Wolfram Von Eschenbach
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Wolfram von Eschenbach (; – ) was a German knight, poet and composer, regarded as one of the greatest
epic poets An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...
of
medieval German literature Medieval German literature refers to the literature of Medieval Germany. It can be subdivided into two main periods: *Old High German literature (750–1050) is the product of the monasteries and is almost exclusively religious in nature *Middle H ...
. As a
Minnesinger (; "love song") was a tradition of lyric- and song-writing in Germany and Austria that flourished in the Middle High German period. This period of medieval German literature began in the 12th century and continued into the 14th. People who wr ...
, he also wrote
lyric poetry Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. It is not equivalent to song lyrics, though song lyrics are often in the lyric mode, and it is also ''not'' equi ...
.


Life

Little is known of Wolfram's life. There are no historical documents which mention him, and his works are the sole source of evidence. In ''
Parzival ''Parzival'' is a medieval romance by the knight-poet Wolfram von Eschenbach in Middle High German. The poem, commonly dated to the first quarter of the 13th century, centers on the Arthurian hero Parzival (Percival in English) and his long ...
'', he talks of ''wir Beier'' ("we Bavarians"); the dialect of his works is
East Franconian East Franconian (german: Ostfränkisch) or Mainfränkisch, usually referred to as Franconian (') in German, is a dialect which is spoken in Franconia, the northern part of the federal state of Bavaria and other areas in Germany around Nuremberg, ...
. This and a number of geographical references have resulted in the present-day
Wolframs-Eschenbach Wolframs-Eschenbach is a town in the district of Ansbach, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 14 km southeast of Ansbach, and 36 km southwest of Nuremberg. Wolframs-Eschenbach, formerly named ''"Eschenbach"'' and ''"Ober-Eschenbach"'', ...
, until 1917 Obereschenbach, near
Ansbach Ansbach (; ; East Franconian: ''Anschba'') is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränkische Rezat, ...
in present-day
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, being officially designated as his birthplace. However, the evidence is circumstantial and not without problems - there are at least four other places named Eschenbach in Bavaria, and Wolframs-Eschenbach was not part of the
Duchy of Bavaria The Duchy of Bavaria ( German: ''Herzogtum Bayern'') was a frontier region in the southeastern part of the Merovingian kingdom from the sixth through the eighth century. It was settled by Bavarian tribes and ruled by dukes (''duces'') under ...
('' Altbayern'') in Wolfram's time. The
arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...
shown in the Manesse manuscript come from the imagination of a 14th-century artist, drawing on the figure of the Red Knight in ''Parzival'', and have no
heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...
connection with Wolfram. Wolfram's work indicates a number of possible patrons (most reliably Hermann I of
Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
), which suggests that he served at a number of courts during his life. He was presumably not a wealthy man, as he made frequent allusions to his own poverty. In his ''Parzival'', Wolfram states that he is illiterate; while the claim is treated with scepticism by some scholars, the truth of the assertion, difficult for some moderns to believe, is impossible to ascertain. But it has been credited by many commentators. It is noted in
Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
's ''
The Magic Mountain ''The Magic Mountain'' (german: Der Zauberberg, links=no, ) is a novel by Thomas Mann, first published in German in November 1924. It is widely considered to be one of the most influential works of twentieth-century German literature. Mann s ...
'' that "the greatest poet of the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, Wolfram von Eschenbach, could neither read nor write," and the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' observes: "Wolfram in his ''Parzival'' tells us explicitly that he could neither read nor write. His poems were written down from dictation. His knowledge was extensive and varied rather than accurate. He certainly knew French, but only imperfectly; for his proper names often show a curious misunderstanding of French words and phrases."


Works


''Parzival''

Wolfram is best known today for his ''Parzival'', sometimes regarded as the greatest of all German Arthurian romances. Based on Chrétien de Troyes' unfinished ''
Perceval, le Conte du Graal ''Perceval, the Story of the Grail'' (french: Perceval ou le Conte du Graal) is the unfinished fifth verse romance by Chrétien de Troyes, written by him in Old French in the late 12th century. Later authors added 54,000 more lines in what are kn ...
'', it is the first extant work in German to have as its subject the
Holy Grail The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracu ...
(in Wolfram's interpretation a gemstone). In the poem, Wolfram's narrator expresses disdain for Chrétien's (
unfinished Unfinished may refer to: *Unfinished creative work, a work which a creator either chose not to finish or was prevented from finishing. Music * Symphony No. 8 (Schubert) "Unfinished" * ''Unfinished'' (album), 2011 album by American singer Jor ...
) version of the tale, and states that his source was a poet from
Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...
called
Kyot Kyot the Provençal is claimed by Wolfram von Eschenbach to have been a Provençal poet who supplied him with the source for his Arthurian romance ''Parzival''. Wolfram may have been referring to the northern French poet Guiot de Provins, but thi ...
.


''Titurel'' and ''Willehalm''

Wolfram is the author of two other narrative works: the fragmentary ''
Titurel ''Titurel'' is a fragmentary Middle High German romance written by Wolfram von Eschenbach after 1217. The fragments which survive indicate that the story would have served as a prequel to Wolfram's earlier work, ''Parzival'', expanding on the stor ...
'' and the unfinished ''
Willehalm ''Willehalm'' is an unfinished Middle High German poem from the early 13th century, written by the poet Wolfram von Eschenbach. In terms of genre, the poem is "a unique fusion of the courtly and the heroic, with elements of the saintly legend attac ...
''. These were both composed after ''Parzival'', and ''Titurel'' mentions the death of Hermann I, which dates it firmly after 1217. ''Titurel'' consists of two fragments, which tell the story of Schionatulander and Sigune (lovers that were already depicted in ''Parzival''). The first fragment deals with the birth of love between the main characters. The second fragment is quite different. Schionatulander and Sigune are alone in a forest, when their peace is suddenly disturbed by a mysterious dog, whose leash contains a story written in rubies. Sigune is eager to read the story, but the dog runs off. Schionatulander sets off to find him, but, as we already know from ''Parzival'', he dies in the attempt. ''Willehalm'', an unfinished poem based on the
Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...
chanson de geste The ''chanson de geste'' (, from Latin 'deeds, actions accomplished') is a medieval narrative, a type of epic poem that appears at the dawn of French literature. The earliest known poems of this genre date from the late 11th and early 12th c ...
, ''
Aliscans ''Aliscans'' is a ''chanson de geste'' of the late twelfth century. It recounts the story of the fictional battle of Aliscans (Alescans), a disastrous defeat of a Christian by a pagan army. The name 'Aliscans' presumably refers to the Alyscamps in A ...
'', was a significant work, and has been preserved in 78 manuscripts. It is set against the backdrop of the religious wars between the Christians and the
Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...
s. The eponymous hero Willehalm kidnaps a Saracen princess, converts her to Christianity and marries her. The Saracen king raises an army to rescue his daughter. The poem has many of the distinguishing features of medieval literature: the victory of the Christians over a much larger Saracen army, the touching death of the young knight Vivian, Willehalm's nephew and the works mirror of chivalric courage and spiritual purity.


Lyric poetry

Wolfram's nine surviving songs, five of which are dawn-songs, are regarded as masterpieces of
Minnesang (; "love song") was a tradition of lyric- and song-writing in Germany and Austria that flourished in the Middle High German period. This period of medieval German literature began in the 12th century and continued into the 14th. People who w ...
. Dawn-songs recount the story of a knight who spends the night with his beloved lady, but at dawn has to slip away unnoticed. Mostly it is the lady who wakes the knight up in the morning, but sometimes this mission is made by the watchman. No melodies survived. Two melodies are still connected to him, the ''Schwarzer Thon'', attributed to Wolfram in a 14th-century manuscript, and the fragmentary and unfinished epic ''Titurel'' (after 1217) with a complicated four-line
stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian language, Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or Indentation (typesetting), indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme scheme, rhyme and ...
form that was often used in later poems.Wolfram von Eschenbach at the Oxford Music Online
/ref>


Influence

The 84 surviving manuscripts of ''Parzival'', both complete and fragmentary, indicate the immense popularity of Wolfram's major work in the following two centuries. ''Willehalm'', with 78 manuscripts, comes not far behind. Many of these include a continuation written in the 1240s by Ulrich von Türheim under the title ''Rennewart''. The unfinished ''Titurel'' was taken up and expanded around 1272 by a poet named Albrecht, who is generally presumed to be Albrecht von Scharfenberg and who adopts the narrative persona of Wolfram. This work is referred to as the ''
Jüngere Titurel Albrecht von Scharfenberg (fl. 1270s) was a Middle High German poet, best known as the author of ''Der jüngere Titurel'' ("The Younger Titurel") since his two other known works, ''Seifrid de Ardemont'' and ''Merlin'', are lost. Linguistic evidence ...
'' (''Younger Titurel''). The modern rediscovery of Wolfram begins with the publication of a translation of ''Parzival'' in 1753 by the Swiss scholar
Johann Jakob Bodmer Johann Jakob Bodmer (19 July 16982 January 1783) was a Swiss author, academic, critic and poet. Life Born at Greifensee, near Zürich, and first studying theology and then trying a commercial career, he finally found his vocation in letters. In 1 ...
. ''Parzival'' was the main source
Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
used when writing the
libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
to his opera, ''
Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival ...
''. Wolfram himself appears as a character in another Wagner opera, ''
Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and ...
''.


References


Notes


Bibliography

* * *D. H. Green, ''The Art of Recognition in Wolfram's Parzival''. Cambridge & New York: Cambridge University Press, 1982. * Groos, Arthur. ''Romancing the Grail: Genre, Science, and Quest in Wolfram's'' Parzival. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1995. * * *James F. Poag, ''Wolfram von Eschenbach'' (Twayne's World Authors Series) Twayne Publishers 1972. *Sager, Alexander. ''Minne von mæren: on Wolfram's "Titurel."'' Göttingen: V&R, 2006. *Otto Springer. "Wolfram's ''Parzival''" in ''Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages'', Roger S. Loomis (ed.). Clarendon Press: Oxford University. 1959. * * Wolfram von Eschenbach, ''Parzival with Titurel and The Love-lyrics'', trans. Cyril Edwards (Woodbridge, Boydell Press, 2004). * Wolfram von Eschenbach, ''Parzival'', trans. A.T.Hatto. Penguin 1980. . * Edwards, Cyril, "Wolfram von Eschenbach, Islam, and the Crusades," in James Hodkinson and Jeffrey Morrison (eds), ''Encounters with Islam in German Literature and Culture'' (Woodbridge, Camden House, 2009), pp. 36–54. *


External links

* *
Wolfram von Eschenbach in the Literary Encyclopedia
(Middle High German)
List of ''Parzival'' manuscripts
(Marburger Repertorium)
List of ''Willhalm'' manuscripts
(Marburger Repertorium)

(Middle High German)
El Grial, including songs by Wolfram von Eschenbach performed by Capella de Ministrers & Carlos Magraner
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfram von Eschenbach 12th-century births 1220 deaths 12th-century German poets 13th-century German poets 13th-century German composers Epic poets German male poets Holy Grail Medieval German knights Middle High German literature Minnesingers People from Ansbach (district) Writers of Arthurian literature Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain