What does this mean for you? While you may stumble and fall in the beginning of your journey, you are ultimately determined to find your way in the world. You right your wrongs and are bent on finding your own version of the Holy Grail.
The legend of Parzival goes something like this: Long ago, in the seclusion of the forest lived a son and mother. One day, while the son, whose name was Parzival, was out hunting, a group of knights came riding down the road. They gleamed in their silver armor, and Parzival thought they were angels! Confused, the leader of the knights replied that they were knights of King Arthur’s court. Enamored by them, Parzival declared his desire to be a knight just like they were.
Once running home, he told his mother, who was terrified of the idea. Her own husband had lived the life of a knight and died in battle. She did not wish the same fate to befall her innocent son. He had lived a sheltered life in the forest with no knowledge of bloodshed. But Parzival would not give into his mother’s fear, for he was determined to set out at once to find King Arthur and become a knight. Unable to stop him, his mother nonetheless gave him some advice. 1. Greet all who you meet. 2. Listen to your elders for they possess wisdom you do not. 3. When you encounter a lady, kiss her and take the ring she wears, but do not harass her further.
With this advice, he set off into the forest, but not before his mother dressed him in the clothes of a fool, pied and checkered. Parzival didn’t realize the symbolism of his attire, and went on his way without a hitch. Along the way, he met a lady, who he greeted, kissed, and took the ring from, just as his mother had advised, but the lady herself was positively wrecked by this, for she had a jealous lover who knew her ring would be taken. Parzival, however, did not understand this for he had simply done what he had been told was the right thing to do. So and continued onward…after eating all of the lady’s food.
Eventually, he arrived at the court of King Arthur and brought himself before the king himself. But the king did not seem to hear him, as though he were deaf. Finally, King Arthur heard him, apologizing that he was distracted, for the Red Knight had stolen from him and dishonored his wife. Hearing this, Parzival declared to return the stolen item, an important chalice. It was as he left the castle that a lady laughed out loud, startling everyone around her. Years before, a prophecy said that this lady would never laugh until the day the greatest knight to ever live would arrive. And now, she was laughing at Parzival, a child with the clothes of a fool! The court was in shock, for how could that boy be the one promised to be the best? For this, she was beaten.
Parzival, meanwhile, contrived to find the Red Knight, and with natural ability, beat and killed the man, taking his armor and returning the chalice to his proper owner. Then he ventured out again and found an older man by the name of Gurnemaz, who took Parzival under his wing and taught him all the things a proper knight should know. From swords and horses and more, Gurnemanz had much to teach the uncultivated Parzival. Most importantly, Gurnemaz told him to not ask too many questions and temper himself against the thrall of curiosity.
Various ventures ensued, including finding himself a wife in the lady Condwiramurs, but upon missing his mother, he set out for home once again. During his ride home, Parzival found an older man fishing in a lake. Late in the evening by now and without shelter for the night, the fisherman said he could house Parzival for the night. The young knight then rode along the path and came across a magnificent castle where he was quickly ushered inside and taken care of.
A grand procession of maidens and knights unfolded before him and the fisherman, who turned out to be the king of the castle. They sat before hundreds of the castle’s occupants who paraded around the feasting hall, where Parzival sat beside the king of the castle as a guest of honor. There he witnessed a magnificent sight of a sacred spear dripping blood, but most important of all, a beautiful maiden carried a grail that instantly manifested food and drink to everyone in the hall. But…for some reason, the king seemed wounded, sad and slumped, weary with a kind of melancholy as he watched the procession. Parzival, of course, had many questions, from what exactly the grail was, to what wounded the king so. Pity, concern, and wonder swirled in his heart. But before he dared speak, he remembered Gurnemanz’s advice. Don’t ask too many questions, he’d said. So Parzival held his tongue throughout the night.
By morning, when he awoke in his room, he found the castle completely empty. It was very strange, for just the night before the castle had been filled with hundreds of people! He found his clothes, his sword, and got ready before he found his horse and set off from the castle on his original quest to find his mother. However, he heard from a close relative in the forest that she had passed away just after he left home.
By this point, several months, maybe years had passed since he’d seen his mother and he’d gone on many adventures and defeated many knights in battle, sending them all to the court of King Arthur. The court and the Round Table, of course, were curious, and went out to search for the Red Knight–as Perzival was now known. Once a fellow knight finds him and brings him to their temporary camp in the forest, Parzival is officially knighted and a feast ensues.
It was there, amid great festivities that a wicked and ugly woman named Kundrie rode right up to Parzival and declared him the worst of all men. A sorceress with great knowledge, she acted as an emissary for the Grail King. She scorned Parzival’s actions in what he came to realize was the Grail Castle, the very home of the legendary Holy Grail. Not only that, he had seen it with his own eyes. “How dare you not ask the question!” she chastised bitterly. “Have you no compassion for the Grail King and his ails? Have you no brain or mind of curiosity about what wonders you saw?”
Horrified at his own ignorance, Parzival wandered for many years thereafter in search of the Grail Castle, but also, to find himself–his true self that recognized the truth of what he should be–compassionate and curious. He should have spoken his compassion, for that was the right thing to do. Never did he find the Grail Castle during this time, but he spent these years in repentance, helping win wars and right old wrongs, including the lady whose kiss and ring he once stole.
Only after this time of repentance did Kundrie come back for him and beg his forgiveness, for now, compassionate and knowing, he was properly ready to return to the Grail Castle and ask the question. So he did. They rode to the Grail Castle, the very home of the Grail King and Holy Grail itself, and crying tears of compassion, asked the Grail King, “What ails you so?” And instantly, a curse was lifted, the Grail and Fisher King transformed into a healthy man again, and Parzival received his crown. Parzival now became the Grail King, holder and defender of the Holy Grail.
And that ends the story of Parzival.
By this point, you may be asking yourself what the Holy Grail and the infamous “question” could possibly mean for you. Well, first we should understand its historical importance. During the time of its most notable writing, “Parzival” by Wolfram von Escenbach in the early 13th century, the purpose of the question was meant to convey personal choice and freedom. This was the time of the romantic Troubadours of Europe who poetically railed against the institution of arranged marriages. Marriage should be about love, the most profound and beautiful thing in the world. To them, love went beyond all divine law issued by the Roman Catholic Church. While the idea of marriage for love is the standard practice for Western society today, in Eschenbach’s time, the idea was positively radical!
Resultantly, the famous question deals with Parzival going against the standard societal norms. In particular to Parzival, the societal norms are the knightly training and methodologies as issued to him by his teacher Gurnemanz. When Parzival visits the Grail Castle for the first time, he holds his tongue because he was told to not ask too many questions. This goes against his own innate nature; compassionate and curious. Notice that in the beginning, he was considered an innocent fool, much like a child must learn what is appropriate and inappropriate in their early adolescence. Although Parzival made many, many blunders in the process, he meant well, and asked many questions while ultimately remaining true to himself. It is only when he learns the societal norms that he acts against his own inner will; his incredible compassion for the Grail King. After he learns that his actions inadvertently harmed hundreds of people, does he learn to go against his training, redeem himself, and be the person he always was–kind, compassionate, and questioning. Questioning, because that shows independence of thought beyond the control of others, particularly societal norms.
As for the Holy Grail, this was Parzival’s reward for having both independence of thought and innate compassion. It is only when you find yourself and stay true to your inner heart that you can succeed.
It should be noted that the story of Parzival has many variants, and often depending on the country of origin, even has different names for Parzival. French, German, English, Celtic, the names and stories vary. Some are more influenced by the fairy and woodland mystique of Celtic lore, while others are set much later in European history that are written with Christian connotations and symbols. These are generally the stories and legends known best today. Set amidst the broad span of a mythic cannon known as the “Arthurian Legends” pervades European folklore. Parzival is, of course, merely one of many of these legends, but is undoubtedly one of the most widely known. Additionally, this summary spans the length of a 400 page epic, and many details were omitted for the sake of a quick and clear synopsis.
But what does this legend mean for you, dear reader and established Parzival? You are someone on their personal journey, someone striving to know yourself. Perhaps you have let society choose your path, whether that be from your parents, friends, family, or simply, society in general. You have wandered a long time and in a moment of clarity, you perhaps have realized you lost yourself for the sake of what others consider ‘normal’ and ‘right.’’ Perhaps this comes with suppressing your favorite hobbies for embarrassment or choosing the job that you hate over something you know would deeply enrich your soul.
It is good instead to remember that following your heart brings the best joy you can ask for. That is not to say this always comes easily, for it points you in the direction of the less traveled, but it is a journey necessary to finding your true inner self. Are you on that journey yet, dear Parzival, or have you been governed until now by what others say? If you are the latter, perhaps this is your moment of realization. Parzival ventured many years in repentance and wandering, trying to find himself and what truly called to him, but once he did–once he completed the journey and became himself, he was able not only to find the Grail Castle again, but became its king. He struggled and struggled to find himself, and you must do the same.
And once you do…long may you reign, Grail King Parzival.
