Parzival: A Knightly Epic (vol. 2 of 2)

by von Eschenbach Wolfram

Then joyful he spake, the heathen, 'Now well shall it be with me,
And I thank the gods of my people that Gamuret's son I see. 240
Blest be Juno, the queen of heaven, since, methinks, she hath ruled it so,
And Jupiter, by whose virtue and strength I such bliss may know,
Gods and goddesses, I will love ye, and worship your strength for aye—
And blest be those shining planets, 'neath the power of whose guiding ray
I hither have made my journey—For ventures I here would seek, 245
And found thee, brother, sweet and aweful, whose strong hand hath made me weak.
And blest be the dew, and the breezes, that this morning my brow have fanned.
Ah! thou courteous knight who holdest love's key in thy valiant hand!
Ah! happy shall be the woman whose eyes on thy face shall light,
Already is bliss her portion who seeth so fair a sight!' 250

'Ye speak well, I would fain speak better of a full heart, had I the skill;
Yet alas! for I lack the wisdom, tho' God knoweth, of right goodwill
The fame of your worth and valour by my words would I higher raise,
And as eye, and as heart should serve me, the twain, they should speak your praise;
As your fame and your glory lead them, so behind in your track they fare— 255
And ne'er from the hand of a foeman such peril hath been my share
As the peril your hand hath wrought me! and sooth are these words I say.'
In this wise quoth the knight of Kanvoleis; yet Feirefis spake alway;

'With wisdom and skill, I wot well, hath Jupiter fashioned thee,
Thou true and gallant hero! Nor thy speech shall thus distant be, 260
For "ye" thou shalt no more call me, of one sire did we spring we twain.'
And with brotherly love he prayed him he would from such speech refrain
And henceforward 'thou' to call him, yet Parzival deemed it ill,
And he spake, 'Now, your riches, brother, shall be e'en as the Baruch's still,
And ye of us twain are the elder, my poverty and my youth 265
They forbid me "thou" to call ye, or discourteous were I in truth.

Then the Prince of Tribalibot, joyful, with many a word would praise
His god, Jupiter, and to Juno thanksgiving he fain would raise,
Since so well had she ruled the weather, that the port to which he was bound
He had safely reached, and had landed, and there had a brother found. 270

Side by side did they sit together, and neither forgot the grace
Of courtesy, to the other, each knight fain had yielded place.
Then the heathen spake, 'My brother, wilt thou sail with me to my land,
Then two kingdoms, rich and powerful, will I give thee into thine hand.
Thy father and mine, he won them when King Eisenhart's life was run, 275
Zassamank and Assagog are they—to no man he wrong hath done,
Save in that he left me orphaned—of the ill that he did that day
As yet have I not avenged me, for an ill deed it was alway.
For his wife, the queen who bare me, thro' her love must she early die,
When she knew herself love-bereavèd, and her lord from her land did fly. 280
Yet gladly that knight would I look on, for his fame hath been told to me
As the best of knights, and I journey my father's face to see!'

Then Parzival made him answer, 'Yea I, too, I saw him ne'er;
Yet all men they speak well of him, and his praises all lands declare,
And ever in strife and conflict to better his fame he knew, 285
And his valour was high exalted, and afar from him falsehood flew.
And women he served so truly that all true folk they praised his name,
And all that should deck a Christian lent honour unto his fame,
For his faith it for aye stood steadfast, and all false deeds did he abhor,
But followed his true heart's counsel—Thus ever I heard of yore 290
From the mouth of all men who knew him, that man ye were fain to see,
And I ween ye would do him honour if he yet on this earth might be,
And sought for fame as aforetime—The delight of all women's eyes
Was he, till king Ipomidon with him strove for knighthood's prize,
At Bagdad the joust was ridden, and there did his valiant life 295
For love's sake become death's portion, and there was he slain in strife;
In a knightly joust we lost him from whose life do we spring, we twain;
If here ye would seek our father, then the seas have ye sailed in vain!'

'Alas, for the endless sorrow!' quoth the knight. 'Is my father dead?
Here joy have I lost, tho' it well be that joy cometh in its stead. 300
In this self-same hour have I lost me great joy, and yet joy have found,
For myself, and thou, and my father, we three in one bond are bound;
For tho' men as three may hold us, yet I wot well we are but one,
And no wise man he counts that kinship 'twixt father, methinks, and son,
For in truth for more must he hold it—With thyself hast thou fought to-day, 305
To strife with myself have I ridden, and I went near myself to slay;
Thy valour in good stead stood us, from myself hast thou saved my life—
Now Jupiter see this marvel, since thy power so hath ruled the strife
That from death hast thou here withheld us!' Then tears streamed from his heathen eyes,
As he laughed and wept together—Yea, a Christian such truth might prize, 310
For our baptism truth should teach us, since there are we named anew
In the Name of Christ, and all men they hold the Lord Christ for true!

Quoth the heathen, e'en as I tell ye, 'No longer will we abide
In this place, but if thou, my brother, for a short space with me wilt ride,
From the sea to the land will I summon, that their power be made known to thee, 315
The richest force that Juno e'er guided across the sea.
And in truth, without thought of falsehood, full many a gallant knight
Will I show thee, who do me service, and beneath my banners fight,
With me shalt thou ride towards them.' Then Parzival spake alway,
'Have ye then such power o'er these people that your bidding they wait to-day 320
And all the days ye are absent?' Quoth the heathen, 'Yea, even so,
If for half a year long I should leave them, not a man from the place would go,
Be he rich or poor, till I bade him. Well victualled their ships shall be,
And neither the horse nor his rider setteth foot on the grassy lea,
Save only to fetch them water from the fountain that springeth fair, 325
Or to lead their steeds to the meadow to breathe the fresh summer air.'

Then Parzival quoth to his brother, 'If it be so, then follow me
To where many a gracious maiden, and fair pleasures, ye well may see,
And many a courteous hero who shall be to us both akin—
Near by with a goodly army lieth Arthur, the Breton king, 330
'Twas only at dawn I left them, a great host and fair are they,
And many a lovely lady shall gladden our eyes to-day.'
When he heard that he spake of women, since he fain for their love would live,
He quoth, 'Thou shalt lead me thither, but first thou shalt answer give
To the question I here would ask thee—Of a truth shall we kinsmen see 335
When we come to the court of King Arthur? For ever 'twas told to me
That his name it is rich in honour, and he liveth as valiant knight'—
Quoth Parzival, 'We shall see there full many a lady bright,
Nor fruitless shall be our journey, our own folk shall we find there,
The men of whose race we have sprung, men whose head shall a king's crown bear.' 340

Nor longer the twain would sit there, and straightway did Parzival
Seek again the sword of his brother that afar in the woodland fell,
And again the hero sheathed it, and all hatred they put away,
And e'en as true friends and brothers together they rode that day.