#parzival

[hovelicher-unsin]

this sucks so bad i need to (remembers suicide jokes only make my mental health worse) find the holy grail

[cuties-in-codices]

parzival & feirefiz

illustration for a copy of wolfram von eschenbach's arthurian poem "parzival", lake constance region, c. 1467

source: Bern, Burgerbibliothek, Cod. AA 91, fol. 158v

"Because his father was white and his mother black, Feirefiz's skin consists of black and white patches. His appearance is compared to that of a magpie or a parchment with writing on it, though he is considered very handsome." (wikipedia)

[bisclavret]

she's such a legend. thank you wolfram

[queer-ragnelle]

Do you have a guide/a recommended reading list for getting into Arthurian legends? I’ve been really getting into it in the past few months but I feel like I’m missing out on a lot of the foundations of it. (If you don’t and this is too big of an ask totally feel free to ignore this lol)

hello, anon.

i don't currently although i have plans to add another page to my blog listing medieval texts as well as links to download pdfs of them. i have english translations of texts originating in belarussian, dutch, french, german, hebrew, italian, latin, middle english, and last but not least, welsh.

in the mean time, i've collected for you some key texts that are readily available to read for free online!

le morte d'arthur by sir thomas malory [part 1] [part 2]

the history of the britons by nennius [here]

the mabinogion translated by lady charlotte guest [here]

four romances by chrétien de troyes [here]

parzival by wolfram von eschenbach [part 1] [part 2]

the wedding of sir gawain and dame ragnelle translated by thomas hahn [here]

sir gawain and the green knight translated by j. r. r. tolkien [here]

better translations/formatting forthcoming! enjoy. :^)

[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.»

[illustratus]

Parzival by Fidus

[milkoz]

it's crazy how canonically, today is the day Parzival is born

It feels so cool to be on the exact date of an event in a futuristic novel/movie

[most-tragic-character-tournament]

PROPAGANDA UNDER THE CUT: [SPOILERS AND POSSIBLE TRIGGERS AHEAD]

PERCIVAL//PARZIVAL//PERDEUR:

GILLION TIDESTRIDER:

[negreabsolut]

Iŀlustració de Willy Pogany per a una edició de Parzival, de Wolfram von Eschenbach, 1912.

[oneshoulderangel]

Day 8 of reading Parzival:

We have finally arrived at the Grail Quest. Just when Percival had learned that he should talk less and smile more, he comes across a quest that required his innocent and eager curiosity. I’m sure this is probably done on purpose as some kind of symbolic “corruption of childlike wonder” but I’m still trying to process all the cutlery descriptions.

[gawrkin]

do you have a favorite minor arthuriana character who like only appear in very few literary appearances. Mine is gwenddyd sister of Merlin/Myrddin.

Loholt (and the other children, especially Amr and Melora)

Specifically, Loholt, Son of Guinevere, rather than Vulgate and Le Morte's Son of Lisanor (called Borre in the latter).

I find Guinevere!Loholt to be a far more interesting and important personage because of the significance of his untimely death in the wider narrative as well as the dramatic potential as a legitimate heir of Logres.

"Son of Lisanor" is too much of a downgrade for poor Loholt, which results in him having practically having no meaningful impact anywhere, despite being Arthur's bastard son - a role that is quite literally done better (in both ways!) by Mordred and Arthur le Petit.

So yeah, just give Guinevere her son back, and just sublimate Lanzelet's Lôût, Parzival's Ilinot, Perlesvaus' Lohot and Welsh Canon's Llacheu into him. He just becomes a way more substantial character, if you're gonna use him at all.

[freckles-and-books]

Since I’m in an Arthur mood, I decided to find a book I remember reading and liking as a kid. It’s so cute and small. 🥰

[pedroam-bang]

Ready Player One (2018)

[oblivion-books]

“ I realized, as terrifying and painful as reality can be, it’s also the only place where you can find true happiness. Because reality is real.”  

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ―   Ernest Cline, Ready Player One

[queer-ragnelle]

i’m new to arthuriana but love your posts nonetheless

i am just curious about the many references to gawain sleeping with so many people when, to my understanding, in sir gawain and the green knight he specifically breaks this promiscuous behaviour and makes sure he doesn’t sleep with the wife of the duke

(i apologize if this is a stupid question!)

hello anon!

welcome to arthuriana and thank you so much for the kind words. this is not a stupid question at all! the truth is gawain is nothing if not inconsistent between texts haha. he's different from other knights such as lancelot who pines solely for guinevere across text after text, in that it seems every author wanted to create their own special gal for gawain. he therefore has numerous women attached to him, and when readers try to reconcile those many texts into a single story thread, it gives the impression our mans gawain gets around! (and he does!) i have several examples here to illustrate this so i'll put it below a cut.

for all the textual variance, sir gawain and the green knight is the exception that proves the rule—meaning that it's perhaps the only text in which gawain is abstinent. we know this because one of the five virtues attributed to the five points of his pentacle crest on his shield is chastity.

furthermore, on the wife's second seduction attempt, gawain pleas his own inexperience with "love" (ie: women).

whether or not that's true is up for debate, but it's worth mentioning, as it's a departure from other texts where his virile prowess is well-known, and in the knight of the two swords, he openly boasts about his own attractiveness and popularity. (humble guy, that gawain!)

there are several examples of gawain's reputation with the ladies preceding him and actually benefitting his odds of getting laid. one of my favorites is from lancelot part II in the vulgate. gawain had just cured his brother agravaine of an illness and agravaine's amie basically wingwoman's her sister.

goated of her. so gawain pencils it in on his calendar. later, he locates the castle, sneaks in, and succeeds in bedding the maiden. she's not named here, although malory later refers to her as "the lady of lys," and accredits her as the mother of gawain's three sons, (although the couple never formally wed).

among the strangest of examples is the middle english text the carle of carlisle, in which the carle brings gawain to the bedchamber and orders him to make out with his wife. but things quickly heat up...

so the carle stops gawain from outright cuckholding him, then leads gawain to his daughter's chambers, gives them his blessing, and locks them inside. at the end of the text, gawain marries her.

now i would be remiss not to mention my beloved the wedding of sir gawain and dame ragnelle. i think it's notable that ragnelle specifically asks for gawain by name, much like the lady of lys did (according to her sister and her warm reception of him).

now the conclusion of this poem brings us to another theme of gawain's which ties into his many partners, and that is his consistent subservience to ladies. he breaks the curse on ragnelle by granting her "sovereignty" in the relationship. this seems to be another aspect of character which sets gawain apart from other knights, as this is not a chaste expression of courtly love, but a precursor to fornication, and draws the attention of strong-willed ladies, such as ragnelle, with whom he is "a coward," or according to the translation notes, "submissive."

then again in roman van walewein, he's already famous by the time he meets his ladylove, ysabele, and whilst tied up in her father's prison, he leaves the decision of his own life in her hands.

which then results in their coming together because this is a gawain story and he always gets the girl.

even in the post vulgate, which we can all agree portrays every single character at their absolute worst (and is therefore invalid<3), gawain's choice of words consistently upholds the lady's desires above his own. at first, gawain intended wingman for pelleas by pretending he, pelleas, was dead to begrieve arcade. he discovers instead that she's elated by pelleas's supposed passing, so she and gawain fall in love. but even after admitting his feelings, he still takes great pains to frame the final crossing of that line as her choice, and only relents when she makes her intentions plain.

he might also just like it when women boss him around if his treatment from orgeluse in parzival by wolfram von eschenbach is any indication.

similarly to the knight of two swords, in parzival, gawain is aware of his fame, fosters it, and then employs his orgeluse brain worms as a motivation for sparing lives instead of like...morality.

i think what's particularly interesting about gawain's relationship history is that many of his partners are named, whereas it's pretty common for damsels and maidens in medieval texts to exist without identities of their own. there are so, so many named, interesting, fully developed women linked to gawain, it's actually pretty awesome! here are a few more:

lunette in yvain: knight of the lion by chrétien de troyes...

amurfina in the crown by heinrich von dem türlin...

bloiesine in the 4th perceval continuation by gerbert de montreuil...

marjorie in gawain and marjorie by oscar fay adams (if we extend our search through the 20th century!)...

and on and on forever! so in conclusion, gawain has been pulling bitches for many hundreds of slutty, slutty years, and from what modern retellings i've read, authors have no intention of interrupting this trend. i hope that helps clear things up somewhat. thanks for the ask!

[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.