Alussa loputonta jaarittelua, mutta loppua kohden tarina muuttuu suorastaan kiinnostavaksi. Kertojan tyyli on aika veikeä. Tykkäsin. Ei kovin kauhean raskas lukukokemus, kiitos suorasanaisen hyvän suomennoksen. ( )

PARZIVAL

Junto con el Fausto de Goethe y el Cantar de los Nibelungos, el Parzival (ca. 1220) de Wolfram von Eschenbach es uno de los principales mitos de la cultura alemana. Del interés que suscitó en su tiempo nos hablan los más de 80 manuscritos conservados, algo inaudito para una obra de esa época. Un interés que no ha dejado de aumentar con los años, suscitando una ingente bibliografía que, sin olvidar la famosa ópera de Wagner, ha tratado de esclarecer de diferentes maneras los numerosos misterios que esta obra guarda tan celosamente. Por muy asombroso que parezca, este poema de casi 25.000 versos permanecía inédito hasta ahora en castellano, faltando así el último y esencial eslabón del ciclo novelesco en torno al Grial. Von Eschenbach no sólo completa y desarrolla con mayor profundidad la historia inacabada que dejó Chrétien de Troyes a finales del siglo XII, sino que introduce una enigmática transformación simbólica que afecta a todo el sentido de la leyenda: el Grial ya no es una copa de efectos maravillosos, ni el cáliz de la Última Cena, sino una piedra mágica caída de la corona de Lucifer en el momento de su derrota, que proporciona todos los alimentos deseados. La ampliación del argumento y de la geografía, la nueva complejidad de sus personajes y del tema hacen de Parzival uno de los grandes poemas épicos de la Edad Media y quizá de todos los tiempos.

It has very encouraging reviews, but I simply couldn't get through the first chapter. The translation seems rocky and inconsistent, veering wildly in register within a single sentence, and I found it impossible to get a grip on Wolfram's voice and settle into the story. I suspect they were keen to retain as much as possible of the original, and this sabotaged the ability to produce a smooth and readable version. But I may be unfair; perhaps it was like that in the German.

It's also loaded with the same amount of detail as this genre likes; flicking through the book, I found him spending several sentences describing knives held by people forming one part of a procession that takes many pages. There was nothing to indicate these knives would be of later importance. It's just all about painting lavish word-pictures; more suited in my view to storytelling than reading.

In short, not for me. ( )

The search for the holy grail - "the stuff of legend" - King Arthur'e knights of the round table ride out in pursuit of the mysterious object that will provide beneficence to all who are able to see it. This 13th century version by Wolfram von Eschenbach is one of the earliest and some familiar figures are missing; there is no Lancelot, no Galahad, no Merlin and even the grail (gral here) is nothing like a chalice or cup that is usual in these tales.

Wolfram, however much he tries to deny it has based his story on the original version by Chretien de Troyes, which was written some 20 years earlier in about 1190 and was unfinished. Wolframs version completes the story in such a way that it remains fairly true to the original, he also greatly expands Chretien's story and adds a sort of a prequel that gives the whole thing some context. In Wolfram's retelling however the focus of the story has subtly changed. The main theme of Chretien's tale was the search for the gral by a knight who was worthy in the eyes of God. This is still an essential part of Wolfram's tale, but he is more interested in centering Parzival as a knight who is destined to take his place in the dynasty of the community of the grail. We are therefore told of his ancestry his progeny and his relationship to Ansfortas (The Fisher King). To reinforce this interpretation Wolfram says on the final page of his story "If master Chretien has done wrong by this story...... I have names Parzival's sons and his high lineage correctly, and have brought him to the gaol with a happy dispensation intended for him, despite his setbacks."

In Wolfram's story Parzival is one of the essential guardians of the grail, but this has been denied him by his mother's attempts to keep him safe from the rigours of knighthood. He is first denied his lineage and then himself denies his service to God. He achieves redemption through chivalry, feats of arms and a long period of celibacy. Wolfram's point here is that noble lineage cannot be denied; it will always come to the fore and be recognised in the face (good looks) and the stance of the individual. The religious content of the story is still in evidence, but Wolfram's treatment of it is peculiarly secularised. The clergy are not in evidence and Trevizent whose role is to tell Parzival of his true lineage and restore his faith in God is described as a hermit and holy man. Trevizent tells Parzival "no man can win the gral other than one who who is acknowledged in heaven as destined for it" Gawan{Gawain) in a parallel story is also searching for the gral, but his task has come to him second hand as his chivalric code has indebted him to take over the task from another knight. It is clear that Gawan who is "under the tyranny of love" will never see the gral, but his adventures are a useful counterpoint to Parzival's and Wolfram shows his skill in bringing the two strands of his story together, which is something Chretien had neglected to do.

I have previously read and enjoyed Chretien de Troyes Arthurian Romances for the high poetic style in which they were written and for their sense of magic and mystery. Wolfram's style is more prosaic, there is more detail and his love of pageantry, rank and order is evident in almost everything he writes. He is more successful in binding all of the parts of the story together and tidying up the loose ends, he also brings a certain authenticity to his story telling; he was a German knight in service, and his experience shows in how he describes the elaborate procedures in removing armour. He also seems more knowledgeable in the art of jousting, telling us through one of his characters that there are essentially five lance strokes and then goes on to describe what they are. Much of his expansion of Chretien's tale is due to to the heraldic aspects of the story; his description of the first sighting of the grail contains the names of many of the ladies who tale part in this pageant like procession, his portrayal of King Arthur's camp is careful to place in order and rank all of the important knights that are present. This was so important to Wolfram and his audience and at one stage it degenerates into Parzival and his brother Firefiz, trying to outdo each other by listing the names of the important knights in their service. This is an aspect of the story that can be of little interest to today's readers and results in confusion at times as there is a need to keep the important characters in mind to make sense of the story. In A T Hatto's good translation he has thoughtfully included a glossary of names.

Although we know very little about Wolfram von Escenbach from other sources, his habit of authorial intervention into his Parzival provides an intriguing glimpse of the man and his times. Wolfram comes across as mischievous, playful and probably totally disingenuous. It is only three chapters into the book before he launches into his "Apology". Typically in medieval literature an "apology" would appear near the end of a piece of writing and would be an attempt by the author to absolve himself of any sins in telling his story, he would be at pains to square himself with the clergy and religious convention. Not so with Wolfram; the subject of his apology is his perceived treatment of women:

"From one alone would I withold my love service - having found her unfaithful my anger towards her does not change .........I have not lost my ability to judge shrewdly of their ways and behaviour, yet I will champion any women of modest character, touching her good name - any pain she suffered I should take very much to heart........ a man who aims at love through chivalric exploits gambles for high stakes."

Later in the story Wolfram expounds the views through his characters that fidelity in marriage is the true path to salvation, however I am never sure where the irony stops and he comes across to me as someone well used to the conventions of courtly(adulterous) love. Many of his female characters have "hot lips" and he is not above giving us some salacious details for example this is Gahmuret Percival's father:

"Over his hauberk he wore a small white silken shift of the Queen's (the one who was now his wife) as it came from her naked body. - They saw no less than eighteen pierced by lances and hacked through by swords, before he left the lady. She used to slip them on again when her darling returned from jousting...... The love of these two expressed a deep attachment"

Later in the apology Wolfram says he has "not a letter to his name" trying to intimate that he cannot write. He also tries to obfuscate his debt to Chretien by inventing a Provencal knight "Kyot" who supposedly is responsible for the original story. Apart from being disingenuous his interventions can also be humorous and irreverent. After describing the meagre food that Parzival manages to forage while doing his penance with the hermit Trevrizent, Wolfram says this fare would not do for him and says to the reader "But why do I mock these good people, I am misbehaving again". I particularly like his little aside about King Arthur: "Arthur was generous in giving ladies away - he never wearied of bestowing such gifts! but this was all discussed and agreed beforehand".

Wolfram is a true story teller in every sense of the words. but he 'nails' his story of Parzival. There are some longueurs and his expanded tale runs aground sometimes when he gets lost in the pageantry. It is however endlessly fascinating and a must read for anyone interested in medieval literature or the King Arthur legends. ( )

This master piece of medieval literature is one of the greatest Grail stories and much of the mythology of the Holy Grail that one finds in today's popular writing comes from this epic. The story may seem to be slow going at first, but it will begin to work its magic and, without knowing when or how, you will find yourself living Parzival's journey. Unlike today's popular fiction and 'nonfiction' about the Grail, if you learn the lessons Parzival learns, this journey will lead you directly to the Grail. ( )