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Willehalm: The Middle High German Poem
English (translation)
404 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1977
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21 people want to read
About the author
Wolfram von Eschenbach
178 books62 followersWolfram von Eschenbach was a German knight and poet, regarded as one of the greatest epic poets of his time. As a Minnesinger, he also wrote lyric poetry.
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 There are no historical documents which mention him, and his works are the sole source of evidence.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 wir Beier ("we Bavarians") and the dialect of his works is East Franconian. This and a number of geographical references have resulted in the present-day Wolframs-Eschenbach, previously Obereschenbach, near Ansbach in Bavaria, being officially designated as his birthplace. However, the evidence is circumstantial and not without problems - there are at least four other places named Eschenbach in present-day Bavaria, and Wolframs-Eschenbach was not part of Bavaria in Wolfram's time.
The arms shown in the Manesse manuscript come from the imagination of a 14th-century artist, drawing on the figure of the Red Knight in Parzival, and have no heraldic connection with Wolfram.
Wolfram's work indicates a number of possible patrons (most reliably Hermann I of Thuringia), which suggests that he served at a number of courts during his life. In his Parzival he claims he is illiterate and recorded the work by dictation, though the claim is treated with scepticism by scholars.
Wolfram is best known today for his Parzival, sometimes regarded as the greatest of all German epics from that time. Based on Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, le Conte du Graal, it is the first extant work in German to have as its subject the Holy Grail. In the poem, Wolfram's narrator expresses disdain for Chrétien's (unfinished) version of the tale, and states that his source was a poet from Provence called Kyot. Some scholars believe Wolfram might have meant Guiot de Provins (though none of the latter's surviving works relate to the themes of Parzival), however others believe Kyot was simply a literary device invented by Wolfram to explain his deviations from Chrétien's version.
Wolfram is the author of two other narrative works: the unfinished Willehalm and the fragmentary Titurel. These were both composed after Parzival, and Titurel mentions the death of Hermann I, which dates it firmly after 1217. Wolfram's nine surviving songs, five of which are dawn-songs, are regarded as masterpieces of Minnesang.
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 wir Beier ("we Bavarians") and the dialect of his works is East Franconian. This and a number of geographical references have resulted in the present-day Wolframs-Eschenbach, previously Obereschenbach, near Ansbach in Bavaria, being officially designated as his birthplace. However, the evidence is circumstantial and not without problems - there are at least four other places named Eschenbach in present-day Bavaria, and Wolframs-Eschenbach was not part of Bavaria in Wolfram's time.
The arms shown in the Manesse manuscript come from the imagination of a 14th-century artist, drawing on the figure of the Red Knight in Parzival, and have no heraldic connection with Wolfram.
Wolfram's work indicates a number of possible patrons (most reliably Hermann I of Thuringia), which suggests that he served at a number of courts during his life. In his Parzival he claims he is illiterate and recorded the work by dictation, though the claim is treated with scepticism by scholars.
Wolfram is best known today for his Parzival, sometimes regarded as the greatest of all German epics from that time. Based on Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, le Conte du Graal, it is the first extant work in German to have as its subject the Holy Grail. In the poem, Wolfram's narrator expresses disdain for Chrétien's (unfinished) version of the tale, and states that his source was a poet from Provence called Kyot. Some scholars believe Wolfram might have meant Guiot de Provins (though none of the latter's surviving works relate to the themes of Parzival), however others believe Kyot was simply a literary device invented by Wolfram to explain his deviations from Chrétien's version.
Wolfram is the author of two other narrative works: the unfinished Willehalm and the fragmentary Titurel. These were both composed after Parzival, and Titurel mentions the death of Hermann I, which dates it firmly after 1217. Wolfram's nine surviving songs, five of which are dawn-songs, are regarded as masterpieces of Minnesang.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 11, 2024
fanfic william of orange is the og horse girl.
on a serious not i wish wolfram didn‘t insist on constantly listing the names of every single person present at any one time
on a serious not i wish wolfram didn‘t insist on constantly listing the names of every single person present at any one time
February 2, 2013
Ok, so this isn't Parzival, but it is still pretty good. Like Wolfram's Parzival, this poem is also based on French sources which are the Old French Chanson de Guillaume and Bataille d'Aliscans and recounts the legendary adventures of Charlemagne's nephew, William of Orange.
I read the version of this poem by Gibbs that was published by Penguin Classics a good few years ago and there isn't much to pick between them, except this version is in a nicer bound hardcover. The translation is accompanied by introductions and afterwords which help the reader understand more about Wofram and the historical context of the poem.
I read the version of this poem by Gibbs that was published by Penguin Classics a good few years ago and there isn't much to pick between them, except this version is in a nicer bound hardcover. The translation is accompanied by introductions and afterwords which help the reader understand more about Wofram and the historical context of the poem.
September 12, 2023
Good, but difficult. The plot is clear enough. Oh, who am I kidding? I read Cyril Edwards’ translation of Parzival which attempts to replicate in English the parts that are ambiguous (unintelligible?) in meaning on a word by word basis. He recommended Passage’s translation if you wanted something that attempted to smooth the poem in translation. Passage appears to have taken the same approach here and there are a number of footnotes where he indicated he has taken a guess as to the meaning, or picked one meaning from several possibles. I suspect there are hundreds more instances where he has done this and not recorded the fact. However, no amount of smoothing can hide the longer passages of strangeness that Wolfram was afflicted by where it can be difficult (impossible?) to follow his thought.
Basically, the Muslim lord Tibalt has adulterously ravished the Holy Roman Emperor’s wife. Her brother Willehalm has at some later time been a prisoner in Arabi and has seduced Tibalt’s wife Giburc. She has abandoned her family, converted to Christianity and married Willehalm. Now her father has come for revenge and the poem opens with a battle disastrous for the Christians. Willehalm gathers a second army and a second battle follows. At this point Wolfram has suffered a cardiac arrest and has keeled over, spilling his ink.
This might look like a simple revenge drama, but there’s a lot more going on. It’s essentially a religious poem with themes of love and war. The Muslim’s aren’t historically accurate but rather the Medieval fantasy version of them. I don’t think Wolfram is blindly using an established literary trope here but rather that the Muslims are symbolic in some sense of temptation, specifically the temptations of love. They’re undertaking this war for women. Terramer (Giburc’s father) for his daughter, and many of his knights to impress their girlfriends. For many of the Christians their individual motivations are religious, but the poem isn’t the kind of xenophobic clap-trap you might think. I think it’s in book 6 where they take the cross by swearing that they hate Muslims, yet immediately Wolfram gives voice to Giburc who gives the most amazing humanitarian speech. But whatever these subsidiary motivations, ultimately the action is driven by Willehalm who wants to break the siege laid on his wife. Perhaps Wolfram is saying that love is worth it, despite the fire risk.
This is all just guesswork. It’s a very difficult poem, not helped by the fact that it’s unfinished, though there can’t be much missing. I took Wolfram to be bringing the two sides to a reconciliation involving Rennewart. In the outroduction Passage says this has been suggested by scholars and dismisses the suggestion as utterly ridiculous. Maybe, but I’m not going to change my mind.
I think I would have enjoyed the poem much more if I were esoterically minded. I believe that there are hidden secrets in those passages which are difficult to follow. There’s is also some pretty heavy numerology going on and it takes place in the Arthurian extended universe. Some of the characters here are descended from some in Parzival, though I think this might just be fan service. I should clarify that I think those secret meanings are to do with Wolfram’s artistic intent, and not the secret of the Grail or anything like that, but if you think in that way then I heartily recommend the poem to you, though you might have to learn Middle High German to penetrate it.
Basically, the Muslim lord Tibalt has adulterously ravished the Holy Roman Emperor’s wife. Her brother Willehalm has at some later time been a prisoner in Arabi and has seduced Tibalt’s wife Giburc. She has abandoned her family, converted to Christianity and married Willehalm. Now her father has come for revenge and the poem opens with a battle disastrous for the Christians. Willehalm gathers a second army and a second battle follows. At this point Wolfram has suffered a cardiac arrest and has keeled over, spilling his ink.
This might look like a simple revenge drama, but there’s a lot more going on. It’s essentially a religious poem with themes of love and war. The Muslim’s aren’t historically accurate but rather the Medieval fantasy version of them. I don’t think Wolfram is blindly using an established literary trope here but rather that the Muslims are symbolic in some sense of temptation, specifically the temptations of love. They’re undertaking this war for women. Terramer (Giburc’s father) for his daughter, and many of his knights to impress their girlfriends. For many of the Christians their individual motivations are religious, but the poem isn’t the kind of xenophobic clap-trap you might think. I think it’s in book 6 where they take the cross by swearing that they hate Muslims, yet immediately Wolfram gives voice to Giburc who gives the most amazing humanitarian speech. But whatever these subsidiary motivations, ultimately the action is driven by Willehalm who wants to break the siege laid on his wife. Perhaps Wolfram is saying that love is worth it, despite the fire risk.
This is all just guesswork. It’s a very difficult poem, not helped by the fact that it’s unfinished, though there can’t be much missing. I took Wolfram to be bringing the two sides to a reconciliation involving Rennewart. In the outroduction Passage says this has been suggested by scholars and dismisses the suggestion as utterly ridiculous. Maybe, but I’m not going to change my mind.
I think I would have enjoyed the poem much more if I were esoterically minded. I believe that there are hidden secrets in those passages which are difficult to follow. There’s is also some pretty heavy numerology going on and it takes place in the Arthurian extended universe. Some of the characters here are descended from some in Parzival, though I think this might just be fan service. I should clarify that I think those secret meanings are to do with Wolfram’s artistic intent, and not the secret of the Grail or anything like that, but if you think in that way then I heartily recommend the poem to you, though you might have to learn Middle High German to penetrate it.
June 13, 2019
A readable and well-informed prose translation of a medieval epic poem by the author of Parzifal. The translator adds much useful supplementary information and discusses the poem in context of the larger "William" cycle of poems.
The poem itself is incomplete, and not as significant as Parzifal, but Willehalm again showcases Wolfram's humane and humorous outlook, as well as his keen interest in matters spiritual and theological. This epic is another in the tradition of the mighty clash of East versus West, for the story has the marquis Willehalm trying to raise French forces to repel a vast invading army of "Saracens." The Saracens are intent on plunging Europe back into the darkness of heathendom, but before they do that their leader, King Terramer, has a personal score to settle with Willehalm, who escaped from captivity in Arabia with Terramer's daughter--who is now Willehalm's wife.
Like Parzifal, Willehalm is a retelling of an underlying work, and here again Wolfram has reshaped the material and made it his own. As Joseph Campbell shows in his The Masks of God, Volume 4: Creative Mythology, Wolfram is one of the most important writers in Western history. But if you're new to his work, then you should start with Parzifal, and move on to Willehalm if you're interested in expanding your knowledge of the world in which the events in Parzifal take place.
The poem itself is incomplete, and not as significant as Parzifal, but Willehalm again showcases Wolfram's humane and humorous outlook, as well as his keen interest in matters spiritual and theological. This epic is another in the tradition of the mighty clash of East versus West, for the story has the marquis Willehalm trying to raise French forces to repel a vast invading army of "Saracens." The Saracens are intent on plunging Europe back into the darkness of heathendom, but before they do that their leader, King Terramer, has a personal score to settle with Willehalm, who escaped from captivity in Arabia with Terramer's daughter--who is now Willehalm's wife.
Like Parzifal, Willehalm is a retelling of an underlying work, and here again Wolfram has reshaped the material and made it his own. As Joseph Campbell shows in his The Masks of God, Volume 4: Creative Mythology, Wolfram is one of the most important writers in Western history. But if you're new to his work, then you should start with Parzifal, and move on to Willehalm if you're interested in expanding your knowledge of the world in which the events in Parzifal take place.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews