#also parzival

[katabay]

earlier this year I started writing a comic about the siege perilous-grail quest situation after finally finishing the didot perceval, and it started circling around kay and perceval. kay as gatekeeper, taboo anxiety vs chivalry, and perceval not doing things "correctly," arthur's enduring affection for kay. that general area. also the horror of the grail quest itself.

this is comic is part of that narrative arc, so with THAT in mind: this is an abridged scene of a longer arc revolving around kay associating camelot with a cage, perceval's associations with jewelry and knighthood and the color red, and arthur's relationship with kay.

[some other scene context: perceval has injured his hand and can't participate in the tournaments, so he's craving some kind of fight. kay is disinterested in replying to this challenge, but he's not above reminding perceval of their first meeting. it's just mean enough in a weird-intimate kind of way that perceval's like, ok so we're doing the antagonistic version of court romance rituals. he picks up hunting because kay can't leave the castle.]

on the subtext of jewelry:

Clothes Make the Man: Parzival Dressed and Undressed, M.D. Amey

on the topic of kay, gatekeeping, and taboo anxiety:

Cei and the Arthurian Legend, Linda Gowans

the whole Red Knight/Perceval Shows Up In A Dead Man's Suit Of Armor transgression-situation (which kay references through red jewelry) mentioned is told in both de Troye's and Wolfram's Perceval narratives :)

anyway! to close out all this out: the transgressions. incredible! what is camelot but a bunch of transgressions stacked on top of each other tbh.

[yaeggravate]

Is Capitano Anfortas Alberich?

Hiii, I have been losing my mind over this for months, and I needed to share my findings all in one place.

This might get debunked in a few weeks but until then there is actually a very high chance Capitano is Anfortas. …And not just because his constellation is a giant arrow pointing straight at him.

WARNING: This contains spoilers for the World Quest Shadows of the Mountains.

UPDATE (5.1): WE WON 🎉🥳

As a refresher, Anfortas was the Knight Marshal of the Schwanenritter (German for Swan Knights), a Khaenri'ahn warrior band who went on to protect Sumeru from the onslaught of the "Dark Beasts" during the Cataclysm. The giant Ruin Golems scattered in the forest and desert of Sumeru were piloted by them.

Barely-Legible Bulletin In view of King Irmin's present indisposed state and the current unknown threats facing the Kingdom……Knight Marshal Anfortas has proclaimed that he will temporarily take up the post of Regent and lead the Regnum Concilium Ultimum until the Kingdom returns to a state of normalcy…

At some point, King Irmin became indisposed (unable to rule), which made Anfortas step in as a temporary regent until the Kingdom returned to a state of normalcy. (Didn't age well.)

Mysterious Box in a Secret Compartment: The writings are as follows: "Remember always that it was the Alberich Clan, who did not have royal blood, who stepped in as regents when the strength of the one-eyed king Irmin failed."

This is further confirmed in Kaeya's secret notes from the Hidden Strife event which implies Anfortas is part of the Alberich clan.

Later, Anfortas was betrayed by his comrade Hadura. He fought and executed them, losing his left eye in the process. With Hadura, the last of his comrades, gone, the Schwanenritter are no more.

The ultimate fate of Anfortas is currently unknown as is his exact relation to Kaeya and Chlothar. Whether or not Anfortas is Kaeya's father/uncle/grandfather/secret older brother is not the point of this post.

This is specifically about the connection between Capitano and Anfortas.

I will start by listing the reasons why he could be Capitano and then consider the reasons why he's not.

THE THREE NAILS

Capitano's constellation is likely the three nails which is a reference to the crucifixion of Jesus.

Triclavianism is the belief that three nails were used to crucify Jesus Christ.

I do believe it belongs to Capitano, since he said he would pick up the mantle of "salvation" and is in the nation where people can be resurrected. …Needless to say, we can assume there's not going to be 50 plot twists behind this.

The three nails symbolize salvation and redemption, as well as the suffering of Jesus. You can also think of it as a symbol of martyrdom.

Anfortas is named after the Fisher King from Arthurian legends, who guarded the Holy Grail. The Fisher King was cursed by an incurable wound, stuck between life and death, doomed to suffer for eternity. There are several versions of the legend, with differing names for the Fisher King, "Anfortas" being one of them.

As it happens, the Fisher King is likened to Jesus on the cross quite prominently, both in art and on stage.

Carman explores the use of Christian symbolism in Perlesvaus. He connects the Fisher King with Christ himself, noting his name, Messios, his function as a sufferer, and his death symbolizing the Crucifixion.

In the version of Wagner, he even gets stabbed by the Holy Spear in the same side as Jesus while he was crucified!

Parzival became the primary source for Richard Wagner's 1882 opera Parsifal, in which the Fisher King is wounded by the spear that pierced Jesus's side.

As if that wasn't enough, one of Anfortas' knights left a note inside a Ruin Golem. They state they don't know whether they will be seen as sinners or heroes but believe Anfortas will find a way to save them.

An Abandoned Letter ...I often think lately about how future generations will tell my story. Will I be a sinner? Or a hero......The situation here is dire, but I believe that our Marshal will find a way. I believe... We once fought bravely here, doing our best to prevent this inglorious war. I believe that when it is all over... we shall recover our past splendor...Glory evermore... to Khaenri'ah...

This thematically fits the three nails. Unfortunately for this knight, Anfortas was unable to save Khaenri'ah and their people were condemned as "sinners" throughout history.

At the time of writing, Capitano says something curious in the trailer for 5.1:

Humanity's survival is worth any price If I could go back I would do whatever it took to ensure their survival. You've experienced something similar, Mavuika. You should know exactly what I mean.

Though we don't know the full context yet, this is not a surprising revelation if Capitano is Anfortas; he lost his homeland Khaenri'ah, "the pride of humankind," after all. Furthermore, he compares his suffering to that of the Pyro Archon, the ruler of Natlan. Anfortas was also briefly responsible for the survival of a nation, acting as the KING regent of Khaenri'ah.

Another incredible parallel to the Three Nails can be found in the influential poem The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot which is about the Fisher King.

The Man with Three Staves (an authentic member of the Tarot pack) I associate, quite arbitrarily, with the Fisher King himself.

In the poem Eliot associates the Fisher King with the tarot card the Three Staves.

(The Three of Wands/Staves in Thoth and Rider Waite decks.)

The poem is actually important enough to be referenced in the game a bunch of times. If you recall, in the Veluriyam Mirage event, we ran into three brothers, two of which argued in front of Kaeya and Klee. Turns out the names of these two brothers are in the poem, with the game possibly using them as stand-ins for Anfortas and Chlothar. You can read more about it here in a separate post.

My point is, since the poem is a source of inspiration, it can be assumed the writers are aware of the association of the Three Staves with the Fisher King, aka Anfortas.

If true, I think they did something really clever here by combining the Three Staves with the Three Nails.

THE BLACK SERPENT

I think most people have noticed the draconic/serpent imagery on Capitano's outfit. He has black scales, makeshift claws and a bunch of infinity symbols.

It is curious then that Capitano is essentially dressed as a black serpent/dragon.

Dainsleif: Black Serpent Knights. They once belonged to the Royal Guard of Khaenri'ah.

(...Yet unlike Capitano, the Black Serpent Knights don't look anything like black serpents.)

Little known fact is that even though Anfortas was the leader of the Schwanenritter, his knights still wore the Black Serpent armour. Ynghildr, one of the Swan Knights, turned into a Shadowy Husk that used the Windcutter model.

Mysterious Chronicles: "…Ynghildr, Schwanenritter, 'Damsel of the Dale' …Went missing in the battle against the Onslaught of Dark Beasts. Only her … and signet ring were recovered. A proper knight's funeral was arranged for her…"

(We even end up fighting her during the WQ Vimana Agama 💔.)

In the Shadows of the Mountains WQ, we find out two Khaenri'ahn knights, also using Black Serpent armour, went forth to Natlan to stop the Abyss; their sacrifice turned them into statues for 500 years. I think it's highly likely they were sent there on Anfortas' orders.

This is because one of the knights has interesting lines before and after you bring him peace:

"Irizar": "Leave! Go… I don't want him to see me— like this—" (The voice seems to come from the very depths of the unmoving statue. There is a hint of respect toward someone remaining within…)

Irizar: Did you see? Your orders have been carried out… You… won't be disappointed…

The thing is one of Anfortas' Ruin Golems is right next to Natlan.

This is also where you find the note written by the knight who worries if they'll be seen as sinners or heroes. I do not think they were ordered by Dainsleif, as his last order before he returned to the palace was "to protect the people of Khaenri'ah" while the last will of the Schwanenritter was to destroy the Cataclysm, which is an interesting contrast in itself…

Dainsleif: To this day, I still remember the final orders I, the Twilight Sword, gave to Halfdan on the day of disaster in Khaenri'ah, before I made haste back to the palace... "Inform all Black Serpent Knights to protect the people of Khaenri'ah at all costs." Zurvan: They said that those heroes (Schwanenritter) had walked their path despite the ill repute they had garnered… And that it was to carry the will those heroes had borne, and to completely destroy the disaster from the dark depths that they had followed the heroes' path to this place.

My personal speculation is that the Schwanenritter was a special division from the Black Serpent Knights. From the book Perinheri, we know there was an Alberich who was "commander of half the knights". As stated by old man Pierro himself, the reliability of this book is a bit dodgy, but this might give us a clearer vision on who was in charge.

Anyway, if those knights were sent by Anfortas, there's a chance he might have ended up in Natlan himself as they were heavily affected by the Abyss. Perhaps something funky happened to him there amidst all the chaos… who knows? If we consider the three nails and what it represents, perhaps Anfortas died; but since he's a Khaenri'ahn likely cursed with immortality and Natlan's leylines are weak, death won't come to him that easy.

One other thing: on either side of the door to Khaenri'ah, there are two reliefs that show a guardian holding a sword. As it happens, their helmets are flat and have a huge 8-pointed star in the middle... just like Capitano.

OTHER SIMILARITIES AND SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOR 🤨

–Both Anfortas and Capitano are commanders of an army. To paraphrase @kaeyacollection, if I was Pierro, I would want someone with experience to lead my army and not some random bloodstained guy from Mondstadt, right? Pierro and Anfortas would have undoubtedly known each other as Pierro was a Royal Mage and Anfortas was part of the Royal Guard, so it wouldn't be strange for Pierro to recruit someone who he's already familiar with and can depend on.

Mocking Mask (Pierro): Since my level of learning could not compare with the sages, I failed to earn the favor of the previous ruler.

Furthermore, Pierro refers to King Irmin as the "previous ruler" which is an odd choice of words as it could either imply there is still a current ruler out there or Pierro simply acknowledged Anfortas as the last one, which has some interesting implications seeing as he only took up the position temporarily.

–Anfortas is highly respected, as shown by the note written by the knight who believed in him until the end. Someone even tried to write a letter to him begging him to petition the king. And if that knight who was sent to Natlan was referring to the Marshal, it means his main concern was that he would fail Anfortas.

Furthermore, there's a message left scattered across Ruin Guards with the encryption key being Anfortas' name…

Decoded message: We Schwanenritters have fought to the last one

We don't know who left it there, and hell it might be Anfortas himself, but whoever it was certainly valued the name. Fun fact: the achievement you get when you interact with all the Ruin Guards is called In the Name of Anfortas. This is similar to the achievement In the Name of Favonius, which you can get after completing a daily commission that indirectly involves Kaeya!

As far as we can tell, Capitano is also highly admired. Viktor would rather work for him, Varka wrote an entire love letter about him and the voicelines of the Harbingers confirm he's respectable man. (Although Wanderer and those of us who have run into Cap's animal lava farm may have some questions 🤨)

About The Captain "The ever-righteous Captain," "the brave and fearless Captain," "the nigh-invincible Captain"... Even my mechanical ears demand maintenance after listening to so many compliments from the members of the Fatui. Don't you think that possessing absolute righteousness is actually a latent danger? And that's without taking his great personal strength into account.

According to Wanderer, Capitano is seen as extremely righteous. We don't know enough about Anfortas to compare his morals with Capitano's but we do know that he executed his own comrade after a betrayal yet still gave them a proper knight's funeral since they were the last one left. This could allign with Cap's extreme righteousness and honor.

–Capitano proclaimed to the Pyro Archon that someone needs to pick up the mantle of salvation during a crisis…. which is exactly what Anfortas did. He stepped in when Irmin was busy poking holes in the veilussy of sin. Who knows? Perhaps Capitano doesn't want history to repeat itself.

–There could be another reason, though. You see, The Schwanenritter is named after the legend of the Swan Knight. These were an order of Grail Knights who would be sent out in secret to provide a ruler to a kingdom if there was none.

Members of this order are sent out in secret to provide lords to kingdoms that have lost their protectors

Furthermore, the Swan Knight had to hide his origins and name; same thing Capitano is doing.

The story of the Knight of the Swan, or Swan Knight, is a medieval tale about a mysterious rescuer who comes in a swan-drawn boat to defend a damsel, his only condition being that he must never be asked his name.

Varka: The man hides everything under the mask he wears, so no one can know his past or his origins.

–Speaking of which, when Capitano was first mentioned in Varka's letter, guess who was there to witness it?

What's funny is he doesn't even speak during this entire scene. They just forced him to stand there for seemingly no reason.

–Capitano is in Natlan. In Kaeya's hidden letters, there is a lot of fire imagery. Kaeya's father takes this even further by practically quoting Natlan's rule of resurrection. They even use the same term for ashes/embers in the original CN.

Mysterious Box in a Secret Compartment: A piece of it has been burned away, and the remaining parts show signs of having been rescued from that same flame.

Mysterious Box in a Secret Compartment: (Kaeya's father): "Though we could not restore Khaenri'ah to life, we of the Alberich Clan should lead lives as those who blaze like fire, rather than those who wallow in the embers." Dainsleif (Travail trailer, Natlan): The rules of war are woven in the womb: the victors shall burn bright, while the losers must turn to ash.

Mysterious Box in a Secret Compartment: (Kaeya): "Now that I look at it, his handwriting was as grieving as a smoking ash pile."

I don't know what to make of it and perhaps there's no deeper connection, but you have to admit, it is a little odd…

–The name Anfortas is speculated to be derived from french "enfertez" which means infirmity or weakness/illness. This is a very interesting contrast to Capitano's strong man persona. Not to mention, Capitano's commedia dell'arte counterpart is a braggart who only boasted about his strength. Who knows, perhaps Anfortano is suffering from an ailment/curse and is using whatever means he can to make himself stronger. (Such as the "presence" inside him.)

That being said, in the book Perinheri, the Alberich who was commander of half the knights was part of the "mightiest figures in Khaenri'ah".

–For some reason, Kaeya has what looks like snakeheads with a split tongue on his pants. You can also find a version of this on Capitano's outfit. …Yeah, I don't know either.

Jokes aside, Kaeya is wearing the top half of Capitano's modified Fatui coat complete with weird double flaps and fur boa. (There was a Hoyofair fananimation a year ago where the artist portrayed Anfortas with black fur which is pretty funny in hindsight.)

If Capitano isn't related to Kaeya, I'm going to need a very good explanation for why they share the same terrible fashion sense.

–Both Chlothar and Caribert have black hair and blue eyes... just like our buddy Capitano. While that's not enough to claim they're related, it is certainly a point in our favor.

–Since Pierro was original enough to give the title of "the Doctor" to a doctor, it wouldn't be too out of place for him to dub a marshal "the Captain".

–Kaeya was adopted by Crepus, who owned a Delusion. Is it really a coincidence that Kaeya was taken in by a man with ties to the Fatui? If any of the Harbingers are connected to Kaeya, Pierro (Khaenri'ahn) and Capitano (identity unknown) would be the two biggest suspects, right?

WHY CAPITANO CAN'T BE ANFORTAS…HAHA UNLESS?

–As mentioned before, Anfortas lost his left eye. From Mika's character story, we know Capitano has glowing dark blue eyes plural. However, it's unclear whether he lost his eye in the literal sense or was only blinded. It's possible Anfortas simply grew the eye back but if that's the case I don't see the point in mentioning the loss in the first place, other than to draw a parallel to Kaeya (who didn't even lose his eye either…)

–Capitano uses a strange power that looks related to Nightsoul… …Whatever it is, it could point at him being from Natlan. However, the Traveler can use Phlogiston despite not being from Natlan. We don't have Pyro Traveler yet but I suspect they will be able to use Nightsoul as well.

Mavuika also says she sensed an "unsual presence" inside Capitano. This "presence" could explain his ability to use Walmart Nightsoul and why he has knowledge on a secret oath made 500 years ago (and why he has two eyes again).

–I think it's possible Anfortas is either Kaeya's "pirate" grandpa or his father and if that's the case the chances of Capitano being playable are abyssmal 💀. However, Arthurian Anfortas was famously saved by his nephew Parzival. If they go by the legend and Parzival is the equivalent of Kaeya, Anfortas could be his uncle instead.

In any case, we'll have to wait and see where the story goes from here. Even if Anfortas isn't Capitano, he still has major relevance that has yet to be revealed. Until then, much like Anfortas and Capitano, all we can do is suffer on the cross 👍🏽

*UPDATE 5.1: CAPITANO'S LINES FROM THE AQ

"The Captain": Why...? Because I am a survivor of Khaenri'ah. I've witnessed the devastation and terror of the Abyss with my own eyes. "The Captain": That's right. My family, my comrades, my homeland... were all lost to the Abyss. It is an unforgettable pain, one that no amount of time could ever dull... not even five hundred years. "The Captain": If I could go back, I would reject all false hope. I would do whatever it took to ensure their survival.

"The Captain": That story begins with the cataclysm five hundred years ago.... I failed to save Khaenri'ah from the rampage of the Abyss. When the situation became unsalvageable, I fled to Natlan with the remainder of my platoon. "The Captain": Only to find that Natlan had fallen victim to the same tragedy. I defended this land for quite some time and, in the process, met the chief of the Masters of the Night-Wind, Ayizu. I'm sure many people viewed Khaenri'ah as the cause of the tragedy, but Ayizu was kind to me all the same, and even helped me in my time of need. "The Captain": From that moment, I made it my mission to aid Natlan. In battle, a warrior fights to win. Even though my homeland was lost, I was already committed to this fight.

"The Captain": Heh, even without the mask, my past appearance is long gone. Even with the curse of immortality, the flesh still rots. Paimon: Wait, do you know someone named Dainsleif? That problem doesn't seem quite so... extreme for him. "The Captain": You've met him already? Paimon: Yeah, a bunch of times. Sounds like you know him, too. "The Captain": During the age of Khaenri'ah, all I knew was his name. The last time I saw him in person, he was traveling with the Prince. He carries a degree of pain and hatred that far surpasses my own.

[bethdehart]

Dark Academia Rat King

Their names are (from left to right) Parzival, Effie, and Simone Kingston. They are each a professor of a different study in a fancy university of some sort... and perhaps also occultists in their free time (when they get it!!). Drawn on stream, I had a lot of fun with this :3

Parzival uses she/they, Effie uses she/her, and Simone uses any pronouns. Altogether you can refer to them with they/them (plural).

[we-are-knight]

Parzival is a high medieval story, featuring king Arthur and the holy grail. It was written in Germany close to the year 1200. At that time knights were fighting in mail armour which they refer to as harness in the epos - not hauberk. Here is what was found:

1. Knights have rust and dust on them after wearing mail armor. It also stains their undergarments.

2. Knights always have assistance for putting on armour. Yet when abandoned and all alone Parzival is able to put on his harness by him self.

3. The harness has laces and they get frequently checked for wear and tear.

4. The harness has a mail hood that can be opened without taking the armour off.

5. People appreciate shiny mail armour.

And the following is the passage in which the protagonist sees mail armour for the first time. He is a little boy and in his nativity he sees some knights and thinks they are gods:

(English adaptation)

Loud they laughed as the boy spake further, 'Good knight, what may these be?

These rings that so close around thee, above and below I see.'

Then he handled, with curious finger, the armour the knight did bear,

His coat of mail close-linkèd as behovèd a knight to wear;

And he spake as he looked on the harness, 'My mother's maidens string

On their chains, and around their fingers, full many a shining ring,

But they cling not so close to each other as these rings that here I see,

I cannot force them asunder, what good are they then to thee?'

(original:)

aber sprach der knappe sân,

dâ von ein lachen wart getân.

«ay ritter guot, waz mahtu sîn?

du hâst sus manec vingerlîn

an dînen lîp gebunden,

dort oben unt hie unden.»

aldâ begreif des knappen hant

swaz er îsers ame fürsten vant:

dez harnasch begunder schouwen.

«mîner muoter juncfrouwen

ir vingerlîn an snüeren tragnt,

diu niht sus an einander ragnt.»

der knappe sprach durch sînen muot

zem fürsten «war zuo ist diz guot,

daz dich sô wol kan schicken?

ine mages niht ab gezwicken.»

[incorrect-koh-posts]

Hello I have a bit of a weird question here , well , do you think modern women or modern women we consider beautiful in our time now would be considered beautiful in the medieval times ? Let’s say conventionally attractive women of this time such as Tyla , Madison beer , Sabrina carpenter , women we agree all that they are beautiful, do you think they would be this appreciated in let’s say medieval Europe or the crusader kingdoms ? Thank you very much for reading and answering 💗

Hello, anon! Sorry for the extremely late reply 🙈

Ngl, I had to google these people because I had no idea who they are. So in case any of my readers are like me and lack a basic understanding of recent pop culture, here they are for reference:

All in all, medieval ideas of beauty were actually not very different from our present ones. Looking at descriptions of beautiful women in medieval European literature, we see that, in general, writers prized features that are symmetrical and signal youth and health - which also pretty much sums up our 21st-century understanding of feminine beauty. So it is likely that those we as a society consider beautiful would have elicited a similar reaction from Baldwin and his contemporaries. (Though I imagine they would have had a word or five to say about the future's skimpy clothing, and not only for reasons of modesty. Like, where are the swathes and swathes of luxurious fabric? Are we too poor to afford it?)

Of course, medieval and modern ideals differ in some particulars. As you asked specifically about medieval Europe and since the crusader kingdoms largely followed the customs & culture of the French court: Yes - to get the obvious out of the way - there was an emphasis on the whiteness of a woman's skin at the time. Which is here not only an issue of race (a whole 'nother can of worms to open) but also of class, as lighter skin would have been regarded as a signifier that the woman was (or looked like) a member of the nobility, who did not have to do physical labour in the fields etc. where the sun would have been beating down on her all day.

That said, there are examples of dark-skinned characters in medieval European texts who are described as beautiful, such as Queen Belacane in the early-13th-century German chivalric romance Parzival. However, I would be denying history if I didn't acknowledge that even these characters, sometimes subtly, sometimes considerably less so, tend to be presented as an Other. In Wolfram's Parzival, for example, Belacane's people are "liute vinster sô diu naht" ("people dark as the night", Parzival 17,24). She is thus deliberately constructed as the opposite of the European ideal of the courtly lady (Mieger 191), who tends to be described as things like "liehters denne der tac" and "touwegen rôsen" ("lighter than the day" and like a "dewy rose", Parzival 24,6 and 24,10).

I haven't found any specific research materials on beauty standards in the crusader states, but I'd imagine this might have been less of an issue there than in the more remote parts of Europe, given that the cultural melting pot of the Levant would have exposed its inhabitants on a daily basis to different ideas and ideals of beauty. First and foremost, in any case, would have come considerations of religion - a beautiful "heathen" would have had to be very appealing and otherwise virtuous indeed for a European writer to apply courtly adjectives to her, whereas a Christian woman, no matter the colour of her skin, would have been regarded a little more favourably (though again likely exoticised as an Other if she wasn't white).

What did European courtly culture consider appealing then, other than ominous "dewy roses"? As far as text sources go, medieval society liked women to have a slender figure, healthy but not too thin, with a small but full mouth, a well-formed, not too prominent nose, rather small feet and hands, a long elegant neck, and white and even teeth. Mathieu de Vendôme’s Ars versificatoria (late-twelfth century) uses the example of Helen of Troy as the epitome of beauty. His Helen has golden and free-flowing hair, a “Milky Way-white” forehead, black and separated eyebrows “like arches”, sparkling eyes “like stars”, rosy cheeks, a straight nose which is neither too flat or too large, rosy and delicate lips, straight teeth that are “whiter than ivory”, and firm, small breasts (da Soller 98).

Another interesting example is offered in a thirteenth-century Castilian translation of an Arabic folk story, La historia de la doncella Teodor: “the beautiful woman has eighteen signs: three long, three short, three small, three white, three black, and three red. three long: torso, neck, and fingers; three white: body, teeth, and white of the eyes; three black: hair, eyes, and eyebrows; three red: cheeks, lips, and gums; three small: mouth, nose, and feet; three wide: hips, shoulders, and forehead” (101).

So, going back to the three women you mentioned, I'd say they fit the medieval ideal pretty well. Though we prefer somewhat more prominent curves and probably slightly more striking facial features nowadays than our ancestors (as well as fortunately moving away from prizing only light skin), I think we do see here that the difference between medieval and modern isn't actually that large. There's still an undercurrent of kalokagathia in our society's thinking, i.e. the idea that outward beauty signals inner virtue (think, for instance, of the fact that our fictional villains tend to be conventionally unattractive as opposed to the usually attractive good guys).

All things considered though, I shall end this rambling lecture by saying that, ultimately, tastes differ, today as well as in the Middle Ages. It is understandable that you might wish to appeal to, say, your favourite medieval king, but after expounding at length on what's supposedly beautiful or not, let me remind you: As people (and especially women), we do not exist to be ogled and judged by others - you are valuable regardless of whether a particular person considers you beautiful or not. 💛

Sources:

da Soller, Claudio. "Beauty, Evolution, and Medieval Literature." Philosophy and Literature, vol. 34, 2010, pp. 95–111.

Mieger, Hannah. "Königin of Color – Belacane in Wolframs von Eschenbach Parzival als intersektionale Figur." Intersektionalität und erzählte Welten: literaturwissenschaftliche und literaturdidaktische Perspektiven, edited by Verónica Abrego, Ina Henke, Magdalena Kißling, Christina Lammer, Maria-Theresia Leuker, 2023, pp. 187-201.

[milkywayan]

As I rewatch all the historical farm docus again (i looove them so this is not a critique of hate but of love), there is something I think I have to point out, especially for people who are not as obsessed with this stuff as I am

They are talking about the british perspective.

Many things they say are correct for their geographical area, but not true for the rest of europe. and i have to say, sometimes they do get stuff about the rest of europe wrong (e.g. Ruth talks about the possibility of a woman having her own business in medieval england, saying that was not the case in the rest of europe, which is factually wrong as we, for example, have sources of women inheriting and running their own business in medieval vienna, and having important positions in guilds)

Also, they also once state that wine was expensive and a luxory, not adding 'in britain' and stating it as a fact, while this is of course not the case for a lot of regions with a lot of vinyards. going with the vienna example again, which is in a basin surrounded by low hills which are covered in vineyards since probably roman times (they still are today). there was even a ban of brewing beer comercially within the city to have people drink wine. it was generally not expensive

they also state people in the medieval times did not wash... which is also wrong. idk about england, i am not an expert, but we have a lot of german sources of paintings showing people in baths (not only nobles), there were loads of communal bath houses in medieval cities that show up in documents and in archaeological finds, there are references in literature (e.g. Parzival from the late 12th century, he is taught that he should wash every time after taking off his armour and he is full body washing himself regularly). They were not as cleanly as we are today, sure, but they knew with dirt came disease, they thought that bad smells carried disease, so why on earth would they not clean themselves?

so yea, i am of course speaking from a different geographical area, i focus on central europe/german sources and idk a lot about britain. but it is important to not just lump 'medieval europe' into one big pot

[yiddishknights]

We're reading Parzival in my Medieval German lit class this week and I thought you should know

Yay Parzival! I hope you enjoy my good friends Feirefiz and Cundrie.

(Also, I'm jealous that you have a medieval German lit class. Those are not super common at American universities; I had to teach myself Middle High German.)

[gellavonhamster]

I wanna start reading Arthurian…..where should I begin

*rubs hands* oh excellent

I'd say one way would be to pick characters or events you'd like to read about the most and start with the texts focusing on them. @fuckyeaharthuriana has a lot of lists of different works, including those sorted by character (links in the blog description). Then, if you decide you enjoy Arthuriana in general, you can move to other texts. Another way would be to start with something well-known and short. I believe Sir Gawain and the Green Knight fits the bill well. The translation linked is more like an example, because there's a lot of them, and I frankly don't know which to suggest best; the one I read is by Bernard O’Donoghue, but I can't find it online. I've also heard very good things about Tolkien's translation - understandable, because duh, Tolkien - but haven't read it (yet). The works of Chrétien de Troyes are also very good and readable and imo very well represent what a medieval romance is. My favourite is Yvain: Knight of the Lion, and I haven't read his Perceval yet, but I liked all the other of his romances too. (Ok, maybe not Erec and Enide, but that's because I found the main character very annoying)

I've compiled a small list of Arthurian texts I recommend before when answering a similar ask, and I still stand by it, except, taking into account what I've read since then, I'd also add La Tavola Ritonda - an Italian Arthurian romance mostly focused on Tristan and Isolde, weird and violent but also very enjoyable, in my opinion, Parzival (vol. 1, vol. 2) by Wolfram Von Eschenbach - a German romance and my favourite version of the Grail story so far, and Lancelot-Grail aka the Vulgate Cycle + the Post-Vulgate. I'm not sure starting with the latter is a good idea, though, because it's five huge volumes, very readable (except for The History of the Holy Grail. You can skip that, if you ask me) and with a great impact on the later Arthurian texts, including Le Morte d'Arthur, but HUGE, it took me half a year, lol. (Le Morte is also long and often drier in style, but still not THAT long). But I simply had to mention it because it's such a foundational work. A part of the Vulgate Cycle has been adapted by Patricia Terry and Samuel N. Rosenberg as Lancelot and the Lord of the Distant Isles or, The Book of Galehaut Retold. It's short and beautiful, and you don't need to be familiar with the rest of the Vulgate to read it.

Oh, and if you're interested in more modern retellings, Idylls of the Queen by Phyllis Ann Karr is an episode from Le Morte d'Arthur retold as a murder mystery solved by Kay and Mordred, and it's amazing. Also The Squire's Tales series by Gerald Morris is a lot of fun, kind of for a younger reader but very well-written and funny, even though some of his choices regarding certain characters drive me up the wall a little bit.

Also, here's a great site by @tillman with a lot of links to various Arthurian texts!

[wormholephobia]

Parzival. He’s a ranger. He’s also in the society of Brilliance for botanical reports. But he’s also a little chaotic in his research.

[katabay]

SUBTEXT

so I've focused in on Perceval and Bors before, and I've done Perceval and Gender (for more on this specifically, see: Clothes Make The Man: Parzival Dressed and Undressed, Michael D. Amey) and did a whole comic that leaned into some subtext™ on temptation, but actually let's throw out the subtext! let's bring Augustine into this!!

Perceval, de Troyes (trans. Burton Raffel)

introduction to Confessions, Augustine (trans. Sarah Ruden)

so for perceval a knight is both the gender he wants to perform but also something that is expressly compared to god, and if god is a lover that seduces. well. does this not also apply to knights as well?

Homosexuality in the Renaissance: Behavior, Identity, and Artistic Expression, James M. Saslow

and while galahad might be the obvious choice, I think perceval's relationship with bors during the grail quest narrative is more interesting. it's not god that transforms perceval, it's the sight of knights for the first time. something in here specifically is incredibly intriguing to me, but there's a different text I need to finish reading to fully form some thoughts on it.

le Morte d’Arthur

and finally! tentatively. I think I might slowly start turning this idea I had a couple years back into a fully formed comic. we'll see! I had most of it blocked out, but halfway through reading augustine's confessions, I think was when perceval finally clicked for me as a character in a later narrative cycle setting. I think I might have to spend a lot of time doing some visual research first because my god I cannot consistently draw armor to save my life......back when I lived in new england, there was a museum with a wonderful medieval armor collection I could visit.....alas.........I will have to hit the books (literally, I have a collection of books on medieval armor but this is apparently the one thing I can't visualize properly in my imagination. save me, museum collections, you're my only hope)

⭐️ credits for the collage panels! (all open access or public domain, etc.)

-Saint George and the Dragon -Saint George and the Dragon (different one lmao) -Pages and Knights, Frontispiece for "The Man at Arms" -Cloisters

⭐ if you like my comics and have a couple bucks, I have a tip jar (ko-fi)!

⭐ and other places I'm at! bsky / pixiv / pillowfort /cohost / cara.app

[knife-dad]

top 5 arthuriana adaptations? any medium!

Hmm I'm not sure if I have 5, but let's see!

The Story of King Arthur and his Knights, by Howard Pyle, which is what I read as a kid. I read all of his arthuriana books but the first one is the one I went back to most often.

Excalibur (1981) which I watched when I was fairly young (just the action scenes though, as the film is NOT appropriate for children lol) and probably definitely influenced my strong preference for Percival as the grail knight.

Parzival by Katherine Paterson. This is another one that definitely influenced my preference for Percival as the grail knight. I just really loved that guy okay. I have this on my tbr because I haven't read it since I was like 10 and I want to see if it holds up to a reread :')

The Green Knight (2021) okay so It's not a good adaption of a chivalric romance, but hear me out. It has Dev Patel in it. And it has a haunting soundtrack. I can't hate it

BBC Merlin. It's silly and goofy and not accurate in the least but that is OKAY because it has a dragon in it. Also the finale made me cry.

Thanks for the ask!

[emwritessometimes]

What I’ll write

Dreamsmp

Dreamwastaken

Georgenotfound

Sapnap

Karl Jacobs

Wilbur soot

Tubbo

Tommyinnit

Quakity

Maze runner

Thomas

Newt

Minho

Gally

Teresa

(Any movie set)

Umbrella Academy

Luther

Diego

Alison

Klaus

Five

Ben (sparrow and umbrella versions)

Viktor

Lila

(Any season set)

Avengers

Tony Stark

Peter Parker

Thor

Loki

Natasha

Wanda

MJ

(Any movie set)

Harry Potter

Harry Potter

Ronald Weasley

Hermione Granger

Fred Weasley

Neville Longbottom

Draco Malfoy

Ginny Weasley

(Any movie set)

Lord of the Rings

Aragorn

Legolas

Gimli

Boromir

Faramir

Frodo

Pippin

Samwise

Merry

Arwin

The Hobbit

Thranduil

Legolas

Tauriel

Thorin

Pirates of the Caribbean

Jack Sparrow

Will Turner

Elizabeth Swan

Rings of Power

Galadriel

Elrond

Isildur

Elanor

Eärien

Bronywm

Theo

Throndir

Ontomo

Poppy

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

Mirage

Arcee

Bumblebee

Cheetor

Airazor

Mandolorian

Din Djarin (Mando)

Bo-Katan

Cara Dune

Call of Duty

Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley

John ‘Soap’ Mactavish

Kyle ‘Gaz’ Garrick

John Price

Shadow and bone

Alina Starkov

Mal aretov

Max Brekker

Jesper Fahny

Matthias

Aleksander

Dylan

Nina Zenik

Zoya

Inej

Genja Sadfin

Nikolai Lantsov

Pekka Rollins

Tolya

David Kostyk

Cobra Kai

Miguel

Robby

Hawk(Eli)

Sam

Tory

Moon

Kenny

Demetri

Anthony

Hazbin Hotel

Charlie

Alastor

Vaggie

Adam

Lute

Emily

Vox

Angel dust

Husk

Sir penstious

Cherry bomb

Lucifer

School Buss Graveyard

Aiden Clark

Ashlyn Banner

Ben Clark

Tyler Hernandez

Taylor Hernandez

Logan Fields

Maverick

Ready player one

Wade Watts (Parzival)

Samantha Cook (Art3mis)

I will also write

Smut (for certain characters)

Fluff

Angst

Platonic

Yandere

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please let me know if there are any other shows or movies that you would like to see! I will try my best to get to everyone. Send a request and I will see if I can do it.

For some of these characters I am uncomfortable doing any kinda of smut considering some of them are teenagers. But other than that yall pretty much have free reign. Yall can also be anonymous if yall want to

Also sorry it’s so long. I wanted yall to be able to choose freely

🌺❤️🫶

[notthatcount]

Instead of working on the half dozen pieces i've promised people i spent all day making superheroes out of characters from medieval poetry, but anyway this is The Virago and Condwiramurs, I'll put character info, powers, and design ramblings under the cut-

I like the idea of doing more superheroes based on ancient/historic lit, if anyone has ideas for characters to pull from lmk I have one more in the tank but after that I could use suggestions, I'm aiming for pre 1200s ideally

The Virago (she/her)

Virago isn't based on a specific character, more just on the trope, but I imagine her as sort of a loner antihero, weirdly the first thing I'm thinking of as a reference is early Silver Surfer.

Design is pretty obviously based on the phantom of the opera and Batman. I wanted a dramatic, tailored look, but ultimately something simple. Went for a subtle "V" design on the belt and under the collar.

I imagine Virago's powers involve something similar to the abilities that the Virago trope tends to expound, so precognition, reality altering, op stuff like that. Her club isn't special or anything it's just a really heavy club.

Condwiramurs (she/her)

Condwiramurs is based on the character of the same name from Parzival, although I took most of the inspiration from the theorized translation of the name: "to guide true love".

Condwiramurs' design was obviously based a bit on Cupid, and I also wanted it to be more functional than Virago's. Her tunic/scapula thing is both a reference to early comic book archer designs (namely Hawkeye's original getup) and a reference to dress styles in the middle ages and how they're described in the poetry.

Condwiramurs' powers involve enhanced sight and hand eye coordination that come as a result of having the ability to see the best path forward. This is vague, but I imagined her being able to see paths of light guiding her- not quite seeing the future, just getting a nudge. Her arrows are non-lethal, mostly trackers, grappling hooks, and stuff like that.

I really like it when superheroes are used as a medium to tell deeper stories about marginalization and social structures (enigma, x-men, the watchmen show... even sandman a little bit), and I think any story I'd put these two into would be like that, but I don't have anything concrete yet.

[gawrkin]

The most peculiar character in Diu Crone: Meet Gansguoter

[.....]

So long before Sir Bertilak de Hautdesert (who I personally suspect may be based on Vulgate cycle's Bertolai the Red), there was this guy:

a powerful Sorcerer-knight who aides and accompanies Gawain in this story

Is Igraine's husband after Uther Pendragon died (whom he won over with legit courting! Like a positive version of Klingsor from Parzival)

And is the one who engages Gawain with the Beheading Game

Very interesting. Also noting how the beheading game motif (which goes all the way back to Cu Roi in Irish Myth) in Gawain's stories have an element of familial ties present (Morgan le Fay in SGatGK, Gansguoter himself in Diu Crone).

[yaeggravate]

potential harbingers who are related or connected to kaeya from least to most likely:

pierro: in richard wagner's the ring cycle, alberich (aka kaeya's "Father") had a brother named mime. mime and alberich hated each other. considering hyv's love of terrible puns: mime = clown = pierro. occultist crowley compares pierro's tarot card the fool to the arthurian character percival/parzifal, the greatest fool of them all. parzival is the fisher king anfortas's nephew.

capitano: coincidentally, anfortas is the knight marshal of the schwannenritter and the alberich who became regent of khaenri'ah. anfortas's fate remains unknown. capitano's potential constellation the three nails is similar to the tarot card the three staves which is associated with the fisher king (anfortas) by poet t.s. eliot. more detailed post here

columbina: columbina is most likely a seelie. kaeya has a TON of references to seelie to the point where it cannot go on ignored. not going to list them all again but here's a brief summary. also a book that just got released adds more weight to this theory.

arlecchino: in the letters from the secret compartment, kaeya called someone "Father" in brackets. arlecchino is also called "Father". need i say more 😏

[ameliapodcast]

Reminder!

We have a new early-release system in place - which means that the new episode will be available for patrons as early as... tonight! Where we also have a livestream-release. If you are a patron, you will find a very secret link to the very secret early release party.

If you are not a patron yet, you can go here or here to sign up!

The episode will, regularly, come out next week publicially. For everyone on Patreon, there are now also several mini-series to consider! And Ad-Free episodes! While the show is and will remain free to listen to, we do rely on patreon and ads to keep it running. Especially via patreon, though, you'll get a bunch of stuff for it so yey!

Hope to read you in chat tonight!

-Maty Parzival