Editing Wolfram von Eschenbach

{{Short description|German knight, poet, and composer (died c. 1220)}}
{{More footnotes|date=March 2010}}
{{fnh|Wolfram|von Eschenbach|lang=Medieval}} 
[[File:Codex Manesse 149v Wolfram von Eschenbach.jpg|thumb|upright|250px|Portrait of Wolfram from the ''[[Codex Manesse]]'', {{circa|1300}}|alt=]]

'''Wolfram von Eschenbach''' ({{IPA|de|ˈvɔlfʁam fɔn ˈɛʃn̩bax|lang}}; {{circa|1160/80}} – {{circa|1220}}) was a German knight, poet and composer, regarded as one of the greatest [[epic poetry|epic poets]] of [[Middle High German literature|medieval German literature]]. As a [[Minnesang|Minnesinger]], he also wrote [[lyric poetry]].

==Life==
[[Image:Abenberg 0008.jpg|thumb|upright|Statue of Wolfram at Burg Abenberg castle in [[Abenberg]]|left]]

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 There are no historical documents which mention him, and his works are the sole source of evidence.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]]'', he talks of {{lang|de|wir Beier}} ("we [[Bavarians]]"); the dialect of his works is [[East Franconian German|East Franconian]]. On the basis of this and a number of geographical references, the present-day [[Wolframs-Eschenbach]], until 1917 Obereschenbach, near [[Ansbach]] in present-day [[Bavaria]], has been officially designated as his birthplace. However, the evidence is circumstantial and not without problems – there are at least four other places named [[Eschenbach (disambiguation)|Eschenbach]] in Bavaria, and Wolframs-Eschenbach was not part of the [[Duchy of Bavaria]] ({{lang|de|[[Altbayern]]}}, 'Old Bavaria') in Wolfram's time.{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}}

The [[coat of arms|arms]] shown in the [[Codex Manesse|Manesse manuscript]] come from the imagination of a 14th-century artist, drawing on the figure of the Red Knight in ''Parzival'', and have no [[heraldry|heraldic]] connection with Wolfram. Wolfram's work indicates a number of possible patrons (most reliably [[Hermann I, Landgrave of Thuringia|Hermann I]] of [[Thuringia]]), which suggests that he served at a number of courts during his life.{{Citation needed|date=September 2020}} He was presumably not a wealthy man, as he made frequent allusions to his own poverty.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

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,<ref>In the foreword to his translation of Wolfram's ''Parzival'', A. T. Hatto opines that "his claim not to know his A B C must be discounted as one of his tactical jokes". ''Parzival'', p. vi.</ref> is impossible to ascertain. But it has been credited by many commentators. It is noted in [[Thomas Mann]]'s ''[[The Magic Mountain]]'' that "the greatest poet of the [[Middle Ages]], Wolfram von Eschenbach, could neither read nor write",<ref>Thomas Mann, ''The Magic Mountain'', trans. H. T. Lowe-Porter (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1946), p. 522; translation first published in 1927, the original published in 1924.</ref> 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 language|French]], but only imperfectly; for his proper names often show a curious misunderstanding of French words and phrases."<ref>''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' (1913).</ref>

==Works==
===''Parzival''===
{{Main|Parzival}}

Wolfram is best known today for his ''Parzival'', sometimes regarded as the greatest of all [[German courtly romance|German Arthurian romances]]. Based on [[Chrétien de Troyes]]' unfinished ''[[Perceval, the Story of the Grail|Perceval, le Conte du Graal]]'', it is the first extant work in German to have as its subject the [[Holy Grail]] (in Wolfram's interpretation a gemstone). In the poem, Wolfram's narrator expresses disdain for Chrétien's ([[unfinished work|unfinished]]) version of the tale, and states that his source was a poet from [[Provence]] called [[Kyot]].

===''Titurel'' and ''Willehalm''===

Wolfram is the author of two other narrative works: the fragmentary ''[[Titurel]]'' and the unfinished ''[[Willehalm]]''. 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]] [[chanson de geste]], ''[[Aliscans]]'', 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]]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 [[Tagelied|dawn-songs]], are regarded as masterpieces of [[Minnesang]]. 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]] form that was often used in later poems.<ref>[https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000030511?rskey=UKV4K8&result=407 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]]'' (''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]]. ''Parzival'' was the main source [[Richard Wagner]] used when writing the [[libretto]] to his opera, ''[[Parsifal]]''. Wolfram himself appears as a character in another Wagner opera, ''[[Tannhäuser (opera)|Tannhäuser]]''.

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book|last=Bumke|first=Joachim|title=Wolfram von Eschenbach|year=2004|publisher=J.B. Metzler|location=Stuttgart|isbn=3-476-18036-0|language=German}}
*{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Wolfram von Eschenbach|volume=28|pages=775–776}}
*D. H. Green, ''The Art of Recognition in Wolfram's Parzival''. Cambridge & New York: Cambridge University Press, 1982. {{ISBN|0-521-24500-1}}
*[[Arthur Groos|Groos, Arthur]]. ''Romancing the Grail: Genre, Science, and Quest in Wolfram's'' Parzival. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1995. {{ISBN|0-8014-3068-2}}
*{{cite book|title=A Companion to Wolfram's ''Parzival''|year=1999|publisher=Camden House|location=Columbia, SC|isbn=1-57113-152-3|editor=Hasty, Will|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/companiontowolfr0000unse}}
*{{cite book|last=Heinzle|first=Joachim|title=Wolfram von Eschenbach. Dichter der ritterlichen Welt. Leben, Werke, Nachruhm. |year=2019|publisher=Schwabe Verlag|location=Basel|isbn=978-3-7965-3955-8|language=German}}
*James F. Poag, ''Wolfram von Eschenbach'' (Twayne's World Authors Series) Twayne Publishers 1972. {{ISBN|0-8290-1750-X}}
*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. {{ISBN|0-19-811588-1}}
*{{NDB|6|340|346|Eschenbach, Wolfram von|Steinmeyer, Elias von|118634933}}
* 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. {{ISBN|0-14-044361-4}}.
* 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.&nbsp;36–54.
* {{cite encyclopedia |year=2001 |encyclopedia=[[Grove Music Online]] |title=Wolfram von Eschenbach |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.30511 |isbn=978-1-56159-263-0 |url-access=subscription |url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000030511 }} {{Grove Music subscription}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Wikisource author}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category|Wolfram von Eschenbach}}

* {{Gutenberg author|id=44243}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Wolfram von Eschenbach}}
*[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4784 Wolfram von Eschenbach in the Literary Encyclopedia]
*[http://www.fh-augsburg.de/~harsch/germanica/Chronologie/13Jh/Wolfram/wol_intr.html Works] (Middle High German)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070609193037/http://cgi-host.uni-marburg.de/~mrep/liste_inhalt.php?id=437 List of ''Parzival'' manuscripts] (Marburger Repertorium)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070609145152/http://cgi-host.uni-marburg.de/~mrep/liste_inhalt.php?id=440 List of ''Willhalm'' manuscripts] (Marburger Repertorium)
*[http://www.rcs-krueger.de/Eschenbach.htm Two of Wolfram's songs] (Middle High German)
*[https://spanishliterarytranslation.com/capella-de-ministrers-el-grial/ El Grial, including songs by Wolfram von Eschenbach performed by Capella de Ministrers & Carlos Magraner]

{{Wolfram von Eschenbach}}
{{German literature}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfram von Eschenbach}}
[[Category:12th-century births]]
[[Category:1220s deaths]]
[[Category:12th-century German poets]]
[[Category:13th-century German poets]]
[[Category:13th-century German composers]]
[[Category:Epic poets]]
[[Category:German male poets]]
[[Category:Holy Grail]]
[[Category:Medieval German knights]]
[[Category:Middle High German literature]]
[[Category:Minnesingers]]
[[Category:People from Ansbach (district)]]
[[Category:Writers of Arthurian literature]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:Year of death uncertain]]