BOOK XV

Page 135, line 22--'_His armour a knight displayed_.' The riches of Feirefis and his costly raiment are dwelt upon at such length that one suspects that the aim of the poet was to exalt the importance of the House of Anjou; of which Feirefis, rather than Parzival, must here be considered the representative.

Page 136, line 31--'_Agremontein_.' Cf. Book IX. p. 284.

Page 136, line 42--'_Thopedissimonté_,' _etc._ This place has not been named before, and critics have not identified it with any known name. Assigarzionté may, as suggested in Note to Book XIV., be the same as Agatyrsjenté. Thasmé we already know, Book XIII. p. 74 and Note.

Page 137, line 59--'_Parzival rode not lonely_.' The expression of an idea which seems to be a favourite one with Wolfram, cf. Book V. p. 139 and Book VIII. 242.

Page 137, line 81--'_As the lion-cub_,' _etc._ This fable, a belief in which was general in the Middle Ages, is also mentioned by Wolfram in his _Willehalm_.

Page 139, line 120--'_My brother and I are one body_,' _etc._ As remarked before, Wolfram has an extremely high idea of the binding nature of family relationships, cf. Book III. p. 97 and further on p. 145.

Page 139, line 121--'_Asbestos_.' Cf. Book IX. p. 281.

Page 139, line 138--'Kaukasus.' It is rather curious to find Sekundillé associated with Kaukasus, as we are elsewhere told that she was queen of Tribalibot, _i.e._ India. In Book X. p. 11 we are told that she had golden mountains in her kingdom, which may have suggested the connection.

Page 140, line 155--'_And the other, the precious jewels_,' _etc._ It has already been remarked (Note to Book IX.) that the attribution of strengthening virtue to precious stones, and the prominence given to them throughout the poem, is a special feature of the _Parzival_. In the next book we meet with a remarkable instance of this peculiarity.

Page 140, line 161--'_Kardeiss and Lohengrin_.' This is the first intimation we have of the existence of Parzival's sons; from Kondrie's speech on p. 159, he seems himself to have been unaware of their birth. We hear of Parzival sending the knights conquered by him to yield themselves captives to Kondwiramur (Book VII. p. 220 and Book VIII. p. 243), and she, therefore, would be in some degree aware of her husband's movements during the five years of separation; but we have no indication of his having received any message from her; and from the wandering life he led during these years (cf. Introduction to Book IX.), and the fact that he had no squire in attendance who could act as go-between, it seems most probable that Parzival heard nothing of his wife throughout the entire time--a fact which makes his fidelity to her even more striking. _Kardeiss_ was doubtless named after his mother's brother, whose death is referred to in Book VI. p. 167. _Lohengrin_, or as the name stands in the original, with an additional syllable, _Loherangrin_, has been derived from _Lothringen_, the German form Lorraine. If so, this may indicate the source of the story of the Swan-knight, which did not, of course, originally belong to the Grail legend.

Page 140, line 170--'_Pelrapär!_' seq. It is very curious that though Wolfram emphasizes the fact (p. 139) that Parzival had regained his faith in God, yet it is not this faith which stands him in good stead in the hour of his greatest peril; neither is it his devotion to the Grail; but it is his loyal love for, and fidelity to, his wife that proves his salvation. If the aim of the poem were, as some critics contend, a purely religious one, then we should surely find that at the crucial moment of the hero's career religion, and not _Love_, would be the saving power. As it is, Parzival's words to Gawain, Book VI. p. 188, are abundantly borne out, and it _is_ his wife, and no heavenly power, that acts as Guardian Angel. (The lines 170-71 are not of course to be taken literally, '_o'er kingdoms four_' is used in other old German poems as equivalent for '_a great distance_.' It is not to be supposed that Kondwiramur was in any sense, even mystically, aware of her husband's danger, though doubtless it is the conviction that her love for him is as steadfast as his for her that strengthens his arm.) Throughout this conflict between the two brothers it is love, in the twelfth century form of _Minne-Dienst_, which is regarded as the animating power on either side; though the fact that they are respectively Christian and heathen is insisted on by the poet, yet we do not find the conflict regarded as a struggle between the two religions, nor any sign given of the superiority of the God of the Christian to the heathen deities, in fact the same Divine Power is invoked to shield them both (p. 139). It certainly seems here as if the _knightly_ interpretation had, in a great measure, overborne the _ethical_. That there _was_ an ethical signification attached to the episode seems evident, not only from the fact that this conflict with Feirefis, whose peculiar parti-coloured appearance recalls so strongly the contrast between Doubt and Faith, drawn in the Introduction, is the last stage in Parzival's long expiation; but also from the fact of the breaking of Ither of Gaheviess' sword, of which special mention is made in lines 173 and _seq._ The poet evidently intends us to regard this as a token that Parzival's youthful sins have been atoned for, and there seems little doubt that the incident was introduced here for that purpose. That the sword here broken was originally the _Grail_ sword, and that the change was made by Wolfram from the difficulty of reconciling that fact with previous statements (cf. Book IX. p. 252), as Simrock suggests, is most improbable, there would have been no reason for the _Grail Sword_ breaking in this rather than in any other combat (accepting Chrêtien's statement that the sword would break only in _one peril_; it had withstood considerably more than _one blow_), quite the contrary, as here Parzival is practically the Grail champion; but there is a deep significance in this shattering of the last token of the headstrong folly of his youth. It seems most probable that Wolfram found this incident in his source; and that the original meaning of the combat was to depict the last desperate struggle of the soul with Doubt, wherein by _steadfast resistance_ (absolute conquest is not at once to be looked for) the sins of the past are wiped out, and the soul becomes finally worthy of reward.

Page 141, line 195--'_Thro' fear shall I tell my name?_' Cf. Note to Book XIV. The courteous and knightly bearing of Feirefis, both here and on p. 142, should be noted. In everything but faith he is quite the equal of his Christian brother; indeed it must be admitted that, compared with either Feirefis or Gawain, _Parzival_ gives the impression of being a much less courtly and polished figure. His character seems stamped throughout with a rugged simplicity and directness, quite in keeping with what we are told of his wild and lonely youth. It is noticeable, too, how very little, comparatively speaking, Parzival says; though all the speeches put into his mouth have an earnestness and depth of feeling which we do not find in the much more frequent utterances of Gawain. Wolfram's tolerant treatment of heathen, generally, has often been a subject of remark by critics; and, with regard to Feirefis, the number of allusions to him which the _Willehalm_ contains lead one to the conclusion that this character, in particular, was a favourite with the poet.

Page 141, line 202--'_How shall "Angevin" be thy title?_' The reader will probably by this time have noticed that, King of Anjou as Parzival is, he is never called an Angevin, but is invariably referred to as a 'Waleis,' his mother's country. It is his _mother's_ kingdoms of which he has been deprived (cf. Book III. pp. 73, 80, 87), and this is really the first indication we have that he knows himself to be also lord of Anjou. Gamuret is alluded to, and gives his name as, Gamuret Angevin; Feirefis, is always Feirefis Angevin; but Parzival, the hero of the story and the real glory of his house, is not an Angevin but a 'Waleis.' This shows clearly that the _Angevin_ element formed no part of the original Perceval legend, but that it has been grafted on to a previously existing Celtic basis.

Page 141, line 205--'_Béalzenan_.' Cf. Book V. p. 147 and Note.

Page 142, line 230--'_As written parchment_.' Ekuba did _not_ say this in Wolfram's version, cf. Book VI. p. 186, possibly the simile was in the French source and has been dropped out. It is a curious idea to occur to a man who, like Wolfram, could not write; and it is also a curious speech to put into the mouth of one who, like Parzival, had been brought up in the desert, and deprived of the ordinary training due to his rank.

Page 143, line 241--'_Blest be Juno_,' _etc._ This ascription of Latin gods and goddesses to _all_ the non-Christian races was not unusual in the Middle Ages; Apollo was the god most commonly thus transferred. It is rather curious though to find the mistake made in a poem so obviously tinged by Oriental influences as the _Parzival_. Wolfram, too, seems to have known that the Saracens had other gods, in _Willehalm_ he names as such Apollo, Mahmet, and Tervigant.

Page 144, line 275--'_When King Eisenhart's life was run_.' Cf. Book I. p. 28.

Page 144, line 294--'_Till King Ipomidon_.' Cf. Book II. p. 59.

Page 146, line 353--'_From Château Merveil_,' _etc._ Cf. Book XII. p. 53.

Page 147, line 377--'_Saranthasmé_.' Cf. Book XIII. p. 74 and note.

Page 149, line 458--'_Wizsant_.' A haven on the coast of France, near Boulogne, much frequented at that time. Writers of the period frequently allude to it.

Page 153, line 583 and _seq._, page 154, line 615 and _seq._ The list of kings conquered by Feirefis and Parzival contain some very perplexing names, the originals of which have evidently been corrupted in process of transmission from one language to another. Bartsch, who has devoted considerable time to the study of the proper names in the _Parzival_, has endeavoured, with varying success, to identify the majority; and the following suggestions are taken from his article on the subject, already quoted in Appendix B, of vol. i.

In the first list, that of the princes conquered by Feirefis, names of Greek origin are of frequent occurrence; thus Papirus of Trogodjenté, Bartsch identifies as the king of the Troglodytæ; Liddamus of Agrippé was originally Laodamus of Agrippias; Tinodent, the island of Tenedos; Milon is, of course, a well-known Greek name, as is Kallicrates, here Killicrates, Filones of Hiberborticon is the Greek _Philon_; and it may be taken as a general rule that all the names ending in _on_, in this list, may be traced more or less directly to a Greek source. Possizonjus is a version of Poseidonios (having probably passed through a Latin medium); Atropfagenté is the land of the Androphagi, or Anthropophagi; Acheinor is the Greek _Archenor_.

In the list of the heroes conquered by Parzival we have, on the contrary, few classical names; Jeropleis, _i.e._ Hieropolis, seems to be almost the only example. The majority of the names appear to be of Romance origin, or at least to have passed through a Romance source. Thus Mirabel, the name of a place in Southern France, and Serabel, here the ending _bel_ indicates the French origin; Villegarunz is the Prov. _Villagrana_; Jovedast of Arles, a Provençal, proclaims his own nationality.

It is probably no accident that this majority of classical names appear in the first list, that of Feirefis, since, as noted above, Greeks and Romans alike were classed by the mediæval writers as heathens, and they would see nothing incorrect in giving Saracens classical names, in the same way as they provided them with classical deities.

Page 154, line 608--'_Olympia and Klauditté_.' Here again we find the names of the three queens beloved by Feirefis of distinctly classical origin: Klauditté being a French derivation from Claudia. Sekundillé is the only queen of whom we hear elsewhere, the other two are mentioned by name only.

Page 155, line 643--'_Heraclius or Hercules_.' Heracles was the hero of a German poem of the twelfth century, which attributes to him a knowledge of the properties of precious stones. The Alexander here referred to is Alexander the Great; not the lover of Surdamur, mentioned in Books XII. and XIV. (cf. note to XII.)

Page 156, line 664--'_Drianthasmé_.' Apparently a combination of Triande and Thasmé, cf. Book XIII. p. 74.

Page 158, line 723--'_With turtle-doves, all shining_.' Kondrie does not seem to have borne the badge of the Grail on her first visit (Book VI. p. 177); this, her second appearance, seems to bear more of an official character.

Page 158, line 741--'_Without a kiss_.' A kiss was the customary sign and seal of forgiveness (cf. Book V. 151, 152; Book VI. 177; Book XIV. 129), but Kondrie is fully aware of her repulsive appearance, and would, therefore, release Parzival from the fulfilment of a distasteful duty. It must be noted that, throughout the poem, Kondrie is in no sense represented as a malicious character. Her brother, Malcréature, on the contrary, seems to have been thoroughly evil-disposed, cf. Book X. p. 12.

Page 159, line 767--'_Now rejoice with a humble heart_.' Kondrie's announcement to Parzival appears, in some points, to be a direct contradiction of what we have already been told with regard to the promised healing of Anfortas. In Book IX. p. 278, Trevrezent distinctly says that the question must be asked on the _first_ night of the visit to the Castle; that no warning must be previously given; and that _if_ the knight fulfils these conditions, then, and then only, will he become king of the Grail. Now Parzival apparently traverses all these conditions, he omits to ask the question on his first visit, he is told of the sin he has thereby committed, and on this, his second visit, is made well aware of what is expected of him (cf. lines 774 and _seq._), while the Grail announces him as king _before_ he has asked the question. It is true that no one tells him the exact words in which he is to put the query, but Parzival is well aware that he is to ask Anfortas the cause of his anguish, and it scarcely seems likely that the virtue of the question depends upon the form in which it is put. Are we to consider from Trevrezent's words, Book XVI. p. 171, that Parzival's valour and steadfastness of purpose have wrought a change in the Divine Counsels, and that the bliss which he had in his folly forfeited is to be granted to him on his fulfilment of the _spirit_ of the Grail conditions, the fulfilment of the _letter_ being dispensed with? The question is a perplexing one, and difficult to solve satisfactorily.

Page 160, line 779--'_Seven stars did she name unto him_.' The introduction of these Arabic names is decidedly curious in view of Wolfram's emphatic statement that the origin of the _Parzival_ was an Arabic MS., though Bartsch remarks that the names in question were not necessarily derived from the source, there being still extant a German astronomical poem of the twelfth century which contains a number of Arabic names. Still it is strange that Wolfram's version should be as close as it is to the original form of the words, thus Zevâl is the Arabic _Zuhal_, Saturn; Almustri, _El-musteri_, Jupiter; Almaret, _El-mirrêk_, Mars; Samsi, _Shams_, the Sun; Alligafir and Alkamer cannot be exactly identified with the remaining two planets, Venus and Mercury, but seem to represent rather the names of two constellations, respectively called El-gafir and El-kidr. Alkamer is the moon, Arabic _El-kamer_.

Page 160, line 799--'_If thou speakest, Lady_.' The humility of this speech of Parzival's, contrasted with the indignant outbreak of wounded pride in Book VI. pp. 187, 188, is the most decisive proof which the poem affords of the spiritual change which has passed over him, and of his fitness to become king of the Grail, a blessing which Anfortas has forfeited through lack of humility (cf. Book IX. p. 272 and Book XVI. p. 182).

Page 161, line 817--'_From the bright eyes of Orgelusé_.' Cf. Book XII. p. 65.

Page 162, line 861--'_Triant_.' Cf. Book XIII. p. 74. Nouriente = von ourient, _i.e._ Orient.