Parzival: A Knightly Epic (vol. 1 of 2)
1200
Parzival: A Knightly Epic (vol. 1 of 2)
1200
Translated by Jessie L. (Jessie Laidlay) Weston
The Holy Grail. But not as you've imagined it. Wolfram von Eschenbach reimagines the grail as a luminous stone, and his knight Parzival's quest is not merely for honor or love, but for the most dangerous thing of all: self-knowledge. Written around 1200, this German epic takes up the story Chrétien de Troyes left unfinished and transforms it into something far stranger and more profound than a mere romance of chivalry. Parzival begins as an innocent, barely more than a boy, thrust into the glittering world of Arthur's court. He becomes a knight, jousts, loves, fails. Most crucially, he stumbles upon the Grail Castle, sees the bleeding lance and the wounded Fisher King, witnesses the Grail itself, yet cannot ask the one question that would heal the kingdom. Years of wandering follow, years of suffering, until at last he learns what every great quest truly demands: not prowess, but humility. This is adventure as spiritual transformation, knighthood as soul-making, and the medieval world at its most dazzingly alive.
Editions
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“Let mercy keep company with courage. Follow my advice in this: if in battle you win a man’s surrender, then unless he has done you such grievance as amounts to heart’s sorrow, accept his oath, and let him live.””
— von Eschenbach Wolfram
“If doubt is near neighbor to the heart, that may turn sour on the soul. There is both scorning and adorning when a man’s undaunted mind turns pied like the magpie’s hue. Yet he may still enjoy bliss, for both have a share in him, Heaven and Hell. Inconstancy’s companion holds entirely to the black colour and will, indeed, take on darkness’s hue, while he who is constant in his thoughts will hold to the white.””
— von Eschenbach Wolfram
“Then the King of Arragon pushed old Utepandragun over his horse’s tail down on to the meadow – the King of Britain! – where he lay in a bed of flowers!””
— von Eschenbach Wolfram
“Sir, if you are otherwise discreet, you will consider that you have gone far enough. At my brother's request I am treating you no less kindly than Ampflise treated my uncle Gahmuret, without going to bed together. My kindness would in the long run outweigh hers, if anyone were to weigh us properly. And besides, Sir, I don't know who you are, and yet in such a short space of time you want to have my love.””
— von Eschenbach Wolfram
“Entonces Parsifal le contestó:«Si la caballería, con escudo y lanza,puede conseguir la recompensa en la tierray el paraíso para el alma, seré siempre caballero.»En verdad tu nombre es Parsifalque significa: corta por la mitad.””
— von Eschenbach Wolfram
“When indecision’s in the heartThe soul is bound to grieve and smart.””
— von Eschenbach Wolfram
“Will ich Vertrauen finden, da, wo es zu verschwinden weiß wie Feuer in den Brunnenquellen und der Tau an der Sonne?””
— von Eschenbach Wolfram
“His ways were a refuge from falsity.””
— von Eschenbach Wolfram
