is addressed.
Lines 1-8 give the key to the whole poem: the contrast between doubt or unsteadfastness, and steadfast faith and truth, as imaged in the contrast between darkness and light, black and white. This idea runs throughout the poem, is worked out symbolically in the character and experiences of the hero, and is shown in a concrete form in the person of his brother Feirefis. The poet notes that many readers have failed, through lack of intelligence, to grasp the meaning of this parable, which is too swift and subtle for their comprehension. A parallel passage will be found in Book V. pp. 137, 138, where the figure employed is different.
The curious lines 15, 16 are explained by Bötticher as allusions to personal assaults made on the poet, which, by reason of the folly of the assailants, missed their mark, and are therefore to be treated with contempt.
Lines 29, 30 contain one of the quaint and homely similes which abound throughout the poem, and refer to the faithless man, valsch geselleclîcher muot, whose honour and steadfastness are not sufficiently strong to meet the demands made upon them.
There are three distinct divisions of the Introduction: the first, lines 1-30, is addressed to men only, and draws the contrast between the false and true knight; 31-49 does the same for women; while from 49 onwards the poet shows how the tale he is about to tell affects both sexes alike, and gives a slight sketch of the character of the hero. For the rightful understanding of this the lines 61, 62 are of great importance: 'a brave man, yet slowly wise Is he whom I hail my hero' (er küene, trâctîche wîs, den helt ich alsus grüene), and should be borne in mind by the student of the poem.
A full and minute discussion of this discussion of this Introduction will be found in Dr. Bötticher's Das Hohelied von Rittertum.
Page [5], line 67—'Now they do to-day as of old-time.' The word employed here wälsch simply means 'foreign,' but it is evident from the context that France is the country referred to. The fact was probably in the French source, the remarks upon it due to the German poet.
Page [5]. line 80—'Gamuret.' The origin of this name is doubtful; in Chrêtien we find a King Ban de Gomeret mentioned, and Wolfram may have derived the name from a French source, Heinmel suggests that it comes from Gamor, the son of Anguis, a Saracen prince ruling in Denmark, according to 'Arthur and Merlin;' and that the fact of his being of the race of Anguis suggested to Kiot the possibility of making him an Angevin. In the absence of any definite knowledge as to Wolfram's source it is not possible to do more than suggest possible derivations.
Page [7], lines 136, 137—'Gylstram and Rankulat.' With regard to the first-named place, Simrock says it has been identified with 'Gustrate' in the Gudrun, and, according to Grimm, this latter is to be coupled with Gailate, 'where the sun hath its setting.' i.e. the West. In Book XI. the patriarch of Rankulat is referred to, in company with the Baruch of Bagdad and the Emperor of Constantinople, and in all probability Armenia is meant. The king's speech therefore implies, 'Didst thou come from the furthest bounds of the earth, East or West.'
Page [8], line 154—'King Gandein's son.' Cf. Book IX. p. 285, where the origin of the name Gandein is given.
Page [8], lines 159, 160.—'Then the tale it hath told a lie.' Cf. Book IX. p. 259.
Page [8], lines 169, 170—'Rich silk of Orient' Eastern materials are referred to frequently throughout the poem; the principal seem to have been, Samite, Sendal, Achmardi, Pfellel, Plialt, and Saranthasme. Of these, some were of silk only, others, notably Saranthasme of silk inwoven with gold, Achmardi, in this poem, is always green. Samite and Sendal are the two generally named in our English romances.
Page [9], line 209—'Two brothers of Babylon.' This is Babylon in Egypt, now Cairo, as is evident from its close connection with Alexandria, cf. p. 12, line 277, and Book II. p. 57, line 684, and p. 59, line 754. Though, from the passage on p. [57], it seems as if the poet confused it with Babylon in Assyria; it is possible that he was unaware of the fact that there were two cities of the name.
Page [15], line 384—'Friedebrand.' The introduction of names of distinctly northern origin such as Friedebrand, Hernant, and Herlindè, Heuteger, and Eisenhart, has been already noted in Appendix B as one of the problems of the Parzival. Two solutions have been suggested, either that they were introduced by Wolfram, or that they reached the French source through the medium of Normandy. The form in which the names occur in the Gudrun cycle seems to indicate quotation from a source known also to the writer of the Parzival, but they are not derived directly from the North Sea saga in its present form.
Page [16], line 403—'Wouldst thou know?' etc. It may be interesting to note here that beyond the colour, which the poet insists on, he apparently recognises no difference between the heathen and Christian knights and ladies. Both acknowledge the same chivalrous ideals; both are equally familiar with the eccentricities of 'Minne-dienst' (cf. line 423); and the speeches put into the mouth of Belakané, or of Rassalig, would be quite as suitable if spoken by Orgeluse, or by one of King Arthur's knights. This incident of a Christian knight marrying a Moorish princess is of frequent occurrence in Mediæval romance.
Page [16], lines 423, 424—'That which like to a hall doth stand.' The tents of the Mediæval period were constructed of far more costly fabrics than is usual now, cf. Book III. p. 74. and Book XI., and their size was very great, this special tent we find, from Book II. p. 36, was 'thirty pack-steeds' burden.' San Marte quotes the description of a tent captured by the Crusaders at Antioch which was adorned with walls, towers, and ramparts, contained halls and galleries, and could lodge as many as 2000 men.
Page [22], line 620—'The chiming of sweet bells.' Bells were at one time freely used not only as ornaments to the trappings of the horses but also on the armour of the knights, cf. Book III. p. 70, and Book VI. p. 163. Gradually they disappeared from use, and the bells on the Fool's dress are the last trace left of the practice, which from this poem was evidently very general at the beginning of the thirteenth century.
Page [23], line 623—'Brave Beaucorps.' This brother of Gawain appears in Book VI. p. 183, he is the only one of Gawain's brothers mentioned in this poem. In Malory, we find Gareth called 'Beau-mains,' and it is possible that the two are identical. Beaucorps is evidently much younger than Gawain, and Gareth was the youngest of King Lot's sons.
Page [24], line 679—'Lahfilirost.' This seems to be a misunderstanding for 'Le fils du Rost,' and may be classed with the misinterpretations of a French source.
Page [25], line 700—'Frau Minne.' The word Minne is etymologically derivable from a root 'man,' and is connected with the Latin mens, English 'mind' (cf. 'to have a mind to.') The original signification was that of tender care, or thought for; in Old High German it has already taken the meaning of love in its passionate aspects; finally, in Middle High German (the original language of the Parzival), it has become the standing expression for love betwixt man and woman. We have it in various forms as a verb, Minnen; as an adjective, Minniglich. The personification of the passion of Love as 'Frau Minne' is the work of the courtly poets of the twelfth century, and seems rather to have been derived from classical analogy than to be due to a reminiscence of an early German goddess of Love. Also, with Wolfram and his contemporaries, 'Frau Minne' must be regarded less as the personification of Love in the abstract than as the embodiment of the special love-ideal of the day. This new ideal had its rise, and assumed definite shape in twelfth century France, from whence it spread throughout the knightly society of Christendom, finding its fullest literary expression in the Arthurian romances. The historic causes which led to what was at the time an entirely novel mode of considering the relations between the sexes, and the true nature and ethical import of the chivalric conception of that relation will be briefly discussed in an Appendix to vol. II. The significance of the term is fully apparent from such passages as the present, also cf. Book VI. pp. 161, 163, 165, 171; VII. 208, 224; XII. etc.—[A. N.]
Page [27], line 768.—'Morhold,' also in Book II. p. 39. This is, of course, the well-known hero in Tristan. The allusion may have been in the original French source, or introduced by Wolfram, who would know Morhold from the Tristan of Eilhart von Oberge, composed before 1180. The most famous German poem on the subject, the Tristan of Gottfried von Strassbourg, was somewhat later in date.
Page [31], lines 886, 887—Cf. Book VIII. p. 230 and note.
Page [31], line 904—'Feirefis.' Bartsch interprets the name as vair fils, 'parti-coloured son.' Other critics have suggested 'Fairy's son.' The name distinctly indicates a French origin.
Page [31], line 905—'A woodland-waster,' 'wald-verschwender,' a hyperbolical term constantly employed throughout this poem to denote one who shatters many spears in fight.