HAA1210-Medieval Iconography


Wolfram von Eschenbach, Parzival

Below are two of the four illustrrated pages in the Munich manuscript, one of which shows the Grail

Munich Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Cgm 19, f. 50 
Top: After their combat, Parzival and his half-brother Feirefiz are welcomed at Arthur's court
Middle: At the feast at Arthur's court, Cudrie the Loathly Lady kisses Parzival's foot and asks for pardon
Bottom: Kundrie, Parzival and Feirefiz ride towards the Grail Castle

cf. pp. 388-409 in Mustard's edition

Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Cgm 19. f 50v
Top: The Grail Feast
Middle: Parzival and two companions ride to meet his wife Kondwiramur who rides towards him holding their two children, Kardeiz and Loherangrin, followed by knights
Bottom: Feirefiz (formerly a Saracen) is baptized in the presence of the Grail held by the Grail Maiden, Repanse de Schoye; he kneels before the Grail, still held by Repanse, watched by two kings and another figure

cf. pp. 414 (?)-427 in Mustard's edition; nb pp. 410-413, describing the jewels on the bed of Anfortas the Grail King are not illustrated; the meal shown in the picture is hardly mentioned in the text.

The Grail depicted in manuscripts of Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival text:
There are only 5 illustrated copies of Wolfram's Parzival that are illustrared. In the late thirteenth-century copy, Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Cgm 19, f. 50v, the bottom register shows the Grail twice, each time borne by the Grail Queen who holds it at Feirefitz's baptism and again, before him. In both instances, she holds it in a huge cloth in such a way that her hands are veiled by the cloth. This is a device to emphasize the holiness of the Grail that is borrowed from Christian iconography, where, from Early Christian times, holding something precious (such as a crown of martyrdom, as in the aspse mosaic of San Vitale, Ravenna, mid sixth century) in veiled hands was a sign of reverence. 

Paradoxically, the Grail is not a major feature of the illustrations of the other manuscripts, which all date to the 15th c: Bern, Burgerbibl. Cod. AA91, written in 1467; Heidelberg, Univ.bibl. Cod. pal. 339; Dresden, Sächsische Landesbibl. (formerly Königliche Bibliothek) Cod. 66; Vienna, Österreiche Nationalbibliothek (formerly Königliche Hofbibliothek) Cod. 2914.

On the Munich manuscript: Loomis, pp. 131-32, fig. 358; Parzival, Titurel, Tageliede: Cgm 19 der Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek Munchen, facsimile, text ed. Gerhard Augst, Otfried Ehrismann and Heinz Engels, essay on the manuscript by Fridolin Dressler (Stuttgart, Müller and Schindler, 1970). The four other illustrated manuscripts are summarily described and illustrated in K. J. Benziger, Parzival in der deutschen Handschriften des Mittelalters. Eine Vergleichende Darstellung des gesamten vorhandenen Bildmaterials unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Berner Handschrift Cod. AA 91 (Studien zur deutschen Kunstgeschichte 175) (Strassburg: Heitz, 1914), and Bernd Schirok, Wolfram von Eschenbach: Parzival.Die Bilder der illustrierten Handschriften (Litterae 67) (Göppingen: Kümmerle, 1985). See also L. E. Stamm-Saurma (Saurma-Jeltsch), "Zuht und wicze: Zum Bildgehalt spätmittelalterlicher Epenhandshcriften," Zeitschrift des deutschen Vereins für Kunstwissenschaft,41 (1987), 42-70, and Michael Curschmann, "Der Berner 'Parzival' und seine Bilder," in Probleme der Parzival-Philologie, ed. Joachim Heinzle (Marburger Kolloquium 1990) Wolfram-Studien XII (Berlin: Schmidt, 1992), 153-71. 

 


Return to main page