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.