Richard Wagner's Parsifal: An Anthology of Articles

Index of Articles. Parsifal by Richard Wagner.
(Version for all current popular browsers)
The primary articles of this web site, together with selected external links, are listed below. If
you want to read more about any topic, then try clicking on the "right- hand" icon at the top
of any page. This icon will usually take you to an article that explores some aspect of the
topic in detail; if none is available, it will take you to the Contents page. There is also
navigation at the bottom of each web page. At minimum this navigation consists of one
button that will take you to the Home page and one that takes you to the Contents page.
These articles and associated notes present many different approaches to Wagner's Parsifal.
The ideas and views presented have been collected from a wide range of sources over the
last decade, to which I have added some ideas of my own, written down over the same
period. Some primary material is included in English translation, including the Prose Draft of
1865 and the Libretto or Poem of 1877. I hope that the result will reveal to the reader some
of the many possible perspectives on a work that is rich in symbolism and which contains
references and allusions to a wide range of literature from both western and eastern
traditions. The reader will find it helpful to read one of the many Wagner biographies to be
found in any good library or bookstore (but avoid Gutman).
Introductory Material
Plot Summary of Parsifal
A Cautionary Tale
(Neil Kurtzman)
Articles - Sources and

Contexts
Wagner's Sources
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/concommon.htm (1 of 4) [26/05/2002 22:17:15]

Index of Articles. Parsifal by Richard Wagner. (Version for all current popular browsers)
Parzival and Parsifal
The Wounding and Healing Spear
Parsifal and Greek Myth
Swans and Geese: Wagner's Wildfowl
Wagner, Buddhism and Parsifal
The Origins of Kundry
The Eagle, the Phoenix and the

Divine Blood
Magic Flowers
Articles - Creation
Chronology
Richard Wagner to Mathilde

Wesendonk
Wagner's Muse

Articles - Articles - References

Interpretation
The Prose Draft of Parsifal
Parsifal's Progress PARSIFAL - A New English
Sleeping and Waking Translation with Commentary
Good Friday Further Reading
Erlsung dem Erlser A Parsifal Discography
Parsifal and Christianity Parzival in der Gralsburg

(Hans Zimmermann)
Articles - Performance Articles - the Music

Parsifal on Stage An Introduction to the Music of
Parsifal
Adolphe Appia on Parsifal and the
Ring Leitmotif Guide
Transformation Music Prelude to Act 1
The Bells of Monsalvat Prelude to Act 2
Parsifal at Covent Garden Prelude to Act 3
Bernard Levin on Parsifal Meyerbeer's Robert and Wagner's

Parsifal
Parsifal in its current staging at
Bayreuth
Syberberg's Parsifal Film
Parsifal at Baireuth (M.G. van

Rensselaer)
Wagner's Parsifal (C.D. Warner)

from P. Swinkels' Wagner Library

Articles - Reactions
Nietzsche on Parsifal
G.B. Shaw on Parsifal
A Poem by Paul Verlaine
Parsifal and the Nazis
Lvi-Strauss on Parsifal
Thomas Mann on Parsifal
An Act of Will
Pablo Picasso and Parsifal
Franz Stassen (1869-1949)

A virtual exhibition including oil paintings
inspired by Parsifal
We suggest that you adjust the width of your browser window to at least 700 pixels.
This page last updated (styles) 05/25/02 16:12:14 (NS6, IE6, Mozilla and Konqueror).

Parsifal Synopsis: Top
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Synopsis
he scene is laid first in the

domain and in the castle of the
guardians of the Grail, Monsalvat,
where the countryside resembles the
northern mountains of Gothic Spain;
afterwards in Klingsor's magic castle
on the southern slope of the same
mountains which looks towards
Moorish Spain. The costume of the
Knights and Squires resembles that of
the Templars: a white tunic and
mantle; instead of the red cross,
however, there is a dove flying
upwards on scutcheon and mantle.
Act 1 - A rock-strewn clearing in a forest, shadowy but not gloomy. Daybreak.
Act 2 - Klingsor's magic castle. In the inner keep of a tower which is open to the sky.
Act 3 - Flowering meadows at the edge of a forest. It is early on a spring morning.
But what happens in Parsifal ?
But what is the message of Parsifal ?
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/story0.htm (1 of 2) [26/05/2002 22:17:43]

Parsifal Synopsis: Top
This page last updated (non-CSS message) 14/04/02 18:36:34.

The Ghost in the Machine - A Cautionary Tale
The Ghost in the

MachineA Cautionary
Tale
by Neil Kurtzman
"Wait," I said, unwilling to be narcotized for a week. "Turn on the radio." He did. The first act
of "Parsifal" was still on. "God never made a pain that could stand up to that," I said pointing to
the radio.
It all started a couple of years ago on a Saturday afternoon. I turned on the radio to listen to the weekly
Metropolitan Opera broadcast, forgetting that Parsifal was scheduled. Being comfortably settled in a
stuffed reclining chair, I was too lazy to turn the radio off. Besides, nothing can put you to sleep faster
than Wagner. No sooner had the music started than I conked out. A couple of hours later, I woke up
with a terrible toothache. The first act of Parsifal was still oozing from my speakers. I called my dentist
who agreed to see me immediately; the weather was too bad for golf, which explained his availability. A
few minutes later, I was in his chair after having had enough X-rays to cure two cancers.
"Root canal," he said after looking at the films.
"You always say that," I opined.
He ignored my comment and proceeded to fill a syringe with enough anesthetic to make me numb to the
waist.
"Wait," I said, unwilling to be narcotized for a week. "Turn on the radio." He did. The first act of
Parsifal was still on. "God never made a pain that could stand up to that," I said pointing to the radio.
The dental work took an hour. I felt nothing. Wagners slow, slower, and slowest tempos had turned my
brain to Jell-O. I wondered if I shouldnt have opted for the anesthetic after all. When I left the dentists
office, the first act of Parsifal was still coming from my car radio which I always leave on.
After entering my house, my jaw started to ache. I turned on my stereo, set the volume as loud as my
three amplifiers (1200 watts) and six speakers would allow to get the maximum anesthetic effect that the
first act of Parsifal could deliver. It worked. I was immediately numb. Three hours later, the first act of
Parsifal still not concluded, I figured I could handle any residual pain sans Wagner. I turned off the
http://www.interoz.com/lubbock/lubmag/Kurtzman9709.htm (1 of 4) [26/05/2002 22:18:02]

stereo and went about my usual Saturday night activities.
On Sunday, I stayed home. Monday morning, I got into my car to drive to work. The radio started up as
usual. The first act of Parsifal was still on. Strange, I thought, I dont remember it being this long. But I
really had never paid much attention to the opera, so maybe it was just a little bit longer than the rest of
Wagners oeuvre. That evening as I drove home, the first act of Parsifal was still coming from my
radio. Now I was sure something untoward was afoot. I turned the radio off to allow my brain to clear
sufficiently to analyze what had happened. No explanation came to mind.
When I entered my house, I was afraid to turn on the radio for fear that the first act of Parsifal might still
be on. But eventually, curiosity got the better of me and I turned the thing on. You can imagine my
relief when not a trace of Wagner emanated from my speakers. KOHM was in the middle of a Frank
Bridge festival. Thus, the problem seemed solved even if I could not explain it.
I was halfway to work the next morning when I turned the car radio back on, hoping to miss the end of
All Things Considered, when to my amazement, I encountered the first act of Parsifal. It now hit me that
my car radio had contracted a persistent infection. I had heard about people being infected by Wagner,
but never a machine. What might the cure be? The only thing I could think of was to put the radio at
prolonged rest. So I turned it off, planning to keep it inactive for at least a month. Again I was amazed;
it wouldnt go off. Not only would it not quit, but the first act of Parsifal was now coming from every
position on the dial. The infection had spread. The only way I could make the thing shut up was to turn
off the ignition. That was not a long-term solution, however. In fact, it proved not to be a short-term fix
either. When I turned off the ignition upon returning home that night, the first act of Parsifal continued
to drone from the cars speakers. What was I to do now? You could hear lugubrious leitmotifs all over
the house. If I moved the car out of the garage onto the street, the neighbors would probably call the
police. After a while, my dogs started to howl, the cat ran away, the parrot went permanently mute, and
all my tropical fish died. I had to get rid of the car, but who would buy a car that was chronically
infected with the first act of Parsifal?
After the worst night of my life, I called the National Kidney Foundation. They have a program that
accepts used cars as donations. They were really interested when I described my almost new car, until I
got to the Parsifal problem.
"This type of disease is outside the purview of the NKF," said the foundations spokesman. He then
hung up the phone before I could beg him to take the car.
The only course was euthanasia. I took the car to my vet and had him put it to sleep. It was a total loss.
I immediately bought a new car, but only after trying out its radio. To my relief, the Frank Bridge
festival was still being broadcast by KOHM.
When I got home, I turned on the tv to watch Sesame Street, but the picture tube was dark while the first
act of Parsifal snaked from the sets speaker. The first act of Parsifal was also on every radio and tv in

the house. It was even on the houses intercom. I had destroyed the car too late to prevent contagion. I
turned off every device in the house attached to a speaker and darkened the house. The place was quiet
for a few days. I felt comfortable enough to turn the lights on. The calm persisted. At six the next
morning, my alarm clock went off as usual, but instead of the electronic beep, I was roused by the first
act of Parsifal. Like a string of firecrackers, every speaker in the house took up the first act of Parsifal
in a sequence of belching tubas and guttural barks masquerading as singing. I dressed as fast as I could
and fled my contaminated house.
What was I to do? Burning down your own home is illegalI think. Before I could ponder my
predicament further, the first act of Parsifal came unbidden from the speakers of my new cars stereo
system like quicksand at a Tupperware party. The revelation of Oedipuss descent was a mere bagatelle
compared to the emotion that this sound provoked in my breast. My old car had infected my house,
which in turn had infected my new car. I was in an abyss of despair. I abandoned the car in the middle
of the road and walked to work.
The rest of the day passed like the final recollections of a drowning man. I couldnt go home knowing
what was waiting for me there, so I checked into the cheapest motel I could find hoping that it would not
have a radio or a tv in it. Even at $12 a night there was a television set in the room. Of course, I didnt
turn it on. In fact, I unplugged it and left it in the parking lot.
I finally fell into a frenzied sleep, seething with primal fear. Then I awoke with a shudder. A sound
filled the inside of my head; it was the first act of Parsifal. It was coming from the fillings in my teeth.
They were acting like a crystal radio. I had become Parsifal positive. Despite the hour, I called my
dentist. He was quite huffy about being disturbed at such a premature time until I told him that Wagner
was coming out of my teethand not just any Wagner, but the first act of Parsifal.
"Ive heard about cases like yours," he said, "but I never thought Id see one."
"You havent seen it yet," I said, hoping to encourage him to prompt action.
"Okay," he said, "meet me at my office in 20 minutes."
I was there in five.
"Im afraid theres only one thing that can be done for you." The dentist was gowned and gloved; he
wore a lead apron and protective headgear and leggings. He breathed through a portable oxygen
apparatus. His office music system played Rossini overtures which he felt would protect the place from
the infection. "All your teeth have to come out."
"Will that cure me?"
"Who knows," he shrugged, "but its all science has to offer."

Two years or so have passed since I last showed signs of the first act of Parsifal. Im toothless,
homeless, carless, and on permanent leave from my job. I wont be allowed back until Im symptom-free
for at least five years. My health insurance has been canceled. My friends and family have abandoned
me. I am a shell of a man.
Mama, dont let your babies grow up to be Wagnerians.

Wagner's Sources for Parsifal
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Wagner's sources for Parsifal
Wagner's Sources
Wagner's Grail Studies

uring his Dresden years (1843-49) Richard Wagner found many ideas for stage works in
medieval literature. Some of those ideas he would develop into operas or music-dramas
(such as Lohengrin, the Ring, Die Meistersinger and Parsifal) while others remained no more
than possible subjects for musical and dramatic treatment (such as Wieland der Schmied). The
starting point for Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, as every Wagnerian surely knows, was a
Middle High German epic, the Nibelungenlied. Wagner's studies for the Ring did not end there,
however; he proceeded to read other medieval sagas, studies of medieval literature by scholars such
as the Grimm brothers and not least the Old Norse Eddas. As far as has been established, Wagner's
first contact with the myth of Parsifal was the poem Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach, which he
read at Marienbad in 1845. The first opera that resulted from his reading of Wolfram was
Lohengrin, largely based on the last section of Wolfram's poem. More than a decade later, when
Wagner returned to Parzival 1, he found much of it unsatisfactory as the basis of an opera. As with
the Ring, Wagner began to explore other versions of the same legend. Of the many versions of the
Percevalian myth, at least three were available to him: Wolfram's Parzival, Chrtien's Perceval and
the anonymous Peredur.
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/sources.htm (1 of 5) [26/05/2002 22:18:41]

Left: The Holy Spear of Antioch carried by

bishop Adhemar of Le Puy into battle
against the Saracens.
olfram's work is based on

an unfinished poem by
Chrtien de Troyes,
together with at least two other
sources that have not survived. There
is some evidence, although only at
third hand, that Wagner had read
Chrtien's Perceval: The Story of the
Grail and its so-called Continuations,
in a modern French version, in 1872.
(This is mentioned in Du Moulin
Eckhart's biography of Cosima, in
which he records that Wagner had
studied the Grail legend in Wolfram
von Eschenbach and Chrtien de
Troyes, and now again the remarkable and unique book by Grres, which is more invention than fact, has
stimulated his creative processes ..., p.633).
hrtien seems to have drawn upon Celtic stories, possibly an early version of Peredur Son of
Evrawg; or, alternatively, the tale of Peredur might have been based on an imperfect
recollection of Chrtien's poem. This story appeared in the Comte de Villemarque's Contes
populaires des anciens Bretons, which Wagner is known to have read while in Paris in 1860.
Chrtien's Perceval (or li Contes del Graal or Perceval le Gallois) roughly follows the story of
Peredur (or the reverse) up to and including the meeting with the hermit on Good Friday.
t seems that the same Celtic stories inspired other writings in which the Grail became a
Christian symbol. This variation was also adopted by some of the authors who attempted to
complete Chrtien's unfinished poem. Wagner may have found this interpretation, which he
claimed for his own, there or possibly in a summary of another work: Robert de Boron's Joseph
d'Arimathie. This poem tells the story of Joseph and his family, guardians of the Christian Grail; its
first part is based on the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus. There are two sequels, the poems Merlin
and Perceval, the second of these either not written by de Boron or completed by another hand.
Although there is no evidence that Wagner had any direct knowledge of de Boron, whose works
were rediscovered in the early 19th century and first published in modern French in 1841, there is
some internal evidence in Wagner's treatment of the story that he knew either de Boron, or the

anonymous Perlesvaus, or both.
inally, there are other works which appear to have provided ideas for Wagner's poem, which
do not belong to the same tradition: two of these are the medieval Roman d'Alexandre and
the 19th century novel, Le juif errant. In a separate article the author intends to discuss the
influence of the Buddhist literature of northern India on the text of Parsifal, with particular
reference to two incidents in the opera that derive from these sources.
agner was reticent about his sources, even dismissive of the influence of Wolfram. He told
Cosima that Wolfram's text had nothing to do with it; when he read the epic, he first said
to himself that nothing could be done with it, but a few things stuck in my mind - the Good
Friday, the wild appearance of Condrie. That is all it was. In particular, he found the Question an
unsatisfactory element of the plot. But Wolfram was without doubt important as a stimulus for his
thinking and further reading.
A Note on Wagner's Bayreuth Library

agner's Bayreuth library as preserved at Haus Wahnfried appears to contain only one text
of Chrtien's Perceval. If it is the edition that Wagner studied in 1872, then several
interesting points can be noted. The book is Ch. Potvin's Perceval le Gallois and consists of
six volumes, published between 1866 and 1871, containing the following:
Vol. i: Perlesvaus.
Vol. ii: Perceval, believed to be entirely by Chrtien de Troyes.
Vol. iii: The First Continuation, an anonymous story about Gawain. There are
several versions of this continuation. Although it is not present in the
manuscript translated by Potvin, two of the manuscripts contain an
interpolation that tells the same story as de Boron's Joseph d'Arimathie,
although in much less detail.
Vol. iv: The Second Continuation, by one Gautier or Wauchier de Denain.
According to Jessie L. Weston, the First and Second Continuations are not so
much a completion of Chrtien, as a retelling of a Grail story in which Gawain,
not Perceval, is the hero. Weston believed the original of this story to have
been composed by a Welsh poet, Bleheris, Blihis or Brri. The original ending
was not included in the manuscript translated by Potvin, but it has survived in
a single manuscript.
Vol. v: Gerbert de Montreuil's Continuation, incomplete. The ending of this
Continuation may have been discarded and lost; it now forms a bridge between

the extant Second and Third Continuations. The original version was probably
written in parallel with and independently of:
Vol. vi: The Third Continuation, by Manessier, apparently derived in part from
Perlesvaus and from the Quest of the Holy Grail.
he first point to note is that Lucy Beckett was wrong in her assertion that the Continuations
were not differentiated in the text Wagner would have read; they were published in separate
volumes, and the change in style from volume ii to volume iii (since the First Continuation
has the character of an oral recitation) would have been fairly obvious. But Beckett is correct when
she writes that the First Continuation identifies the bleeding spear with that of Longinus, while the
Second says that the cup contains the blood of Christ; important because neither of these features
appear in Perceval . This interpretation of the Grail is also found in other versions of the story: for
example, in Perlesvaus.
uch
more
importantly,
Wagner's
bookshelf
contains
volume i,
Perlesvaus.
Although this
account of
the Grail
legend has
many
parallels with
Wolfram's
poem (for
example, in
the emphasis on healing the Grail king -- the theme of the Waste Land is missing), it differs from the
latter (and from Chrtien) in two important respects: the Grail king is not physically wounded, but
has fallen into languishment, i.e. he is spiritually disabled; and there is a unique emphasis on the
failure of the Quester. Both elements may be detected in Wagner's poem.
s noted in the accompanying article on Kundry, an interesting feature of Perlesvaus (also

present in Peredur) is that the Grail-bearer and the Loathly Damsel (or High Messenger)

are one and the same. The last point to note was made by Jessie Weston in her book From Ritual to
Romance. In the manuscript translated by Potvin, the First Continuation states that the Grail-
bearer weeps piteously.
t is tempting to conclude that Wagner's version of the story was influenced by his reading of
the first volume of Potvin. Unfortunately, however, that volume was not published until
1866, and we have Wagner's Prose Draft of 1865 which contains all of the elements
mentioned above. If Wagner was familiar with Perlesvaus in 1865, it must have been as a result of
reading secondary sources such as San-Marte's Parzival-study.
Footnote 1: In his autobiography Mein Leben (My Life) Wagner wrote: ... I suddenly said to myself that
this was Good Friday and recalled how meaningful this had seemed to me in Wolfram's Parzival. Ever
since that stay in Marienbad, where I had conceived Die Meistersinger and Lohengrin, I had not taken
another look at that poem; now its ideality came to me in overwhelming form, and from the idea of Good
Friday I quickly sketched out an entire drama in three acts.. So Wagner had not looked at Parzival since
1845, nor is there any evidence that he had read any other Grail romances during the intervening twelve
years. What it was that Wagner sketched out in the inspiration of a spring morning in 1857 is the subject of
a paper that is shortly to be published elsewhere. Here it is sufficient to note that Wagner only returned to
Parzival two years later, after Mathilde Wesendonk had sent him a new, modern German translation of
Wolfram's poem.
This page last updated (non-css message) 05/03/02 06:33:29.

J.L.Weston on Wagner's 'Parsifal' and its Medieval Sources: part 1
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Jessie L. Weston
Jessie L. Weston on Parsifal
Introduction
he name of Jessie L. Weston is familiar to scholars of European literature on account of her studies of
medieval literature in relation to Celtic and Germanic mythology, and in particular for her books and
articles about the Grail legend. In Legends of the Wagner Drama Weston discussed the relation between
various Wagner dramas and those medieval poems and sagas on which, in her view, Wagner had based his
dramas. In her treatment of Parsifal, extracts from which follow below, Weston compares and contrasts the
action of Wagner's drama with the poem Parzival of the German poet-knight Wolfram von Eschenbach and with
the earlier Perceval or Li Conte del Graal of the French poet Chrtien de Troyes, together with other, lesser
poems of the same period. Weston is perceptive in identifying the elements of these sources that were adopted
and adapted by Wagner. She also indicates where Wagner has deviated from the story as told by Wolfram for
purposes of his own that Weston does not attempt to explain. Weston's interpretation of Parsifal has been (and
continues to be) highly influential for the understanding of Wagner's last drama throughout the English-
speaking world. Quotations from Wolfram's poem were taken from Miss Weston's own English translation.
Parsifal
Extracts from Weston's Legends of the Wagner Drama
1. The Grail Castle
2. Titurel and Gurnemanz
3. Wagner's Treatment of the Legend
4. Amfortas and the Fisher King
5. The Bleeding Lance
6. The Swan Episode
7. Departure from the Castle
8. Klingsor
9. Kondrie, Orgeluse, Herodias
10. The Magic Garden
11. Philosophical and Mystical Conception of the Hero
12. The Good Friday Episode - Trevrezent
13. The Healing of Amfortas
14. Concluding Remarks
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/weston.htm (1 of 7) [26/05/2002 22:19:22]

The Grail Castle

he keynote of the drama is struck in the peace of the opening scene; the repose of the Grail watchers,
the solemn call to prayer from the castle, and the rising sun flashing the lake mists in the background.
Wagner has followed his source [i.e. Wolfram] in placing the mysterious castle in the midst of a forest,
and representing its discovery as a task in which both human skill and energy are unavailing. Both in the poem
and in the drama the guidance must come from above; and the fact that Wagner apparently considers the
guiding power to be the Grail itself, while Wolfram believes the guidance to come directly and immediately from
God, is apparently due to the more definitely Christian character ascribed to the Grail by the dramatist.
he name of the castle, Monsalvat, is of course derived from

the Monsalvsch of the Parzival (a name peculiar to the
legend), where the derivation appears to be 'Mont
Sauvage', from the wild and lonely character of the surrounding
district, a feature emphasised in the poem; but some scholars would
explain the terms rather as signifying Mount of Healing (or
Salvation), a rendering to which Wagner, from the form given to the
name, seems to incline.
s to its locality Wolfram is by no means explicit: he

certainly never says it is in Northern Spain, where Wagner
places it; according to his statements it was within thirty-
six hours' ride from Nantes. Writers later than Wolfram, however,
do locate the Grail Castle in Spain, and the idea seems to have
originated with the writer of Der jngere Titurel, a poem which
deals very fully with the Grail and its guardians, and, long
attributed to Wolfram, is now known to be the work of a certain
Albert von Scharffenburg, a very inferior poet.
his location of the Grail Castle in Spain is of course

favoured by those scholars who regard the Grail myth as
of Oriental origin, and the Spanish Moors the medium of
communication to Europe; but as a matter of fact there is practically no evidence to connect the Grail with
Spain, saving the statement, which Wolfram refers, and probably correctly, to his French source, that the legend
of the Grail was originally found in an Arabic manuscript at Toledo. The truth of this statement may be gauged
by the fact that the same manuscript is stated to have contained the story of Parzival, the Aryan-Celtic origin of
which is beyond doubt. It is much more in accordance with the general indications of the legend to believe that
the poets imagined the castle to be situated in the north-west of France.

ut in the process
of development
which the legend
has undergone, the nature
of the castle to which the
hero pays at first an
abortive, and afterwards a
successful, visit has passed
through various
transformations. At first it
probably symbolised the
abode of the departed, and
was as such identical with
the castle of Brynhild
which figures in the
Thidreksaga [the saga of
Dietrich von Bern] and
the Nibelungenlied; and
the hero's task was to
break the spell of death or
slumber binding the
inhabitants. In the performance of this task certain talismans not infrequently played an important part;
gradually these talismans became Christianised; and now in the Grail legends we have two castles -- one, that of
the Grail, the other, retaining its pre-Christian character, being known by varying names, the Castle of Maidens,
the Chteau Merveil, or as here, Klingsor's Castle. Such a bespelled castle is undoubtedly an original and
essential feature of the Perceval story.
Titurel and Gurnemanz

he Parzival gives no account of the building of Monsalvsch, such as Wagner puts into the mouth of
Gurnemanz, but simply speaks of Titurel as being first king and ruler of the Grail and its knights; but
elsewhere Wolfram is more explicit. Among the works which the poet-knight has left are poems, or
songs, dealing with the loves of Sigune and Schionatulander, four in all, but critics are doubtful whether more
than the first two can be rightly ascribed to Wolfram. In the first of these poems, which are classed together
under the name of Titurel, we find the old king, oppressed with the infirmities of age, resigning his kingdom to
his son Frimutel, and telling him that he received the Grail from the hands of angels, that he was the first mortal
to whose charge it was committed, and that the rules for the order of Grail knights were found on the mystic
stone. There is no mention of the Spear here, nor of the building of Monsalvsch, the reason probably being that
both castle and weapon were older than the Grail myth, and the writer accepted them as he found them.
t is doubtful whether the Titurel preceded or followed the Parzival; probably the latter, and Wolfram's
intention was to fill up lacun in the history of Sigune, who plays an important part in the Parzival. Its
statements agree with those of the more important work, and a common source is evidently at the root
of both.

he old knight Gurnemanz, who is so prominent in the drama, is also a characteristic figure in the
original Perceval legend, where his office is to instruct the hero in knightly customs and bearing --
instruction of which he has much need. The Welsh (Peredur) version represents this character as
identical with the Fisher- King, and as uncle to the hero; but he is, as a rule, distinct from both, and the
relationship of uncle rather pertains to the Hermit, also an essential character of the legend, whose office it is to
direct the hero's spiritual development, whereas the old knight's teaching is directed rather to his outward
bearing (combined in the case of Gurnemanz of Graharz with a good deal of ethical teaching).
n Chrtien's poem the name of the knight is Gonemans de Gelbort; Gerbert, one of Chrtien's
continuators, calls him Gornumant, of which form Gurnemanz is obviously the German rendering. It
will be seen that in the drama Wagner has united the characters of these two instructors in the person
of his rather didactic old knight: the Gurnemanz of the First Act answering to Gurnemanz of Graharz, who
appears in the Third Book of the poem and not again, though he is frequently alluded to as a model of knightly
wisdom, skill and courtesy; the Gurnemanz of the Third Act answering to the Hermit Trevrezent, who in the
Ninth Book of the poem unfolds to Parzival the mystery of the Grail, and restores him to faith in God.
Family Tree of Parzival, according to Wolfram von Eschenbach
Wagner's Treatment of the Legend

nd here it may be well to remark that Wagner's treatment of the Perceval legend differs in some
essential characters from his treatment of the other legends he has dramatised; he has handled it with
far more freedom and boldness, and, while adhering faithfully to the spirit of the original, he has recast
the incidents with great gain to the dramatic form, and in more than one detail with a happy insistence on what
was probably an original feature of the legend. The result of this treatment has been that, though the story of
Parzival is really longer and more full of incident that is that of Siegfried, the salient points are so happily
brought out, and the balance of the whole is so well preserved, that, though treated in one drama instead of in
two, it in no way suffers from compression. It is a new rendering of an old myth ...

Amfortas and the Fisher King

he Fisher-King, the wounded lord of the Grail, appears in every version of the Grail myth; in the
English Sir Percyvelle, in which the Grail does not appear, alone is he missing. Belonging to that part of
the Perceval legend which has been most strongly and directly affected by the development of the Grail
myth, the character of the wounded king has now become so closely associated with the Christian talisman, that
even when the earlier form of the legend has become obscured, and Perceval himself has ceased to be par
excellence the hero of the quest, the wounded king, the Rich Fisher (varying names for the same character), still
retains his connection with the object of that quest.
s a rule the king is represented [in the romances] as an old man; that Anfortas, in the Parzival, appears
in the prime of life and manly beauty is due to the youth-bestowing properties of the Grail; Trevrezent,
the Hermit, who is spoken of throughout as an aged man, is Anfortas' younger brother. In his
representation of the Grail king, Wagner has, on the whole, followed the indications of his source; one generation
has been dropped out, and Amfortas appears as Titurel's son, and not his grandson, thus heightening the tragic
effect of the king's refusal to unveil the Grail; and the relationship between himself and Parsifal no longer exists.
The distinctive feature of Wolfram's version, and that which has given Wagner the hint for the colouring 'motif'
of his drama, lies in the fact that he represents Anfortas as wounded in punishment for an unlawful love; in other
versions the king is wounded in battle, or accidentally, by handling a mysterious sword destined for the use of
another. This change, thoroughly in harmony with the high spiritual and ethical treatment which raises
Wolfram's version of the legend so immeasurably above those of the French poets, has been utilised by Wagner
to the great benefit of the character of Amfortas, which in the drama possesses a significance altogether lacking
in the legend.
hy Wagner changed the name of the king from Anfortas to Amfortas does not appear: the original form
is supposed to have been derived from the French Enfertez = the sick man, with Provenal ending -as;
names derived from Provenal French being a marked feature in Wolfram's poem.
The Bleeding Lance

n his account of the weapon with which the king has been wounded Wagner departs boldly from his
source, and from what was almost certainly the oldest form of the story. For we are here confronted
with what was evidently one of the original features of the legend; in most of the earlier forms, e.g. in
Chrtien, in Peredur, and in the [prose] Perceval, we find a bleeding Lance accompanied by another talisman,
which latter is eventually identified with the Grail. The Spear is in Chrtien the subject of a longer digression
and explanation than is the Grail itself; and while Perceval goes in quest of the Grail, and to ask the question
which will heal the wounded king, Gawain goes in search of the Spear...

e not infrequently meet with the statement, in print, that it was Chrtien de Troyes who first identified
the Spear with the Spear of Longinus, and the Grail with the vessel of the Last Supper; but both these
statements are incorrect. True, the Spear is so spoken of in the introduction to Chrtien's poem, and
Spear and Grail are alike Christian symbols in the minds of Chrtien's continuators; but the introduction is no
less the work of a hand other than Chrtien's, than is the continuation (or, to be more correct, continuations),
and he himself gives no account of the origin of either.
he fact seems to be that the Spear was, as Wolfram represents, the weapon with which the king was
wounded; and although Wagner has radically changed the character of the weapon, yet in representing
the Spear, rather than the Grail, as the object of the hero's quest, and the animating motive the desire
of healing the maimed king, he is probably reproducing with fidelity original features of the story. No one can
quarrel with Wagner for having represented both Spear and Grail under the more fully developed Christian
character in which they are most familiar to us; the fact that he has done so bears out the contention advanced
above, that in the Parsifal Wagner has been singularly happy in emphasising the spiritual significance of the
legend without detriment to its original form.
The Swan Episode

he episode of the swan, with which the hero makes his entry upon the scene, was doubtless suggested by
a beautiful passage in the poem, where Wolfram depicts the child Parzival as slaying the birds in pure
thoughtlessness, and then overwhelmed with remorse for the harm he has unwittingly done:
But when the feathered songster of the woods at his feet lay dead,
In wonder and dumb amazement he bowed down his golden head,
And in childish wrath and sorrow tore the locks of his sunny hair;
... and his heart was with sorrow filled,
And the ready tears of childhood flowed forth from their fountains free
As he ran to his mother, weeping, and bowed him beside her knee.
"What aileth thee, child?" quoth the mother, "but now wast thou gay and glad";
But childlike, he gave no answer, scarce wist he what made him sad!
he identification of the swan as the bird of the Grail is a later feature, due to the connection with the
myth of the swan-knight, who, in the latest forms of the story, became identified with Lohengrin,
Parzival's son, and appointed heir to the Grail kingdom. The bird of the Grail is, more correctly, the
dove, the badge of the Grail knights in the poem as in the drama; but Wolfram alone knows of this feature, and
we cannot consider it part of the original legend...

Left: The Grail Temple, Bayreuth 1882. After the

design by Paul von Joukowsky. Cologne Theatre
Museum.
Departure from the

Castle
n the legend Parzival is not, as in the
drama, driven from the hall with
contumely but awakes in the morning
to find himself alone in the castle, all the
inhabitants having vanished; and it is as he
rides forth from the castle that an unseen hand
raises the drawbridge, and the voice of one
unseen pours mockery upon him for his failure
to ask the mystic question:
Goose that thou art, ride onward,

to the sun's hate hast thou been born!
Thy mouth hadst thou thought to open,
of these wonders hadst asked thine host,
Great fame had been thine. But I tell thee,
now hast thou this fair chance lost!
- words in which we find the source of Gurnemanz's taunt, cast by Wagner in a more homely and proverbial
form. The whole incident has an unmistakable 'folk-lore' flavour about it, though perhaps it is more common [in
folk-tales] to find that not the folk alone, but castle or palace itself, has vanished, and the hero awakes to find
himself lying on bare ground.
This page last updated (split into two pages) 27/04/02 15:21:31.

The Wounding and Healing Holy Spear
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Spear
The Wounding and Healing Holy

Spear
1. The Bleeding Lance of the Grail Romances

2. Wagner and the Spear
3. The Meaning of the Spear
4. The Sceptre and the Bell
The Bleeding Lance of the Grail Romances

he mysteriously bleeding lance originated in Wagner's medieval sources. It appears not only
in the romances of Chrtien and Wolfram but also in other versions of the Grail story. A
variant of the story that might have either inspired or been inspired by Chrtien was
preserved in the Welsh Mabinogion and later appeared in the Comte de Villemarque's collection
Contes populaires des anciens Bretons: this story has the title, Peredur son of Evrawg:
hen Peredur sat to one side of his uncle and they talked. He saw two lads entering the hall and
then leaving for a chamber: they carried a spear of incalculable size with three streams of blood
running from the socket to the floor. When everyone saw the lads coming in this way they set up a
crying and lamentation that was not easy for anyone to bear, but the man did not interrupt his
conversation with Peredur; he did not explain what this meant, nor did Peredur ask him.
his is recognisably another version of the Grail story as it appears in Chrtien's unfinished
romance; which contributed to Wolfram's tale of Parzival. This in its turn was used by
Richard Wagner to make a new synthesis, in which (eventually) the hero was renamed as
Parsifal. Unlike the medieval questers Wagner's hero first has to recover the spear (although he
does not know the nature of this mission, or even that he has one, until he experiences Kundry's
kiss) and then to return it to Monsalvat; so that it can be used to heal Amfortas, after which it is
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/spear.htm (1 of 6) [26/05/2002 22:19:42]

reunited with the Grail. By doing so, Parsifal achieves the twofold resolution of the drama:
Amfortas is healed and relieved of his duties and the mystic union of the two relics enables the
regeneration of the community.
Left: A holy lance was discovered in Antioch

cathedral during the First Crusade.
Wagner and the

Spear
his new synthesis was not
arrived at overnight. Between
Wagner's first encounter with
Wolfram's poem and the completion of
his own poem in 1877, there elapsed
three decades. According to his
autobiography Mein Leben the
inspiration for Parsifal arrived on
Good Friday1 in 1857, when Wagner
made a sketch (or scenario) that has
been lost. At this stage it is unlikely
that either the Grail or the spear (as I
have discussed elsewhere) played an important role in the story. At the end of August 1865 Wagner
developed his scenario into a detailed Prose Draft. It is clear that Wagner struggled with the
incorporation of the spear. As with the Grail, there were possibilities to choose between, or combine
from, different traditions. There was the bleeding spear of the Celtic legends; also the spear of
Longinus which had pierced the side of the Saviour on the Cross and the spear of Achilles that had
both wounded and healed Telephus.

Right: the Spear of Destiny, to be seen in the Hofberg museum in

Vienna. This is one of several spearheads that have been claimed as
the spear of Longinus.
s the pagan Grail had been made into a Christian

symbol by medieval writers, Wagner realised that he
could make the pagan, bleeding spear into a
Christian symbol, drawing a parallel between the wound
suffered by Christ and the wound of Anfortas. This
identification also led Wagner to think about the pure blood
of Christ and the impure blood of Anfortas (later Amfortas).
At least some of these ideas occurred to Wagner while he was
working on his first Prose Draft; where however there is no
suggestion that the spear that belongs with the Grail is the
same spear that pierced the side of Christ. But a couple of
days later, Wagner noted in his diary: As a relic, the spear
goes with the cup; in this is preserved the blood that the spear made to flow from the Redeemer's thigh.
The two are complementary.
agner considered two alternatives: in the first, the spear is carried by Anfortas in his ill-
fated assault on Klingsor, and won from him. In the second, the Grail Knights had not yet
gained the spear; Klingsor had found it first. In either case it is a holy relic that belongs
with the Grail, and which is used by Klingsor to wound Anfortas (or so it seems, at least). As we
know, it was the first of these alternatives that Wagner chose, at some time between 1865 and 1877.
The recovery of the spear became an important element of the story, replacing the Question motif of
the medieval romances and linking together all three acts of Wagner's drama. Finally (perhaps as
late as February 1877) Wagner made the identification of the spear wielded by Klingsor with the
magic weapon of Mr and his story was complete.
The Meaning of the Spear

There has been much speculation about the symbolism of the spear (as there has been about that
other relic, the Grail) in Wagner's drama. For Klaus Stichweh (Wissendes Mitleid, in the Bayreuth
Festival programme for 1977) the spear symbolises (only) the sin of Amfortas; this overlooks
Wagner's explicit connection of the spear with the suffering of Christ. For Carl Dahlhaus (in
Richard Wagner's Music Dramas) the spear was to be interpreted as a symbol of compassion, "the
reversal of the will" as Schopenhauer understood it. These interpretations are unsatisfactory because
they fail to account for the dual nature of the spear. Like the spear of Achilles in the Greek myth of

Telephus the holy spear is able both to wound (even to destroy) and to heal the wound that it made.
The intention of the person who wields the spear would seem to be important here.
The question naturally arises of whether the spear is an active or passive element. In particular, at
the end of the second act. Does the destruction of Klingsor's domain (that of world-spanning
illusion, Weltenwahn) result from Klingsor's use of the spear in an attempt to destroy Parsifal,
rather than from an action of his intended victim? If so, why then did the relic not destroy Klingsor
when he used it to wound Amfortas? Was that wound caused, not by Klingsor, but by the spear
itself when Amfortas tried to use it as a weapon? If so, it is consistent that another attack with the
spear backfires on Klingsor. Wagner's stage directions suggest that Parsifal, in another flash of
insight, realises the power of the spear and it is by his action (in making the sign of the Cross) that
Klingsor's domain (and not just the sorcerer himself) is destroyed.
Ulrike Kienzle (in Das Weltberwindungswerk) identifies the spear with Schopenhauer's concept of
"eternal justice" (der ewigen Gerechtigkeit). It is as an instrument of eternal justice that the spear
wounds Amfortas when he tries to use it as a weapon, rather than guarding it as a relic. In
Schopenhauerian terms, his attempt to injure another, while deluded by the veil of Maya, results
only in an increase in his own suffering. The aggressor bites only his own flesh; tormentor and
tormented are one. When Klingsor becomes the aggressor, in this interpretation, then his aggression
turns back on himself. As a result then, for Parsifal at least, the veil of Maya (the Weltenwahn of the
Upanishads) is rent from top to bottom.
The Sceptre and the Bell

As noted above, Wagner wrote that the Grail and the spear were complementary. Not only in
Parsifal but in other treatments of the legend, it was suggested by J.L. Weston, these relics are
sexual symbols. She argued that the spear was a masculine element and the cup was a feminine
element. Sometimes, of course, a cigar is just a cigar, but in the case of Parsifal there does seem to be
a sexual sub-text. At one level we see a community that is exclusively male and which, until the final
scene in which an exception is made for Kundry, excludes women from its holy place, the Grail
Temple. This parallels the situation of Prakriti in Die Sieger who is finally admitted into the
monastic community by the Buddha, the Victoriously Perfect, whose compassion for the Chandala
girl opens the gate to the final stage of his enlightenment.
These subtexts come together in the final scene of Parsifal when the spiritual hero, whose
compassion for the penitent Kundry has opened the gate to the final stage of his enlightenment,
brings together the Grail and the spear. Shortly before he died Richard Wagner told Cosima that he
did not need to write Die Sieger (it was now too late, in any case) because in Parsifal he had

expressed his idea of community. This has led some to suggest that Parsifal is fundamentally
misogynistic. Yet, in the last paragraph that Wagner wrote, he returned to the subject of the
Buddha's admission of women into his community and called it a beautiful feature of the legend. So
perhaps, just as Prakriti was the first of many sisters to become a Buddhist nun, so is Kundry the
first of many women who will be called to the service of the Grail, thus bringing a healthy balance to
Monsalvat.
A second meaning that can be assigned to the reunification of the two relics and symbols relates to
Wagner's aesthetic theories. The spear can be interpreted as the masculine element of poetry and
the Grail as the feminine element of music. The blood that (in the final text although not in the 1865
draft) flows from the tip of the spear and falls into the cup represents the insemination of music by
poetry in order to create the art-work. This metaphor was employed by Wagner in his treatise
Opera and Drama of 1851:
... that in which understanding is akin to feeling is the purely human, that which constitutes the essence of
the human species as such. In this purely human are nurtured both the manly and the womanly, which
become the human being for the first time when united through love. The necessary impetus of the
poetic understanding in writing poetry is therefore love, -- and specifically the love of man for woman; yet
not the frivolous, carnal love in which man only seeks to satisfy his appetite, but the deep yearning to
know himself redeemed from his egoism through his sharing in the rapture of the loving woman; and this
yearning is the creative moment of understanding. The necessary donation, the poetic seed that only in
the most ardent transports of love can be produced by his noblest forces -- this procreative seed is the
poetic intent (die dichterische Absicht) which brings to the glorious, loving woman, music, the matter
that she must bear.
This metaphor can be found in several of Wagner's works. In the conclusion of Parsifal it can be
considered as one of the meanings that are carried by the reunion of the two relics.
Wagner's last music-drama is not only about sex, however, nor even about the union of poetry and
music in the art-work. It is also, or so many commentators have claimed, about religion. On the
religious or spiritual plane the central theme of the drama is Parsifal's progress towards total
enlightenment. The reunion of the two holy relics after one of them is returned to the desecrated
sanctuary by Parsifal can be seen as a metaphor for this final enlightenment, in the following way.
As discussed in a separate article, Wagner was interested in Buddhism. One of the three major
branches of Buddhism and the last of the three to emerge is the form with highly developed rituals,
which is known both as Tantrayana and Vajrayana. The second of these names indicates the
importance of a ritual object called (in Sanskrit) a vajra. In Tibet, where this became the dominant
form of Buddhism, it is called rdo rje. It is a sceptre with five closed prongs at each end. In Buddhist
legend, the origin of the sceptre was the thunderbolt wielded by the Vedic god Indra (which
parallels the weapon of the thunder- god in other pantheons, such as Thor, Wagner's Donner). The
legend tells of how the Buddha took a thunderbolt from Indra (presumably a metal statue) and bent
the prongs until they were closed. The sceptre is symmetric and the two ends respectively symbolise

the virtues of wisdom and compassion (which are prominent in Vajrayana as they were in
Mahayana Buddhism, from which Vajrayana developed). Thus the sceptre symbolises the
indissoluble union of wisdom and compassion. In its entirety it symbolises the active, masculine
aspect of enlightenment often equated with skillful means, great compassion, or bliss.
The complement to the ritual sceptre is the bell (ghanta in Sanskrit, dril bu in Tibetan), which is
regarded as a feminine symbol and which represents the perfection of wisdom. In Buddhist temple
rituals the masculine sceptre and the feminine bell are used together. When united these ritual
objects symbolise enlightenment; which might be another meaning of the ritual objects that are
brought together in the temple at Monsalvat.
The spear as a magic symbol

The wounding and healing of Telephus
Footnote 1: Although, as Wagner later admitted, it was not on Good Friday that his inspiration arrived; but
a spring morning soon after Richard and Minna moved into der Asyl, the cottage beside the Wesendonck
Villa, on 28 April 1857.

Parsifal and Greek Myth: the wounding and healing of Telephus, the sin and redemption of Prometheus
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Greek myth
Wagner and Ancient Greece

agner was fascinated by classical Greece. In particular, he was interested in two aspects of the
ancient Greek culture: firstly in the social and religious role of the Greek theatre, and secondly in
the myths that had provided the content of Greek poetry and drama. Myths were, as Wagner
expressed it in Oper und Drama, true for all time. It was the task of the poet to create art from the
inexhaustible content of myth.
n 1849 Wagner sketched his own drama on the subject of Achilles (WWV 81). It was probably
while reading about this hero of the Trojan War, that Wagner encountered the story of Achilles
and Telephus.
Achilles and Telephus

elephus, son of Heracles and Auge, was a king in Asia Minor. After nearly making the same
mistake as Oedipus, of marrying his own mother, Telephus married a daughter of King Priam. As
an ally of the Trojans, his kingdom was attacked by the Greeks (or Achaeans) and in the fighting,
Telephus was wounded in the thigh by the spear of Achilles. After the Greeks had withdrawn, Telephus'
wound would not heal.
he Greeks had no leader who could show them the way to Troy. But Telephus, because his wound
was unhealed, and [the oracle of] Apollo had told him that he would be cured when the one who
wounded him should turn physician, came from Mysia to Argos, clad in rags, and begged the help
of Achilles, promising to show the course to steer for Troy. So Achilles healed him by scraping off the rust
of his Pelian spear. Accordingly, on being healed, Telephus showed the course to steer, and the accuracy
of his information was confirmed by Calchas by means of his own art of divination. [Apollodorus, tr. Sir
James George Frazer]
razer notes that the spear was the famous one which Chiron the Centaur had bestowed on Peleus,
the father of Achilles. The shaft was cut from an ash-tree on Mount Pelion, and none of the Greeks
at Troy, except Achilles, could wield it. The healing of Telephus's wound by Achilles was the
subject of a play by Sophocles, called The Assembly of the Achaeans, and one by Euripides called
Telephus. Aristophanes ridiculed the rags and tatters in which Telephus appeared on the stage in
Euripides's play. The cure of a wound by an application to it of rust from the weapon which inflicted the
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/grkmyths.htm (1 of 4) [26/05/2002 22:20:08]

hurt is not to be explained, as Pliny supposed, by any medicinal property inherent in rust as such, else the
rust from any weapon would serve the purpose. It is clearly a folklore remedy based on the principle of
sympathetic magic.
t is almost certainly the myth of Achilles and Telephus to which Goethe refers in his poem
Torquato Tasso:
The poet tells us of a spear which yet

Might cure the wound that it itself had dealt
If friendly hand were but to place it there.
The Spear that Heals

his myth provided an important element in Wagner's Parsifal. When reading the medieval Grail
romances, in which a number of different spears appeared, it would seem that Wagner recalled the
wound of Telephus. He might even have seen the reference to a spear that relieved the pain of
Anfortas, although it did not heal him, in Wolfram's Parzival, as a remnant of the almost forgotten myth.
By the time he wrote his Prose Draft in August 1865, Wagner had decided to make the spear that caused
the wound into the instrument with which the enlightened fool would heal the wound. He was still
uncertain, however, about how to deal with the magic weapon. Had it been given to Titurel at the same
time as the Grail, or had Klingsor found it for himself?
2 Sept. What to do about the blood-stained lance? -- The poem says the lance is supposed to have been
produced at the same time as the Grail, and clinging to the tip was a drop of blood. -- Anyway, this is the
one which has caused Anfortas' wound: but how does this hang together? Great confusion here. As a relic,
the lance goes with the Grail; in this is preserved the blood that the lance made to flow from the Saviour's
thigh. The two are complementary. -- So, either this:
The lance has been entrusted to the knights at the same time as the Grail. When trouble presses hard it is
even borne into battle by the Keeper of the Grail. Anfortas, in order to break Klingsor's magic, which is so
fatal to the knights, has taken it from the altar and set off with it against the arch-foe. Succumbing to
seduction, he let shield and spear fall, the sacred weapon was stolen from him and used to wound him as
he turned to flee. (Perhaps Klingsor is anxious to have Anfortas in his power alive, he commands the lance
to be used against him, knowing that it wounds but does not kill. Why?) The healing and deliverance of
Anfortas is now logically only possible if the lance is rescued from impious hands and reunited with the
Grail.
Or this:

On being entrusted with the Grail, the knights were also promised the lance: only it must first be won by
hard fighting. Were it one day to be united with the Grail, then nothing again could assail the knights.
Klingsor has found this lance and is keeping it, partly because of its powerful magic -- it is capable of
wounding even the godliest of men if any fault attach to him -- and partly to withhold it from the
community of the Grail, who by winning it would become invincible. Anfortas has now gone forth to
deprive Klingsor of this lance: seduced by love, he is wounded by Klingsor's hurling the lance at him. --
The continuation now remains the same: it must come into the knights' possession. -- Klingsor hurls the
spear at Parzival; he catches it; he knows about it, knows its power, its significance. [Diary entry in the
Brown Book]
Prometheus - the Redeemer Unbound
The Theft of Fire, by

Christian Griepenkerl.
Prometheus steals fire
from Zeus.
n 28 February
1877, Richard
gave Cosima to
read the second Prose
Draft of Parsifal, which
he had just completed.
She recorded her
reactions in her diary: This is bliss, this is solace, this is sublimity and devotion! -- The Redeemer
unbound!
rometheus, like Amfortas and Telephus, had a wound that would not heal. As punishment for
Prometheus giving fire to man, Zeus had him chained up in the Caucasian mountains. Every day,
an eagle came to Prometheus and bit him in the liver, which grew again every night. In his
Prometheus trilogy, of which only Prometheus Bound has survived, Aeschylus developed him into the
creator and saviour of mankind. Although he gave them fire, Prometheus took away their knowledge of
the future. In the next part of the trilogy, Prometheus Unbound, Zeus allowed Prometheus to be freed.
Heracles shot the eagle and freed the titan from his chains.
R. says to me, "Prometheus' words, 'I took knowledge away from Man' came to my mind and gave me a
profound insight; knowledge, seeing ahead, is in fact a divine attribute, and man with this divine attribute
is a piteous object, he is like Brahma before the Maya spread before him the veil of ignorance, of
deception; the divine privilege is the saddest thing of all." [Cosima's Diaries, entry for 29 November

1871]
Prometheus and the Eagle, by Rubens.
rometheus, unbound, appeared on the title page

of the first edition of Friedrich Nietzsche's first
book. The ideas presented in that book, The
Birth of Tragedy, were either ideas that originated with
Wagner, or which Nietzsche developed during and
after conversations with Wagner. Nietzsche contrasted
the myth of Prometheus with the Biblical myth of the
Fall. Prometheus, a male character, committed
sacrilege by stealing from divine nature. His was an
active sin. Eve, a female character, allowed herself to
be deceived. Hers was a passive sin. To Nietzsche's
observations might be added, that through Eve's fault
mankind gained the knowledge of good and evil,
whereas through Prometheus' actions mankind lost the
knowledge of the future.
n Wagner's letter to King Ludwig of 7 September 1865, he suggests (but with considerable
caution) that Adam-Eve-Christ might be compared to Amfortas-Kundry- Parsifal. The analogy is
certainly not an exact one. It seems that Amfortas' sin was an active sin, like that of Prometheus,
and he too was punished with an unhealing wound. Kundry is not tempted, as was Eve, but rather she is a
temptress. The common theme is knowledge. One day there arrives a young man whose distinguishing
characteristic is his lack of knowledge. Parsifal lacks even the knowledge of good and evil; perhaps he
represents pre-fallen, paradisical human, still in a state of dreaming innocence?
This page last updated (layout) 12/05/02 14:16:39.

Swans and Geese
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Swans and Geese
Swans and Geese: Wagner's Wildfowl
The Goose of Monsalvat

t the end of the first act of Wagner's Parsifal, the knight Gurnemanz notices that the young fool is still
standing in the hall. It is obvious that he does not understand what he has seen and heard there.
Dort hinaus, deine Wege zu! Off with you, be on your way!
Doch rt dir Gurnemanz: Take some advice from Gurnemanz:
lass du hier knftig die Schwne in Ruh' In future leave our swans in peace,
und suche dir, Gnser, die Gans! go seek -- you gander -- for geese!
here is a certain irony in these words. Gurnemanz sends the young man, whom he thinks is nothing but a
fool, on his way. Gurnemanz does not realise that he has changed the direction of the young fool's life, or
that the way that the fool will find, will in the end lead him both to wisdom and back to Gurnemanz. In the
next act, the young gander will find a (metaphorical) flock of geese.
he mention of geese is a subtle reference to Wagner's medieval sources. It is well-known that Wagner first
encountered the story about the young fool who stumbles upon the Grail Castle in a poem by Wolfram
von Eschenbach. Wolfram's primary source was an unfinished poem by Chrtien de Troyes, Perceval or
The Story of the Grail.
have described, in another article, Perceval's visit to the Grail Castle. The young lad awakes in the castle,
now deserted. He bangs on doors and shouts, but nobody appears. Then he goes out into the courtyard,
and finds his horse saddled, his lance and shield leaning against the wall. As he rides out through the gate
and on to the drawbridge, it begins to rise. Horse and rider jump to the bank, and he looks back to see who raised
the bridge. Seeing nobody, he calls out, but there is no reply.
olfram expands on the story. A page who had remained hidden pulled the cable so sharply that the end all but
toppled [Parzival's] horse into the moat. Parzival looked back in hope of learning more. 'Damn you, wherever
the sun lights on your path!' shouted the page. 'You silly goose!'
agner's scene also has a voice whose owner is unseen, but it is heard by Gurnemanz and not by the young
fool. After Gurnemanz has pushed Parsifal out of the door and slammed it shut behind him, he walks
across the stage and, as he does so, a voice is heard from up above. Durch Mitleid wissend, der reine Tor
(Made wise through compassion, the pure fool); the words of the prophecy, once delivered to Amfortas. To which
a heavenly choir adds, Selig im Glauben! (Blessed in faith).
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/wildfowl.htm (1 of 6) [26/05/2002 22:20:41]

Swans and Geese
here is another episode in Wolfram's Parzival that involves a goose, a real one this time. But before we
consider whether that episode has any relevance to Wagner's Parsifal, we need to consider a different
bird.
The Beloved Swan

n episode in Parsifal that has puzzled commentators, is the shooting of the swan in the first act. There is no
direct parallel in Wolfram, although it has been suggested by Lucy Beckett that two passages in Parzival
could have inspired this scene. Firstly, in Wolfram's account of Parzival's boyhood:
ut when he had shot a bird that had been singing full throat but a moment before, he would burst into tears and,
clutching at his hair, wreak vengeance on his own head.
uch later, in Parzival's wanderings, he comes across a goose that has been wounded by King Arthur's
falcon. Three drops of blood fall on the snow; the red on white reminds Parzival of his distant wife,
Condwiramurs. In contemplation of the blood on the snow, he falls into a trance.
Amfortas Bathing, oil painting by Franz Stassen.
ere is the episode of the swan in Wagner's Prose Draft:
hile the King is bathing in the sacred lake, a wild swan circles over his
head: suddenly it falls, wounded by an arrow; shouts from the lake: general
indignation, who dares kill an animal on this sacred spot? The swan flutters
nearer and drops bleeding to the ground. Parzival emerges from the forest, bow in
hand: Gurnemans stops him. The young man confesses to the deed. To the violent
reproaches of the old man he has no reply. Gurnemans, reproaching him with the
wickedness of his act, reminds him of the sanctity of the forest stirring so silently
around him, asks whether he has not found all the creatures tame, gentle and
harmless. What had the swan, seeking its mate, done to him? Was he not sorry for the poor bird that now lay, with
bloodstained feathers, dying at his feet? etc.,- Parzival, who has been standing riveted to the spot, bursts into tears and
stammers, 'I don't know!'
he connection with the first of the two passages in Wolfram seems to be much closer than the second,
which does not seem relevant. Even so, there is quite a difference between Wolfram's brief episode and the
more complex scene at the lakeside. Carl Suneson has suggested that two passages in Indian literature
could have contributed to Wagner's episode. The first of these, from mulasarvastivada, is related to Mathilde
Wesendonck's poem about the wounded swan:

Swans and Geese
evadatta, cousin to the future Buddha, with an arrow shoots a goose (Sanskrit: hamsa), which falls down in
the vicinity of the future Buddha. The latter sharply reproaches Devadatta, heals the goose and refuses to accept
Devadatta's demand that it should be given up to him, on the argument that he has a better claim to the goose
than Devadatta could have, on account of the merit he had acquired in countless incarnations.
[Carl Suneson, Richard Wagner och den indiska tankevrlden, 1985]
uneson also points out that, in the 19th century, it was common for the word hamsa to be mistranslated as
swan (Schwan) rather than goose (Gans). One possible source for Wagner was an article in German,
written in 1851 by Anton Schiefner, in which he had translated from a Tibetan text of 1734 (the Sanskrit
text not being available in the west until half a century later). Schiefner's articles on Buddhism were among those
recommended in the 1854 edition of Arthur Schopenhauer's ber den Willen in der Natur.
Parsifal Act 1 in the 1989 Bayreuth production by Wolfgang

Wagner. Parsifal: William Pell, Gurnemanz: Hans Sotin.
Bayreuther Festspiele.
second possible, perhaps stronger, candidate for

an Indian inspiration is an incident in the epic
Ramayana, which Wagner was reading with great
enthusiasm a few days before writing the 1865 Prose
Draft. Combined with the first passage in Wolfram, this is
a credible basis for what Wagner wrote in that draft. The
poet Valmiki is witness to the shooting of a krauca bird
by a hunter:
It was in this (the forest's) vicinity that the venerable one saw a
lively singing krauca-pair who flew without fear.
In his sight a hunter, filled with wickedness and an abode of enmity,

killed one of the pair, the male.

Swans and Geese
When the hen saw him whirl around, dead on the field,
with bloodstained body, she cried out bitterly...
Valmiki cried out in compassion:
"O, hunter! May you never find peace in all eternity,

after you slew one of that krauca-pair who were drunk with love."
[Ramayana, from the Swedish text translated from Sanskrit by Carl Suneson in Richard Wagner
och den indiska tankevrlden, 1985]
Mother and Son

agner's abhorrence for any act of cruelty to an animal, and his sympathy for their dumb suffering, was
something that he discovered was shared by Arthur Schopenhauer (as it was by his beloved Mathilde
Wesendonck). In Arthur Schopenhauer's ethics, Wagner found a rational basis for his instinctive belief in
the rights of animals. Both men rejected the Christian attitude to animals, taken from the Old Testament, that
they had been given to man to use as he wished, as part of nature entrusted to man's stewardship by the Creator
God. Also the modern, philosophical view introduced by Descartes, in which animals were only machines.
he moral incentive advanced by me as the genuine, is further confirmed by the fact that the animals are also
taken under its protection. In other European systems of morality they are badly provided for, which is most
inexcusable. They are said to have no rights, and there is the erroneous idea that our behaviour to them is
without moral significance, or, as it is said in the language of that morality, there are no duties to animals. All this is
revoltingly crude, a barbarism of the West, the source of which is to be found in Judaism. In philosophy it rests, despite
all evidence to the contrary, on the assumed total difference between man and animal. We all know that such difference
was expressed most effectively and strikingly by Descartes, as a necessary consequence of his errors... And so we must
remind the Western, Judaized despiser of animals and idolater of the faculty of reason that, just as he was suckled by his
mother, so was the dog by his. Even Kant fell into this mistake of his contemporaries and countrymen; this I have already
censured. The morality of Christianity has no consideration for animals, a defect that is better admitted than
perpetuated. This is the more surprising since, in other respects, that morality shows the closest agreement with that of
Brahmanism and Buddhism, being merely less strongly expressed, and not carried through to its very end. Therefore we
can scarcely doubt that, like the idea of a god become man (avatar), the Christian morality originates from India and
may have come to Judaea by way of Egypt, so that Christianity would be a reflected splendour of the primordial light of
India from the ruins of Egypt; but unfortunately it fell on Jewish soil. [Arthur Schopenhauer, ber die Grundlage der

Swans and Geese
Moral, section 19, 1839.]
ere, in Arthur Schopenhauer's assertion that animals had rights, and indeed rights equal to those of
human beings, Wagner found a morality consistent with his own instincts. He accepted Schopenhauer's
argument that the origins of Christianity were in the religions of India, which had reached Judaea in the
centuries before Christ; and that there the teaching that animals had rights had been rejected, in favour of the
Old Testament teaching in which animals were objects with no more rights than those of rocks. In the western
world, as Wagner expressed it, the Pentateuch had won the day (An Open Letter to Herr Ernst von Weber, PW VI,
p 202). Wagner's concern for animals, together with the advice of his doctors, eventually led him to become a
sympathiser with, if not actually a practitioner of, vegetarianism.
nce Wagner had been seized by enthusiasm for the writings of Arthur Schopenhauer, an enthusiasm that
unusually for Wagner was long-lived, he not only sought out and read everything that the philosopher had
published, but also other books that he had recommended. This included books on Buddhism, where
Wagner read about the Buddhist attitude to animals, including of course birds. Here again he encountered
something that Schopenhauer had mentioned, the idea of reincarnation. The respect of the Buddhist for animals
was a natural consequence of the belief that he could be reborn as an animal and that the animal could be reborn
as a human, or even divine, being.
t is not difficult to find hints of a belief in reincarnation in Wagner's later works, and expressed in his
writings. In 1858 Wagner wrote to Mathilde Wesendonck that he had come to believe in reincarnation,
although it is not clear which of the different doctrines he had accepted. In his projected Buddhist drama
Die Sieger (The Victors), the Buddha Shakyamuni was to reveal that the Chandala girl Prakriti was atoning for
guilt in her previous lives; which is the way Gurnemanz describes Kundry in the first act of Parsifal. When
Parsifal arrives, he tells Gurnemanz that he has had many names, but forgotten them all. This could be read as an
awareness that he has lived previous lives, of which the details have been forgotten.
n a book about her friend Richard Wagner, written in 1882, Judith Gautier wrote about the scene in
which Siegfried rests under a Linden tree and listens to the Forest Bird: l'oiseau lui parle, en effet; ne serait-
ce pas l l'me de sa mre? (indeed, the bird speaks to him; would this not be the soul of his mother?)
Which is reminiscent of a letter that Wagner wrote to his own mother in September 1846, in which he writes that
he thinks of her during country walks, listening to a dear forest bird. In the poem of Der junge Siegfried, in fact,
there are lines that Wagner did not set to music in the drama that he later called Siegfried. In the scene to which
Judith refers, young Siegfried hears the bird and sings, Mich dnkt, meine mutter singt zu mir! (I think my mother is
singing to me!). This suggests that, as early as 1851 and therefore before Wagner had encountered either
Schopenhauer or Buddhism, he was thinking in terms of a transmigration of souls, by which Sieglinde became a
bird that watched over and helped her son, Siegfried.
n Parsifal the bird is a swan, which also provides a musical connection (see number 33 in the leitmotif
catalogue) between Parsifal and his son Lohengrin. In 1860, in another letter to Mathilde Wesendonck,
Wagner had written about the relationships between characters in Lohengrin, Parsifal and Die Sieger:
Only the deeply wise idea of the transmigration of souls could show me the consoling point at which all creatures will
finally reach the same level of redemption. Lohengrin might be a reincarnation of his father Parsifal (an odd
suggestion, since the text of the Grail Narration in Lohengrin suggests that Parsifal is then still alive), while the all-
too-human Elsa could reach the karmic level of Lohengrin through a series of rebirths. Given this preoccupation
with the idea of reincarnation, it is tempting to speculate that Herzeleide, Parsifal's mother, might have been
reincarnated as the swan.

Swans and Geese
n Wieland Wagner's interpretation of Parsifal, the spiritual hero progressed from the realm of mother
and matter, symbolised by the swan, to the realm of father and spirit, symbolised by the dove. In this
interpretation the incident with the swan can be seen as the starting point of Parsifal's journey and the
descending dove as the end of that journey. In Wieland's famous Bayreuth production (1951- 1973), however, the
dove was omitted. Perhaps because this symbol suggests a parallel between Parsifal and Christ, one that Richard
Wagner repeatedly denied had been his intention.

Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Buddhism
1. Wagner and Buddhism

2. Parsifal and Indian Literature
3. Wagnerian Buddhism in Parsifal
Wagner and Buddhism

ith any other composers of opera, one would naturally regard exotic settings or other exotic elements as
colouring. Not so with Wagner. For Richard Wagner, opera (or more properly, music-drama) was a medium
for the communication of aesthetic and philosophical ideas. Even before his encounter with the philosophy of
Schopenhauer, according to the Indologist Carl Suneson, Wagner had shown an interest in oriental thought and
literature. This interest was stimulated by the writings of Arthur Schopenhauer and continued until the end of
Wagner's life. On the evening before he died, Wagner expressed a wish to emigrate to the Buddhist island of Ceylon.
agner was introduced to Buddhism first in Schopenhauer's books, and then, in late 1855 or early 1856, by
Eugne Burnouf's Introduction l'historie du buddhisme indien. This book was in large part based on
Mahayana Buddhist texts that had been sent to Paris from Nepal in 1837. Later he read, with some irritation,
Carl Friedrich Kppen's Die Religion des Buddha und ihre Entstehung. An unedifying book, was Wagner's verdict. But to
Bernouf's book, Wagner was to return repeatedly during the rest of his life. Wagner's interest in Indian literature
might also have been encouraged by conversations with his brother-in - law, Hermann Brockhaus, who edited and
partially translated the compilation of Hindu stories, Kathasaritsagara.
Richard Guhr, 'Trias der Wende' (Trinity of Transition). Richard-

Wagner- Gendenksttte.
Schopenhauer and Nirvana

chopenhauer believed that he had found parallels
between his pessimistic philosophy and Buddhism.
With the availability of older Buddhist texts, and better
translations, in the West, together with 150 years of
scholarship, we can now see that Schopenhauer misunderstood
many aspects of Buddhism. In particular, his identification of
the Buddhist state of existence nirvana with non-being (das
relatives Nichts) was quite wrong and misled Schopenhauer's followers, including Richard Wagner. nirvana is
intrinsically undefinable and inexpressible, but is still a dharma and as such a "something"; so it cannot be regarded as
non-being or nothingness. Of course Schopenhauer and his contemporaries cannot really be blamed for this mistake,
because the Pali texts that fully expounded the philosophy of dharma (factors or variables of existence that apply, or
which have particular values, at each instant) were not translated into western languages before the end of the century.
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/india.htm (1 of 10) [26/05/2002 22:21:22]

Schopenhauer's philosophy regarded the will (to live) as fundamental, and advocated the denial of the will-to-live as the
path of deliverance. Wagner accepted these ideas and sought to express them in his dramas Tristan und Isolde, Die
Sieger and Parsifal.
he true geniuses and the true saints of all ages ... tell us that they have seen only suffering and felt only fellow-suffering
(Mitleid). In other words, they have recognized the normal condition of all living things and seen the cruel, eternally
contradictory nature of the will to live, which is common to all living things and which, in eternal self-mutilation, is
blindly self- regarding; the apalling cruelty of this will, which even in sexual love wills only its own reproduction, first
appeared here reflected in that particular cognitive organ which, in its normal state, recognized itself as having been created
by the will and therefore as being subservient to it; and so, in its abnormal, sympathetic state, it developed to the point of
seeking lasting and, finally, permanent freedom from its shameful servitude, a freedom which it ultimately achieved only by
means of a complete denial of the will to live.
his act of denying the will is the true action of the saint: that it is ultimately accomplished only in a total end to
individual consciousness -- for there is no other consciousness except that which is personal and individual -- was lost
sight of by the nave saints of Christianity, confused, as they were, by Jewish dogma, and they were able to deceive
their confused imagination by seeing that longed-for state as a perpetual continuation of a new state of life freed from nature,
without our judgement as to the moral significance of their renunciation being impaired in the process, since in truth they were
striving only to achieve the destruction of their own individuality, i.e. their existence. This most profound of all instincts finds
purer and more meaningful expression in the oldest and most sacred religion known to man, in Brahmin teaching, and
especially in its final transfiguration in Buddhism, where it achieves its most perfect form. Admittedly, [Brahminism] puts forth
a myth in which the world is created by God; but it does not praise this act as a boon, but presents it as a sin committed by
Brahma for which the latter atones by transforming himself into the world and by taking upon himself the immense sufferings
of the world; he is redeemed in those saints who, by totally denying the will to live, pass over into nirvana, i.e. the land of non-
being, as a result of their consuming sympathy for all that suffers. The Buddha was just such a saint; according to his doctrine
of metempsychosis, every living creature will be reborn in the shape of that being to which he caused pain, however pure his
life might otherwise have been, so that he himself may learn to know pain; his suffering soul continues to migrate in this way,
and he himself continues to be reborn until such time as he causes no more pain to any living creature in the course of some
new incarnation but, out of fellow-suffering (Mitleid), completely denies himself and his own will to live.
[Letter to Franz Liszt, 7 June 1855, Liszt-Briefe II 73-80, tr. Spencer and Millington]
he extract above is from a letter Wagner wrote in 1855 from London, where he had been sick and had spent his
convalescence reading Adolf Holtzmann's Indiske Sagen1, and before he read Burnouf. There is undoubtedly
some confusion (initially on the part of Schopenhauer; Wagner is paraphrasing the account of the doctrine of
transmigation given in chapter 63 of The World as Will and Representation) here between the Buddhist teaching that
Schopenhauer referred to as palingenesis and the Hindu (Brahmin) belief in metempsychosis. Schopenhauer only
understood the Buddhist doctrine of palingenesis after reading the Manual of Buddhism, as he explained in the third
(1858) edition of his World as Will and Representation. The essential difference is that Buddhism does not recognise the
existence of an individual soul that could be reincarnated2. This confusion did not prevent Wagner (before reading that
third edition), in a letter to Mathilde Wesendonk, declaring a belief in reincarnation (Seelenwanderung).
n general, it appears that Schopenhauer at first misunderstood the Buddhist teachings and their relationship to
those of Hinduism (Brahminism), in particular the best-known Hindu school, vedanta. As a result of dharma
theory not being available, false connections were made between Buddhism and Hinduism (Brahminism), such
as the identification of the Buddhist nirvana with the vedantic Brahman, and the Schopenhauerian concept of the will-
to-live was used to interpret both concepts. Later scholarship has shown this to be inaccurate: in theistic Brahminism,
deliverance (moksa) consists of absorption into the supreme being Brahman; in atheistic Buddhism, deliverance consists
of translation to the state of being called nirvana.

he misinterpretation of the Buddhist state of nirvana as "das Nichts" led to an association with the romantic
concept of death-wish. The suicide of two lovers, which touches me, brings from R. the remark: "It is in fact the
highest affirmation of the will -- they would rather not live than not find satisfaction. Why do they not defy all the
obstacles? This shows that the tendency toward suicides is something pre-ordained; here one could call it a deep insight, in the
sense approximately of: What help would it be to us to overcome all obstacles? For such cases there should be convents, such
as the Buddhists have, in which complete resignation as well as complete togetherness would be possible. But our civilization
offers nothing." [Cosima's Diaries, 11 May 1873]. It is not surprising that Buddhism came to be regarded in the West as
a pessimistic religion (which is quite the opposite of Buddhism in reality), so that Nietzsche could write, Er schmeichelt
jedem nihilistischen (-buddhistischen) Instinkte ... [Der Fall Wagner], as though nihilism and Buddhism were almost
synonymous.
Mathilde
agner became increasingly preoccupied with Buddhist philosophy and literature during the 1850s, one of the
most difficult periods in his life. It might be that he sought an authentic, true religion. In the relatively late texts
of Buddhist literature that were available to him, Wagner thought that he could discern an ancient and
authentic teaching. It seems that during this period he had turned away from Christianity, which for Wagner had been
corrupted by Jewish influences. He even speculated that the roots of Christianity might have been in eastern teachings
that had reached the Near East during the third century before Christ.
uring these years Wagner's marriage to Minna Planer had become intolerable to him. Then he met a woman
who shared his interests and was eager to discuss his ideas. This was Mathilde, the wife of his patron Otto
Wesendonk. Mathilde had interests of her own: she was a passionate opponent of vivisection (today, we would
call her an "animal-rights activist") and a poet. Recently W. Osthoff has drawn attention to her poem about Buddha
and the wounded swan, which he regards as significant in relation to the swan incident in Parsifal (Richard Wagners
Buddha Project 'Die Sieger': Seine ideellen und strukturellen Spuren in 'Ring' und 'Parsifal').
The Ring, Tristan and Die Sieger

nly with the greatest caution should one attempt to stipulate Indian models for Wagner's works, of course with the
exception of Die Sieger, which is entirely derived from an Indian source of inspiration.
his drama was to be based on an avadana (a tale of heroic and miraculous acts performed by the Buddha in any
of his incarnations) from the collection Divya vadana, called Sardulakarna vadana. From some of Richard
Wagner's letters to Mathilde Wesendonk, the reader might form the impression that Wagner was well on the
way to completing the poem of Die Sieger (The Victors). By 16 May 1856 he had written a short prose sketch, but then
the project seems to have stalled. Wagner's attention turned back to Siegfried, to Gtterdmmerung and forward to a
new project, Tristan und Isolde.
s an independent composition, [The Victors] progressed no further than that sketch. Asked about the work two decades
later, Wagner responded that its essence had been pressed into his Parsifal. It it not altogether clear, however, what
essence he had in mind. Suggestions have also been made that certain passages in Die Gtterdmmerung [sic],
Tristan and Parsifal were originally noted for the Buddhist opera.
[Guy R. Welbon, The Buddhist Nirvana and its Western Interpreters, 1968, p.178]

ere, it should be noted, Guy Welbon is one of many commentators on Wagner's later dramas who notes that the
essence of Die Sieger was adapted for Parsifal but is unable to define exactly what it is that Wagner carried over
from the drama that was not completed to the one that he did complete. Welbon goes on to make an important
observation:
ore important than an attempt to find Buddhist scenes in parts of the other operas will be the effort to identify a
pervasive influence traceable to his conception of Buddhism. And one must be prepared to look for this musically as
well as dramatically.
nder the influence of Indian thought, Wagner yet again changed the ending of Gtterdmmerung, that is, the
valedictory oration given by Brnnhilde before she ascends the funeral pyre. In the existing text, she declared
that now she knew everything, which could be taken to mean that the Rhinedaughters had explained to her
about the ring and the potion that Hagen had given to Siegfried. But now, in the 1856 version, her knowledge was to be
expanded: now she declared that she became die Wissende, which, Carl Suneson suggested, we are to interpret in the
Buddhist sense of a Bodhisattva.
Den neuen Heilsweg

y the end of autumn in 1854, Wagner had swallowed Schopenhauer's material whole, not excluding the latter's bitter
tirades against those who had ignored him. It is clear, however, that Wagner had by no means digested all that
Schopenhauer said. He appropriated a major idea -- denial of the will -- and affixed it to his own lebensphilosophie...
agner's admiration for Schopenhauer did not prevent him from attempting to correct the philosopher: During
recent weeks I have been slowly rereading friend Schopenhauer's principal work, and this time it has inspired me,
quite extraordinarily, to expand and -- in certain details -- even to correct his system. The subject is uncommonly
important, and it must, I think, have been reserved for a man of my own particular nature, at this particular period of his life,
to gain insights here of a kind that could never have disclosed themselves to anyone else. It is a question, you see, of pointing
out the path to salvation, which has not been recognized by any philosopher, and especially not by Sch., but which involves a
total pacification of the will through love, and not through any abstract human love, but a love engendered on the basis of
sexual love, i.e. the attraction between man and woman...
[R. Wagner to M. Wesendonk, 1 December 1858, tr. Spencer and Millington]
ow it is clear -- if, indeed, it has not been so all along -- that the Buddha of [Die Sieger] is Schopenhauer and Ananda,
Wagner. Prakriti could be taken as Mathilde, of course; but I suspect that the so-called affair with Mathilde was as
much a creative projection of Wagner's imagination as Prakriti or Isolde. Perhaps, in fact, Mathilde is the least real of
all.

agner never completed his Buddhist drama Die Sieger. The most likely reason for him not developing his
scenario into a drama was the failure of his related attempt to correct the philosophy of Schopenhauer so that it
would accomodate the possibility of a total pacification of the will through love. In other words: Wagner was
forced to abandon the idea of redemption through love, one that is found through many of his earlier operas. In the
interpretation of App the corresponding idea that appears in the post-Schopenhauer dramas of Tristan and Parsifal is
that of redemption from love, where love is identified with mankind's fundamental desire (Grundverlangen).
Parsifal and Indian Literature

"Parsifal" is in my opinion, of Wagner's completed music-dramas, that in which the Indian influence is most demonstrable.
Left: Act 2 of Parsifal in Friedrich's production for Bayreuth 1983. Bayreuther Festspiele.
Parsifal Beneath the Bodhi Tree

nyone who encounters Wagner's Parsifal, previously knowing Wolfram's
MHG epic poem Parzival, will most likely be puzzled by the second act of
the music-drama. (The drama and the poem have been compared by Jessie
Weston). The magician who lives in a tower of the castle has a similar name to the
castrated sorcerer Clinschor who, in Wolfram's poem, controls the Castle of
Maidens. In this castle, however, the maidens are not imprisoned princesses, but
nymphomaniac vegetation. Wagner's magician, Klingsor, has apparently castrated
himself; whereas Wolfram's Clinschor suffered this indignity at the hands of an outraged husband. He has in his power
the seductive Kundry, whose double nature is not shared by Wolfram's Condrie (although there are two Condries in
the epic poem: one of them is a sorceress and the other one Gawain's sister, a captive of Clinschor). Kundry encounters
Parsifal, who resists her, and in this episode, Kundry has been related to Wolfram's Orgeluse; but Wolfram makes no
connection between Kundry and Orgeluse.
o there are points of contact, but also significant differences, as Wagner himself acknowledged, between the
drama Parsifal and the epic Parzival. In particular, the action of the second act of the music-drama is not closely
related to Wolfram's epic. Approaching this act of the music-drama from an Indological perspective, a
consistently Buddhist theme can be detected at the level of deep structure. Also in surface details there are several
points of contact with the life of the Buddha, suggesting that here Wagner is portraying his hero as a Bodhisattva or
even as an incarnation of the Buddha or as another Buddha. This apparently radical interpretation is, as we shall see,
well supported both by internal evidence and Wagner's own writings. Here is Wagner's description of his intended
treatment of the Buddha in the opera that never was, Die Sieger.
he difficulty here was to make the Buddha himself - a figure totally liberated and above all passion - suitable for
dramatic and, more especially, musical treatment. But I have now solved the problem by having him reach one last
remaining stage in his development whereby he is seen to acquire a new insight, which - like every insight - is
conveyed not by abstract associations of ideas but by intuitive emotional experience, in other words, by a process of shock and
agitation suffered by his inner self; as a result, this insight reveals him in his final progress towards a state of supreme
enlightenment.

[Letter to Mathilde Wesendonk, 5 October 1858, Wesendonk-Briefe 108-10, tr. Spencer and
Millington]
his is, of course, exactly what happens to Parsifal! In his case, the shock that induces Welthellsicht is Kundry's
kiss. As with Brnnhilde (see above), it may have been Wagner's original intention that the knowledge imparted
to Parsifal was limited; in this case, to understanding what he had seen at the Grail Castle; an understanding
gained by Parsifal himself experiencing the same seduction that had been the downfall of Amfortas. Then Wagner's
scheme became greatly expanded, as it had been with both Brnnhilde and the Buddha, so that Parsifal was now to be
granted, through Kundry's kiss, the hidden knowledge or vidya.
So war es mein Kuss, So was it my kiss

der welthellsichtig dich machte? that gave you world-perception?
Mein volles Liebes Umfangen Then the full embrace of my loving
lsst dich dann Gottheit erlangen. surely will raise you to godhead!
Die Welt erlse, ist dies dein Amt; Redeem the world, if that's your mission;
schuf dich zum Gott die Stunde, let me make you a god, for just an hour,
fr sie lass mich ewig dann verdammt, rather than leave me to eternal damnation,
nie heile mir die Wunde! my wound never to be healed!
[Kundry in Act 2 of Parsifal]
his suggests that Parsifal is a Bodhisattva in the Buddhist tradition, one who attains vidya, knowledge, and
pragnyma, wisdom. The Bodhisattva stands on the edge of nirvana. Pragnyma is one of the sankhro-khando,
categories of discrimination. Another of these is karun, pity or compassion, that which desires the destruction of
the sorrow of the afflicted. One of the virtues (pramit) of the Bodhisattva is prajn pramit, the virtue preceding from
wisdom, in which that wisdom is imparted to others.
There is a kind of wisdom called chint-pragnywa, which is received by intuitive perception, and not from information
communicated by another. It is possessed in an eminent degree by the Bodhisats; but the wisdom that discovers the four great
truths is received only by the Pas-Buddhas and the supreme Buddhas in their last birth.
[Spence Hardy, Manual of Buddhism]

ut if we look more closely at the events of Act 2, we

can even see parallels with the enlightenment of the
Buddha. Klingsor attempts to prevent this
enlightenment, even to destroy Parsifal, in the same way as
Mr (Lord Death, Lord of Illusion) attempted to prevent
the enlightenment of the Buddha and to destroy him. Mr
sends his warriors against Buddha, but they cannot harm
him. Klingsor sends his knights against Parsifal, but he
defeats them. Mr sends his seductive daughters to
Buddha, but he does not allow himself to be seduced by
them. Klingsor conjures up his magic maidens and sends
them to Parsifal, but he cannot be seduced. Mr does not
have a Kundry, it is true, and the attempted seduction of
Parsifal by a woman must have been inspired by something
else (see below). Finally, Mr attacks the Buddha by
hurling a discus (not, as D.W.Dauer mistakenly states, a
spear) at him.
Were this weapon to be thrown against Maha Mru, it would

cleave the mountain in twain as if it were a bamboo; were it
cast into the ocean, its waters would be dried up; were it
hurled into the sky, it would prevent the falling of rain for
twelve years; but though it has such mighty energy, it could
not be brought to approach the prince who was seeking the
Buddhaship; through his great merit, it rose and fell in the air
like a dry leaf, and afterwards remained in splendour above
his head, like a canopy of flowers.
[Spence Hardy, Manual of Buddhism, 1853. A

book that was warmly recommended by
Schopenhauer.]
t seems highly probable that this version of the Mr-Buddha contest, drawn from Ceylonese tradition, was the
source of Wagner's suspended spear.
Klingsor appears on the rampart and prepares to throw the Spear towards Parsifal... He hurls the Spear, which remains
hanging over Parsifal's head.
[Wagner's stage directions in Act 2]
Wagnerian Buddhism in Parsifal

Die Erlsung des Weibes
olfram's epic poem Parzival refers many times to a Queen Secundille, who rules the land of Tribalibot beside the
river Ganges. Thus even in Wolfram, there is a remote connection between India and the adventures of Parzival
and Gawan. The name Tribalibot has been derived from the Greek , in turn derived from the

Sanskrit Pataliputra (the modern Patna), which was the capital of Magadha in eastern India. Hearing of the Grail, and
wishing to know more, Secundille sent to Anfortas gifts, including one of her people as a page, the dwarf Malcreatiure.
Wolfram tells us that the sister of this dwarf was Condrie. So Wolfram's Condrie is, by a remarkable coincidence, a
native of India, a point which Wagner might have noted.
here is a strange tale of Barlaam and Josaphat, which appears to have originated with Christian missionary
expeditions to India. It has been suggested that the name Josaphat is derived from Bodhisattva and Barlaam
from Bhagavan. The original was probably composed in the seventh century of the Christian era. In the form in
which the tale was eventually written down, it concerns a convert to Christianity, called Josaphat. In an attempt to
persuade him to renounce this faith, a nameless woman is sent to seduce him. Of course she is by no means the only
seductive woman in literature. The relevance of this particular "Indian" tale is that a German edition of the story, in a
version by Rudolf von Ems and from 1325-1330, was published in Leipzig in 1843; and a copy was present in the
library that Wagner abandoned when he left Dresden in great haste. Wagner's recollection of the attempted seduction
of Josaphat could have been one inspiration for the attempted seduction of another Bodhisattva, Parsifal.
n Cosima Wagner's diary entry for 8 January 1881, she notes that Wagner speaks again of his intention to
compose Die Sieger. Also that both this work and Parsifal address the same theme, the redemption (Erlsung) of
women. Although, as we noted earlier, the resolution is quite different in the respective cases of Kundry and
Prakriti. The theme is similar, however: Kundry is a despised servant, treated like an animal by the male society of the
Grail knights, and Prakriti is a despised low-caste (Chandala) maiden in a society dominated by male Brahmins, whose
admission to the Buddhist community is not even considered, initially, because of her sex. Each of these women carries
the burden of a sin she had committed in an earlier life.
Right: Kundry asleep, from H.J.

Syberberg's film. Artificial Eye.
Kundry Must Sleep

Then someone chances upon her in a
cave, or in dense undergrowth, in a
deathlike sleep, lifeless, numb,
bloodless, with all limbs rigid.
[Wagner's Prose Draft of 1865]
his description of Kundry's sleep suggests the state of susupti described in Indian (Brahmin) texts. It is
described as a state in which the soul, or atman, is temporarily released from the bands of matter. It might be
that Wagner intended each awakening to be regarded as a kind of rebirth, a return to the wheel of life, samsara.
Samsara
The bound of nirvana is the bound of samsara.
Between the two, there is not the slightest separation.
[Madhyamika Sastra, Tibetan text. What appears to be a difference between nirvana and samsara is
only a difference of perception. This idea is peculiar to the northern forms of Buddhism: Mahayana

and Vajrayana.]
agner's interpretation of Buddhism was as idiosyncratic as his personal form of Christianity. The former was
partly based on his repeated reading of Schopenhauer, and therefore on the numerous misunderstandings of
Buddhist concepts in the writings of the philosopher (which are understandable given the limited source
material available in the west), conflated with Wagner's earlier beliefs in, for example, redemption through love. Like
many of his contemporaries, it appears that Wagner perceived Buddhism as rather more negative than it really is; and
wrongly understood the goal of nirvana as a desire for extinction. It could be said that Tristan und Isolde was the result
of this mistake. Wagner's Tristan can be understood as a drama of unsatisfied desire, the desire for extinction. Like all
forms of desire, Wagner knew from reading Schopenhauer and Burnouf, this desire is the cause of suffering.
et unlike his contemporaries, Wagner realized that there was an authentic core to Buddhism that could not be
seen, at least not clearly, in the limited material available. In his last stage-work Parsifal he portrayed the
enlightenment of a Buddha, not in the semi-historical representation he had intended for Die Sieger, but in an
allegorical or symbolic fashion. On first encountering Parsifal, it might be possible to regard it (indeed many
commentators have regarded it) as a treatment of Wolfram's epic poem Parzival. On better acquaintance, however, it
becomes clear that the themes of Wolfram's bildungsroman are only incidental to Wagner's work. On the surface there
are both Christian and Buddhist symbols, even elements that could be considered Manichaen (Cathar, Gnostic or
Persian in origin) or Hindu. At a deeper level, however, it deals with fellow- suffering as (for Parsifal at least) the path
to wisdom, even to supreme enlightenment, and with Kundry's release from the endless cycle of rebirth. Wagner's
drama is an account of a spiritual journey, in which the seeker finds and follows the path of deliverance.
Postscript
Parsifal and Buddhism
ince I wrote the article above, in November 1999, my understanding of the Buddhist ideas and symbolism in
Parsifal has been significantly improved and expanded as a result of intensive studies in the related literature,
combined with visits to Bayreuth and Zrich in the summer of 2000. The outcome of these investigations is an
article written in the autumn of last year which has now appeared in the journal Wagner, volume 22, number 2, July
2001. The inquiring reader is directed to that journal for further details.
Footnote 1: Holtzmann's Indiske Sagen is a reworking of the epic cycle Mahabharata. In Holzmann's version, these stories,
originally part of an Indian mythical- allegorical cycle, become tragiheroic sagas in a Germanic style. After the Mahabharata,
the longest epic in this tradition is Ramayana, attributed to one poet, Valmiki. The original is in seven parts, of which part 2
was paraphrased by Holtzmann as Rama, ein indisches Gedicht nach Walmiki (1843). The entire poem was translated into
French by Ippolyte Fauch as Ramayana, pome sanscrit de Valmiki, first published in 1854-58. In 1865 Wagner read the
Ramayana with great enthusiasm:
h, Rama is divine! How grand, how vast everything becomes for me at having to deal with such people! -- A glorious
drama stands there before me, different from all others! But who is to make it? Rama with Sita and Lakshmana
marching into the jungle -- who would not like to be Rama, who not Sita or Lakshmana. -- It is almost the finest thing I
know! -- Divine Land of the Ganges! --
[Das Braune Book, entry for 16 August 1865. Just ten days before Wagner began writing the first Prose Draft of Parsifal]
Footnote 2: The Buddha Shakyamuni rejected not only the concept of a soul or atman, but also that of the self or individual. In

the Buddha's teaching, as it is explained in chapter 9 (The Ontology of Buddhism) of Hardy's book, what is perceived as a 'self'
is a temporary combination of five aggregates or skandha. The first of these aggregates corresponds, roughly, to the body, and
the remaining four aggregates are concerned with mental processes and might be, again roughly, equated with the western
concept of 'mind'. Each of these aggregates changes over the lifetime of the individual; in fact, smaller or greater changes occur
from one moment to the next. Despite the apparent continuity of each individual, they are subject to constant change, so that
man may be compared to a river, which retains an identity, though the drops of water that make it up are different from one
moment to the next. At death, all of the constituent parts of what we usually regard as an individual, including the mental
aggregates, are dissolved. So what is it that, according to Buddhist teaching, can be reborn? It seems that what is carried over
from one life to the next is not a soul, but rather an entry in the book of life: karma. The balance of a karmic account is
reassigned to an individual at the moment of their conception, becoming the germ of one of the five aggregates, consciousness
(vijana).

Kundry: the High Messenger of the Grail
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Kundry
1. Loathly Damsel and High Messenger of

the Grail
2. Grail Bearer and Mystical Marriage
3. From Chrtien de Troyes to Richard
Wagner
Herauf! Herauf! Zu mir!

Dein Meister ruft dich, Namenlose,
Urteufelin! Hllenrose!
Herodias warst du, und was noch?
Gundryggia dort, Kundry hier!
Hieher! Hieher denn, Kundry!
Dein Meister ruft; herauf!
Arise! Arise! To me!

Your master calls you, nameless one,
First she-devil! Rose of Hades!
Herodias were you, and what else?
Gundryggia then, Kundry here!
Come here! Come here now, Kundry!
Your master calls: arise!
[Parsifal, Act 2]
n Wagner's last music-drama Parsifal, we encounter a mysterious creature called Kundry. In the domain
of the Grail, this Kundry appears as a wild woman, an unkempt, shabby and repulsive crone. On the
other side of the mountains, however, in the magic garden of the sorcerer Klingsor, she appears as a
beautiful maiden. In this article, I shall try to identify the many elements that were combined to arrive at
perhaps the most complex character in all of Wagner's dramatic works. Further articles will explore some of
these elements in detail.
The Loathly Damsel and High Messenger of the

Grail
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/kundry.htm (1 of 7) [26/05/2002 22:22:04]

agner's Kundry can be related to several female characters who appear in his Percevalian sources;
although it is important to appreciate that Wagner also added elements from completely different
literary and mythical traditions; notably, the exotic Herodias. The Percevalian sources included, as I
have described in a separate article, Wolfram's Parzival, Chrtien's Perceval and the anonymous Welsh/Breton
Peredur. In addition, Wagner had a copy of Perlesvaus, or The High History of The Holy Grail, although it has not
been established that he knew this book before writing the Prose Draft of 1865.
ne of the archetypes of this tradition that caught Wagner's imagination was that of the Loathly Damsel.
This creature appears at critical points in all four of these poems. Generally she brings news (in German,
"news" is Kunde, whence Kundry), explains what has happened, and hints at what might happen later.
Wolfram presents Condrie la sorziere as the High Messenger of the Grail. In Perlesvaus, perhaps taking a hint
from an unimportant line in Chrtien's poem, she becomes the Bald Damsel, who is also lady Fortune. In
Wolfram it is Sigune who becomes bald.
ne element, found only in the Welsh/Breton Peredur and in the allegorical Perlesvaus, seems to have been
particularly important for Wagner: the repulsive, filthy Loathly Damsel is also the beautiful Grail
Bearer who is seen at the Grail Castle. The dual nature of the character as she appears in these two
poems, is also found in other medieval literature, notably in Chaucer's Wife of Bath's Tale. Wagner kept this
element of duality; although in his version, it is Condrie la sorziere who is seen at the Grail Castle, and her
beautiful transformation is controlled by Klingsor. Here Klingsor seems to be based on Wolfram's Clinschor
who has cast a spell over the proud and beautiful Orgeluse.
The Grail Bearer and the Mystical Marriage

Mystery Story
olfram's account of the first visit of the young man to the Grail Castle was based upon an earlier
version of this incident in the poem by Chrtien (summary).

Right: The Grail bearer as portrayed by Arthur Rackham.
any things are unclear in Chrtien 's account. In

particular, the phenomena seen by Perceval at the Grail
Castle, including the beautiful maiden who bears the
Grail. As in the modern detective story, it seems that Chrtien was
building up to an ending in which these mysteries would be
explained both to the young hero and to the reader (as they are
explained by the hermit in Wolfram's completion of the story).
Grail Bearer
hrtien does not explicitly state that the Grail was the
source of the food that was served to Perceval and the
others present in the hall; although the passage has often
been read that way, and later authors developed the horn of plenty
aspect of the Grail. Perhaps the original of this Grail was a Celtic
vessel that provided limitless food, such as that from which, in an
Irish tale, the daughter of Lugh fed Conn?
or is it clear whether the radiance that appears when the Grail enters emanates from the cup itself or
from the girl who bears it. It is possible that the original Grail Bearer was a goddess and it might be that,
through misreading of this passage, the divinity had been transferred from the girl to the vessel itself.
The remaining question is: which goddess?

Right: Waltraud Meier as Kundry, Bayreuth 1989.
Sovereignty and Seasons

oomis found the origin of the Loathly Damsel in Celtic
tales. He pointed out similarities between her description
as found in the Welsh text of Peredur and Irish adventures,
suggesting that the Loathly Damsel is one aspect of the Sovereignty
of Ireland, who may be identified with the goddess Eriu. Her role
in the myth of Irish kingship is to personify the land; her
metamorphosis from hag to beautiful maiden represented the
change from winter to spring, when vegetation appears out of the
dead land. In order to win her, the aspiring king must embrace her
winter aspect, and marry her in the spring to ensure the fertility of
the land. This is one version of the myth of the Waste Land. It is in
her winter aspect that Eriu appears in the story of Niall, and it is
in her spring aspect that she appears in the tale of Conn, in which
she offers the hero drink from a golden cup.
he story of Perceval is the story of Conn reversed: Perceval

fails the test. Instead of the Loathly Damsel becoming a beautiful goddess, the beautiful girl becomes an
ugly creature who pours scorn on the Quester for his failure. It is possible to see traces of this myth in
Wagner's Parsifal: Kundry's kiss; the arrival of the hero at the edge of the forest as winter changes to spring;
Kundry's assistance in the anointing of Parsifal as king.
From Chrtien de Troyes to Richard Wagner

Left: Winkelmann as Parsifal and Materna as

Kundry, Bayreuth 1882. Richard- Wagner-
Gedenksttte.
Selections and
Connections
agner's dramatic genius can be seen in
his ability to select from sources and to
make new connections between their
elements. Drawing on diverse sources, Wagner
made some radical changes to Wolfram's story,
simplifying the plot and reducing many simple
characters to a few complex ones.
agner adopted the Christianised version

of the Grail, rather than the mysterious
stone described in Wolfram's account.
By 1865 he had discarded the Question entirely; after considering several alternatives, he made the recovery of
the spear the focus of the story, removed Gawain and his quest, and later changed some of the names (although
the names in the Prose Draft are still those taken from Wolfram). Wagner merged two of Wolfram's characters
to make a composite called Gurnemanz, and merged at least three of the female characters into a composite
called Kundry. He linked together the Grail, the spear and the wild woman: when Titurel arrived in the
mountains with the holy relics, he found Kundry: Der fand, als er die Burg dort baute, sie schlafend hier im
Waldgestrpp, erstarrt, leblos, wie tot.
Right: Kundry asleep, from H.J.

Syberberg's film. Artificial
Eye.
Herodias,
Magdalene and
Prakriti
ike the young
Parsifal, the wild
woman has many
names. The many elements in
Wagner's Kundry included another archetype found in literature from the Middle Ages onwards: the
Wandering Jew. In Wagner's poem, Kundry becomes a reincarnation of Herodias who, because she had laughed
at the Saviour's suffering, was cursed to wander through the world until His return. She is not only cursed to
wander, but also always to tell the truth; and she cannot weep, only laugh her accursed laugh. Another Herodias

can be found in Heine's poem Atta Troll; this Jewish princess does not wander the world, but rides, laughing,
with the Wild Hunt across the sky.
n her Cambridge Handbook, Lucy Beckett entirely misses the point of the Herodias reference, but makes
an interesting observation about the reference to Mary Magdalen. Beckett reminds us that in 1848
Wagner had sketched a scenario for a play called Jesus of Nazareth, which includes a scene in which the
penitent Magdalen kneels in repentence before Jesus on the shore of Lake Gennesareth; later in the play she was
to anoint his head and wash his feet, just as Kundry does toward Parsifal in the opera. Although Wagner
repeatedly denied that Parsifal was a Christ-figure, this image had stayed with him and was incorporated by him
into the Good Friday scene.
n Die Sieger, an opera that Wagner never completed, a chaste young man called Ananda receives into the
religious community a beautiful girl called Prakriti, who has passionately loved him; but Shakyamuni,
the future Buddha persuades him to renounce her. The Buddha reveals that in an earlier incarnation,
Prakriti had rejected, with mocking laughter, the love of a young man. Prakriti is a parallel to Mary Magdalen
in the sense that both are outcasts. By absorbing these two outcast women, in their different ways excluded and
despised by patriarchal societies, who by their associations with the Buddha and Christ respectively introduce
further religious iconography to Wagner's drama, Kundry gained a further dimension.
Left: Cartoon by M. Kringle, in Klier, 1985.
Four Female Characters

he last word shall belong to Claude Lvi-Strauss,
whose essay From Chrtien de Troyes to Richard
Wagner (in The View From Afar) provoked me to
look more closely at the origins of Kundry.
e may ask ... whether Wagner, by making Kundry a

double creature, was not unconsciously going back
to a very ancient tradition, of which only a vestige
survives in Wolfram. Celtic literature sometimes describes an
old, repulsive hag who offers herself to the hero and then,
when he accepts her, turns into a radiant beauty - an image,
we are told, of the sovereignty that a pretender to the throne
must win. Furthermore, in order to construct the character of
Kundry, Wagner blended into one, four heroines of Chrtien
and Wolfram: the 'hideous damsel' already mentioned; the
Maiden-who-never-laughs, except to tell Perceval of his
promised destiny [Wolfram's Cunneware]; the cousin [Wolfram's Sigune] who tells him that his mother is dead and
who, in Wolfram, is the first to call him by his name; and the 'wicked maiden' ... Orgeluse. According to Wolfram [she
is] indirectly responsible for the treacherous blow that strikes Anfortas down.

Seven Faces of Kundry

Kundry and Klingsor
Kundry's Restlessness
This page last updated (non-css message, links) 16/04/02 23:06:56.

Eagle, Phoenix and Divine Blood: the Regenerating Drink in Indo-Germanic Myth and Wagnerian Drama
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Divine Blood
The Eagle, the Phoenix and the Divine Blood
Religion, Myth and Poetry

The incomparable thing about myth is that it is true for all time and its content, however much it might be compressed, is inexhaustible
throughout the ages. [Wagner, Opera and Drama, 1851]
Teutonic Mythology
n the early nineteenth century the desire for a German identity led scholars to seek for cultural origins. The
humiliating defeats of the disunited German states by Napoleon's armies were still fresh in German memories. In its
quest for national identity Germany turned to the literature of the Middle Ages (such as the Nibelungenlied), to
legends of heroes such as Barbarossa and in search of whatever might remain of the culture of the old Germanic or Teutonic
tribes. Scholars devoted themselves to finding and translating old manuscripts relevant to German history, not just old
German sagas but the medieval literature of Scandinavia, such as the writings of Saxo and Snorri. Although Christianisation
had effectively destroyed all traces of the old Germanic religious beliefs, except for accounts preserved in the writings of
Roman authors such as Tacitus, it was believed that something could be reconstructed from Scandinavian sources. The Grimm
brothers discovered in German folklore (Mrchen) the diluted remains of tales that earlier had appeared in the sagas and
poems of northern Europe.
ven in Scandinavia, which had been converted to Christianity in and around the 11th century, the priests and monks
had managed to destroy most traces of paganism. Some poems, either heroic or religious, survived; but even the best
manuscript (the Codex Regius) of the collection of ON poems known as the Poetic Edda is incomplete. In addition to
the heroic poems there are mythological poems that provide some tantalising glimpses of the old Scandinavian religious beliefs
and by doing so shed some light on the beliefs of the Germanic tribes. Around 1200 AD the Icelandic scholar Snorri Sturlason
wrote a manual for poets which has become known as Snorri's Edda or the Prose Edda. This book gives a more extensive
description of the mythology of pre-Christian Scandinavia, the subject matter of the poetic tradition that Snorri was
attempting to salvage from oblivion. Unfortunately it is evident that Snorri's knowledge was partial and some of the book
seems to be no more than guesswork; in others words some of the mythological tradition had already been lost. At that time,
however, it is likely that many of the myths still survived in the form of poems, some already written down. Although Snorri,
who was not primarily concerned with preserving the myths in prose, sometimes contradicts himself and although his accounts
often diverge from the poems, the Prose Edda gives a much more complete picture than could be obtained from the few
surviving poems and sagas alone. Other writers such as Saxo Grammaticus provide some corroborating evidence about the
gods, goddesses and creation myths.
Horsemen of the Steppes

ultures based on agriculture and cities first appeared in the Bronze Age and these ideas spread from Mesopotamia
westward to the lands around the Mediterranean and eastward to India and China. These urban-agricultural
cultures had been established for centuries while further north, on the Steppes of central Asia, nomadic horsemen
still migrated with their livestock. Even as late as 1206 AD (at about the same time Snorri was writing his Edda and Wolfram
his Parzival) it was possible for warlike horsemen (the Mongols) to appear as if from nowhere across the Steppes, killing and
conquering where they wished. Nearly three millenia earlier other tribes of horsemen had descended from the Steppes into
Persia and India, conquering the city states and subjugating the indigenous peoples.
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/blood.htm (1 of 9) [26/05/2002 22:22:42]

he tribe that conquered Persia were called the Iranians and that which invaded north-west India (in about 1600 BC)
became known as the Aryans. It is possible that their cultures were very similar if not identical. Unfortunately there
is insufficient archeological evidence to establish exactly what the original Aryan culture was like. (Although Indian
nationalists dispute that there was an Aryan invasion, there are few non-Indian historians who doubt that it happened). What
has survived from this period is sacred literature, primarily four collections of hymns known as the Vedas, including the Rig
Veda, written down in about 1500 BC or soon after, but which according to Indian tradition is much, much older. This Vedic
literature depicts the Aryans as warriors driving horse-drawn chariots, who subdued the darker-skinned Dasas. The Aryans
venerated the cow, since they lived on milk, butter and beef, and the horse, which drew the chariots of warriors and gods.
Gradually the culture of the conquerors merged into that of the conquered; the Aryans spread eastwards, established petty
kingdoms across northern India and developed a literature which included the great epics of the Mahabharata and the
Ramayana. Both their sacred literature and their secular epics were written in the Aryan language, Sanskrit. In the late 18th
century it was established that Sanskrit was related to both Latin and Greek. Scholars were surprised to discover many
connections between European languages and mythologies, and what survives of Aryan language and mythology. Naturally the
belief arose that an Indo-Germanic culture (or a family of cultures) had originated somewhere in Asia, perhaps in the
Caucasus, whence it had spread westward into Europe (with the Teutons), southward into Persia (with the Iranians) and
eastward to India (with the Aryans).
sir and Vanir

rom Old Norse poems and from Snorri, Saxo and other medieval writers it is possible to establish not only some of
the ideas of the old Scandinavian religion as it had developed before the arrival of Christianity, but also some aspects
of its development. It is evident that there had been two pantheons of Gods who had been merged together; this
fusion was represented in mythological terms as a war between the sir and the Vanir which ended in a truce and a union of
the two pantheons. The sir were the kind of gods that one might expect to be worshipped by warlike horsemen; while the
Vanir were the fertility gods of farmers and fishermen. Although Oin was the leader of the sir (and identified with the
German god Wotan), archeological evidence suggests that Oin was less widely worshipped than his son Thor (identified with
the German god Donner) or the fertility gods Frey (=Froh) and his sister Freyja (=Freia). It is likely that Oin and Thor
arrived in northern Europe with the Teutons and were grafted onto the existing pantheon of fertility gods.
A picture-stone depicting a woman (Gunnl?) offering a drink to an

eagle (the disguised Oin?).
Mead and Soma

Oin, Kvasir and the Mead of
Poetry
evertheless many of the surviving myths feature Oin.
One of them, related by Snorri in the part of his Prose
Edda called Skldskarpaml tells of how Oin stole the
dwarfs' mead of poetry from the giant Suttung. Another character in this myth is Kvasir, an individual known only from
Snorri's Edda and his Heimskringla. Snorri inconsistently refers to Kvasir variously as the wisest of the sir (possibly
confusing him with Mimir) given as hostage to the Vanir, as the wisest of the Vanir, and as a creature created out of the
fermented spittle with which the two parties sealed their alliance. The name Kvasir is related to words in the Scandinavian
languages and in Russian that mean "fermented juice" although this might be no more than a reference to the myth.

he story of the mead of poetry begins with the murder of the sage Kvasir. According to Snorri: ... he was so wise that
no one could ask him any questions to which he did not know the answer. He travelled widely through the world teaching
people knowledge, and when he arrived as a guest to some dwarfs, Fialar and Galar, they called him to a private discussion
with them and killed him. They poured his blood into two vats and a pot [or cauldron]; the latter was called Orerir, but the vats were
called Son and Bon. They mixed honey with the blood and it turned into the mead, whoever drinks from which becomes a poet or a
scholar. The dwarfs told the sir that Kvasir had suffocated in intelligence because there was no one there educated enough to be
able to ask him questions. Curiously, the names of the three vessels appear elsewhere in relation to three subterranean fountains
which (according to Snorri) nourish the roots of the world-tree; they are also called the cauldron of Hvergelmir, source of the
great rivers; Mimir's well, which gives wisdom and to which Oin already had access by the forfeit of an eye; and Urd's well,
from which the dead drink before entering the underworld.
o begins the story of the mead of poetry. We should keep in mind that the purpose of Snorri's Edda was not to
reawaken a dead religious tradition, but to preserve the northern European tradition of skaldic poetry, which found
its traditional subject matter in mythology. In those poems there is an allusive device known as kennings. A kenning
is a form of periphrasis in which a metaphor is substituted for a simple term. For example, "otter's ransom" is a kenning for
"gold", in which the meaning is clear to a listener familiar with the tale of the Otter (Otr) and Andvari's hoard of gold (which
became the Nibelung hoard). Kennings were an important part of the poet's trade. With the story of the mead of poetry Snorri
was attempting to explain to the apprentice poet why the kennings for poetry (his main subject) included "Kvasir's blood",
"dwarf's ale", "Suttung's drink", "Odin's mead", "sea of Hnitbjrg" and "liquid of Orerir, Bon and Son".
he story continues with the murder of Gilling and his wife by the dwarfs, followed by the revenge of their son
Suttung, who spares their lives in exchange for the mead. Suttung retreats into the mountain Hnitbjrg with his
daughter Gunnl. In quest of the mead Oin, the shapechanger, arrives in the guise of Blverk. He drills a hole into
the mountain, then changing himself into a snake slides down the hole into Gunnl's bedroom. The stranger sleeps with her
for three successive nights and each time she gives him mead to drink from a different one of the vessels. Then Oin turns
himself into an eagle and flies back to the sir, for whom he regurgitates the liquid, which has been blended in his stomach,
into waiting pots. Subsequently Oin's valkyries use the mead to revive the dead heroes on their arrival in Valhall. So this is
not just the mead of poetry (although that is the extent of Snorri's interest), it is also a drink of regeneration. Wagner referred
to the reviving mead served by the wish-maiden in Valhall when he wrote his Nibelung Mythus -- in which the dying Siegfried
greets Brnnhilde: Happy me thou chosest for husband, now lead me to Valhall, that in honour of all heroes I may drink All-father's
mead, pledged me by thee, thou shining Wish-maid!
n the Eddic poem Havaml, a compilation of sayings and narratives, Oin relates part of the story of the mead of
poetry:
With a drill's teeth I cut my trail,

I gnawed right through the rock;
over and under me wound the giants' ways -
a perilous path I travelled.
On her golden chair Gunnl gave me

a cup of costly mead;
an ill reward she had in return
for her quick kindness
for her heavy heart.
From that good bargain I gained a lot,

now I've no lack of wisdom;
the magic drink*, the mead of poetry,
left with the sir's lord.
I don't believe I could have come back

from the giant's court
were it not for Gunnl, that good woman

who lay in my arms for love.
The next day the frost-giants found

the High One in his hall;
they asked if Oin were with the sir
or if Suttung had slain him.
Oin didn't honour his oath on the ring** -

what good is any pledge he gives?
He stole the mead from Suttung's feast,
and Gunnl grieves.
* One variant of the poem refers to the mead as Orerir, which according to Snorri is the name of the pot, one of the three
vessels.
** Possibly Gunnl's wedding ring; one interpretation of the poem is that Oin took the form of her betrothed and that the
feast was their wedding feast.
Indra and the Soma

urning from the Scandinavian tradition to the Aryan tradition of the Indus valley, we find another story about a
magic drink. This is Soma: an exhilarating and intoxicating drink, sometimes described as a drink of immortality,
extracted from a plant of some kind. It is personified in the being Soma, who descended from heaven. It is often
referred to as "honey" but also as "fiery juice". The Rig Veda describes Soma as follows:
This restless Soma - you try to grab him

but he breaks away and overpowers everything.
He is a sage and a seer inspired by poetry.
[RV 8.79.1]
he Rig Veda also describes how the god Indra stole the drink of immortality. Riding on an eagle, he took it from
heaven. Intoxicated with the Soma, the god destroyed the fortresses of the demons and released the waters. Then he
gave the divine "fiery juice" to the ancestor of mankind, Manu.
Ecstatic with Soma I shattered

the nine and ninety fortresses of Shambara all at once,
finishing off the inhabitant as the hundredth,
as I gave aid to Divodasa Atithigva.
O Maruts, the bird shall be supreme above all birds,

the swift-flying eagle above all eagles,
since by his own driving power that needs no chariot wheels,
with his powerful wings he brought to man
the oblation loved by the gods.
Fluttering he brought it down,

the bird swift as thought shot forth on the wide path;
swiftly the eagle came with the honey of Soma
and for it won fame.

Stretching out in flight, holding the stem,

the eagle brought from the distance
the exhilarating and intoxicating drink.
Accompanied by the gods,
the bird clutched the Soma tightly
after he took it from that highest heaven.
When the eagle brought the Soma,

he brought it for a thousand and ten thousand pressings at once.
The bringer of abundance left his enemies behind there;
ecstatic with Soma, the wise one left the fools.
[RV 4.26.3-7]
s in the tale of the mead of poetry it is an eagle that carries the divine drink. In this case, however, it seems that the
eagle brings the plant that must be pressed (perhaps with mortar and pestle), filtered and fermented to produce the
drink. This fits better with the (10th century AD) Old Norse kenning for poetry as "the seed of the eagle's beak"; a
kenning which Snorri did not explain. Another aspect of the Vedic tradition that can be related to the tale of the mead of
poetry is the three-day feast. The Rig Veda describes the Soma ceremony as taking three days. The Soma was poured into
three bowls and the participants, like Oin, drank of a different bowl on each of the three days.
t might be tempting to conclude from the above that the Norse god Oin (among the Teutons called Wotan) is
equivalent to the Vedic god Indra. It is more likely, however, from other correspondences that Oin is the equivalent
of the Vedic wind-god Vata. The theft of the divine drink was at some stage transferred from Indra (or an earlier god
who became Indra) to Oin/Vata. The common motives of the eagle and the three-day feast strongly suggest that the story of
the mead of poetry as related by the Norse skalds was a later version of the myth of the theft of Soma from heaven, written
down about 2500 years earlier in the Indus valley.
Fire and Flood

hen Indra brought the "fiery juice" from heaven he gave it to Manu, the ancestor of mankind. It is difficult to avoid
drawing the parallel with Prometheus, who stole fire from heaven and gave it to man (or that of Tantalus, who stole
the food of the gods). Unlike Indra, who rode on the eagle, Prometheus was punished by Zeus, who commanded the
eagle to eat the offender's liver, which was renewed each night to be chewed again.
anu was the ancestor of mankind as the only human survivor of the Great Flood. Therefore he is the same mythical
character whom the Sumerians called Utnapishtim and whom the Hebrews would call Noah (although he is also
equivalent to the Biblical Adam). Manu caught a little fish that warned him about the coming deluge. So Manu was
able to save himself and many other creatures. Then lacking a wife he offered to the gods, who turned his offerings into a
woman. This couple generated the human race. In the Mahabharata, the fish is identified with the god Brahma, while in the
Puranas it is Matsya, the fish incarnation of the lord Vishnu.
he Indo-Germanic universe seems to be cyclic. After periodic destruction the world begins anew. What is common to
these and other myths is that the world is destroyed (whether by war, fire, flood, ice or pestilence) and with it the
gods. Thus the purifying Ragnark is also Gtterdmmerung. In the Norse myth, gods, giants and most other
creatures are destroyed; then (according to the poem Vlusp) a new Earth rises from the waters, some of the gods return and
(according to the poem Vafthrdnisml) from somewhere called Hodd-Mimir's grove there appear Leifthrasir and Lif, the
only surviving human couple. Whether they are to be identified with the first couple Ask and Embla (in the poem Vlusp) is
not clear; it is possible to see in this pair a later tradition -- because it is unlikely to be coincidental that the first letters of their
names are also those of the Biblical Adam and Eve. Like Manu and his unnamed wife, each of these couples represent the

mythical ancestors of mankind. Into the new Earth, from some hidden sanctuary in which they have been preserved in life by
some divinely potent sustenance, a human pair appear, to regenerate mankind.
The Content of the Grail

The Wibelungen
n 1842 Richard Wagner, after spending several years of hardship and misery in Paris, returned to Germany, taking
up a post as assistant Kapellmeister in Dresden. In the summer of the following year he spent a vacation at Teplitz,
where he read the Grimm brothers' Deutsche Sagen and Jacob Grimm's Deutsche Mythologie, which revealed to the
young composer the scanty fragments of a vanished world. Wagner was inspired to start on an ambitious programme of reading.
He purchased a small library of books, many of them expensive, not only works of medieval literature and German history,
but also works of classical authors. Wagner's domestic library even boasted Homer in the original Greek and Saxo
Grammaticus in Latin. He also borrowed and read books from the Royal Library, well stocked with medieval sagas and
histories.
s well as providing the material directly incorporated in Wagner's subsequent dramatic works, this program of
reading fuelled his imagination. Not least in a remarkable essay that he wrote in the summer of 1848, The
Wibelungen: World History as Told in Saga. The essay begins with a statement of a belief in the origins of the Teutonic
or Germanic tribes: Their coming from the East has lingered in the memory of European peoples down to modern times; sagas
preserve this recollection, however imperfectly. Specifically he identifies the Caucasus as the source of the Indo-Germanic
religions, languages and royalty. It was from the broad and fruitful plains of Asia, i.e. the Steppes, that warlike races had spread
to dominate the peoples of east and west alike. Wagner then narrows his focus to one particular royal lineage, the Franks,
whom he identifies with the Ghibelines, also known (in Germany) under the name of the Wibelingen or Wibelungen. This
provides a convenient if doubtful etymological connection with the medieval story that was uppermost in Wagner's mind at the
time, that of the Nibelungenlied.
agner continues with a sweeping and somewhat muddled summary of European history. Soon he finds it necessary to
point out that truth is not to be found in history but in legend and myth: bare history hardly ever offers us, and always
incompletely, the material for a judgement of the inmost (and so to say, instinctive) motives of the ceaseless struggles of
whole peoples and races; that we must seek in religion and saga ... We may conclude that Wagner was interested in history as
long as it suited his purpose, but that in the end he always turned to myth, legend, folklore and saga. The gods and heroes of its
religion and saga are the concrete personalities in which the spirit of the people (Volksgeist) portrays its essence to itself; however
sharp the individuality of these personages, their content (Inhalt) is of most universal, wide-ranging type, and therefore lends these
shapes a strangely lasting lease of life ...
he hero Siegfried (the Norse hero Sigurd the dragonslayer) was, he tells us, a sun-god; this implies an identification
with Balder, son of Oin. The sun-god was, he believed, older than either Zeus or Wotan, despite the fact that the
latter was regarded as the highest god and All-father. Furthermore, Wagner makes an identification between
Siegfried and Christ (it is possible that he was thinking of Balder, who died and rose again). Siegfried is the winner of the
Nibelung's Hoard; it is the epitome of earthly power and he who owns it, or governs by it, either is or becomes a Nibelung. Since the
Franks were originally a tribe of the lower Rhine, it was clear to Wagner that they were the original Nibelungs. In what
Wagner supposed was the original myth of the Franks, the sun-god had defeated the dragon of primeval night. By this deed,
Siegfried won the hoard which the dragon had guarded: it is the Earth itself with all its splendour, which in joyous shining of the
Sun at dawn of day we recognise as our possession to enjoy, when night, that held its ghostly, gloomy dragon's wings spread
fearsomely above the world's rich stores, has finally been routed. This was, it seems, the original idea from which Wagner began
to develop his Nibelung Myth, which would be the basis for his cycle of dramas Der Ring des Nibelungen.
he essay also relates to another project of Wagner's at this time: a drama about Friedrich Barbarossa, the once and
future king who sleeps under a mountain. According to Wagner, Barbarossa's claim to world-rule derived from his
descent from a son of God, called by his nearest kinsmen Siegfried, but Christ by the remaining peoples of the Earth.

Wagner's account of the life of Barbarossa, which he intended to turn into an opera, ended with the Emperor turning his gaze
to the Orient. Wondrous legends had he heard of a lordly country deep in Asia, in farthest India, of an ur-divine Priest-King who
governed there a pure and happy people, immortal through the nurture of a wonder-working relic called the Holy Grail. The
reference is probably to the legend of Prester John (who is mentioned in Wolfram's Parzival as the son of the Grail Bearer and
Parzival's half-brother). Whether Barbarossa, who died during the disastrous third Crusade, had intended to seek the
kingdom of Prester John was unimportant for Wagner; he was the first of many travellers to the east, of whom Wagner was
another, at least in spirit.
agner then introduces another subject, one that unlike Barbarossa he was to succeed in making into an opera, the
legend of Lohengrin. A knight of the Grail once had appeared in the Netherlands, only to return to the Orient, where
the Grail was preserved in a castle on a lofty mount in India. For Wagner it was significant that the Grail myth had
appeared in the late twelfth century at the same time as the line of kings who were the heirs of Siegfried, winner of the
Nibelung Hoard, was approaching its end; the Nibelung's Hoard ... was losing more and more in material worth to yield to a higher
spiritual content. The quest for the Grail would now replace the struggle for the Nibelung Hoard, symbolising the ascendance of
spiritual values over worldly ambitions.
ccentric as it is, this essay is of interest because it ties together several of Wagner's projects at a time when they were
still forming in his head; where the stories of Friedrich Barbarossa, Siegfried, Lohengrin and the myth of the Grail
were all interrelated. It is also clear from this essay how myth and legend were for Wagner inseparable from (often
radical) political and religious ideas.
Regeneration
n 1190 Barbarossa died, like Parzival's father Gahmuret, in far Arabian
land. One of the knights who had been on the Crusade, defending the
Frankish kingdom of Outremer, was Wolfram's patron the Landgrave
Hermann of Thuringia. Both the Landgrave and the poet appear as characters in
Wagner's opera Tannhuser. Although Wolfram seems to have only limited
knowledge of the Arabic world his later poems provide evidence of the respect in
which the crusaders held their opponents the Saracens. His most famous poem
Parzival, one of the medieval epics that Wagner read in 1845, is a rich tapestry
woven from Christianity (sometimes with an heretical flavour), Islam and chivalry.
he poem was based on the unfinished Perceval of Chrtien de Troyes.

Like this source, Wolfram describes a mysterious object called the Grail.
Unlike Chrtien's Grail, however, Wolfram's Grail is a stone that was
brought from heaven. It is guarded by a community of Templars in their sanctuary at Munsalvsche. When Parzival meets
the old hermit on Good Friday he is told about the stone: by virtue of this stone the Phnix is burned to ashes, from which he is
reborn ... however ill a mortal may be, from the day on which he sees the stone he cannot die for that week nor does he lose his colour.
For if anyone, maiden or man, were to look at the Grail for two hundred years, you would have to admit that his colour was as fresh
as in his early prime, except that his hair was grey! So this stone brought from heaven (like the Soma) and given into the keeping
of a pious hero (like Manu, who was perhaps the original Fisher King) has both the power of regeneration and the power to
sustain life without aging; but it does not have the power to heal.
n re-reading the poem in 1859, Richard Wagner realised that Wolfram's stone had been inspired by tales of Mecca.
Further, he believed that this was an earlier form of the Grail myth which had been brought back from the east and
adapted for a Christian audience. He wrote to Mathilde Wesendonk: One notices, unfortunately, that all our Christian
legends have a foreign, pagan origin. As they gazed on in amazement, the early Christians learned, namely, that the Moors in the
Caaba at Mecca (deriving from the pre-Muhammadan religion) venerated a miraculous stone (a sunstone - or meteoric stone - but at

all events one that had fallen from heaven). However, the legends of its miraculous power were soon interpreted by the Christians
after their own fashion, by their associating the sacred object with Christian myth, a process which, in turn, was made easier by the
fact that an old legend existed in southern France telling how Joseph of Arimathea had once fled there with the sacred chalice that
had been used at the Last Supper, a version entirely consonant with the early Christian Church's enthusiasm for relics.
ccording to Wolfram's old hermit, however, the Grail's ability to provide sustenance depended on a bird that
descended from heaven to the Grail with a wafer in its beak. Not an eagle as in the Indian legend of the Soma, but a
dove, brought to the Grail all that is good on Earth of food and drink, of paradisal excellence ... whatever the Earth yields.
Even though Wolfram's Grail was a stone it retained the attributes of the Celtic horn of plenty with which other writers had
identified the Grail. In summary we can find in Wolfram's account of the Grail a powerful blend of elements drawn from
many different mythic traditions. Common to some of those traditions was a substance or object, brought from heaven by a
bird, with the power of regeneration and the power to sustain life.
Titurel
n the 1857 conception of Wagner's drama later to be called Parsifal, as I have described elsewhere, it is likely that the
pious hero Titurel, like the swan, was just a symbol although an important one. By 1865 Wagner had developed the
story in detail. He considered the possibility of having the dead Titurel revived to life by the power of the Grail
during the final scene of the drama but later discarded the idea. Titurel appears in two poems by Wolfram (Titurel and
Parzival). He is the first king of the Grail and stem-father or patriarch of the Grail family, which includes Anfortas
(=Amfortas), Parzival (=Parsifal), Herzeloyde (=Herzeleide), Gurnemanz (=Wagner's act 1 Gurnemanz), Sigune (who also
appears in both poems; one of the characters who became Kundry) and Parzival's son Loherangrin (=Lohengrin). According
to Wolfram (and following him, Wagner) the Grail was sent into Titurel's keeping by God; in the same way as the god Indra
gave the Soma into the keeping of Manu. In a time of adversity, according to Wagner's Prose Draft, Titurel gathered about him
a body of holy knights to serve the Grail, and built, in wild, remote and inaccessible mountain forest, the Castle of Monsalvat. There
the animals too are holy. It is tempting to draw a further parallel with the patriarch Manu, who rescued creatures from
imminent destruction in the Great Flood, in one account by withdrawing to a sanctuary inside a mountain, and who then
regenerated the world with the aid of the Soma.
nother element of the story with which Wagner had difficulty was the healing and wounding spear. He had used it to
connect the three acts of his drama, which in the autumn of 1865 existed only as a Prose Draft. Taking a hint from
Wolfram's poem Wagner had made use of the myth of Telephus, which he now tried to combine with the bleeding
lance of Celtic myth. Like the pestle and mortar that were used to extract the Soma, the spear and the Grail have been seen as
sexual symbols. At the end of his 1877 poem/libretto Wagner wrote the following lines for his spiritual hero:
O! Welchen Wunder's hchstes Glck! Oh! The highest joy of this miracle!
Der deine Wunde durfte schliessen, From this weapon that has healed your wound,
ihm seh' ich heil'ges Blut entfliessen I see the holy blood flowing
in Sehnsucht nach dem verwandten Quelle, in yearning for the kindred fount
der dort fliesst in des Grales Welle. that flows and surges in the Grail.

he spear bleeds and the blood drips into the Grail, which like Orerir is
both a drinking vessel and a fountain or source or well. The allusion to
the Norse myth of the mead of poetry is as strong as, perhaps even
stronger than, the one to the Celtic myth of the spear that stood in a cauldron. If
the two symbols that Parsifal has reunited separately represent music and poetry,
then united they represent the total work of art. The moment of yearning of male
for female, wrote Wagner in his 1851 essay Opera and Drama, is the creative
moment of the understanding (diese Sehnsucht ist das dichtende Moment des
Verstandes).
hree decades later, in parallel with the long-delayed composition of his

Parsifal, Richard Wagner became preoccupied with the possibility of a
regeneration of the human race. Like many of his educated and
intellectual contemporaries Wagner was affected by the ideas of that age; he saw
the advance of science -- in particular Darwinism -- and the retreat of religion as
the Bible became one compilation of ancient texts among many others, some, like
the Rig Veda, far more ancient. Above all, Wagner's imagination was fired by a book by Jean Antoine Gleizs: Thalysia oder
Das Heil der Menschheit (which title Ellis translated as Thalysia or the Healing of Mankind). This book promoted
vegetarianism, in other words abstinence from meat. By 1880 Wagner's revised view of world history included the progressive
degeneration of mankind, partly (following Gobineau) as a result of miscegenation but primarily (following Gleizs1) as a
result of changes in diet, the substituting of animal for vegetable food. To counteract the degeneration of the human race, seen as
a corruption of the blood, Wagner put his faith in the pure blood of the Saviour: the blood of the Redeemer's self, which once
poured its hallowing stream into the veins of his true heroes ... in the Saviour's blood we must recognise the quintessence of free-
willed suffering itself, that godlike compassion which streams through all the human species, its fount and origin. It is clear that in
1880 if not earlier Wagner regarded this divine blood, the essence of voluntary suffering, as the Soma brought from heaven,
the blood that ran from the spear and the radiant substance in the Grail by which its community were nourished and
regenerated.
Footnote 1: As Ulrike Kienzle has noted (in Das Weltberwindungswerk -- Wagners 'Parsifal') there is no evidence that Wagner had
read anything by Gleizs before 1880. Therefore his writings cannot have influenced the libretto (poem) of Parsifal, which was
completed in 1877. Similarly there is no evidence of Wagner having read anything by Gobineau before 1881. In view of these facts,
the connections between Parsifal and the so-called regeneration essays of 1880-1881 appear to have been exaggerated by some
commentators. When Wagner refers to Parsifal in these essays he is looking back upon, and to some extent reinterpreting, the text that
he had completed in 1877. It remains possible that Wagner was already thinking about the regeneration of mankind some years earlier,
after reading Darwin's Origin of Species in 1872.

Magic flowers - the flower maidens or magic maidens of 'Parsifal' act 2
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Magic flowers
The Magic Flowers of Klingsor's

Garden
Spring on the First Green Hill

hen Wagnerians refer to the "Green Hill" they mean the hill in Bayreuth on which Wagner built
his Festival Theatre. Before Wagner settled in Bayreuth, however, he had lived on another "Green
Hill", in the Enge district of Zrich, where his patrons the Wesendonks had built a villa
overlooking the lake. It was on a spring morning in 1857, a few days after Richard and Minna Wagner had
moved into a cottage close to the Wesendonk villa, that Richard was inspired to make his first sketch for
his drama Parsifal. While walking in the garden of the villa he was put into a creative frame of mind by
what he later described as a pleasant mood in nature. In that same garden, a few weeks later, he would sit
under the ancient linden tree and think about the music he was writing at the time, the second act of
Siegfried. Later the same year Wagner would put this work aside to concentrate on another drama, Tristan
und Isolde which was still only music. It was in that autumn on the first green hill that this revolutionary
work took shape; we can imagine Wagner thinking about it as he sat under the ancient linden tree
overlooking the lake, waiting for Mathilde.
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/flowers.htm (1 of 5) [26/05/2002 22:23:23]

Left: The cottage on

the first Green Hill,
"Der Asyl".
n that
morning in
the garden,
however, Wagner
thought about spring.
He saw the flowers
emerging from the
soil and the buds
appearing on the
linden trees. No
doubt he thought
about animals
emerging from
hibernation,
something that his
mentor Schopenhauer had written about. Sleep, wrote Schopenhauer, was very much like death.
Awakening from hibernation was a kind of reincarnation, a subject that Wagner had recently read about
in Burnouf's book about Buddhism. While this book was fresh in his mind, Wagner's thoughts also went
back to the Good Friday passage in a book that he had read twelve years before and not looked at since,
Wolfram's Parzival. It was from these thoughts that Wagner developed the concept of his drama about
Parzival; returning to the cottage (which he would later call Der Asyl, although his first name for it was
Wahnheim) he quickly sketched out an entire drama in three acts.
Magic maidens
t is possible that Wagner thought of the maidens as flowers from the very beginning. It is also
possible that at first he did not think of presenting them as flowers but simply as magic maidens
conjured up by the sorceror Klingsor (just as the dead nuns were conjured up by Bertram in

Meyerbeer's Robert le diable).
n the libretto (written twenty years later) Klingsor's maidens are variously referred to as magic
maidens and as flowers. Their music seems to have grown out of musical ideas that Wagner had
first conceived for his Rhinedaughters. In both cases these female creatures are seductive but
essentially innocent (even if this is not always made clear in modern productions). Where the
Rhinedaughters are natural, however, the flowermaidens are unnatural, like everything that originates in
Klingsor's magic. This does not prevent Parsifal, in the third act, from expressing his compassion for
them.
Right: The
daughters of Mara.
Museum Rietberg
(formerly the Villa
Wesendonck).
ttention has
been drawn
to the
similarities between
the second act of
Parsifal and various
accounts of an
episode in the life of
the Buddha
Shakyamuni. In an
attempt to prevent
the future Buddha from achieving enlightenment, the dark lord Mr sent an army of demonic warriors
against him. They were unable to harm the future Buddha, or even to distract him from his meditations.
hen Mr sent to the future Buddha his daughters, fearfully seductive demons in female shape.
They sang, danced and laughed but were unable to seduce the future Buddha. In Wagner's version
it is Klingsor the sorcerer who first sends his knights against Parsifal, who overcomes them and
enters the magic garden. There he is surrounded by the magic maidens whom Klingsor has conjured out
of flowers. Like the future Buddha (who was protected by his virtue), the young hero (who is protected by
his innocence) is immune to the enticements of the maidens.

Flower maidens
Left: Flower Maiden costume by Paul von Joukowsky,

Bayreuth 1882. Richard- Wagner- Gedenksttte.
he flower maidens, or Klingsor's magic maidens, do not

appear in any of the Grail romances. In Wolfram's poem
we read of maidens kept captive in Clinschor's castle,
which is a variant of the Castle of Wonders in Chrtien's story
and the Castle of Maidens in several related stories. It appears
probable that Wagner's main source for the magic maidens was the
Roman d'Alexandre, a French poem of the early 12th century.
lexander enters a forest whose entrance is guarded by

genies. Here he finds beautiful, welcoming maidens, each
at the foot of a tree. They cannot leave the forest alive.
When Alexander asks his guides about them, he is told that they go
underground in the winter, but with the return of warm weather,
they spring up and blossom. They open as flowers, in which the
central bud becomes the girl's body and the leaves her garment.
he first modern French version of this work was published

in Stuttgart in 1846. In 1850, H. Weissman produced a
version of the 12th century German adaptation of the
Roman d'Alexandre. Several articles appeared in the journal
Germania in connection with these publications, through which
Wagner may have made an acquaintance with the story.
t has also been suggested that Wagner might have been inspired by a pantomime that he enjoyed
at the Adelphi Theatre in the Strand, during his visit to London at the end of 1855. This
production, with the title The Christmas, was a pot-pourri of fairy tales. Apparently in one scene
the female chorus were dressed as flowers. This may have reminded Wagner of the maidens in the Roman
d'Alexandre. So the origins of the flowermaidens are diverse: their roots can be found in a medieval
romance, a Buddhist legend and a Christmas pantomime.

This page last updated (non-css message) 04.14.02 23:01:45.

Parsifal Chronology: from Wagner's inspiration on 'Good Friday' to the first performance of 'Parsifal'.
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Chronology
Chronology
Dates Event
April-May 1857 RW writes a prose sketch (now lost) for Parsifal.
27 June 1857 RW breaks off work on Siegfried to concentrate on Tristan und

Isolde.
October 1858 RW's thoughts return to Parsifal and Die Sieger. He writes to
Mathilde Wesendonk about compassion, the Buddha, art and
redemption. Countess d'Agoult sends him a Chinese statue of the
Buddha.
May 1859 RW reads Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival in a new translation

sent to him by Mathilde Wesendonk. He writes to tell her that
Wolfram understood nothing of his subject. RW will have to invent
everything, keeping the sublime purity of Parsifal in the
foreground.
August 1860 RW completes Tristan. He writes to Mathilde Wesendonk about

reincarnation and purity. He describes Lohengrin as a
reincarnation of Parsifal who inherits his father's purity. In
another letter RW tells her that, once he had realised that the
seductress of the second act of Parsifal was the same Kundry we
saw in the first act, everything had fallen into place.
27-30 August 1865 At King Ludwig's request RW writes the first prose draft of
Parsifal. He considers alternative treatments of the spear, which had
by now become a unifying element of the story.
25 January to 23 February 1877 RW writes the second prose draft. He makes only minor changes;
the spear that stops in mid-air is added to the second act; Titurel no
longer rises from the dead at the end of the last act.
14 March 1877 RW changes the name of the hero from Parzival to Parsifal.
19 April 1877 RW completes the poem (libretto).
August 1877 RW begins the Act 1 composition sketch.
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/chronlgy.htm (1 of 2) [26/05/2002 22:23:38]

Parsifal Chronology: from Wagner's inspiration on 'Good Friday' to the first performance of 'Parsifal'.
August 1877 to 31 January 1878 Composition of Act 1 orchestral sketch.
29 January 1878 Completion of the Act 1 composition sketch.
30 September 1878 Completion of Act 2 composition sketch.
13 March to 11 October 1878 Composition of Act 2 orchestral sketch.
30 October 1878 to 16 April Composition of Act 3 composition sketch.

1879
14 November 1878 RW begins the Act 3 orchestral sketch.
25 December 1878 (Cosima's Performance of the Prelude to Act 1 by the Meiningen orchestra
birthday) at Haus Wahnfried.
26 April 1879 Completion of the Act 3 orchestral sketch.
23 August 1879 to 25 April Full orchestral scoring of Act 1.

1881
6 June to 20 October 1881 Full orchestral scoring of Act 2.
5 November 1881 to 13 January Full orchestral scoring of Act 3.

1882
26 July 1882 First performance, Bayreuth Festspielhaus.
This page last updated (colours and styles) 04/24/02 23:26:58.
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/chronlgy.htm (2 of 2) [26/05/2002 22:23:38]

Richard Wagner to Mathilde Wesendonk - August 1860
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Richard to Mathilde August 1860
Richard Wagner to Mathilde Wesendonk -

August 1860
It is a common but mistaken view of Wagner's Parsifal that regards it as a product of his last years. In fact the ideas
of the opera about the foolish, sheltered youth who becomes a sage and redeemer, were developed by Wagner
between May 1857 and August 1865, when a prose version of his text (the first version of the Prose Draft) was set
down at the request of King Ludwig.
A key resource for the student of Wagner's later works is the correspondence between Richard Wagner and
Mathilde Wesendonk. In the letters that he wrote to her during this period, Wagner thought aloud, as it were, and
it seems that he thought of Mathilde listening to him as Brnnhilde listened to Wotan. In these letters we can follow
the completion of Tristan und Isolde and Wagner's developing ideas for two works that were closely related to the
latter: Die Sieger (The Victors) and Parsifal. This letter written in Paris in August 1860 is of particular importance
to anyone seeking to understand the inner action of Parsifal.
German English
s soll bald eine Prosa-Uebersetzung der vier prose translation of the four pieces: Dutchman,
Stcke: Hollnder, Tannhuser, Lohengrin und Tannhuser, Lohengrin and Tristan is soon to
Tristan, herausgegeben werden, zu der ich eine be published and I plan to write a preface for it,
Vorrede schreiben will, die meinen hiesigen Freunden which I chiefly intend shall give my friends here [in
etwas Aufschluss namentlich ber das Formelle meiner Paris] some information concerning the formal aspect of
Kunsttendenzen geben soll. Diese Uebersetzungen ging my art. I have just been through these translations and
ich soeben durch, und war eben dabei wieder genthigt, was again obliged to relive these poems of mine in
meine Dichtungen mit allem Detail mir genau wieder every detail. Lohengrin affected me very deeply
vorzufhren. Gestern ergriff mich der Lohengrin sehr, yesterday and I cannot help thinking it the most tragic
und ich kann nicht umhin, ihn fr das allertragischeste of all poems, since reconciliation is really to be found
Gedicht zu halten, weil die Vershnung wirklich nur zu only if one casts a terribly wide-ranging glance at the
finden ist, wenn man einen ganz furchtbar weiten Blick world.
auf die Welt wirft.
ur die tiefsinnige Annahme der nly a profound acceptance of the doctrine of

Seelenwanderung konnte mir den trostreichen metempsychosis has been able to console me by
Punkt zeigen, auf welchen endlich Alles zur revealing the point at which all things finally
gleichen Hhe der Erlsung zusammenluft, nachdem converge at the same level of redemption, after the
die verschiedenen Lebenslufe, welche in der Zeit various individual existences - which run alongside
getrennt neben einander laufen, ausser der Zeit sich each other in time - have come together in a meaningful
verstndnissvoll berhrt haben. Nach den schnen way outside time. According to the beautiful Buddhist
buddhistischen Annnahme wird die fleckenlose doctrine, the spotless purity of Lohengrin is easily
Reinheit des Lohengrin einfach daraus erklrich, dass er explicable in terms of his being the continuation of
die Fortsetzung Parzifals - der die Reinheit sich erst Parzifal [sic] - who was the first to strive towards
erkmpfte - ist. Ebenso wrde Elsa in ihrer purity. Elsa, similarly, would reach the level of
Wiedergeburt bis zu Lohengrin hinanreichen. Somit
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/wesendonk.htm (1 of 4) [26/05/2002 22:23:55]

erschien mir der Plan zu meinen Siegern als die Lohengrin through being reborn. Thus my plan for the
abschliessende Fortsetzung von Lohengrin. Hier Victors struck me as being the concluding section of
erreicht Sawitri (Elsa) den Ananda vollstndig. So wre Lohengrin. Here Savitri (Elsa) entirely reaches the level
alle furchtbare Tragik des Lebens nur in dem of Ananda. In this way, all the terribly tragedy of life
Auseinanderliegen in Zeit und Raum zu finden: da aber would be attributable to our dislocation in time and
Zeit und Raum nur unsre Anschauungsweisen sind, space; but since time and space are merely our way of
ausserdem aber keine Realitt haben, so msste dem perceiving things, but otherwise have no reality, even
vollkommen Hellsehenden auch der hchste tragische the greatest tragic pain must be explicable to those who
Schmerz nur aus dem Irrthum der Individuums erklrt are truly clear- sighted as no more than the error of the
werden knnen: ich glaube, es ist so! Und in voller individual; I believe it is so! And, in all truth, it is a
Wahrheit handelt es sich durchaus nur um das Reine question simply of what is pure and noble, something
und Edle, das an sich schmerzlos ist.- which, in itself, is painless.-
ch kan Ihnen nichts andres schreiben, als can do nothing but prattle when writing to you;
solches Geplaudre: das einzig lohnt der Mhe! nothing else is worth the effort! And only with
Und mit Ihnen einzig plaudre ich solche Dinge you do I enjoy prattling on about such things!
gern! Da schwindet denn Zeit und Raum, die ja nichts Time and space - which, after all, bring nothing but
wie Qual und Noth enthalten! Und - ach! wie selten bin torment and distress - then disappear for me! And - ah!
ich zu solchem Plaudern aufgelegt!- how rarely do I feel in the mood for such prattle!-
er Tristan ist und bleibt mir en Wunder! Wie ich ristan is and remains a miracle to me! I find it
so etwas habe machen knnen, wird mir immer more and more difficult to understand how I
unbegreiflicher: wie ich ihn wieder durchlas, could have done such a thing; when I read
musste ich Auge und Ohr weit aufreissen! Wie through it again, my eyes and ears fell open in
schrecklich werde ich fr dieses Werk einmal bssen amazement! How terribly I shall have to atone for this
mssen, wenn ich es mir vollstndig auffhren will: work one day, if ever I plan to perform it complete; I
ganz deutlich sehe ich die unerhrtesten Leiden voraus; can see quite clearly the most unspeakable sufferings
denn, verhehle ich es mir nicht, ich habe da Alles weit ahead of me; for if I am honest with myself, I have far
berschritten, was im Gebiet der Mglichkeit unsrer overstepped the limits of what we are capable of
Leistungen liegt; wunderbar geniale Darsteller, die achieving in this field; uniquely gifted performers, who
einzig der Aufgabe gewachsen wren, kommen nur alone would be equal to the task, are incredibly rare in
unglaublich selten zur Welt. Und doch kann ich der the world. And yet I cannot resist the temptation; if only
Versuchung nicht widerstehen: wenn ich nur das I could hear the orchestra!!-
Orchester hre!!-
iel ist wieder der Parzival in mir wach gewesen; arzival has again been stirring within me a good
ich sehe immer mehr und heller darin; wenn deal; I can see more and more in it, and with
Alles einmal ganz reif in mir ist, muss die ever-increasing clarity; one day, when
Ausfhrung dieser Dichtung ein unerhrter Genuss fr everything has matured within me, it will be an
mich werden. Aber da knnen noch gute Jahre darber unprecedented pleasure to complete this poem. But
hin gehen! Auch mchte ich's einmal bei der Dichtung many a long year may pass before then! And I should
allein bewenden lassen. Ich halte mir's fern, so lange ich like to be satisfied for once with the poem alone. I shall
kann, und beschftige mich damit nur, wenn mir's mit keep my distance from it as long as I can, and occupy
aller Gewalt kommt! Dann lsst mich dieser myself with it only when it forces itself upon my
wunderbare Zeugnungsprosess aber mein ganzes Elend attention. This strange creative process will then allow
vergessen.- Soll ich davon plaudern? Sagte ich Ihnen me to forget just how wretched I am.- Shall I prattle on

schon einmal, dass die fabelhaft wilde Gralsbotin ein about this? Did I not tell you once before that the
und dasselbe Wesen mit dem verfhrischen Weibe des fabulously wild messenger of the Grail is to be one
zweiten Actes sein soll? Seitdem mir diess and the same person as the enchantress of the second
aufgegangen, ist mir fast alles an diesem Stoffe klar act. Since this dawned on me, almost everything else
geworden. Diess wunderbar grauenhafte Geschpf, about the subject has become clear to me. This
welches den Gralsrittern mit unermdlichem Eifer strangely horrifying creature who, slave-like, serves the
sclavenhaft dient, die unerhrtesten Auftrge vollzieht, Knights of the Grail with untiring eagerness, who
in einem Winkel liegt, und nur harrt, bis sie etwas carries out the most unheard-of tasks, and who lies in a
Ungemeines, Mhvolles zu verrichten hat, - corner waiting only until such time as she is given some
verschwindet zu Zeiten ganz, man weiss nicht wie und unusual and arduous task to perform - and who at times
wohin?- disappears completely, no one knows how or where?-
ann pltzlich trifft man sie einmal wieder, hen all at once we meet her again, fearfully
furchtbar eschpft, elend, bleich und grauenhaft: tired, wretched, pale and an object of horror; but
aber von Neuem unermdlich, wie eine Hndin once again untiring in serving the Holy Grail
dem heiligen Grale dienend, vor dessen Rittern sie with dog-like devotion, while all the time revealing a
eine heimliche Verachtung blicken lsst: ihr Auge secret contempt for its knights; her eye seems always to
scheint immer den rechten zu suchen,- sie tuschte sich be seeking the right one,- and she has already deceived
schon - fand ihn aber nicht. Aber was sie sucht, das herself once - but did not find him. But not even she
weiss sie eben nicht: es ist nur Instinct.- herself knows what she is searching for: it is purely
instinctive.-
ls Parzival, der Dumme, in's Land kommt, hen Parzival, the foolish lad, arrives in the
kann sie den Blick nicht von ihm abwenden: land, she cannot avert her eyes from him;
wunderbares muss in ihr vorgehen; sie weiss es strange are the things that must go on inside
nicht, aber sie heftet sich an ihn. Ihm graust es - aber her; she does not know it, but she clings to him. He is
auch ihn zieht es an: er versteht nichts. (Hier heisst's - appalled - but he, too, feels drawn to her; he
Dichter, schaffe!) Nur die Ausfhrung kann hier understands nothing. (Here it is a question of the poet
sprechen!- Doch lassen Sie sich andeuten, und hren having to invent everything!) Only the matter of
Sie so zu, wie Brnnhilde dem Wotan zuhrte.- Dieses execution can say anything here! - But you can gain an
Weib ist in einer unsglichen Unruhe und Erregung: der idea of what I mean if you listen to the way that
alte Knappe hat das frher an ihr bemerkt zu Zeiten, ehe Brnnhilde listened to Wotan. - This woman suffers
sie kurz darauf verschwand. Diesmal ist ihr Zustand auf unspeakable restlessness and excitement; the old
das hchste gespannt. Was geht in ihr vor? Hat sie esquire had noticed this on previous occasions, each
Grauen vor einer abermaligen Flucht, mchte sie ihr time that she had shortly afterwards disappeared. This
enthoben sein? Hofft sie - ganz enden zu knnen? Was time she is in the tensest possible state. What is going
hofft sie von Parzival? Offenbar heftet sie einen on inside her? Is she appalled at the thought of renewed
unerhrten Anspruch an ihn?- flight, does she long to be freed from it? Does she hope -
for an end to it all? What hopes does she have of
Parzival? Clearly she attaches unprecedented
importance to him! -

ber alles ist dunkel und finster: kein Wissen, nur ut all is gloomy and vague; no knowledge, only
Drang, Dmmern?- In einem Winkel gekauert instinct and dusky twilight?- Cowering in a
wohnt sie der qualvollen Scene des Anfortas corner, she witnesses Anfortas's agonized
bei: sie blickt mit wunderbarem Forschen (sphinxartig) scene; she gazes with a strangely inquisitive look
auf Parzival. Der - ist auch dumm, begreift nichts, (sphinx-like) at Parzival. He, too, is - stupid,
staunt - schweigt. Er wird hinausgestossen. Die understands nothing, stares in amazement - says
Gralsbotin sinkt kreischend zusammen; dann ist sie nothing. He is driven out. The messenger of the Grail
verschwunden. (Sie muss wieder wandern.) Nun rathen sinks to the ground with a shriek; she then disappears.
Sie, wer das wunderbar zauberische Weib ist, die (She is forced to wander again.) Now can you guess
Parzifal in dem seltsamen Schlosse findet, wohin sein who this wonderfully enchanting woman is, whom
ritterlicher Muth ihn fhrt? Rathen Sie, was da vorgeht, Parzifal [sic] finds in the strange castle where his
und wie da Alles wird. Heute sage ich Ihnen nicht chivalrous spirit leads him? Guess what happens here
mehr!- and how it all turns out. I shall say no more today!-
Richard Wagner an Mathilde Wesendonk: Wesendonck-Briefe 284-7, tr. Spencer and

Tagebuchbltter und Briefe 1858-1871, Millington.
edited by Wolfgang Golther.
This page last updated (table width) 05/25/02 18:10:26.

Wagner's Muse
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Wagner's Muse
Wagner's Muse
Silk and Satin

agner's sybaritism is one of the less repellant features of his personality. He could not bear to
have any coarse material against his skin, perhaps as the result of a medical condition, and
for many years dressed in silk or satin underwear. During his later years, including the
period during which he was working on the score of Parsifal, Wagner's working environment too was
draped in silks and satins, in his favourite colours, and soaked in perfume. It was in these
surroundings of extravagant sensuousness that the music of Parsifal, a work that apparently
celebrates renunciation and chastity, was brought into the world. The music of Parsifal was to be at
the furthest remove possible from that of the Ring, he told Cosima: the music was to have the softness
and shimmer of silk, like cloud-layers that keep separating and combining again. Wagner's surviving
letters include several in which he give instructions for the purchase of fabrics and perfumes. Care
had to be taken that these letters did not fall into the wrong hands, since their publication would be an
embarassment. During the composition of Parsifal, many of these errands were performed by Judith
Gautier.
Judith
f Mathilde Wesendonck was the muse who inspired Wagner to create Tristan und Isolde, then
the muse of Parsifal was the young and beautiful Judith Gautier. She was an enthusiastic
Wagnerian and attended the first Bayreuth Festival in 1876. During this festival, there was
apparently an emotional incident in her lodgings, when Wagner broke down and, sobbing, was
comforted by Judith. There followed a passionate flame (at least on Wagner's side) that, although
possibly the relationship was never consumated, was to continue to burn until it was extinguished by
Cosima in February 1878.
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/muse.htm (1 of 4) [26/05/2002 22:24:23]

Wagner's Muse
Judith Gautier drawn by J.S.Sargent. Windsor Castle, Royal

Library. 1990 Her Majesty the Queen.
hre, I am sad! There is another reception this

evening, but I shall not be going to it! I reread a
few pages of my life which I once dictated to
Cosima! She sacrifices herself to her father's habits, -
alas! Could it have been for the last time that I held you
in my arms this morning? No! - I shall see you again - I
want to see you! because I love you! - Adieu - Be good
to me!
Note from Richard Wagner to Judith Gautier,

written after her departure for Paris, 2
September 1876. Lettres Judith Gautier
57.
n order to keep the correspondence secret, not least from Cosima, it was arranged that letters
and packages for Wagner should be sent by Judith to the barber Schnappauf in Bayreuth.
Something else! I want a very beautiful and exceptional cover - for my chaise-longue - which I shall
call "Judith"! - Listen! try and find one of those silk fabrics called "Lampas" or - whatever? Yellow satin
background - the palest possible - with a floral pattern - roses; not too large a design, it is not intended for
curtains; it is used, rather, for small pieces of furniture. If there is nothing in yellow, then very light blue.
[Footnote: same white background, which will be easier to find.] I shall need six metres! - All this for
mornings well spent on Parsifal. This is an Arabian name. The old troubadours no longer understood what
it meant. "Parsi fal" means: "parsi"- think of the fire-loving Parsees - "pure"; "fal" means "mad" in a higher
sense, in other words a man without erudition, but one of genius ...
Letter from Richard Wagner to Judith Gautier, 22 November 1877. Lettres Judith
Gautier 65-7.

Wagner's Muse
ut now to more serious matters: first of all, the two chests which have not arrived. Well! They will
arrive, and I shall immerse myself in your generous soul. Cancel the pink satin entirely: there would
be too much of it, and it would be good for nothing. Can I expect the two remnants that I mentioned
in my last letter? - The brocade can be reserved: I'm inclined to order 30 metres, but perhaps the colours
can be changed to flatter my taste even better; in other words: the fawn striped material would be silver-
grey, and the blue my pink, very pale and delicate... For the rest do not think ill of me! I am old enough to
indulge in childish pursuits! - I have three years of Parsifal ahead of me, and nothing must tear me away
from the peaceful tranquillity of creative seclusion...
Letter from Richard Wagner to Judith Gautier, 18 December 1877. Lettres Judith
Gautier 78-80.
he little bottle of rose-water was completely ruined by cold water; and in my clumsiness I dropped
the larger bottle as I was trying to arrange it with the alcohol: it broke, and its contents went all
over the carpet; what really surprised me was how little effect the smell had, since I would have
expected it to give me 1000 headaches! - Send me some more of it. - And don't forget the Rimmel Bengali
rose-powders. - But- above all - be so kind as to let me know immediately and in a word if you have found
the lilac satin (Ophelia!) since my decision to buy it depends upon your answer. Dearly belovd! I have
finished the 1st act; you shall have a sample of it as soon as I have dealt with a whole host of other matters
which I have neglected of late ... Cosima continues as ever before filled with feelings of admiration and
gratitude towards you on account of the Japanese dress and all the other things you have chosen for her.
Would to God that our traditional quarrels on the subject of poor Parsifal might be over and done with!
Believe me, they are not worth the effort...
Letter from Richard Wagner to Judith Gautier, 6 February 1878. Lettres Judith
Gautier 94-6.
ttached to a page of Cosima Wagner's Diary for 1877 is a water-colour drawing with the
caption: Japanese neglig given to me by Richard, Christmas 1877. This entry follows: All this
has led to a long correspondence between him and Judith, during which it had unfortunately
become clear that even the best of Frrench people cannot overcome certain limitations! For instance, Judith
cannot believe that it is impossible to translate Parsifal into French! But of course they do not know the
other thing!

Wagner's Muse
Cosima Wagner's Diary entry for 24 December 1877.
t seems that, during January of the following year, Cosima caught Richard burning some of
the long correspondence between him and Judith and the affair was brought to an end. Dear
soul, I have asked Cosima to take charge of these errands from now on, or rather to make the final
arrangements with regard to the various errands with which I have been troubling you for so long. I believe,
at the same time, that I do well to entrust these last remaining problems to her (as a woman), since there is
no longer any surprise in store! - As for the rest, I am so overwhelmed with work at the moment - work
which is not in the least agreeable - that I cannot find time any longer to continue working on Parsifal. -
Take pity on me! It will soon be over, and I shall rediscover those wonderful moments when I can enjoy
talking to you about myself! - But do not worry about me: the things that annoy me will soon be over and
done with! - Be considerate towards Cosima: write to her properly and at length. I shall be told everything.
Do not stop loving me! You will see me often [?], and, after all, we shall see each other again some day!
Yours, R.
Letter from Richard Wagner to Judith Gautier, 15 February 1878. Lettres Judith
Gautier 96-7.

Parsifal's Progress: the spiritual development of Wagner's hero
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Spiritual progress
he poems of Chrtien de Troyes and Wolfram

von Eschenbach concerning the young man
who appears, at first, to be nothing but a fool
(doch eben nur ein Tor!) are early examples of the
genre of bildungsroman: a story in which a young
person grows up. In these chivalric romances, we are
told how an apparently unpromising candidate can
become, not only a knight, but a knight who is able to
achieve where others have failed. In Wolfram, it is
through gaining both maturity and wisdom that
Parzival develops into a knight who is able to find the
Grail Castle for the second time and to ask the vital
question.
n Wagner's treatment of the myth, the key to

obtaining this wisdom is fellow- suffering or
compassion: mitleiden leidvoll wissender Tor,
he wrote in the Prose Draft. In Schopenhauer's ethics,
it is compassion that is the foundation of morality.
From compassion follow the virtues of justice and
loving-kindness, and from them all other virtues.
n some respects, Parsifal is the typical

Wagnerian hero, related closely to Siegfried in
his initial innocence and readiness to destroy
whatever and whoever stands in his path. He is also
related to Siegfried (and even more closely to his
father Siegmund) in his life of painful wandering and
to both Siegfried and Tristan in his musings about his
parents: like them both, he feels guilt for the death of
his mother. But at the start, unlike these other heroes,
he is not in search of anything or anyone in particular,
wandering aimlessly, unaware of the possibilities of
life and of his own potential.
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/progress.htm (1 of 5) [26/05/2002 22:25:07]

e seems to be quite unpromising material from which to

make a knight. Like Siegfried, he has been brought up in
the isolation of a deep forest and by a conscious decision
of his mother, he has been shielded from all concepts of chivalry
and warfare. Furthermore, she seems to have neglected both his
moral training and instruction in basic etiquette: in the romantic
poems, he mistreats the first woman he comes across, taking her
ring and stealing a kiss; when he has need of arms, Parzival kills
the knight Ferris for his red armour and weapons. Wagner
emphasises moral development: Gurnemanz's questioning of the
boy reveals that he cannot distinguish between good and evil. He is
unable to comprehend the suffering of Amfortas because, in his
sheltered childhood, he had been kept from all knowledge of
suffering. There is a strong suggestion here of a parallel with the
Buddha (Gautama Shakyamuni), who was brought up in ignorance
of old age, sickness and death.
olfram's
poem has two poles: at one, the chivalric ideal
of triuwe (treue), constancy or faithfulness; at
the other, zwivel (zweifel), inconstancy or wavering. He
begins his poem, If inconstancy dwell with the heart,
then the soul will not fail to find it bitter. The ignorant
and foolish boy has to learn faithfulness to something
(the Grail) which on his first visit to the Grail Castle he
did not understand; only after he has understood what
the Grail represents and why Amfortas suffers, through
his faith and by paths of suffering he is able to find the
place again; only then, by the wisdom gained through
fellow-suffering, is he able to heal.
he stone which the builders rejected, the same

is become the head of the corner. [Matthew
21:42]
arsifal is also like Siegfried in that he appears to

accomplish things for himself; although in some
mysterious way, the Grail is acting in the
background to bring about its (or perhaps we should
say, his) own redemption. If we consider this parallel
further, it may lead into deep waters. As a free agent,
Siegfried might (as Wotan thinks) be able to achieve
what Wotan, the least free of all, cannot achieve; applying the same pattern to Parsifal, he might be seen as a
free agent who is able to accomplish what the Christian God cannot. It is possible to read Wagner's text as a

return to the Gnostic or Manichaen roots of the story. Whereas Siegfried forges his own destiny, Parsifal
redeems himself, not just by faith but by his actions. For a Christian, this sub-text is a far more serious objection
to Parsifal than the representation of the Mass on a stage; and therefore it is hard to agree with Lucy Beckett's
assertion that this is an intrinsically and consistently Christian work.
n Wolfram's work, as it would

most likely have been in
Chrtien's had he finished it, the
development of the pure fool culminates
in a perfect knight. Parzival has acquired
the necessary wisdom, not only to heal
his maternal uncle, but also to assume his
throne as king and guardian of the sacred
relics. In Wagner's text and music, we
find the same development, but it seems
to go even further than in the chivalric
romances, even beyond Wagner's initial
conception. Originally, it would seem,
Wagner had introduced Kundry's kiss as
the mechanism by which Parsifal would
be awakened to an understanding of the
suffering of Amfortas (with all that it
entails); he would understand by an
emotional identification after reliving
what had happened to Amfortas. During
the development of Wagner's ideas,
something diffused into the part of his mind that was occupied with Parsifal, from the part that was
simultaneously concerned with Die Sieger. In the latter, the Buddha, sitting under the tree, experienced
supreme, unsurpassed enlightenment.
his idea was merged into Kundry's kiss, so that Parsifal now attained an enlightenment similar to that of
the Buddha: not only the suffering of Amfortas but that of all creation, in its striving and cycles of
existence, was revealed to him with crystal clarity: Welthellsicht, perhaps even Satori. Like the Buddha
too, before his enlightenment, Parsifal is tempted by beautiful women.
hey assailed the prince with all kinds of strategems. Pressing him with their full bosoms, they
addressed to him invitations. One embraced him violently, pretending to have tripped. Another
whispered in his ear, "Let my secret be heard". A third, with appropriate gestures, sang an erotic
song, easily understood; and a fourth, with beautiful breasts, laughed, earrings waving in the wind, and
cried, "Catch me, sir, if you can!" But that best of youths, when wandering in the forest like an elephant
accompanied by his female herd, only pondered in his agitated mind: "Do these women not know that old
age one day will take away their beauty? Not observing disease, they are joyous here in a world of pain. And,

to judge from the way they are laughing at their play, they know nothing at all of death". [Ashvaghosa,
Buddhacarita]
Ich sah sie welken, die einst mir lachten;

ob heut' sie nach Erlsung schmachten?
[Parsifal
Act 3]
s discussed in another article, the

words of Gurnemanz in the second
scene of the last act and the events of
the final scene (especially as presented in
some modern stagings) suggest a comparison
between Parsifal and Christ; a parallel that
Wagner repeatedly disavowed, but which he
himself suggested to King Ludwig, for whom
this was a profoundly Christian work.
hen took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly,

and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her
hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
[John 12:3]
his parallel is underlined by the presentation of Kundry in Act

3 as a Magdalene, anointing the pure one with oil of spikenard
and washing his feet, which she then dries with her long hair;
and by the appearance of the dove at the end of the opera. This is, it is
true, an element taken from Wolfram , perhaps originating with his
source Kyot as a religious symbol; it too has a strong resonance with
the Gospel of St. John.
nd John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending

from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.[John 1:32]
arsifal's progress, it seems goes beyond the state of perfect

knight. This is the most significant difference between
Wagner's poem and Wolfram's Parzival, the story of a fool
who became a knight. Wagner's Grail king is a spiritual hero on the
same spiritual plane as the Buddha and the Christ.
Postscript
Parsifal and Buddhism

ince I wrote the article above, my understanding of the Buddhist ideas and symbolism in Parsifal has
been significantly improved and expanded as a result of intensive studies in the related literature,
combined with visits to Bayreuth and Zrich in the summer of 2000.
t is now clear to me that Wagner's original conception involved a merging of the respective stories of
Parzival and the Buddha Shakyamuni; and that it was inherent in Wagner's concept, from its beginning
on a spring morning in 1857, that his hero Parsifal would progress to the level of Buddhahood. It should
not be thought, however, that Wagner identified his Parsifal with the Buddha Shakyamuni, any more than he
was identified with Christ. Wagner's inspiration, I firmly believe, was found in his observation that the early life
of Wolfram's Parzival resembled the early life of the Buddha, about whom Wagner had been reading in 1856-
57. Wagner's hero progresses from fool to sage. At the end of his path Parsifal achieves the level of
enlightenment that Wagner believed was common to both the Buddha and the Christ.

Sleeping and Waking
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Sleeping and Waking
Sleeping and Waking
he cycle of sleep and wakefulness is an everyday human experience; but in Parsifal the need
for sleep and the need to awaken out of sleep (into consciousness) seem to carry some special
significance. The same could be said of an earlier work by the same composer; his Siegfried,
in which the central characters of Siegfried and Brnnhilde, as individuals, develop and awaken. In
Parsifal, it is the eponymous hero and his would-be seducer, Kundry, who undergo personality
changes. In Parsifal's case those changes are linear, but in the the case of Kundry, the changes are
cyclical.
Siegfried and Brnnhilde

he music-drama Siegfried, which is the third part of Wagner's Ring cycle, is a drama about
sleep and waking. At the beginning of this drama, it is the dragon Fafnir who sleeps, coiled
around the Nibelung hoard. It is the young hero Siegfried, we discover, who is to awaken the
dragon, and in the process Siegfried takes important steps in his own development as an individual,
which can be likened to an awakening. In the second act of the drama, we see the dwarf Alberich
awaken from sleep by the dragon's lair; soon dark Alberich is joined by the god Wotan, and
together they waken the dragon, to warn him of the approach of young Siegfried. Fafnir turns over
and goes back to sleep, only to receive a rude awakening from the hero. After he has killed the
dragon, Siegfried tastes the blood, and as a result he gains the ability to understand the meaning of
birdsong. A little bird leads him to the Valkyrie rock, where he awakens the sleeping Brnnhilde. At
first he confuses her with his mother (as Parsifal at first will interpret Kundry) but the "mother"
becomes his lover. Although she is awake in a literal sense, Brnnhilde does not seem to have woken
up to an awareness of her new situation as a mortal woman; it is only after Siegfried calls on her to
wake up, that Brnnhilde awakens to her new life.
he mother is a symbol of the unconscious, Tristan's weiten Reich der Welten Nacht. Wagner's
heroes often are preoccupied with their relationships to their mothers: Tristan is full of guilt
at causing the death of his mother when he was born (sie sterbend mich gebar), Siegfried
never knew his mother, and Parsifal learns that he too was the cause of his mother's death. The
woman who appears and reminds the hero of his mother (in the case of Brnnhilde unintentionally,
in the case of Kundry by design) is in Jungian terms an anima figure.
he sleeping valkyrie was not invented by Wagner, of course. She is recognisably the fairy-
tale figure of Sleeping Beauty (Dornrschen); like many other fairy-tales, as the Grimm
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/sleep.htm (1 of 5) [26/05/2002 22:25:22]

Sleeping and Waking
brothers discovered, her story could be traced back to an early Germanic original, surviving in the
form of Old Norse poems and sagas. The sleeping beauty was originally (in Sigrdrfoml in the Poetic
Edda) called Sigrdrifr. This character was merged with Brynhild, not by Wagner, but (most likely)
by the author of the Volsungasaga, an important source used by Wagner in his Ring. (Confusingly,
there is another Eddic poem, Helrei Brynhildar, in which the once sleeping valkyrie is called
Brynhild, but this poem was probably composed after Volsungasaga). Brynhild was put to sleep with
a thorn and woken by Sigurd removing her armour; Wagner's Brnnhilde (whose name is the
Germanised form of Brynhild) is both put to sleep with a kiss (from Wotan) and woken with a kiss
(from Siegfried).
t the end of the final opera in the cycle, Wagner's Brnnhilde undergoes a further change.
She reaches a level of awareness in which she is able to understand all that has happened,
perhaps even to understand the nature of the world, and cheerfully to ascend the funeral
pyre with the dead Siegfried, so that the ring may be reclaimed from her ashes by the waters of the
Rhine.
Right: Kundry
asleep, from H.J.
Syberberg's film.
Artificial Eye.
Kundry
Awakes
agner
returned
to the
theme of sleep
and waking when he drafted Parsifal. He wrote that Kundry was living an unending life of constantly
alternating rebirths. The wild woman falls into a death-like sleep, from which the sorcerer Klingsor
conjures her as a beautiful seductress. It seems that Kundry does not experience the reincarnation
that Hindu scriptures describe; rather that Kundry enters the state of susupti. This is a state, deeper
than normal sleep, in which atman (meaning approximately the soul) is temporarily released from
mortal coils.
one of this can be found in Wolfram's Parzival or related sources. Within what many have
regarded as a Christian work, Wagner seems to have made an extended detour, an entire act
based on ideas he had found in Indian texts. As discussed in a separate article, the action of
the second act seems to be based on an episode in the life of the Buddha, and therefore amounts to a
Buddhist excursion from Wolfram's story.

Sleeping and Waking
he events of Parsifal are supposedly set in Arthurian times, so if Kundry witnessed the
suffering of Jesus, then she must be over five hundred years old. Not surprisingly, she is
tired. She gasps out, Schlaf ... Schlaf ... tiefer Schlaf ... Tod!. She will sleep again and never
wake. Like Tristan, she will close the gates of death behind her: hinter mir schon des Todes Tor sich
schliessen. But this is denied her; again and again she is conjured out of her sleep by the sorcerer, to
become a seductress once more. Like Tristan, she is forced to leave night's darkness. When Klingsor
has no more use for her, Kundry escapes to the wilderness where she becomes a penitent. At the end
of Parsifal, like Brnnhilde, Kundry closes behind her the open gates of eternal becoming... redeemed
from rebirth, the wise one now departs [a passage that was deleted from Gtterdmmerung, but printed
in the 1872 text as a footnote].
either in the 1865 Prose Draft nor in the 1877 libretto does Wagner explain how long or how
often Kundry sleeps. It might be that, like Brnnhilde, she sometimes sleeps for years; it is
possible that she has been sleeping for several years of Parsifal's wandering, until she awakes
shortly before he arrives at Monsalvat. The fact that she awakens in the spring, like an animal
coming out of hibernation, is probably not significant (except as a faint echo of the Celtic origins of
Wolfram's wild woman). It might have been inspired by Schopenhauer, who wrote, with reference
to hibernation: this is nature's great doctrine of immortality, which tries to make it clear to us that there
is no radical difference between sleep and death, but that the one endangers existence just as little as the
other.

Sleeping and Waking
Right: the Parsifal Cross, based on

the ideas of Wieland Wagner.
Parsifal's progress is shown by the
vertical spear, which pierces the
plane of Kundry's cycle of rebirth
at the point of the kiss.
Parsifal
Awakes
n contrast to Kundry's
cyclical existence,
during the course of
Wagner's drama, Parsifal
undergoes a linear
development. As in a poem
that contributed to Richard
Wagner's initial inspiration,
Wolfram's epic poem Parzival,
the foolish boy becomes a
hero, and in both cases the
path taken by the future hero is an unconventional one; he follows paths of error and suffering; der
Irrnis und der Leiden Pfade. The first significant step on his path is a shock to his system delivered by
Kundry; the kiss.
ieland Wagner, the composer's grandson and stage director, once described Kundry as
frozen in time, moving in a spatial dimension back and forth between two domains on either
side of the mountains; while Parsifal moves and develops in a temporal dimension; these
dimensions meet in the kiss. Like the sleeping valkyrie, Parsifal is awakened with a kiss; in the third
act, it appears that he takes away Kundry's sins when he returns the kiss.
rom a Buddhist perspective, that intense reaction which Kundry's kiss had elicited from
Parsifal, is none other than a flash of enlightenment, a kensho or a glimpse of satori, the first
of many which must be experienced on the path to becoming a spiritual teacher, a
Bodhisattva. This experience pushed Parsifal's spiritual realizations several notches up, despite the
fact that kisses are conventionally regarded as physical indulgences of the sensually-inclined and the
worldly. Parsifal's progress is still far from complete at the end of the second act, as he shows by his
failure to understand Kundry's situation, which reveals that he has not yet reached enlightenment.

Sleeping and Waking
This page last updated (non-css message, background, links) 05/03/02 06:34:26.

Good Friday: spirituality, religion and redemption in 'Parsifal'
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Good Friday
Good Friday
The Soul Silent

ur conversation leads us to the mystic Meister Eckhart; R. begins to read a sermon by him, which
fascinates us to the highest degree. Everything turned inward, the soul silent, so that in it, God
may speak the hidden word!
[Cosima's Diary, 26 October 1873]
he absence of all ideality brings the soul blissful peace", says R., "and the way to this peace is
through Jesus Christ."
alked with R. about Buddhism and Christianity. Perception of the world much greater in
Buddhism, which, however, has no monument like the Gospels, in which divinity is conveyed to
our consciousness in a truly historic form. The advantage of Buddhism is that it derives from
Brahmanism, whose dogmas can be put to use where science reveals gaps, so far-reaching are its symbols.
The Christian teaching is, however, derived from the Jewish religion, and that is its dilemma. Christ's
suffering moves us more than Buddha's fellow-suffering, we suffer with him and become Buddhas, through
contemplation. Christ wishes to suffer, suffers, and redeems us; Buddha looks on commiserates, and
teaches us how to achieve redemption.
Day of Redemption
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/friday.htm (1 of 5) [26/05/2002 22:25:45]

oday is Good Friday again! - O, blessed day! Most deeply portentous day in the world! Day of
redemption! God's suffering! Who can grasp the enormity of it? And yet, this same ineffable
mystery - is it not the most familiar of mankind's secrets? God, the Creator, - he must remain
totally unintelligible to the world: - God, the loving teacher, is dearly beloved, but not understood:- but
the God who suffers, - His name is inscribed in our hearts in letters of fire; all the obstinacy of existence is
washed away by our immense pain at seeing God suffering! The teaching which we could not comprehend,
it now affects us: God is within us, - the world has been overcome! Who created it? An idle question! Who
overcame it? God within our hearts, - God whom we comprehend in the deepest anguish of fellow-
suffering! -
warm and sunny Good Friday, with its mood of sacred solemnity, once inspired me with the idea
of writing Parsifal; since then it has lived within me and prospered, like a child in its mother's
womb. With each Good Friday it grows a year older, and I then celebrate the day of its
conception, knowing that its birthday will follow one day.
[Letter to King Ludwig, 14 April 1865]
t may not be coincidence that Wagner makes a play on begreifen, to take in, and ergreifen, to
grasp, which suggests Luther's translation of the first chapter of St. John's Gospel.
n Wagner's poem it is on Good Friday that Parsifal arrives at the edge of the forest with the Spear
and with a burden of guilt. Here Wagner seems to be following his sources, in which Perceval or
Parzival, who had not been inside a church or made confession in several years, met some
pilgrims who were shocked to see him wearing armour on the holiest of days, Good Friday. They directed
him to an old hermit whom they had just visited. In Wagner's drama the old hermit is identified with the
knight Gurnemanz. Parsifal's guilt is only increased when Gurnemanz tells him of the death of Titurel and
of the decay of the Grail community.
Und ich, ich bin's

der all dies Elend schuf!
Ha! Welcher Snden,
welches Frevels Schuld
muss dieses Toren Haupt
seit Ewigkeit belasten.
And I, it is I,
who brought this woe on all!
Ha! What transgression,
such a load of sin
must this my foolish head
bear through all eternity.

oon after, however, Gurnemanz blesses the new Grail king and cries out to heaven:
Du - Reiner!
Mitleidsvoll Duldender,
heiltatvoll Wissender!
Wie des Erls'ten Leiden du gelitten,
die letzte Last entnimm nun seinem Haupt!
O - Pure One!
Pitying sufferer,
all-wise deliverer!
As the redeeming torments you once suffered,
now lift the last load forever from his head!
Left: Kundry and Parsifal with the Holy Spear on Good

Friday, Franz Stassen, 1901. Above the scene in the
Good Friday meadow, the artist shows angels collecting
Christ's blood in the Holy Grail.
t is still Good Friday as the final curtain

comes down on Wagner's
Bhnenweihfestspiel and Good Friday still
symbolises Christ's sacrificial act on behalf of
humanity; and it is entirely characteristic of
Parsifal that he effects the miracle of the return of
the Spear on the holiest of all days, without knowing
it was that day until Gurnemanz told him. There is
thus a reciprocal, mutually interactive connection
between Parsifal and the Grail (already observable
in Act 1) and between the Spear and the Blood in
the Holy Chalice; and as Parsifal prepares to
ascend the steps of the shrine to take the Chalice
from the boys who have already opened the Holy
Shrine in preparation for this moment, the point of
the Spear glows red in mutual attraction and
empathy with the Blood in the cup.
[Ian Beresford Gleaves, in Wagner News, July 1995]

Religion and Spirituality

ichael Tanner, in his essay The Total Work of Art, regards Parsifal as being a work about religion,
more precisely the psychopathology of religious belief. He suggests that the words of Gurnemanz
are addressed, not to Christ, but to Parsifal as man redeemed and transfigured. There is a certain
tidiness about this view of the text, in which Parsifal not only restores the power of the Grail to intervene
in the human world, but becomes a new Christ, one that does not die. This interpretation seems to be
adopted in productions in which Amfortas shares the same fate as Kundry: Wieland Wagner suggested that
this was necessary for reasons of symmetry. It is also consistent with some of the medieval sources, in
which Anfortas is a symbol, or type, of Christ and the unseen Titurel is a symbol of the hidden Creator. In
this symbolic interpretation of the Grail legend, the Grail bearer (Wolfram's Repanse de Schoye) is a
symbol of the Virgin Mary, who bears the Grail, which represents the body of Christ.
anner's interpretation seems to stretch the text too

far, however: Gurnemanz's words are clearly about
Parsifal but addressed to the once-suffering
Redeemer. Wagner's letter to King Ludwig of 7 September
1865 is evidence that the composer related Parsifal to
Christ, but not that he identified his hero with Christ;
Wagner repeatedly denied that Parsifal was a Christ-figure.
It is true that the religious symbolism reinforces the
relationship between Parsifal and Christ: in the last act, the
episode of the Magdalene and the dove descending, as at
the baptism of Christ in St. John's Gospel. So it was natural
that Parsifal should be represented as a Christ-figure in the
first productions outside Bayreuth, productions which
treated Parsifal as a religious work rather than a work about
religion or as a non-religious work employing the symbols
of religion. The composer's instructions do not imply an
identification between Parsifal and Christ, nor do they
indicate that Amfortas should die - as in Wolfram, at the
end of the opera he is restored to health and lives on. To
some extent, it seems that the symbols have moved into the
foreground, obscuring the meanings that Wagner had
intended to convey to the audience. Therefore it would seem to be justified to reduce or remove the
religious symbolism, as some recent productions have done.

nother view of the work is that it is about spirituality rather than religion. The elements of mystical
Christianity and Buddhism give the work its tension between redemption through the suffering of
Christ and redemption obtained by following the Buddha down the path of enlightenment. Wagner
was also interested in oriental religion and spirituality, for example in the poems of the Sufi mystic Hafiz.
Parsifal's enlightenment seems to come from within, from God within our hearts, - God whom we
comprehend in the deepest anguish of fellow-suffering speaking the hidden word.
Spiritual Awakening
agner was still convinced of the pain inherent in being alive, and of the sovereign value of the
identification of one's own sufferings with those of others. It is only in terms of this ethic of
compassion, founded on a metaphysic of the unity of living things, that Parsifal makes sense. As
soon as one has grasped that, the apparently Christian elements in the work, which can be embarassing or
seem merely added for colour, function much more actively as constituents in a profound drama of
spiritual awakening and fulfilment. New life is brought to the Grail community, and it will be able to
continue, invigorated, not through any injection of supernatural energy-boosters, but through the radiant
example of Parsifal, showing the possibility of emerging triumphant from gruelling ordeals, neither
complacent in his achievement nor exhausted by it.
[Michael Tanner, Wagner, pp.198-199]

Redemption in Wagner's 'Parsifal'
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Erlsung dem Erlser
Erlsung dem Erlser
Mankind and Nature in Need of Redemption

he ending of Wagner's Parsifal challenges all involved with the work, whether audience or
production team. Wagner's text tells of redemption and in his music all seems to be resolved.
All too often, however, the ending of the work seems to be unsatisfactory, and the audience
are left to puzzle over the last lines of the text. Perceived difficulties with the ending of Parsifal have
prompted the invention of various endings that do not follow Wagner's detailed stage directions. In
order to interpret and present the ending of the work effectively and meaningfully, we need to
consider who is redeemed, what this redemption might mean, and the nature of Parsifal's mission.
hen, at a time when the world was most harsh and hostile, and when the faithful were hard
pressed by the unbelievers and were in great distress, there sprang up in certain divinely inspired
heroes, filled with holy charity, the desire to seek out the vessel - that mysteriously consoling relic
of which there was ancient report - in which the Saviour's blood (Sang rale, whence San Gral - Sanct
Gral - The Holy Grail) had been preserved, living and divinely potent, for mankind in dire need of
redemption.
[Wagner's Prose Draft]
hat which, as simplest and most touching of religious symbols, unites us in the common practising
of our belief; that which, ever newly living in the tragic teachings of great spirits, uplifts us to the
altitudes of pity, - is the knowledge, given in infinite variety of forms, of the Need of Redemption.
In solemn hours when all the world's appearances dissolve away as in a prophet's dream, we seem already
to partake of this redemption in advance: no more then tortures us the memory of that yawning gulf, the
gruesome monsters of the deep, the reeking litter of the self- devouring Will, which Day - alas! the history
of mankind, had forced upon us: then pure and peace- desiring sounds to us the cry of Nature, fearless,
hopeful, all- assuaging, world- redeeming. United in this cry, by it made conscious of its own high office of
redemption of the whole like- suffering Nature, the soul of Manhood soars from the abyss of semblances,
and, loosed from all that awful chain of rise and fall, the restless Will feels fettered by itself alone, but
from itself set free.
[Religion and Art, tr. W. Ashton Ellis]
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/erlosung.htm (1 of 9) [26/05/2002 22:26:37]

The Redemption of Amfortas

he translation of Erlsung as
Redemption is inexact. The English
word carries a meaning of buying
back that is missing from the German
original and which bears an association
with the pawnshop. Erlsung is literally
release or delivery, e.g. from captivity or
from the hands of an oppressor. In the
case of Amfortas, he is released from his
obligations: Denn ich verwalte nun dein
Amt, says his deliverer from agony (die
Not, die Hllenpein, zu diesem Amt
verdammt zu sein!).
ne of the threads that runs through

the work is the need for
redemption of mankind and of
nature. In the last act, for example,
Parsifal gazes on the beauty of the spring
meadows and remembers the unnatural
blooms of Klingsor's magic garden: Ich
sah sie welken, die einst mir lachten: ob
heut' sie nach Erlsung schmachten?.
The Redemption of Kundry

undry is living an unending life of

constantly alternating rebirths as the result
of an ancient curse which, in a manner
reminiscent of the Wandering Jew, condemns her,
in ever-new shapes, to bring to men the suffering of
seduction; redemption[erlsung], death, complete
annihilation is vouchsafed her only if her most
powerful blandishments are withstood by the most
chaste and virile of men. So far, they have not been.
After each new and, in the end, profoundly hateful
victory, after each new fall by man, she flies into a
rage; she then flees into the wilderness, where by
the most severe atonements and chastisements she
is, for a while, able to escape from the power of the
curse upon her; yet it is denied to her to find
salvation by this route. Within her, again and
again, arises a desire to be redeemed [erls't] by a
man, this being the only way of redemption
[erlsung] offered by the curse: thus does
innermost necessity cause her repeatedly to fall
victim anew to the power through which she is
reborn as a seductress. The penitent then falls into
a deathly sleep: it is the seductress who wakes, and
who, after her mad frenzy, becomes a penitent
again.
[Wagner's Prose Draft]
o when Parsifal arrives in the magic

garden, she asks him, Bist du Erlser, was bannt dich, Bser, nicht mir auch zum Heil dich zu
einen? and hopes to be redeemed by him: in dir entsndigt sein und erls't!. A few minutes
later she hints, perhaps ironically, that he has a higher task: Die Welt erlse, ist dies dein Amt? But it
is not Parsifal who redeems -- or is it? -- or is he, without knowing it, the agent of the Grail? In a
sense, Kundry delivers him too: she takes his innocence from him, although he retains his purity. He
is no longer the pure fool (reiner Tor), but the Pure One (der Reiner). Her kiss, Wagner told King
Ludwig, has brought Parsifal the knowledge of good and evil.
he most difficult aspect of the last act of Parsifal is Wagner's treatment of Kundry. After
being a focus of the dramatic action in the first two acts, she is subdued, calm, almost silent
throughout the third act, although she participates like a penitent Magdalen in the symbol-
laden action. She silently acknowledges Parsifal as her Redeemer and his first action as the
enlightened and anointed king is to baptise this heathen woman. If this is meant to be a Christian

baptism, which signifies a new beginning, then it seems strange that before the day is over Kundry
has died. The redemption that the enlightened hero brings her, it would appear, is escape from
samsara, the eternal cycle of death and rebirth. From then on Kundry is absent from the music but
mentioned in the stage directions when, her eyes fixed on Parsifal, she falls lifeless to the ground.
learly Wagner had some Schopenhauerian concept of Kundry, who might even be
considered to represent suffering humanity. There can be no doubt that Kundry's existence
and her escape from that existence were conceived by Wagner in relation to the ideas about
Buddhism (samsara, nirvana) that he had found in Schopenhauer's writings and in books to which
Schopenhauer led him. In any attempt to interpret Kundry's cyclical existence and her redemption
in Buddhist terms, we must keep in mind that Wagner saw Buddhism only in relation to
Schopenhauer's philosophy. While working on the poem of Parsifal he might also have been
thinking about his next project Die Sieger and it is possible that Kundry absorbed some of the
heroine of that unfinished drama, the outcast maiden Prakriti.
The Redemption of the Grail

he Grail is delivered by Parsifal from

the guilt-stained hands of Amfortas. It
is released from the shrine and, at
Parsifal's command, is never more to be
locked away (Nicht soll der mehr verschlossen
sein). In other words, the Grail is freed to
work for the redemption of Mankind and
Nature without constraint.
The Conclusion of
Parsifal
here are at least three elements in the
ending, each of which needs to be
studied in a careful reading of the text
and perhaps also in the light of the
performance tradition. We need to consider
the nature of Parsifal's mission, whether it is
achieved at the end of the drama and if so,
what is the result.
he first and most obvious choice would be to focus upon the healing of Amfortas, since in the
most literal reading of the text, this is Parsifal's mission; as he himself realises at the moment
of the kiss. The only person who seems to benefit directly is Amfortas; but if we regard the
health and vigour of the Grail King as intimately connected to the fertility of the land and the well-
being of his people, then Parsifal also brings healing to the kingdom when he heals Amfortas. This
interpretation is grounded in Wagner's sources, such as the First Continuation to Chretien's
Perceval.

he ending is not that simple, however,

because the resolution of Wagner's
story is richer than that of any of his
sources. Although when Parsifal is
enlightened by the kiss his first thought is of
the suffering Amfortas, he does not know, at
that moment, what his mission might be. Only
when he arrives at the domain of the Grail on
Good Friday and meets Gurnemanz does
Parsifal realise that he is to become Grail
king. If we consider that Parsifal's mission is
the redemption of the Grail, rather than the
redemption of Amfortas (which occurs as a
side-benefit of the redemption of the Grail),
then the focus of the final scene should be
upon the transfer of Amfortas' kingly and
priestly role to his young and virile successor
(Denn ich verwalte nun dein Amt). Amfortas'
suffering was necessary, it seems, because it
evoked compassion in his successor (Gesegnet
sei dein Leiden, das Mitleid's hchste Kraft, und
reinsten Wissens Macht dem zagen Toren gab!).
For the land and its people, the healing of the
king is unimportant if there is a successor.
ut are we only concerned with the domain of the Grail here? Wagner said, What is important
is not the question, but the recovery of the spear (Cosima's Diary, 30 January 1877). Obviously
the recovery of the spear is important as a means to the end of healing Amfortas. Parsifal's
arrival at the Grail Castle with the spear can also be seen as symbolising that he is the destined
successor to Amfortas. But the connection of the spear with the Grail should also be considered. At
the centre of the resolution of the work is the reunion of two symbols: the spear, representing the
male principle, and the Grail, representing the female principle. (O! Welchen Wunders hchstes
Glck! Der deine Wunde durfte schliessen, ihm seh' ich heil'ges Blut entfliessen in Sehnsucht nach dem
verwandten Quelle, der dort fliesst in des Grales Welle.). It is through the reunion of the male and
female principles that fertility is restored to the land. The unhealthy situation of a male brotherhood
of knights in one castle and a castle of maidens on the other side of the mountains has been swept
away. The Grail had been locked in its shrine and the knights had been inward-looking, only
concerned with their own problems. Now the Grail will be revealed to mankind, as the community
of the Grail turns outward.

here seem to be three levels of meaning in the resolution of the work, each of which was, or
could have been, the conclusion of a simpler story. In order to understand and present the
final scene of Parsifal, it is necessary to distinguish these three levels of Wagner's story and
combine them effectively. Most modern productions either focus on one of the three aspects of the
scene, or side-step the issue entirely by imposing a new ending. By giving consideration to the three
components of the resolution of the work, together with the difficult but secondary questions of what
happens to Kundry and Amfortas respectively, an intelligent director should be able to produce a
staging that will fulfil Wagner's intentions -- without leaving the audience confused about what
happens at the end and why.
Postscript
An Inconsistency in Wagner's Ending
ince writing the above, I have realised that there is an inconsistency in Wagner's resolution
of Kundry's predicament. Wagner follows Wolfram von Eschenbach in attributing to the
Grail the ability to sustain life. Even the life of Amfortas, who wants to die. Titurel has died
because he no longer looks upon the Grail, which Amfortas has commanded shall remain enclosed.
But at the end of the drama, Kundry returns to the temple with Parsifal and Gurnemanz, looks
upon the Grail when it is uncovered at Parsifal's command, and dies. This seems to be an
inconsistency. A radical solution that would remove the inconsistency, would be to allow Kundry to
sink lifeless in the Good Friday meadow, as Parsifal and Gurnemanz move offstage. As far as the
author is aware, no production has ever made this change.
Some Alternatives
n re-reading this article, it seems that there are four possible endings, depending on whether
Kundry or Amfortas live or die. This assumes no radical changes to the ending, such as
returning to Wagner's 1865 idea of resurrecting Titurel (Titurel rises from his coffin and gives
his blessing).
1. Kundry dies, Amfortas is healed and lives, Parsifal assumes the office of Grail
King: this is Wagner's own ending. Therefore it is unlikely to be favoured by
the current generation of opera producers. Before dismissing this ending,
however, it should be noted that it is the logical conclusion of all that has gone
before, seen from a Schopenhaurian viewpoint (or equally, from a Buddhist
perspective). If Amfortas lives, it seems to be unnecessary for Parsifal to take
over his office. In some of the medieval sources, after healing the Grail King,

the hero retires to live as a hermit. But it would be more in keeping with
Wagner's text to assume that it is the healed Amfortas who leaves at the end,
perhaps to become a hermit himself.
2. Both Kundry and Amfortas die, Parsifal assumes the office of Grail King: It is
not necessary for the Grail King to live once a successor has arrived. In some of
Wagner's sources, the Grail King is healed, only to die peacefully a few days
later. The healing that Parsifal brings, is revealed to be death. From a
viewpoint of Schopenhaurian pessimism, this ending would be satisfactory. The
old order has gone, and a new order begins under the rule of Parsifal.
3. Amfortas is relieved of his office and dies, the reborn Kundry lives, Parsifal
assumes the office of Grail King: this is the inversion of Wagner's ending.
Therefore it is currently very popular with opera producers. The only
argument that this author can see in favour of this ending, is that Kundry
might be reborn to some purpose, at the sight of the Grail. From a Christian
perspective, she would have been saved through faith; from a Buddhist
perspective, she might be on the road to enlightenment and an eventual
escape from samsara.
4. Both the reborn Kundry and the healed Amfortas live: this is the feel-good
ending. Although it would be inconsistent with Wagner's text (both of Parsifal
and Lohengrin), it would be consistent with his sources to allow Amfortas to
continue as Grail King, either keeping Parsifal as heir apparent, or allowing
him to reject the crown (as he did in a recent ENO/SFO/LOC production) and to
leave Monsalvat.
f Parsifal does take over the office of Grail King, his alternatives are either (a) to remain in
the temple (as in Wagner's stage directions), or (b) to take the Grail and leave, followed by
Kundry and some of the knights (this was very effective in Harry Kupfer's Copenhagen
production).
he last of these seems to be the most positive ending. On one level, it emphasises that the
Grail community, for so long turned inward, now turns outward (although there are other
ways of showing this change). On another level, it corrects a weakness inherent in the Grail
legend. In Robert de Boron's Perceval, for example, the sorcerer Merlin announces to Arthur and
his knights of the Round Table that their companion Perceval has succeeded, and has become Lord
of the Grail. From now on he will renounce chivalry and will surrender himself entirely to the grace of
his Creator. At this news, Arthur and his knights weep; for their brotherhood has lost its spiritual
purpose, and become worldly. The withdrawal of Perceval from the world is a lost opportunity; if he
had brought back the Grail to the court of Arthur, the world might have been changed. By doing so,

however, Perceval would have become God's representative on earth, a possibility that the medieval
authors did not wish to contemplate. In Wagner's version, as we know from another of his stage
works, Lohengrin, the Grail community under Parsifal remains hidden from the world, but its
members can be sent out into the world, to anyone in need of their help.
Acknowledgement: some of the points in this article were drawn from

an essay by Ian Beresford Gleaves, in Wagner News, July 1995.

Parsifal and Christianity
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Christianity
1. Decadent and Offensive?

2. Is it a Christian work?
3. Chastity and Purity
4. Redeeming the Redeemer
Decadent and Offensive?

conventional view of Wagner's last years might be as follows. He took as the basis for his last
major work, the religion that had developed in the West over the preceding two millenia,
and affirmed its truth. In the rejection of sexual love in favour of a Buddhistic compassion
for all living things, burdened with existence (or with consciousness perhaps, or reason), his last
hero found salvation for himself and for others. Put in these terms, Parsifal is dubious and decadent
at best, downright offensive at worst.
Is it a Christian work?
nd if it is not a Christian work, as opposed to a work which is to a large extent about Christians
(though remember, the Christ is never referred to by name) and their failings and eventual
salvation, what is the significance of the celebration of the Eucharist in Act I, the prayers that can
hardly be addressed to anyone but the Christian God, the point of Parsifal's baptising Kundry and telling
her to have faith in the Redeemer, and much else besides?
[Michael Tanner in his biography of Wagner.]
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/xtianity.htm (1 of 5) [26/05/2002 22:26:54]

n her Cambridge Handbook, Lucy Beckett speaks of the work's steadily

maintained Christian frame of reference. This seems to miss the point that
Wagner made right at the start of his essay, Religion and Art: One might say
that where Religion becomes artificial, it is reserved for Art to save the spirit of religion
by recognising the figurative value of the mythic symbols which the former would have
us believe in their literal sense, and revealing their deep and hidden truth through an
ideal representation. [Religion and Art, 1880, tr. W. Ashton Ellis.] So despite
Wagner's description of the work, for the benefit of King Ludwig, as a Christian parable
it would be more accurate to say that he made use of the symbols of Christianity,
together with some elements of Buddhist philosophy, to convey his own message.
Indeed, as the author has shown in a separate article, as far as the second act is concerned, it might be
more accurate to speak of a steadily maintained Buddhist frame of reference. We should also keep in mind
that Wagner had an ambivalent relationship with Christianity; as a disciple of the atheist Schopenhauer,
Wagner did not believe in God, although he told Cosima that he did believe in divinity (by which he
probably meant ; see Religion and Art).
It is deeply significant that the second crucial moment in the opera takes place not on Easter Day but on
Good Friday: on the day of the passion of Christ, not of his resurrection. Gurnemanz corrects Parsifal: it
is a time for rejoicing, for the sacrifice of love that has already set men free. The spring of new life is here,
as Parsifal himself comes to see and to proclaim to Kundry. The interpretation is not that of orthodox
Christian doctrine and devotion, but it does express the significance that Wagner himself found in
Christianity. The emphasis was on "the deed of free-willed suffering", not on the triumph of love which
had overcome suffering: on "the love that springs from pity, and carries its compassion to the utmost
breaking of self- will" which he claimed to have found in Schopenhauer's ethics, as he found it in
Christianity. Schopenhauer, we know, points to the renunciation of the will- to-live; but mere
renunciation, however unselfish, does not imply renewal, nor did Schopenhauer look for it.
[James Mark in Theology, March 1987, reprinted in Wagner, vol.9 no.3, July 1988]
In his references to Christ Wagner was concerned with Christ's act of selfless sacrifice: for him,
Christ was the archetypal sinless sufferer. Since Wagner denied that Parsifal was a Christ figure, it
is argued by Lucy Beckett that Gurnemanz' Du - Reiner! - Mitleidsvoll Duldender, heiltatvoll
Wissender! is not addressed to Parsifal, but to Christ: this makes a profound difference. On the other
hand, this may be Wagner's deliberate ambiguity. The figure of the sinless sufferer remains
compelling; he was all that Wagner wanted of Christian tradition. But, if he is no more than this, what
becomes of his relationship to Parsifal? Parsifal himself has suffered for Amfortas in the moment of
temptation by Kundry; he has overcome the temptation and can now heal Amfortas' wound. If Christ has
become simply the sinless sufferer, is it not possible, whatever the differences between them, to see a
similarity, and thereby to see what happens as somewhat [sic] that happens not between man and God, to
be spelt out in the language of traditional Christian doctrine, but between man and man -- a possibility
that we may reveal to each other within the limits of the human condition? [James Mark]

s Lucy Beckett pointed out, Parsifal displaced the Buddhist drama Die Sieger from Wagner's
plan of work. In part at least, because the ideas that he had developed in relation to the two
stories had converged into one conceptual web. In Die Sieger, a chaste young man called
Ananda receives into the future Buddha's community a beautiful girl called Prakriti, who has
passionately loved him; but the Buddha persuades him to renounce her. The Buddha reveals that in
an earlier incarnation, Prakriti had rejected, with mocking laughter, the love of a young man. In the
last act of Die Sieger the future Buddha shows compassion for Prakriti and for the first time admits
a woman into what had been an all-male religious community. One of the last sentences that
Wagner wrote in February 1883 was the following: It is a beautiful feature of the legend, that shows the
Victoriously Perfect at last determined to admit the woman. Prakriti and her laughter became yet
another element in the complex character of Kundry, who at the end of Parsifal enters, apparently
for the first time, the "Synagogue of the Grail", as Wagner called his Grail Temple.
agner's description of Kundry and her situation is also at odds with Christian teaching: as a
result of her pitiless laughter, Kundry has been cursed and is unable to repent until the
curse is lifted; yet the Christian churches teach that the door of forgiveness is always open to
those who will repent. Nor does Wagner affirm life: no sooner is Kundry freed from her curse than
she dies. Wagner can't accept the fullness of Christian doctrine and (in spite of Nietzsche's polemic [in
Der Fall Wagner where he saw Wagner "sinking, helpless and broken, before the Christian cross"]) the
affirmation of life that it might have made possible. [James Mark]
Chastity and Purity

or Parsifal is a work of perfidy, of vindictiveness, of a secret attempt to poison the presuppositions
of life -- a bad work. The preaching of chastity remains an incitement to anti-nature; I despise
everyone who does not experience Parsifal as an attempted assassination of basic ethics.
[Friedrich Nietzsche, Nietzsche contra Wagner, tr. W. Kaufmann.]
ave you noticed ... that Wagner's heroines never have children? - They can't. - The despair with
which Wagner tackled the problem of having Siegfried born at all shows how modern his feelings
were at this point. - Siegfried "emancipates woman" - but without any hope of progeny. - One fact,
finally, which leaves us dumbfounded: Parsifal is the father of Lohengrin. How did he do it? - Must one
remember at this point that "chastity works miracles"? - Wagnerus dixit princeps in castitate auctoritas.
(Said by Wagner, the foremost authority on chastity.)
[Friedrich Nietzsche, Der Fall Wagner, tr. W. Kaufmann.]

Left: Parsifal Act 3 in the Royal Swedish Opera production. Parsifal: Wolfgang Mller-
Lorenz. Royal Swedish Opera.
nd, one might note, Wagner's Titurel can hardly have been chaste, since
Amfortas is his son and heir, and Herzeleide was (possibly) his daughter.
But Wagner's text makes a clear distinction between purity (Reinheit)
and chastity (Keuschheit); not least, with Kundry's cruel, rhetorical question to
the magician Klingsor, Bist du Keusch? Obviously he is chaste, since he has
castrated himself: but Klingsor is far from pure. Klingsor is not the only character in the drama to
be confused about this issue: Kundry seeks to regain her purity by robbing Parsifal of his chastity,
and the Grail Knights are celibate except when the Grail permits them to marry (and even then, it
doesn't always work out). Here too there is a connection with Die Sieger, in which Prakriti had to
accept chastity (in other words, like Alberich she had to reject sexual love) before she could be
united with Ananda in the community of the Buddha. It is clear that Wagner had considerable
difficulty in accepting Schopenhauer's view that sexual love was just a trick played on us by the
Will, in order to perpetuate the species. Yet in the long scene between Parsifal and Kundry towards
the end of the second act of the drama, there seems to be a contest between sexual love ( or
amor) and brotherly love or loving- kindness ( or caritas). As Dieter Borchmeyer pointed out
(in Richard Wagner: Theory and Theatre), the victory of caritas is shown (at the second climax of the
drama) in Parsifal's brotherly kiss on Kundry's brow, a victory over the erotic or amorous kiss that
Kundry had placed on his lips (at the first climax of the drama). (Incidentally, Borchmeyer was
wrong in stating that Schopenhauer equated caritas with compassion; what Schopenhauer wrote
was that loving- kindness (like the other principal virtue, justice) flows from compassion [On the
Basis of Morality, 18].)
Redeeming the Redeemer

agner's drama has a Christian (or at least, religious; and if not religious, spiritual)
dimension. Firstly since, like many of Wagner's earlier operas, it is concerned with
redemption and redemptive sacrifice, and secondly there is a focus on compassion and self-
sacrificing love. These themes are found in other religions, of course, and appear in a Christian
context only because Wagner (with a predominantly Christian audience in mind) chose (mainly)
Christian symbols, which religion would have us believe in their literal sense, with which to reveal his
deep and hidden truth [Religion and Art, 1880]. Many commentators have tried to make a coherently
Christian interpretation of Parsifal and given up in despair; it is a collection of vivid material without
coherence, concludes James Mark; the work is made inconsistent, concludes Lucy Beckett, by a
tension between irreconcilable pagan and Christian elements. Therefore it seems that we must look

not to Christian theology but elsewhere for a coherent interpretation of Parsifal as a consistent
work.
This page last updated (graphics and links) 04/25/02 00:01:38.

Parsifal Prose Draft Introduction
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Prose draft of 1865
n view of the speed with which it

was written this prose draft, dated
27-30 August 1865, cannot have
been the first of Wagner's outlines for
Parsifal. There is evidence that an earlier
sketch was written in 1857. In his
autobiography Mein Leben, Wagner
describes the April (or it might have been
early May) morning in 1857 on which he
was reminded of the Good Friday passage
in Wolfram's Parzival : Ever since that stay
in Marienbad, where I had conceived Die
Meistersinger and Lohengrin, I had not
taken another look at that poem; now its
ideality came to me in overwhelming form,
and from the idea of Good Friday I quickly
sketched out an entire drama in three acts.
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/prosed0.htm (1 of 3) [26/05/2002 22:27:35]

hat first sketch, which H.S. Chamberlain claimed to have

read, does not seem to have survived. So the earliest outline
known is this one, drafted by Wagner in the Brown Book
(left), the diary and notebook that he used intermittently from 1865
until his death in 1882. The original has been on display at Haus
Wahnfried in Bayreuth.
ome names differ from those that appear in the final poem
and score. At this stage in the development of the text,
Wagner was still, in most cases, using the spellings that he
had found in Wolfram. Thus, for example, Anfortas had not yet
been changed to Amfortas. In this draft, however, he uses the name
Schmerzeleide [Pain- sorrow] instead of Wolfram's Herzeloyde
[Hearts-sorrow] for Parzival's mother.

hose who know the music- drama will notice

that there are many points in this draft that were
removed, changed or developed before the
poem was completed. Even in the copy that Wagner
made for King Ludwig the day after completing this
draft, there were already some changes and, probably
while preparing the copy, Wagner made some
corrections to the original. In particular, Wagner was
uncertain about how to deal with the bleeding spear, a
mysterious element of Wolfram's story that would, in
another form, become an important element of Wagner's
story. So although this draft does not correspond in
every detail to Wagner's final concept, it represents the
outcome of his reflections on Wolfram's poem and
other medieval literature over the two preceding
decades.
Act 1, A clearing
in the forest of
Monsalvat
Act 2, Klingsor's
castle and
magic garden
Act 3, Open
meadows at the
edge of the forest

Parsifal - a New English Translation with Commentary
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | English Translation
This is a literal, prose translation of Wagner's poem into modern English. It is not a poetic translation intended for
singing. The stage directions given here are literal translations of those written by Richard Wagner. The English
commentary is provided to help the reader form his or her own interpretation of the text. It draws attention to
symbolism drawn by Wagner from religion and mythology, in both the western and eastern traditions; it also
indicates some of the allusions made in the text to literature, spirituality and philosophy. Textual differences
between the German text as it appears in Gesammelte Schriften und Dichtungen and in the score are indicated
where they occur. Links are given below to a German commentary by Hans Zimmerman that explores the
relationships between Wagner's poem and the medieval Grail romances.
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/trans0.htm (1 of 2) [26/05/2002 22:27:47]

Parsifal - a New English Translation with Commentary
Act 1 - A forest, shadowy and impressive but not gloomy. Rocks on the
ground. A clearing in the middle. The background slopes steeply down in
the centre to a lake in the forest. Day is breaking.
Act 2 - Klingsor's magic castle - on the southern slope of the same

mountains, facing Moorish Spain. In the inner courtyard of a roofless
tower.
Act 3 - In the domain of the Grail. Open, pleasant area on a spring day.
Towards the background gently rises a flowery meadow. The foreground
includes the edge of a wood, a spring and a hermit's hut. Very early
morning.
Libretto with commentary (in German) by Hans Zimmerman -
Erster Aufzug: Im Gebiet des Grals
Zweiter Aufzug: Klingsors Zauberschlo
Dritter Aufzug: Im Gebiet des Grals
This English translation and commentary are copyright 2001 by Derrick Everett. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Permission is hereby granted for electronic distribution by non-commercial services such as internet, provided that
it is posted in its entirety and includes this copyright statement. This document may not be distributed for financial
gain. Any other use, or any commercial use of this document without permission is prohibited by law. Applications
for permission to reproduce all of part of the translation or commentary should be directed to the author and
copyright holder. The German commentary is copyright 2000 by Hans Zimmerman.
This page last updated (non-CSS message) 04/16/02 23:29:46.

Parsifal Bibliography: a bibliography of Wagner's 'Parsifal' and related literature.
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Bibliography
1. Western Source Literature

2. Buddhist Literature
3. Writings of Richard and Cosima Wagner
4. Historical and Biographical
5. Mythology
6. Concerning Parsifal
Title, author, translator or editor, publication date, publisher,

city. Description.
Source Literature
See also: Appendix 1: Bibliography of Critical Works and of Major Texts of the Grail
Legend in Loomis. Please note that, where an English translation is referenced, it
might not be the only one available.
Mabinogion or The Four Branches of the Mabinogi, unknown, tr.

Jeffrey Gantz, 1976, Penguin Books Ltd., Harmondsworth UK. A
collection of eleven prose tales from the Welsh oral tradition; the
earliest manuscript dates from about 1325.
Contes populaires des anciens Bretons, Thodore Claude Henri
Hersart de la Villemarqu,, 1842,, Paris. Wagner's source for the
story of Peredur.
Parceval-Studien, San-Marte,,, Waisenhaus Verlag, Halle. One of
Wagner's sources for his version of the Grail legend.
Vol. 1: German translation of Guiot de Provins, with
commentary and glossary.
Vol. 2: Commentary on religion and the Grail in Wolfram von
Eschenbach.
Vol. 3: The Grail knights.
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/biblio.htm (1 of 8) [26/05/2002 22:28:10]

Parzival, Wolfram von Eschenbach, 1980, tr. A.T. Hatto, Penguin

Books Ltd., Harmondsworth UK. Generally (but perhaps wrongly)
regarded as the primary source of Wagner's poem. The edition
that Wagner studied in 1859 was that of San-Marte.
Perceval: The Story of the Grail (Perceval ou il Conte du Graal) or
Perceval li Gallois, Chrtien de Troyes, 1982, tr. Nigel Bryant,
D.S. Brewer, Cambridge UK. Bryant's slightly abridged edition
incorporates large parts of the Continuations, in which various
authors (or editors) attempted to complete Chrtien's unfinished
romance. Perceval was one of Wagner's sources for his version of
the Grail legend. Text (English).
Perlesvaus, Le Haut Livre du Graal or The High History of the
Grail, unknown, tr. S. Evans, 1903, 1969 reprint, James Clarke,
Cambridge UK. Loomis describes this translation as inaccurate.
Probably (as the first volume of Potvin's compilation) one of
Wagner's sources for his version of the Grail legend. Text
(English).
Perceval le Gallois, compilation, 1866-71, tr. Ch. Potvin, Socit
des Bibliophiles de Mons. Modern French text of Perceval and the
Continuations, with Perlesvaus. See Wagner's Bayreuth Library
for details.
The Quest of the Holy Grail (Queste del Saint Graal), unknown,
1969, P.M. Matarasson, Penguin Books Ltd., Harmondsworth UK.
From a literary viewpoint the most perfect story of the Grail,
completed about 1225. Part of the Vulgate Cycle, and thus one of
Malory's sources for his version of the Quest.
Sir Gawain at the Grail Castle, compilation, tr. J.L.Weston, 1903,
Nutt (Arthurian Romances no.6),. This compilation includes three
versions of the episode: that which Weston called the Bleheris
version, part of the First Continuation to Perceval; the German
poem Diu Crne (The Crown); and the version from the Prose
Lancelot.
Joseph d'Arimithie published as Le Roman de l'Estoire dou Saint
Graal, Robert de Boron, ed. W.A.Nitze, 1927, Les Classiques
franais du moyen-ge, Paris. Parts of the text were translated by
M. Schlauch and published in Medieval Narrative, 1928, NY.
Didot Perceval also known as Perceval le Gallois tr. as The
Romance of Perceval in Prose, tr. D. Skeels, 1961, Univ. of
Washington Press, DC. The book was named for a Parisian
bookseller who owned one of the manuscripts. In French prose of
the early 13th century, this work is a continuation of Robert de
Boron's Joseph and Merlin.
St. John Damascene: Barlaam And Ioasaph,, G.R. Woodward and
H. Mattingly, 1914, Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA. The

story of Josaphat and Barlaam, which Wagner added to his

Dresden library (now in Haus Wahnfried) in a German translation
re-published in 1843, was an important source for the second act
of Parsifal. Online text.
Link: Medieval Graal Texts
Buddhist Literature
Introduction l'histoire du Buddhisme indien, Eugne Burnouf,
Paris, Imprimerie Royale, 1844. The book that inspired Wagner's
Die Sieger.
Die Religion des Buddha und ihre Entstehung, Carl Friedrich
Kppen, Berlin, Schneider, 1857. Read by Wagner in 1858; he
found it "unedifying".
Buddha, sein Leben, seine Lehre, seine Gemeinde, Hermann
Oldenberg, Berlin, 1881. Read by Wagner in late 1882.
A Manual of Buddhism in its Modern Development, Robert Spence
Hardy, London, 1853. Another of the books recommended by
Schopenhauer. Probably the source of Wagner's spear that stops
in mid-air.
Richard Wagner und Indien, G. Lanczowski, in H. O. Gnther,
Indien und Deutschland, Frankfurt a.M., 1956. Lanczowski argued
that some of Wagner's later works, especially his Tristan und
Isolde, were essentially Buddhist in outlook.
Richard Wagner och den indiska tankevrlden, Carl Suneson,,
1985, Almqvist & Wiksell International: Acta Universitatis
Stockholmiensis (Stockholm Oriental Studies vol.13), Stockholm.
ISBN 91-22-00775-X. Suneson's monograph is the only extended
treatment of all aspects of Wagner's interest in Indian literature
and religions.
Richard Wagner und die Indische Geisteswelt,, Brill Academic
Publishers Inc., Leiden, 1989. German translation by Gert
Kreutzer of the above.
Richard Wagners Buddha-Projekt "Die Sieger": Seine ideellen und
strukturellen Spuren in "Ring" und "Parsifal", Wolfgang Osthoff,
Arkiv fr Musikwissenschaft 40:3, 1983, p 189-211. A lecture
given in the Villa Wesendonck on the 100th anniversary of
Richard Wagner's death.
Richard Wagner's Buddha-Project "Die Sieger" ("The Victors"): its
traces in the ideas and structure of "The Ring" and "Parsifal",
English translation of the above with minor revisions by William

Buchanan, Museum Rietberg, Zrich, 1996.

Richard Wagner und der Buddhismus: Liebe -- Tragik, Urs App,
Museum Rietberg, Zrich, 1997. A lecture given in the Villa
Wesendonck on the 140th anniversary of Wagner's prose sketch
for Die Sieger.
The Buddhist Nirvana and its Western Interpreters, Guy R.
Welbon, Univ. Chicago Press, Chicago, 1968.
Writings of Richard and Cosima Wagner

Das Braune Buch: Tagebuchaufzeichnungen 1865-1882, Richard
Wagner, ed. Joachim Bergfeld, 1975, Atlantis Musikbuch-Verlag,
Zrich.
The Diary of Richard Wagner: The Brown Book, Richard Wagner,
tr. George Bird, 1980, Victor Gollancz Ltd., London.
Cosima Wagner: Die Tagbcher 1869-1883 (2 vols hb., 4 vols pb.),
Cosima Wagner, ed. Martin Gregor-Dellin and Dietrich Mack, 1976-
7, Piper, Munich and Zurich.
Cosima Wagner's Diaries (2 vols), Cosima Wagner, tr. Geoffrey
Skelton, 1978-80, Wm. Collins Sons and Co. Ltd., London.
Mein Leben, Richard Wagner, ed. Martin Gregor-Dellin, 1976,,
Munich.
My Life, Richard Wagner, tr. Andrew Gray ed. Mary Whittall,
1983, Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge UK. A translation of Mein
Leben.
Religion and Art, Richard Wagner, tr. Wm. Ashton Ellis, 1994
reprint, Univ. of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London. Volume VII
of Richard Wagner's Prose Works.
Selected Letters of Richard Wagner, Richard Wagner, tr. and ed.
Stewart Spencer and Barry Millington, 1987, J.M. Dent and Sons
Ltd., London.
Knig Ludwig II. und Richard Wagner: Briefwechsel, Richard
Wagner and King Ludwig II, ed. Otto Strobel, 1936,, Karlsruhe.
Richard Wagner an Mathilde Wesendonck: Tagebuchbltter und
Briefe 1853-1871, Richard Wagner, ed. Wolfgang Golther, 1914,,
Leipzig. Letters to Mathilde Wesendonck.
Richard et Cosima Wagner: Lettres Judith Gautier, Richard and
Cosima Wagner, ed. Lon Guichard, 1964,, Paris. Letters to
Judith Gautier.

Historical and Biographical

The Dream King, Wilfrid Blunt,, 1970, Hamish Hamilton Ltd.,
London. A short biography of Ludwig II for the English reader.
Sections of the book are unashamedly plagiarised from Ernest
Newman's biography of Richard Wagner.
The Darker Side of Genius: Richard Wagner's Anti-Semitism, Jacob
Katz,, 1986, Brandeis Univ. Press, Hanover and London. Discusses
Wagner's place in the history of anti-Semitism and the importance
of anti- Semitism in the life and works of Richard Wagner.
Mythology
Creative Mythology, Joseph Campbell,, 1968, Penguin Books Ltd.,
Harmondsworth UK.
The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell,, 1972,
Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton NJ.
The Grail: from Celtic Myth to Christian Symbol, R.S. Loomis,,
1963, Univ. Wales Press/Columbia Univ. Press, Cardiff/NY.
From Ritual to Romance, Jessie L. Weston,, 1993 reprint,
Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton NJ.
The Quest of the Holy Grail, Jessie L. Weston,, 1990 reprint, The
Banton Press, Largs Scotland.
Le Regard Eloign, Claude Lvi-Strauss, 1983, Librairie Plon,
Paris.
The View From Afar, Claude Lvi-Strauss, tr. Joachim
Neugroschel and Phoebe Hoss, 1985, Basil Blackwell Ltd., London.
A translation of Le Regard Eloign.
Die Graalslegende in psychologischer Sicht, Emma Jung and Marie-
Louise von Franz,, 1960, Walter Verlag AG, Olten. This study is
the result of a thirty year long investigation into the Grail legend
by Emma Jung, which was left unfinished on her death in 1955.
The book was completed by M-L von Franz. In the Grail legend, a
unique blend of fairy-tale and Christian legend, Emma Jung found
a reflection of fundamental human problems and the dramatic
psychic events which form the background of our Christian
culture.
The Grail Legend, Emma Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz, tr.

Andrea Dykes, 1998, Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton NJ. See

above.
Concerning Parsifal
Books entirely about Parsifal
Parsifal et l'opra wagnerin, E. Hippeau,, 1883, Paris.

Parsifal, M. Kufferath,, 1893,, Paris.
Parsifal und der Gral in deutscher Sage des Mittelalters und der
Neuzeit, W. Golther,, 1911,, Leipzig.
Wagners "Parsifal": Kriterien der Kompositionstechnik, Hans-
Joachim Bauer,, 1977, Musikverlag Emil Katzbichler, Munich and
Salzberg.
Parsifal de Richard Wagner: Opra initiatique, J. Chailley,. 1979,,
Paris.
Parsifal: Texte, Materialen, Kommentar,, ed. Attila Csampai and
Dietmar Holland, 1980, Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH
(rororo opernbcher), Reinbek bei Hamburg. ISBN 3-499-17809-5.
Parsifal: Cambridge Opera Handbook,, ed. Lucy Beckett, 1981,
Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge UK. Idiosyncratic essays
promoting a narrowly Christian view of Wagner's Parsifal and
denying that it has anything to do with the atheist Schopenhauer.
Arnold Whittall's contribution on the music is particularly
valuable.
Richard Wagner: Parsifal,, ed. Heinz-Klaus Metzger and Rainer
Riehn, 1982,, Munich.
Parsifal: Ein Filmessay, Hans Jrgen Syberberg,, 1982, Wilhelm
Heyne Verlag, Munich. For those who were wondering what the
film was all about.
Parsifal: Erlsung dem Erlser?, Versuch einer anderen Deutung,
R. Klier,, 1985, Druck Vorlnder, Siegen. A thought-provoking
reexamination of Parsifal, with cartoons by Matthias Kringle.
Parsifal: Opera Guide 34,, ed. Nicholas John, 1986, John Calder
Ltd./Riverrun Press Inc., London/NY. Some of the essays in this
collection contain factual errors and the others are simply
impenetrable. The most interesting of them is a high-level
analysis of the music by Robin Holloway. There is a useful
thematic guide and a libretto, with Andrew Porter's singable
translation, indexed to the thematic guide.
"Parsifal" Reception in the Bayreuther Bltter, Mary A. Cicora,

1987, Peter Lang, Frankfurt a.M., Berne and New York.

Das Weltberwindungswerk: Wagners "Parsifal": ein szenisch-
musikalisches Gleichnis der Philosophie Arthur Schopenhauers,
Ulrike Kienzle,, 1992, Laaber-Verlag. This book approaches the
"Schopenhauerian parable" both from the viewpoint of Die Welt
als Wille und Vorstellung and from a Christian angle. Its main
failure is to neglect other works by Schopenhauer that are more
directly relevant to Wagner's subject. The Buddhist aspects of the
text are ignored.
NEW! Wagner's "Parsifal": The Journey of a Soul, Peter Bassett,,
2000, Wakefield Press, South Australia. A balanced and highly
readable introduction to Parsifal and its sources. Includes a free
translation of the poem (libretto) into English.
Books containing useful chapters or essays about

Parsifal
Music Criticisms 1846-99, E. Hanslick, ed. & trans. H. Pleasants,

1963,, London.
Das Geheimnis der Form bei Richard Wagner, Alfred Lorenz,,
1966 reprint,, Tutzing. Originally published in Berlin, 1926. 4
volumes.
Revue wagnerin,,, 1885-8 reprinted 1971,, 3 volumes.
The Legends of the Wagner Drama, Jessie Laidlay Weston, Ch.
Scribner's Sons, New York, 1900.
Wagner Nights, Ernest Newman,, 1977 reprint, Pan Books Ltd.,
London.
Richard Wagner's Music Dramas, Carl Dahlhaus, tr. Mary Whittall,
1979, Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge UK. Contains a
fascinating analysis of Parsifal.
Acts, Wolfgang Wagner, John Brownjohn, 1994, Weidenfeld &
Nicolson, London.
Wagner, Michael Tanner,, 1996, Harper Collins, London.
The Wagners : The Dramas of a Musical Dynasty, originally:
Wagner Theater (Suhrkamp: Frankfurt a.M. and Leipzig, 1999),
Nike Wagner; English translation by Ewald Osers and Michael
Downes, 2001


Parsifal Discography
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Discography
Note regarding timings:

n some cases I have made approximate timings of the recorded performances. Those
timings vary considerably. Here are some reference timings from Bayreuth performances:
Conductor Year Act 1 Act 2 Act 3

Levi 1882 1h47m 1h02m 1h15m.
Fischer 1882 1h50m 1h10m 1h23m.
Mottl 1888 1h46m 1h07m 1h22m.
Seidl 1897 1h48m 1h04m 1h27m.
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/discogra.htm (1 of 22) [26/05/2002 22:28:41]

Muck 1901 1h56m 1h07m 1h23m.

Balling 1904 1h46m 1h03m 1h19m.
Beidler 1906 1h48m 1h05m 1h18m.
S. Wagner 1909 1h49m 1h09m 1h25m.
Kaehler 1924 1h59m 1h08m 1h22m.
Toscanini 1931 2h06m 1h12m 1h30m.
Strauss 1933 1h46m 1h04m 1h18m.
Von Hoesslin 1934 1h44m 1h05m 1h18m.
Furtwngler 1936 1h52m 1h03m 1h17m.
Knappertsbusch 1951 1h56m 1h10m 1h21m.
1938. Metropolitan Opera, New York

Live performance. Recorded on Good Friday, 15 April 1938. Broadcast direct on station WJZ.
Parsifal: Lauritz Melchior Metropolitan Chorus and Orchestra, cond.

Kundry: Kirsten Flagstad Arthur Bodansky (acts 1 and 3), Erich
Gurnemanz: Emanuel List Leinsdorf (act 2).
Amfortas: Friedrich Schorr
Klingsor: Arnold Gabor
Titurel: Norman Condon Issued on LP: The Golden Age of Opera, EJS
484, 1969.
Issued on CD: Myto 3CD 982.H013 3.
Notes: This is the only known recording of
Parsifal with Flagstad and Melchior together,
and the only recording of a performance in
which Melchior sang the part without cuts. It
also gives us a chance to hear the dark, deep
voice of Emanuel List as Gurnemanz. This
recording is, however, a necessary acquisition of
the obsessive collector only. So little of the
performance is discernible through the noise and
distortion that as an aesthetic experience,
listening to these discs leaves much to be
desired and even more to the imagination. On
first listening to its beginning, it is possible to
imagine that one is listening to a herd of
elephants stampeding, in a field covered in
crumpled aluminium-foil, during a hailstorm. In
the distance, muffled, an orchestra can be heard;
the ear of faith can discern the prelude to

Parsifal. Although the sound quality improves,

there are still passages in this act and the
subsequent acts in which, while it is possible to
hear someone singing, what they might be
singing and who the singer might be, is difficult
to tell. There is a break of 10 to 30 seconds
every seven minutes, when the acetate discs of
the original were changed during off-air
recording. Some of these breaks occur at
unfortunate points, such that we lose for
example Titurel's "Mein Sohn Amfortas, bist du
am Amt?", the second and third lines of "Ich sah
das Kind" and Parsifal's declaration that he will
become the Grail King. These breaks (despite
the performance being, it was claimed, note-
complete), result in a recording that fits on three
CD's.
1948. Vienna
Live performance.
Parsifal: Gnther Treptow Chor der Wiener Staatsoper, Wiener

Kundry: Anny Konetzni Symphoniker,
Gurnemanz: Ludwig Weber cond. Rudolf Moralt
Amfortas: Paul Schffler
Klingsor: Adolf Vogel
Titurel: Hans Braun Issued on CD: Myto 4MCD 954.136, 1995.
Notes: Moralt's conducting and the feeble
playing of the VSO do not commend this
recording. The singing is mostly good, although
Treptow sometimes sounds like he is being
strangled.
1949. Cologne
Live performance.

Parsifal: Bernd Aldenhoff Cologne Opera, cond. Richard Kraus.

Kundry: Martha Mdl
Gurnemanz: Josef Greindl
Amfortas: Heinrich Nillius Issued on CD: Gebhart JGCD12, 2000.
Klingsor: Robert Blasius Notes: Martha Mdl's first appearance in the
Titurel: Helmut Fehn rle of Kundry, and very impressive she is too.
The sound quality is very good for a historical
recording. Unfortunately there is what sounds
like a bad edit early on side 2.
1950. Italian Radio

Live performance. Recorded 20 November 1950, Rome.
Parsifal: Africo Baldelli Italian Radio Chorus and Orchestra,

Kundry: Maria Meneghini Callas cond. Vittorio Gui.
Gurnemanz: Boris Christoff
Amfortas: Rolando Panerai
Klingsor: Giuseppe Modesti Issued on LP: Roger Franck FWR-648, 1966
Titurel: Dimitri Lopatto Foyer FO 1002, 1981
Estro Armonico 55
MWC 101
Fonit Cetra LAR 41, 1984
Issued on CD: Melodram 36041, 1987
Virtuoso 2699232, 1989.
Notes: Sung in Italian and heavily cut. Maria
Callas contributes a lyrical but dispassionate and
detached interpretation of Kundry, which
suggests that she was unable either to identify
with or to understand this character.
Approximate timings: Act 1 (with deep
cuts), 1h32m; Act 2 (some cuts), 54m;
Act 3 (some cuts), 1h6m.
1951. Bayreuth Festival

Live performances. Recorded July-August 1951, Bayreuth Festspielhaus.

Parsifal: Wolfgang Windgassen Bayreuth Festival Chorus and Orchestra,

Kundry: Martha Mdl cond. Hans Knappertbusch.
Gurnemanz:Ludwig Weber
Amfortas: George London
Klingsor: Hermann Uhde Issued on LP: Decca LXT 2651-6, 1952
Titurel: Arnold van Mill GOM 504-8, 1966; 411 786-1, 1966
Richmond RS 65001
London LLPA 10, 1952; A-4602
Issued on CD: Decca 425 976-2, 1989
Teldec 9031-76047-2.
Notes: Windgassen is a credible Parsifal and
Weber is a highly (some might say, too highly)
dramatic Gurnemanz. Mdl is an unsteady but
committed Kundry in this performance, having
some difficulties with her pitch, and not up to
the standard of her recorded 1949 or 1953
performances. Compared against later Bayreuth
recordings, the string sound is a little thin, and
the chorus are not always together. There is
significant stage noise and occasionally
audience noise too.
Approximate timings: Act 1, 1h56m; Act
2, 1h10m; Act 3, 1h21m.

Live performance. Recorded July-August 1953, Bayreuth Festspielhaus.
Parsifal: Ramon Vinay Bayreuth Festival Chorus and Orchestra,

Kundry: Martha Mdl cond. Clemens Krauss.
Gurnemanz: Ludwig Weber
Klingsor: Hermann Uhde Issued on LP: Rodophe Productions RP
Titurel: Josef Greindl 12378/81, 1982
Melodram MEL 533, 1983
Issued on CD: Laudis LCD4.4006
Rodolphe RPC 32516.17, 1988
Arlecchino ARL-A21, 1996
Notes:
2, 56m; Act 3, 1h09m.


Live performance. Broadcast direct on station WABC on 17 April 1954.
Parsifal: Set Svanholm Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra,

Kundry: Astrid Varnay cond. Fritz Stiedry.
Gurnemanz: Hans Hotter
Klingsor: Lawrence Davidson Issued on LP: Melodram MEL 442(4), 1984.
Titurel: Lubomir Vichegonov (Vichey) Issued on CD: Adonis 54001, 1998.
Notes:An interesting performance with a strong
cast. Hans Hotter is heard here in his prime, and
Astrid Varnay is a strong and convincing
Kundry. The other principals are not quite up to
their level of excellence. There is a lyrical
quality to the singing of minor roles, in distinct
contrast to the more dramatic style that can be
heard in recorded European performances of the
same work in the same period. Fritz Stiedry's
conducting is rather eccentric, with some
passages taken so fast that the singers can hardly
get the words out. There is a strange cut in
Gurnemanz's narrative, after "uns'res Knig's
Hut", down to "Vor dem verwais'ten
Heiligthum". Perhaps the management thought
that the audience would find out about Klingsor
and his Flowermaidens eventually, so why spoil
the surprise by letting Gurnemanz tell us in
advance?



Kundry: Martha Mdl cond. Hans Knappertsbusch.
Gurnemanz:Ludwig Weber
Amfortas: Hans Hotter
Klingsor: Gustav Neidlinger Issued on CD: King Records 7 Seas KICC
Titurel: Arnold van Mill 2341/4.
Notes:
Approximate timings: Act 1, 1h50m.

Parsifal: Ramon Vinay Bayreuth Festival Chorus and Orchestra,

Kundry: Martha Mdl cond. Hans Knappertsbusch.
Amfortas: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Klingsor: Toni Blankenheim Issued on LP: Cetra LO 79, 1979
Titurel: Hans Hotter Melodram MEL 563, 1982
Issued on CD: Hunt LSMH 34035, 1990
Arkadia CDMP 435.4, 1991.
Notes:
2, 1h8m; Act 3, 1h18m.

Parsifal: Hans Beirer Bayreuth Festival Chorus and Orchestra,

Kundry: Rgine Crespin cond. Hans Knappertsbusch.
Gurnemanz: Jerome Hines
Amfortas: Eberhard Wchter
Klingsor: Toni Blankenheim Issued on LP: Melodram MEL 583, 1981.
Titurel: Josef Greindl Notes:
2, 1h09m; Act 3, 1h13m.


Parsifal: Hans Beirer Bayreuth Festival Chorus and Orchestra,

Kundry: Rgine Crespin cond. Hans Knappertsbusch.
Amfortas: Thomas Stewart
Klingsor: Gustav Neidlinger Issued on LP: Melodram MEL 018, 1980,
Titurel: David Ward Melodram MEL 603, 1980.
Issued on CD: Gala ???, 2000.
Notes: the perceptive Emma Albani, writing on
rec.music.opera, comments on the CD issue as
follows. Wonderful choral work, excellent
flower maidens and good if not always together
or really accurate orchestra. There is a great
Kundry from Regine Crespin in her prime. T.
Stewart also in his prime in an excellent
Amfortas. That leaves Parsifal and Gurnemanz,
Beier and Griendl. They know what they're
doing but are not pretty sounding...
1960. La Scala
Live performance. Recorded 1960, Milan.
Parsifal: Sndr Konya Chorus and Orchestra of La Scala, Milan,

Kundry: Rita Gorr cond. Andr Cluytens.
Gurnemanz: Boris Christoff
Amfortas: Gustav Neidlinger
Klingsor: Georg Stern Issued on LP: Melodram MEL 437, 1984.
Titurel: Silvio Maionica Notes:
1961. Vienna State Opera

Live performance. Recorded Vienna, 1 April 1961.

Parsifal: Fritz Uhl Vienna State Opera Chorus and Orchestra,

Kundry: Christa Ludwig (act 2), cond. Herbert von Karajan.
Elisabeth Hngren (acts 1 & 3, opening scene of
act 2)
Gurnemanz: Hans Hotter Issued on CD: Hunt/Arkadia KAR 219, 1990;
Amfortas: Eberhard Wchter Opera D'Oro 1998; RCA 74321-61950-2, 1999.
Klingsor: Walter Berry Notes:
Titurel: Tugomir Franc
This recording seems to be missing part of the
first scene of this performance, for which an
extract from another recording has been
substituted. In this extract, possibly taken from a
Bayreuth performance under Knappertsbusch,
the voice of Gurnemanz appears to be that of
Jerome Hines and that of Kundry is probably
Martha Mdl.
Karajan's tempi are brisk. The recording has a

strong "feel" of live performance, with a live
acoustic; the temple choruses and Titurel sound
distant. Otherwise the singers seem to have been
closely miked. The orchestral balance is uneven,
apparently due to the poor placing of too few
microphones, and some of the woodwind
instruments are almost inaudible. Karajan seems
to have concentrated on beauty of sound, both
from the orchestra and the singers. Even in
passages where a more dramatic style would be
normal, the singing is consistently lyrical. The
strings seem to slide between notes rather more
than is usual.
For reasons that have not been fully explained,

but apparently by Karajan's decision (this
production was under his complete control), the
role of Kundry was taken by two singers.
Elizabeth Hngren played the wild Kundry and
the penitent Kundry; but the seductress was
played by Christa Ludwig. In the long scene
between Kundry and Parsifal, Ludwig gives an
outstanding performance, and, unusually, all of
the necessary tension of this scene is evident.


2, 1h4m; Act 3, 1h11m.

Parsifal: Jess Thomas Bayreuth Festival Chorus and Orchestra,

Kundry: Irene Dalis cond. Hans Knappertsbusch.
Klingsor: Gustav Neidlinger Issued on LP: Philips 6729 002, 1964; 6747
Titurel: Martti Talvela 250, 1976;
PHM 5-550 (mono) PHS 5-950 (stereo), 1965
Melodiya D 33809
Issued on CD: Philips 416 390-2
Notes: although Hans Hotter was past his prime,
this is a very fine performance of the work and
highly recommended.
2, 1h9m; Act 3, 1h13m.

Live performance. Recorded 24 July 1963, Bayreuth Festspielhaus.

Kundry: Irene Dalis cond. Hans Knappertsbusch.
Klingsor: Gustav Neidlinger Issued on CD: Golden Melodram GM-10034,
Titurel: Ludwig Weber 1999.
Notes:
Approximate timings:

Live performance. Recorded 13 August 1964, Bayreuth Festspielhaus.
Parsifal: Jon Vickers Bayreuth Festival Chorus and Orchestra,

Kundry: Barbro Ericson cond. Hans Knappertsbusch.
Klingsor: Gustav Neidlinger Issued on LP: Melodram MEL 643, 1984
Titurel: Heinz Hagenau Issued on CD: Hunt LSMH 34051, 1990;
Golden Melodram 1.0004, 1998.
Notes: the 55th and last performance of Parsifal
conducted by Kna at Bayreuth.
Approximate timings:

Live performances. Recorded June-August 1966, Bayreuth Festspielhaus.
Parsifal: Sandor Konya Bayreuth Festival Chorus and Orchestra,

Kundry: Astrid Varnay cond. Pierre Boulez.
Klingsor: Gustav Neidlinger Issued on CD: Golden Melodram 1.0037
Titurel: Kurt Bhme Notes: A recording in good mono sound from a
performance in which Boulez takes rather more
relaxed tempi than in the 1970 recording (see
below). Konya is a convincing Parsifal and
Stewart a suitably agonized Amfortas. The
weakest link here is Josef Greindl, who barks
his way through the role of Gurnemanz.
Unfortunately Astrid Varnay is past her prime
here, with a tendency to shriek.
2, 1h01m; Act 3, 1h09m.
1970. Teatro La Fenice, Venice.

Live performance. Recorded 16 April 1970, Venice.

Parsifal: Rene Kollo Chorus and Orchestra of La Fenice,

Kundry: Amy Shuard cond. Heinz Wallberg.
Gurnemanz: Arnold van Mill
Amfortas: Hubert Hoffmann
Klingsor: Georg Stern Issued on CD: Mondo Musica MFOH 10411,
Titurel: Walther Hagner 1999.
Notes: Why this has been issued is a mystery.
Although the principal singers are adequate,
Heinz Wallberg seems to be out of his depth in
the score of Parsifal. He conducts most of the
music quite fast, except for the prelude to the
second act, which plods along at andante. The
orchestra and singers must have had some
difficulty following his beat, since the strings
are sometimes out of step with the brass and the
singers are often out of step with both. Both
orchestra and chorus sound under-rehearsed.
The mens chorus provide some vigorous singing
in the temple scenes that suggests (perhaps not
inappropriately) a rugby team after a hard game.
The score has been disfigured by deep cuts.
These include: in the first act, Gurnemanz's lines
are cut from Drum blieb es dem ... down to the
end of his narration, the next line being that of
the squire, Vor allem nun: der Speer kehr uns
zurck!; then, after the swan is brought on, from
Sein Weibchen zu suchen ... down to Parsifal
breaking his bow. Towards the end of the
second act, Kundry's lines are cut from Nun
such' ich ihn ... down to aus der ich bssend
kaum erwacht; then the exchange with Parsifal
from Kundry's Nie -- sollst du ihn finden! down
to Parsifal's Vergeh', unseliges Weib!, so that the
next line sung is Kundry's Hilfe! Hilfe! ; then
her lines are omitted from Und flhest du von
hier ... down to so verwnsch' ich sie dir. In the
third act, there is an enormous cut in
Gurnemanz's part, from Ach, sie bedarf des
Heiles ..., omitting Parsifal's cry of guilt, down
to Nicht so!, resuming at Die heil'ge Quelle
selbst. Thus Parsifal is never told that Titurel
has died! These cuts, together with the fast
tempi, shorten the music enough to fit on three

CDs.
Despite the date given on the box, this recording
seems to have been compiled from more than
one performance, or at least more than one tape,
since there are some clumsy edits (for example
at so segne ich dein Haupt in act three).
Therefore it seems hard to understand that some
of the rougher patches of orchestral playing
were included in the master, such as the wrong
entry of a brass player (no doubt confused by
the cuts) just before this at so sei er fleckenrein.
The placement of microphones does not seem to
have been given much thought; generally the
orchestra is too loud in relation to the singers,
and when the latter are upstage they are faint;
the offstage choruses are barely audible and the
voice from above can hardly be heard. The
sound of the coughing audience, however, has
been faithfully recorded.

Live performances. Recorded June-August 1970, Bayreuth Festspielhaus.
Parsifal: Jame King Bayreuth Festival Chorus and Orchestra,

Kundry: Gwyneth Jones cond. Pierre Boulez.
Gurnemanz: Franz Crass
Klingsor: Donald McIntyre Issued on LP: Deutsche Grammophon 2720
Titurel: Karl Ridderbusch 034; 217 004;
419 033-1, 1971
Notes: The work is ruined by a misguided
conductor who takes many passages much too
fast, thus shortening each act by ten minutes,
and by the shrieking of Gwyneth Jones.
2, 59m; Act 3, 1h06m.
1971-1972. Vienna State Opera

Studio recording. 7-17 December 1971 and 15-25 March 1972, Sofiensaal.
Parsifal: Ren Kollo Vienna State Opera Chorus, Vienna Boys

Kundry: Christa Ludwig Choir, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra,
Gurnemanz: Gottlob Frick cond. Georg Solti.
Amfortas: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Klingsor: Zoltan Klmen
Titurel: Hans Hotter Issued on LP: Decca SET 550-4, 1973
London OSA 1510, 1973
Issued on CD: Decca 417 143-2
Notes: a remarkable feature of Kollo's
interpretation is the drained, bleached tone he
employs during the Good Friday scene in the
last act. Although unattractive, it conveys the
weariness and exhaustion of Parsifal, after ten
years of wandering. This recording features a
strong cast, also in minor roles; the
flowermaidens included Lucia Popp, Anne
Howells and Kiri te Kanawa.
2, 1h11m; Act 3, 1h18m.
1975. Leipzig
Live performance. Recorded from a concert performance on 11 January 1975.
Parsifal: Ren Kollo Leipzig Radio Chorus, Berlin Radio Chorus,

Kundry: Gisela Schrter St. Thomas' Choir, Leipzig,
Gurnemanz: Ulric Cold Leipzig Radio Symphony Orhestra,
Amfortas: Theo Adam cond. Herbert Kegel.
Klingsor: Reid Bunger
Titurel: Fred Teschler
Issued on LP: Eterna 8 27 031-035, 1975.
Notes: the univeral verdict on this recording is
that it should be avoided at all costs.
2, 1h00m; Act 3, 1h06m.
1979-1980. Berlin

Studio recording. Recorded 4-29 December 1979, 2-4 January, 15 April

and 1 July 1980, Berlin Philharmonic Hall.
Parsifal: Peter Hofmann Chorus of the German Opera, Berlin, and the
Kundry: Dunja Vejzovic Berlin Philharmonic Orch.,
Gurnemanz: Kurt Moll cond. Herbert von Karajan.
Amfortas: Jos van Dam
Klingsor: Siegmund Nimsgern
Titurel: Victor von Halem Issued on LP: Deutsche Grammophon 2741
002, 1981.
Issued on CD: Deutsche Grammophon 413 347-
2, 1984.
Notes: Hofmann's voice already shows signs of
its imminent decline. Vejzovic is wobbly
throughout. As compensation, Kurt Moll is a
fine Gurnemanz and van Dam is probably the
best Amfortas on record. Karajan allows the
orchestra to get rather too loud, relative to the
singers, in some passages, such as the
flowermaidens scene. As we can also hear in the
earlier, live recording from Vienna, Karajan
concentrated on the beauty of this music, at the
expense of the drama.
2, 1h9m; Act 3, 1h18m.
1981. Monte-Carlo
Studio recording. Recorded 29 June-3 July and 6-10 July 1981,
Palais de Congrs Monte-Carlo.

Parsifal: Reiner Goldberg Prague Philharmonic Chorus, Monte-Carlo

Kundry: Yvonne Minton Philharmonic Orchestra,
Gurnemanz: Robert Lloyd cond. Armin Jordan.
Amfortas: Wolfgang Schne
Klingsor: Aage Haugland
Titurel: Hans Tschammer Issued on LP: Erato NUM 750105, 1982.
Issued on CD: Erato 2292-45662-2, 1990.
Issued on Videocassette: PAL/VHS ART 0P1.
Notes: although recorded for the sound-track of
the film by Hans Jrgen Syberberg, this
recording is a remarkable achievement in its
own right. Jordan gives a conservative and well-
balanced interpretation of the music and the
playing of the Monte-Carlo orchestra is
acceptable. To this author at least, Armin
Jordan's tempi feel right.
Emma Albani, writing on rec.music.opera,
comments on this recording: Orchestra is not
the best ever, though they play with feeling,
chorus is massive and well recorded (important
here) and if the soloists are not legendary, sweet
sounding Goldberg, lively and vocally capable
Minton and sincere Lloyd are all pretty
competitive. Jordan has a flowing, objectivist
approach ...
2, 1h7m; Act 3, 1h13m.
1981. Bayreuth

Parsifal: Siegfried Jerusalem Chorus and Orchestra of the Bayreuth

Kundry: Eva Randova Festival, cond. Horst Stein.
Gurnemanz: Hans Sotin
Amfortas: Bernd Weikl
Klingsor: Leif Roar Issued on laser disc: Philips PAL 070 410-1;
Titurel: Matti Salminen NTSC 070 510-1, 1991;
in set CDV-509-517, 1991.
Issued on Videocassette: PAL/VHS 070 410;
NTSC/VHS 070 510-3, 1991.
Notes: Horst Stein's conducting is pedestrian.
Jerusalem is in superb voice, but Randova
disappoints.
1982. Radio France.

Live concert performance.
Parsifal: Siegfried Jerusalem Orchestre national de France, cond. Marek

Kundry: Leonie Rysanek Janowski.
Gurnemanz: Kurt Moll
Amfortas: Bernd Weikl
Klingsor: Becht Issued on LP: HRE 412-2
Notes: A broadcast of an abridged performance
given in the Parsifal centenary year.
1983. Budapest
Live performance. Recorded and broadcast on 13 February 1983, Budapest.
Parsifal: Andrs Molnr Chorus and Orchestra of the Hungarian

Kundry: Katalin Kasza Opera,
Gurnemanz: Lszl Polgr cond. Jnos Ferencsik.
Amfortas: Sandor Slyom-Nagy
Klingsor: Andrs Farag
Titurel: Ferenc Szalma Issued on LP: Hungaroton SLPX 12784-88,
1985.
Notes: sung in Hungarian.
1984. Welsh National Opera, Swansea

Recorded 17 to 25 June 1984 in Brangwyn Hall.
Parsifal: Warren Ellsworth Chorus and Orchestra of the Welsh National

Kundry: Waltraud Meier Opera,
Gurnemanz: Donald McIntyre cond. Reginald Goodall.
Amfortas: Phillip Joll
Klingsor: Nicholas Folwell
Titurel: David Gwynne Issued on LP: EMI 27 0178 3, 1985
Angel DS-3972, 1985
Issued on CD: EMI CDS7 4912-8, 1988.
Notes: Warren Ellsworth was, at the time this
recording was made, lacking in the upper
register, although in later performances at ENO
and Covent Garden he gave a better account of
the rle. Goodall's tempi were notoriously slow.
In this recording, the second act is unreasonably
slow; it drags. The outer movements, however,
seem to benefit from the broad tempi. Every
detail is laid bare, and we can hear instruments
(such as the harps at the very end of the work)
where they are not heard in other recordings,
and melodic lines that are usually lost in
orchestral texture. An ideal recording for anyone
who wants to study the music with the score in
front of them.
2, 1h23m; Act 3, 1h26m.


Parsifal: Peter Hofmann Chorus and Orchestra of the Bayreuth

Kundry: Waltraud Meier Festival,
Gurnemanz: Hans Sotin cond. James Levine.
Amfortas: Simon Estes
Klingsor: Franz Mazura
Titurel: Matti Salminen Issued on LP: Philips 416 842-1, 1987
Issued on CD: Philips 416 842-2, 1987.
Notes: Soon after this recording, Hofmann
redirected his career into that of a rock star. For
which lovers of opera may be grateful. Simon
Estes is an insipid Amfortas. The star of these
performances was Waltraud Meier, whose
intelligent penetration into the predicament of
Kundry is an unprecedented achievement. But
even Meier is not heard here at her best --
compare the Barenboim/Berlin recording listed
below. Levine's tempi are close to those of
Goodall in the outer acts, slightly less glacial in
the second act. Levine does not bring out the
detail of Wagner's orchestration as Goodall did,
and for which we can forgive the latter his slow
tempi -- Levine seems to be wallowing in, rather
than illuminating, this music. He manages to
make the second act as exciting as watching
paint dry. Recommended for insomniacs only.
2, 1h15m; Act 3, 1h24m.
1989-90. Berlin
Studio recording. Recorded December 1989 - March 1990, Jesus-Christus- Kirche.

Parsifal: Siegfried Jerusalem Chorus of the German State Opera Berlin

Kundry: Waltraud Meier and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra,
Gurnemanz: Matthias Hlle cond. Daniel Barenboim.
Amfortas: Jos van Dam
Klingsor: Gnter von Kannen
Titurel: John Tomlinson Issued on CD: Teldec 9031-74448-2, 1991.
Notes: A first-class performance by a cast of
distinguished Wagnerians. In particular,
Waltraud Meier gives a highly intelligent
interpretation of Kundry and is even better than
she was on the earlier Goodall and Levine
recordings. Siegfried Jerusalem is heard here
while still in his prime. Once again, van Dam
convincingly conveys the agony of Amfortas.
2, 1h8m; Act 3, 1h17m.

Studio recording. Recorded April 1991 and June 1992, Manhattan Center.
Parsifal: Plcido Domingo Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan

Kundry: Jessye Norman Opera,
Gurnemanz: Kurt Moll cond. James Levine.
Amfortas: James Morris
Klingsor: Ekkehard Wlaschiha
Titurel: Jan-Hendrick Rootering Issued on CD: Deutsche Grammophon 437 501-
2.
Notes: As with Maria Callas in the rle of
Kundry, Jessye Norman gives a lyrical
interpretation that some might find lacking in
drama. Domingo is in good form here and his
much- criticised German is intelligible and
acceptable. Levine's tempi are not quite as slow
as in the live recording from Bayreuth, but still
soporific.
There is also a Metropolitan Opera video,
conducted by Levine but with some changes of
cast: Siegfried Jerusalem, Waltraud Meier,
Bernd Weikl and Franz Mazura.


2, 1h12m; Act 3, 1h22m.
1997. Het Muziektheater, Amsterdam.

Live recording. Recorded and broadcast on 9 February 1997.
Parsifal: Poul Elming Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and

Kundry: Violeta Urmana Chorus of De Nederlandse Opera, cond.
Gurnemanz: Robert Lloyd Simon Rattle.
Amfortas: Wolfgang Schne
Klingsor: Gnter von Kannen
Titurel: Carsten Stabell Issued on CD-ROM: Opera Classics, 1999.
Notes: Despite a tiresomely static and
conceptually inane staging, this production was
redeemed by a musical interpretation at least as
great as any the author has experienced.
2, 1h6m; Act 3, 1h13m.
Right: Wagner conducting at the Vienna Musikverein,

14 March 1875.

This page last updated (non-css message)

05/02/02 20:03:10.

Parzival bei Chrtien de Troyes, Wolfram von Eschenbach und Richard Wagner; Synopse der Texte
hansz/ index Wein Schatzhhle MA-Quellen Wagner Gral: Deutung Novalis emaille
Gralsburg; Gral Trevrizent: Gral Parsifal 1: Gral Chym. Hochzeit
bers., Sigune Trevr.: Anfortas Parsifal 2 & 3 Bhme: Aurora
Hans Zimmermann : lapsit exillis : Gral : Chretien de Troyes / Wolfram von Eschenbach : Perceval / Parzival
Perceval (- Perchevax) - Parzivl

& le graal (- li graaus) + der Gral (- der grl)
Synopse der Gralsburg-Szene
und Parzivls Beichte bei Trevrizent
in
Chrtien der Troyes: Wolfram von Eschenbach:

Perceval, 2976 - 3690 Parzivl Buch 5, cap. 224 - 255
et 6217 - 6518 und Buch 9, cap. 446 - 502
aprs le ms fr. 12576 de la Bibl.Nat. par William Roach nach der Ausgabe von Karl Lachmann
durch Hans Zimmermann

Briefanfrage und Antwort: zur "Funktion der Gralssuche im Parzival"
zu den einzelnen Abschnitten und

der Gralsburgszene zu den erklrenden Ausfhrungen
und der Sigune-Begegnung durch den Einsiedler Trevrizent
in in
Wolfram, Buch 5 (cap. 224 - 255) Wolfram, Buch 9 (cap. 446 - 502)
gem Chrtien (2976 - 3690): gem Chrtien (6217 - 6518):
die Karfreitags-Pilger
der Fischerknig Begegnung mit dem Einsiedler
vergl. Trevrizents Erklrung
Wolframs "Quelle": Kyot
gastliche Aufnahme der Gral in den Sternen
Repanse de Schoyes Mantel

Aufnahme beim Einsiedler
die Beichte: Gottes "Untreue"
der Knig zwischen den Feuern
Adam an Luzifers Stelle

der blutende Speer
die Schndung der Adamah
vgl. Trevrizents Erklrung
Gott ist Licht
la espee - (Chrtien) der Stein; Phnix
Taube und Speisung
der Kristalltisch die neutralen Engel
der Gral der Tor, der die Frage nicht stellte

Parzival nennt seinen Namen
vergleiche Trevrizent: die Blutschuld an Ither
"lapsit exillis" zweite Schuld: Tod der Mutter
http://home.t-online.de/home/03581413454-0003/gral.htm (1 of 3) [26/05/2002 22:29:04]

Verwandtschaften
Titurel, Frimutel, Anfortas;
Wunde des Gralsknigs
Trevrizents Gelbde
Heilungsversuche:
Wasser der Paradiesstrme

"Zweig der Sibylle" (Aen. VI)
Tischlein-deck-dich Pelikan-Blut
Karfunkel (Stirn des Einhorns)
Schwert-Geschenk (Wolfram) Natterwurz aus Drachenblut
nur die Mitleidsfrage kann heilen
zu Bette ...
Krutermahlzeit zu Mittag
Parzivals Bekenntnis
Alptrume
raus! der Speer

Anfortas als Fischer
Saturns Klte
Sigune als Piet
die 25 Jungfrauen
... bleibt alles in der Familie Trevrizents Ritterleben
die Geschenke: Mantel und Schwert
Erklrung des Schwertes Mahnung zur Orthodoxie
Absolution
zur Anschluseite: Parzivl in der Gralsburg (2)

*
zur Erklrung des Grals im Trevrizentbuch
+
Briefanfrage und Antwort: zur "Funktion der Gralssuche im Parzival"
*
Richard Wagner: Parsifal
+
die groe Parsifal-Seite (Derrick Everett)
*+)
mittelalterliche Quellen : mediaevum.de : mittelalterliche Literatur
Chrtien de Troyes: Le conte du graal (ed. Pierre Kunstmann, Uni Ottawa)
Wolframs Parzival (vollstndige Netzedition der Lachmann-Ausgabe)
(+*
"... noch einen Tannhuser schuldig" * Rheingold-Travestie * lapsit exills (Index) * Wurzel Jesse
Nietzsche: Die Geburt der Tragdie aus dem Geist der Musik (Raffaels "Transfiguration")
Bhme: Aurora * Chym. Hochzeit * Schatzhhle * Genesis 2&3 * Venus-Geburt * Rgveda
Rudolf Steiner: Wie erlangt man Erkenntnisse der hheren Welten? / Theosophie
Anthroposophie-links/ Alchymie/ Rosenkreuzer * www.echtzeitraum * Novalis, Schelling

Johannesevang.: Hochzeit zu Kana; 5 Brote und 2 Fische * Novalis: Hymne * Isenheimer Altar
Index * hansz (Hausseite) * Steckbrief * links * emaille?!
Wer von nun an eine Mitteilung der Erweiterungen dieser Seiten (newsletter) erhalten mchte, trage bitte seine Email-Adresse hier ein:
@ Anmelden
dom./ index/ auctor links / alte Quellen Genesis / Schatzhhle Sanskrit / Rgveda
Tannhuser-Roman Hesiod / Homer Weisheit / Hiob / Ps.23 Chnd.-Upanishad
Lyrik/ Musikstcke Parmenides / Platon Markus-/ Joh.-Evang. Vednta / Yoga
Was ist Musik? Aristoteles: Metaphysik mittelalt. Weltkarten Bhagavad-Gt
Sphrenklang Cicero/ Ovid/ Vergil Parzival, der Gral Buddha / Lao-tse
Raffael: Philosophen Boethius / lib.de causis J. Bhme: Morgenrte Chartres: Fenster
Ravenna: Mosaiken Honorius / hist. schol. Chymische Hochzeit Isenheimer Altar
Mosaiken in Africa otia imperialia Novalis, Schelling LICHT? / "Geist"?
Hans Zimmermann : lapsit exillis : Chretien de Troyes / Wolfram von Eschenbach : Perceval / Parzival : Gralsburgszene
zurck Seitenanfang

Introduction to the Music of Parsifal
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Music Introduction
An Introduction to the Music of

Parsifal
1. The Motivic Web

2. The Secret of Form
3. A Tonal Work of Art
4. Other Aspects of the Music
The Motivic Web

Treatment of the Thematic Material
his music which is in perpetual evolution is probably the most highly personal musical invention of
Wagner - it places the emphasis for the first time on uncertainty, on indetermination. It represents a
rejection of immutability, an aversion to definiteness in musical phrases as long as they have not
exhausted their potential for evolution and renewal.
[Pierre Boulez on Parsifal]
ince the thematic material of Parsifal is the subject of a separate article it will not be discussed
at length here. A few important points are worth noting, however. There are thematic elements
in the music of Parsifal that might be regarded as Leitmotives, i.e. recurring musical ideas that
are encountered as presentiments of events in the future, or as reminiscences of events in the past. (It is
possible for the occurrence of a motive to be both at once: as when Gurnemanz tells the recruits about
the seduction of Amfortas, we hear the teasing motif associated with the Kiss, that will be heard again
when it is Parsifal's turn to be seduced. ). Many of the extended Leitmotives to be found in the score
turn out, on closer examination, to be complexes built up from basic motives, each consisting of only a
few notes. In fact, there are five kinds of thematic element in this motivic web of evolution and
renewal:
complexes, such as Kundry's Curse or Nature's Healing

main subjects, of which there are few, including Faith, Holy Grail and Prophecy
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/music.htm (1 of 6) [26/05/2002 22:29:28]

basic motives, to which we can apply such labels as Suffering, Yearning, Nature
and Bells
characteristic intervals, such as the tritone associated with Kundry
characteristic chords, such as the added sixth chord associated with Parsifal.
number of commentators on the work have observed that it is entirely made out of a small
number of closely-related motives. They are related either by common elements (e.g. complexes
sharing basic motives and characteristic intervals), or by their common origin in one or more
thematic elements heard earlier in the work. Even the monody that opens the work, which I have
referred to elsewhere as the Grundthema, is itself a complex which is, at the higher level of structure,
composed of three short motives that will later develop their distinct associations, and at the lower level
made up of a broken chord (that of Parsifal) followed by a number of tiny melodic cells that will be
combined and developed later. Several of the extended themes (e.g. Prophecy) are revealed fragment by
fragment until, at the appropriate moment, they are heard complete and connected to the dramatic
action. Where there is contrast, it is mainly provided by the development of chromatic variants of
diatonic originals, or by changes of rhythm.
Mediation
ach of the four principal characters has his or her own motif (although Gurnemanz, as a
neutral narrator, does not seem to have one of his own). These leitmotives, together with those
associated with objects, events and abstractions, blend into one another according to the
relationships between the characters. This is deliberate; in this music Wagner was concerned with
mediation. Whereas in earlier works he had used strong contrasts, he was now concerned with
shadings, as of grey between the poles of black and white.
recognise now that the characteristic fabric of my music (always of course in the closest association
with the poetic design), which my friends regard as so new and significant, owes its construction
above all to the extreme sensitivity which guides me in the direction of mediating and providing an
intimate bond between all the different moments of transition that separate the extremes of mood. I should
now like to call my most delicate and profound art the art of transition, for the whole fabric of my art is made
up of such transitions: all that is abrupt and sudden is now repugnant to me; it is often unavoidable and
necessary, but even then it may not occur unless the mood has been clearly prepared in advance, so that the
suddenness of the transition appears to come as a matter of course.
[Letter to Mathilde Wesendonck, 29 October 1859, Wesendonck-Briefe 232-6, tr.

Spencer and Millington]
The Secret of Form

agner referred to and exploited the operatic tradition by making use of traditional operatic
forms. It is possible to identify accompanied recitative, arioso, ensembles and even strophic
passages in Parsifal. The traditional forms, however, are scarcely recognisable, since Wagner
transcended their limitations.
he German musicologist Alfred Lorenz analysed the forms of Wagner's works in his Das
Geheimnis der Form bei Richard Wagner. In the later works, Lorenz found many examples of
bar form (stollen; stollen; abgesang), as described by David in the first act of Der Meistersinger
von Nrnberg, often on a large scale. According to Lorenz, the second act of Parsifal is constructed of
nineteen musico-poetic periods, each of which has its own tonality. In terms of bar form, on the
architectural scale, the first Stollen (periods 1 to 7) ends with the disappearance of Klingsor; the
second Stollen (periods 8 to 12) ends at the reappearance of Kundry; and the scene between Kundry
and Parsifal forms the Abgesang. Since it returns, in periods 18 and 19, to the tonality of b minor
(associated with Klingsor, and therefore the tonality of period 1), and since material from earlier in the
act returns in reminiscence during these two periods, this act can also be seen as an example of arch
form. As can the entire opera, through the parallelism of acts 1 and 3, a structural aspect that Parsifal
shares with Tristan und Isolde.
A Tonal Work of Art

Diatonic and Chromatic
n greatly simplified terms, the use of musical motives in Parsifal is governed and conditioned by the
contrast of chromaticism and diatonicism: the chromaticism that conveys the deceptions of
Klingsor's kingdom also expresses the anguish of Amfortas, while the expressive range of the
diatonicism reaches from the naive simplicity of Parsifal's motive to the sublimity of the Grail themes. As
categories of musical technique, chromaticism and diatonicism also have an allegorical significance: the
very fact that two motives are both chromatic - an insignificant characteristic in itself, because it is so
general - creates a dramatic association between them. The connection between deception and suffering,
between the magic garden and Amfortas' lamentation, is as unmistakeable as, in the diatonic sphere, that
between the naivety of the "pure fool" and the Grail kingship that awaits Parsifal at the end of his path to
recognition. The fact that Wagner based the differentiations and ramifications of the dramatic argument,
which have caused so much torment to exegetes, on so simple, so obvious a contrast, which holds good for
the stage action as well as for the music, is the proof of his theatrical genius.
[Carl Dahlhaus, tr. Mary Whittall, Richard Wagner's Music Dramas]
he domain of the Grail, which is physically the location of the first and last acts of the drama, is
predominantly diatonic; whereas that of the magician Klingsor, which is the physical location
of the second act, is predominantly chromatic. Parsifal's motivic group is at the diatonic
extreme; Klingsor's motivic group is at the opposite extreme of chromaticism. The music of Amfortas

and Kundry lies between these poles.
n the domain of Klingsor (or when Gurnemanz refers to it) we hear, in minor keys, chromatic
versions of leitmotives that were originally diatonic and predominantly in major keys. Consider
the use of the Redemption theme (motif 1A) in Parsifal's outburst after the Kiss. This kind of
variation according to context is not just restricted to the melodic and rhythmic elements. This also
applies to another important element: the transformation music that accompanies Parsifal's access to
the Grail Castle in each of the outer acts. At the climax of the second act prelude, there is a distorted
parody of the transformation music that takes the listener into Klingsor's distorted version of the Grail
Castle. Like the reflections in Klingsor's mirror, all that is found in his castle is a distorted, sterile
reflection of the domain of the Grail.
lthough there are some triadic passages in the score, there are also passages in which
diminished seventh chords are prominent. One such chord is the Tristan chord, which is heard
for example in the second act, at the moment of the Kiss, and other diminished seventh chords
are the basic element of Parsifal's subsequent outburst, from Amfortas! Die Wunde! to Hier, hier!.
Later, it is a diminished seventh chord (B flat, D flat, E and G) that dominates the desolate music of the
third act prelude. Both harmonically and melodically, Wagner's consistent use of minor thirds and
tritones to some extent replaces the traditional triadic harmonies based on perfect intervals.
Tonality
Fig. 1 Cadences
everal commentators have noted that there are relatively few unequivocal cadences in the
work. Note, shown above, the outburst of diatonic harmonies, with three very definite B major
cadences, after Gurnemanz hails the pure one as the new Grail King. Obviously something
extremely important is happening at this moment. It is followed by the 26 bars during which Kundry is
baptised. Then, as Kundry weeps, the music reaches the remote key of B flat minor (the tonal center of
the prelude to this act), returning to B major for Parsifal's motive in its final development. In his essay

in the Cambridge Opera Handbook on Parsifal, Arnold Whittall has observed:
t is clear that Wagner's essential musico-dramatic technique is not merely a matter of preparing and
then evading cadences, but an almost ironic reversal of traditional cadential function. The fewer the
points of diatonic cadential resolution, the greater their structural significance might appear to be.
But if some of these resolutions are outside of the prevailing tonality ... they resolve nothing; they rather
enhance the prevailing instability, and create an even stronger contrast with the truly structural cadences
which do confirm prevailing tonal tendencies.
ot only does Wagner sometimes seem to be evading cadences, but also avoiding the appearance
of the implied tonic, e.g. by establishing the dominant of an unheard tonic. As for example in
the first scene with Kundry, where the shifting chromatic harmonies at times suggest an
underlying b minor, although the tonic chord is never heard. The emphasis on keys a tritone apart is
one factor that has frustrated attempts to analyse this music with the techniques appropriate to sonatas
and symphonies, including Schenkerian analysis. Listen, for example, to the change from D flat to A
major at the end of Gurnemanz's narration in the first act (durch hell erschauter Wortezeichen Male)
and the equally powerful shift from D major to A flat major on the word Gral in Parsifal's final phrase
(Enthullet den Gral, ffnet den Schrein!) at the end of the work.
Other Aspects of the Music

Orchestration
n the orchestration of Parsifal, Wagner returned to the quadruple woodwind he had used in the
Ring, but omitted the so-called Wagner tubas, bass trumpet and contrabass trombone. In his
scoring of the work, Wagner seems to have returned to the blocked instrumentation of his
earlier operas, rather than the integrated scoring of Tristan and Die Meistersinger, where melodic lines
pass seamlessly from one instrument to another and textures are built with instruments from different
divisions of the orchestra. Parsifal actually begins with this kind of orchestration, but when the motives
of Holy Grail (motif 2) and Faith (motif 3) appear, they are played by different instrumental groups in
turn. The block-like scoring is less evident in the more contrapuntal passages, such as the music of the
Flower Maidens. As in Tristan, the horns are mostly grouped with the woodwind, rather than with the
other brass instruments.
Tempo
s Pierre Boulez has remarked, the tempi of Parsifal are unstable in dramatic passages and
stable in reflective passages. There seems to be an increasing tendency for conductors to
emphasis the contrasts in tempi, for example taking the opening of the work (marked sehr
langsam) very, very slowly, and the prelude to the second act (marked heftig, doch nicht bereilt) very,
very fast.


A Guide to the Thematic Material of Parsifal
Guide to
Leitmotif Guide the
Thematic
Introduction
Grundthema
Material
Holy Grail of
Faith
Suffering
Amfortas
The intention of this short guide to the thematic
Prophecy
material of Parsifal is to assist the listener in hearing
Riding (Herodias) the key thematic elements of the music, and in relating
Kundry's Laughter them to each other and to the action of the music-
Nature's Healing drama. (Wolzogen called them Leitmotiven but the
composer prefered to call them Grundthemen).
Klingsor's Magic
Klingsor
In Parsifal, his last work for the stage, Richard Wagner
Parsifal had further refined the techniques developed for his
Herzeleide previous works, and in some aspects (especially of
Agony orchestration) returned to an earlier style. Where his
use of thematic material is concerned, we find a style
Fighting
and techniques quite different from that of the Ring.
Nature The nearest comparable work in this respect is Tristan
Magic Maidens und Isolde.
Desire for Redemption
Serving
Waking
Distress of Monsalvat Wagner's Leitmotivic
Baptism (Benediction) Technique
Good Friday Meadows
Atonement In the Ring, many of the musical ideas are associated with
Grief single characters (such as Wotan or Loge) or objects (such
as the Rhinegold, the Ring or the Tarnhelm), or with
Funeral Procession
groups of characters (such as the Gods, the Giants or the
Angels Nibelungs). In only a few cases are the musical ideas only
Bells associated with states of existence (such as Sleep) or with
Curse abstract concepts (such as Love, Power, World Redemption
or Inheritance of the World) and even then, there is also an
Devotion
association with a character or object that can be seen on
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/motiftop.htm (1 of 4) [26/05/2002 22:29:44]
Question stage (as the Flight motif is associated with Freia, or the
Straying Treaty motif with Wotan's spear).
Swan
In Parsifal the unambiguous identification of a musical
Titurel idea with a character or object is the exception rather than
Yearning the rule. Even those musical motives that are traditionally
Balsam named after the characters (such as Amfortas or Kundry) or
Innocence objects (such as Spear or Holy Grail) at whose presence on
stage, or at the mention of which, the motive is heard in the
Purity
orchestra, are much more than simple "calling- cards" for
Remorse those referred to in the name. Therefore, as indeed when
Pain of Wound considering the Ring or Tristan und Isolde too, the reader is
advised not to pay too much attention to the name of the
musical motif, which is really no more than a convenient
and easily memorable label. The semantic content of the
label should not be allowed to obscure the musical and
symbolic role that the motif plays in a specific context.
This page last updated 05/08/01

21:21:14.
Economy of Material
A striking characteristic of the score of Parsifal is the
economy of musical material. On close examination and
analysis, the entire score is found to have been constructed
out of variations on a small set of melodic ideas, most of
which appear in the first six bars of the prelude to the first
act, and an equally limited set of harmonic ideas. This may
be seen as an extreme refinement of Wagner's approach in
Das Rheingold and Tristan und Isolde. Whereas in his
earlier works the thematic material was clear cut, so that
for example Wotan's material was contrasted to that of
Fricka, in Parsifal the characters seem to blur into each
other, so that it is almost impossible to find a boundary at
which the music of Kundry stops and the music of Klingsor
begins. The musical material seems to be used more to tie
characters together than to delineate them as individuals,
i.e. to describe relationships rather than those related. The
music of Amfortas and Kundry has more to tell about the
common ground between these two characters than about
them separately.
A few principles or patterns in Wagner's use of musical

motives can be identified. Firstly, each musical idea

appears first in the orchestra, and is only later (and
sometimes only much later) heard in the vocal line.
Typically, new (or derived) ideas are presented in one of
the three preludes or in the two interludes known as the
Transformation Music. Secondly, the significance of a
musical motive becomes defined when it is first heard in
association with something that is seen on, or heard from,
the stage. Thirdly, the complete or extended form of a
motif is usually much more than the fragment(s) we hear at
first. In particular, the musical motives of Agony, Prophecy
and Klingsor's Magic emerge gradually, at first appearing
as the tiniest fragment of two or three notes, that eventually
grows into a melodic and harmonic complex several bars in
length.
Although it has been said that much of the material grows

out of the first six bars of the prelude, it must be admitted
that not all of the musical ideas are firmly rooted in what is
sometimes called the Love Feast melody, but which I have
simply called Grundthema. Many of the ideas that appear
later are related to the Grundthema only to the extent that
they contain or develop a melodic cell that appears in the
melody, such as a rising and falling semitone, or a
fragment of arpeggio or scale. In the most extreme cases,
the relationship may be that the musical motif is
characterised by an interval that appears in the Grundthema
(such as a tritone or a falling perfect fifth), or that the motif
also modulates from tonic key to mediant key or the
reverse, or (in the case of the Holy Grail motif as related to
the first part of the Grundthema) that the motif consists of
an incomplete ascending scale from tonic to octave. The
reader should decide for his or herself how much credence
to give to these suggested relationships. It is certainly not
worth trying to relate everything that appears later to the
Grundthema, although there may be those who will try to
do so.
It is, however, the elucidation of relationships between

the musical material and the dramatic action that
makes the exercise worthwhile. Otherwise it is reduced
to a sterile activity of labelling musical motives, like
butterflies in a museum, so that they may be listed in a

handbook such as those that have been sold at Bayreuth
for over a century. The quest for musical relationships
is a rewarding one, and the discoveries to be made
provide insights not only into the process of
composition, but also into the ideas beneath the surface
of the music-drama.
Copyright notice: Except for copying to disk for

archival purposes, and for normal fair use exceptions
relating to the quoting of short passages for
purposes of commentary and the like, no part of the
writing or the non-public domain graphics either
herein or in the local links hereto may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
transmitted or retransmitted in any form by any
means without the express prior written consent of
Derrick Everett. Rights in remote links are as
established by their respective owners.
This page last updated 02/28/00 00:14:36.

Prelude to Act 1 of Parsifal
>Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Music Introduction | Prelude to Act 1
Prelude to Act 1
e plays me the Prelude, from the orchestral sketch! My emotion lasts long - then he speaks to me
about this feature, in the mystery of the Grail, of blood turning into wine, which permits us to turn
our gaze refreshed back to earth, whereas the conversion of wine into blood draws us away from
the earth.
[Cosima's Diary, 26 September 1877]
Wagner's Programme Note for King Ludwig

"Love -- Faith :-- Hope?"
First theme: "Love"

"Take ye my body, take my blood, in token of our love!" (Repeated in faint whispers by angel-voices.)
"Take ye my blood, my body take, in memory of me!" -- (Again repeated in whispers.)
Second theme: "Faith"

Promise of redemption through faith. Firmly and stoutly faith declares itself, exalted, willing even in
suffering.-- To the promise renewed Faith answers from the dimmest heights -- as on the pinions of the
snow-white dove -- hovering downwards -- usurping more and more the hearts of men, filling the world,
the whole of Nature with the mightiest force, then glancing up again to heaven's vault as if appeased. But
once more, from out the awe of solitude, throbs forth the cry of loving pity: the agony, the holy sweat of
Olivet, the divine death-throes of Golgotha -- the body pales, the blood flows forth, and glows now in the
chalice with the heavenly glow of blessing, shedding on all that lives and languishes the grace of ransom
won by Love. For him who -- fearful rue for sin at heart -- must quail before the godlike vision of the Grail,
for Amfortas, sinful keeper of the sacred relic, we are made ready: will redemption heal the gnawing
torments of the soul? Once more we hear the promise, and -- we hope!
[Richard Wagner, 1880]
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/prelact1.htm (1 of 4) [26/05/2002 22:30:00]

Source Melody
he last of Wagner's music dramas, although it may not be immediately apparent to the
listener, is constructed from very little raw material: many of the themes can be derived, or
related to, elements of the first six bars of the entire work (1), which has been regarded as a
concatenation of three motives:
Figure 1 Opening melody of the Prelude to Act 1.
Redemption - the melody to which, at the end of the work, the chorus sing,
"Erlsung dem Erlser" (2). With a small modification, this rising phrase is used
to represent the Grail Knights and, omitting the first note, Communion (3).
The second phrase of the melody (1B), containing a falling fifth, is related to
the Guilt of Amfortas.
The third phrase (1C) is the motif of the Spear. This motif is important in the
third act prelude, when Parsifal is bearing the sacred spear.
t is interesting to note how, already in the first bars of the work, uncertainty has been
established, with the ambiguity between A flat major and c minor. This uncertainty is a
characteristic of the domain of the Grail as the work begins. Note also that this melody ends
on the mediant: one of the unusual features of Parsifal is the relative importance of mediant key
relationships.

Form
t is not difficult to find the traditional forms of opera beneath Wagner's music. The prelude
may be considered as a derivative of the classical, three movement overture. The first
movement is in two sections of 19 bars each, the second being a developed restatement of the
first; it is followed by a broader movement of 39 bars; and the final movement begins at bar 78,
lasting (apparently) for 36 bars.
he prelude differs from a classical overture in at least one important respect: instead of
returning to the opening tonality of A flat major, it ends on the dominant (unless the concert
ending is played). Structurally, the end of the prelude is reached at the sixth bar of the first
act, with Gurnemanz's words so wacht es mindest am Morgen. Hence the prelude is tightly linked to
the first act.
First Movement
he first section of the prelude presents the rich source theme described above, in the initial
tonality of A flat major. Wagner blends the timbres of wind instruments (clarinet and
bassoon, joined by cor anglais) with strings (violins and celli). The second section is
essentially a repeat, with the key raised to the mediant, c minor, and only small changes in
orchestration.
Second Movement
he second movement begins at bar 39 with a new idea, the ethereal motif of the Holy Grail, in
the original key of A flat, although we soon hear other keys (G flat major and D major). The
theme of Faith is revealed in a grand, wind chorale; the Grail theme returns, followed by an
extended, sequential meditation on the idea of Faith (1 below). Already it is obvious that, in his
orchestrational technique, Wagner has returned to the more blocked style of his earlier works.

Figure 2. Faith, Devotion and Nature's Healing
Third Movement
ushed, tremolando strings introduce the final movement of the prelude at bar 78, which
returns to the source theme. It is the third attempt to develop this theme; there seem to have
been two failures in the first movement; perhaps this attempt will be successful? Parts of it
are now developed, thematically and rhythmically, although the developments do not seem to lead
anywhere. New ideas, later to be related to the Pain and Agony (3A above) of Amfortas, are subtly
introduced into the fabric, suggesting that beneath the confident, sunlit surface, all is not well in the
domain of the Grail.

Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Music Introduction | Prelude to Act 2
Prelude to Act 2
At midday, R. plays for me the introduction to the second act, Klingsor's approach and the rage of sin. It is
wonderful!
[Cosima's Diary, 14 March 1878]
Klingsor and Amfortas
Figure 1. Klingsor's motif (1) and the motif of Kundry's Laughter (2).
he prelude to the second act is a short, fast introduction of sixty bars, which introduces the
domain of Klingsor. Therefore, naturally, the dominant idea is Klingsor's motif [1]; at the
end of the prelude, Kundry is represented by the motif of Laughter [2]. Klingsor's motif may

be regarded as a distant derivative of the Grundthema that opens the prelude to the first act.
he second act, including the prelude, is the only act in all of Wagner's music-dramas that
begins and ends in the same key. It is the black key of b minor, a key that was associated with
magic in the Ring. This choice of key for Klingsor's music may not be fortuitous; in fact, the
key sequence and dramatic action of the first two sections of the act (up to the Kiss) parallel part of
an opera by Meyerbeer.
Figure 2. Amfortas' suffering as it appears in the Act 1 Transformation Music.
he music of the second act may be characterised as a parody and distortion of the music of
the first act, reflecting the relationship between Klingsor's domain and that of the Grail. At
the climax of this short prelude (bar 50), there is a distorted reminiscence [Figure 3] of the
motif of Suffering, as it appeared in the transformation music of Act 1 [Figure 2]. The music of
Klingsor and Kundry is predominantly chromatic, and so are the themes associated with suffering
and desire, through which Klingsor and Kundry are related to Amfortas.

Figure 3. Amfortas' suffering as it appears in the Act 2 prelude.

Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Music Introduction | Prelude to Act 3
The Most Desolate Music Ever

Written
Prelude to Act 3
Background
ost of the material used in the third act prelude is reminiscence of the first act (e.g. the
Prophecy) and second act (i.e. the music of Klingsor's domain). Furthermore, much of the
music of the third act can be derived from the music of Parsifal and Kundry respectively --
even though she has only two words to sing, she is present in the music until her baptism, when she
disappears from the score. The third act prelude is dominated by the music of these two characters
but, strangely, Amfortas seems to absent from this prelude.
Context

Left: Figure 1. One of Franz Stassen's illustrations for Act

III of Parsifal, showing the opening bars of the third act
prelude.
o understand what is happening, let's put

the third act prelude in its dramatic
context.
t the end of the second act, the newly

enlightened hero has been miraculously
saved from destruction by the stolen spear
cast at him by Klingsor. Wielding the spear in the
sign of the cross, Parsifal destroys Klingsor's
power, including his hold over Kundry, and his
magic garden with its Magic Maidens. Between the
second and third acts, Parsifal, cursed by Kundry
both to wander and denied paths that lead away
from her, wanders in search of the domain of the
Grail. It is there that he will find the stricken
Amfortas; whom the hero now understands,
having experienced his suffering himself. Kundry,
however, knows the way to the domain of the
Grail, and during this prelude she is sleeping, in
the same spot where she fell asleep at the end of the
first act. I like to think of the prelude to act 3 as
Kundry's Dream, in which she recalls the events of the previous act and sees the wandering of Parsifal,
who is bringing healing in the form of the Spear. She knows that Parsifal will find a way back to her
and therefore to the domain of the Grail.
Analysis
ow let's examine the prelude to the third act in detail.
he second act ended in the black key of b minor. The prelude begins with a tension between B
major and b flat minor.

Figure 2. Magic Maidens, "Ich sah das Kind" and opening of the Prelude to Act 3.
he first four notes in the top line (3) I call the Serving motif (although it's not the same as the
notes to which Kundry sings her "dienen") and it ends with a falling tritone, b flat - e, the
characteristic interval associated with Kundry. This falling tritone is a feature of the Laughter
idea that was introduced in the first act and associated with Kundry and her accursed laughter. This is
followed by six notes from the music of the Magic Maidens (1) and also reminiscent of "Ich sah das
Kind" (2).

Figure 3. Straying and Waking
t bar 5 we come to a three-note idea that I call Waking (2) -- this will be developed later in the
prelude. The music now has a flavour of Kundry's material, e.g. the rocking arpeggios in the
bass line in bars 11 to 13, perhaps, like Kundry's motif, suggesting the eternal cycle of rebirth.
hen we hear the wandering Parsifal, in an idea that Newman called Straying (1). This is
developed by the insertion of more notes, we hear Kundry at bar 20 as the music slows down,
and then the chromatic Straying turning into the diatonic Dresden Amen, proclaiming the
domain of the Grail (bar 22). This is easily transformed into the related motif of the Spear (with its
three emphasised, rising notes), at which Kundry laughs in her sleep (bar 24), in a longer version of
Laughter over the Spear motif in the bass.
"new" idea appears at bar 25, which on closer inspection turns out to be the Prophecy motif in
diminution, leading into the fully developed form of Waking. As Kundry stirs in her sleep,
these three themes are woven together with that of the Spear and the rocking arpeggios
(eternal cycle). The Prophecy idea is developed into an insistent figure with a double-dotted rhythm
and shortened notes; the key is now e flat minor. As Gurnemanz emerges from his hut, we hear the
Serving motif and then the music of the waking Kundry. The first scene begins at bar 49, in tonal
ambiguity around Gurnemanz' d minor.
This page last updated (non-css message, anchors) 04/15/02 18:18:54.

Meyerbeer's 'Robert le Diable' and Wagner's 'Parsifal'
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Meyerbeer and Wagner
Meyerbeer's Robert and Wagner's

Parsifal
Allegory and Antithesis

oth Richard and Cosima Wagner hinted that there were secrets in Parsifal. Certainly, it is a
work with many levels, dimensions and external references. One of the most fascinating of
these references is to an opera by another composer who had at one time been Wagner's
mentor and benefactor. It has been suggested that Wagner had modelled the second act of Parsifal
upon part of an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer. If so, was it because Wagner trying to convey some
message about the relationship of his Gesamtkunstwerk to the operatic tradition? Or does it have
more to do with his relationship to Meyerbeer?
Wagner and Meyerbeer

lthough Meyerbeer had encouraged and promoted the young Wagner, the younger
composer came to resent his erstwhile patron. It seems that this resentment festered into
virulent anti-semitism, as expressed in the essay Das Judentum in der Musik (Judaism in
Music). In Wagner's letters to Meyerbeer, he adresses his patron in terms of adulation and self-
abasement: My deeply revered Lord and Master, he begins one letter [18 January 1840]; you will
readily understand me when I tell you that I weep tears of the deepest emotion whenever I think of the man
who is everything to me, everything ... But my head & my heart are no longer mine to give away, - they
are your property, my master; - the most that is left to me is my two hands, - do you wish to make use of
them? - I realise that I must become your slave, body & soul, in order to find food and strength for my
work, which will one day tell me of my gratitude. I shall be a loyal & honest slave ...
[RW 3 May 1840]
t is not surprising that Wagner looked back upon his relationship to Meyerbeer with
repugnance. Wagner tried to explain himself to Liszt: Meyerbeer is a special case, as far as I
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/meyerber.htm (1 of 6) [26/05/2002 22:31:00]

am concerned: it is not that I hate him, but that I find him infinitely repugnant. This perpetually kind and
obliging man reminds me of the darkest - I might almost say, the most wicked - period of my life, when he
still made a show of protecting me; it was a period of connections and back-staircases, when we were
treated like fools by patrons whom we inwardly deeply despised. That is a relationship of the most utter
dishonesty: neither party is sincere in its dealings with the other; each assumes an air of devotion, but
they use each other only so long as it profits them to do so. I do not reproach Meierbeer [sic] in the least
for the intentional ineffectiveness of his kindness towards me - on the contrary, I am glad that I am not as
deeply in his debt as is Berlioz, for ex. But it was time for me to break away completely from so dishonest
a relationship: superficially, I did not have the least occasion for doing so, for even the discovery that he
was playing me false could not surprise me or, indeed, justify my action, since it was basically I who had
to reproach myself for having wilfully allowed myself to be deceived concerning him. No, it was for more
deep-seated reasons that I felt the need to abandon all the usual considerations of common sense in my
dealings with him: I cannot exist as an artist in my own eye or in those of my friends, I cannot think or feel
anything without sensing in Meyerbeer my total antithesis, a contrast I am driven loudly to proclaim by
the genuine despair that I feel whenever I encounter, even among many of my friends, the mistaken view
that I have something in common with Meyerbeer.
[Letter to Franz Liszt, 18 April 1851.]
Robert le Diable
Left: Meyerbeer's Robert le

diable. Lithograph by J.
Arnout. Bibliothque de
l'Opra, Paris.
n view of the above, it

is most surprising to
find that there are
dramatic and musical
parallels between the third act
of Meyerbeer's Robert le
Diable, a work that Wagner
knew intimately from before
his time in Paris (he
conducted a performance of
the work in 1838), and the
second act of Parsifal. This
has been demonstrated by Walter Keller.

[Tribschener Bltter, xxx, December 1971, pp.6-12; translated in

Wagner, v13 nr2, May 1992, pp.83-90].
Parallels in Dramatic Structure

he obvious parallels in the respective action of the two acts suggests that Wagner was, either
consciously or unconsciously, thinking of Robert le Diable when he wrote his Prose Draft of
1865. Wagner had last heard Meyerbeer's opera at the Paris Opera in 1860. Keller lists the
following parallels.
Robert le diable Parsifal

A hall in the ruined convent of St. Rosalie, Klingsor's enchanted castle, in the inner
with cloisters to the right and a cemetry to dungeon of a tower that is open to the sky.
the left. Centre stage is a marble statue of The foot of the tower is shrouded in
St. Rosalie herself, holding a green cypress darkness.
branch in her hands.
Scne et vocation Using his magician's powers, Klingsor

Bertram, the prince of darkness, conjures up conjures up Kundry's soul; her spirit appears
the shades of those formed nuns who were in the shadows. Herauf! herauf! Zu mir!
unfaithful to their vows: Nonnes qui reposez
sous cette froide pierre, relevez-vous!
Procession des nonnes In the blue light, Kundry's figure rises up.
Swathed in their funerary shrouds, the nuns She seems asleep. She moves like on
rise slowly from their graves and, roused to a awaking. Finally she utters a terrible cry.
brief semblence of life, foregather in the
hall.
Rcitatif Klingsor announces Parsifal's imminent

Bertram announces Robert's imminent approach and orders Kundry to seduce him.
approach and orders the nuns to seduce him.
Bacchanale Magic Maidens scene. From all sides rush in

The nuns cast off their veils, revealing the Flowermaidens clad in light veil-like
seductive dancing costumes underneath. garments, first singly, then in groups,
They join in a lively bacchanale but forming a confused, many-coloured throng.
withdraw on Robert's entrance. They seem as though just startled out of
sleep.

Rcitatif Parsifal jumps down into the garden.

Robert enters through the cloisters.
Premier air de ballet The maidens deck themselves with flowers.

The nuns attempt to seduce Robert by plying They dance in a graceful, childlike manner
him with drink. about Parsifal, caressing him gently. Parsifal
Deuxime air de ballet is at first fascinated and then repelled by
The nuns attempt to seduce Robert through them: Lasst ab! Ihr fangt mir nicht!
gambling.
Troisime air de ballet
They try to seduce him through love.
Although the abbess Hlne succeeds in Parsifal attains to knowledge through

persuading Robert to drink and gamble, he Kundry's kiss. He repulses her.
recoils from the cypress branch. Finally,
however, drunk with love, he steals a kiss
from the abbess, then tears the branch from
the statue's hands and disapears through the
cloisters.
Choer dans Parsifal catches the Spear which has been

Demons rise up out of the ground, seize the hurled at him, whereupon the castle falls as
nuns and disappear with them underground. by an earthquake. The garden withers to a
The nuns' shrouds remain lying on the floor desert; the ground is scattered with faded
of the stage. flowers. Kundry sinks down with a cry.
Parsifal, hastening away, pauses on top of
the ruined wall, and turns back to Kundry.
Du weisst, wo du mich wieder finden kannst!
He hastens away.
Parallels in Key Structure

hat is more surprising, however, is the discovery that the key structure of the two Stollen
(in Lorenz's analysis) of the second act of Parsifal, follows the key structure of the finale to
act 3 of Robert. Keller lists the following parallels.
Robert le diable Parsifal

Number Key Period Bars Action Key
Conjuration b minor 1 1-131 Conjuration b minor

2 132- Awakening e flat

193 minor
Procession c minor 3 194- First refusal c minor

213
4 214- Klingsor's boast b minor

267
5 268- Conjuration b minor

298
Recitative E flat 6 299- Parsifal storms the castle E flat

major 386 major
Bacchanale d minor
Bacchanale D major 7 396- Klingsor's delusions b minor

(rel. 426
major)
8 427- Arrival of maidens g minor

498
Recitative E flat 9 499- Noch nie sah ich c minor

major 520
(rel.
major)
10 521- Maidens flirt with Parsifal A flat

702 major
11 703- Du Zager und Kalter A flat

735 major
Premier air de G major 12 736- Departure of maidens G major

ballet 805
Redemption
f this is a conscious reworking of Meyerbeer, is then Wagner's Abgesang, the Tristanesque
scene between Kundry and Parsifal, intended to prove the superiority of Wagner's art? If we
look for them, references to Wagner's life and his quest for the Gesamtkunstwerk are not
hard to find in Parsifal: the near quotation of the Swan motif from Lohengrin in the first act, and
the allusions to Tristan, not least in the three periods following the kiss. Perhaps the

autobiographical message of Parsifal is that Wagner had broken free of the spell cast upon him by
his antithesis, his Klingsor: Giacomo Meyerbeer.
Postscript
Coincidence or intentional?
ince writing the above, I have become more sceptical about the parallels that Keller claimed
to have detected between Robert and Parsifal. It is quite possible, even likely, that the
parallel in dramatic structure of the corresponding parts of these two dramas arose by
coincidence. It does not even seem necessary to suppose an unconscious influence, although that too
is a possibility. What seems more likely, in my view, is that Wagner realised that his scene with
Parsifal and the magic maidens resembled Meyerbeer's scene with Robert and the nuns -- and that
he chose to emphasise, rather than conceal, the parallel when he composed the music.
he tonal parallels too might be coincidental. The tradition of associative tonality dictates that
b minor is the villain key, which Wagner therefore associates with Klingsor, while G is the
mother-child key, which Kundry employs when she reminds the boy of his mother. So in my
opinion, the question of whether Parsifal contains real references to Robert remains open.
For more information about the operas The Meyerbeer Fan Club
of Meyerbeer, this site is highly
recommended:

Nietzsche on Wagner and 'Parsifal'
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Nietzsche on Parsifal
Nietzsche on Parsifal
riedrich Nietzsche had turned against the idol of his youth long before he heard the Prelude to
Parsifal for the first time in Monte-Carlo in January 1887. Despite his apostasy, Nietzsche was
greatly moved. When I see you again, I shall tell you exactly what I then understood. Putting
aside all irrelevant questions (to what end such music can or should serve?), and speaking from a purely
aesthetic point of view, has Wagner ever written anything better? The supreme psychological perception
and precision as regards what can be said, expressed, communicated here, the extreme of concision and
directness of form, every nuance of feeling conveyed epigrammatically; a clarity of musical description
that reminds us of a shield of consummate workmanship; and finally an extraordinary sublimity of feeling,
something experienced in the very depths of music, that does Wagner the highest honour; a synthesis of
conditions which to many people - even "higher minds" - will seem incompatible, of strict coherence, of
"loftiness" in the most startling sense of the word, of a cognisance and a penetration of vision that cuts
through the soul as with a knife, of sympathy with what is seen and shown forth. We get something
comparable to it in Dante, but nowhere else. Has any painter ever depicted so sorrowful a look of love as
Wagner does in the final accents of his Prelude?
[Letter to Peter Gast (Heinrich Kselitz), January 1887]
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/nietzsch.htm (1 of 2) [26/05/2002 22:31:23]

Nietzsche on Wagner and 'Parsifal'
month later, Nietzsche wrote to his sister: I cannot think of it

without feeling violently shaken, so elevated was I by it, so
deeply moved. It was as if someone were speaking to me again,
after many years, about the problems that disturb me - naturally not
supplying the answers I would give, but the Christian answer, which
after all has been the answer of stronger souls than the last two
centuries of our era have produced. When listening to this music one
lays Protestantism aside as a misunderstanding - and also, I will not
deny it, other really good music, which I have at other times heard and
loved, seems, as against this, a misunderstanding!
n May 1888, Nietzsche produced his brilliant tirade against Wagner, Der Fall Wagner (The Case
of Wagner). Here he wrote that the sensuousness of Wagner's last work made it his greatest
masterpiece. In the art of seduction, Parsifal will always retain its rank - as the stroke of genius
in seduction. - I admire this work; I wish I had written it myself; failing that, I understand it. - Wagner
never had better inspirations than in the end. Here the cunning in his alliance of beauty and sickness goes
so far that, as it were, it casts a shadow over Wagner's earlier art - which now seems too bright, too
healthy. Do you understand this? Health, brightness having the effect of a shadow? almost of an
objection? - To such an extent have we become pure fools. - Never was there a greater master in dim,
hieratic aromas - never was a man equally expert in all small infinities , all that trembles and is effusive,
all the feminisms from the idioticon of happiness! - Drink, O my friends, the philters of this art! Nowhere
will you find a more agreeable way of enervating your spirit, of forgetting your manhood under a
rosebush. - Ah, this old magician! This Klingsor of all Klingsors! How he thus wages war against us! us,
the free spirits! How he indulges every cowardice of the modern soul with the tones of magic maidens! -
Never before has there been such a deadly hatred of the search for knowledge! - One has to be a cynic in
order not to be seduced here; one has to be able to bite in order not to worship here. Well, then, you old
seducer, the cynic warns you - cave canem.
[First Postscript to Der Fall Wagner, Friedrich Nietzsche, 1888, tr. W.

Kaufmann]
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/nietzsch.htm (2 of 2) [26/05/2002 22:31:23]

Shaw on Parsifal
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Shaw on Parsifal
G.B. Shaw on Parsifal
o enjoy Parsifal, either as a listener or an executant, one must be either a fanatic or a philosopher.
To enjoy Tristan it is only necessary to have had one serious love affair ...
[The Star, 6 August 1889]
Left: Marianne Brandt as Kundry in Act 2, Bayreuth 1882.

Richard- Wagner- Gedenksttte.
he much-boasted staging is marred by obsolete

contrivances which would astonish us at the Lyceum
as much as a return to candle-lighting or half-price
at nine o'clock. Mr Mansfield playing Richard III in the dress
of Garrick, or Mr Irving Hamlet in that of Kemble, would
seem modern and original compared with the unspeakable
ballroom costume which Madame Materna dons to fascinate
Parsifal in the second act. The magic flower garden would be
simply the most horribly vulgar and foolish transformation scene ever allowed to escape from a provincial
pantomime, were it not recommended to mercy by a certain enormous navet and a pleasantly childish love of
magnified red blossoms and trailing creepers.
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/shaw.htm (1 of 5) [26/05/2002 22:31:53]

Shaw on Parsifal
Sketch of the Grail Shrine by Anton Schnittenheim, Bayreuth 1882. Richard- Wagner- Gedenksttte.

Shaw on Parsifal
Left: Grail Shrine with Grailbearer, Bayreuth 1882.

s to the canvas set piece and Gower-st. sofa

visibly pulled on to the stage with Madame
Materna seductively reposed on it, the steam
from a copper under the boards which filled the house
with a smell of laundry and melted axillary gutta-
percha linings, the indescribable impossibility of the
wigs and beards, the characterless historical-school
draperies of the knights, the obvious wire connexion
of the electric light which glowed in the ruby bowl of
the Holy Grail, and the senseless violation of
Wagner's directions by allowing Gurnemanz and
Parsifal to walk off the stage whilst the panoramic
change of scene was taking place in the first act
(obviously the absence of the two men who are
supposed to be traversing the landscape reduces the
exhibition to the alternative absurdities of the trees
taking a walk or the auditorium turning round): all
these faults show the danger of allowing to any
theatre, however imposing its associations, the
ruinous privilege of exemption from vigilant and
implacable criticism. The performance of Parsifal on
Sunday last suffered additionally from Herr Grning
executing a hornpipe on the appearance of Klingsor with the sacred spear; but this was introduced not as an act of
whimsical defiance, but under pressure of the desperate necessity of disentangling Parsifal's ankle from the
snapped string on which the spear was presently to have flown at him.

Shaw on Parsifal
Right: Flower Maiden costume by Paul von Joukowsky, Bayreuth 1882.

mpressive as the first Grail scene is, nine-tenths of its effect would
be lost without the "innocent fool" gazing dumbly at it in the
corner, only to be hustled out as a goose when it is over. His
appearance on the rampart of Klingsor's castle, looking down in wonder
at the flower maidens in the enchanted garden, is also a memorable point.
And that long kiss of Kundry's from which he learns so much is one of
those pregnant simplicities which stare the world in the face for centuries
and yet are never pointed out except by great men.
he work produced a great effect - an effect in some cases of

disgust and repulsion, in others of awe and even of ecstasy; but in
all cases a powerful effect. The perfect smoothness with which the
panoramic changes of scenery in the first and third acts worked, the
clever changes from dusk to full light, the beauty of the temple of the
Grail, the smooth and thoroughly rehearsed choral singing, the magic of
the orchestra, and above all, of course, that prodigious coup de thtre,
the celebration of the Holy Communion on the stage, with the sacred
chalice glowing with ruby light, and the Holy Ghost descending in the
form of a dove in dazzling celestial radiance, could not fail to affect very
deeply an audience of the somewhat cathedrally class (if I may use the
expression) which alone can afford to go to Bayreuth. There was an
English bishop present yesterday. I shall not mention his see, lest I should
get him into trouble.
[The Star, 20 July 1894]

Shaw on Parsifal
Left: Amalie Materna, Emil Scaria and Hermann Winkelmann. Richard-

Wagner- Gedenksttte.
he bass, who was rather flustered, perhaps from nervousness,

was especially brutal in his treatment of the music of
Gurnemanz; and it struck me that if he had been a trombone
player in the band, instead of the singer, the conductor, Levi of
Munich, would have remonstrated. Indeed, I presently heard a
trombone player, who was helping with the fanfares outside the theatre
between the acts, pulled up by the sub-conductor for being "a little too
strong". Accordingly, having the opportunity of exchanging a few
words with Levi afterwards, I expressed my opinion about the bass in
question. Levi appeared surprised and, declaring that the singer had
the best bass voice in Germany, challenged me to find anyone who
could sing the part better, to which I could only respond with sufficient
emphasis by offering to sing it better myself, upon which he gave me
up as a lunatic.
[The World, 1 August 1894]

Verlaine's Poem 'Parsifal'
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Verlaine's Parsifal
Paul Verlaine's Poem
First published in the Revue Wagnrienne of 8 January 1886.
Parsifal a vaincu les Filles, leur gentil

Babil et la luxure amusante - et sa pente
Vers la Chair de garon vierge que cela tente
D'aimer les seins lgers et ce gentil babil;
Il vaincu la Femme belle, au cur subtil,

talant ses bras frais et sa gorge excitante;
Il a vaincu l'Enfer et rentre sous sa tente
Avec un lourd trophe son bras puril,
Avec la lance qui pera le Flanc suprme!

Il a guri le roi, le voici roi lui-mme,
Et prtre du trs saint Trsor essentiel.
En robe d'or il adore, gloire et symbole,

Le vase pur o resplendit le Sang rel.
- Et, ces voix d'enfants chantant dans la coupole!
Parsifal has overcome the gently babbling daughters

Who'd distract him to desire; despite fleshly delight
That might lure the virgin youth, the temptation
To love their swelling breasts and gentle babble;
He has vanquished fair Womankind, of subtle heart,

Her tender arms outstretched and her throat pale;
From harrowing Hell, he now returns triumphant,
Bearing a heavy trophy in his boyish hands,
With the spear that pierced the Saviour's side!

He who healed the King shall be himself enthroned,
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/verlaine.htm (1 of 2) [26/05/2002 22:33:31]

Verlaine's Poem 'Parsifal'
As priest-king and guardian of the sacred treasure.
In golden robe he worships that sign of grace,

The pure vessel in which shines the Holy Blood.
- And, o those children's voices singing in the dome!
This page last updated (table width) 05/25/02 16:48:57.
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/verlaine.htm (2 of 2) [26/05/2002 22:33:31]

Wagner, Parsifal and Nazism
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Parsifal and the Nazis
t is difficult to believe that the National Socialists could find any sympathy with Wagner's
Parsifal, a work that tells of enlightenment through fellow-suffering. In fact, some Nazi
ideologues seem to have had serious doubts about this opera and in 1939, on the orders of
Joseph Goebbels, performances of Parsifal were banned. Yet the party was led by Adolf Hitler, who
was as fanatical about Wagner's music as he was in his beliefs about Aryan superiority and his
destiny to rid the world of communism.
t the age of twelve, I saw ... the first opera of my life, 'Lohengrin'. In one instant I was addicted.
My youthful enthusiasm for the Bayreuth Master knew no bounds.
[Mein Kampf, Volume 1, Adolf Hitler]
Hitler on Parsifal
dolf Hitler first visited Haus Wahnfried in September 1923. After visiting the grave of Richard
and Cosima Wagner, the future Fhrer said, If I should ever succeed in exerting any influence on
Germany's destiny, I will see that Parsifal is given back to Bayreuth. He was referring here to the
Lex Parsifal for which the Wagner family and their supporters had campaigned a decade earlier, i.e. a
special copyright law that would restrict performances of Parsifal to Bayreuth. However, when German
copyright law was being revised in 1934, Hitler decided that he could not honour his earlier promise to the
Wagners.
Left: Adolf Hitler portrayed as Parsifal. In place of the Holy Spear, the
German leader carries a Nazi standard. As in the closing scene of Wagner's
opera, a white dove descends from the sky.
nder a sketch that Hitler made in 1912 of Young Siegfried, he added the
comment: Wagner's work showed me for the first time what is the myth of
blood. The social Darwinism and anti-semitism of Wagner's writings
were no doubt formative elements in Hitler's developing ideology; he also shared
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/nazism.htm (1 of 3) [26/05/2002 22:33:49]

the Bayreuth Master's views on anti-vivisection and vegetarianism.
Right: the Spear of Destiny, to be seen in the Hofberg

museum in Vienna. This is one of several spearheads that
have been claimed as the spear of Longinus. The Spear of
Destiny was carried into battle by, amongst others, Henry
the Fowler and Frederick Barbarossa. It held a special
significance for Adolf Hitler.
itler interpreted Wagner's Parsifal as a member of a

master race, noble by virtue of his blood: "What is
celebrated is not the Christian Schopenhauerian religion
of compassion, but pure and noble blood, blood whose purity the
brotherhood of initiates has come together to guard. The king
then suffers an incurable sickness, caused by his tainted blood.
Then the unknowing but pure human being is led into temptation,
either to submit to the frenzy and to the delights of a corrupt
civilisation in Klingsor's magic garden, or to join the select band of knights who guard the secret of life,
which is pure blood itself. All of us suffer the sickness of miscegenated, corrupted blood. How can we
purify ourselves and atone? Note how the compassion that leads to knowledge applies only to the man
who is inwardly corrupt, to the man of contradictions. And that this compassion admits of only one
outcome, to allow the sick to die. Eternal life, as vouchsafed by the Grail, to those who are truly pure and
noble!"
agner's line of thought is intimately familiar to me", Hitler continued more animatedly. "At every
stage of my life I come back to him. Only a newnobility can bring about the new culture. If we
discount everything to do with poetry, it is clear that elitism and renewal exist only in the
continuing strain of a lasting struggle. A divisive process is taking place in terms of world history. The
man who sees the meaning of life in conflict will gradually mount the stairs of a new aristocracy. He who
desires the dependent joys of peace and order will sink back down to the unhistorical mass, no matter
what his provenance. But the mass is prey to decay and self-disintegration. At this turning-point in the
world's revolution the mass is the sum of declining culture and its moribund representatives. They should
be left to die, together with all kings like Amfortas." Hitler hummed the motif, Durch Mitleid wissend.
[Gesprche mit Hitler, Hermann Rauschning, 1940, pp.216-7]
NOTE: In the early 1930s Hermann Rauschning was the leader of the Nazi
party in Danzig. After he defected from the party, Rauschning claimed to
have been a close personal friend of Hitler, and wrote the book from which

the above quotation has been taken. In recent years it has been shown that
passages in this book were compiled from Hitler's speeches or other
sources, not from conversations with Hitler. Although there is no direct
evidence that the above quotation is Rauschning's invention, like anything
in his book that is not corroborated by other sources, it might not be
genuine.
his interpretation seems to stand Wagner's poem on its head. If we are to believe Rauschning's
account, then Hitler's interpretation might have been based upon his reading of Wagner's late
essays on Religion and Art. However, there is no reliable evidence that Hitler had read any of
Wagner's prose writings. If he had read the late essays, then it would seem that Hitler chose to disregard
Wagner's belief in the pure blood of Christ as the cure.
Hitler and the Spear of Destiny

The Lance

Levi-Strauss on Parsifal
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Lvi-Strauss on Parsifal
n his essay on Parsifal, the anthropologist Claude Lvi-Strauss considered the relationship
between Wagner's text and the medieval sources. He considered the question to be necessary
because of a break in communication between two worlds: respectively, the supernatural,
represented by the Grail castle and the terrestial, represented by King Arthur's court.
spell has disrupted communication

between these two worlds, which are
distinct - although for the Celtic mind, it is
possible to pass from one to the other. Since that
break in communication, King Arthur's court ... has
been on the move constantly, waiting for news. In
fact, King Arthur never holds court until someone
has announced an event to him. Thus, this
terrestial court is in quest of answers to questions
that are perpetually posed by its anxious agitation.
In symmetrical fashion, the court of the Grail,
whose immobility is symbolized by the paralysis of
the king's lower limbs, offers, likewise perpetually,
an answer to questions that no one asks it.
n this sense, we can say that there exists a

model, which may be universal, of
Percevalian myths. It is the reverse of
another, equally universal model - that of the Oedipal myths, whose problematical structure is
symmetrical though inverted. For the Oedipal myths pose the problem of a communication that is at first
exceptionally effective (the solving of the riddle), but then leads to excess in the form of incest - the sexual
union of people who ought to be distant from one another - and of plague, which ravages Thebes by
accelerating and disrupting the great natural cycles. On the other hand, the Percevalian myths deal with
communication interrupted in three ways: the answer offered to an unanswered question (which is the
opposite of a riddle); the chastity required of one or more heroes (contrary to incestuous behaviour); and
the wasteland - that is, the halting of the natural cycles that ensure the fertility of plants, animals and
human beings.
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/lstrauss.htm (1 of 2) [26/05/2002 22:34:06]

s we know, Wagner rejected the motif of the unasked question and replaced it with a motif that
somewhat reverses it while performing the same function. Communication is assured or re-
established not by an intellectual operation but by an emotional identification. Parsifal does not
understand the riddle of the Grail and remains unable to solve it until he relives the catastrophe at its
source...
n Wagner, indeed, there is no King Arthur's court; and hence the issue is not the resurrection of
communication between the earthly world - represented by this court - and the beyond. The
Wagnerian drama unfolds entirely between the kingdoms of the Grail and of Klingsor: two
worlds, of which one was, and will again be, endowed with all virtues; while the other is vile and must be
destroyed. There is, hence, no question of restoring or even establishing any mediation between them. By
the annihilation of the one and the restoration of the other, the latter alone must endure and establish
itself as a world of mediation...
t was obvious to Lvi-Strauss that the domain of the Grail and the domain of Klingsor were
opposites. In the former, there is accelerated communication, excess, tropical vegetation,
mocking laughter, an Oedipal relationship (Kundry is both Jocasta and Sphinx) and a
woman who poses a riddle for Parsifal. In the latter, there is silence, sterility, decay and an answer is
offered to an unasked question.
hus, the problem, in mythological terms, would be to establish an equilibrium between the two
opposite worlds. To do so, one should probably, like Parsifal, go into and come out of the one
world and be excluded from and re-enter the other world. Above all, however (and this is
Wagner's contribution to universal mythology), one must know and not know. In other words, one must
know what one does not know, Durch Mitleid wissend ("knowing through compassion") - not through an
act of communication but through a surge of pity, which provides mythical thinking with a way out of the
dilemma in which its long unrecognised intellectualism has risked imprisoning it.
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/lstrauss.htm (2 of 2) [26/05/2002 22:34:06]

Thomas Mann on Wagner and 'Parsifal'
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Thomas Mann on Parsifal
Thomas Mann on Parsifal
... it is my third-act Tristan inconceivably

intensified
[Wagner's letter to Mathilde Wesendonk, 30 May 1859]
his intensification was the involuntary law of life and growth of Wagner's productivity, and it
derived from his own self-indulgence. He had been labouring all his life, in fact, on the pain- and
sin-laden accents of Amfortas. They were already heard in the cry of Tannhuser: Alas, the
weight of sin overwhelms me!. In Tristan they attained to what then seemed to be the ultimate of lacerated
anguish. But now, as he had realised with a shock, that would have to be surpassed in Parsifal and raised
to an inconceivable intensity. Actually, what he was doing was simply pressing to the limit a statement for
which he had always been unconsciously seeking stronger and profounder situations and occasions.
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/mann.htm (1 of 3) [26/05/2002 22:34:19]

he materials of his several works represent but stages -

self-transcending inflections - of a unity, a life work self-
enclosed, fully rounded, which unfolds itself, yet in a
certain manner was already there from the start. Which explains
the box-within-box, one-inside-another, of his creative
conceptions: and tells us also that an artist of this kind, a genius
of this spiritual order, is never at work simply on the task, the
opus, in hand. Everything else weighs upon him at the same time
and adds its burden to the creative moment. Something
apparently (but only half apparently) mapped out, like a life plan,
comes to view: so that in the year 1862, while he was composing
The Meistersinger, Wagner foretold with complete certainty, in a
letter written to von Blow from Bieberich, that Parsifal was
going to be his final work - fully twenty years before it was
presented. For before that there would be Siegfried, in the midst
of which both Tristan and The Meistersinger were going to be
put forth; and there was, furthermore, the whole of the Twilight
of the Gods to be composed: all to fill out spaces in the work
program. He had to carry the weight of The Ring throughout his
labours on Tristan, into which latter work, from the outset, the
whisper of Parsifal was intruding. And that voice was present
still while he was at work on his healthy Lutheran Meistersinger. Indeed, ever since the year, 1845, of the
first Dresden production of Tannhuser, that same voice had been awaiting him. In the year 1848 there
came the prose sketch of the Nibelungen myth as a drama, as well as the writing of Siegfried's Death,
from which The Twilight of the Gods was to evolve. In between, from 1846 to '47, Lohengrin took shape
and the action of The Meistersinger was sketched out - both of which works belong, actually, as satyr-play
and humorous counterpart, in the Tannhuser context.
hese years of the eighteen-forties, in the midst of which he reached the age of thirty-two, hold
together and define the entire work plan of his life, from The Flying Dutchman to Parsifal, which
plan then was executed in the course of the following four decades, until 1881, by an inward
labour on all of its boxed-together elements simultaneously. Thus in the strictest sense, Wagner's work is
without chronology. It arose in time, it is true; yet was all suddenly there from the start, and all at once...
hat is to be said ... for the seriousness of that seeker after truth, that thinker and believer Richard
Wagner? The ascetic and Christian ideals of his later period, the sacramental philosophy of
salvation won by abstinence from fleshly lusts of every kind; the convictions and opinions of
which Parsifal is the expression; even Parsifal itself - all these incontestably deny, revoke, cancel the
sensualism and revolutionary spirit of Wagner's young days, which pervade the whole atmosphere and
content of the Siegfried ...

o the artist, new experiences of truth are new incentives to the game, new possibilities of
expression, no more. He believes in them, he takes them seriously, just so far as he needs to in
order to give them the fullest and profoundest expression. In all that he is very serious, serious
even to tears - but yet not quite - and by consequence, not at all ...
ake the list of characters in Parsifal: what a set! One advanced and offensive degenerate after
another: a self- castrated magician; a desperate double personality, composed of a Circe and a
repentant Magdalene, with cataleptic transition stages; a lovesick high priest, awaiting the
redemption that is to come to him in the person of a chaste youth; the youth himself, 'pure' fool and
redeemer, quite a different figure from Brnnhilde's lively awakener and in his way also an extremely rare
specimen - they remind one of the aggregation of scarecrows in von Arnim's famous coach ... It is music's
power over the emotions that makes the ensemble appear not like a half-burlesque, half-uncanny
impropriety of the romantic school, but as a miracle play of the highest religious significance.
[Thomas Mann, Leiden und Grsse der Meister, tr. Lowe-Porter]

GP:Parsifal - Behind the Scenes
An Act of Will
By John Ardoin
It has been said that more has been written and

published about Christ, Napoleon, and Richard
Wagner than of any other men who have ever lived.
Without doubt, Wagner would have liked being
linked with the Lord and the Little Corporal; it
implies an estimate of his worth that tallied with his
own. He was a man of massive ego, a willful
personality, questionable morals, and one of the
Composer Richard Wagner.
pivotal figures of Western culture.
His beginnings as a composer, however, were hardly auspicious. At the age of 20, he
began work on his first opera. Entitled "Die Feen" ("The Fairies"), it was not
performed during his lifetime. His second work, "Das Liebesverbot" ("Forbidden
Love") hardly fared better; it was withdrawn after only two performances. His first
success came with his third try -- "Rienzi," a pompous, posturing work patterned after
the operas of Giacomo Meyerbeer, the reigning operatic figure of the day. That
Wagner moved from the outer pageantry and inner emptiness of "Rienzi" to so
probing a psychological study as "The Flying Dutchman," his fourth opera, is more
than a giant step; it is a miracle. But greater strides were to come as Wagner moved
past works like "Dutchman," "Tannhuser," "Lohengrin," "Tristan und Isolde," and
"Die Meistersinger" to arrive at his most ambitious works, "The Ring of the
Nibelung" and, finally, "Parsifal."
It was as if Wagner's opera "Parsifal" willed itself into being, as if the inspiration
behind it provided the stamina to continue and bring this visionary musical drama into
being. With "Parsifal," Wagner did more than merely create one of the towering
works of his repertory; he brought his career and life to a sort of meaningful summing
up that every creator must dream of, but few attain.
Either a life is cut short before it has come to a full close -- Mozart, Schubert,
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/parsifal/html/behind.html (1 of 4) [26/05/2002 22:34:51]

Gershwin -- or it ends with major unfinished scores left -- Mahler, Berg, Elgar,
Bartok. Few composers manage to tie up their earthly loose ends as neatly as did
Wagner, by the creation of a work of art that transcends everything that they had
previously done, that focuses and brings together the expressive elements of a lifetime
into a final, towering legacy.
It is no exaggeration to say that Wagner's entire life can be seen as a road leading to
"Parsifal," that each step he took as a composer was a step towards the maturity
needed to forge this unique work, to achieve this stupendous end.
For "Parsifal" is an opera like no other. It is a difficult

opera to pin down in a few sentences, for its symbols
are many and its meanings are multi-layered. But the
opera's plot centers on an evil magician named
Klingsor, who was denied membership in the elite
Knights of the Grail. Furious, he created a magical
garden into which he lured Amfortas, the leader of the
Knights and whom he wounded with the same spear
The opera's symbol of the Grail
that had pierced the side of Christ. Amfortas' wound
Cup.
can only be healed by another touch from the spear,
and only a "guileless fool" can retrieve the spear from Klingsor. Parsifal is that "fool."
He resists the lures of the temptress Kundry, retrieves the spear, destroys Klingsor
and heals Amfortas.
Where Wagner labeled his massive "Ring of the Nibelung" cycle a Buhnenfestspiel,
or a festival stage play, "Parsifal" was, to his mind, something more -- a
Buhnenwelhfestspiel, which perhaps best translates as "a sacred scenic action." It is a
sort of theatrical ceremony, an operatic liturgy. As Alan David Aberbach points out in
his comprehensive book, "The Ideas of Richard Wagner," "'Parsifal' offered a sublime
dilemma and a unique opportunity. Like he did with the character Hans Sachs [in
Wagner's opera "Die Meistersinger"], Wagner would try to lead man toward a nobler
conception of human nature, or in this case, a greater understanding of brotherhood,
spirituality, and God.
"But he knew there would be problems. A music-drama attacking Christianity for

failing to follow the ideals of Jesus would be unthinkable. Yet by subtly manipulating
the religious metaphor, Wagner might offer spiritual insights that were capable of
transcending Christianity without being hostile to any denomination. To succeed, he
would use familiar Christian symbols, while underneath the surface could be found a
non-institutional religious allegory."
Wagner first became aware of the "Parsifal" legend while fashioning the poem of
"Lohengrin" around 1845. When the idea of an opera on the subject of "Parsifal"

started to crowd his imagination, he saw at once that the hurdles in bringing it to the
stage would be awesome. For this reason, "Parsifal" was -- in large measure -- part of
Wagner's imagination and consciousness for over 30 years before it was finally
committed to paper. During that time, he more than once threatened to abandon the
project.
From today's perspective, it seems odd that a man who was otherwise so certain of the
role destiny had called on him to play should have entertained such black doubts
concerning his ability to create the work that would seal this destiny. But even for
such a dreamer of mighty dreams, "Parsifal" was an enormous mouthful to bite off.
The opera had its premiere in Wagner's custom-built theater in Bayreuth on July 26,
1882, and almost from the beginning, it proved to be an alluring creation that seduced
not only readily susceptible Wagnerians, but the world at large.
How could it have been otherwise? First, there is the

extraordinary structuring of its three acts, which play
themselves out on three concordant levels of feeling:
metaphysical and interrogatory, supernatural and
revelatory, mystical and redemptive. Then, dotting
the dramatic landscape of the work, like the Stations
of the Cross, are its powerful symbols: the Grail, the
blood, the spear, the wound, Kundry's kiss, and the
The original theater in Bayreuth.
multi-layered use of the circle as a metaphor.
But towering above all -- outstripping the dramatic planes, the thematic development,
the wonder we experience at Wagner's deployment of his chorus and orchestra, and
his unerring ability to clothe a character in a revealing musical garb -- is the
magnetism of the score itself. Like "Tristan" and the best pages in "The Ring,"
"Parsifal" is more than music. It is a spell that permeates one's consciousness to speak
that which is unspeakable. It has been termed "a disease without a cure." Or, if you
prefer, there is the cynicism of Nietzsche: "Wagner is a neurosis, and 'Parsifal' is one
of its chief symptoms."
Parsifal Intro | Behind the Scenes | Meet the Artists | A Look at the Work | Resources
TV Schedule | The Programs | Feedback | Video Info | Credits
Great Performances Home
PBS Online Thirteen Online


Parsifal
Parsifal
Wagner's opera Parsifal features prominently in the 1934 drawing, it

was originally based on Wolfram Von Eschenbach's thirteenth
century Grail romance, Parsival.
Picasso knew Wagner's version of the story and identified himself

with Parsifal. In the 1934 drawing, at the age of 52, he reveals, albeit
secretly, the extent of this symbolic identification.
It has been well reported that the letters of Picasso's name had
magical significance for him. The first four, Pica, means spear in
Spanish; which would certainly be one reason why Picasso might
identify with Parsifal in Wagner's opera. Picasso would have
realised a further significant link in the final stages of the opera. In
the second act, Parsifal begins to suffer the pain of Christ's wound in
the process of a mystical identification with Christ. By 1934, Picasso
had long identified himself with Christ and the Crucifixion in his art
and the wound was already one of his personal symbols for
suffering and yearning for its resolve.
The Spear that had once wounded the side of Christ is pivotal in
Wagner's story. Klingsor, a powerful black magician steals it and
with it wounds Amfortas, the King of the Guardians of The Holy
Grail. He then flees with the Spear to his castle where he dominates
the surrounding area using powerful black magic. All this while,
Amfortas is destined to lay in agony from the wound which never
heals; his only hope of recovery being the Spear's return.
[an error occurred while
processing this directive] Parsifal, an heroic fool, is prophesied to return the Spear and heal
Amfortas. In an effort to prevent the prophecy coming true, Klingsor
uses magic to lure the hero to his Castle where his men are hiding in
ambush. Parsifal overcomes Klingsor's men but suddenly Klingsor
appears on the castle ramparts and in a final attempt at the hero's
destruction, he utters the following words:
Halt, I have the right weapon to to fell you ! The fool

shall fall to me through his master's Spear.
Klingsor hurls the Spear, but as if stopped by the hand of God, it

hovers motionless above Parsifal's head. Parsifal reaches up and
grasps the Spear and with it makes the Sign of the Cross, saying
these words:
http://www.compulink.co.uk/~phreak/picasso/parsifal.html (1 of 5) [26/05/2002 22:38:15]

Parsifal
With this sign I rout your enchantment,

As the Spear closes the wound which you dealt him
with it
may it crush your lying splendour,
into mourning and ruin.
Klingsor and his Castle then sink into the sea as if hit by an
earthquake, and the gardens that once surrounded the castle turn
into a wasteland.
Parsifal restores the Spear and heals Amfortas of his wound. He

then becomes anointed as the new King of the Guardians of The
Holy Grail.
In the 1934 drawing this pivotal scene is portrayed by the spear

hovering above Picasso's head. The spear runs along the top edge
of the drawing and when the image is rotated 90 degrees to the left
it forms the shaft of a huge letter 'P" in conjunction with the black
semi-circle in the upper right corner. The 'P' denotes a cryptic
Picasso signature and refers to the artist's identifications with 'Pica'
and Parsifal.

Parsifal
The central figure is identifiable

with Parsifal reaching up and
making the Sign of the Cross.
His 'flying hand' concealed within

the island of light in the right hand
figure's face can be seen to be
blocking Klingsor's advance, it is
located immediately to the left of
Klingsor's face which in turn
seems to descend from the rear
end of the spear in the upper right
corner.
The figure on the right would

seem to characterise Kundry, the
witch who was present at Christ's
Crucifixion and who under
Klingsor's spell attempts to seduce
Parsifal. In the drawing she
appears possessed by Lucifer or
the Devil, both of whom are
appropriate characterisations of
Klingsor.
Behind the hidden face there is a trident form, which seems to

reinforce the hidden face's connection with Lucifer.

Parsifal
According to Dr Walter Stein and others, Hitler was

convinced that in the ninth century he had been
incarnated as the historical Klingsor, sometimes known
as Landulf II of Capua !
Stein had been a acquaintance of Hitler in the years

preceding World War One and claimed that Hitler had
at that time undertaken a penetrating study of Von
Eschenbach's story and fathomed it's deepest occult
meanings.
The self identification of Picasso with Parsifal and the

self-identification of Hitler with Klingsor appears by
some uncanny means to have found its way into the
1934 drawing which might indicate that Picasso had
access to secretive information about Hitler and his
occult activities at least five years before the Second
World War.
Mark Harris 1996
Symbolism in the 1934 Drawing
Picasso's Harlequin
Oedipus
Wagner and Picasso
Hitler and The Spear of Destiny
Parsifal
Frankenstein
A Hidden Picasso Bestiary
Next Section: Alchemical Contexts

Parsifal
Mark Harris 1996 (content), Simon Banton 1996 (design)
In general copyright of works by Pablo Picasso are the property of

the heirs to the Pablo Picasso estate

Franz Stassen (1869-1949) - Museum Hanau - Schloss Philippsruhe
Museum Hanau
Schlo Philippsruhe
Franz Stassen
1869 - 1949
Maler, Zeichner, Illustrator
http://www.museen-hanau.de/Franz-Stassen/ [26/05/2002 22:39:03]

Franz Stassen (1869-1949) - Museum Hanau - Schloss Philippsruhe
Vorwort Werkkatalog
(Abbildungen)
Leben und Werk
Franz Stassens Gemlde-Zyklus "Weltenwerdens
Walterin"
(8 Bilder)
Ausbildung in Hanau und
Berlin Gemlde-Zyklus "Die unsichtbaren
1884 bis 1892 Dinge
im Parsifal" (Bild 1 bis 9)
Mnchen und erste Berliner Gemlde-Zyklus "Die unsichtbaren

Zeit Dinge
1893 bis 1908 - Jugendstil im Parsifal" (Bild 10 bis 18)
Gemlde und Pastelle (10 Bilder)

Bayreuther Kreis
1908 bis 1930
Pastelle, Aquarelle, Zeichnungen (9
Bilder)
Das Sptwerk
1930 bis 1949 Zeichnungen und Illustrationen (9
Bilder)
Hinweise und
Museum
Literatur Hanau
D-63454 Hanau
info@museen-
Schlo
hanau.de
Philippsruhe
Autor und Leihgeber
http://www.museen-hanau.de/Franz-Stassen/intro/intro.htm [26/05/2002 22:39:28]

Dahlhaus on Parsifal
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Synopsis | Act 1 | Act 2 | Act 3 | Inner
action
But what happens in

Parsifal ?
The Inner Action of the Drama
ct 1 - In the first act, in the "holy ground" outside the Grail castle, Parsifal feels an
intimation of pity after killing the swan. (The scene with the swan is peripheral to the
outer action but crucial to the inner.)
n witnessing Amfortas' agony during the Grail ceremony in the castle, he feels a compulsive
pain in his own heart, but he does not yet dare to ask the "redeeming question": his
compassion is still dull and inarticulate. (The motivation seems to have become confused:
would Amfortas be relieved of his agony if Parsifal asked the cause of it at this point? Or must he wait
for the return of the spear which he lost to Klingsor when he succumbed to Kundry? Die Wunde
schliesst der Speer nur, der sie schlug. (Only the spear that struck it heals the wound.) The answer lies
in the interrelationship of pragmatic and symbolic elements, which is the principle underlying the
dramatic structure of Parsifal: the spear that heals the wound is to be interpreted as a symbol of
compassion, the reversal of will as Schopenhauer understood it. This compassion is not a negative
emotion but insight into the suffering of the world, and the only consolation for it is recognition of the
lack of any consolation, in other words, resignation.)
ct 2 - In the second act, Parsifal, the pure fool, is made cosmically clear-sighted by Kundry's
kiss. He feels in himself the temptation, the longing and suffering of Amfortas, and perceives
the world as the aggregation of common guilt and an unending circle of misery, which can be
broken only by compassion and renunciation, by rejection of the will and its blind urging and
compulsion.
ct 3 - The events of the third act, Kundry's baptism, Amfortas's healing and the redemption
of the Grail from guilt- stained hands - the hands of Amfortas as the representative of a world
of entanglement and compromises - are nothing more than the fulfilment of what is already
foreseeable at the end of the second, once Parsifal has regained the spear. (Parsifal's wanderings in

search of the Grail, which are portrayed in the prelude to the third act, are a check on the progress of
the action but do not affect the outcome.1)
ut although the last act is uneventful by the normal dramatic criteria it is not just a ritual, the
mere enactment and symbolic representation of a long foregone conclusion. It presents a third
stage in the inner action: the compassion that is a dull sensation in the first act, and widens into
recognition, cosmic perception [Welthellsicht] in the second, is at last directed outwards in the third as a
deed of redemption. Parsifal becomes the Grail King, not an anchorite, and does not turn his back on
the world.
From Richard Wagner's Music Dramas, Carl Dahlhaus.
Footnote 1: Here Dahlhaus failed to see that his wanderings are a necessary precondition of the
outcome.
Postscript: Eternal Justice

Other commentators disagree to a lesser or greater extent with the views expressed above. Ulrike
Kienzle, in a perceptive study of Parsifal entitled Das Weltberwindungswerk, takes another view of
the symbolism of the spear. She notes that when the spear is used as a weapon it only wounds the
individual (first Amfortas and then Klingsor) who wields it, that is, the aggressor. Therefore it is
possible to see the spear as a metaphor for what Schopenhauer called eternal justice. This aspect of
Schopenhauer's philosophy can be found presented in another of Wagner's dramas; it forms part of the
Wahn monologue in Die Meistersinger :
Driven to flight
he deludes himself that he is the hunter;
does not hear his own cry of pain;
when he digs into his own flesh
he is deluded that he gives himself pleasure!
According to Schopenhauer our individual existence is only apparent (in the world as representation),
not real; there is no separation of existence in the eternal world (as will). When we injure others, we
only harm ourselves; when we bite into the flesh of another being, we dig into our own flesh.

This page last updated (links) 25/05/02 09:09:26.

The Meaning of Wagner's 'Parsifal'
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Synopsis | Act 1 | Act 2 | Act 3 | Inner
action | Message
But what is the

message of Parsifal ?
The Meaning of the Drama
t was recently pointed out to me that nowhere among the thousands of words present on
this web site was there any clear statement about the message of Parsifal or what Wagner
meant by his last major work. This page is an attempt to fill that gap.
fter being puzzled by Wagner's Parsifal for twenty years after seeing a performance for the first
time, in 1996 I began to study the work in depth. This investigation was prompted by the
experience of attending a performance of Parsifal at the Bayreuth Festival of that year. After
four years of studying what had been written about the work, not least by Wagner himself, and what
Wagner had been reading in the years preceding his first sketch for Parsifal I arrived at some
conclusions. These included a reconstruction of that first sketch and an understanding of what Wagner
was trying to convey to his audience through poetry, music and dramatic action. The three most
important messages that I have found in the work are summarised below. Each of them derives from the
philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer, to whose works (and in particular his essay, On the Basis of
Morality) the reader is directed for further insight.
he primary purpose of the drama is to convey to the audience the importance of compassion --
which is the only valid basis for morality, according to Schopenhauer. This teaching was
accepted by his disciple Richard Wagner. It is through compassion for the suffering of other
beings that the fool acquires wisdom and becomes a sage. It is through the perfection of wisdom that
he is able to bring salvation.
here is a Schopenhauerean metaphor in the work that is so explicit that anyone who has read
Schopenhauer will have no difficulty in detecting it. Her name is Kundry. She represents, on
one level, the human predicament in relation to what Buddhists call samsara: the cycle of birth,
suffering, death and rebirth. In the first act she is wild and restless, striving for (but unable to find) a
balm that will cure suffering; as Kundry confesses, she can help nobody -- not even herself. By the third

The Meaning of Wagner's 'Parsifal'
act, however, Kundry is calm, peaceful, quiet; she has almost escaped from her cyclic existence by the
denial of the will. Here is the metaphysical message of Parsifal: stop striving, deny the will, accept that
suffering is an inevitable part of life and that desires can never be fully satisfied.
ertain passages in Wagner's text clearly were intended to communicate Schopenhauer's

summary of his ethics. This is the ethical message of the work: injure no one; on the contrary,
help others as much as possible. This formula becomes, in Parsifal, the teaching of the Grail.
ou should know that all things in the world are impermanent -- meeting inevitably means
parting. Do not be troubled, for this is the nature of life. Diligently practising right effort,
you must seek deliverance immediately. In the light of wisdom, destroy the darkness of
ignorance. Nothing is secure. Everything in life is precarious. Always wholeheartedly seek the path
of deliverance. (From the Buddha Shakyamuni's final teaching, the Parinirvana Sutra).
This page last updated (links) 19/03/02 18:16:52.

Guide to the Thematic Material of 'Parsifal'
Guide to the Thematic

Material of
The intention of this short guide to the thematic material of Parsifal is to assist the listener in
hearing the key thematic elements of the music, and in relating them to each other and to the
action of the music-drama. (Wolzogen called them Leitmotiven but the composer prefered to call
them Grundthemen).
In Parsifal, his last work for the stage, Richard Wagner had further refined the techniques
developed for his previous works, and in some aspects (especially of orchestration) returned to an
earlier style. Where his use of thematic material is concerned, we find a style and techniques quite
different from that of the Ring. The nearest comparable work in this respect is Tristan und Isolde.
Wagner's Leitmotivic Technique

In the Ring, many of the musical ideas are associated with single characters (such as Wotan or Loge) or
objects (such as the Rhinegold, the Ring or the Tarnhelm), or with groups of characters (such as the
Gods, the Giants or the Nibelungs). In only a few cases are the musical ideas only associated with states
of existence (such as Sleep) or with abstract concepts (such as Love, Power, World Redemption or
Inheritance of the World) and even then, there is also an association with a character or object that can
be seen on stage (as the Flight motif is associated with Freia, or the Treaty motif with Wotan's spear).
In Parsifal the unambiguous identification of a musical idea with a character or object is the exception
rather than the rule. Even those musical motives that are traditionally named after the characters (such as
Amfortas or Kundry) or objects (such as Spear or Holy Grail) at whose presence on stage, or at the
mention of which, the motive is heard in the orchestra, are much more than simple "calling- cards" for
those referred to in the name. Therefore, as indeed when considering the Ring or Tristan und Isolde too,
the reader is advised not to pay too much attention to the name of the musical motif, which is really no
more than a convenient and easily memorable label. The semantic content of the label should not be
allowed to obscure the musical and symbolic role that the motif plays in a specific context.
Economy of Material
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/startup.htm (1 of 3) [26/05/2002 22:42:27]

A striking characteristic of the score of Parsifal is the economy of musical material. On close
examination and analysis, the entire score is found to have been constructed out of variations on a small
set of melodic ideas, most of which appear in the first six bars of the prelude to the first act, and an
equally limited set of harmonic ideas. This may be seen as an extreme refinement of Wagner's approach
in Das Rheingold and Tristan und Isolde. Whereas in his earlier works the thematic material was clear
cut, so that for example Wotan's material was contrasted to that of Fricka, in Parsifal the characters
seem to blur into each other, so that it is almost impossible to find a boundary at which the music of
Kundry stops and the music of Klingsor begins. The musical material seems to be used more to tie
characters together than to delineate them as individuals, i.e. to describe relationships rather than those
related. The music of Amfortas and Kundry has more to tell about the common ground between these
two characters than about them separately.
A few principles or patterns in Wagner's use of musical motives can be identified. Firstly, each musical
idea appears first in the orchestra, and is only later (and sometimes only much later) heard in the vocal
line. Typically, new (or derived) ideas are presented in one of the three preludes or in the two interludes
known as the Transformation Music. Secondly, the significance of a musical motive becomes defined
when it is first heard in association with something that is seen on, or heard from, the stage. Thirdly, the
complete or extended form of a motif is usually much more than the fragment(s) we hear at first. In
particular, the musical motives of Agony, Prophecy and Klingsor's Magic emerge gradually, at first
appearing as the tiniest fragment of two or three notes, that eventually grows into a melodic and
harmonic complex several bars in length.
Although it has been said that much of the material grows out of the first six bars of the prelude, it must
be admitted that not all of the musical ideas are firmly rooted in what is sometimes called the Love Feast
melody, but which I have simply called Grundthema. Many of the ideas that appear later are related to
the Grundthema only to the extent that they contain or develop a melodic cell that appears in the
melody, such as a rising and falling semitone, or a fragment of arpeggio or scale. In the most extreme
cases, the relationship may be that the musical motif is characterised by an interval that appears in the
Grundthema (such as a tritone or a falling perfect fifth), or that the motif also modulates from tonic key
to mediant key or the reverse, or (in the case of the Holy Grail motif as related to the first part of the
Grundthema) that the motif consists of an incomplete ascending scale from tonic to octave. The reader
should decide for his or herself how much credence to give to these suggested relationships. It is
certainly not worth trying to relate everything that appears later to the Grundthema, although there may
be those who will try to do so.
It is, however, the elucidation of relationships between the musical material and the dramatic
action that makes the exercise worthwhile. Otherwise it is reduced to a sterile activity of labelling
musical motives, like butterflies in a museum, so that they may be listed in a handbook such as
those that have been sold at Bayreuth for over a century. The quest for musical relationships is a
rewarding one, and the discoveries to be made provide insights not only into the process of
composition, but also into the ideas beneath the surface of the music-drama.

Copyright notice: Except for copying to disk for archival purposes, and for normal fair use
exceptions relating to the quoting of short passages for purposes of commentary and the
like, no part of the writing or the non-public domain graphics either herein or in the local
links hereto may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or retransmitted
in any form by any means without the express prior written consent of Derrick Everett.
Rights in remote links are as established by their respective owners.

Motif 01: Grundthema
Grundthema (au)
Last Supper (midi)
Whilst it would be an oversimplification to say that all of the musical material of Parsifal was spun out of
this opening melody, it is possible, with a little imagination, to relate to it almost every one of the motives
that appear in this guide. This is as much as to say that the entire work has been woven as a web of related
melodies and harmonies, like cloud-layers that keep separating and combining again. Note how the
melody modulates from the tonic key to the mediant and back again. Tonic-mediant key relationships are
prominent in Parsifal, as are key relationships of a tritone.
It is traditional to divide this melody into three parts. Given the rich associations of each part, it is neither
easy to name them, nor very important what labels are attached to these motives. The entire melody has
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/motif01.htm (1 of 3) [26/05/2002 22:42:48]

been called the Love Feast motif. The first part (A) has been labelled Fellowship, but I should prefer to
call it Redemption, because it is the melody to which, at the end of the work, the chorus sing, Erlsung
dem Erlser. The melody begins with a rising tonic arpeggio, followed by the sixth. This chord is
associated with Parsifal. With a small modification, this rising phrase is used to represent the Grail
Knights and, omitting the first note, Communion (motif D becomes example D'). This part of the theme
seems to have been one of Wagner's first musical ideas for the work.
... finally, the revelation of "Nehmet hin mein Blut" -- R. tells me that he wrote it down shortly before my
return, with his hat and coat on, just as he was about to go out to meet me. He has had to alter the words
to fit it, he says; this scene of Holy Communion will be the main scene, the core of the whole work; with
the "Prize Song" in Die Meistersinger, too, the melody came first, and he had adapted the words to it. He
had already told me yesterday that one must beware of having to extend a melody for the sake of the
words -- now today the chief passage ("Nehmet hin mein Blut um unsrer Liebe willen, nehmet hin meinen
Lieb und gedenket mein' ewiglich") is there complete, in all its mildness, sufffering, simplicity and
exaltation. "Amfortas' sufferings are contained in it", R. says to me.
[Cosima's Diary entry for 11 August, 1877.]
The second phrase of the melody (B), containing a characteristic falling fifth, is related to the Guilt of
Amfortas. It is also associated with the Kiss and therefore lies at the centre of the work, just as it lies at
the centre of the Grundthema. It is first heard in the Kiss variant immediately after the basic motif
associated with Agony is heard towards the end of the prelude to the first act. The rising semitone is
repeated, teasingly, falls, and leads into (G). But in Gurnemanz's narrative, at der Speer is ihm entsunken,
we hear the teasing semitone and the (B) form again on the wind instruments. This is both a recollection
of the seduction of Amfortas, and a presentiment of the attempted seduction of Parsifal, at which the Kiss
motif is heard again.
The third phrase (C) is the motif of the Spear. It contains a four-note motif (G) that will become the
important motif of Suffering (#4), the three descending notes marked as (X) in example (C')). The motif
of the Spear begins with the first three notes of a rising major scale, a reflection of the falling triplet that
will be associated with Amfortas (#5).
Spear (midi)
The melody can be further divided into even smaller fragments. Beyond a certain point, the importance of
finding a fragment within one of the other motives becomes subjective. The fragments that are, in my
view, of significance, are marked in the figure above (D-H). Fragment (D) is the melody of the
Communion, shown in example (D'). The seemingly trivial fragment (E) is developed, during the latter
part of the prelude to the first act, together with (G), into the motif associated with the Agony of the
wounded Amfortas. Also towards the end of the prelude we hear the development of fragment (H, a
"beheaded" form of B) which seems to be associated with the king's unhealed Wound.

References: Newman ex.1, ENO ex.1, Whittall ex.1, Millington ex.46.

Motif 02: Holy Grail
Holy Grail
The Dresden Amen was composed by J.G. Naumann (1741-1801) for use in the royal chapel at Dresden
and elsewhere in Saxony. Richard Wagner became familiar with this music during his years there as
Kapellmeister, between 1842 and 1849. No doubt he had heard it earlier, both in Leipzig and in
Dresden. Wagner made use of this distinctive "Amen" in Parsifal, where it represents the Holy Grail.
It is one of the few themes that appears in the prelude to the first act, and throughout the music-drama
this motive appears more often than any other. A derivative of this motif is heard when Parsifal asks
about the Grail (B). Example (C) above is the first of several harmonic distortions of the Holy Grail
theme that appear in Act II.

References: Newman ex.3, ENO ex.25.

Motif 03: Faith
Motif 03: Faith

Faith
The example shows the Faith motif as it first appears, on horns and trumpets, in the prelude to the first
act. It is then extended into a long sequence. Later the Faith motif appears frequently in the first and last
acts, and just once in the second act (at Doch wer erkennt ihn klar und hell, des einz'gen Heiles wahren
Quell?). It appears in a modified form in connection with Amfortas' vision, and it is alluded to when the
knights sing Zum letzten Liebesmahle ...
A number of subsidiary motives are derived from this theme, notably those of Angels, Titurel and
Innocence.
References: Newman ex.4-5, ENO ex.11, 13-15.
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/motif03.htm [26/05/2002 22:43:12]

Motif 04: Suffering
Motif 04: Suffering

Suffering

Motif 04: Suffering
It would be easy to avoid labelling something as simple as a descending three notes of chromatic scale
as a motif, were it not so ubiquitous. Robin Holloway, writing in the ENO/ROH Guide to the work,
considers the harmonic complex (A) so important that he describes it as the work's central, sonorous
image. As well as the three- note Suffering motif, this complex also includes an important element of the
Agony complex (#14x).
It may even be a conscious reference to part of the central, sonorous image of Tristan und Isolde, since
the three-note motif is a beheaded version of the first basic motif of that work, a motif that also becomes
associated with suffering. In his analysis of Tristan und Isolde, Roger North has observed that these
three notes, differently harmonised, appear in a scene that Wagner laid aside in order to work on Tristan:
in Mime's Starling Song, which is also about suffering.
The basic motif of Suffering usually appears as three notes, sometimes extended to four, and sometimes
followed by a rising minor third. It is closely related to the Agony motif (#14) and in the four-note form
to its inversion, the Yearning motif (#35), which may also be regarded as a basic motif. Typical
occurrences of the Suffering motif from act 2 are shown in (B) and (C) above.
Other analyses of the themes that appear in Parsifal have applied the label "suffering" elsewhere. There
are several themes related to pain and suffering; to which of them we apply this label is unimportant. In
applying it to this motif the author is following Carl Dahlhaus.
References: Carl Dahlhaus, Richard Wagner's Music Dramas, page 154.

Robin Holloway, Experiencing Music and Imagery in Parsifal, ENO/ROH Guide, page 32.
Roger North, Wagner's Most Subtle Art, page 11.
Newman ex.26, ENO ex. 41-42, 44.

Motif 05: Amfortas
Motif 05: Amfortas
Amfortas
The Amfortas motif and its variants can be heard whenever Amfortas is on stage and whenever the king
is mentioned. It can be analysed as a derivative of the entire Grundthema (#1), and based on a minor
triad.
Roger North, in his analysis of Tristan und Isolde, has drawn attention to the similarities between the
first part of this motif (A) and a phrase that occurs three times towards the end of the Shepherd's Tune.
Since Wagner drew a parallel between Amfortas and the wounded Tristan, this resemblance may not be
coincidental.
References: Newman ex.9, ENO ex. 45.

North (Wagner's Most Subtle Art) page 447.

Motif 06: Prophecy
Motif 06: Prophecy
Prophecy
We first hear a hint of the Prophecy motif in the first scene of the music-drama, when Gurnemanz
despairs of herbs and potions (Toren wir, auf Lindrung da zu hoffen ...). Part of it then accompanies
Amfortas' partial statement of the prophecy (durch Mitleid wissend) and the entire motif as shown above
appears when the prophecy is recalled by Gurnemanz just before the entry of the wild youth. It is sung
offstage during the first Grail scene, and repeated by the Voice from Above at the very end of the first
act. It also appears in diminution (B) in the prelude to act III and the following scene.
It may not be a coincidence that the three notes marked in (A) are the same three notes to which Parsifal
speaks his own name for the first time, in the second act.
Roger North, in his analysis of Tristan und Isolde, has compared four melodies that contain rocking
fifths and tritones:
Young Sailor's Song (Tristan act I)

Shepherd's Tune (Tristan act III)
Prophecy (Parsifal act I)
"Wo find ich dich, du heil'ger Gral"

Motif 06: Prophecy
The last of these is a fragment that Wagner wrote down about April 1858 while he was considering the
possibility of introducing the questing Parzival into the third act of Tristan und Isolde. It was intended
that a melody associated with the wandering Parzival should sound in the ears of the mortally wounded
Tristan, as it were the mysteriously faint receding answer to his life-destroying question about the
"Why?" of life. Out of this melody, it may be said, grew the stage- festival- drama.[Hans von Wolzogen,
1886]
The similarities between the last two of the listed melodies are actually superficial. Although the 1858
theme does contain a falling perfect fifth, it lies between the end of the first phrase and the beginning of
the second. Therefore it cannot be related to the falling fifths of the Prophecy motif, which lie within the
phrases.
References: Newman ex.10, ENO ex. 54-55.

North (Wagner's Most Subtle Art) page 447.
Newman page 699.

Motif 07: Riding (Herodias)
Motif 07: Riding

(Herodias)
Riding
As in every one of Wagner's operatic works, it is unwise to assign narrow associations to each of the
leitmotives. On its first appearance, the Riding motif appears to be associated with the wild ride of
Kundry-Herodias (and it is probable that Wagner was thinking of Heine's poem, in which Herodias joins
the Wild Hunt). It reappears when Parsifal recalls the riders who had drawn him away from his mother,
and at all subsequent references to riding. But the motif has wider associations. The first four notes
(marked 'a' in example C) appear in the Parsifal motif (#12c) and a variant of the theme is heard, for
example, when Parsifal refers to his childish deeds of daring in act II.
This motif has sometimes been given the misleading name of the Curse motif, because it appears at
Kundry's reference to her curse at the beginning of the second act. It becomes clear, however, towards
the end of the same act that this was not a reference to the curse itself, but to the wandering that results
both from Kundry's curse, and from the curse she puts on Parsifal.
Carl Dahlhaus has pointed out that this is a hybrid theme, with both the rising chromatic intervals of
Yearning (#35) and the falling chromatic intervals of Suffering (#4). In his analysis of the scene between
Kundry and Parsifal in act II, the first three of seven periods that make up the Grausamer section of the
scene, are dominated by each of these motives in succession. The Riding/Herodias motif accompanies
the period beginning, durch Tod und Leben, Pein und Lachen.

Motif 07: Riding (Herodias)
Dahlhaus analyses this form of the motif, rather inaccurately, into three components: a fragment of
Klingsor (a), a part representing riding (b) and the Yearning motif (c). Although the notes of (a) do
appear in the Klingsor motif, it is surely more significant that they appear in the Parsifal motif with the
same rhythm as here. Incidentally, the last four notes (d) are identical to the motif of Tristan's Honour
from Tristan und Isolde; this would not be significant if it were not for the fact that the Remorse motif
(#39) is its inversion.
References: Newman ex.11, ENO ex. 5, 23, 59.

Dahlhaus (Richard Wagner's Music Dramas) page 155.

Motif 08: Kundry's Laughter
Motif 08: Kundry's

Laughter
Appropriately for Kundry "the Devil's bride", Wagner characterises her by the tritone, the "diabolus in
musica" (which in the Ring was associated with Hagen). Occurrences in the example are shown in red.
The descending runs in this theme can suggest diabolical laughter, but on its first appearance, they seem
to be suggesting Kundry sliding from her horse, reeling, almost collapsing from exhausion. The
complete theme ends with a development of the Yearning motif (A).
References: Newman ex.12, ENO ex. 36 and 52a.

Motif 09: Nature's Healing
Motif 09: Nature's

Healing
Healing
Ernest Newman described the first appearance of this melody (Nach wilder Schmerzensnacht nun
Waldes Morgenpracht) as a little vignette of the beauty and solace of uncorrupted nature. It is a
composite of (A), which is also part of the Agony motif and which first appears towards the end of the
prelude to the first act, and (B), which seems to represent Nature (#16). Note that this variant of Nature
includes the three note motif of the Question (#31).

Motif 10: Klingsor's Magic (Sorcery)
Motif 10: Klingsor's Magic

(Sorcery)
Klingsor's Magic
This motif is associated not only with the sorcerer Klingsor, but also with sorcery in general. Carl
Dahlhaus has pointed out that the harmonic basis of this motif recalls that representing the Tarnhelm, a
magical device, in the Ring.
On its first appearance it accompanies Gurnemanz's account of how Titurel found Kundry for the first
time: sie schlafend hier im Waldgestrpp. Indeed, he goes on to tell (after much evasion) the story of
Klingsor, the evil one over the mountains. As with the Prophecy motif (#6), the motif of Klingsor's Magic
develops from a barely defined fragment into a complete musical phrase. In this extended form, the motif
accompanies Kundry's magic sleep.
This motif seems to have broader associations than Klingsor and sorcery. The first fragment of the motif
appears when Kundry reveals that she has brought the balsam from Arabia, somewhere further than
Gurnemanz's mind can reach. It may also represent the heathen lands beyond the mountains, or any place
or concept remote from the mind- set of the Grail knights.
The motif of Klingsor's Magic begins with the Yearning motif (A) which is followed by the three note
Question motif (shown in red on the example) and finishes with a subsidiary motif (B) that becomes
associated with Kundry. It seems to be derived, ultimately, from the Redemption component of the
Grundthema (#1A).

Dahlhaus (Richard Wagner's Music Dramas) page 149.

Motif 10: Klingsor's Magic (Sorcery)

Motif 11: Klingsor
Motif 11: Klingsor
Klingsor (midi)
It seems strange at first to find that the music of two principal characters in this drama is so little
differentiated. Klingsor's theme seems to develop out of the theme of Klingsor's Magic (#10), which is
one of the motifs that represent Kundry. The explanation appears to be that these two characters are so
closely tied to each other, until one of them is destroyed, that their music is common.

Motif 12: Parsifal
Motif 12: Parsifal
Parsifal
The first example (A) shows the Parsifal motif as it accompanies his first appearance: a fanfare introducing a
carefree huntsman. It is a bold and brash theme, that on closer examination is seen to have developed from an
added-sixth chord composed of the first four notes of the Grundthema (#1). This indicates that the respective
destinies of Parsifal and the Grail Knights are linked; which is confirmed by the opening notes of the
Prophecy motif almost hidden at (b).
Wagner was true to his sources in so far as Parsifal tells the story of an individual's development. The
Parsifal motif develops a little at each appearance, until it finally blazes forth in its final form (B) as Parsifal
enters the Hall of the Grail with the recovered Spear.
The notes shown in red (a) are the germ cell from which the music of the Good Friday Meadows will
develop. Note that the fragment (c) has been absorbed from the Riding motif.

Motif 13: Herzeleide
Motif 13: Herzeleide
This is the motif associated with memories of Parsifal's mother, Herzeleide (Heart-in-Sorrow). Like
Tristan, Parsifal is stricken with grief at the knowledge that he was (innocently) responsible for the death
of his mother. This feeling of guilt is exploited by Kundry in the second act. But we first hear this motif
when, in response to Gurnemanz's questioning, Parsifal admits that he once had many names, but now
cannot remember them.
Herzeleide (midi)
The Herzeleide motif seems to have been developed from the simple motif of Suffering (#4), marked in
the example above.

Motif 14: Agony
Motif 14: Agony
Agony
This motif first appears, in its first extended form, in connection with the pain of Amfortas. Later it
becomes clear that the motif is also associated with the suffering of the Saviour (the connection being
that both Christ and Amfortas were wounded by the same Spear). The Agony motif develops from the
Grundthema together with a little fragment or germ cell, the turned figure (9A) that appears towards the
end of the prelude to act I,and which also forms part of the motif of Nature's Healing. At the heart of this
cell is the Suffering motif (#4), blending into the Question motif (#31). But the essence of the Agony
motif is its short form, marked on both examples as (x). On comparison with the Grundthema, we see
that this originates in #1G.
In its second extended form (B) the Agony motif is blended with the second part of the Grundthema
(#1B), which as we have seen is associated both with the Guilt of Amfortas, and with the Spear (#1F).

Motif 15: Fighting
Motif 15: Fighting
This is the theme that portrays the off-stage combat between Parsifal and the zombie knights of
Klingsor.
References: none.

Motif 16: Nature
Motif 16: Nature

(Maidens)
The example shows one of the themes associated with the Flower Maidens. It accompanies the seductive
Komm, holde Knabe. Interestingly, this motif contains a phrase (A) that also appears in Nature's Healing
as #9B. It may be concluded that this subsidiary motif represents Nature. Although the Flower Maidens
are magical creatures of Klingsor, they are of natural origin.
Nature or Maidens (midi)
Note that this variant of the Nature motif does not contain the Question motif.

Motif 17: Magic Maidens
Motif 17: Magic Maidens
This is the second of the themes associated with the Flower Maidens. It accompanies them as they
quarrel over their prey, Parsifal.
References: none.

Motif 18: Desire for Redemption
Motif 18: Desire for

Redemption
Desire for
Redemption
This motif seems to be a distant relative of the theme of Redemption (#1A) and that of the Holy Grail
(#2). It first appears accompanying Kundry's Gelobter Held! and continues through the section
beginning Grausamer!, where Kundry begs to be the object of Parsifal's compassion.
References: ENO ex.66.

Motif 19: Serving
Motif 19: Serving

Serving (midi)
We hear this on strings alone at the very start of the prelude to the third act. This prelude is music of
utter desolation. The simple motif of Serving appears throughout the first scene of this act, in which the
penitent Kundry and the elderly Gurnemanz greet the stranger.
The falling fifths might be an allusion both to the Prophecy motif and to the falling fourths of the Bells
motif. The second part of the theme (a) seems to allude to the subsidiary motif of Nature (#16), which
appeared earlier in the contexts of Nature's Healing and in the seduction music of the Flower Maidens.
The motif of Serving returns at the first words of Amfortas (Ja, Wehe! Wehe!) in the final scene. Here it
seems to associate the weariness of Amfortas, waiting for Parsifal, with the weariness of Parsifal seeking
Amfortas. So an alternative name for this idea would be "weariness".
Albert Lavignac (who was probably following Wolzogen) gave this motif the label "the desert".

Lavignac, The Music Dramas of Richard Wagner, page 464.

Motif 20: Waking
Motif 20: Waking

Waking
In act III this group of themes is associated with (in Newman's words) the tortured winter sleep of
Kundry. But it first appears in act II, when Klingsor conjures her from sleep.
Example (A) appears in the prelude to the act III, and then (B) in conjunction with the Prophecy motif in
diminution (#6B). The motif returns in the earlier (A) form as Gurnemanz massages the cold, stiff body
of Kundry into life again.
The next time a variant of the motif appears is at Gurnemanz's Heiligster Tag, an dem ich heut'
erwachen sollt! Then example (B) returns, once more with #6B, while Parsifal recounts his wanderings
with the Spear. Here the motif seems to take on a significance of spiritual, rather than physical,
awakening.
References: Newman ex.41A, ENO ex.37-38.

Motif 21: Distress of Monsalvat
Motif 21: Distress of

Monsalvat
Distress
This may be heard either as a derivative of the Bells motif (#28), via Serving (#19), or as derived from
the first phrase of the Prophecy motif (#6). Where Bells has two falling fourths, and Serving two falling
fifths, the Distress of Monsalvat motif has, like the first phrase of Prophecy a falling fifth and a falling
tritone.
We hear it first in the strings, just before Gurnemanz asks Wie kam'st du heut' - woher? and it returns
when he describes the sorry state of affairs that prevails at Monsalvat.
Albert Lavignac (who was probably following Wolzogen) gave this motif the label "the second form of
The Desert". He referred to motif #19 as "The Desert".
References: ENO ex. 49.


Motif 22: Baptism (Benediction)
Motif 22: Baptism

(Benediction)
Baptism
This is the melody to which Gurnemanz proclaims, Gesegnet sei, du Reiner durch das Reine! It is
derived from the beheaded Redemption motif (#1D).
The first phrase of this theme is similar to Tristan's O sink' hernieder, Nacht der Liebe.

Motif 23: Good Friday Meadows
Motif 23: Good Friday

Meadows
Good Friday Meadows
As for motif #22, the motif of the Good Friday Meadows begins with a phrase related to Redemption
(#1D). This is followed by a phrase (A) which, on close examination, appears to have been developed
from the unlikely material of the Parsifal motif (#12A-a). The third and final phrase of the theme (B)
embodies the Bells motif (#28).

Motif 24: Atonement
Motif 24: Atonement

Atonement
The Atonement motif is important in the first part of act III. It is intimately connected with several other
motives, notably Waking (#20) and the entire group might be regarded as one integrated complex. It
may be derived from the Faith motif, as is Innocence (#37).
In example (A) we see Atonement combined with the rising chromatic motif Yearning (#35). In example
(B) it is combined with the falling chromatic figure of Suffering (#4).
Albert Lavignac (who was probably following Wolzogen) gave this motif the label "expiation".
Lavignac draws particular attention to the form in which it appears at Gurnemanz's words, doch wohl --
wie Gott mit himmlischer Geduld. Not only the violin and 'cello melody but also the harmony is taken
directly from the second phrase of the Pilgrims' Chorus in Tannhuser.


Motif 25: Grief
Motif 25: Grief
Grief

Motif 25: Grief
The Grief motif (A) is formed from the inversion of the Atonement motif (#24), and therefore indirectly
derived from the motif of Faith. In the second form (B), there is a fall of a sixth and the rhythm is
slightly changed. This is slightly modified into the (C) form, which is the inversion of the Innocence
motif (#37).
In example (A) we see the Grief motive in conjunction with the Yearning motif in diminution. In
example (C), in the accompaniment to Ich sah das Kind, Grief (a) blends into the motif (b) of Nature
(#16), as found in the seductive music of the Flower Maidens.
References: Newman ex.56, ENO ex. 16-17.

Motif 26: Funeral Procession
Motif 26: Funeral

Procession
Ernest Newman suggested that the music of Titurel's Funeral Procession had its origins in a sketch to be
found in Wagner's occasional diary, the Brown Book, dated 7 May 1868. It was originally intended for a
funeral march for Romeo and Juliet. Later, after the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1, Wagner had thought
to write a symphony for the fallen, possibly based on this sketch. But the composer was discouraged by
the administration in Berlin, and nothing came of it, although he returned to the idea several times.
Although Newman misquoted the first bar of the sketch, possibly from an inaccurate copy of the page
from the then unpublished diary, there are similarities (in both cases, there is a repeated figure (a))
between the Romeo and Juliet march and the funeral music in Parsifal.

Das Braune Buch p175, The Brown Book p147.

Motif 27: Angels
Motif 27: Angels
The Angels motif is a derivative of the Titurel motif (#34) and therefore belongs to the family of the
Faith motif. It first appears when Gurnemanz tells how angels gave the Grail into the care of the pious
Titurel.

Motif 28: Bells
Motif 28: Bells
Bells
The basic Bells motif is shown in figure (A). This is the sound of the offstage bells (see separate article).
It develops via example (B) into example (C) in the orchestra, which introduces the Transformation
Music in both outer acts. The Bells motif appears within a number of other motives, including that of the
Good Friday Meadows (#23). Several motives are closely related, including the Prophecy motif (#6), the
motif of the Distress of Monsalvat (#21) and that of Devotion (#30).
On what would have been Wagner's 70th birthday (22 May 1883), his friend and father-in-law Franz
Liszt composed the tiny elegy, Am Grabe Richard Wagners. Into this piano piece (also arranged for
organ and in a version for string quartet and harp), Liszt introduced a hushed recollection of the Bells
motif. Another such recollection of this motif can be heard in Debussy's Pellas et Mlisande, during the
first scene change from the forest to the castle.
References: Newman ex.25, ENO ex.29-30.

Motif 29: Curse
Motif 29: Curse
This is the complex of motives representing Kundry's Curse. She cannot weep, only laugh her accursed
laugh. In common with Amfortas, Kundry is weary (A), seeking release in death. She is cursed with
eternal rebirth, constantly Waking (#20) anew (B). Note in the bass, the motif of the Question (#31):
who is good?.
Fragments of this complex appear gradually. The first of them, the cascading scale that appears to be a
distant relative of the Laughter motif (#8 - although the rhythm is more complex, it contains her
characteristic interval of the tritone), appears once in the first act, at Amfortas' cry to the Redeemer.
Then the latter part (D) appears immediately after Kundry awakes at the call of Klingsor in the second
act. Klingsor echoes (D) and then (A) appears accompanying Kundry's lament. But these are only pre-
echoes. Most of the complex appears in the first period of the Grausamer section, and then we hear the
complex, completed for the first time, as Kundry tells of how she mocked Christ and how His look fell
upon her.
References: Newman ex.37, ENO ex.34-35.

Motif 30: Devotion
Motif 30: Devotion

Devotion
Newman called this motif Devotion. It appears three times in the second act: first when Kundry tells
Parsifal that she has waited for him, to give him tidings; then when she begs him to have pity for her;
and finally at her last despairing appeal to him. In act III, there is a suggestion of the motif as Kundry
catches sight of the approaching stranger; and it appears again as Kundry brings water to Parsifal.
The Devotion motif is a derivative of the Bells motif (#28). The red notes can be regarded as a variation
of the latter, and the last three notes can be regarded as a variation of the first three notes of the same
motif.
Albert Lavignac (who was probably following Wolzogen) gave this motif the label "resignation".
Lavignac suggested that the falling fourths of motif #28, together with themes in Die Meistersinger and
Siegfried that also feature falling fourths, could be related to the "answer" motif in Beethoven's F major
quartet, opus 135: Es muss sein. This relationship appears most clearly in the red notes of the example
above.

Lavignac, The Music Dramas of Richard Wagner, pages 470-1 and 473.

Motif 31: Question
Motif 31: Question
Although Wagner said that he had dispensed with the Question that features in his sources, there is a
Question that appears several times in Parsifal. This three note fragment is heard first in the orchestra,
when Parsifal reveals that he does not know the meaning of good and evil. Wagner wrote to King
Ludwig that this knowledge was the meaning of the kiss.
The Question motif is a thematic element that can be found within several other motives: Nature's
Healing (#9), Klingsor's Magic (#10), Agony (#14), and Curse (#29).

Motif 32: Straying
Motif 32: Straying

Straying
Newman called this motif Straying. It first appears in the prelude to act III, where it represents Parsifal's
confused and stumbling course through the world. We hear it again when Parsifal tells Gurnemanz of his
wanderings through suffering's pathways and of how dangers, battles and duels forced him from the
path to Monsalvat. This motif is a simple derivative of the Riding motif (#7).

Motif 33: Swan
Motif 33: Swan
Swan (midi)
R[ichard] tells me he has concocted a fine mlange for the esquires as they remove the dead swan:
Amfortas' theme, Herzeleide's theme, and the swan motive from Lohengrin.
[Cosima's Diary, 5 December 1877]

Motif 34: Titurel
Motif 34: Titurel
Titurel
Titurel's motif (A) is a simple variant of the Faith motif. It is heard at the opening of the first scene (A), after
the morning prayer, and is used by Gurnemanz at the beginning of his long narrative about Titurel and the
Grail (B). This simple case serves to illustrate a general feature of the motives in Parsifal: they appear first in
the orchestra, and in some cases are used later in the vocal line.

Motif 35: Yearning
Motif 35: Yearning

Yearning
The motif of Yearning, like that of Suffering (#4) is so simple that it easily might be overlooked in the
quest for leading motives. Together with the Suffering and Question (#31) motives, it is one of the basic
motives of the work. Like Suffering too, it is a fragment of chromatic scale, but this time rising. The
characteristic rhythm is long-short- long-short.
This motif is almost identical to one of first musical ideas to appear in Tristan und Isolde, the Desire
motif. In Parsifal, the motif is associated with the Yearning for release in death, common to both
Kundry and Amfortas. In the case of Kundry, she is unable to find rest because of her curse, which has
somehow caused her to become dominated by the sorcerer Klingsor. So it is hardly surprising that her
principal theme, the motif of Kundry's Laughter (#8) ends with the first three notes of the Yearning
motif; nor that her other theme, the motif of Klingsor's Magic (#10) begins with the four note version.

Motif 36: Balsam
Motif 36: Balsam
This motif is associated with Kundry's service of the Grail knights. We hear it for the first time when she
gives the phial of healing Balsam to Gurnemanz (Von veiter her als du denken kannst), when
Gurnemanz hands the phial to Amfortas, and again in the scene with Parsifal at Kundry's Nie tu ich
Gutes. Here is a more developed form of the Balsam motif:
Balsam (midi)
It is always interesting to note how similar musical ideas occur in different Wagner operas. The
similarity of the Balsam to the Valhalla motif in the Ring is obvious, but not significant (where some of
the relationships between themes in Parsifal and Tristan und Isolde might be considered significant).
Balsam, or balm of Gilead (Jeremiah 8v22), is a resinous, oily substance. Traditionally it possesses
healing properties and it was used in embalming and anointing. Fragrant balm was a major export from
the Holy Land in the twelth century, for use in the services of the Church.
References: Newman ex.24, ENO ex.52b.

Motif 37: Innocence
Motif 37: Innocence
This derivative of the Faith motif is heard in the third act. It first appears at the end of Gurnemanz's
explanation of Good Friday's magic, as Kundry raises her eyes to look at Parsifal; and again as he kisses
her gently on the forehead.

Motif 38: Purity
Motif 38: Purity
Purity (midi)
This further development from the Atonement motif (#24) (and therefore ultimately derived from Faith
(#3)) is first heard in act III, as Gurnemanz tells Kundry that the pilgrim will accomplish some holy task
that day, for which he must be purified. It reappears as Kundry washes the feet of Parsifal.

Motif 39: Remorse
Motif 39: Remorse
In his analysis of Tristan und Isolde, Roger North has drawn attention to the similarity between a motif
in Parsifal and one of the basic motives in Tristan und Isolde in its inverted form. The last four notes of
the example above appear to be associated, in Parsifal, with Remorse. The example is taken from the
scene between Gurnemanz and Parsifal in act I, where the old knight induces feelings of shame in the
youth. The same motif appears in the vocal line during the first Grail scene, in Amfortas' Ach,
Erbarmen!.
Interestingly, the identical motif in Tristan und Isolde represents Tristan's Dishonour, as the inversion of
the basic motif representing his Honour.
References: North (Wagner's Most Subtle Art) page 697.

Motif 40: Pain of the Wound
Motif 40: Pain of the

Wound
This motif is more rhythmic than melodic. It seems to be associated with the pain of Amfortas' physical
wound or perhaps with the world-weariness that gnaws at his soul.
References: Newman ex. 9, ENO 34a. Lavignac called this motif "suffering" (not to be confused
with motif 4 in the present analysis), p 447.

Monsalvat Menu: Site Contents
These articles and associated notes

present many different approaches
to Wagner's Parsifal. This is an
unstructured list of the contents of
the web-site. For a structured view
see the index of articles.
Catharism and the Albigensian Crusade Wagner's Muse
Adolphe Appia on Parsifal and the Ring Silk and Satin

Judith
Wagner's inner action and time
patterns An Introduction to the Music of
Presentation of Nature in Staging of Parsifal
the Ring
Scenic Conception of Parsifal The Motivic Web
The Secret of Form
Heine's Atta Troll (extract) A Tonal Work of Art
Other Aspects of the Music
The Ban on Parsifal
Glossary of Names
The Sacrament of Baptism
Parsifal in its current staging at
Bayreuth Nietzsche on Parsifal
The Bells of Monsalvat The Land of Non-Being
A Parsifal Bibliography
A Gift from Heaven
Die Sieger
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/menu.htm (1 of 6) [26/05/2002 22:52:44]

Western Source Literature Tristan und Isolde

Buddhist Literature
Writings of Richard and Cosima Notes on Act 1
Wagner
Historical and Biographical The Fair Unknown
Mythology The Community of Knights
Concerning Parsifal
Notes on Act 2
Biographical Notes
Wagner's Footnote
Berlioz, (Louis-) Hector (1803-69) The Magic Mirror
Brandt, Friedrich Georg Heinrich The Significance of the Kiss
(Fritz) (1854-95)
Brandt, Karl (1828-81) Notes on Act 3
Brckner, Gotthold (1844-92) and
Max (1836-1919) Pure Blood and Holy Blood
Burnouf, Eugne (1801-52) Wagner's Last Years
Dannreuther, Edward (1844-1905)
Gautier, Judith (1845-1917) Orgeluse the Haughty Lady
Gobineau, Count Joseph Arthur de
(1816-82) Diana Nemorensis
Humperdinck, Engelbert (1854- Clinschor and Klingsor
1921) Anfortas and Amfortas
Joukowsky, Paul von (1845-1912)
Levi, Hermann (1839-1900) Prelude to Act 1
Liszt, Franz (1811-1886)
Prelude to Act 2
Ludwig II, King of Bavaria (1845-86)
Meyerbeer, Giacomo (Jakob Prelude to Act 3
Liebmann Beer), (1791-1864)
Meysenburg, Baroness Malwida von Background
(1816-1903) Context
Nietzsche, Friedrich (1844-1900) Analysis
Schopenhauer, Arthur (1788-1860)
Verlaine, Paul (1844-96) Parsifal's Progress
Wagner, Cosima (previously von
Blow) (1838-1930) Prose Draft
Wagner, Richard (1813-1883)

Wesendonck, Mathilde (ne The Question

Luckemeyer) (1828-1902)
Eternal Rebirth
The Eagle, the Phoenix and the Divine
Blood G.B. Shaw on Parsifal
Die Sieger (The Victors)

Religion, Myth and Poetry
Mead and Soma
Note
The Content of the Grail
Persons of the Drama
Synopsis
Cathars and Albigensians
Prakriti, Ananda and the
Celtic Legends Buddha
The Kiss of Sovereignty Sigune the Lamenting Maiden

The Magic Vessels of the
Otherworld Castle Wolfram's Sigune
Chrtien's Lamenting Maiden
Chrtien de Troyes Sigune in Kundry
Sigune as Anima
Chrtien's Poem
Chrtien's Sources Sleeping and Waking
Wagner's Sources
Chronology
The Loathly Damsel Wagner's Grail Studies

Wagner's Bayreuth Library
Discography
The Healing and Wounding Holy
The Dove Spear
Parsifal at Covent Garden Parsifal on Stage
First Performance in England Wagner and St. John

The Setting of the Opera
The Performance Plot Summary
A Short Summary of Act 1

Erlsung dem Erlser


Wagner's Letter to Mathilde Wesendonk
Metempsychosis
Parsifal's Purity What happens in Parsifal?
Time and Space
The Beautiful Kundry Syberberg's Parsifal Film
Symbols
Hallows
Magic Flowers Grail
Lance
Good Friday Sword
Dish
The Holy Grail Treasures
Celtic Traditions of the Grail PARSIFAL - A New English

Eastern Traditions of the Grail Translation with Commentary
Christian Interpretations of the
Grail English Translation Act 1
Wagner and the Grail English Translation Act 2
English Translation Act 3
Vegetarianism and Antivivisection
Wagner and Ancient Greece
Achilles and Telephus Verlaine's Poem
The Spear that Heals
Prometheus - the Redeemer Transformation Scenes
Unbound
Music and Scenery
The Wandering Jew A Production Problem
How Humperdinck Saved the
Hunting Day
Wagner, Buddhism and Parsifal Perceval's Visit to the Grail Castle
Wagner and Buddhism Richard Wagner to Mathilde

Wesendonk

Parsifal and Indian Literature

Wagnerian Buddhism in Parsifal Parzival and Parsifal
Josaphat and the Beautiful Maiden The Grail Castle

Titurel and Gurnemanz
Kundry Wagner's Treatment of the
Legend
Loathly Damsel and High Messenger Amfortas and the Fisher King
of the Grail The Bleeding Lance
Grail Bearer and Mystical Marriage The Swan Episode
Mystery Story Departure from the Castle
Grail Bearer Klingsor
Sovereignty and Seasons Kondrie, Orgeluse, Herodias
From Chrtien de Troyes to Richard The Magic Garden
Wagner Philosophical and Mystical
Selections and Connections Conception of the Hero
Herodias, Magdalene and The Good Friday Episode -
Prakriti Trevrezent
Four Female Characters
The Healing of Amfortas

Concluding Remarks
Bernard Levin on Parsifal
Swans and Geese: Wagner's
The 1979 Production at Covent Wildfowl
Garden
The 1988 Production at Covent The Goose of Monsalvat
Garden The Beloved Swan
Wagner's Operas Mother and Son
Redemption
Wolfgang Wagner on Parsifal
Lilith and Eve
The Waste Land The Sin of Titurel

Paths of Error and Suffering
Introduction Parsifal Revisited
Three Kings Parsifal in Time and Space
Three Heroes Samaritan of the Grail
Three Gods

Conclusions Wolfram von Eschenbach
Lvi-Strauss on Parsifal
Wolfram's Sources
Thomas Mann on Parsifal Wolfram and Chretien
Wagner and Wolfram
Spiritual Masters
Richard Wagner on Parsifal
The Mead of Poetry
Fellow-suffering (Mitleid) and
Meyerbeer's Robert and Wagner's
Resignation
Parsifal
Ananda and Buddha in Die
Sieger
Allegory and Antithesis
Wolfram, Parzival and
Wagner and Meyerbeer

Anfortas
Robert le Diable
Kundry
Postscript

From Cosima's Diary
Decadent and Offensive?

Is it a Christian work?
Chastity and Purity
Redeeming the Redeemer
This page last updated (link) 05/25/02 16:29:25.

Glossary of Names
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Glossary of names
Family Tree of Parzival, according to Wolfram von Eschenbach
Amfortas
Keeper of the Grail, Fisher King. In Wagner's music-drama he is the son of
Titurel. In Act 1 of the music-drama Wagner makes a pun on the word Amt,
server, and the name Amfortas. Wagner described the suffering Amfortas as
my third-act Tristan inconceivably intensified (letter to Mathilde
Wesendonk, 30 May 1859).
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/names.htm (1 of 13) [26/05/2002 22:53:34]

Glossary of Names
Amfortas is Wagner's version of the Fisher King, also called the Wounded
King or the Grail King, of the medieval Grail romances. In Wolfram's Parzival
he was called Anfortas.
Ananda
Disciple of the Buddha Shakyamuni. In Wagner's unfinished music-drama Die
Sieger, the love of Prakriti for Ananda is a central element of the story.
More about Ananda and Prakriti
Anfortas
In Wolfram's poem, the Grail King Anfortas is the grandson of Titurel,
brother of Herzeloyde and therefore maternal uncle to Parzival. The name
has been derived from the Latin, infirmitas and also from the Old French,
enfertez, both words meaning infirmity.
Barlaam
The missionary who converts Josaphat to Christianity in the early medieval
tale of Barlaam and Josaphat. Later Barlaam becomes a hermit living by a
spring in the desert. After long wandering, his convert finds the old man
again. Barlaam was probably an important element in Wagner's development
of his character Gurnemanz.
Clinschor
In Wolfram's poem, a magician who traps knights in his marvellous Castle of
Maidens. The most obvious basis for Wagner's Klingsor, although Wagner did
not take much more than a name from Wolfram's character. See also: Mr,
Theodas.

Glossary of Names
Condrie or Cundrie or Kundrie

In Wolfram's poem, the Loathly Damsel is called Condrie. There is also a
sweet Cundrie, sister of Gawain, who is one of the maidens imprisoned by
Clinschor and released by her brother. One element of Wagner's Kundry.
More about Condrie
Condwiramurs
In Wolfram's poem, the wife of Parzival and mother of Loherangrin and
Kardeiz. She is the cousin of Sigune, and therefore somehow related to the
family of Grail kings, and the maternal niece of Gurnemanz. Although
Condwiramurs does not often appear directly in Wolfram's poem, Parzival's
fidelity to her is a continuing theme of the poem. Her name has been derived
from the Old French conduire amours, "to guide love".
Frimutel
In Wolfram's poem, the son of Titurel and father of Anfortas, Herzeloyde,
Repanse de Schoye, Schoysiane and Trevrizent. Wagner simplified the family
tree by making Anfortas the son of Titurel.
Gamuret
In both Wolfram and Wagner, the father of the eponymous hero, who dies in
far Arabian land without having seen his new- born son.
Gawan

Glossary of Names
In the first act, Amfortas asks about the knight Gawan, more usually
"Gawain".
Gawain
Gawain is generally said to be the nephew of Arthur. His parents are Lot of
Orkney and Morgause (though his mother is said by Geoffrey of Monmouth to
be Anna ). Upon the death of Lot, he becomes the head of the Orkney clan,
which includes in many sources his brothers Aggravain, Gaheris, and Gareth,
and his half-brother Mordred. Gawain figures prominently in many romances.
In the French romances he is generally presented as one who has adventures
paralleling in diptych fashion but not overshadowing the hero's, whether that
hero be Lancelot or Perceval. In the English tradition, however, it is much
more common for Gawain to be the principal hero and the exemplar of
courtesy and chivalry, as he is in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the
other Arthurian romances of the Alliterative Revival. In Malory's Morte
d'Arthur, however, he has a role similar to that in the French romances, in
that Lancelot is the principal hero.
The Gawain Homepage
Gawain and Orgeluse
Gundryggia
In Act 2 of Wagner's music-drama, one of the names by which Klingsor
addresses Kundry. Cosima's diary relates, ... at lunch he tells me: "She will
be called Gundrygia (sic), the weaver of war", but then he decides to keep
to Kundry. (14 March 1877). Although it has been speculated that the name
was that of a Valkyrie, the author has not been able to find the name
Gundrygia or Gundryggia in any of the Old Norse sources, which contain many
Valkyrie names. There is, however, a striking resemblence to the name Gunn
(meaning strife or battle), one of Odin's principal Valkyries, and this might
have been the inspiration for Wagner to transform Kundry into Gundryggia.
In conjunction with the name Herodias, a reference to Gunn who rides with
Odin in the Wild Hunt would reinforce the connection between Kundry and
Herodias, the Princess of Judea, who in Heinrich Heine's Atta Troll also joins

Glossary of Names
the Wild Hunt.

Herodias and Gundryggia
Gurnemans
The spelling used by Wagner in his prose draft for the character he later
called Gurnemanz.
Gurnemanz
Wagner's first act narrator is most obviously based on a character in
Wolfram's Parzival. Gurnemanz de Graharz is Parzival's first tutor and the
maternal uncle of Condwiramurs. Parzival has grown up without knowing his
father and in the company of women and girls. In the poem Gurnemanz
becomes a kind of father-figure to young Parzival. Some of this relationship
is detectable in Wagner's very compressed encounter between Parsifal and
Gurnemanz, who has now become a senior knight of the Grail order.
Gurnemanz is also Wagner's third act hermit, but here it was another
character in Parzival who was a model. This is the hermit Trevrizent whom
Parzival met on Good Friday. Wolfram makes him the brother to Anfortas
and Herzeloyde and therefore a maternal uncle of the young man.
Gurnemanz might also be identified with the hermit Barlaam who converts
Josaphat to Christianity in the medieval religious tale of Barlaam and
Josaphat. Like Gurnemanz, Barlaam appears early in the story but he loses
touch with his convert and becomes a hermit. At the end of the story
Josaphat wanders for two years in the desert in search of Barlaam before he
finds the old man again. This is actually closer to Wagner's story in that
Josaphat searches for the hermit Barlaam, while Parzival apparently
stumbles upon the hermit Trevrizent while seeking the way to Amfortas.
Herodias

Glossary of Names
In Act 2 of Wagner's music-drama, one of the names by which Klingsor

addresses Kundry. This might have been her original name. Herodias (as
described by Eugne Sue in his novel, Le juif errant of 1844) is the female
equivalent of Ahasuerus, the Wandering Jew. Heine's Herodias, in his poem
Atta Troll of 1841, corresponds either to Wilde's Salome or to her mother
Herodias.
Herodias
Atta Troll
Herodias and Gundryggia
Herzeleide
In Wagner's music-drama, the mother of Parsifal. Like Tristan, her son is the
innocent cause of his mother's death.
Herzeloyde
In Wolfram's poem, the sister of Anfortas and mother of Parzival.
Josaphat
or Joasaph, from the Greek . The hero of the medieval story of
Barlaam and Josaphat, which, although it has been ignored by most
commentators, is after Wolfram's Parzival the most important medieval
source used by Wagner in the development of his Parsifal. Although most
widely circulated in Greek, Barlaam and Josaphat has been found in
medieval translations into sixty different languages. Wagner's copy (now at
Haus Wahnfried) was a modern edition of the German translation made by
Rudolf von Ems in the early 14th century.
Klingsor

Glossary of Names
In Wagner's music-drama, the magician who had once tried to gain

acceptance as a Knight of the Grail. Unable to remain chaste, Klingsor
castrated himself and was rejected by Titurel. Since that time, he has
desired both the Spear and the Grail. Wagner described Klingsor as the
embodiment of "a peculiar quality that Christianity brought into the world".
Although Wagner took and modified the name of the sorcerer from Wolfram's
Clinschor, Klingsor appears to perform the same function in the story of
Parsifal as did the sorcerer Theodas in the story of Josaphat. In both cases
the sorcerer attempts to turn the spiritual hero from his path by sending to
him a beautiful seductress who promises to allow her soul to be saved on
condition that the hero spends with her a night of passion. It is possible that
another model for Klingsor was the demon Bertram in Meyerbeer's Robert le
diable
.
Right: Klingsor and Kundry, by Fantin-Latour.
Kundry
In Wagner's music-drama, the High Messenger of
the Grail, who reveals to Parsifal his name and
tells him of the death of his mother. In the domain
of the Grail, Kundry is a strange, wild woman who
often is found sleeping in the undergrowth. When
she awakes, she serves the Knights of the Grail, not
least in seeking a cure for Amfortas. Then she
mysteriously disappears. On the other side of the
mountains, in the domain of Klingsor, Kundry is
transformed into a beautiful maiden who seduces Knights of the Grail,
enabling Klingsor to capture and destroy them. As a result of an ancient
curse, she is trapped in an eternal cycle of rebirth. Her name suggests a
messenger, since Kunde means "news".
There is little resemblence between Wagner's Kundry and Wolfram's Condrie.

There is something of Condrie in Wagner's creation, but there are also
elements of at least two other female characters from Wolfram's poem:
Sigune and Orgeluse. More importantly, Kundry was blended from both

Glossary of Names
Herodias and Prakriti.
Wagner's first act Kundry appears to be a blend of Wolfram's Condrie (the

messenger who is also a heathen sorceress) and Sigune (the cousin who tells
Parzival about himself and about the death of his mother). The Kundry of the
second act is partly Herodias, partly Wolfram's Orgeluse (the haughty lady
who caused the wounding of Anfortas) and (when transformed by the power
of the sorcerer) the beautiful, nameless princess who attempted to seduce
Josaphat. Wagner's third act Kundry is primarily Wagner's own creation, a
penitent Magdalen. She might also be identified with the Prakriti of Die
Sieger, whom Wagner intended to present as the first woman to be admitted
to the Buddha's community. In fact the last words that Wagner wrote dealt
with this very subject.
More about Kundry
High Messenger of the Grail
Kundry and Klingsor
The Loathly Damsel
Samaritan of the Grail
Primordial She-devil
Kondrie, Orgeluse, Herodias
The Beautiful Kundry
Loherangrin
In Wolfram's poem, the Swan Knight, son of Parzival and Condwiramurs.
Wagner chose a variant of the name for his opera, Lohengrin.
Mr
Probably the most important single literary source for Wagner's character
Klingsor. Mr appears in Buddhist literature as the Lord of Death or the Lord
of Illusion, who attempted to prevent the enlightenment of the Buddha

Glossary of Names
Shakyamuni.
Monsalvat
The mountain, hidden in a forest, on which resides the castle of the Grail. In
Wolfram's poem, the mountain is called Munsalvsche, or the savage
mountain. This might be derived from Montsegur, the refuge of the
Albigensians or Cathars of south-western France. The castle fell to the
crusaders in the spring of 1244.
Orgeluse
In Wolfram's poem, the haughty lady, who is loved by Anfortas. One of the
elements of Wagner's Kundry.
More about Orgeluse
Right: "Parsifal in Quest of the Holy Grail" by Ferdinand Leeke

(1859-1925).
Parsifal
The spelling of the hero's name that Wagner finally
adopted, taken from a dubious etymology by Joseph
Grres, in his 1813 edition of Lohengrin. It was
claimed that fal parsi was Arabic for pure fool, and
"Parsifal" was derived as an anagram of this phrase.
Parzival
The hero of Wolfram's poem.

Glossary of Names
Perceval
The hero of Chrtien's poem and its continuations.
Peredur
The hero of a story in the Mabinogion, who appears to be a derivative of the
Celtic original (or equivalent) of Perceval and Parzival. Wagner found the
story Peredur Son of Evrawg in Comte de Villemarque's Contes populaires
des anciens Bretons. Peredur was an ancient traditional hero of the Old
North, whose name is found in the Gododdin. With Owein and Geraint ab
Erbin this tale is known as one of the Three Romances in the Mabinogion.
The three tales are united in their similarity of style and subject-matter: the
names of the protagonists in all three have close parallels in those of their
counterparts in the corresponding poems of Chrtien de Troyes - Perceval li
Gallois, Yvain, Erec et Enide. In the Welsh version, Peredur's story contains
within it the germ of the Grail legend, which was developed more explicitly
by Chrtien de Troyes. See Goetinck's Peredur: A Study of Welsh Tradition
in the Grail Legends.
Prakriti
The self-sacrificing heroine of Die Sieger, Wagner's unfinished Buddhist
drama. In an earlier incarnation, Prakriti had rejected, with mocking
laughter, the love of the son of a Brahmin. Wagner wrote that the Buddha's
acceptance of Prakriti into what had been, until that time, an all-male
community was a beautiful feature of the legend.
More about Ananda and Prakriti
Repanse de Schoye
In Wolfram's poem, the Grail Bearer, sister of Anfortas. Perhaps one of the

Glossary of Names
elements of Wagner's Kundry. Her name has been derived from the Old
French, Repense de Joie.
Schmerzeleide
In Wagner's prose draft, the name (meaning Pain-sorrow) given to Parzival's
mother, later renamed to Herzeleide (Heart's sorrow).
Shakyamuni
(son of the clan of Shakya). A character in Wagner's unfinished Buddhist
drama Die Sieger. Shakyamuni is commonly known as the Buddha, although
Buddhists refer to him as the Buddha of the present age. Both Wagner and
Schopenhauer referred to the Buddha by his title of the Victoriously
Perfect.
Sigune
In Wolfram's poem Parzival, a granddaughter of Titurel and hence a cousin
of Parzival. Sigune is found in another poem by Wolfram, Titurel. One of the
elements of Wagner's Kundry.
More about Sigune

Glossary of Names
Right: Pogny's "Titurel Bears the Sacred Spear".
Theodas
The name of the sorcerer who sends a nameless,
beautiful maiden to seduce Josaphat in the early
medieval tale of Barlaam and Josaphat. Together
with Mr he was probably one of the sources for
Wagner's magician Klingsor.
Titurel
In both Wolfram and Wagner, the original Winner of the Grail and the
founder of the Community of Grail Knights. Titurel was, for Wagner, a Wotan
who had attained redemption through denial of the world. His role in
Parsifal seems to be primarily a symbolic one: he represents extreme old
age in the same way that Amfortas represents extreme sickness and intense
suffering.
Trebuchet
In Wolfram, Anfortas presents Parzival with a magic sword, whose hilt is
made of ruby. This sword, which Anfortas has carried into battle many times,
was forged by the smith Trebuchet. Parzival's cousin Sigune later reveals to
him that the sword will shatter at the second blow, but that it might be
repaired in the magic spring at Karnant.
Trevrizent
In Wolfram's poem, the brother of Anfortas, for whose sake he has
renounced chivalry and become a hermit. He is the second tutor to Parzival.

Glossary of Names
In Wagner's music-drama, this character is renamed Gurnemanz.
This page last updated (correction) 05/13/02 22:59:57.

Wolfram von Eschenbach and his 'Parzival'
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Sources | Wolfram von Eschenbach
Wolfram von Eschenbach
1. Wolfram's Sources
2. Wolfram and Chretien
3. Wagner and Wolfram
Left: Wolfram from Die Minnesinger in Bildern der

Manessischen Handschrift
olfram von Eschenbach (died c. 1230) is

generally regarded as the greatest of the
medieval German narrative poets. It is
thought that he was a member of a Bavarian family
of the lower nobility, that he served for a time at the
court of a Franconian lord and later that of
Hermann, Landgrave of Thuringia. Wolfram left
some brilliant lyric poems but is chiefly respected
for his narrative poems, including Parzival, the work
that is often said to have inspired Wagner's Parsifal.
Wolfram appears as a character in Wagner's
Tannhuser.
Wolfram's Sources
hrtien's work, together with additional
information that Wolfram claims was
provided by one Kyot of Provence, formed
the basis for Wolfram's book. Kyot might have told
stories that he had heard in Spain, where there were both Moslem and Jewish philosophers, or the
Oc region of southern France, a region strong in heresy. Wolfram claims that Kyot learnt about the
Grail in Toledo. In Wolfram's account, both the Grail and the Question are quite different from
their counterparts in Chrtien; but his Condrie is recognisably the same character as the Loathly
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/wolfram.htm (1 of 4) [26/05/2002 22:53:56]

Damsel. Wolfram gives names to some previously nameless characters, including Titurel, Anfortas,
Sigune, Condwiramurs, and Condrie. He adds some further details about the latter, including her
knowledge of herbal medicines which she used to bring relief to the stricken Anfortas (Parzival,
book 11). Many of the names used by Wolfram, such as Anfortas, Condwiramurs, and Repanse de
Schoye, suggest an origin in an otherwise unknown Old French text.
Right: Der Sngerkrieg auf

Wartburg.
Wolfram and
Chretien
hese poets were
working in a wider
and developing
tradition of Grail romances.
R.S.Loomis drew attention to
six elements of Wolfram's
poem that were not found in Chrtien or the First Continuation (which might not originally have
been a continuation of Chrtien's unfinished poem, but a separate and independent story about
Gawain), although some of them were found in later works. In his view, these elements were part of
the older Celtic and Old French Grail tradition, possibly known to Wolfram, who was familiar with
French literature (as revealed by the names of some of his characters).
Wagner and Wolfram

There are many elements of Wagner's Parsifal that were without doubt derived, at least in part,
from Wolfram's epic poem. It is not accurate however to say, although it often is said, that Wagner's
drama was "based upon" Wolfram, or even that (as Jessie L. Weston put it) Wolfram's poem was
"the" source of Wagner's drama. Wagner was dismissive of the alleged influence of the medieval
poet. He told Cosima that Wolfram's text was irrelevant; when he first read the epic (at Marienbad
in 1845, after which he did not look at it again until Mathilde Wesendonk sent him a new edition in
1859) he had said to himself that nothing could be done with it, but a few things stuck in my mind - the
Good Friday, the wild appearance of Condrie. That is all it was. On another occasion he said of
Parzival, I almost agree with Frederick the Great who, on being presented with a copy of Wolfram, told
the publisher not to bother him with such stuff! According to an entry in Cosima Wagner's diary, he

was irritated by a letter from a man in Duisburg, wanting to link a study of Parsifal to a study of
Wolfram's Parzival... [Richard] says, 'I could just as well have been influenced by my nurse's bedtime
story'.
Among the elements that Wagner included from Wolfram were his account of Parzival's boyhood,
some of his account of the brotherhood at Monsalvat, the encounters between Parzival and his
cousin Sigune (who became incorporated into Wagner's Kundry), the castle containing a very old
king and a wounded king, the meeting with the hermit on Good Friday and as Wagner himself
mentioned, the wild appearance of Condrie. Those he rejected included the identification of the
Grail with a stone, all of the story of Gawain except for the liberation of the Castle of Maidens, the
healing question and Wolfram's primary theme of constancy versus inconstancy. Some elements of
Wolfram's poem that were adapted by Wagner are common to many of the medieval Grail
romances, such as the arch structure of the Grail myth: youth arrives at the Grail Castle where he
fails to ask the healing question; youth grows from folly to wisdom through experience; youth
returns to the domain of the grail where he heals the wounded king. This arch became the
underlying form of Wagner's drama, although within it he changed important details: the question
was replaced in the inner action by understanding through compassion and in the outer action by
the recovery of the spear.
The progress of the title character is central both to Wolfram's poem and to Wagner's drama. In the
latter however it is a particular kind of progress: the gaining of wisdom through compassion for
suffering. As in Tristan und Isolde the theme of suffering (a central idea of Schopenhauer's
philosophy) is present through all three acts of Parsifal. Whilst on the surface it might appear (as it
did to Jessie Weston) that Wagner was following Wolfram and the Grail romances in general in
showing how the title character was able to bring healing to the wounded king, on closer
examination it is clear that Parsifal does more than this: he brings to an entire community both
healing (although it is a misreading that he heals a wasted land) and the spiritual leadership that
will enable the knights to go out into the world again, in order to bring healing to that world. There
is irony in Kundry's words to Parsifal: redeem the world, if that is your mission.
It is often stated that Wagner found inspiration for Parsifal in Wolfram's poem. It was not until I sat
in the garden of the Villa Wesendonck, under the ancient linden tree looking out over the lake, that I
realised that this was partly true. In that garden on a spring morning in 1857, I believe, Wagner
found his inspiration by identifying Wolfram's sheltered youth venturing out into the world with
another sheltered youth to whom old age, sickness and death were revealed for the first time on a
day that changed his life.
Comparison of Parzival with Wagner's Parsifal

Jessie Weston on Parzival and Parsifal


Wagner's Nirvana: the Land of Non-Being
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Buddhism | Wagner's Nirvana
The Land of Non-Being
A Gift from Heaven

have now become exclusively preoccupied with a man who -- albeit only in literary form -- has
entered my lonely life like a gift from heaven. It is Arthur Schopenhauer, the greatest philosopher
since Kant, whose ideas -- as he himself puts it -- he is the first person to think through to their
logical conclusion. The German professors have -- very wisely -- ignored him for 40 years; he was
recently rediscovered -- to Germany's shame -- by an English critic. What charlatans all these Hegels etc.
are beside him! His principal idea, the final denial of the will to live, is of terrible seriousness, but it is
uniquely redeeming. Of course it did not strike me as anything new, and nobody can think such a thought
if he has not already lived it. But it was this philosopher who first awakened the idea in me with such
clarity. When I think back on the storms that have buffeted my heart and on its convulsive efforts to cling
to some hope in life -- against my own better judgement -- indeed, now that these storms have swelled so
often to the fury of a tempest, -- I have yet found a sedative which has finally helped me to sleep at night: it
is the sincere and heartfelt yearning for death: total unconsciousness, complete annihilation, the end of all
dreams -- the only ultimate redemption!
[R. Wagner to F. Liszt, 16? December 1854, tr. Spencer and Millington]
ithout Schopenhauer the creation of Tristan und Isolde and Parsifal is unthinkable, out of the
question, for essential to their substance are metaphysical insights which Wagner had indeed
absorbed into his living tissue and made authentically his own but which he would have been
wholly incapable of arriving at by himself.
[Bryan Magee, Wagner and Philosophy (also available as The Tristan Chord), p. 193]
everal scholars have shown that seeds of the love tragedy theme -- of the profound, often
perplexing, eros renunciation interplay -- were present in Wagner's works long before he had read
Schopenhauer, Burnouf or Kppen.
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/nirvana.htm (1 of 5) [26/05/2002 22:54:53]

enunciation in one form or another runs through all Wagner's works from The Flying Dutchman
to Parsifal. The Dutchman gains redemption, according to Wagner's explanation of the plot,
"through a woman who shall sacrifice herself for the love of him. Thus it is the yearning for death
that spurs him on to seek this woman."
[Elliot Zuckerman, The First Hundred Years of Wagner's Tristan, p.34]
Die Sieger
agner formulates two different answers to unattainable love: union and fulfilment in death as in
Tristan und Isolde, and complete renunciation and union on a higher plane as in Die Sieger.
n the final act of Die Sieger, the Chandala girl Prakriti is offered a difficult choice by the
Buddha (Gautama Shakyamuni). For the first time the Buddha will accept a woman into the
religious community, if Prakriti will accept a life of chastity and humility. So she can join
her beloved Ananda, but only after she has renounced sex. Prakriti chooses renunciation so that she
can be with Ananda, not as his wife or lover, but as a sister. (Later, for no obvious reason, Wagner
changed the name of the character to Savitri, the name of the heroine of an entirely separate story.)
ppen's account of the Buddha's decision to admit women into the order stressed the Buddha's
initial refusal and the role played by Ananda in causing him to reverse that prohibition. Wagner
chose to see in this final decision the [final] perfection of the Buddha himself -- the redeemer
redeemed -- "one final advance to consummate perfection. Ananda, standing nearer to life as yet, and
directly affected by the young Chandala maiden's impetuous love, becomes the medium of this last
perfecting".
In the words quoted above, written to Mathilde Wesendonk, Wagner means, beyond any doubt, the
perfection of wisdom (prajaparamita) which his (fictional) Buddha Shakyamuni obtains through
compassion for Prakriti.
t is a beautiful feature in the legend, that shows the Victoriously Perfect [der Siegreich
Vollendete] at last determined to admit the woman. In the margin: Love -- Tragedy.
[R. Wagner, On the Womanly in the Human, February 1883. The very last words that

Wagner wrote.]
Tristan und Isolde

here Schopenhauer advocates withdrawal and non-cooperation in order to impose one's own
meaning on the essential meaninglessness of life, Wagner's lovers rush to embrace this will with
such abandon and vigor that it is difficult to tell whether the force is overcoming the individuals
or the individuals are momentarily mastering the force.
[A. Goldman and E. Sprinchorn, Wagner on Music and Drama, p.28]
or much of the time when Tristan and

Isolde are not narrating or recalling they
are gasping their longing for one another.
The German word for longing (Sehnen, with a
capital as a noun and a small 's' as a verb)
provides the focal concept of the Tristan libretto
in the same way as Mitleid ('compassion') is the
focal concept of the Parsifal libretto; and in each
case there is an elaborate substructure
underpinning it in the form of Schopenhauer's
philosophy, for longing is the key concept of
Schopenhauer's metaphysics of existence, and
compassion the key concept of his ethics.
[Bryan Magee, Wagner and Philosophy

(also available as The Tristan Chord), p.
215]
n what many have regarded as Wagner's most Schopenhauerian work, Tristan und Isolde,
the composer worked out his derivative of Schopenhauer's philosophy. Here is the romantic
death- wish, again, expanded into a philosophy or even perhaps, as Michael Tanner has
suggested, a religion. Although there is no obvious Indian model for any of the text, Isolde's ecstatic
transfiguration, with which the work ends, uses (like the 1856 ending of Gtterdmmerung) language
strongly suggesting the influence of Indian religious literature and Buddhist or Brahmin concepts of
deliverance.

t is a frequently encountered view of Wagner's engagement with the ideas of Schopenhauer

and Indian religion respectively, that sees Tristan und Isolde as the drama most affected by
these influences. Even in Guy R. Welbon's study, it is Tristan that is Welbon's focus of
attention when he discusses Wagner. Bryan Magee's recent comment, above, redresses the balance.
Schopenhauer was equally important as the inspiration for Tristan and for Parsifal, although in the
latter case Burnouf and Wolfram too were key elements at the creative moment. As Bryan Magee
knows, Schopenhauer insisted that his metaphysics and his ethics were inseparable. It should be
noted that the key difference between Tristan and Parsifal is one of emphasis: where the former
emphasises metaphysical ideas, the latter emphasises ethical ideas. Specifically, those of
Schopenhauer's essay On the Basis of Morality, in which, as Magee remarked above, the key concept
is compassion.
t might also be argued that there are no specifically Buddhist ideas in Tristan. Both Gnter
Lanczkowski and Guy R. Welbon have suggested that there are, while Carl Suneson was
sceptical. On internal evidence alone, it is not clear whether either Tristan or Isolde find
deliverance at the end of the drama, and perhaps Wagner did not consider the question important.
The subject of his Tristan und Isolde is not salvation but the suffering caused by the desire for
extinction. Whether that deliverance or extinction takes the form of absorption into Brahman or
transition into nirvana is unimportant, in the context of the drama. From a remark that Wagner
made to Cosima many years later, that Kundry had undergone Isolde's transfiguration a thousand
times, it would appear that he had reached the view that Isolde had not yet escaped from samsara,
which in notes in the Brown Book he equated to the realm of day; in contrast, nirvana was the realm
of night. So there is sufficient evidence from which to conclude that, if not during the composition of
Tristan und Isolde then at least in reflecting on it later, Wagner thought of Tristan yearning for
nirvana, the realm of night.
agner's Parsifal deals with (among other Buddhist concepts) samsara (which can be heard in
the music of Kundry) and deliverance or redemption from this cycle of rebirth. In one
passage in the second act, after the critical kiss, Kundry and Parsifal speak of desire as
burning. In his Fire Sermon the Buddha used burning as a metaphor for suffering. In the most
widely accepted etymology of nirvana, the word means blowing out, as in the blowing out of a flame.
Therefore, at least on etymological arguments, nirvana is the end of suffering, the blowing out of the
flame when it is no longer fueled by ignorance and desire. In Parsifal there is more than a hint of a
sub-text about nirvana. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that, unlike Isolde, Kundry is released
from samsara into nirvana, not by her own efforts but by the intervention of a Bodhisattva or
Buddha, that is, Parsifal. Osthoff is surely right when he states: her deliverance [Erlsung] is
extinction in the Buddhist sense. None of the other commentators on Parsifal have given this sub-text
any attention. Reciprocally, it is the compassion awakened in Parsifal by Kundry, in exact analogy
to Wagner's treatment of the Buddha and Prakriti, that enables Parsifal to attain the last perfection.


Parsifal Synopsis - Act 1
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Synopsis | Act 1
A Short Summary
of Act 1
urnemanz, Knight of the Grail, rises from sleep and rouses his two young esquires in a forest
near the castle of Monsalvat in the Spanish Pyrenees. Two other knights arrive to prepare a
morning bath for the King, Amfortas, who has an apparently incurable wound. They are
interrupted by the wild woman Kundry, who has brought balsam from Arabia to alleviate the King's
suffering. The King, carried in on a litter, recalls the prophecy that told him to await a pure fool made
wise by compassion. He accepts Kundry's gift and proceeds to the lake. Gurnemanz tells his
companions how a beautiful woman betrayed Amfortas into the hands of the magician Klingsor, so that
the sacred Spear was lost and with it the King wounded.
uddenly there are

cries from the lake
and a swan falls to
the ground, fatally injured by
an arrow. The knights drag in
a youth who, rebuked by
Gurnemanz, breaks his bow
but cannot give his name.
Kundry is able to do so: the
youth is Parsifal, son of
Gamuret and Herzeleide. As
Kundry crawls away to sleep
in the undergrowth, the
knights carry Amfortas back
from the lake. Gurnemanz
follows them with the boy,
wondering what to make of
him.
n the hall of the Grail Castle, Amfortas is surrounded by his knights who prepare for the Grail
ritual. The voice of his father Titurel is heard from the crypt, bidding Amfortas uncover the

Grail and perform the magic that sustains the aged hero. Amfortas at first refuses, as the ritual brings
on his pain. At length he submits and allows the esquires to uncover the chalice, which produces food
and drink to sustain the knights. Parsifal watches but seems to understand nothing; although at one
point when Amfortas cries out in pain, he lays his hand on his heart. At the end of the ceremony,
Gurnemanz angrily drives the boy away. As he is about to leave, the knight hears a mysterious voice
repeat the words of the prophecy.
Derrick Everett 1996-2002. This page last updated (links) 25/05/02 09:07:16.

Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Synopsis | Act 1 | Act 2
A Short Summary
of Act 2
eated in his dark tower, Klingsor summons

Kundry and instructs her to seduce
Parsifal, whom he has seen approaching in
his magic mirror. Kundry resists in vain, since the
magician knows how to control her through the
curse. She disappears and the scene changes to a
magic garden, in which the Flower Maidens
bloom. They attempt to seduce Parsifal, who plays
with them, until the appearance of Kundry,
transformed into a beautiful siren. She awakens his
memories of childhood and of his mother. His
resistance apparently broken, she offers him a
passionate kiss.
o her amazement, the youth recoils in

horror. At last he understands the nature
both of Amfortas' suffering and his own
mission. Kundry tries to win him through pity for
her, accursed since she laughed at the suffering of
Christ. In desperation she calls for help from
Klingsor, who appears on the rampart and hurls the spear at Parsifal.
he spear stops in the air, suspended over Parsifal's head. He grasps it and makes the sign of the
cross, at which Klingsor's tower crumbles and the garden withers. You will know where to find
me again, he tells Kundry as he walks away.


http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/story3.htm
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Synopsis | Act 1 | Act 2 | Act 3
A Short Summary
of Act 3
urnemanz, now an aged hermit, once again finds the sleeping Kundry, still and apparently
lifeless, in the undergrowth near his hut. As he revives her, a strange knight, in full armour and
carrying a spear, approaches. Gurnemanz reproaches him for bearing arms on this most holy
of days, Good Friday. Then he recognises the sacred spear and the knight as the boy who had once
killed a swan. Parsifal describes his long and weary wanderings in search of Monsalvat. The hermit
reveals that the Community of the Grail has long been in decay, since Amfortas refuses to uncover the
chalice, and Titurel has died. Parsifal laments that he had arrived too late to save him.
urnemanz
and
Kundry
help him to remove
his armour. Today
shall Parsifal bring
healing to the Grail
King and take over
his office and
duties. Gurnemanz
anoints him as King
and Kundry washes
his feet. In return,
he baptises her and
kisses her on her
forehead. She
weeps. Parsifal
gazes upon the beauty of the spring meadows. The hermit tells him that this is the magic of Good
Friday, when all creation gives thanks. The tolling of distant bells summon them to the funeral rites of
Titurel.

http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/story3.htm
n the hall of the Grail Castle, all is gloom and despair. The knights, long deprived of the divine
nourishment, are barely alive and approach Amfortas threateningly. Amfortas begs them end
his suffering by taking his life. Parsifal, followed by Kundry and Gurnemanz, strides into the
centre of the hall and touches Amfortas' wound with the sacred spear, declaring him healed and
relieved of his duties. He returns the spear, which begins to bleed. Parsifal orders that the Grail shall
be uncovered and raises it aloft as the knights, including Amfortas, kneel in homage. Kundry falls
dead at his feet.

Parsifal - A New Prose Translation in English: Act 3
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | English Translation | Act 1 | Act 2 | Act 3
Parsifal Translation Act 3

German English Notes
ACT THREE - SCENE ONE

In the domain of the Grail. Open, pleasant area on a spring day. Towards the background gently rises a flowery meadow. The
foreground includes the edge of a wood, which continues to the right of the scene into rocky ground. In the foreground, at the
same side as the wood, a spring; on the opposite side, somewhat deeper, a simple hermit's hut, leaning on the rocks. Very early
morning. Gurnemanz, now changed, an old and grey hermit, wearing the tunic of a Grail knight, comes out of the hut and listens.
Note: the stage directions in this scene should be given particular attention. It should be noted that although Kundry has hardly
anything to sing, her actions are described in detail. Omission of any of the symbolic actions will inevitably impair the message of
the drama from coming across. It is implied that the action begins before dawn, so at the beginning of this scene the stage should
be dark, becoming gradually brighter as the scene progresses.
Gurnemanz: Von dorther kam das

Sthnen. So jammervoll klagt kein Wild, The groaning came from that direction. As in the first act Kundry is compared
und gewiss gar nicht am heiligsten No wild animal laments in such despair to an animal. This time she seems to be
Morgen heut'. and certainly not on this holy morning. emerging from hibernation on a spring
(Dumpfes Sthnen von Kundrys Stimme) (Dull groaning in Kundry's voice) I think morning.
Mich dnkt, ich kenne diese Klageruf. I recognise these groans.
Finally he approaches a thorn bush at the side of the clearing; here the ground is thickly overgrown; with difficulty he forces the
briars apart and then stops abruptly.
Gurnemanz: Ha! Sie! - wieder da? Das Oh! It's her! - once again? The rough
winterlich rauhe Gedrn' hielt sie
wintery thorn has been concealing her;
verdeckt; wie lang schon? Auf! Kundry! for how long? Up! Kundry! Rise! Winter
Auf! Der Winter floh, und Lenz ist da! flees and spring is here! Wake up! Wake
Erwache! Erwache dem Lenz! in the spring!
He drags Kundry, completely stiff and lifeless, out of the bush and carries her to a nearby grassy mound.
Gurnemanz: Kalt und starr! Diesmal

Cold and stiff! This time I would think
hielt ich sie wohl fr tod; doch war's ihr
she really is dead; but for the groaning
Sthnen, was ich vernahm.
that I just heard.
Gurnemanz massages Kundry's stiff hands, rubs her brow and does all he can to restore her circulation. Finally there appear
signs of life. Then she wakes completely - when her eyes finally open, she lets out a scream. Kundry is dressed in the rough robe
of a penitent, similar to that which she wore in act one, only now her face is paler; the wildness of her appearance and manner
has now gone [or: has drained away]. For a long while she stares at Gurnemanz. Then she gets up, adjusts her clothing and hair,
and begins to take the role of a serving-maid.

Carl Suneson has compared Kundry's

Todesschlafe with the deep sleep that
Hindu scriptures call susupti. It is
Gurnemanz: Du tolles Weib! Hast du
You crazy woman! Don't you have described as a state in which the soul, or
kein Wort fr mich? Ist dies der Dank, anything to say? Is this how you show atman, is temporarily released from the
dass dem Todesschlafe noch einmal ich your thanks for my waking you once physical body. Thus Kundry could travel
dich entweckt? more from your deathlike sleep? far and see many things (as in the second
act she claimed to have done) while her
body sleeps.
Kundry: (neigt langsam das Haupt;
dann bringt sie, rauh und abgebrochen, (slowly bows her head; then speaks
hervor) Dienen ... dienen! roughly and brokenly) Serving ... serving!
Now the community, deprived of the

nourishment formerly provided by the
Grail, forage like animals. In Wolfram's
Parzival we read: They went out to
forage, with Parzival attending to the
fodder, while his host grubbed up roots
for them ... the kitchen was bare, there
was neither stew nor roast! In another
medieval story Josaphat wanders for two
years in the wilderness before finding the
old hermit Barlaam again. Then, Barlaam
Gurnemanz: (den Kopf schttelnd) Das
(shaking his head) That won't keep you spread his lavish table, laden with
wird dich wenig mh'n! Auf Botschaft
busy! We send out no messengers now. spiritual dainties, but with little to attract
sendet sich's nicht mehr; Kruter und
Herbs and roots each finds for himself. the palate of sense. These were uncooked
Wurzeln findet ein jeder sich selbst. Wir
We learn from the forest beasts. worts, and a few dates, planted and
lernten's im Walde vom Tier.
tended by Barlaam's own hands, such as
are found in the same desert, and wild
herbs. So they gave thanks and partook of
the victuals set before them, and drank
water from the neighbour springing well,
and again gave thanks to God, who
openeth his hand and filleth all things
living. [Translated from the Greek by
G.R. Woodward and H. Mattingly;
Harvard University Press, Cambridge
MA, 1914]
During the preceding lines, Kundry has gone into the hut. Gurnemanz looks in her direction in astonishment.
As noted in the commentary to act 2,
Heil (here in the plural form) can be used
with several meanings including
Gurnemanz: Wie anders schreitet sie als
How differently she moves now! Is it the "salvation" and "well-being". Here the
sonst! Wirkte dies der heilige Tag? Oh!
effect of this holy day? Oh! Day of mercy first of these meanings seems to be
Tag der Gnade ohne gleichen! Gewiss zu
without equal! Clearly it was for her intended; there is dramatic irony in the
ihrem Heile durft' ich der Armen heut'
salvation that I was able to wake the poor words of the hermit. On this day, which
den Todesschlaf verscheuchen.
woman from deathlike sleep today. Kundry has long awaited, she will find
her salvation; the salvation that Parsifal
brings.

Kundry comes back out of the hut; she carries a water pitcher and takes it over to the spring. There she stops, looking into the
forest; in the distance someone approaches and she turns to Gurnemanz to make him aware of this. Gurnemanz looks into the
forest. During what follows, as Parsifal enters, Kundry withdraws into the hut with the pitcher, now filled, where she busies
herself.
Gurnemanz: Wer nahet dort dem Wolfram's hermit Trevrizent dwells
heil'gen Quell in dstrem Who approaches the holy spring in the by a spring called Fontane la Salvsche,
Waffenschmucke? Das ist der Brder dark armour of a warrior? It is hardly one the fountain of salvation. Also the hermit
keiner! of the brothers! Barlaam lives beside a spring.
Parsifal emerges from the forest; he is completely attired in dark armour; with closed visor and lowered spear he walks slowly
and haltingly, his head bowed, moving like a sleep-walker, and sits down on a small grassy mound below the spring. Gurnemanz,
after watching Parsifal for a while, now approaches him.
Gurnemanz: Heil dir, mein Gast! Bist du Greetings, guest! Are you lost and should
verirrt, und soll ich dich weisen? Parsifal I give directions?
schttelt sanft das Haupt. Entbietest du (Parsifal slowly shakes his head.) Do you
mir keinen Gruss? Parsifal neigt das have no greeting for me?
Haupt. Hei? - Was? Wenn dein Gelbde (Parsifal lowers his head.) Hey? What
dich bindet, mir zu schweigen, so mahnt the ... If you have taken a vow that
das meine mich, dass ich dir sage, was prevents you answering, then mine
sich ziemt. Hier bist du an geweih'tem obliges me to tell you what is fitting. You
Ort; da zieht man nicht mit Waffen her, are here on hallowed ground; here
geschloss'nen Helmes, Schild und Speer; therefore none goes armed, with closed
und heute gar! Weisst du denn nicht, visor, shield and spear; today of all days!
welch' heil'ger Tag heut' ist? Do you not know what holy day it is
(Parsifal schttelt mit dem Kopfe.) Ja! today?
Woher kommst du denn? Bei welchen (Parsifal shakes his head.) So! Whence
Heiden weiltest du, zu wissen nich, dass have you come here? Among which
heute der allerheiligste Karfreitag ist? heathens have you lived, not to know that
(Parsifal senkt das Haupt noch tiefer.) today is holiest Good Friday?
Schnell ab die Waffen! Krnke nicht den (Parsifal sinks his head even lower.) Put
Herrn, der heute, bar jeder Wehr, sein down your weapons! Do not offend the
heilig' Blut der sndigen Welt zur Shne Lord, whom today, once for all, his holy
bot! blood shed in atonement for the sinful
world!
After further silence, Parsifal gets up and thrusts the spear into the ground, lays down shield and sword beneath it, opens his
helmet, takes it off his head and lays it down with the weapons, after which he kneels before the spear in silent prayer.
Gurnemanz watches Parsifal with surprise and emotion. He beckons to Kundry, who is emerging from the hut. Parsifal's steady
gaze rests devoutly on the tip of the spear.
Gurnemanz: Erkennst du ihn? Der ist's,
der einst den Schwan erlegt! Do you recognise him? It is he, who once
(Kundry besttigt mit einem leisen killed the swan!
Kopfnicken.) Gewiss, 's ist er, der Tor, (Kundry confirms this with a gentle nod.)
den ich zrnend von uns wies. Truly, it's him, the fool, whom I chased
(Kundry blickt starr, doch ruhig auf away in anger. (Kundry looks steadily but
Parsifal.) Ha! Welche Pfade fand er? Der peacefully at Parsifal.) Ah! What path
Speer - ich kenne ihn. did he find? The spear - I recognise it.
(In grosser Ergriffenheit) O! Heiligster (Now greatly moved.) Oh! Holiest of
Tag, an dem ich heut' erwachen sollt'! days, that I should have woken today!
Kundry has turned her face away. Slowly Parsifal rises from prayer, looks peacefully around him, recognises [or: sees]
Gurnemanz and gently raises a hand in greeting.

Parsifal: Heil mir, dass ich dich

wiederfinde! I rejoice at finding you again!
Gurnemanz: So kennst auch du mir

So you recognise me too? Recognise me
noch? Erkenn'st mich wieder, den Gram
even after care and distress have left their
und Not so tief gebeugt? Wie kam'st du
mark? How came you here today? From
heut? Woher?
where?
Parsifal: Der Irrnis und der Leiden Pfade Straying, I travelled the path of suffering;
kam ich; soll ich mich denen jetzt can I believe that I am now at its end,
entwunden whnen, da dieses Waldes when I hear once more the rustling leaves
Rauschen wieder ich vernehme, dich
of this forest, the good old man greet me
guten Greisen neu begrsse? Oder - irr' again? Or - do I still wander? How
ich wieder? Verndert dnkt mich alles.
different it all seems.
Gurnemanz: So sag', zu wem den Weg
du suchtest? But say, to whom sought you the way?
Parsifal: Zu ihm, dess' tiefe Klagen ich

trig staunend einst vernahm, dem nun To him, whose deep laments I once heard
ich Heil zu bringen mich auserlesen in foolish wonder, to bring him salvation
whnen darf. I presume to think myself ordained.
Doch - ach! - den Weg des Heiles nie zu But - oh! - not finding the way of
finden, in pfadlosen Irren trieb [jagt] ein salvation, I strayed from the path, driven
wilder Fluch mich umher; [chased] off course by a savage curse; See the earlier note regarding Heil.
zahllose Nten, Kmpfe und Streite countless dangers, battles and conflicts Parsifal brings salvation. A few lines
zwangen mich ab vom Pfade, whnt' ich forced me from the path, even when I further down, he refers to "the way of
ihn recht schon erkannt. thought I knew it well. salvation".
Da musste mich Verzweiflung fassen, das Then I began to doubt that I could save Unlike Amfortas, who bore the spear
Heiltum heil mir zu bergen, um das zu the holy relic; in its defence, many times, as a weapon, Parsifal has protected it as a
hten, das zu wahren ich Wunden jeder I let myself be wounded; while I never holy relic.
Wehr' mir gewann; denn nicht ihn selber dared to bear it in combat;
durft' ich frhen im Streite; unprofaned I kept it at my side, that
unentweih't fr' ich ihn mir zur Seite, den which I now bring home, gleaming before
ich nun [nun ich] heim geleite, der dort you bright and noble; the Grail's holy
dir schlimmert heil und hehr, -- des
spear.
Grales heil'gen [heil'ger] Speer.
Gurnemanz: (in hchstes Entzcken
ausbrechend) O Gnade! Hchstes Heil! O (In great delight.) O blessing! Highest
Wunder! Heilig hehrstes Wunder! grace! O wonder! Holy, most blessed
(Nachdem er sich etwas gefasst, zu wonder!
Parsifal) (Becoming more composed, to Parsifal)
O Herr! War es ein Fluch, der dich von O Lord! If it was a curse, that kept you
rechten Pfad vertrieb, so glaub', er ist from the true path, so believe, its power is
gewichen. Hier bist du; dies des Grals broken. You are here now; this is the
Gebiet, dein' harret seiner Ritterschaft. Grail's domain, here wait your knightly
Ach, sie bedarf des Heiles, des Heiles, brotherhood. Oh, they are in need of
das du bringst! salvation, the salvation that you bring!
Seit dem Tage, den du hier gewelt, die Since that day, when you were here, the
Trauer, so da kund dir ward, das Bangen - grief, of which you know, the sorrow -
wuchs zur hchsten Not. grew to extreme distress.
Amfortas, gegen seiner Wunden, seiner Amfortas, fighting against his wound,
Seele Qual sich wehrend, begehrt' in tormented in his soul, in despair and
wtendem Trotze nur den Tod. Kein defiance sought only death. No plea, no

Fleh'n, kein Elend seiner Ritter bewog ihn misery of his knights could persuade him See earlier notes regarding Heil. Here
mehr, des heil'gen Amts zu walten. Im to perform the holy service. Long the Gurnemanz confirms that Parsifal brings
Schrein verschlossen bleibt seit lang' der Grail remained closed up in its shrine; salvation.
Gral; so hofft sein sndenreu'ger Hter, thus its guardian, repenting of his sin,
da er nicht sterben kann, wann je er ihn since he cannot die while he beholds it,
erschaut, sein Ende zu erzwingen und mit hopes to bring about his death and with
dem Leben seine Qual zu enden. his life to end the pain.
Die heil'ge Speisung bleibt uns nun The heavenly nourishment is denied us,
versagt, gemeine Atzung muss uns earthly food must sustain us; therefore
nhren; darob versiegte uns'rer Helden our heroes' strength is lost. Messages do
Kraft. Nie kommt uns Botschaft mehr, not reach us now, nor calls to distant holy
noch Ruf zu heil'gen Kmpfen aus der war; the dispirited and leaderless knights
Ferne; bleich und elend wankt umher die wander pale and wretched.
mut- und frherlose Ritterschaft.
In dieser Waldeck' barg ich selber mich, In this forest corner I hide myself, to
des Todes still gewrtig, dem schon mein await the peace of death, that my old lord
alter Waffenherr verfiel. Denn Titurel, in arms has found. Yes, Titurel, my holy
mein heil'ger Held, den nun des Grales hero, no more able to look upon the Grail,
Anblick nicht mehr labte, er starb - ein has died - a mortal like us all!
Mensch, wie Alle!
Parsifal: (vor grossen Schmerz sich Parsifal's guilt would have been easier
aufbumend) Und ich, ich bin's, der all (writhing in great pain) And I, I am the to understand if Wagner had followed the
dies Elend schuf! Ha! Welcher Snden, one who caused all this misery! Ah! What medieval romances and made the
welches Frevels Schuld muss dieses sins, what offending guilt must this fool's quester's failure to ask the healing
Toren Haupt seit Ewigkeit belasten, da head bear in all eternity; then no penance, question the cause of the king's continued
keine Busse, keine Shne der Blindheit no atonement, can excuse my blindness to suffering and of the distress of the land.
mich entwindet, zur Rettung selbst ich the mission for which I was chosen, lost Here Parsifal seems to be referring to the
auserkoren, in Irrnis wild verloren der in wandering the last path of deliverance delay in returning the spear to the Grail's
Rettung letzter Pfad mir schwindet! escapes me! domain, too late to save Titurel.
Parsifal becomes dizzy and begins to faint. Gurnemanz supports him and sits him down on the grassy mound. Kundry dashes to
the stream to fetch water with which to sprinkly Parsifal. She returns.
Gurnemanz: Kundry sanft abweisend (gently refusing her) Not so! The holy
Nicht so! Die heil'ge Quelle selbst spring itself will refresh our pilgrim. I Stage designers should note that a
erquicke uns'res Pilgers Bad. Mir ahnt, suspect that today he must perform some spring and a stream are essential elements
ein hohes Werk hab' er noch heut' zu great work, fulfil some holy service; for of this scene, in which water plays a
wirken, zu walten eines heil'gen Amtes;
this he must be spotless, and the dust of symbolic role.
so sei er fleckenrein, und langer Irrfahrt long wandering must now be washed
Staub soll nun von ihm gewaschen sein.
from him.
Parsifal has been gently led by the others to the edge of the spring. During what follows Kundry removes his greaves while
Gurnemanz takes off his body-armour.
Parsifal: (Sanft und matt) Werd' heut' zu

(gently and in exhaustion) Shall I be led
Amfortas ich noch geleitet? to Amfortas today?

Gurnemanz: Gewisslich; uns'rer harrt

die hehre Burg; die Totenfeier meines Certainly; the noble castle awaits us; the
lieben Herrn, sie ruft mich selbst dahin. funeral of my beloved lord, calls me there
Den Gral noch einmal uns du zu myself. The Grail is to be uncovered for
enthllen, des lang versumten Amtes us this once; today the long neglected
noch einmal heut' zu walten - service will be celebrated again -
zur Heiligung des hehren Vaters, der to sanctify his noble father slain by the
seines Sohnes Schuld erlag, die der nun, son's transgression, for which he now will
also bssen will - gelobt' Amfortas uns. atone - this Amfortas promised us.
Kundry washes Parsifal's feet with humble zeal. Parsifal looks at her in peaceful wonder.
Kundry's washing of Parsifal's feet
Parsifal: (zu Kundry) Du wuschest mir and anointing him with oil recalls Mary
die Fsse, nun netze mir das Haupt der (to Kundry) You have washed my feet, Magdalene, who did this in Wagner's
Freund. now the friend shall moisten my head. scenario for a stage drama entitled Jesus
of Nazareth.
Gurnemanz dips his hand into the spring and sprinkles Parsifal's head.
Gurnemanz: Gesegnet sei, du Reiner, Be blessed, you pure one, through purity!
durch das Reine! So weiche jeder Schuld Thus may every trace of guilt and worry
Bekmmernis von dir! leave you!
While Gurnemanz ceremoniously sprinkles the water, Kundry takes a golden phial from her bosom and pours the contents over
Parsifal's feet; then she hastily lets down her long hair and with it dries them.
Parsifal: (nimmt Kundry sanft das (gently taking the phial from Kundry and
Flscchen ab und reicht es Gurnemanz) passing it to Gurnemanz) You have
Du salbtest mir die Fsse, das Haupt nun anointed my feet, now let Titurel's
salbe Titurels Genoss, dass heute noch als comrade anoint my head, for today I shall
Knig er mich grsse! be hailed as king!
During what follows Gurnemanz pours the remaining contents of the phial over Parsifal's head, gently rubs them in and then
folds his hands on Parsifal's head.
It is not clear, and perhaps
deliberately ambiguous, to whom these
Gurnemanz: So ward es uns verhiessen; words are addressed. Is Parsifal the pure
so segne ich dein Haupt, als Knig dich Thus it was promised to us; thus I bless one, wise and compassionate? How could
zu grssen. your head, to hail you as king. he lift the last load from his own head?
Du - Reiner! - You - pure one! - These words are followed by three
Mitleidsvoll Duldender, heiltatvoll Compassionate sufferer, wise and full of very emphatic, long-awaited perfect
Wissender! healing; cadences in B major. There is an air of
Wie des Erlsten Leiden zu gelitten, die as you have suffered the torments of the finality about them. It might not be
letzte Last entnimm nun seinem Haupt! redeemed, lift the last load from his head! coincidental that the closing chords of
Tristan und Isolde also form a perfect
cadence in the key of B major.
Unperceived, Parsifal scoops up water from the spring.

Parsifal: Mein erstes Amt verricht' ich

Thus I perform my first duty; (He bends
so; (Er neigt sich zu der vor ihm noch over Kundry, who is kneeling before him,
knienden Kundry und netzt ihr das and sprinkles her head with water.)
Haupt.) Die Taufe nimm und glaub' an Receive baptism and believe in the
den Erlser! Redeemer!
Kundry's head falls to the ground; she appears to be weeping profusely. Parsifal turns away and gazes upon forest and meadow,
gently glowing in the morning sunlight, in mild ecstacy.
Parsifal: Wie dnkt mich doch die Aue How beautiful the meadows seem today!
heut' so schn! Wohl traf ich Once I met some magic flowers, who
The pizzicato G on lower strings
Wunderblumen an, die bis zum Haupte wound their tendrils around my head; but
replaced what were originally timpani
schtig mich umrankten; doch sah ich nie strokes. See Cosima's Diary entry for 3
never did I see such mild and gentle
so mild und zart die Halme, Blten und grasses, flowers and blooms, nor did they
February 1879. Obliteration of the whole
Blumen, noch duftet' all so kindisch hold smell so sweet and fresh, nor speak to me
being, of all earthly desire said Richard.
und sprach so lieblich traut zu mir. so intimately and lovingly.
Gurnemanz: Das ist ...
Karfreitagszauber, Herr! That is ... Good Friday's magic, Sire!
Parsifal: O wehe des hchsten O alas the day of greatest pain! Then
Schmerzentags! Da sollte, whn' ich, was should, I think, all that blossoms, that
da blht, was atmet, lebt und wieder lebt, breathes, lives and lives again, only
nur trauern, ach! und weinen. mourn, ah! and weep.
Gurnemanz: Du siehst, das ist nicht so.

You see, that's not how it is. It is the tears
Des Snders Reuetrnen sind es, die heut'
of repentant sinners, that fall like holy
mit heil'gem Tau betrufet Flur und Au';
dew today to moisten field and meadow;
der liess sie so gedeihen. Nun freut sich
thus making them fertile. Now all
alle Kreatur auf des Erlsers holder Spur, In 1858 Wagner wrote to Mathilde
creatures rejoice in visible signs of the
will ihr Gebet ihm wiehen. Ihn selbst am Wesendonk: ... if this suffering can have a
Redeemer, to whom they dedicate their
Kreuze kann sie nicht erschauen; da purpose, it is simply to awaken a sense of
prayers. Since they cannot see Him on the
blickt sie zum erlsten Menschen auf; der fellow-suffering in man, who thereby
Cross, they look up instead to man
fhlt sich frei von Sndenlast und absorbs the creature's defective existence
redeemed; who feels free from dread and
Grauen, durch Gottes Liebesopfer rein and becomes the Redeemer of the world
the burden of sin because of God's pure,
und heil. Das merkt nun Halm und Blume by recognizing the error of all existence.
loving sacrifice. The grass and flowers of
auf den Auen, dass heut' des Menschen (This meaning will one day become
the meadows notice that the foot of man
Fuss sie nicht zertritt, doch wohl, wie clearer to you from the Good Friday
does not trample them today, but that, as
Gott mit himmlischer Geduld sich sein morning scene in the third act of
God with heavenly patience had mercy
erbarmt' und fr ihn litt, der Mensch auch "Parzival"). Which became Parsifal in
and suffered for man, so mankind today
heut' in frommer Huld sie schont mit 1877.
in pious gratitude spares nature with
sanftem Schritt. Das dankt dann alle
gentle tread. Then all creatures give
Kreatur, was all' da blht und bald erstirbt
thanks, all that blooms and soon will
da die entsndigte Natur heut' ihren
fade, nature now absolved from sin today
Unschuldstag erwirbt.
enjoys its day of innocence.
Kundry has slowly raised her head again, and turns her wet eyes to Parsifal in calm and earnest entreaty.

Parsifal: Ich sah sie welken, die einst mir

I saw them wither, those who once
lachten; ob heut' sie nach Erlsung laughed at me; do they long for
In effect Parsifal is saying to Kundry,
schmachten? Auch deine Trne ward zum redemption today? Your tears too fall like
do not weep but rejoice. He has heard the
Segenstaue; du weinest! Sieh' - es lacht dew upon the meadows; you weep! Look -
prayer spoken only in her heart.
die Aue! the meadows laugh!
Parsifal kisses Kundry gently on her forehead. Distant bells.
Gurnemanz: Mittag. Die Stund' ist da.
Gestatte, Herr, das dein Knecht dich Noon. The hour has come. Sire, permit
geleite! your knight to guide you!
ACT THREE - SCENE TWO

Gurnemanz has kept his Grail-knight mantle close by; now he and Kundry place it on Parsifal's shoulders. Solemnly Parsifal
grips the spear and with Kundry follows Gurnemnanz who slowly leads them. Gradually the scene changes in the same subtle
way it did in the first act, but now from right to left. After remaining visible for a while, the three disappear completely, as the
forest progressively gives way to chambers in the rocks. In these passages the sound of bells gradually increases. Now appears
an opening in the rock wall and we see the great hall, as in the first act but without the tables. Dim lighting. From the side enter
knights bearing Titurel's body in a coffin, from the other side they bear in Amfortas on his litter, preceded by the covered shrine
with the Grail.
First procession of knights: (mit

Amfortas) Geleiten wir im bergenden (with Amfortas) In its protective shrine
Schrein den Gral zum heiligen Amte, wen we bring the Grail to this holy service;
berget ihr in dst'ren Schrein und fhrt ihr whom do you carry in that dark shrine
trarnd daher? and bear in such sorrow?
Second procession of knights: Es birgt

den Helden der Trarschrein, er birgt die Within the mournful shrine lies the one
heilige Kraft, der Gott einst selbst zur with holy power, that God himself once
Pflege sich gab; Titurel frhen wir hier. gave him; we bring Titurel here.
This appears to be an allusion to

Titurel as former guardian of the Grail, in
1st Procession: Wer hat ihn gefllt, der, which God's presence might be
in Gottes Hut, Gott selbst einst Who has slain him, who, in God's care, considered to dwell in the same way as
beschirmte? once himself protected God? His presence dwelt in the Ark of the
Covenant. It suggests a parallel between
Titurel and Moses or Solomon.
2nd Procession: Ihn fllte des Alters

He was slain by the conquering burden of
siegende Last, da den Gral er nicht mehr old age, when he looked no more upon
erschaute.
the Grail.
1st Procession: Wer wehrt ihm des
Grales Huld zu erschauen? Who withheld from him the Grail's grace?
2nd Procession: Den dort ihr geleitet, der

sndige Hter. He is there with you, the sinful guardian.

1st Procession: Wir geleiten ihn heut',

weil heut' noch einmal - zum letzten Male We bring him today so that once again -
- will des Amtes er walten. Ach, zum for the last time - the service will be
letzten Mal! celebrated. Oh, for the last time!
Amfortas remains on the litter in front of the Grail altar, the coffin has been set down before him; the knights turn to him.
2nd Procession: Wehe! Wehe! Der Hter Alas! Alas! The guardian of the Grail!
des Grals! Ach, zum letzten Mal, sie Oh, for the last time, we remind you of
deines Amtes gemahnt! Zum letzten Mal!
your office! For the last time! For the last
Zum letzten Mal!
time!
Amfortas: Ja, wehe, wehe! Weh' ber Yes, alas, alas! Woe is me! I share your
mich! So ruf' ich willig mit euch, williger
misery and cry with you, of my own free
nhm' ich von euch den Tod, der Snde will accepting death, the sinner's mildest
mildeste Shne! penance!
The lid of the coffin is opened - at the sight of Titurel's body all break out in a great cry of woe. Amfortas rises himself up from his
bed and turns to the corpse.
Amfortas: Mein vater! Hochgesegneter
der Helden! Du Reinster, dem einst die My father! Most blessed of heroes! Purest
Engel sich neigten; der einzig ich sterben one, to whom angels once bowed;
wollt', dir - gab ich den Tod! O! Der du Because I alone wished to die, I brought
jetzt in gttlichen Glanz den Erlser you death! Oh! You who in divine
selbst erschau'st, erflehe von ihm, dass radiance now behold the Redeemer
sein heiliges Blut, wenn noch einmal Himself, entreat of him that his holy
heut' sein Segen die Brder soll blood, which once today with blessing
erquicken, wie ihnen neues Leben mir shall revive the brothers in newness of
endlich spende - den Tod! life, shall finally bring me death!
Tod! Sterben! Einz'ge Gnade! Die Death! To die! The only mercy! The
schreckliche Wunde, das Gift, ersterbe, terrible wound, the poison; kill, paralyse
das es zernagt, erstarre das Herz! Mein the heart at which it gnaws! My father! I
Vater! Dich - ruf' ich, rufe du ihm es zu; call on you, that you may call on Him:
"Erlser, gib meinem Sohne Ruh'!" "Redeemer, grant peace to my son!"
Knights: (sich nher an Amfortas

(approaching Amfortas threateningly)
herandrngend) Enthllet den Gral!
Uncover the Grail! Serve the office! Your
Walte des Amtes! Dich mahnet dein
father asked it of you; you must! You
Vater; du musst! Du musst!
must!
Amfortas jumps up in wild despair and throws himself before the retreating knights.
Amfortas: Nein! Nicht mehr! Ha! Schon
fl' ich den Tod mich umnachten und No! Never more! Ah! Already I can feel
noch einmal sollt' ich ins Leben zurck? the dark embrace of death and you would
Wahnsinnige! Wer will mich zwingen zu bring me back to life? Madmen! Who
leben? Knnt ihr doch Tod mir nur will compel me to live? If only you could
geben! bring me death! Umnachten means literally "mental
(Er reisst sich das Gewand auf) Hier bin (He tears open his robe.) Here I am - here derangement" or "benightment". Here it
ich - die off'ne Wunde hier! Das mich is the open wound, that poisons me - here seems to be used almost in an Homeric
vergiftet, hier fliesst mein Blut. Heraus flows my blood. Take up your weapons! sense of "night descending on his eyes".
die Waffe! Taucht eure Schwerter, tief - Thrust your swords deep - deep, to the
tief, bis ans Heft! hilt!
Auf! Ihr Helden! Ttet den Snder mit Up! You heroes! If you kill the sinner and

seiner Qual, von selbst dann leuchtet euch his suffering, then once more the Grail
wohl der Gral! will shine on you!
All have shrunk back from Amfortas, who in terrible delirium stands alone. Led by Gurnemanz and Kundry and unnoticed by the
knights, Parsifal enters, comes forward and extends the spear to touch Amfortas with its point.
Parsifal: Nur eine Waffe taugt: - die As with the spear of Achilles in the
Wunde schliesst der Speer nur, der sie One weapon alone will serve: - only the myth of Telephus, the weapon that caused
schlug. spear that struck you heals the wound. the wound is able to heal it.
Amfortas' features light up in holy ecstacy; he seems to stagger in the grip of powerful emotion; Gurnemanz supports him.
Parsifal: Sei heil, entsndigt und geshnt
[oder: entshnt]! Denn ich verwalte nun Be whole, absolved and healed! Now I
... if this suffering can have a purpose,
dein Amt. Gesegnet sei dein Leiden, das shall perform your office. O blessed be
it is simply to awaken a sense of fellow-
Mitleids hchste Kraft, und reinsten your suffering, that gave compassion's
suffering in man ... [Richard Wagner to
Wissen's Macht dem zagen Thoren gab! highest power and purest wisdom's might
Mathilde Wesendonk, 1 October 1858]
(Parsifal schreitet nach der Mitte, den to the timid fool!
Through suffering, highest compassion,
Speer hoch vor sich erhebend.) Den (Parsifal steps toward the centre. holding
and out of compassion, purest wisdom.
heil'gen Speer - ich bring' ihn euch the spear high above him.) The holy spear
zurck! - I bring it back to you!
All gaze in supreme rapture at the uplifted spear, to whose point Parsifal raises his own eyes as he continues ecstatically.
When the spear and the Grail are
Parsifal: O! Welchen Wunder's hchstes reunited, the spear begins to bleed. Drops
Glck! of blood flow from the spear into the
Der [die] deine Wunde durfte schliessen, Oh! The highest joy of this miracle! Grail. Wagner might have intended this to
ihm [ihr] seh' ich heil'ges Blut entfliessen From this weapon that has healed your symbolise poetry, the masculine element,
in Sehnsucht nach dem verwandten wound, I see the holy blood flowing in uniting with music, the feminine element,
Quelle, der dort fliesst in des Grales yearning for the kindred fount that flows in the total work of art. The holy blood
Welle. and surges in the Grail. might be Christ's blood, the essence of
Nicht soll der [er] mehr verschlossen Never more shall it be closed; free-willed suffering, or it might be
sein; uncover the Grail! Open the shrine! identified with the regenerating mead of
enthllet den Gral! ffnet den Schrein! poetry, made from the blood of a sage,
which was served to heroes in Valhall.
Parsifal ascends the steps of the altar, takes the Grail from the shrine already opened by the squires and falls to his knees in
silent prayer. Gradually there appears a gentle light in the Grail. Increasing darkness below and illumination above.
Commentators have variously
Squires and Knights: (mit stimmen aus (with barely audible voices from the mid- interpreted this final line. They disagree
der mittleren sowie der obersten Hhe height and top of the dome.) Supreme about whether the Redeemer referred to is
kaum hrbar leise.) Hchsten Heiles
miracle of salvation! Redemption to the Christ or Parsifal. The line might be
Wunder! Erlsung dem Erlser! Redeemer! deliberately ambiguous.
A beam of light; the Grail now at maximum brightness. From the dome a white dove descends and hovers over Parsifal's head.
Kundry, with her gaze resting on Parsifal, sinks lifeless to the ground. Amfortas and Gurnemanz kneel in homage before Parsifal,
who swings the Grail over the worshipping knights.
This English translation and commentary are copyright 2001 by Derrick Everett. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Permission is
hereby granted for electronic distribution by non-commercial services such as internet, provided that it is posted in its entirety and
includes this copyright statement. This document may not be distributed for financial gain. Any other use, or any commercial use of
this document without permission is prohibited by law. Applications for permission to reproduce all of part of the translation or
commentary should be directed to the author and copyright holder.

This page last updated (column widths) 05.24.02 17:50:16.

Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | English Translation | Act 1 | Act 2

ACT TWO - SCENE ONE

Klingsor's magic castle - on the southern slope of the same mountains, facing Moorish Spain. In the inner courtyard of a roofless
tower. Stone steps lead upward to the battlements on the tower wall; below all is darkness, out of which projects the wall of the
tower, as it appears on the stage. Necromantic and magical apparatus. Klingsor sits in front of a metal mirror, on the projecting
wall to one side of the scene.
Klingsor sees Parsifal at a distance

Klingsor: Die Zeit ist da. Schon lockt The time has come. The fool is being with the aid of his magic mirror. This
mein Zauberschloss den Toren, den, drawn into my magic castle, I see him device is one of few elements in this act
kindisch jauchzend, fern ich nahen seh' - approach from afar, shouting childishly - that Wagner retained from Wolfram von
Im Todesschlafe hlt der Fluch sie fest, While she is locked in deathlike sleep by Eschenbach's Parzival. In the medieval
der ich den Krampf zu lsen weiss. Auf the curse that my power alone can lift. Up epic, the sorcerer Clinschor had stolen the
denn! An's Werk! then! To work! magic mirror from Queen Secundille in
India.
He descends slightly towards the centre where he lights incense, which immediately fills the background with blue smoke. The he
sits again at his magic mirror and calls, while making mysterious gestures, into the darkness below:
Like Parsifal, it seems that Kundry
has had many names; yet Klingsor calls
her the "nameless one". She is everybody
and nobody. Once she was Herodias,
apparently a reference to the princess of
Judea in Heine's poem Atta Troll. Then
she was Gundryggia, who might be
Klingsor: Herauf! Herauf! Zu mir! Dein identified with Gunn, one of Odin's
Arise! Arise! To me! Your master calls
Meister ruft dich, Namenlose, Urteufelin! favourite valkyries. Like Herodias in
you, nameless one, primeval devil-
Hllenrose! Herodias warst du, und was Heine's poem, Gunn accompanied Odin
woman! Rose of Hell! You were
noch? Gundryggia dort, Kundry hier! in the Wild Hunt (mentioned in Die
Herodias, and who else? Gundryggia
Hieher! Hieher denn, Kundry! Dein there, Kundry here! Come here! Come
Walkre act one scene two).
Meister ruft; herauf! hither, Kundry! Your master calls; obey!
It is not clear how Klingsor has come
to know of Kundry's previous lives. In
Wagner's projected Buddhist drama, Die
Sieger, the Buddha Shakyamuni was able
to reveal the details of Prakriti's earlier
life for which she was suffering in her
current life. In Buddhist tradition only the
Buddha knows about earlier lives.
In the bluish light the figure of Kundry appears. She seems to be asleep. Gradually she begins to move like someone awaking
from sleep. Finally she utters a terrible scream.
Klingsor: Erwachst du? Ha! Meinem
Banne wieder verfallen heut' zur rechten Are you waking? Ha! You are in my
Zeit. power again today just at the right time.

Kundry utters a loud wail that fades into a frightened whimper.
Klingsor: Sag', wo triebst du dich wieder

Say, where have you been roaming now?
umher? Pfui! Dort bei dem Rittergesipp,
Fie! There among the knights, whom you
wo wie ein Vieh du dich halten lsst!
allow to treat you like a beast! Are you
Gefllt dir's bei mir nicht besser? Als
not better off with me? When you
ihren Meister du mir gefangen - haha -
captured their master for me - haha - the
den reinen Hter des Grales - was jagte pure guardian of the Grail - what drove
ich da wieder fort? you away again?
Kundry: (rauh und abgebrochen, wie im
Versuche, wieder Sprache zu gewinnen.) (hoarse and broken, as if trying to regain
Ach! Ach! Tiefe Nacht! Wahnsinn! Oh! the power of speech) Oh! - Oh! Darkest
Wut! Ach! Jammer! Schlaf ... schlaf ... night! Madness! O rage! O misery! Sleep
Tiefer Schlaf! Tod! ... sleep ... Deep sleep! Death!
Klingsor: Da weckte dich ein And'rer?

He? Did another wake you? Eh?
Kundry: Ja ... mein Fluch! Oh ...

Sehnen! Sehnen! Yes ... my curse! O yearning! Yearning!
Klingsor: Haha! Dort, nach den keuschen Haha! There, among those chaste
Rittern?
knights?
Kundry: Da, da, dient' ich. There - there I served.
Klingsor: Ja. Ja, den Schaden zu

Yes, to make good the wrong that you
vergten, den du ihnen bslich gebracht?
maliciously had done them? They do not
Sie helfen dir nicht; feil sind sie alle, biet'
help you; they are all for sale, when I
ich den rechten Preis. Der festeste fllt,
offer the right price. The steadiest will
sinkt er dir in die Arme, und so verfllt er
fall, when he sinks in your arms, then to
dem Speer, den ihrem Meister selbst ich
be felled by the spear, which I myself
entwandt. Den Gefhrlichsten gilt's nun
seized from their master. Today we meet
heut' zu besteh'n; ihn schirmt der Torheit
the most dangerous of them; he is
Schild.
protected by his foolishness.
Kundry: Ich will nicht. O! O! I won't do it. Oh! Oh!
Klingsor: Wohl willst du, denn du musst. You will do it, because you must.
Kundry: Du ... kannst mich ... nicht ...

halten. You ... cannot ... force me.
Klingsor: Aber dich fassen.

I have you in my power.
Kundry: Du? You?
Klingsor: Dein Meister.

Your master.
Kundry: Aus welcher Macht? By what power?

Klingsor: Ha! Weil einzig an mir deine

Macht.. nichts vermag. Ha! Since I alone can resist your power.
Kundry: (grell lachend) Haha! Bist du

keusch? (laughing cruelly) Haha! Are you chaste?
Klingsor: (wtend) Was frgst du das, (furiously) What do you ask, accursed
verfluchtes Weib? woman?
(Er versinkt in finstres Brten.) (He sinks into gloomy brooding) Terrible
Furchtbare Not! So lacht nun der Teufel distress! So now the devil mocks me, that
mein, dass einst ich nach dem Heiligen once I pursued holiness? Terrible
rang? Furchtbare Not! Ungebndigten Klingsor's magic has found her out;
distress! The pain of untamed desire,
Sehnens Pein, schrecklichster Triebe he knows the curse and the power
terrible desire sent from Hell, which I
Hllendrang, den ich zum through which she can be forced into his
stilled by force - does it mock and laugh
Todesschweigen mir zwang - lacht und service... not only the magic power
at me now through you, the devil's
hhnt er nun laut durch dich, des Teufels through which he controls the curse upon
whore? Guard yourself!
Braut? Hte dich! Hohn und Verachtung Kundry, but also the most powerful
One repents his contempt and scorn; the
bsste schon Einer; der Stolze, stark in assistance he finds in Kundry's own soul.
proud one, strong in holiness, who once
Heiligkeit, der einst mich von sich stiess. [1865 Prose Draft]
drove me out. His race I ruined,
Sein Stamm verfiel mir, unerlst soll der unredeemed shall the holy guardian
Heiligen Hter mir schmachten; und bald - languish; and soon - so I believe - shall I
so whn ich - ht' ich mir selbst den Gral - myself guard the Grail - Haha! How did
Haha! Gefiel er dir wohl, Amfortas, der you like Amfortas, the hero, when I lured
Held, den ich zur Wonne dir gesellt? him with your beauty?
In his Prose Draft Wagner wrote that
Kundry is trapped in an unending cycle of
existence. Periodically she falls into her
"deathlike sleep" and her waking is a kind
Kundry: Oh! Jammer! Jammer! Schwach O anguish! Anguish! He too was weak! of rebirth. She yearns for an "eternal
auch er! Schwach ... alle! Meinem Fluche Weak ... all of them! Like me, all fall sleep" from which she will not awake, in
mit mir alle verfallen! O ewiger Schlaf, victim to my curse! O eternal sleep, my other words to die and not to be reborn.
einziges Heil, wie, wie dich gewinnen? only salvation, how, how can I win you? The noun Heil can convey a range of
meanings from "well-being" to
"salvation". For Wagner it seems to have
been associated additionally with
"wholeness".
Klingsor: Ha! Wer's dir trotzte, lste dich Ha! The one who defies you will set you
frei; versuch's mit dem Knaben, der nah't! free; try with this boy who approaches!
Kundry: Ich . . . will nicht! I ... won't do it!

Klingsor: (steigt hastig auf die
Thurmmauer) Jetzt schon erklimmt er die (hastily mounting the tower wall) Already
Burg. he ascends the castle.
Kundry: Oh! Wehe! Wehe! Erwachte ich O alas! Alas! Did I wake for this? Must I
darum? Muss ich? Muss?
do it? Must I?
Klingsor: (hinabblickend) Ha! Er ist (looking down) Ha! The boy is

schn, der Knabe!
handsome!

Kundry: Oh! - Oh! Wehe mir!

Oh! Woe is me!
Klingsor, leaning out, blows a horn.
Klingsor: Ho! Ihr Wchter! Ho! Ritter! Ho! Guards! Ho! Knights! Heros! Up!
Helden! Auf! Feinde nah'! The enemy approaches! The guards are knights whom
Ha! Wie zur Mar sie strmen, die Ha! How they rush to the ramparts, my Klingsor has ensnared with the aid of his
betrten Eigenholde, zum Schutz ihres deluded garrison, to protect their beautiful demons, the women of infernal beauty
schnes Geteufels! So! Mutig! Mutig! demons! So! Courage! Courage! Haha! that Gurnemanz mentioned in the first
Haha! Der frchtet sich nicht! Dem He is not afraid of you! He has disarmed act. They fight Parsifal as protectors of
Helden Ferris entwand er die Waffe; die the hero Ferris, and now wields his these magic women.
fhrt er nun feislich wieder den Schwarm. weapon against the crowd.
(Kundry gert in unmeimliches (Kundry breaks into wild hysterical In Wolfram's "Parzival", Ferris is the
ekstatisches Lachen bis zu krampfhalten laughter which turns into a convulsive red knight whom the young Parzival kills
Wehegeschrei.) Wie bel den Tlpeln der wail.) How ill-matched he is with those for his weapons and armour; the incident
Eifer gedeiht! Dem schlug er den Arm, boobies! He struck one in the arm, has nothing to do with Clinschor,
jenem den Schenkel! another in the thigh! however.
(Kundry schreit auf und verschwindet.) (Kundry screams and vanishes.) Haha!
Haha! Sie weichen. Sie fliehen. They yield. They run.
The bluish light is extinguished; leaving total darkness below, in contrast to the bright blue sky above the walls.
Klingsor: Seine Wunde trgt jeder nach
heim! Wie das ich euch gnne! Mge They retreat licking their wounds! How
denn so das ganze Rittergezcht unter little I grudge them! May the whole brood
sich selber sich wrgen! Ha! Wie stolz er of knights destroy each other like this!
nun steht auf der Zinne! Wie lachen ihm Ha! How proudly he stands on the
die Rosen der Wangen, da kindisch rampart! How happily glow his rosy
erstaunt in den einsamen Garten er blickt! cheeks, as in childish amazement he
He knows the prophecies about this
(Er wendet sich nach der Tiefe des looks down into the empty garden!
wonder-child. He fears that he may have
Hintergrundes um.) He! Kundry! Wie? (He turns to the depths.) Hey! Kundry!
been summoned to deliver Anfortas and
Schon am Werk? Haha! Den Zauber What? About your business? Haha! That
take his place with a power that cannot
wusst' ich wohl, der immer dich wieder magic I know well, that binds you to
be overcome. [1865 Prose Draft]
zum Dienst mir gesellt! serve me again!
(Sich wieder nach aussen wendend) Du (Looking out again) You there, childish
da, kindischer Spross, was auch offspring; whatever might be foretold
Weissagung dich wies, zu jung und about you, you are falling under my
dumm fielst du in meine Gewalt; die control, young and stupid as you are;
Reinheit dir entrissen, bleibst mir du once deprived of your purity, you will
zugewiesen! belong to me!
He rapidly sinks from view with the entire tower; in its place appears the magic garden which fills the entire stage.
ACT TWO - SCENE TWO

Tropical vegetation, a luxuriant display of flowers; it rises in terraces to the battlements in the far background. On one side can
be seen projections of the castle walls, in a rich Moorish style. Upon the wall stands Parsifal, gazing in astonishment into the
garden. From all sides beautiful maidens rush in, first from the garden, then from the palace, in wild confusion, singly then in
groups; they wear soft-coloured veils hastily donned, and they seem to have been startled out of sleep.
Note: the inspiration for the magic garden, as it appeared in the first production, Wagner found in the gardens of the Villa Ruffolo
at Ravello.

The magic maidens or "flower

maidens" were inspired by a number of
different sources. For the women who
once were flowers, Wagner's inspiration
seems to have been the medieval poem
Roman d'Alexandre. It is also likely that
he was thinking of a Christmas
pantomime that he had seen at the
All maidens: Hier was das Tosen! Hier,
Here was the uproar! Here, here! Adelphi theatre in London, in which the
hier!
Weapons! Angry cries! Alas! chorus girls were dressed as flowers. The
Waffen! Wilde Rfe! Wehe!
Who is the offender? reference to these women as demons
Wer ist der Frevler?
Where is the offender? underscores their relationship to the
Wo ist der Frevler?
Arise to vengeance! daughters of Mr who attempted to
Auf zur Rache!
seduce the future Buddha when he was on
the brink of total enlightenment.
Here the word Frevler (which was
applied to Parsifal already in act one) is
translated as "offender". It can also mean
"transgressor" or "blasphemer". Later in
the scene, Parsifal will call Kundry
Frevlerin.
The ensemble of "flower maidens"
consists of two groups each containing
First maiden group I: Mein Geliebter
three solo singers and a double chorus of
verwundert! My beloved is wounded!
1st, 2nd and 3rd soprano voices, which is
again subdivided.
First maiden group II: Wo find' ich den
meinen? Where can I find mine?
Second maiden group I: Ich erwachte

alleine! I woke up alone!
Chorus I and II first half: Wohin

entflohn sie? Where has he fled?
First maiden group II: Wo ist mein

Geliebter? Where is my beloved?
Third maiden group I: Wo find ich den

meinen? Where can I find mine?
Second maiden group II: Ich erwachte

alleine! I woke up alone!
First maiden group I: Oh! Weh! Ach

wehe! Oh! Woe! Ack alas!

All maidens: Wo sind uns're Liebsten?

Drinnen im Saale! Wo sind uns're Where are our lovers? Inside the castle!
Liebsten? Wir sah'n sie im Saale. Wir Where are our lovers? We saw them in
sah'n sie mit blutender Wunde. Wehe! the castle. We saw them with bleeding
Wehe! Auf, zur Hilfe! Wer ist unser wounds. Alas! Alas! Arise, to help! Who
Feind? is our foe?
(Sie gewahren Parsifal und zeigen auf (They see Parsifal and point to him.)
ihn.) Da steht er! Dort - dort! Seht ihn There he stands! There - there! See him
dort, seht ihn dort! Da steht er! Wo? there, see him there! There he stands!
Dort! Ha! Ich sah's! Where? There! Ah! I see him!
First maiden group I: Meines Ferris

Schwert in seiner Hand! He holds a sword taken from my Ferris!
Second maiden group I: Meines

Liebsten Blut hab' ich erkannt. I recognise the blood of my lover.
Chorus I and II: Der strmte die Burg!

He stormed the fortress!
Third maiden group II: Ich hrte des
Meisters Horn. I heard our master's horn.
Third maiden group I & second

maiden group II: Ja, wir hrten sein Yes, we heard his horn.
Horn.
Chorus I and II: Der war's! It was!

First and third maidens: Mein Held lief
herzu. My hero ran this way.
Second and third maidens group I: Sie

kamen Alle herzu. They all ran this way.
First maiden group I: Mein Held lief

herzu. My hero ran this way.
Chorus I and II: (abstimmen) Sie alle

(together) All of them came, but each met
kamen, doch jeden empfing seine Wehr!
his weapon! O woe! Woe to him who
O Weh'! Weh' ihm, der sie uns schlug!
struck them down!
Second maiden group I and maidens
from chorus I: Der schlug mir den
He struck down my lover.
Liebsten.
First maiden group I and maidens
from the choruses: Mir traf er den
He struck down my friend.
Freund.
Second maiden group II and maidens
from the choruses: Noch blutet die
There is blood on his weapon!
Waffe!
First maiden group II and maidens
from the choruses: Meines Liebsten My lover's foe.
Feind.

All maidens: Weh! Du dort! Oh weh'!

Was schufst du solche Not? Verwnscht, Woe! You there! O woe! What is the
verwnchst sollst du sein! cause of this distress? Cursed, cursed
(Parsifal springt tiefer in den Garten shall you be! (Parsifal jumps down into
herab.) Ha! Khner! the garden.) Ah! Bold one!
First maiden group I, first & second

maiden group II: Wagst du zu nahen? You dare to approach?
First and third maidens group I &

third maiden group II: Was schlugst du Why did you strike down our beloveds?
uns're Geliebten?
Parsifal: Ihr schnen Kinder, musst' ich

You lovely children, should I not have
sie nicht schlagen? Zu euch, ihr Holden, fought them? They barred the way to you,
ja wehrten sie mir den Weg. pretty ones.
First maiden group II: Zu uns wolltest
du? You wanted to reach us?
First maiden group I: Sahst du uns

schn? Did you call us fair?
Parsifal: Noch nie sah ich solch' zieres Never before have I seen such a
Geschlecht: nenn' ich euch schn, dnkt handsome race: if I call you fair, don't
euch das recht? you think I am right?
Second maiden group I: So willst du
uns wohl nicht schlagen? So you don't want to harm us?
Second maiden group II: Willst uns

nicht schlagen? You won't harm us?
Parsifal: Das mcht' ich nicht. I don't want to.

First maiden group II: Doch Schaden
schufst du uns so vielen! But you have done us so much harm!
Second and third maidens both groups:

Grossen und vielen! Much and serious!
First maidens both groups: Du

schlugest unse Gespielen. You struck down our playmates.
All maidens: Wer spielt nun mit uns? Who will we play with now?
Parsifal: Das tu ich gern!

I will, gladly!
The maidens, whose astonishment has changed to gaiety, break into hearty laughter. As Parsifal gradually approaches nearer to
the excited groups, maidens of the first group and of the first chorus slip away unnoticed into the foliage to complete their floral
decorations.
Chorus I: Bist du uns hold?

Are you kind?
Group II: So bleib' nicht fern! Then don't keep your distance!

Chorus II: Bleib' nicht gern von uns.

Do not stay far from us.
First maiden group II: Und willst du
uns nicht schelten ... And if you don't chide us ...
Second maiden group II: Wir werden

dir's entgelten: We will reward you:
Group II: Wir spielen nicht um Gold.

We don't play for gold.
First maiden group II: Wir spielen um
Minnes Sold. We play for love's favours.
Second maiden group II: Willst auf

Trost du uns sinnen ... If you bring us consolation ...
First maiden group II: ... sollst den du

uns abgewinnen! ... it will be repaid you!
The maidens of the first group and of the first chorus return, during the following, now covered in flowers, looking like flowers
themselves, and at once rush upon Parsifal.
Second flower group I: Lasset den
Knaben! Leave the boy!
First flower group I: Er gehret mir! He is mine!

Third and second flowers group I:
Nein! No!
Chorus I: Nein! Mir! No! Mine!

While those returning crowd around Parsifal, the maidens of the second group and of the second chorus quickly leave the scene,
also to adorn themselves.
Chorus II and group II: Ha! Die Ah! The minxes! They have secretly
Falschen! Sie schmckten heimlich sich.
adorned themselves.
During what follows, the maidens who remain on stage turn around Parsifal in what resembles a children's game and caress him
gently.
Chorus I and group I: Komm', komm',
holder Knabe! Komm', komm'! Lass mich Come, come, pretty boy! Come, come!
dir blhen! Holder Knabe, die zu Wonn' Let me be your flower! Pretty boy, my
und Labe gilt mein minniges Mhen! loving care is for your delight and bliss!
First flower group I: Komm', holder

Knabe! Come, pretty boy!
Second and third flower group I:

Holder Knabe! Pretty boy!
The second group and second chorus return, similarly adorned, and join in the game.

All flower maidens: Komm! Komm,

holder Knabe! Lass mich dir erblhen! Come! come, pretty boy! Let me be your
Dir zu Wonn' und Labe gilt unser flower! All our loving care is for your
minniges Mhen! delight and bliss!
Parsifal: (heiter ruhig in der Mitte der (standing calmly in the midst of the
Mdchen.) Wie duftet ihr hold! Seid ihr maidens.) How lovely you smell! Are you
denn Blumen? flowers?
First flower group I: Des Garten Zier ...

The garden's pride ...
Second flowers groups I and II: ... und
duftende Geister. ... and perfumed essence.
First flowers groups I and II: Im Lenz

pflckt uns der Meister! The master plucked us in the spring!
Second flowers groups I and II: Wir

wachsen hier ... Here we grow ...
First flowers groups I and II: ... in

sommer und sonne ... ... in summer and sun ...
First and second flowers groups I and

II: ... fr dich erblhend in Wonne. ... to bloom for your delight.
Third flowers groups I and II and

chorus I: Nun sei uns freund und hold! Now be friendly and kind to us!
Second flowers groups I and II and

chorus II: Nicht karge den Blumen den Don't spare the flowers their due!
Sold!
All flowers: Kannst du uns nicht lieben
und minnen, wir welken und sterben If you cannot love and cherish us, we will
dahinnen. wither and perish.
First flower group II: An deinen Busen

nimm mich! Take me to your bosom!
Chorus of flower maidens: Komm',

holder Knabe! Come, pretty boy!
First flower group I: Die Stirn lass' mich

dir khlen! Let me cool your brow!
Chorus I and II: Lass' mich dir

erblhen! Let me be your flower!
Second flower group I: Lass mich die

Wange dir fhlen! Let me touch your cheek!
Second flower group II: Den Mund lass'

mich dir kssen! Let me kiss your mouth!
First flower group I: Nein! Ich! Die

Schnste bin ich! No! Me! I am the fairest!

Second flower group I: Nein! Ich bin die

Schnste! No! I am the fairest!
Chorus I and II: Ich bin schner!

I am fairer!
First flower group II: Nein! Ich dufte
ssser! No! I smell sweeter!
All the others: Nein, ich! Ich! Ja, ich! No, I do! I do!
Parsifal: (ihrer anmutigen

(gently restraining their charming
Zudringlichkeit sanft wehrend) Ihr wild
impetuosity) You lovely throng of wild
holdes Blumengedrnge, soll ich mit euch flowers, if I am to play with you, allow
spielen, entlasst mir der Enge!
me some space!
First flower group II: Was zankest du? Why do you complain?
Parsifal: Weil ihr euch streitet. Because you are quarrelling.

First flower group I, then second
flower group II: Wir streiten nur um We're only quarrelling over you.
dich.
Parsifal: Das meidet. That's enough!

Second flower group I: Du lass von ihm;
sieh, er will mich! Let him go; look, it's me he likes!
Third flower group I: Mich lieber!

He loves me!
Third flower group II: Nein, mich! No, me!

Second flower group II: Nein, lieber
will er mich! No, it's me he prefers!
First flower group II: Du wehrest mich

von dir? Are you resisting me?
First flower group I: Du scheuchest

mich fort? Are you pushing me away?
Second and third flowers group I &

third flower group II: Du wehrest mir? You resist me?
Chorus II: Wie, bist du feige vor

Frauen? What, are you afraid of women?
All flowers group II: Magst du nicht

getrauen? Don't you dare?
Chorus II: Magst du nicht getrauen? Don't you dare?

First flower group I: Wie schlimm bist
du, Zager und Kalter! How mean you are, timid and cold!

Chorus I and II: Wie schlimm! So zag?

How mean! So timid?
First flower group II: Wie schlimm bist
du, Zager und Kalter! How mean you are, timid and cold!
Chorus II: So zag und kalt!

So timid and cold!
First flower group I: Die Blumen lsst

Would you prefer that the flowers woo
du umbuhlen den Falter? the butterfly?
Second and third flowers group II: Wie
ist er zag! How timid he is!
Second and third flowers group II: Wie

ist er kalt! How cold he is!
Chorus I: Auf! Wiechet dem Toren! Up! Leave the fool!

All flowers both groups: Wir geben ihn
verloren. We give him up for lost.
Chorus II: Doch sei er uns erkoren!

Then we will choose him!
All flowers group II: Nein, mir gehrt er
an! No, he belongs to me!
All flower maidens: Nein, uns gehrt er! No, he belongs to us! Yes to us! He's
Ja uns! Auch mir! Ja mir! mine! Yes mine!
Parsifal: (halb rgerlich die Mdchen
abscheuchend) Lasst ab! Ihr fangt mir (half in anger driving the maidens off)
nicht! Let me go! You won't catch me!
Parsifal is about to leave when, out of the flower garden, the voice of Kundry takes him by surprise.
Kundry: Parsifal! Weile!

Parsifal! Wait!
The maidens are struck with terror by Kundry's voice and draw back from Parsifal.
Parsifal: Parsifal? So nannte trumend Parsifal? That is what my dreaming

mich einst die Mutter.
mother called me once.
Kundry: Hier weile! Parsifal! Dich
grsset Wonne und Heil zumal. Ihr Wait here! Parsifal! Surpassing delight
kindischen Buhlen, weichet von ihm; frh and salvation await you. You childish
welkende Blumen, nich euch ward er zum wantons, let him go: fresh but fading See earlier note regarding Heil.
Spiele bestellt. Geht heim, pfleget der flowers, he is not meant for your play. Go
Wunden, einsam erharrt euch mancher home, tend the wounded, those lonely
Held. heros wait for you.
The maidens withdraw timidly and reluctantly from Parsifal and gradually proceed into the castle.
First flower, then third flower group
II: Dich zu lassen! Must we leave you?

Second flower group II: Dich zu

meiden! May we not see you?
Third flower, then first flower group I:

O, wehe! Oh, alas!
Second flower group I: O, wehe der

Pein! Oh, woe and pain!
Chorus I and II: O wehe!

Oh alas!
All flowers group I: Von allen mchten
gern wir scheiden ... We would forsake all others ...
All flowers both groups: ... mit dir allein

zu sein. ... to be with you alone.
Chorus I and II: Leb' wohl, leb' wohl!

Leb' wohl, du Holder, du Stolzer, du - Farewell, farewell! Farewell, you
Tor! handsome, you proud, you - fool!
With these words the maidens, laughing, disappear into the castle.
Seen in relation to Wagner's
commitment to the philosophy of
Schopenhauer, this line might be more
Parsifal: Dies alles ... hab' ich nun significant than it first appears. His major
getrumt? All this ... have I but dreamt it? work The World as Will and
Representation considers the question of
whether life is but a dream, from which
we might awake.
He looks inquiringly in the direction from which came the voice. There appears a young woman of great beauty - Kundry,
thoroughly transformed - in loose, exotic clothing in a kind of Moorish style, on a bed of flowers.
Like Klingsor, Parsifal addresses her
Parsifal: Riefest du mich Namenlosen? Did you call out to me, nameless one?
as the "nameless one". She knows his
name but he does not yet know hers.
This erroneous etymology of Parsifal's
Kundry: Dich nannt' ich, tr'ger Reiner,
name originated with Joseph Grres'
"Fal parsi", dich reinen Toren, "Parsifal". I called you, foolish pure one, "Fal parsi",
edition of Lohengrin (1813). In Persian, it
So rief, als in arab'schem Land er you pure fool, "Parsifal". So you were
was claimed, parsi meant "pure" and fal
verschied, dein Vater Gamuret dem called by your father Gamuret, when he
meant "mad" or "foolish". See Wagner's
Sohne zu, den er, im Mutterschoss fell in far arabian land, greeting you, still
letter to Judith Gautier of 22 November
verschlossen, mit diesem Namen sterbend safe in your mother's womb, with this
1877.
grsste. Ihn dir zu knden, harrt' ich name as he lay dying. To bring you this
Kundry alludes to Wagner's
deiner hier: was zog dich her, wenn nicht news, have I waited here; what brought
etymology of her own name: she is the
der Kunde Wunsch? you here, if not desire for news?
bringer of news, Kunde.
Parsifal: Nie sah ich, nie trumte mir,

I never saw, nor dreamt of, what I see
was jetzt ich schau, und was mit Bangen
before me now, and which fills me with
mich erfllt. Entblhtest du auch diesem
dread. Did you too grow on this bed of
Blumenhaine?
flowers?

Kundry: Nein, Parsifal, du tr'ger

Reiner! Fern, fern ist mein Heimat. Dass No, Parsifal, you foolish pure one! Far,
du mich fndest, verweilte ich nur hier. far away is my homeland. I waited here
Von weit her kam ich, wo ich viel ersah. only for you to find. I have travelled far
Ich sah das Kind am seiner Mutter Brust, and seen many things.
sein erstes Lallen lacht mir noch im Ohr; I saw the child at his mother's breast, his
das Leid im Herzen, wie lachte da auch first cries still laugh in my ear; with her
Herzeleide, als ihren Schmerzen heart full of pain, how Herzeleide
zujauchzte ihrer Augen Weide! laughed then too, when in her grief she
Gebettet sanft auf wiechen Moosen, den In Wolfram's Parzival the messenger
delighted to look on you!
hold geschlfert sie mit Kosen, dem, bang Condrie is one of the people of Queen
You rested on the gentle grass, as she
in Sorgen, den Schlummer bewach't der Secundille who live by the Ganges in
caressed you into sleep, with anxious care
Mutter Sehnen, den weckt' am Morgen India. The "homeland" of Wagner's
your mother watched over your sleep, and
der heisse Tau der Muttertrnen. Nur Kundry is less well defined: she seems to
her warm tears awoke you when morning
Weinen war sie, Schmerzgebaren, um have Arabian or Moorish roots, but she
came. She was filled with grief by your
deines Vaters Lieb' und Tod. Vor gleicher has lived many lives, one of them as a
father's life and death. From such distress
Not dich zu bewahren, galt ihr als princess of Judea.
she would preserve you, as her highest
hchster Pflicht Gebot. duty. All attachments bring suffering. Even
Den Waffen fern, der Mnner Kampf und
a mother's love for her child is a cause of
Wten, wollte sie still dich bergen und Far from weapons, from fighting men and
suffering.
behten. Nur Sorgen war sie, ach! und strife, would she shelter and guard you.
Bangen; nie sollte Kunde zu dir She was all care and anxiety; lest you In Wolfram's poem Parzival's mother
hergelangen. Hrst du nicht noch ihrer should acquire knowledge. Did you not was Herzeloyde. Wagner considered first
Klage Ruf, wann spt und fern du hear her cries of woe, when you calling her Schmerzeloyde but finally
geweilt? Hei! Was ihr das Lust und wandered late and far? Oh! How greatly settled on Herzeleide, "Heart's Sorrow".
Lachen schuf, wann sie suchend dann she rejoiced and laughed, when she found Like Tristan and Siegfried, Parsifal is
dich ereilt; wann dann ihr Arm dich her long-sought child; and when she took made to feel guilty about his mother's
wtend umschlang, ward dir es wohl gar you in her arms, did you perhaps fear her death.
beim Kssen bang? kisses?
Doch, ihr Wehe du nicht vernahm'st, But you did not consider her feelings, her
nicht ihrer Schmerzen Toben, als endlich desperate pain, when at last you
du nicht wieder kam'st und deine Spur wandered away never to return! She
verstoben! Sie harrte Ncht' und Tage, bis waited night and day, till her lament grew
ihr verstummt' die Klage, der Gram ihr faint, grief consumed her pain, and she
zehrte den Schmerz, um stillen Tod sie found stillness in death; her sorrow broke
warb; ihr brach das Leid das Herz, und - her heart and - Herzeleide - died.
Herzeleide - starb.
Parsifal: (immer ernsthafter, endlich (with emotion growing to terrible

furchtbar betroffen, sinkt, schmerzlich distress, he collapses, painfully
berwltigt, bei Kundrys Fssen nieder.) overwhelmed, at Kundry's feet.) Alas! In the first act Parsifal was accused of
Wehe! Wehe! Was tat ich? Wo war ich? Alas! What have I done? Where was I? murder when he killed the swan. Now he
Mutter! Ssse, holde Mutter! Dein Sohn, Mother! Sweet, dear mother! Your son, accuses himself of the murder of his
dein Sohn musste dich morden! O Tor! your son had to murder you! O fool! mother.
Blder, taumelnder Tor. Wo irrtest du
Stupid, giddy fool. Where did you stray,
hin, ihrer vergessend, deiner, deiner forgetting her, forgetting yourself too!
vergessend! Traute, terste Mutter! Dearest, loving mother!
Kundry: War dir fremd noch der If pain were still a stranger to you, the
Schmerz, des Trostes Ssse labte nie auch sweetness of consolation would never
dein Herz; das Wehe, das dich reu't, die comfort your heart; the grief and remorse
Not nun bsse im Trost, den Liebe dir
you feel, the distress too disappears in the
beut. consolation that love offers.

Parsifal: (im Trbsinn immer tiefer sich

sinken lassend) Die Mutter, dei Mutter (sinking deeper and deeper in his grief)
konnt' ich vergessen! Ha! Was alles Mother, mother, how could I forget! Oh!
vergass ich wohl noch? Wess' war ich je What else have I forgotten? What have I
noch eingedenk? Nur dumpfe Torheit lebt managed to remember? I am nothing but
in mir. dull stupidity.
Kundry, still half sitting, half lying down, bends over Parsifal's head, gently touches his forehead and fondly puts her arm around
his neck.
Kundry: Bekenntnis wird Schuld in
Reue enden, Erkenntnis in Sinn die Confession will end guilt in remorse;
Torheit wenden. Die Liebe lerne kennen, understanding changes folly into sense. Kundry's reference to the fire of
die Gamuret umschloss, als Herzeleids Learn to know the love that enfolded passion introduces the idea of burning.
Entbrennen ihn sengend berfloss! Die Gamuret, when Herzeleid's passion set When she kisses Parsifal, he begins to
Leib und Leben einst dir gegeben, der him on fire. She who gave you body and burn not with the fire of passion, but with
Tod und Torheit weichen muss, sie beut' life, to subdue death and folly, she sends the fire of aversion.
dir heut', als Muttersegens letzten Gruss, you today, as a mother's last greeting,
der Liebe ersten Kuss! love's first kiss!
Now her head is directly above his and she presses her lips to his mouth in a long kiss. Suddenly Parsifal breaks free with an
expression of extreme terror; from his demeanour it seems that some terrible change has come over him; he presses his hands
convulsively to his heart, as if to control an agonising pain.
The wound is experienced as burning.
Kundry's fire of passion becomes
Parsifal's fire of aversion. As Parsifal in
union with Amfortas experiences the
Parsifal: Amfortas! Die Wunde! Die Amfortas! The wound! The wound! It wound, he sees how everything
Wunde! Sie brennt in meinem Herzen! burns in my heart! "trembles, quakes and quivers in sinful
[oder: Sie brennt mir hier zur Seite!] [or: it burns here in my side!] desire". Compare the Buddha's Fire
O, Klage! Klage! Furchtbare Klage! Aus
Sermon:
tiefstem Herzen schreit sie mir auf. O lament! Lament! Fearful lament! From
"Everything is burning. What is burning?
[oder: Aus tiefstem Inner'n schreit sie mir deep in my heart it cries out.
The eye is burning. Forms are burning.
auf.] [or: from deep within it cries out.]
Consciousness at the eye is burning.
Oh! Oh! Elender! Jammervollster! Die
Oh! Oh! Misery! Full despair! I saw the Contact at the eye is burning. And
Wunde sah ich bluten; nun blutet sie in
wound bleed; now it bleeds inside me. whatever there is that arises in
mir. [oder: nun blutet sie mir selbst.]
[or: now it bleeds in myself.] dependence on contact at the eye --
Hier - hier!
Here - here! experienced as pleasure, pain or neither-
Nein! Nein! Nicht die Wunde ist es.
No! No! It's not the wound. pleasure-nor-pain -- that too is burning.
[oder: Nein! Nein! Nicht ist es die
[or: No! No! The wound it is not.] Burning with what? Burning with the
Wunde.]
Fliesse ihr Blut in Strmen dahin! Hier! Flow in streams, my blood, from it! Here! fire of passion, the fire of aversion, the
Hier im Herzen der Brand! Das Sehnen, Here! In my heart it burns! The yearning, fire of delusion. Burning, I tell you, with
birth, aging and death, with sorrows,
das furchtbare Sehnen, das alle Sinne mir the fearful yearning, that has overtaken
lamentations, pains, distresses, and
fasst und zwingt! O! Qual der Liebe! Wie my senses! Oh! Love's suffering! How
alles schauert, bebt und zuckt in everything trembles, quakes and quivers despairs."
in sinful desire! At this point Heinrich Porges,
sndigem Verlangen!
possibly quoting Wagner, noted: Now all
at once Parsifal sees that the entire world
is nothing but a sacrificial victim [ein
Schlachtopfer].
As Kundry stares at Parsifal in terror and amazement, he falls completely into a trance.

The shock of the kiss triggers in

Parsifal an awareness of Amfortas'
suffering. According to Wagner's Prose
Draft, he sees what the knights could not
see, that Amfortas is wounded not only in
his body but also in his soul. Then, "he
hears the Saviour's cry for the relic to be
freed from the custody of besmirched
hands". In the poem, this becomes a
request for redemption (or release). This
suggests that the Saviour is, in some
mystical sense, present in the Grail and
Parsifal: Es starrt der Blick dumpf auf My dull gaze is fixed on the sacred that the work of salvation has been
das Heilsgefss - das heil'ge Blut erglht; chalice - the holy blood shines; the inhibited first by the unworthiness of its
erlsungswonne, gttlich mild, divinely mild delight of redemption guardian, now by the confinement of the
durchzittert weithin alle Seelen; nur hier, penetrates deeply into every soul; only Grail in its shrine. It will be the mission
im Herzen, will die Qual nicht weichen. here, in the heart, is the suffering not of Parsifal to redeem the Saviour by
Des Heilands Klage da vernehm' ich, die subdued. I hear the Saviour's lament, the suceeding that guardian and once more,
Klage - ach! Die Klage um das entweihte lament - oh! The lament from the for all time, uncovering the Grail.
Heiligtum. [oder: um das verrat'ne desecrated sanctuary. [or: from the Here Porges noted: Now Parsifal has
Heiligtum.] "Erlse, rette mich aus betrayed sanctuary.] "Redeem me, been transported to the state in which he
schuldbefleckten Hnden!" So rief die save me from hands soiled by sin!" So the had seen Amfortas.
Gottesklage furchtbar laut mir in die terrible divine lament echoed in my soul.
Here Parsifal refers to himself as a
Seele. Und ich - der Tor, der Feige, zu And I - the fool, the coward, to wild
fool and a sinner. He is not "the sinless
wilden Knabentaten floh ich hin! boyish deeds wandered off!
fool", nor is he "the holy fool", but rather
(Er strzt verzweiflungsvoll auf die Knie.) (in full despair he falls to his knees) "the pure fool". Although we should treat
Erlser! Heiland! Herr der Huld! Wie Redeemer! Saviour! Lord of grace! How
Wagner's explanations as given to his
bss ich, Snder, meine Schuld? can I, a sinner , atone for my guilt?
patron with some caution (Adam and Eve
became 'knowing') it is interesting that he
drew attention to a parallel between
Amfortas and Adam (as he did between
Kundry and Eve, Parsifal and Christ). It
would also be possible to compare
Parsifal with Adam, or with Christ as a
second Adam. Recent theology rightly
attributes to Adam a kind of dreaming
innocence, a stage of infancy before
contest and decision. [Paul Tillich,
Systematic Theology, Vol. 1 Part II,
1951].
Kundry, whose astonishment has changed to passionate admiration, hesitatingly tries to approach Parsifal.
Kundry: Gelobter Held! Entflieh dem
Huldin - a female personification of
Wahn! Blick' auf! Sei hold der Huldin Promised hero! Flee this delusion! Look
grace.
Nah'n! up! Greet the fair one!

Parsifal: (immer in gebeugter Stellung,

starr zu Kundry aufblickend, whrend (still kneeling, he gazes fixedly at Kundry,
diese sich zu ihn neigt und die who during the following caresses him as
liebkosenden Bewegungen ausfhrt, die indicated) Yes! This was the voice! Thus
er mit dem Folgenden bezeichnet) Ja! she called to him - and this was the look,
Diese Stimme! So rief sie ihm - und its meaning I know now - and so she
diesen Blick, deutlich erkenn' ich ihn - smiled on him without rest; the lips - yes -
auch diesen, der ihm so friedlos lachte; thus they twitched for him, so she bent
Now Parsifal relives the seduction of
die Lippe - ja - so zuckte sie ihm, so her neck - thus she bowed her head; thus
Amfortas. He comes to understand
neigte sich ser Nacken - so hob sich khn laughingly flicked her hair - so she
Amfortas by himself experiencing what
das Haupt; so flatterten lachend die entwined an arm around his neck - so
the King experienced.
Locken - so schlang um den Hals sich der flatteringly offered her cheek! In league
Arm - so schmeichelte weich die Wange! with the pangs of torment, the soul's
Mit aller Schmerzen Qual im Bund', das salvation she kissed from him!
Heil der Seele entksste ihm der Mund! (He has gradually risen to his feet.) Ah!
(Er erhebt sich allmhlich.) Ha! Dieser This kiss!
Kuss! (He pushes Kundry away from him.)
(Er stsst Kundry von sich.) Verderberin! Corrupter! Get away from me! Forever!
Weiche von mir! Ewig! Ewig - von mir! Forever - keep away!
Kundry: (in hchster Leidenschaft)

(with utmost passion) Cruel one! If you
Grausamer! Fhlst du im Herzen nur
now feel in your heart only the pain of
and'rer Schmerzen, so fhle jetzt auch die
others, then you can feel mine! If you are
meinen! Bist du Erlser, was bannt dich,
a redeemer, what evil stops you, from
Bser, nicht mir auch zum Heil dich zu
uniting with me for my salvation? An
einen? Seit Ewigkeiten - harre ich deiner,
eternity have I awaited you, my Saviour,
des Heilands, ach! So spt! Den einst ich Kundry believes that she has found in
oh! So late! Whom once I dared revile.
khn geschmht. Oh! Parsifal a redeemer, perhaps her
Oh!
Kenntest du den Fluch, der mich durch redeemer, one who might release her
If you knew the curse, which compels me
Schlaf und Wachen, durch Tod und from her unending cyclic existence. Like
asleep, awake, through death and back to
Leben, Pein und Lachen, zu nem Leiden Amfortas she awaits one and only one
life, in pain and laughter, in ever new
neu gesthlt, endlos durch das Dasein (harre sein, den ich erkor). If life is for
forms to suffer anew, tortured by
qult! Parsifal an innocent dream, then for
unending existence!
Ich sah Ihn - Ihn - und ... lachte! Da traf Kundry it is a sinful nightmare. She
I saw Him - Him - and ... laughed! Then I
mich sein Blick! Nun such' ich Ihn von relates how she mocked the crucified one,
met His gaze! Now I seek Him from
Welt zu Welt Ihm wieder zu begegnen. In for which she has been cursed to wander
world to world to meet Him once again.
hchster Not whn' ich sein Auge schon many worlds, bringing to men the
In times of great distress I feel those eyes
nah', den Blick schon auf mir ruh'n. Da suffering of seduction, until she meets
turn to me, His gaze resting upon me.
kehrt mir das verfluchte Lachen wieder; one who can resist her charms. Her sin
Then the accursed laughter grips me
ein Snder sinkt mir in die Arme! Da was to take malicious delight in the
again; a sinner sinks in my arms! Then I
lach' ich - lache - kann nicht weinen, nur suffering of another being,
laugh - laugh - unable to weep, only
schreien, wten, toben, rasen, in stets Schadenfreude, which Schopenhauer
scream and storm, rave and rage, in ever
erneuter Wahnsinns Nacht, aus der ich called the devilish vice. It is the exact
recurring nights of madness, from which,
bssend kaum erwacht. Den ich ersehnt opposite of compassion.
though penitent, I scarcely awake. One I
in Todesschmachten, den ich erkannt, den
desire with deathly yearning, whom I
bld' Verlachten, lass mich an seinem
recognised, though I stupidly despised
Busen weinen, nur eine Stunde mich dir
him, let me weep upon his breast, for a
vereinen, und, ob mich Gott und Welt
brief hour only united with you, and,
verstsst, in dir entsndigt sein und
though it may offend both God and
erlst!
world, find forgiveness and redemption!

Parsifal: Auf Ewigkeit wrst du In his study of the sketches for the
verdammt mit mir fr eine Stunde Ring, Curt von Westernhagen noted that
For eternity would you be damned with Wagner sometimes used the word hell
Vergessens meiner Sendung in deines me if I were to forget my mission and
Arms Umfangen! with the meaning "ringing", that is, a
spend one hour in your embrace! bright sound.
Auch dir bin ich zum Heil gesandt, For your salvation too I was sent here, if
bleibst du dem Sehnen abgewandt. Die you will turn aside from your desires. The Weltenwahn, world-spanning illusion,
Labung, die dein Leiden endet, beut nicht balm that will end your suffering does not is a central theme of this act. Like the
der Quell, aus dem es fliesst; das Heil flow from its origin; salvation can never heros who have already been ensnared by
wird nimmer dir gespendet, eh jener be granted you until that source is sealed. Klingsor, Parsifal is in danger of
Quell sich dir nicht schliesst. There is another salvation - a different becoming trapped in a world of illusion,
Ein And'res ist's - ein And'res, ach! Nach one - for which I saw the brothers longing Klingsor's magic garden.
dem ich jammernd schmachten sah, die in their despair, in utmost distress,
Brder dort, in grausen Nten, den Leib scourging and mortifying their flesh. Umnachten means literally "mental
sich qulen und ertten. But who can see clearly and brightly the derangement" or "benightment". Kundry
Doch wer erkennt ihn klar und hell, des only fixed fount of salvation? O misery - (representing mankind ?) desires her
einz'gen Heiles wahren Quell? O Elend, - that prevents deliverance! O benighted release from this world while at the same
aller Rettung Flucht! O, Weltenwahns insanity of world-illusion: that while time desiring all that binds her to this
Umnachten: in hchsten Heiles heisser feverishly seeking salvation - still thirsts world. This is "Weltenwahns
Sucht - nach der Verdammnis Quell zu for the fount of perdition! Umnachten", the fire of delusion in which
schmachten! we burn until our flame is extinguished.
Welthellsicht means literally "seeing
the world clearly". Here Wagner refers to
penetrating the veil of Maya, that hides
the world as will. In this scene
Kundry: (in wilder Begeisterung) So war (in wild ecstasy) So was it my kiss that Welthellsicht is set against Weltenwahn,
es mein Kuss, der welthellsichtig dich gave you world-perception? Then the full
world-spanning illusion, the veil of Maya
machte? Mein volles Liebes Umfangen embrace of my loving surely will raise
itself. See Cosima's Diary, entry for 8
lsst dich dann Gottheit erlangen. Die you to godhead! Redeem the world, if
July 1879.
Welt erlse, ist dies dein Amt; schuf dich that's your mission; let me make you a It is difficult to see Kundry's reference
zum Gott die Stunde, fr sie lass mich god, for just an hour, rather than leave me
to her own wound, which she tries to
ewig dann verdammt, nie heile mir die to eternal damnation, my wound never to
convince Parsifal is in more urgent need
Wunde! be healed!
than the wound of Amfortas, as anything
other than sexual metaphor. It is also
possible, as Parsifal might have realised,
that Kundry's wound is the same wound
that tortures Amfortas.
Erlsung literally means "release". In
a religious context it is usually translated
into English as "redemption"; this English
word however carries a meaning of
"buying back" that is absent from the
German word. In this scene either release
Parsifal: Erlsung, Frevlerin, biet' ich Blasphemer, I offer you release and or redemption or deliverance would all be
auch dir.
redemption. valid. The most exact rendering is
release: since Kundry seeks release from
cyclic existence.
Frevlerin (feminine form of Frevler)
could also be translated as "offender" or
even perhaps as "heathen".

Kundry's plea is similar to that of the

nameless maiden who attempts to seduce
Josaphat in the medieval tale Barlaam
und Josaphat: she says to him, But fulfil
me one other small and trivial desire of
mine, if thou art in very truth minded for
to save my soul. Keep company with me
Kundry: Lass mich dich Gttlichen this one night only, and grant me to revel
Let me bring you divine loving, then you
lieben, Erlsung gab'st du dann auch mir. can redeem me. in thy beauty, and do thou in turn take thy
fill of my comeliness. And I give thee my
word, that, with daybreak, I will become
a Christian, and forsake all the worship
of my gods. [Translated from the Greek
by G.R. Woodward and H. Mattingly;
Harvard University Press, Cambridge
MA, 1914]
Here the poem (in GS) has lohnen, to
reward. The Prose Draft has: ich will dich
Parsifal: Lieb' und Erlsung soll dir
werden , zeigest du zu Amfortas mir Love and deliverance will be yours if you lieben u. erlsen, I shall love you and
show me the way to Amfortas. deliver you.
den Weg.
Parsifal is announcing his intention to
follow the path that leads to Amfortas.
Kundry: (in Wut ausbrechend) Nie -
sollst du ihn finden! Den Verfall'nen, lass (exploding in fury) You will never find
ihn verderben, den Unsel'gen, him! Let the fallen one perish, the unholy
Schmachlsternen, den ich verlachte - one, seeker of disgrace, whom I mocked -
lachte - lachte! Hah! Ihn traf ja eig'ne laughing - laughing! Ha! He fell to his
Speer! own spear!
Parsifal: Wer durft' ihn verwunden mit Who dared to wound him with the holy
der heil'gen Wehr? weapon?
Kundry: Er - er - der einst mein Lachen He - He - whom once I mocked with

bestraft - sein Fluch - ha! - mir gibt er laughter - his curse - ah! - gives me
Kraft - gegen dich selbst ruf' ich die power - against you too I can summon the
As Gurnemanz revealed in act one,
Wehr, gibst du dem Snder des Mitleids the path to Monsalvat cannot be found
weapon, if you honour that sinner with
Ehr'! Ha! Wahnsinn! (Flehend) compassion! Ah! Madness! (imploringly)
unless the quester is guided along that
Mitleid! Mitleid mit mir! Nur eine Stunde Compassion! Pity me! To be mine for an
path.
mein! Nur eine Stunde dein - und des hour! To be just one hour yours - and to
Weges sollst du geleitet sein! the path you will be shown!
She tries to embrace him. Violently he throws her aside.
Parsifal: Vergeh', unseliges Weib! Get off me, damned woman!

She jumps up in a wild fury and shouts into the background.

Parsifal has declared that he will seek

the way, the path. It is not only the path
Kundry: Hilfe! Hilfe! Herbei! Haltet den
Help! Help! Over here! Stop the intruder! that leads to Amfortas, but also the way
Frechen! Herbei! Wehrt ihm die Wege! Here! Block his way! Block his path! to enlightenment. Enlightenment cannot
Wehrt ihm die Pfade! Und flhest du von Should you escape from here, and should
communicated, but only the way to
hier, und fndest alle Wege der Welt, den you travel all the roads of the world, the
Enlightenment [Joseph Campbell, The
Weg, den du suchst, des Pfade sollst du way, the one you seek, that path you will Hero with a Thousand Faces, p 33].
nicht finden; den Pfad' und Wege, die never find; the path and way that leads Kundry and Klingsor will prevent Parsifal
dich mir entfhren, so verwnsch' ich sie you away from me, I curse you from it
from finding this path because on
dir; Irre! Irre! Mir so vertraut - Dich weih' now! Stray! Stray! My faithful one - I
reaching its end Parsifal could become
ich ihm zum Geleit!
leave him to your guidance! the spiritual leader of the knights and the
protector of the Grail.
Klingsor appears on the castle wall and turns the lance towards Parsifal.
Klingsor: Halt da! Dich bann' ich mit der Stop there! I banish you with the true
rechten Wehr! Den Toren stelle mir weapon! The fool falls to me by his
seines Meisters Speer!
master's spear!
Klingsor throws the spear at Parsifal. It stops, suspended above his head. Parsifal reaches up his hand, grasps the spear, and
holds it over his head. [In the poem: ... and with a gesture of highest delight, makes the sign of the Cross.]
Parsifal: Mit diesem Zeichen bann'ich The hero who defeated a sorcerer with
With this sign I banish all your magic;
deinen Zauber; (Er hat den Speer im the sign of the cross was Josaphat, in the
([in the score]With the spear he has made
Zeichen des Kreuzes geschwangen.) wie medieval tale of Barlaam und Josaphat.
the sign of the Cross.) as the spear closes
die Wunde er schliesse, die mit ihm du the wound which you dealt with it, in Wagner left his copy of the German
schlugest, in Trauer und Trmmer strz' grief and ruin it destroys your deceptive translation by Rudolf von Ems (c. 1325)
er die trgende Pracht! behind him in Dresden.
display!
The tower collapses as if in an earthquake. The garden withers to a desert; the ground is strewn with faded flowers. Kundry
falls screaming to the ground. Parsifal pauses as he hurries away; from the top of the castle wall he turns and looks back to
Kundry.
[In the poem: ... the maidens lie strewn on the ground like faded flowers.]
Parsifal: Du weisst - wo du mich wieder

You know - where you can find me
finden kannst!
again!
He hastens away. Kundry has lifted herself slightly and her gaze follows Parsifal's departure.

Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | English Translation | Act 1

INTRODUCTORY NOTES
The drama is set in the domain and in the castle of the guardians of the Grail at Monsalvat, where the country resembles the
mountains of Gothic Spain; afterwards in Klingsor's magic castle on the southern slopes of the same mountains, looking towards
Moorish Spain. The costume of the Knights and Squires resembles that of the Templars: a white tunic and mantle; instead of the
red cross, however, a dove flying upwards appears on scutcheon and mantle.
ACT ONE - SCENE ONE

A forest, shadowy and impressive but not gloomy. Rocks on the ground. A clearing in the middle. On the left the path to the castle
of the Grail. The background slopes steeply down in the centre to a lake in the forest. Day is breaking. Gurnemanz (elderly but
still vigorous) and two young squires are lying asleep under a tree. From the left, as if from the castle, sounds a solemn reveille
on trombones.
The word hter literally means

"guardian". Here it appears in the context
Gurnemanz: (erwachend und die (awake and shaking the squires) Hey!
of Gurnemanz upbraiding the squires for
Knappen rttelnd) He! Ho! Waldhter Ho! Forest sentries indeed, more like
falling asleep at their posts. They have
ihr, Schlafhter mitsammen, so wacht sleeping sentries, at least wake up now it
been guarding the approaches to the Grail
doch mindest am Morgen. is morning!
Temple. Therefore in this context it
seems more appropriate to translate hter
as "sentry".
The two squires jump to their feet.
This is the first of numerous
references to God in Wagner's text. There
are also references to the Saviour but no
explicit references to Christ. Wagner's
writings also contain many references to
God. In Public and Popularity he wrote:
Hrt ihr den Ruf? Nun danket Gott, dass Did you hear the call? Now give thanks to
that the God of our Redeemer should
ihr berufen, ihn zu hren! God, that he has called you to hear it!
have been identified with the tribal God
of Israel is one of the most terrible
confusions in all world-history. Even if
Wagner did not believe in the Creator
God of the Old Testament it is still
possible that Gurnemanz does.
He sinks to his knees with the squires and joins them in silent morning prayer; as the trombone call fades, they slowly rise to their
feet.

Jetzt auf, ihr Knaben! Seht nach dem Now move, youngsters! See to the bath. It
Bad. Zeit ist's, des Knigs dort zu harren. is time to expect the King. The litter bears
Dem Siechbett, das ihn trgt, voraus seh him near, already I see the heralds
ich die Boten schon uns nahn. approach.
Two knights enter.
Heil euch! Wie geht's Amfortas heut'?
Hail there! How fares Amfortas today?
Wohl frh verlangt'er nach dem Bade; das
He bathes early indeed; I'd imagine that
Heilkraut, das Gawan mit List und
the herb, obtained by Gawain's skill and
Khnheit ihm gewann, ich whne, dass es
daring, has helped to ease his pain?
Lind'rung schuf?
Although the knight mocks
Gurnemanz with his sarcastic "you who
2nd Knight: Das whnest du, der doch
You only think so, you who know know everything", as Gurnemanz will
alles weiss? Ihm kehrten sehrender nur everything? The pain returned more soon reveal he knows many things,
die Schmerzen bald zurck; schlaflos von forcefully than ever; sleepless through
although he does not understand all that
starkem Bresten, befahl er eifrig uns das great pain, he commanded us diligently to
has happened. His knowledge will soon
Bad. attend his bath. be contrasted with a young fool who
seems to lack any kind of knowledge.
Wolfram's old hermit tells Parzival:
We called in the aid of Gehon, Phison,
Gurnemanz: (das Haupt traurig
Tigris and Euphrates, and so near to the
senkend) Toren wir, auf Lind'rung da zu (sadly bowing his head) We're fools to try
Paradise from which those four rivers
hoffen, wo einzig Heilung lindert! Nach to relieve the pain, when only healing will
flow that their fragrance was still
allen Krutern, allen Trnken forscht und bring relief! In vain hope we search and
unspent, in the hope that some herb might
jagt weit durch die Welt; ihm hilft nur scour the world for herbs and potions;
float down in it that would end our
eines - nur der Eine! there's only one cure - only one man!
sorrow. But all this was lost effort and
our sufferings were renewed.
2nd Knight: So nenn' uns den! Tell us his name!

Gurnemanz: (ausweichend)
Sorgt fr das Bad! (evasively) Attend to the bath!
The two knights, who have moved upstage, look offstage right.
2nd Squire: Seht dort, die wilde
Reiterin! Look there, the wild rider!
1st Squire: Hei! Wie fliegen der

Hey! See how the mane of the devil's
Teufelsmhre die Mhnen!
mare flies!
2nd Knight: Ha! Kundry dort?

Ha! Kundry there?
1st Knight: Die bringt wohl wicht'ge
Kunde? Surely she brings important tidings?
2nd Squire: Die Mhre taumelt.

The mare is stumbling.

Kundry appears to fly through the air.

We are not told whether she really does
so. At the beginning of the second act
Klingsor makes references to some of her
1st Squire: Flog sie durch die Luft? previous lives in which (as valkyrie or
Is she flying through the air?
dead princess) she rode through the air
with the Wild Hunt. What is certain is
that Kundry was able to travel great
distances.
2nd Squire: Jetzt kriecht sie am Boden
hin. She's falling to the ground.
1st Squire: Mit dem Mhnen fegt sie das

Moos. Her mane brushes the grass.
All look eagerly offstage right.

2nd Knight: Da schwingt sich die Wilde
herab. Now the wild one jumps down.
Kundry rushes in, stumbling. She is dressed wildly, her skirts tucked up, with a snakeskin girdle with long hanging cords; her
black hair is loose and dishevelled, her complexion a ruddy-brown, her eyes dark and piercing, sometimes flashing wildly, more
often fixed and staring. She hurries to Gurnemanz and gives him a small, crystal flask.
Note: the snakeskin is a symbol of rebirth, since the snake repeatedly sheds its skin.
Balsam, or balm of Gilead (Jeremiah
8 v22), is a resinous, oily substance.
Traditionally it possesses healing
Kundry: Hier! Nimm du! Balsam ... Here! Take it! Balsam ...
properties and it was used in embalming
and anointing. Fragrant balsam was a
major export from the Holy Land in the
twelfth century.
Gurnemanz: Woher brachtest du dies?

Whence brought you this?
Kundry: Von weiter her als du denken From farther away than you can imagine:
kannst: Hilft der Balsam nicht, Arabia if the balsam does not help, Arabia offers
birgt dann nichts mehr zu seinem Heil. nothing else to help him. No more
Fragt nicht weiter. questions!
She throws herself down on the ground.
Ich bin mde. I am weary.
A procession of squires and knights enters from left, carrying and escorting a litter on which lies Amfortas. Gurnemanz has at
once turned from Kundry to the approaching company.
Gurnemanz: (whrend der Zug auf die
Bhne gelangt) Er naht, sie bringen ihn (as the procession enters the stage) He
getragen. Oh weh! Wie trag' ich's im approaches, they are carrying him. O
Gemte, in seiner Mannheit stolzer Blte woe! How it grieves me to see, in his
des siegreichsten Geschlechtes Herrn als prime, this lord of a victorious race fall a
seines Siechtums Knecht zu seh'n! slave to this sickness!
(Zu den Knappen) Behutsam! Hrt, der (to the squires) Gently! Listen, the King
Knig sthnt. groans.

The squires halt and set down the litter.

Amfortas is modelled on the Fisher
Amfortas: Recht so! Habt Dank! Ein
King of the medieval romances, who
wenig Rast. Nach wilder
Enough! Thank you! A brief rest. After a bathed in a lake near his castle to alleviate
Schmerzensnacht nun
night filled with pain now comes this the pain of his uncurable wound. Seeing
Waldesmorgenpracht! Im heil'gen See glorious morning! In the holy lake may him at the lake Perceval (a forerunner of
wohl labt mich auch die Welle; Es staunt the waters refresh me, ease my anguish, Parsifal) mistakenly thought that he was
das Weh, die Schmerzensnacht wird brighten the night of pain. Gawain! fishing. Therefore he is known as the
helle. Gawan!
Fisher King.
The Arthurian knight Gawain, whose
origins have been traced back to the
Welsh hero Gwalchmei, is an important
2nd Knight: Herr! Gawan weilte nicht; character in the medieval romances of
da seines Heilkraufts Kraft, wie schwer Sire! Gawain did not wait; when the Chrtien de Troyes and Wolfram von
er's auch errungen, doch deine Hoffnung power of the healing herb, that he had Eschenbach, where his adventures are
trog, hat er auf ne Sucht sich fort won with such effort, disappointed your contrasted against those of Perceval or
geschwungen. hopes, at once he resumed the quest. Parzival. Wagner, who had no use for a
second hero, here refers to Gawain
already having visited the domain of the
Grail, where he failed to heal Amfortas.
Mitleid can be translated either as
Amfortas: Ohn' Urlaub? Mge das er Without leave? He will have to atone, for "compassion" or as "fellow-suffering".
shnen, dass schlecht er Gralsgebote hlt. his defiance of the Grail's command. O Older translations (including Ellis' Prose
Oh wehe ihm, dem Trotzig Khnen, wenn woe to him, bold yet proud, if he falls Works) tend to use "pity", which
er in Klingsors Schlingen fllt! So breche into the clutches of Klingsor! Let none unfortunately has lost some of its original
keiner mir den Frieden! Ich harre des, der thus disturb my peace! I await the one meaning during the last century.
mir beschieden; "Durch Mitleid wissend" - fortold; "Through compassion made Therefore in most instances this
War's nicht so? wise" - was that not it? translation will use "compassion".
Gurnemanz: Uns sagtest du es so. That is what you told us.

Amfortas mistakenly believes that
death is the solution to his predicament.
Yet he knows that if he died, there would
be nobody to perform the Grail
Amfortas: "Der Reine Tor"! Mich dnkt, ceremony, since his father would die too,
ihn zu erkennen; drft' ich den Tod ihn "The pure fool"! I think I know who he is; and it would be the end of the Grail
nennen! I might give him the name of Death! community. In the end the prophesied
successor will arrive bringing healing. It
is not necessary therefore, whatever stage
directors might believe, for Amfortas to
die at the end of the drama.
Gurnemanz: (indem er Amfortas das
Flschchen Kundrys berreicht) Doch (as he hands Amfortas the flask brought
zuvor versuch'es noch mit diesem! by Kundry) But first, try this!
Amfortas: (es betrachtend) Woher dies (examining it) Whence came this
heimliche Gefss? mysterious flask?
Gurnemanz: Dir ward es aus Arabia
hergefhrt. It was brought here from Arabia.

Amfortas: Und wer gewann es?

And who obtained it?
Gurnemanz: Dort liegt's, das wilde There she lies, the wild woman. Up,
Weib. Auf, Kundry, komm! Kundry, come here!
Kundry refuses and remains on the ground.
Amfortas: Du, Kundry? Muss ich dir You, Kundry? Do I own you my thanks Amfortas uses the familiar form "du",
nochmals danken, du rastlos sche Magd? again, you restless, timorous maid? Well as if he were addressing a child or an
Wohlan! Den Balsam nun versuch' ich then! I'll try the balsam now, and thank animal.
noch; er sei aus Dank fr deine Tre. you for your trouble.
Kundry: (unruhig und heftig am Boden
sich bewegend Nicht Dank! Haha! Was (uneasily writhing on the ground) No
wird es helfen? Nicht Dank! Fort, fort! thanks needed! Haha! How will that help?
Ins Bad! No thanks! Quick, quick! Go bathe!
At a signal from Amfortas, the procession moves away into the far background. Gurnemanz, gazing sadly after it, and Kundry,
still stretched on the ground, remain behind. Squires come and go.
3rd Squire: He, du da! Was liegst du Hey, you there! Why do you lie on the
dort wie ein wildes Tier? ground like a wild beast?
In the domain of the Grail it seems
that beasts are considered holy. They are
accorded the same rights as humans. This
is the first hint that the community
believe in doctrines that the Church might
consider heretical. A recurring theme in
Kundry: Sind die Tiere hier nicht heilig? Are the beasts not holy here? the writings of Arthur Schopenhauer is
the error of the Judeo-Christian tradition
in its attitude to animals, contrasted with
the respect that all creatures are accorded
in Buddhism and Brahminism. These
criticisms were echoed in Wagner's own
writings.
3rd Squire: Ja, doch ob heilig du, das

Yes, but how holy you are, about that we
wissen wir grad' noch nicht.
have our doubts.
4th Squire: Mit ihrem Zaubersaft, whn'
ich, wird sie den Meister vollends With your magic balm, I suspect, you
verderben. would try to harm our master.

Gurnemanz: Hm! Schuf sie euch Hm! Has she tried to harm you? When all
Schaden je? Wann alles ratlos steht, wie is confusion and there is no way to
kmpfenden Brdern in fernste Lnder communicate with our brothers fighting
Kunde sei zu entsenden, und kaum ihr nur in far-off lands, or we scarcely know
wisst, wohin? - Wer, ehe ihr euch nur where to seek them; who, before you
besinnt, strmt und fliegt dahin und could even think, rushes and flies there
zurck, der Botschaft pflegend mit Treu and back again, carrying the message
As in the medieval romances Kundry
und Glck? Ihr nhrt sie nicht, sie naht safely and surely? You do not maintain
is the messenger of the Grail.
euch nie, nichts hat sie mit euch gemein;
her, she asks nothing of you, nor has she
Doch wann's in Gefahr der Hilfe gilt, der anything in common with you; Yet when
Eifer fhrt sie schier durch die Luft, die help is wanted in time of danger, her zeal
nie euch dann zum Danke ruft. Ich speeds her through the air, and she never
whne, ist dies Schaden, so tt er euch gut looks to you for thanks. I'd say, if this
geraten. were harm, then you profit by it.
3rd Squire: Doch hasst sie uns - sieh nur,

But she hates us - see the malicious look
wie hmisch dort nach uns sie blickt! she gives us!
4th Squire: Eine Heidin ist's, ein As in the medieval romances Kundry
Zauberweib. She's a heathen, a sorceress. is a heathen sorceress.
Gurnemanz suggests that Kundry is
burdened with sin committed in an earlier
Gurnemanz: Ja, eine Verswnschte mag life. This implies, surprisingly, that the
sie sein. Hier lebt sie heut' - veilleicht Yes, one under a curse she might be. Here "knightly order" believe in reincarnation.
erneut, zu bssen Schuld aus frh'rem she lives today - perhaps reborn, to In his introductory notes Wagner has
Leben, die dorten ihr noch nicht expiate sin committed in an earlier life, alluded to the order of the Templars, who
vergeben. bt sie nun Buss in solchen unforgiven there and then. Now she were destroyed after being accused of
Taten, die uns Ritterschaft um Heil makes atonement with such deeds, as heresy. He has also located the Grail
geraten, gut tut sie dann und recht benefit our knightly order; she has done knights in the mountains of northern
sicherlich, dienet uns - und hilft auch good, beyond all doubt, served us - and in Spain, which in Wolfram's time were
sich. doing so, helped herself. controlled by Cathar heretics. All of this
suggests a community that is doctrinally
independent of the Church.
3rd Squire: So ist's wohl auch jen' ihre Then it might well be her guilt, that has
Schuld, die uns so manche Not gebracht?
brought disaster upon us?
Gurnemanz: (sich besinnend) Ja, wann

(recollecting) Yes, often when she was
oft lange sie uns ferne blieb, dann brach
long absent, then misfortune befell us; I
ein Unglck wohl herein. Und lang' schon
have know her a long time; but Titurel
kenn' ich sie; doch Titurel kennt sie noch
has known her even longer. When he was
lnger. Der fand, als er die Burg dort
building the castle over there, he found
baute, sie schlafend hier im
her asleep in the undergrowth, stiff, Titurel is extremely old but Kundry is
Waldgestrpp, erstarrt, leblos, wie tot. So
lifeless, as if dead. Just as I found her even older. In his youth he found her,
fand ich selbst sie letztlich wieder, als uns
myself not long ago, shortly after our apparently dead, at Monsalvat. More
das Unheil kaum geschehn, das jener
misfortune, which that evildoer beyond recently Gurnemanz has found her in the
Bse ber den Bergen so schmhlich ber
the mountains brought upon us in such forest, again apparently dead.
uns gebracht.
shame.
(Zu Kundry) He! Du! Hr' mich und sag;
(to Kundry) Hey! You! Listen and tell
wo schweiftest damals du umher, als
me: Where were you roaming when our
under Herr den Speer verlor?
master lost the Spear?
(Kundry schweight dster) Warum halfst
(Kundry is gloomily silent) Why did you

du uns damals nicht? not help us then?
Kundry: Ich... helfe nie.

I ... never help.
4th Squire: Sie sagt's da selbst. She says so herself.

3rd Squire: Ist sie so tr, so khn in
Wehr, so sende sie nach dem verlorenen If she's so true, so bold and daring, so
Speer! send her after the lost Spear!
Gurnemanz: (dster) Das ist ein andres;

Jedem ist's verwehrt. (gloomily) That is another matter. It is
(Mit grsster Ergriffenheit) O wunden- forbidden all of us.
wundervoller heiliger Speer! Ich sah dich (with deepest emotion) O wounding,
schwingen von umheiligster Hand! wondrous holy Spear! I saw you wielded
(In Erinnerung sich verlierend) Mit ihm by unhallowed hand!
bewehrt, Amfortas, allzukhner, wer (absorbed in recollection) Bearing it as a
mochte dir es wehren den Zaub'rer zu weapon, Amfortas, all too bold, who
The wound is experienced as burning.
beheeren? - Schon nah dem Schloss wird could have prevented you from
For a discussion of the significance of the
uns der Held entrckt; ein furchtbar vanquishing the sorcerer? - Close to the
burning wound, see the commentary that
schnes Wein hat ihn entzckt; in seinen tower our hero was distracted; a woman
accompanies Kundry's kiss in act 2.
Armen liegt er trunken, der Speer ist ihm of fearsome beauty bewitched him; in her
entsunken. Ein Todesschrei! Ich strm arms he lay intoxicated, the Spear he let
herbei! Von dannen Klingsor lachend fall. A deathly cry! I rushed in! As
schwand, den heil'gen Speer hatt' er Klingsor escaped, laughing, having stolen
entwandt. Des Knigs Flucht gab the holy Spear. I fought to cover the
kmpfend ich Geleite; doch eine Wunde King's escape; but a wound burned in his
brannt' ihm in der Seite; die Wunde ist's, side; this is the wound that will never
die nie sich schliessen will. heal.
The first and second squires return from the lake.
3rd Squire: So kanntest du Klingsor? So you knew Klingsor?
Gurnemanz: (zu den zurckkommenden

(to the returning squires) How fares the
beiden Knappen) Wie geht's dem Knig?
King?
1st Squire: Ihn frischt das Bad.

The bath refreshed him.
2nd Squire: Dem Balsam wich das Weh. The balsam eased the pain.
Gurnemanz: (fr sich) Die Wunde ist's,

(to himself) This is the wound that will
die nie sich schliessen will. never heal.
The third and fourth squires have already sat down at Gurnemanz's feet. The other two join them under the great tree.
3rd Squire: Doch, Vterchen, sag' und
lehr' uns fein; Du kanntest Klingsor - wie But, father, speak and tell us plainly: You
mag das sein? knew Klingsor - how could that be?

Gurnemanz: Titurel, der fromme Held,

der kannt' ihn wohl. Denn ihm, da wilder Titurel, the pious hero, he knew him well.
Feinde List und Macht des reinen For to him, when savage foes craft and
Glaubens Reich bedrohten, ihn neigten might threatened the realm of the true
sich in heilig ernster Nacht dereinst des faith, the Saviour's angelic messengers
Heilands selige Boten; daraus der trank descended one holy, solemn night;
beim letzten Liebesmahle, das bearing the sacred vessel, the holy, noble
Weihgefss, die heilig edle Schale, darein cup from which He drank at the last
am Kreuz sein gttlich' Blut auch floss, supper, into which His divine blood
dazu den Lanzenspeer, der dies vergoss - flowed on the Cross and with it the Spear
der Zeugengter hchtstes Wundergut - that shed it - these wondrous holy relics
das gaben sie in unsres Knigs Hut. Dem they gave into our King's charge. For
Heiltum baute er das Heiligtum. Die them he built this sanctuary. You who
seinem Dienst ihr zugesindet auf Pfaden, were called to its service, by paths that no
die kein Snder findet, ihr wisst, dass nur sinner can find, you know that it is given
dem Reinen vergnnt ist, sich zu einen only to the pure to join the brothers
den Brdern, die zu hchsten whose strength to perform the works of
Rettungswerken des Grales Wunderkrfte righteousness is drawn from the Grail's
strken. mighty power.
Drum blieb es dem, nach dem ihr fragt, So it was denied to him, of whom you
verwehrt, Klingsor, wie hart ihn Mh' ask, Klingsor, though he made every
It was a weighty feature of the
auch d'rob beschwert. Jenseits im Tale effort. Yonder lies the valley where he
Christian Church, that none but sound
war er eingesiedelt; darberhin liegt dwelt alone, beyond it lies a rich heathen
and healthy persons were admitted to the
pp'ges Heidenland; unkund blieb mir, land; unknown to me is the sin for which
vow of total world-renunciation; any
was dorten er gesndigt, doch wollt'er he bore guilt, but I know he would atone,
bodily defect, not to say mutilation, made
bssen nun, ja heilig werden. indeed become holy. Powerless to
them unfit. [Wagner's essay Herodom and
Ohnmchtig, in sich selbst die Snde zu overcome his sinful cravings, he laid
Christendom]
ertten, an sich left'er die Frevlerhand, blasphemous hands upon himself, to gain
Die nun, dem Grale zugewandt, the Grail for which he yearned and by its
verachtunsvoll des' Hter von sich stiess. guardian he was turned away. At which,
Darob die Wut nun Klingsor unterwies, wrath taught Klingsor how his deed of
wie seines schml'chen Opfers Tat ihm shameful sacrifice could give him access
gbe zu bsem Zauber Rat; den fand er to black magic; this he now found.
nun. - He turned the desert into a garden in
Die Wste schuf er sich zum which bloomed women of infernal
Wonnegarten, drin wachsen teflisch holde beauty; there he lies in wait for the Grail
Frauen; dort will des Grales Ritter er knights, to lure to shameful desire and
erwarten zu bser Lust und Hllengran; defilement; those he entices there fall
wen er verlockt, hat er erworben; schon under his control; full many of us has he
viele hat er uns verdorben. ruined.
Da Titurel, in hohen Alters Mhen, dem When Titurel, much burdened with age,
Sohn die Herrschaft hier verliehen; passed on the kingship to his son,
Amfortas liess es da nicht ruhn, der Amfortas could not wait to put a stop to
Zauberplag' Einhalt zu tun. Das wisst ihr, this plague of sorcery. You know what
wie es dort sich fand; der Speer ist nun in happened there; the spear is now in
Klingsors Hand, kann er selbst Heilige Klingsor's hand; if he can wound even a
mit dem verwunden, den Gral auch holy one with it, he must imagine the
whnt' er fest schon uns entwunden! Grail already firmly his.
Kundry, seriously agitated, has been turning back and forth.
4th Squire: Vor allem nun; der Speer

Above all else; we must recover the
kehr' uns zurck! spear!

3rd Squire: Ha! Wer ihm bracht'. Ihm

Ha! Whoever does so will win fame and
wr's zu Ruhm und Gluck! joy!
Gurnemanz: Vor dem verwaisten
Heiligtum in brnst'gem Beten lag Before the desecrated sanctuary Amfortas
Amfortas, ein Rettungszeichen bang lay in fervent prayer, imploring a sign of
erflehend; ein sel'ger Schimmer da salvation; a blessed radiance then came
entfloss dem Grale; en heilig' upon the Grail; a holy dream-vision now
Traumgesicht nun deutlich zu ihm spricht clearly addressed him in brightly shining
durch hell erschauter Wortezeichen Male; characters:
"Durch Mitleid wissend, der reine Tor; "By compassion made wise, the pure
harre sein, den ich erkor." fool; wait for him, whom I appoint."
The fool is described as pure. Some

translators have misleadingly translated
reine as sinless. When Parsifal arrives, we
discover that he is capable of sin, as this
Four squires: (in grosser Ergriffenheit)
(deeply moved) "By compassion made community define it. In the second act
"Durch Mitleid wissend, der reine Tor..." wise, the pure fool;" Parsifal will describe himself as a sinner.
Parsifal is a fool because he is both
foolish (lacking in wisdom) and ignorant
(lacking in knowledge).
From the lake are heard shouts and cries from the knights and squires. Gurnemanz and the four squires, alarmed, jump to their
feet and turn.
Squires: Weh! Weh!

Alas! Alas!
Knights: Hoho! Hoho!
Squires: Auf! Up!
Knights: Wer ist der Frevler? Who is the blasphemer?

A wild swan flutters unsteadily from over the lake.
Gurnemanz: Was gibt's?

What is it?
4th Squire: Dort!

There!
3rd Squire: Hier! Here!
2nd Squire: Ein Schwan! A swan!
4th Squire: Ein wilder Schwan!

A wild swan!
3rd Squire: Er ist verwundet!

It's wounded!
All Knights and Squires: Ha! Wehe!
Wehe! Ha! Alas! Alas!

Gurnemanz: Wer schoss den Schwan?

Who shot the swan?
A wild swan falls, after unsteady flight, to the ground, exhausted. The second knight draws an arrow from its breast.
Carl Suneson, in Richard Wagner och
den indiske tankevrlden, relates this
incident to the killing of one of a pair of
birds over a lake described by the Indian
poet Valmiki in his Ramayana (4th
century BC). This identification is
1st Knight: Der Knig grste ihn als plausible in view of the enthusiasm with
The King greeted it as a good omen,
gutes Zeichen, als berm See kreiste der which Richard Wagner was reading
when the swan circled over the lake, then
Schwan, da flog ein Pfeil. Adolf Holtzmann's German translation of
an arrow flew.
Ramayana (Rama, ein indisches Gedicht
nach Walmiki, Stuttgart 1845-7) during
August 1865, immediately before writing
the Prose Draft of Parsifal. See Das
Braune Buch, pp 35-36; or The Brown
Book, pp 33-34.
Squires and knights lead in Parsifal.
Knights: Der war's! It was him!
Squires: Der schoss! Dies der Bogen! He shot it! Here's the bow!
2nd Knight: Hier der Pfeil, den seinen
gleich. Here's the arrow, just like his.
Gurnemanz: zu Parsifal Bist du's, der

diesen Schwan erlegte? Was it you, who shot this swan?
Parsifal: Gewiss! Im Fluge treff'ich, was Indeed! In flight I can hit anything that
In Wolfram's Parzival the young lad
fliegt! flies!
was reported to have killed birds.
Gurnemanz: Du tatest das? Und bangt'

You did this? And feel no remorse for the
es dich nicht vor der Tat? deed?
Squires and Knights: Strafe dem
Frevler! Punish the offender!
Wagner's use of the verb morden (to

commit murder) here is deliberate.
Schopenhauer had objected to the use of
one word for an action related to humans
where a different word would be used for
the same action related to animals. See
his ber die Grundlage der Moral (On
the Basis of Morality), pub. 1841, 19, p
176 and p 179 in Payne's translation.
Gurnemanz: Unerhrtes Werk! Du Ulrike Kienzle (in Das Weltber-
Unprecedented deed! You could commit
konntest morden, windungswerk -- Wagner's 'Parsifal')
murder,
hier, im heil'gen Walde, des Stiller Friede
here in the holy forest, surrounded by suggests that here Wagner is alluding to
dich umfing? Des Haines Tiere nahten dir
stillness and peace? Did not the woodland Genesis 9:2 where Yahweh promises
nicht zahm? Grssten dich freundlich und

fromm? beasts approach you tamely? Did they not Noah, and the fear of you and the dread
Aus den Zweigen was sangen die Vglein greet you as friends? of you shall be upon every beast of the
dir? Was tat dir der tre Schwan? Sein From the branches what did the birds sing earth, and upon every fowl of the air,
Weibchen zu suchen flog er auf, mit ihm to you? What had the faithful swan done upon all that moveth upon the earth, and
zu kreisen ber dem See, den so er to you? Seeking his mate he flew up to upon all the fishes of the sea; into your
herrlich weihte zum Bad. Dem stauntest circle over the lake with her, gloriously to hand are they delivered. This passage
du nicht? Dich lockt' es nur zu wild bless the bath. Did this not impress you? from the Old Testament describes, as a
kindischem Bogengeschoss? Er war uns Did it only tempt a wild, childish shot divine institution, a relationship between
hold; was ist er nun dir? Hier - schau her! - from your bow? We cherished him; what man and other creatures that was rejected
hier trafst du ihn, da starrt noch das Blut, is he now to you? Here - see here! - here by Arthur Schopenhauer and by his
matt hngen die Flgel, das you hit him, see how the blood congeals, disciple, Richard Wagner. Part of the
Schneegefieder dunkel befleckt - how the wing droops, the snowy feathers agenda of Parsifal appears to be an
gebrochen das Aug', flecked with blood - the eyes glazed; attempt to split off the New Testament
siehst du den Blick? do you see his look? from the Old Testament.
There can be no doubt that here
Wagner is thinking of a passage in
Schopenhauer's ber die Grundlage der
Moral, 19: I recall having read of an
Englishman who, while hunting in India,
had shot a monkey; he could not forget
the look which the dying animal gave
him, and since then had never again fired
at monkeys.
Parsifal has been increasingly moved as he listens to Gurnemanz; now he breaks his bow and throws away his arrows.
Wirst deiner Sndentat du inne? Do you realise your sinfulness?
Parsifal passes his hand over his eyes.
Sag', Knab', erkennst du deine grosse Tell me, boy, do you acknowledge your
Schuld? Wie konntest du sie begeh'n? great guilt? How could you do this?
Parsifal: Ich wsste sie nicht. I did not know.
Gurnemanz: Wo bist du her? Whence came you here?
Parsifal: Das weiss ich nicht. I don't know.
Gurnemanz: Wer ist sein Vater? Who is your father?
Parsifal: Das weiss ich nicht. I don't know.

Gurnemanz: Wer sandte dich dieses
Weges? Who sent you this way?
Parsifal: Das weiss ich nicht.

I don't know.
Gurnemanz: Dein Name denn? Your name then?

This might be interpreted as an

indication that Parsifal is aware that, like
Parsifal: Ich hatte viele, doch weiss ich
I have had many, but I know none of Kundry, he has had earlier lives. Or it
ihrer keinen mehr. them any more. might simply be that, as a beloved child,
his mother called him by many names.
Gurnemanz: Das weiss du alles nicht? You know nothing at all then? (aside) I've
(Fr sich) So dumm wie den erfand never met anyone so stupid - except
bisher ich Kundry nur! maybe Kundry!
To the squires, who have gathered in increasing numbers.
Jetzt geht! Versumt den Knig im Bade Go away! Don't neglect the King while
nicht! Helft! he's bathing. Go help!
The squires reverently lift the dead swan on a bier of fresh branches and move away with it towards the lake. Finally only
Gurnemanz, Parsifal and - apart - Kundry remain behind. Gurnemanz turns back to Parsifal.
Note: the swan is borne away to the accompaniment of a muffled drum, as if it were a human funeral.
Nun sag'! Nichts weisst du, was ich dich Now tell me! You can answer none of my
frage; jetzt meld', was du weisst; denn questions; but tell me what you know;
etwas musst du doch wissen. you must know something.
Parsifal: Ich hab' eine Mutter, Herzeleide I have a mother, Herzeleide is her name.
sie heisst. Im Wald und auf wilder Aue In woods and wild meadows was our
waren wir heim.
home.
Gurnemanz: Wer gab dir den Bogen? Who gave you the bow?
Parsifal: Den schuf ich mir selbst, vom I made it myself, to scare the savage
Forst die wilden Adler zu verscheuchen.
eagles from the forest.
Gurnemanz: Doch adelig scheinst du
selbst und hochgeboren; warum nicht Yet eagle-like yourself and nobly born Here Wagner makes a pun on Adler
liess deine Mutter bessere Waffen dich you seem; why did your mother not allow (eagle) and adelig (noble).
lehren? you to learn better weapons?
Parsifal is silent. Kundry has listened uneasily to Gurnemanz's account of the fate of Amfortas with frequent violent movements;
now, still lying in the undergrowth, she eyes Parsifal keenly and, as he is silent, calls out in a rough voice.
Kundry: Den Vaterlosen gebar die

The fatherless one was born to his mother
Mutter, als im Kampf erschlagen while Gamuret was slain in battle; from
Gamuret; vor gleichem frhen Heldentod
such an untimely heroic death to save
den Sohn zu wahren, waffenfremd in him, far from weapons in a wilderness
den erzog sie zum Toren - die Trin!
she reared the fool - like a fool! (She
(Sie lacht) laughs)

Parsifal: (der mit jher Aufmerksamkeit (Who has listened to her with sudden
zugehrt hat) Ja! Und einst am attention) Yes! And once along the
Waldessaume vorbei, auf schnen Tieren forest's edge, sitting on beautiful animals,
sitzend, kamen glnzende Mnner; ihnen came shining men; I wanted to be like
This is a very compressed version of
wollt' ich gleichen; sie lachten und jagten them; they laughed and resumed their
Wolfram's account of how Parzival left
davon. Nun lief ich nach, doch konnt' ich hunt. I ran after but could not overtake
his mother to follow a company of
sie nicht erreichen; durch Wildnisse kam them; through the wilderness I came, up
knights and squires.
ich, bergauf, talab; oft ward es Nacht, hill, down dale; often night fell, then the
dann wieder Tag; mein Bogen musste mir
next day came; I used my bow to defend
frommen gegen Wild und grosse Mnner.
myself against wild beasts and giants.
Kundry has risen and moved closer to the men.
Kundry: Ja! Schcher und Riesen traf
seine Kraft; den freislichen Knaben Yes! Robbers and giants felt his strength;
lernten sie frchten. the learned to fear the fierce boy.
Parsifal: (verwundert) Wer frchtet

mich? Sag! (amazed) Who feared me? Say!
Kundry: Die Bsen! The wicked!
Parsifal: Die mich bedrohten, waren sie Those who threatened me, were they
bs? (Gurnemanz lacht) wicked? (Gurnemanz laughs)
This tells us that the widow's son
Parsifal is innocent of the knowledge of
good and evil. It might be that he is in the
Parsifal: Wer ist gut? Who is good? same state of dreaming innocence as pre-
fallen Adam. To Gurnemanz he simply
appears both foolish and ignorant.
Gurnemanz: (wieder ernst) Deine (serious again) Your mother, whom you
Mutter, der du entlaufen und die um dich deserted and who now frets and grieves
sich nun hrmt und grmt. for you.
Kundry: Zu End ihr' Gram; seine Mutter
ist tot. She grieves no more; you mother is dead.
Parsifal: (in furchtbaren Schreken) Tot? (in fearful panic) Dead? My - mother?
Meine - Mutter? Wer sagt's?
Who says?
Kundry: Ich ritt vorbei und sah sie
sterben; dich Toren hiess sie mich As I rode past I saw her die; she bade me
grssen. give the fool her greetings.
Parsifal springs at Kundry and seizes her by the throat. Gurnemanz restrains him.
Gurnemanz: Verrcketer Knabe! Wieder Crazy youth! Violence again?

Gewalt? What has the woman done to you? She
Was tat dir das Weib? Es sagte wahr;
speaks the truth; Kundry never lies, no
denn nie lgt Kundry, doch sah sie viel. matter what she has seen.

Parsifal: Ich verschmachte!

I am fainting!
Kundry, realising Parsifal's condition, runs to a spring in the woods and brings water in a horn, which she sprinkles on Parsifal
and gives him to drink.
Gurnemanz: So recht! So nach des

That's right! According to the Grail's
Grales Gnade; das Bse bannt, wer's mit
mercy; evil is defeated when good is
Gutem vergilt.
returned.
Kundry: Nie tu' ich gutes; nur Ruhe will I never do good; I long only for rest, only
ich, nur Ruhe, ach! Der Mden. rest, in my weariness.
Sadly she turns away and, while a fatherly Gurnemanz tends Parsifal, she drags herself, seen by neither of them, into the forest
undergrowth.
Kundry wishes to return to her
"deathlike sleep" and never wake again.
Schlafen! O, dass mich keiner wecke! In other words she desires to die and
Nein! Nicht schlafen! Grausen fasst To sleep! O that I might never wake never to be reborn. She is unable to do so
mich! again! No! Not sleep! Horror seizes me! while carrying the burden of sin that she
acquired in an earlier life. So far we have
not been told what this sin was.
She falls into a violent trembling, then lets her limbs fall, her head drops wearily and she staggers away.
Machtlose Wehr! Die Zeit ist da. Resistance is futile! Now it is time.
Movement is seen by the lake and at length in the background the returning procession of knights and squires with Amfortas'
litter.
Schlafen - schlafen - ich muss. To sleep - to sleep - I must.

Kundry sinks down behind a bush and is not seen again.
Seeing Parsifal's remorse for his
Gurnemanz: Vom Bade kehrt der Knig From the bath the King returns
killing of the swan, Gurnemanz has
heim; hoch steht die Sonne; nun lass zum homeward; the sun is high; now let me
decided to take him into the Grail
frommen Mahle mich dich geleiten; denn lead you to our solemn meal; then if you
Temple. Here Wagner is referring to the
bist du rein, wird nun der Gral dich traditional cornucopia aspect of the Grail;
are pure, the Grail will give you food and
trnken und speisen. drink.
it will provide nourishment only to those
who are worthy.
He has gently laid Parsifal's arm around his neck and puts his own arm around his body; thus he leads him with very slow steps.
Parsifal has gathered from
Gurnemanz's references to the Grail the
Parsifal: Wer ist der Gral?
Who is the Grail? understandable impression that the Grail
is a person.

The Grail and its mysteries are secret;

this is a feature that Wagner found in his
Gurnemanz: Das sagt mich nicht; doch, medieval sources. For example, in the
That cannot be spoken; but if you
bist du selbst zu ihm erkoren, bleibt dir yourself are called to its service, the Elucidation: The Grail's secret must be
die Kunde unverloren. Und sieh! Mich knowledge will be revealed to you. Now concealed and never by any man revealed
dnkt, dass ich dich recht erkannt; kein look! I think I know you aright; no path ...; or as the maiden of the white mule
Weg fhrt zu ihm durch das Land, und leads to it through the land, and nobody tells Chrtien's Perceval: Sire, it cannot
niemand knnte ihn beschreiten, den er finds their way there, unless the Grail be that I may tell this mystery, if a
nicht selber mcht' geleiten. itself leads them. hundred times you ask, I may not speak
more of my task, for this would be too
bold, it is too secret to be told.
Parsifal: Ich schreite kaum, doch whn'

I scarcely move, yet already it seems I
ich mich schon weit.
have travelled far.
Gurnemanz: Du siehst, mein Sohn, zum

You see, my son, here time becomes
Raum wird hier die Zeit. space.
Gradually, as Gurnemanz and Parsifal continue to move, has the scene changed more and more noticeably; the woods have
disappeared and in the rocky wall a doorway has opened, through which they pass and which closes behind them. On a rising
path they move between the rocks until the scene has completely changed. Gurnemanz and Parsifal now enter the great hall of the
Grail Castle.
Gurnemanz: (sich zu Parsifal wendend,
der wie verzaubet steht) Nun achte wohl (turning to Parsifal, who stands as if
und lass mich seh'n; bist du ein Tor und bewitched) Now pay attention and let me
rein, welch Wissen dir auch mag see; if you are a fool and pure what
beschieden sein. wisdom may be revealed to you.
ACT ONE - SCENE TWO

A pillared hall with dome above, over the feast chamber. On both sides at the far end the doors are opened; from the right enter
the Grail knights, who range themselves at the feast tables.
Grail Knights: Zum letzten Liebesmahle
gerstet Tag fr Tag, To the last supper renewed from day to
The nourishment provided by the
(Ein Zug von Knappen durchschreitet day, (A procession of squires passes with
Grail is no ordinary food; it revives,
schnelleren Schrittes die Scene nach rapid steps across the scene into the
revitalises and regenerates; like the mead
hinten zu.) gleich ob zun letzten Male es background.) as if for the last time may it
refresh us today. that was served to heroes in Valhall.
heut uns letzten mag.
(A second procession of squires passes Some commentators see here and
(Ein zweiter Zug von Knappen
through the hall.) Who delights in doing elsewhere in Wagner's text a tension or
durchschreiten den Saal.) Wer guter Tat
good, will be renewed by this meal; he even conflict between Christian and
sich freut, ihm wird des Mahl erneut; der
will find refreshment and receive the pagan concepts.
Labung darf er nah'n, die herhste Gab'
empfahn. highest gift.
The collected knights stand behind the dining tables. Voices of boys are heard from half-way up the dome. Knights and serving
brothers carry in Amfortas on a litter through the door opposite; before him walk four squires bearing the shrine that contains
the Grail. This procession moves into the centre foreground, where stands a raised couch, on which Amfortas is set down from
the litter; in front of it stands an oblong stone table, on which the squires place the covered shrine of the Grail.

In what appears to be a reference to

Christ, Wagner uses the term
Erlsungshelden. It is just the strength of
Boys: Den sndigen Welten, mit tausend
As once the blood of the redeeming hero consciousness of suffering that can raise
Schmerzen, wie einst sein Blut geflossen - flowed, for the sinful world of a thousand
the intellect of higher natures to
dem Erlsungshelden sei nun mit pains; So now with joyful heart let my knowledge of the meaning of the world.
freudigem Herzen mein Blut vergossen. blood be offered. His body, which he Those natures in which the completion of
Der Leib, den er zur Shn' uns bot, er lebt offered for our sins, lives in us through
this lofty process is evidenced by a
in kuns durch seinen Tod. his death. corresponding deed, we call heroic.
[Richard Wagner, Herodom and
Christendom, 1881]
Squires: (aus der ussersten Hhe der
According to Wolfram (Parzival book
Kuppel) Der Glaube lebt; die Taube (from the summit of the dome) Faith
9) the Grail receives its sustaining power
schwebt, des Heilands holder Bote. Der endures; the dove hovers, messenger of
from a wafer that, each Good Friday, a
fr euch fliesst, des Weines geniesst und the Saviour. Poured out for you enjoy the
dove brings to the Grail from Heaven.
nehmt vom Lebensbrote! wine and take the bread of life!
Once all have arrived at their appointed places and after a complete silence has settled on the scene, the voice of Titurel is heard
from a vaulted niche behind Amfortas' couch, as if from a tomb.
Titurel: Mein Sohn Amfortas, bist du am Amt can mean authority but here it
Amt? Soll ich den Gral heut noch Amfortas, my son, will you serve? Shall I means either a religious service or an
erschau'n und leben? Muss ich sterben, once more look on the Grail and live? acolyte who serves at such a service.
vom Retter ungeleitet? Must I die for want of my Deliverer? Titurel calls on Amfortas to serve.
It is implicit here that both the aged
Amfortas: Wehe! Wehe mir der Qual! Titurel and the wounded Amfortas are
Mein Vater, o! Noch einmal verrichte du Alas! Woe is me for my pain! My father, being kept alive by the sustaining power
das Amt! Lebe, leb' - und lass mich oh once more serve the office! Live, live - of the Grail. Amfortas wishes to die but
sterben! and let me die! knows that, deprived of the sight of the
Grail, his father would die first.
Just as Amfortas is extremely sick
Titurel: Im Grabe leb'ich durch des In the grave I live by the Saviour's grace;
(Wagner called Amfortas his third-act
Heilands Huld; Zu schwach doch bin ich, but I am too feeble now to serve Him. In
Tristan inconceivably intensified, letter to
ihm zu dienen. Du bss' im Dienste deine His service can you expiate your sin!
Mathilde Wesendonk of 30 May 1859),
Schuld! Enthllet den Gral! so his father Titurel is extremely old and
Uncover the Grail!
therefore feeble.
Amfortas: Nein! Lass ihn unhenthllt!
Oh! Dass keiner, keiner diese Qual
ermisst, die mir der Anblick weckt, der
No! Leave it covered! Oh! May no-one,
euch entzckt! Was ist die Wunde, ihrer
no-one suffer this pain, brought on me by
Schmerzen Wut, gegen die Not, die
that which gives you joy! What is the
Hllenpein, zu diesem Amt - verdammt
wound, its raging pain, compared to the
zu sein! Wehvolles Erbe, dem ich
distress, the hellish torment, of this office
verfallen, ich, einz'ger Snder unter allen,
which I am damned to serve! Woeful
des hchtsten Heiligtums zu pflegen, auf
inheritance that has fallen upon me, that I,
Reine herabzuflehen seinem Segen!
the only sinner of us all, must attend that
O Strafe, Strafe ohne gleichen des - ach! -
which is supremely sacred, must ask the Literally Gnadenreichen means "full
gekrnkten Gnadenreichen! - Nach
Pure One for his blessing! of grace" or "rich in blessings".
ihm, nach seinem Weihegrusse, muss
O punishment, unparallelled punishment
sehnlich mich's verlangen; aus tiefster
of one - oh! - injured in blessedness. For Not only does the Grail ceremony
Seele Heilesbusse zu Ihm muss ich
Him, for His holy greeting must I keep Amfortas alive, but it also
gelangen.
ardently yearn; in repentance, deep in my exacerbates the pain of his wound.
Die Stunde naht; ein Lichtstral senkt sich

auf das heilige Werk; die Hlle fllt. Des soul, I desire union with Him.
Weihgefsses gttlicher Gehalt erglht The hour draws near; a ray of light The divine contents of the holy vessel,
mit leuchtender Gewalt; - descends upon the holy vessel; the the balm of redemption, are on one level
durchzckt von seligsten Genusses covering falls. The divine contents of the the blood of the Saviour, the divine
Schmerz, des heiligsten Blutes Quell fhl' holy chalice glow with radiant glory; - essence of free-willed suffering (des
ich sie giessen in mein Herz; des eig'nen Enraptured in agony of ecstasy, I feel the bewusst vollenden Leidens selbst Wagner
sndigen Blutes Gewell' in wahnsinniger fount of divine blood pour into my heart, called it in his essay Heldenthum und
Flucht muss mir zurck dann fliessen, in whose own guilty blood surging in mad Christenthum, 1881), and on another
die Welt der Snden sucht mit wilder flight sweeps me back, in wild terror it level, in some mystical sense, the Saviour
Scheu sich ergiessen; von nem springt es gushes into the world of sin; once again it Himself.
das Tor, daraus es nun strmt hervor, breaks open the door and now rushes out,
hier, durch die Wunde, der seinem gleich, here, through my wound, like His, made Commentators have had difficulty in
geschlagen von desselben Speeres by a blow from the same Spear which reconciling Amfortas' burden of guilt
Streich, der dort dem Erlser die Wunde wounded the Saviour, a wound from with the Christian teaching that a sinner
stach, aus der mit blut'gen Trnen der which He wept tears of blood for man's by repentance can obtain forgiveness. Yet
Gttliche weint' ob der Menschheit disgrace, in compassion's holy desire - Amfortas believes that repentance cannot
Schmach, in Mitleids heiligem Sehnen - and now from my wound, in the holiest help him, only death.
und aus der nun mir, an heiligster Stelle, place, serving the most divine treasure,
dem Pfleger gttlischer Gter, des the guardian of the balm of redemption,
Erlsungsbalsams Hter, das heisse spills forth the fevered blood of sin, ever
Sndenblut entquillt, ewig erneut ausd renewed from the fount of desire that -
des Sehnens Quelle, das, ach! Keine ah! - no repentance can ever still!
Bssung je mir stillt! Mercy! Mercy! All-merciful one! Have
Erbarmen! Erbarmen! Du Allerbarmer! mercy upon me! Take back my
Ach, Erbarmen! Nimm mir mein Erbe, inheritance, close my wound, that I may
schliesse die Wunde, dass heilig ich die holy, pure and whole for Thee!
sterbe, rein - Dir gesunde!
He sinks back as if unconscious.
Squires and Knights: aus der mittleren
Hhe "Durch Mitleid wissend, der reine "By compassion made wise, the pure
Tor; harre sein; den ich erkor!" fool; wait for him, whom I appoint!"
Knights: So ward es dir verhiessen; harre So it was promised you; secure in

getrost, des Amtes walte heut! expectation, serve the office today!
Titurel: Enthllet den Gral!

Uncover the Grail!
Amfortas gets up slowly and with difficulty. The squires take the cover from the golden shrine and take out an ancient crystal
chalice, from which they also remove a covering, and place it before Amfortas.
Youths voices from above: Nehmet hin
meinen Leib, nehmet hin mein Blut, um Take this my body, take this my blood, in
unsrer Liebe willen! token of our love!
While Amfortas bows devoutly in silent prayer before the Chalice, the light dims until the hall is in twilight.

This is resonant of the institutional

words of the Last Supper as recorded by
St. Paul (1 Corinthians 11 v. 24-25):
Nehmet, esset, das ist mein Leib, der fr
Knights from high up: Nehmet hin mein euch gebrochen wird; solches tut zu
Blut, nehmet hin meinen Leib, auf dass Take this my blood, take this my body, in meinem Gedchtnis.
ihr mein gedenkt! remembrance of me! Desgleichen auch den Kelch nach dem
Abendmahl und sprach:
Dieser Kelch ist das neue Testament in
meinem Blut; solches tut, so oft ihr's
trinket, zu meinem Gedchtnis.
Here a dazzling ray of light falls on the crystal chalice, which now glows bright crimson, softly illuminating everything. Amfortas,
transfigured, elevates the Grail and waves it gently in each direction, to bless the bread and wine. All are on their knees.
Titurel: O heilige Wonne! Wie hell O holy rapture! How brightly our Lord
grsst uns heute der Herr! greets us today!
Amfortas sets down the Grail again, and its grow gradually fades as the darkness lifts; then the squires enclose it in the shrine
and cover it again. Daylight returns. The four squires during what follows distribute the two flagons of wine and baskets of
bread.
Knights from high up: Wein und Brot Wine and bread of the last supper the
des letzten Mahles wandelt' einst der Herr Lord of the Grail once turned through the
des Grales durch des Mitleids loving power of compassion into the
Liebesmacht in das Blut, das er vergoss, blood which he shed, into the body which
in den Leib, den dar er bracht'. he broke.
The four squires, after covering the shrine, now take from the altar-table the two wine flagons and the two bread baskets, which
Amfortas had blessed with the Grail, distribute the bread to the knights and fill their beakers with wine. The knights seat
themselves at the feast, including Gurnemanz, who has kept a place empty beside him and who beckons Parsifal to come and
partake of the meal. But Parsifal stays put, motionless and silent, clearly overwhelmed by what he has witnessed.
Youths from half-way up the dome:

Blood and body of the holy gift, loving
Blut und Leib der heil'gen Gabe wandelt
spirit of blessed consolation , today for
heut zu eurer Labe sel'ger Trstung
our delight turned into the wine poured
Liebesgeist in den Wein, der euch nun
out for you, into the bread that feeds you
floss, in das Brot, das heut ihr speist.
today.
Knights: (erste Hlfte) Nehmet vom

(first half) Take of the bread, turn it
Brot, wandelt es khn in Leibes Kraft und
confidently into bodily strength and
Strke; treu bis zum Tod; fest jedem
power; faithful unto death; steadfast in
Mhn, zu wirken des Heilands Werke!
effort, to work the Saviour's will!
Knights: (zweite Hlfte) Nehmet vom
Wein, wandelt ihn neu zu Lebens (second half) Take of the wine, turn it
feurigem Blute. Froh im Verein, anew into the fiery blood of life. Joyful in
brudergetreu zu kmpfen mit seligem unity, in brotherly faith let us fight with
Mute! holy courage!
All knights: Selig im Glauben! Selig im

Blessed in Faith! Blessed in Faith and
Glauben und Liebe!
Love!

Boys und Squires: Selig im Liebe! Selig

im Glauben! Blessed in Love! Blessed in Faith!
The knights rise and walk from the sides to the centre, where they solemnly embrace each other during the following. During the
meal Amfortas, who has not partaken, has gradually relapsed from his inspired ecstacy; his head sinks and he puts his hand on
the wound. The squires approach him, their movements indicate that the wound has begun to bleed again; they attend to
Amfortas, helping him back into his litter, and while all prepare to depart, bear him out with the shrine in the same order as they
came. The knights likewise fall into solemn procession and slowly leave the hall. The daylight fades. Squires once more pass
quickly through the hall. The last of the knights and squires have left the hall; the doors are closed.
On hearing Amfortas' previous loud cry of agony, Parsifal has made a violent movement towards his own heart, clutching his
chest convulsively for a long time. Now he stands stiff and motionless again. Gurnemanz approaches him ill- humouredly and
shakes his arm.
Gurnemanz: Was stehst du noch da?

Why are you still standing there? Do you
Weisst du, was du sahst?
understand what you have seen?
Parsifal presses his heart convulsively and slightly shakes his head.
Du bist doch eben nur ein Tor! You are nothing but a fool!
He opens a narrow side-door.
This is a reference to the passage in
Wolfram's Parzival in which the boy,
awaking to find the castle deserted, finds
his horse and weapons and takes his
Dort hinaus, deine Wege zu! Doch rt dir Off with you, on your way! Take this leave. As he crosses the drawbridge, the
Gurnemanz; lass du hier knftig die advice from Gurnemanz; from now on voice of someone unseen calls out, "you
Schwne in Ruh' und suche dir, Gnser, leave our swans in peace and find some are a goose!" If he had asked the
die Gans! geese, you gander! Question, Parzival would have healed the
Fisher King. For Wagner, however, the
Question was irrelevant. In this scene it is
Gurnemanz who will hear the voice of an
unseen speaker.
He pushes Parsifal out and angrily slams the door behind him. As he follows after the knights, on the last fermata the curtain
falls.
Alto voice from on high: "Durch Mitleid "Through compassion made wise, the
wissend, der reine Tor." pure fool."
Voices from mid-height and summit:
Selig im Glauben! Blessed in faith!
Bells.


The Grail Legend: from ancient stories to Wagnerian opera
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Spear | Holy Grail
The Holy Grail
Celtic Traditions of the Grail

Eastern Traditions of the Grail
Christian Interpretations of the
Grail
Wagner and the Grail
Left: Henri Fantin-Latour: The Grail (Prelude to

Lohengrin), 1892.
he Grail, according to my own

interpretation, is the goblet used at
the Last Supper in which Joseph of
Arimathea caught the Saviour's blood on the
Cross.
[Richard Wagner, letter to Mathilde

Wesendonk]
he legends of the Holy Grail are woven of three strands: a Celtic tradition of otherworld
vessels and supernaturally powerful weapons; an Arabic or Byzantine tradition of a
mysterious stone that had fallen from the heavens; and a Christian tradition, perhaps of
Gnostic or heretical origin, of a mysterious talisman.
Celtic Traditions of the Grail

http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/grail.htm (1 of 7) [30/05/2002 15:45:24]
essie Weston held the view that there lay at the root of the
Grail tradition, the rites of a secret mystery cult. The Grail
might have been a sacramental dish of the kind used in the
Orphic tradition and apparently taken over by the Christian
Church; this possibility is explored in the fourth volume of Joseph
Campbell's The Masks of God. Miss Weston also suggested that the
Bleeding Lance, carried by a squire, and the Grail, carried by a
maiden, must have been originally symbolic elements of a classical
mystery rite.
oomis held the alternative view that the origin of the Grail legends was Celtic. The Celtic
gods of the Underworld or of the Land Beneath the Waves (Nodens or Nuadua, Gwynn ap
Nudd, Manannnan Mac Lir, Bran the Blessed) possessed magic vessels of inexhaustible
ambrosia and were to be found in mysterious castles hidden in mist, surrounded by water or by
impenetrable forest.
Eastern Traditions of the Grail

Right: this carving from Jan Cathedral shows an oriental

or moorish philosopher and an occidental knight with a
stone that fell from Heaven.
olfram's Parzival contains passages that

reveal a knowledge of events in the Levant,
as might have been told by returning
crusaders. Indeed, Wolfram claims to have taken his
subject matter from a book given to him by Philip,
Duke of Flanders, who had been in those lands in
1177. He also cites as a source a certain mysterious
Kyot, who provided him with further material from
the south of France or perhaps Moorish Spain (and
the Kabbalah of the Spanish Jews). So there are
Arabic and other elements in Wolfram's story that
do not appear in his primary source, Chrtien's
unfinished poem.
n Wolfram's account, the Grail is a stone that fell from the heavens. It is by the power of
this stone that the phoenix rises from the ashes. Hence Wagner's reference to the meteoric
stone in the mosque at Mecca.
Christian Interpretations of the Grail

Arthur, the Once and Future King
ith the appearance in 1136 of The History of the Kings of Britain, an extraordinary book
written by Geoffrey of Monmouth, the names of the mythical hero Arthur and the mythical
wizard Merlin became inseparably linked. The book became the medieval equivalent of a
best seller, with an enormous number of copies being made (in an age before the printing press) and
circulated throughout western Europe. Many adaptations and paraphrases were made in Latin
prose and verse, and then vernacular versions appeared in Old English, Old French or Welsh. The
characters and ideas of Geoffrey's book were developed by French writers, such as Marie de
France and Chretin de Troyes. Other tales were related to the court of Arthur: these included the
love story of Tristam and Yseult or Tristan and Isolde (of which the earliest version appeared around
1150) and the story of the Grail and its guardian, the Fisher King.

Grail Romances
he medieval romances that tell of the Holy Grail divide into two groups. In the first group
are the different versions of the story of the quester who visits the Grail Castle, where he
witnesses miracles but fails to ask the vital Question. In the earlier versions of this story, the
quester is either Gawain or Perceval. In the second and smaller group are the romances dealing
with the early history of the Grail. These describe the history of a sacred vessel in which the blood
of Christ had been captured.
ampbell divided the literature of Arthur, Merlin and the Holy Grail into four overlapping
phases:
Anglo-Norman patriotic epics: Religious legends of the Grail:

1137- 1205 c. 1180- 1230
French courtly romances: c. German biographical epics: c.
1160- 1230 1200- 1215
Copyright J. Horner, by permission.
he first of these phases was concentrated on

Arthur and Merlin. In the second, the focus moved
to the knights of Arthur's court, including
Perceval and Gawain, whose adventures were described in
Chrtien's Perceval ou Le Conte du Graal. Loomis and
other scholars have argued that, in view of the differences
and similarities between the story of Peredur in the
Mabinogion and the French works, both Perceval and
Peredur Son of Evrawg must have derived from a common predecessor, probably written in French,
which has been lost without trace.
he third phase was motivated by an attempt by the Church to take over the popular figures
and events of the courtly romances and to utilise them in the promotion of Christian
doctrines. There were two major components in this movement:
1. the writings of Robert de Boron, in particular his Joseph d'Arimathie (1180-

1199) in which the Grail became, for the first time, a chalice;

2. the Vulgate Cycle (1215-1230), including L'Estoire del Saint Graal and La
Queste del Saint Graal, in which the Grail is a dish.
n the final phase, the literature of

the Holy Grail reached its apogee
in the work of the poet-knight
Wolfram. As Oswald Spengler pointed out,
it was with Wolfram that western
civilisation arrived at a mythology of
inwardly motivated quest, directed from
within: the tragic line of the individual life
develops from within outward, dynamically,
functionally.
n the last of the Continuations to

Chrtien, probably written about
1230, the Fisher King reveals that the bleeding spear is the lance that pierced the side of
Christ and that the Grail is the cup in which Joseph of Arimathea caught the blood of Christ. This
interpretation is also described in Robert de Boron's Joseph d'Arimathie, finished about 1199.
There is one element of de Boron's story that found its way into Wagner's story although it does not
appear either in Chrtien or the Continuations: the Grail ceremony induces pain in any sinner
present. None of this is found in Wolfram and it may be supposed that Wagner had read a text that
referred to, or summarised, Joseph d'Arimathie.
Wagner and the Grail

Left: Parsifal Act 3, Washington Opera 2000.

Production and designs by Roberto Oswald.
Washington Opera.
esearch has not yet fully identified the

immediate sources for Wagner's
summary of the Grail literature. His
claim to have invented the interpretation of the
Grail as a chalice is disingenuous. There is
evidence that Wagner had read Chrtien de
Troyes and the Continuations in the edition by
Ch. Potvin, published in six volumes between 1866 and 1871. The first of Potvin's volumes contains
a work that has no direct connection with Chrtien: the Perlesvaus, a prose romance that scholars
believe was written in northern France, a few years after the death of Chrtien and perhaps as late
as 1225. The first sentence in the book is the following: The history of the holy vessel which is called
Grail, in which the precious blood of the Saviour was received on the day He was crucified in order to
redeem His people from hell ...
agner was familiar with the work of contemporary scholars on the sources of Wolfram's
epic but dismissed the interpretation of the Grail as a stone brought to earth by angels.
Wagner adopted the Christianised version of the Grail but discarded the Question
entirely, made the recovery of the spear the focus of the story and changed some of the names from
those found in Wolfram's poem. Many other elements he used, however: such as the election of
those who might find their way to the Grail, the life-preserving power of the Grail and the
descending dove. Intelligent guesses can be made about Wagner's familiarity with the writings of
Chrtien de Troyes, Robert de Boron and others, at first probably through secondary sources, such
as German authors of the early 19th century, including the commentary on Parzival by San-Marte
which Wagner studied (perhaps not for the first time) in 1876.

here are many sites on the Web that refer to the

Holy Grail. Here are a few of the more interesting
sites, some of them with lists of links.
Mything Links - see the page on Grail Lore

The Camelot Project at the University of Rochester
Quest for the Holy Grail, British Library
Medieval Graal Texts
Holy Grail Pages by Mariano Tomatis (English, French
and Italian)
Shambhala - Shangrila - the hidden valley (German
and English)
ENCICLOPEDIA DEL MISTERO - Graal (Italian)
This page last updated (image padding and borders) 28.05.02 15:26:41.

Dove
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Good Friday | Dove
The Dove
he first to speak of the dove were, as is only natural, the Egyptians, as early as the most ancient
Hieroglyphica of Horapollon, and above its many other qualities, this animal was considered extremely
pure, so much so that if there was a pestilence poisoning humans and things, the only ones immune were
those who ate nothing but doves. Which ought to have been obvious, seeing that the animal is the only one
lacking gall (namely, the poison that all other animals carry, attached to the liver), and Pliny said that if a dove
falls ill, it plucks a bay leaf and is healed. And bay is laurel, and the laurel is Daphne. Enough said.
Left: Sacrificial doves.
ut doves, pure as they are, are also a very sly

symbol, because they exhaust themselves in their
great lust: they spend the day kissing (redoubling
their kisses reciprocally to shut each other up) and locking
their tongues, which has inspired many lascivious
expression such as to make the dove with the lips or
exchange columbine kisses, to quote the casuists. And
columbining, the poets said, means making love as the doves
do, and as often. Nor must we forget that Roberto must
have known those verses that go,
When in the bed, the ardent try their arts,

to nurture warm and lively yearning
just like a pair of doves, their hearts
lust and collect such kisses, burning.
t may be worthy of note, too, that while all other

animals have a season for love, there is no time of
year in which the male dove does not mount the
female.
o begin at the beginning: doves come from Cyprus,

island sacred to Venus. Apuleis, but also others
before him, tells us that Venus's chariot is drawn by
snow-white doves, called in fact the birds of Venus because
of their excessive lust. Others recall that the Greeks called
the dove peristera, because envious Eros changed into a
dove the nymph Peristera, much loved by Venus. Peristera had helped defeat Eros in a contest to see who could
gather the most flowers. But what does Apuleis mean when he says that Venus "loved" Peristera?
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/dove.htm (1 of 4) [30/05/2002 15:46:05]

Dove
elianus says that doves were consecrated to Venus because on Mount Eryx in Sicily a feast was held
when the goddess passed over Libya; on that day, in all of Sicily, no doves were seen, because all had
crossed the sea to go and make up the goddess's train. But nine days later, from the Libyan shores there
arrived in Trinacria a dove red as fire, as Anacreon says (and I beg you to remember this colour); and it was
Venus herself, who is also called Purpurea, and behind her came the throng of doves. Aelianus also tells of a girl
named Phytia whom the enamoured Jove transformed into a dove.
he Assyrians portrayed Semiramis in the form of a dove, and it was the doves who brought up
Semiramis and later changed her into a dove. We all know that she was a woman of less than
immaculate behaviour, but so beautiful that Scaurobates, King of the Indians, was seized with love for
her. Semiramis, concubine of the King of Assyria, did not let a single day pass without committing adultery,
and the historian Juba says that she even fell in love with a horse.
ut an amorous symbol is forgiven many things, and it never ceases to attract poets: hence (and we can
be sure Roberto knew this) Petrarch asked himself: What grace, what love or what fate - will give me the
feathers of a dove? and Bandello wrote:
This dove whose ardour equals mine

is ardent Love burning in cruel fire
he goes seeking in every place
his mate, and dies of his desire.
oves, however, are something more and better than any Semiramis, and we fall in love with them
because they have this other, most tender characteristic: they weep or moan instead of singing, as if all
that sated passion never satisfied them. Idem cantus gemitusque, said an Emblem of Camerarius;
Gemitibus Gaudet, said another even more erotically fascinating. And maddening.
nd yet the fact that these birds kiss and are so lewd - and here is a fine contradiction that distinguishes
the dove - is also proof that they are totally faithful, and hence they are also the symbol of chastity, in
the sense of conjugal fidelity. And this, too, Pliny said: Though most amorous, they have a great sense of
modesty and do not know adultery. Their conjugal fidelity is asserted both by the pagan Propertius and by
Tertullian. It is said, true, that in the rare instances when they suspect adultery, the males become bullies, their
voice is full of lament and the blows of their beak are cruel. But immediately thereafter, in reparation, the male
woos the female, and flatters her, circling her frequently. And this idea - that mad jealousy forments love and
then a renewed fidelity, and then kissing each other to infinity and in every season - seems very beautiful to me
and, as we shall see, it seemed beautiful to Roberto as well.
ow can you help but love an image that promises you fidelity? Fidelity even after death, because once its
companion is gone, this bird never unites with another. The dove was thus chosen as the symbol for
chaste widowhood. Ferro recalls the story of a widow who, profoundly saddened by the death of her
husband, kept at her side a white dove, and was reproached for it, to which she replied, Dolor non color, it is the
sorrow that matters, not the colour.

Dove
n short, lascivious or not, their devotion to love leads Origen to say that doves are the symbol of charity.
And for this reason, according to Saint Cyprian, the Holy Spirit comes to us in the form of a dove, for
not only is the animal without bile, but also its claws do not scratch, nor does it bite. It loves human
dwellings naturally, recognises only one home, feeds its young, and spends its life in quiet conversation, living
with its mate in the concord - in this case irreproachable - of a kiss. Whence it is seen that kissing can also be
the sign of great love of one's neighbour, and the Church has adopted the ritual of the kiss of peace. It was the
custom of the Romans to welcome and greet one another with a kiss, also between men and women. Malicious
scholiasts say that they did this because women were forbidden to drink wine and kissing them was a way of
checking their breath, but the Numidians were considered vulgar because they kissed no one but their children.
ince all people hold air to be the most noble element, they have honoured the dove, which
flies higher than the other birds and yet always returns faithfully to its nest. Which, to be
sure, the swallow also does, but no one has ever managed to make it a friend of our
species and domesticate it, as the dove has been. Saint Basil, for example, reports that dove-
vendors sprinkled a dove with aromatic balm, and, attracted by that, the other doves followed
the first in a great host. Odore trahit. I do not know if it has much to do with what I said above, but this scented
benevolence touches me, this sweet-smelling purity, this seductive chastity.
he dove is not only chaste and faithful, but also simple (columbina simplicitas: Be ye therefore wise as
serpents and harmless as doves, says the Bible), and for this reason it is sometimes the symbol of the life
of the convent and the cloister. And how does that fit with all these kisses? Never mind.
nother source of fascination is the trepiditas of the dove: its Greek name, treron, derives certainly from
treo, I flee, trembling. Homer, Ovid, Virgil all speak of this (Timorous as pigeons during a black storm),
and we must remember that doves live always in terror of the eagle or, worse, the hawk. In Valerian we
read how, for this very reason, they nest in inaccessible places for protection (hence the device Secura nidificat);
and Jeremiah also recalls this, as Psalm 55 cries out, Oh that I had wings live a dove! for them I would fly away,
and be at rest.
he Jews said that doves and turtledoves are the most persecuted of birds, and therefore worthy of the
altar, for it is better to be the persecuted than the persecutor. But according to Aretino, not meek like
the Jews, he who makes himself a dove is eaten by the falcon. But Epiphanius says that the dove never
protects itself against traps, and Augustine repeated that not only does the dove put up no opposition to large
animals, stronger than it, but it is submissive even toward the sparrow.
legend goes that in India there is a verdant leafy tree that in Greek is called Paradision.
On its right side live the doves, who never move from the shade it spreads; if they were to
leave the tree, they would fall prey to the dragon, their enemy. But the dragon's enemy is
the tree's shade, and when the shade is to the right, he lies in ambush to the left, and vice versa.
till, trepid as the dove is, it has something of the serpent's cunning, and if on the Island there was a
dragon, the Orange Dove would know what to do. It seems a dove always flies over water, for if a
hawk attacks, the dove will see the raptor's reflection. In short, does the bird defend itself or not?
ith all these various and even extraordinary qualities, the dove has also been made a mystic symbol,
and I need not bore the reader with the story of the Flood and the role played by this bird in
announcing peace, calm and newly emerging land. But for many sacred authors it is also an emblem
of the Mater Dolorosa and of her helpless weeping. And of her it is said Intus et extra, because she is pure

Dove
outside and inside. Sometimes the dove is portrayed breaking the rope that keeps her prisoner, Effracto libera
vinculo, and she becomes the figure of Christ risen from the dead. Further, the dove arrives, it seems certain, at
dusk, so as not to be surprised by the night, and therefore not to be arrested by death before having dried the
stains of sin. And it is worth mentioning, as we have already indicated, the teaching of John: I saw the Spirit
descending from Heaven like a dove.
[Umberto Eco, The Island of the Day Before, tr. William Weaver]

Notes on Act 1 of Parsifal
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Prose draft of 1865 | Act 1 page1 |
page2 | page3 | page4 | Notes on Act 1
Notes on Act 1
1. The Fair Unknown

2. The Community of Knights
The Fair Unknown

nother thread that may be followed from the Celtic story of Peredur to Wagner's story of
Parsifal, is the encounter between the young boy and a female relative, in which certain
revelations are made to him. In the story of Peredur, the following takes place immediately the
boy leaves the Grail Castle.
e came to a forest, at the far edge of which he heard a cry, and making in that direction he
arrived to find a handsome, auburn-haired woman and a saddled horse standing by. She was
holding the corpse of a man and trying to lay it across the saddle, but it would fall to the ground
and she would cry. 'Tell me, sister, why are you crying?' 'Alas, accursed Peredur, little consolation from
my grief have you brought'. 'Why am I accursed?' 'You are the cause of your mothers death. When you
set out against her will a pang of pain leapt up within her and she died, and as you are the cause of her
death you are accursed'.
n this version of the tale, the girl is Peredur's foster-sister. She recognises him, calls him by his
name and tells him that he has caused the death of his mother. In Chrtien's version, the girl is a
cousin and there is a new twist: after questioning him about the events at the Grail Castle, she
causes the boy to remember his true name. 'What's your name, friend?' she asks. And the boy, who did
not know his name, guessed and said that his name was Perceval the Welshman; not knowing whether it
was true or not. But it was true, though he did not know it. And when the girl heard this, she stood up
before him and said angrily: 'Your name is changed, good friend.' 'To what?' 'Perceval the wretched!
Oh, luckless Perceval! How unfortunate you are to have failed to ask all this! You would have healed
the good king who is crippled, and he would have regained the use of his limbs and the rule of his land;
and you would have profited greatly! But know this now: many ills will befall you and others. And
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/notes1.htm (1 of 3) [30/05/2002 15:46:27]

know this, too: this has come upon you because of the sin against your mother, for she has died of grief
on your account'.
olfram fragments this encounter. He gives this cousin the name, Sigune, and she also appears
in his misleadingly-named poem, Titurel. Parzival meets her before he arrives at the Grail
Castle, as well as after. She reveals to him his true name. 'Upon my word, you are Parzival!'
said she of the red lips. 'Your name means, pierce-through-the-heart.' In Wolfram's poem, the news
about Herzeloyde's death is not revealed until the Good Friday meeting with the hermit, and it is the
latter and not the cousin who breaks the news to Parzival.
his is one of many points on which Wagner seems to have had some direct or indirect
knowledge of Chrtien or other sources, since he does not follow Wolfram at all. The fate of
Herzeleide is revealed to Parsifal in the forest before he is admitted to the Grail Castle, not by
Sigune but by Kundry, and it is also the latter who calls him by his true name, on her second entry in
Act 2.
Left: Wagner's sketch for the knights' headdress.
The Community of
Knights
t is clear both from Wagner's libretto and this
prose draft, that the community of knights had
been actively opposing evil from the foundation
of the brotherhood by Titurel until its recent defeats by
Klingsor. In particular, the loss of the spear and
wounding of Amfortas, which have left the knights
without effective leadership. As Gurnemanz relates,
they now waste their time in fruitless adventures or in dreaming of the recovery of the spear. They have
turned inwards. The hollow banality of their ceremonial song suggests that the community is divided
and decadent. It is possible that Wagner intended this as a metaphor for the state of the German Volk,
awaiting a revival of the German spirit.


Chretien des Troyes and his poem Perceval (Le Conte du Graal)
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Sources | Wolfram von Eschenbach |
Chrtien de Troyes
Chrtien de Troyes
Sir Percival and two other knights with the

Holy Grail, from a manuscript of 1286.
Bettmann Archive
Chrtien's Poem
hrtien de Troyes (died c. 1185) was
probably the greatest medieval writer of
Arthurian romances. From the dedication
of his poem Lancelot it is assumed that he had a
position at the court of Marie, Countess of
Champagne, and may also have had a connection
with the court of Philip of Alsace, Count of
Flanders. It is believed that the last of his
romances was Le Roman de Perceval ou le Conte
du Graal, left unfinished at his death after he had
written more than 9000 lines.
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/chretien.htm (1 of 2) [30/05/2002 15:47:51]

Chretien des Troyes and his poem Perceval (Le Conte du Graal)
Chrtien's Sources
t is commonly accepted that Chrtien based his story on
Celtic sources, one such candidate being the story of
Peredur, a version of which would be incorporated into the
collection of Welsh legends known as the Mabinogion. This would
explain Chrtien's "Perceval the Welshman". The tales known as
the Matter of Britain might have arrived in Brittany with refugees
from the Anglo-Saxon conquest of England.
Web sites
Chrtien de Troyes Arthurian
Romances
Four Arthurian Romances
Cliges - a Romance
Erec et Enide
Lancelot - the Knight of the
Cart
Yvain - the Knight with the Lion
The Story of the Grail - Extracts
translated by Kirk McElhearn
Chrtien de Troyes, Arthurian
Romances - Review
This page last updated (non-css message, anchors) 04/15/02 18:13:21.
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/chretien.htm (2 of 2) [30/05/2002 15:47:51]

Symbols of the Grail Ritual
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Jessie L. Weston | Waste Land | Symbols
Symbols of the Grail Procession
Parsifal: Wer ist der Gral? The Grail's secret must be concealed
Gurnemanz: Das sagt sich nicht; And never by any man revealed ...
doch, du selbst zu ihm erkoren,
bleibt dir die Kunde unverloren. [Elucidation, lines 4-5.]
[Parsifal, Act I]
Introduction
remarkable feature of the medieval Grail romances is the atmosphere of mystery that
surrounds the Grail. It is a talisman of which one may not speak, although the knowledge of it
may be revealed to those worthy of the revelation. The Grail appears in a procession, details of
which differ in various versions of the visit of Gawain, Perceval and others to the Grail castle, in which
it is accompanied by other mysterious objects.
essie Weston drew attention to the relationship between four of these symbols and the suits of
the Tarot. A Tarot pack contains four suits of cards: Cups, Wands, Swords and Dishes (or
Pentangles or Pentacles).
Grail
he Grail is variously described as a cup or deep dish. In the earlier Grail
romances, the word graal is not explained, perhaps because the readers could
be expected to be familiar with the word. Less than fifty years before Chrtien
wrote his poem, the monk Helinand defined the similar word gradale as meaning
scutella lata et aliquantulum profunda, a wide and slightly deep dish. Only later, in
Robert de Boron's Joseph d'Arimathie, was the Grail identified with a cup or chalice.
ne of the characteristic properties of the Grail is the provision of food and

drink. According to Manessier's Continuation, as the Grail procession passes
through the hall, the tables are filled on every side with the most delectable
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/symbols.htm (1 of 6) [30/05/2002 15:50:20]

dishes. Although Wolfram's Grail is a stone rather than a dish or cup, it too has this property: whatever
one stretched one's hand out for in the presence of the Grail, it was waiting, one found it all ready and to
hand - dishes warm, dishes cold, new-fangled dishes and old favourites, the meat of beasts both tame and
wild ... Clearly the Grail is related to the horn of plenty or ambrosial cup found in various mythologies.
The procession seen by Gawain at the Grail Castle, with the grail (depicted as a ciborium), the bleeding lance and a
sword (on the bier).
.S.Loomis held that several of the strange features of the Grail romances had arisen as a result
of mistranslation or the misunderstanding of ambiguous words in various texts. He pointed out
that the Old French nominative case for both "horn" and "body" were the same: li cors; and he
suggested that this might explain the remarkable feature of a graal, or wide and deep dish, containing a
single consecrated wafer, the Corpus Christi. He suggested that originally this might have been a magic
horn. Another possibility is that this is a development from the body of the dead knight, a feature of
Gawain's visits to the Grail castle; in the First Continuation, for example, the body is carried on a bier
in the Grail procession.
Spear

he bleeding lance of the Grail castle is another curious feature of the Grail
romances. Quite early in the development of the story, it was identified with
the lance of Longinus that had pierced the side of Christ. Thus it suggests a
link between the wound of the Maimed King, if dealt by the lance, and that of Christ.
Originally, however, the bleeding lance was probably a magic weapon. The bleeding is
described either as a continuous stream of blood (as in Wolfram) or a single drop (as
in Chrtien) or as three drops.
essie Weston concluded that the cup and the lance were sexual symbols, pointing to a
relationship between the story of the Grail castle and ancient fertility rites. She noted that, in
some of the Gawain versions of the tale, the lance appeared upright in the Grail, so that the cup
received the blood. This suggests that the Grail is somewhat larger than a normal cup; in the
Perlesvaus, a later development of the story, where the blood also runs into the Grail, Gawain sees a
chalice within the Grail. R.S.Loomis drew attention to certain similarities between the lance of the
Grail castle and the spear that appears in the tale of the Irish hero Brian, from the Fate of the Children
of Turenn.
he three sons of Turenn were compelled by the god Lug to fetch for him the spear of King
Pisear. When they reached his castle, Brian demanded the spear, at which Pisear attacked him.
Brian killed the king and put his courtiers to flight. Then he and his brothers went to the room
in which the spear was kept. They found it head down in a cauldron of boiling water, from which it was
taken and delivered to Lug. Apparently there is another Irish tale in which a spear stands with its head
in a cauldron of blood; and this may be the origin of the bleeding lance.
Sword

nother magic weapon is the sword that appears in most of the accounts of the
Grail procession. In some versions, it seems to have been the sword, rather
than the lance, that injured the Maimed King, or felled the dead knight, so
causing the wasting of the land. The task of the Quester, whether Gawain or Perceval,
may be to ask a significant Question, or it may be to mend a broken sword.
s students are well aware, the Sword of the Grail romances is a very elusive and
perplexing feature. It takes upon itself various forms; it may be a broken sword, the
re-welding of which is an essential condition of achieving the quest; it may be a
'presentation' sword, given to the hero on his arrival at the Grail castle, but a gift of
dubious value, as it will break, either after the first blow, or in an unspecified peril, foreseen, however, by its
original maker. Or it may be the sword with which John the Baptist was beheaded; or the sword of Judas
Maccabeus, gifted with self-acting powers; or a mysterious sword as estranges ranges, which may be
identified with the the preceeding weapon.
[J.L.Weston, The Quest of the Holy Grail.]
t has been suggested by various commentators that the motif of the broken sword is derived
from an Irish tale in the Finn cycle. The hero Cailte and a companion enter an Otherworld
castle where the host was Fergus Fair-hair. The host asked Cailte to repair a broken sword that
the Tuatha da Danann had refused to mend. He did so, and also mended a spear and a javelin. Fergus
revealed that each of these weapons was destined to destroy one of the enemies of the gods. After three
days, Cailte and two companions left with the weapons. They came to a castle of woman where they
were attacked by the enemies of the gods; in the battle, each of the three weapons destroyed one of the
enemies.
Dish

n Chrtien's account of the Grail procession, it contains a

taillor, or carving dish, of silver. In the Didot Perceval
there are two of these dishes. In Wolfram's account, there
are instead two silver knives; it has been suggested that Wolfram
had some difficulty in translating the word taillor, although
Jessie Weston noted that two knives were associated with the
relic of the Holy Blood at the Abbey of Fescamp, and thus related
to the Grail in its Christian form.
Celtic Treasures
The Four Treasures of the Tuatha da Danann
t has been suggested that the symbols of the Grail procession might have been originally among
the treasures of the Shining Ones, the Tuatha da Danann, of Irish legend. There is, however, no
obvious relationship between the bleeding lance and the wand of the Dagda, nor does the Grail
resemble a cauldron: as noted above, in the Grail romances it is described as a dish or cup.
The Thirteen Treasures of Britain

Welsh document from the early 15th century
contains a list of thirteen treasures of Britain. If the
origin of this list is much older, then it might be a
clue to the Celtic origins of some of the symbols of the Grail
procession. One of the treasures is the Horn of Brn, which
has the property of never being exhausted, one of the many
magic vessels of Celtic myth. As early as 1888, Alfred Nutt
proposed that the Welsh god Brn was the prototype of the
Fisher King, and since then many writers have identified
Brn with Robert de Boron's Bron.

he list also includes the dish of Rhydderch (a historic king of

Strathclyde in the 6th century) which has the interesting
property that it grants whatever food is desired. There is also a
cauldron, which seems to be the same one that appears in poem The
Spoils of Annwn; it has the property that it will not boil the food of the
coward. R.S.Loomis suggested that this might be the distant origin of a
feature in the Prose Lancelot, where the Grail serves food to all except
Gawain, who had been judged unworthy.
The Cathar Initiation Rite

essie Weston (1850-1928) held the view that central elements of
the Grail romances had originated in eye-witness accounts of
initiation ceremonies in which certain mysterious symbols played
an important part. In 1932, in a cave below the fortress of Montral-de-
Sos near Tarascon, there was found a wall-painting which, it was suggested, was of Cathar origin and
dated from the 12th century. It shows a lance, a broken sword, a solar disk, many red crosses and a
square panel. The latter contains an inner square. The outer part of the panel, which might represent a
table or altar, contains twenty crosses in various forms on a black background; the inner part contains
five tear-shaped drops of blood and five white crosses. If the inner part corresponds to the taillor, then
we have all four symbols of the Grail procession.

Biographical Notes
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Biographical Notes
Berlioz, (Louis-) Hector (1803-

69)
French composer, regarded today as the leading
French musician of his era. The
misunderstanding and neglect Berlioz endured,
not least in his dealings with the Paris Opra,
helped him and Wagner to identify with each
other as fellow-sufferers, although they failed
to sustain a close friendship. Berlioz' music
contains a number of interesting pre-echoes of
Wagner.
Berlioz Society homepage

Hector Berlioz homepage
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/biogs.htm (1 of 12) [30/05/2002 15:52:09]

Biographical Notes
Left: Paul von Joukowsky,

Hermann Levi and Fritz
Brandt in 1881.
Brandt,
Friedrich Georg
Heinrich (Fritz)
(1854-95)
Fritz Brandt had worked
closely with his father
Karl on the technical
aspects of the first Ring and was invited to assume overall responsibility for
the technical arrangements for the 1872 Parsifal following his father's
sudden death in 1881; he returned to the Bayreuth festival in 1883 and 1884.
Brandt, Karl (1828-81)

As technical director of the theatre in Darmstadt, Brandt had a high
reputation for his abilities, which Wagner drew on in the construction of the
machinery for the Ring and of the Festspielhaus itself. Although he was often
difficult to work with, Wagner and his production team recognised Brandt's
exceptional talents and he was invited back to Bayreuth to prepare for the
first production of Parsifal.
Brckner, Gotthold (1844-92) and Max (1836-

1919)
The Brckner brothers were employed by the Coburg Court Theatre when
Wagner commissioned them to execute the sets for the first Bayreuth Ring
from the designs of Joseph Hoffmann. They similarly prepared the sets for

Biographical Notes
the first Parsifal from those of Joukowsky.
Burnouf, Eugne (1801-52)

Burnouf is regarded as the most competent and influential of the 19th
century western scholars of the Sanskrit and Pali literature of Buddhist India.
When manuscripts were sent from Nepal to Europe in 1837, Burnouf was the
scholar best equipped to translate and interpret them. Before publishing any
of these translations, however, Burnouf realised that they would mean little
to a European readership without a general introduction to Indian Buddhism.
Therefore he wrote his Introduction, the first book to describe, with some
degree of accuracy and insight, the ideas of Indian Buddhism for a western
readership. The book was read by -- and subsequently recommended as an
introduction to the religions of India by -- Arthur Schopenhauer. On his
recommendation, Wagner obtained and read a copy in 1855. On his return to
Burnouf's book in the spring of the following year, Wagner was inspired both
to sketch a Buddhist drama (Die Sieger) and to draft a Buddhistic ending to
his existing poem for Gtterdmmerung.
Dannreuther, Edward (1844-1905)

English pianist of German origin. In 1872 Dannreuther founded the Wagner
Society in London. He helped Wagner to obtain the dragon and other stage
properties for the 1876 Ring. When Wagner visited England on a conducting
tour in 1877, Dannreuther fixed the orchestra and conducted some of the
preliminary rehearsals; the Wagners stayed with Dannreuther at 12 Orme
Square in Bayswater, conveniently across the Park from the Royal Albert Hall
where Richard Wagner was to conduct.
Gautier, Judith (1845-1917)

Biographical Notes
French author and writer on music, daughter

of the writer Thophile Gautier. Judith was an
enthusiast for Wagner's work from an early
age. She met the equally devoted Catulle
Mends in the early 1860s and they were
married in 1866. Together with the poet
Villiers de l'Isle Adam they visited Wagner at
Tribschen in 1869 and agin the following year.
In 1874 the Mends couple decided to separate
and by the time of the first Bayreuth festival,
Judith had embarked on an affair with an
amateur composer called Louis Benedictus.
This did not discourage Wagner from pursuing
her. Their relationship may or may not have
been consummated, but they continued to conduct a clandestine and
intimate correspondence until 1878, when Cosima discovered some of the
letters and put the affair to an end. Wagner claimed that he needed the
intoxication of at least her spiritual presence, as well as the silks, satins and
exotic perfumes she obtained for him in Paris, in order to compose Parsifal.
Her intellectual contribution to Wagner's work consisted of a translation of
Parsifal into French, various writings on Wagnerian topics, and a three-
volume memoir of the composer.
Gobineau, Count Joseph Arthur de (1816-82)

The writer, diplomat, historian and racial theorist, Count Gobineau, first met
Wagner at Rome in 1876. He stayed with the Wagners in Bayreuth in May-
June 1881 and in May-June 1882. Gobineau's significance for Wagner
consisted not in his stylish short stories and other literary works but in his
theories about miscegenation as expounded in his Essai sur l'inegalit des
races humaines (1853-5). The two men had independently developed views
on the degeneration of the human species; whereas Gobineau held that this
came about through interbreeding (which was to some extent necessary, he
admitted), Wagner came to the view that it was primarily due to meat-
eating and that redemption was to be found in the pure blood of Christ.

Biographical Notes
Humperdinck, Engelbert (1854-1921)

Humperdinck began his musical studies at the Cologne Conservatory under
Hiller, a one-time friend of Wagner who had drifted into the anti-Wagner
camp. Humperdinck had cast off the yoke of Hiller's Schumannesque style
when he moved to Munich in 1877 and enrolled in the Knigliches
Musikschule. He heard the Ring in 1878 and soon afterwards joined a band of
local Wagnerians calling themselves the Order of the Grail. He won the
Mendelssohn prize in 1879, which funded a scholarship tour of Italy and, to
Wagner's amusement, the Meyerbeer prize in 1881. Humperdinck worked as a
repetiteur at every subsequent festival until 1894.
Joukowsky, Paul von (1845-1912)

Paul Joukowsky was the son of the Russian poet Vasily Andreyevich
Zhukovsky. He was introduced to the Wagners at the Villa d'Angri on 18
January 1880 and, after accompanying them on their visits to Rufello and
Siena, designed the costumes and four of the five sets for Parsifal.
Levi, Hermann (1839-1900)

Hermann Levi held appointments in Saarbrcken, Mannheim, Rotterdam and
Karlsruhe before becoming court conductor in Munich in 1872, a post he
retained until 1896. At the insistence of King Ludwig, Levi was the conductor
at the first performances of Parsifal. Richard and Cosima were sufficiently
impressed by Levi that he was invited back to conduct at every festival,
except that of 1888, until 1894.
Liszt, Franz (1811-1886)

Biographical Notes
Hungarian composer and virtuoso pianist. He

first met Wagner in Paris, in March 1841,
when Liszt was already at the height of his
fame. But it was not until Liszt had retired
from the concert platform, that their
friendship blossomed. It was to survive several
periods of coolness, the most serious
estrangement being the result of Wagner's
involvement with Liszt's daughter, Cosima.
The two composers were seen as the leaders
of the New German School. They were each
fascinated by the progressive musical ideas
and innovations of the other: the influence of
Liszt on Wagner can be seen most strongly in Tristan, but there are also
some references to Liszt's music in Parsifal.
Liszt, basic repertoire
Ludwig II, King of Bavaria (1845-86)

The son of Maximilian II, Ludwig ascended the throne of Bavaria in 1864 at
the age of 18. His passion for Wagner's music resulted in generous subsidies
that transformed the composer's fortunes overnight. Free to realise his
romantic dreams, the young king immediately summoned to Munich his idol,
the composer Richard Wagner. Without Ludwig's patronage, Wagner might
never have been able to produce Tristan und Isolde, complete Der Ring des
Nibelungen or compose Parsifal. He would certainly not have been able to
embark upon the Bayreuth project. The extent to which Ludwig supported
Wagner, however, is often overestimated. The total amount received by the
composer over the last 19 years of Wagner's life, including all presents, was
562,914 marks. This should be compared with, for example, the 1.7 million
marks spent on a carriage for the royal wedding that never took place.

Biographical Notes
Right: Ludwig II in General's uniform, by F.

Piloty. W. Neumeister.
Public opinion in Munich was

scandalised by revelations about the
composer's relationship with
Cosima, at that time still married to
the conductor Hans von Blow, and
by Wagner's supposed exploitation of
the King's munificence; as a result of
which, in December 1865, the King
was forced to ask the composer to
leave Munich. His support continued,
however, and even though the
relationship became strained,
Ludwig made a timely contribution
to the Bayreuth enterprise and
remained fanatically devoted to Wagner's art. Ludwig withdrew progressively
into his fantasy world of midnight sleigh rides, fantastic castles and
Wagnerian extravagances such as his hunting lodge, based upon Hunding's
hut. According to the Empress Elizabeth of Austria, he was just an eccentric
living in a world of dreams. His penchant for building fantastic castles of
monumental extravagance, combined with his erratic behaviour and
progressive lack of interest in affairs of state, eventually led to a declaration
of insanity and to Ludwig's deposition on 10 June 1886. The King and his
attendant psychiatrist were found drowned in Lake Starnberg three days
later.
Ludwig identified intensely with several of Wagner's heros, not least Parsifal.
He would sometimes sign his letters to Wagner with Parsifal. Ludwig
provided much of the financing for the first performances of Parsifal,
allowing Wagner the use of the Munich orchestra and chorus but insisting that
the orchestra's conductor, Hermann Levi, should conduct the performances.

Biographical Notes
Meyerbeer, Giacomo (Jakob Liebmann Beer),

(1791-1864)
German composer, who dominated French opera for many years. His works
are irrevocably associated with triumphal processions and Grand Guignol,
aspects which made them hugely successful in the Paris of his day, but which
appeal less to modern audiences. Hence his works are little performed today.
Wagner's hostility towards Meyerbeer, who seems to have behaved
irreproachably towards the younger composer, has been related to his anti-
semitism, although biographers disagree on what is cause and what is effect.
Giacomo Meyerbeer, biography

The Meyerbeer Fan Club
Meysenbug, Baroness Malwida von (1816-1903)

German writer and political activist; a prominent democrat and campaigner
for womens' rights. Following the 1848/9 uprisings, she was banned from
Berlin on account of her connections with revolutionaries. As a result she
moved first to London, where she became a governess and a newspaper
correspondent, and in 1862 to Italy. She was an admirer and friend of
Wagner, as well as of Nietzsche and Liszt.
Nietzsche, Friedrich (1844-1900)

Biographical Notes
German philosopher, who at the

unprecedented age of 24 was appointed
Professor of Classical Philology at Basle
University. From the time of his visit to
Tribschen the following year, he was a
frequent and welcome guest at Wagner's
house. His literary works were greatly admired
by Wagner and Cosima, especially The Birth
of Tragedy, which placed Wagner's art at the
centre of Western culture. Nietzsche was
fascinated and overwhelmed by the power of
Wagner's music. The ambivalence of his
attitude to Wagner began to appear in his essay, Richard Wagner in
Bayreuth (1875-6). In subsequent years, he move into the anti-Wagner camp,
and as his mental and physical health deteriorated (something which Wagner
supposedly attributed to self- abuse), Nietzsche took up a bitterly hostile
stance towards Wagner's decadent art.
Schopenhauer, Arthur (1788-1860)

German philosopher, the author of The World as Will
and Representation, one of the great philosophical
texts of the nineteenth century. Although he had no
genuine successors and founded no school, his influence
was very widespread from about the middle of the
century onwards, his most famous disciple being Richard
Wagner, who believed that Schopenhauer had revealed
to him the meaning of his own works and who then
consciously pursued a Schopenhauerean line. In the
present century, Schopenhauer's philosophy of will has
been one of the influences behind the development of
existentialism and Freudian psychology.
Verlaine, Paul (1844-96)

Biographical Notes
French poet, initially of the Parnassian school.
Poetry of Paul Verlaine (in English)

Photograph of Verlaine
Wagner, Cosima (previously von Blow) (1838-

1930)
Left: A bust of Cosima Wagner, in the grounds of the

Festspielhaus at Bayreuth.
Daughter of Franz Liszt and the Countess d'Agoult, mistress

and later the second wife of Richard Wagner. Cosima supported
Wagner both emotionally and practically in the Bayreuth
enterprise; on his death, she took immediate and effective
control of the festival.
Wagner, Richard (1813-1883)

Biographical Notes
Right: A memorial bust of Richard Wagner,

in Venice.
German composer and writer on an enormous

range of subjects, with an opinion about
everything. Wagner revolutionised the art of
theatre and made a significant and lasting
impression on orchestral music. In 1876 he
inaugurated the Bayreuth Festival, which has
now become an annual celebration of Wagner's
art.
Richard Wagner Archive

Family Tree
Richard Wagner homepage
Short biography and libretti
Comprehensive list of Richard
Wagner's writings
Wesendonk, Mathilde (ne Luckemeyer) (1828-

1902)

Biographical Notes
Left: Mathilde Wesendonk.
German poet and writer. The friendship of Wagner and

Mathilde Wesendonk that began in 1852 developed
subsequently into an intense relationship that may or
may not have been consummated. The impossible
passion of Tristan and Isolde was mirrored in the
relationship between the composer and Mathilde,
eventually resulting in a marital crisis in August 1858.
Five of her poems were set by Wagner and are usually
known as the Wesendonk Lieder. Wagner confided in
her by letter his thoughts about his planned work,
Parsifal, and eventually shared in her concern for
antivivisection, as reflected in his treatment of the
incident of the swan in the first act of the work.

Wagner, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche on Vegetarianism and Antivivisection
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Richard to Mathilde August 1860 | Notes on
Wagner's Letter | Wagner on Parsifal | Vegetarianism and Antivivisection
Vegetarianism and Antivivisection
hame on such a morality that is worthy of pariahs, and that fails to recognize the eternal
essence that exists in every living thing, and shines forth with inscrutable significance from
all eyes that see the sun!
Arthur Schopenhauer
ompassion for animals is intimately connected with goodness of character; and it may be
confidently asserted that he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man.
Arthur Schopenhauer
he assumption that animals are without rights and the illusion that our treatment of them
has no moral significance is a positively outrageous example of Western crudity and
barbarity. Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality.
Arthur Schopenhauer
Wagner and Vegetarianism

uring Friedrich Nietzsche's visits to Triebschen in 1869 Wagner, who was otherwise
impressed by Nietzsche, was scornful of the young professor's commitment to
vegetarianism; despite the fact that, under the influence of Mathilde Wesendonk, he had
already developed an interest in the rights of animals. Wagner had learned from his mentor
Schopenhauer that mankind was a species distinguished from other animals only by our capacities
for reason and compassion. It was from sympathy with our fellow-creatures that Wagner
progressed towards vegetarianism; although he never became a total vegetarian. In 1879 he
responded to an appeal for support from the anti-vivisectionists:
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/vegetarn.htm (1 of 3) [30/05/2002 15:52:45]

Parsifal Act 1 in the 1989 Bayreuth

production by Wolfgang Wagner. Parsifal:
William Pell, Gurnemanz: Hans Sotin.
Bayreuther Festspiele.
esterday I officially became a

member of the local Society for
the Protection of Animals. Until
now I have respected the activities of such
societies, but always regretted that their
educational contact with the general
public has rested chiefly upon a
demonstration of the usefulness of
animals, and the uselessness of
persecuting them. Although it may be useful to speak to the unfeeling populace in this way, I none the less
thought it opportune to go a stage further and appeal to their fellow feeling as a basis for ultimately
ennobling Christianity. One must begin by drawing people's attention to animals and reminding them of
the Brahman's great saying, Tat twam asi (That art thou), - even though it will be difficult to make it
acceptable to the modern world of Old Testament Judaization. However, a start must be made here, -
since the commandment to love thy neighbour is becoming more and more questionable and difficult to
observe - particularly in the face of our vivisectionist friends...
[Richard Wagner to Ernst von Weber, author of The Torture-Chambers of Science,

14 August 1879.]
ere Wagner is alluding to Schopenhauer's teaching that the best aspects of Christianity
were those which it shared with Buddhism and Hinduism, whereas the worst aspects of
Christianity were those which it had inherited from Judaism. These latter included the
Judaeo-Christian attitude to animals, which in the Old Testament (Genesis 9 v2) had been given by
Yahweh into the stewardship of Noah and his descendants. For Schopenhauer and therefore also
for his disciple Wagner, the idea that men could deal with other animals (including birds and
fishes) as they liked, as if animals were things rather than conscious beings, was abhorrent.
n October of the same year, Wagner penned an article for the Bayreuther Bltter, where it
appeared under the title of, An Open Letter to Hr. Ernst von Weber: When first it dawned on
human wisdom that the same thing breathed in animals as in mankind, it appeared too late to
avert the curse which, ranging ourselves with the beasts of prey, we seemed to have called down upon us
through the taste of animal food: disease and misery of every kind, to which we did not see mere
vegetable-eating men exposed. The insight thus obtained led further to the consciousness of a deep-seated
guilt in our earthly being: it moved those fully seized therewith to turn aside from all that stirs the
passions, through free-willed poverty and total abstinence from animal food... In our days it required the
instruction of a philosopher who fought with dogged ruthlessness against all cant and all pretence, to

prove the pity deep-seated in the human breast the only true foundation of morality...
or our conclusion should be couched as follows:- That human dignity begins to assert itself only
at the point where Man is distinguishable from the Beast by pity for it, since pity for man we
ourselves may learn from the animals when treated reasonably and as becomes a human being.
[An Open Letter to Hr. Ernst von Weber, October 1879.]
ven if Wagner's endorsement of vegetarianism post-dates the completion of his text for
Parsifal there is a connection. In the passage quoted above Wagner refers to
Schopenhauer's ethics; in which it is argued that pity or compassion is the only true
foundation of morality. This teaching lies behind the text and dramatic action of Parsifal, as can be
seen in the incident of the wounded swan in the first act. Gurnemanz accuses Parsifal not merely of
killing a creature for sport but of murder; this tells us that here, in the domain of the Grail, all
creatures are accorded equal respect with humans. The old knight shows Parsifal the suffering that
he has caused; he makes him look upon the face of the dying swan. By doing so he prompts Parsifal
to feel shame at his misdeed and compassion for the fellow-creature whom he has harmed. For
Wagner it was primarily this compassion that distinguished mankind from other creatures. In his
awakening to compassion Parsifal takes a first step towards enlightenment.

Baptism
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Christianity | Baptism
The Sacrament of Baptism
Judaism in Music
agner's relationships with his many associates and supporters of Jewish extraction were
complicated by the virulent anti-semitism which he had expressed in his notorious
pamphlet Judaism in Music. In this matter as elsewhere, it seems that Richard Wagner
was totally indifferent to the feelings of others. Despite his ambiguous, indeed often hostile,
attitudes towards the Catholic Church, Wagner desired that his Jewish friends should undergo
baptism as a first step away from Jewishness; but baptism itself was not enough: ... such redemption
as this may not be achieved through self-content or coldly indifferent complacency, but that it must be
fought for, by us as well, through sweat and deprivation, and through the fullest measure of suffering and
anguish. Join unreservedly in this self-destructive and bloody battle, and we shall all be united and
indivisible! But bear in mind that one thing alone can redeem you from the curse that weighs upon you,
the redemption of Ahasuerus: going under!.
[Judaism in Music, as it appeared in the Neue Zeitschrift fr Musik on 6 September

1850.]
Hermann Levi
n the case of Hermann Levi the collaboration with Jews threatened to become particularly
embarrassing. Levi was being considered as director of Parsifal because of his outstanding
qualities as well as his position as court conductor for the king of Bavaria. But Parsifal was not,
for Wagner, an ordinary musical work. He called the opera a stage consecration festival play
[Bhnenweihfestspiel] and thereby indicated its religious objective. In fact, Parsifal was deeply affected
by the idea of redemption and made use of the central Christian symbols of the Crucifixion and the
sacrificial death of the Son of God on Good Friday. As artificial as this superimposition of Christian
symbols on the saga of the Holy Grail may seem to us, Wagner was serious about the revivification of the
primordial Christian experience. He had already expressed himself in this sense on the religious function
of art - his art - in the essay Religion and Art in 1880. Even if this essay is to be dismissed as the belated
justification for an artistic inspiration, Cosima's diaries testify that during the last decade of his life, at
any rate, Wagner held fast to the idea of Christ as an intermediary - "the noblest that humanity has
produced " - and the Christian mysteries such as baptism and communion.
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/baptism.htm (1 of 3) [30/05/2002 15:53:54]

Baptism
[The Darker Side of Genius: Richard Wagner's Anti-Semitism, Jacob Katz, 1986.]
Christian Sacraments
[ichard] earnestly reproached Malwida [von
Meysenbug] for not having her ward baptised.
This was not right, he said, not everyone could
fashion his religion for himself, and particularly in
childhood one must have a feeling of cohesion. Nor
should one be left to choose: rather it should be
possible to say, "You have been christened, you belong
through baptism to Christ, now unite yourself once
more with him through Holy Communion." Christening
and Communion are indispensable, he said. No amount
of knowledge can ever approach the effect of the latter.
People who evade religion have a terrible shallowness,
and are unable to feel anything in a religious spirit.
[Cosima's Diary entry for 12 December

1873.]
Wagnerian Christianity
et Wagner himself was to fashion his
religion for himself. In his Religion and Art
he tried to reduce Christianity to faith, love
and hope. It was this truncated, Wagnerian Christianity that Wagner now wished to bestow upon
Hermann Levi, the son of a Rabbi. On 19 January 1881, Wagner informed Levi of this intention.
Wagner seems to have deluded himself that his version of Christianity could be palatable to Levi;
who remained indifferent. On 29 June, when Levi was once more in Bayreuth, Wagner unwisely
showed him an anonymous letter that called upon the composer to keep his work pure and not to
allow it to be directed by a Jew. According to Cosima, in a letter to her daughter Daniela, there were
also insinuations about a relationship with her. Levi was deeply offended and left abruptly. Wagner
wrote to him immediately.
earest and best of friends, much as I respect all your feelings, you are not making things easy
either for yourself or for us! What could so easily inhibit us in our dealings with you is the fact
that you are always so gloomily introspective! We are entirely at one in thinking that the whole
world should be told about this shit but what this means is that you must stop running away from us,

Baptism
thereby allowing such stupid suspicions to arise! You do not need to lose any of your faith, but merely to
acquire the courage of your convictions! Perhaps some great change is about to take place in your life -
but at all events - you are my Parsifal conductor! So, come on! come on! Yours, RW.
[Letter to Hermann Levi, 1 July 1881.]
evi returned to Bayreuth two days later. Wagner gave up attempts to convert him to
Wagnerian Christianity and it was Levi who conducted the first performances of Parsifal in
1882, to Wagner's total satisfaction.
This page last updated (non-css message) 05.28.02 18:47:38..

Josaphat and the Beautiful Maiden
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Kundry | Seven Faces | Josaphat
The Seduction of St. Josaphat
he tale of the hermit St. Barlaam and his convert St. Josaphat is a curious link between
Christianity and Buddhism, since at least the beginning of the story is unmistakably an
account of the early life of the Buddha. The story is thought to have been composed by John
of Damascus in the 6th century AD. It also appears, in abridged form, in the Golden Legend of
Jacobus de Voragine. The attempted seduction of St. Josaphat by the beautiful maiden seems to be
a Christian reworking of part of the conflict between the future Buddha and the dark lord, Mr.
"What does this have to do with Richard Wagner?", the reader might well ask. Wagner had a
version of the story of Barlaam and Josaphat, in one of the books that he left behind him when he
had to leave Saxony in haste in 1849. This was a German translation made by Rudolf von Ems
about 1325.
Barlaam and Josaphat

he story of Barlaam and Josaphat closely follows, with additions, the story of the youth of
Gautama Shakyamuni, the future Buddha. The details of his life-story are slightly different,
but in broad terms similar, in Indian, Ceylonese and Tibetan texts. The main difference
here is that, in a prologue to the story, an astrologer predicts that the newly-born Josaphat, son of
King Avennir, will be a follower of the Christian religion, which at that time was being persecuted
by Avennir. Obviously the events of the Buddhist scriptures have been brought forward by about
900 years, so that in this version they take place after Christian missionary activity has begun in
India. The young prince is brought up in ignorance of old age, sickness and death; but eventually
finds out about their existence during excursions from the palace. In the Buddhist versions, his
father finds a wife for him at this point, but the Christian version leaves the prince unmarried.
rince Josaphat then meets the hermit Barlaam, a Christian missionary, who preaches in
parables. The young prince becomes a convert to Christianity. After unsuccessfully
attempting to dislodge him from the new faith by various strategems, his father King
Avennir receives a visit from the sorcerer Theodas, who offers to help him. On the sorcerer's
advice, the king replaces the prince's male attendants with beautiful women (as Shakyamuni's
father also does in the Buddhist version). Theodas sends an evil spirit into Josaphat's heart to
inflame him with lust. The women flirt with Josaphat but fail to seduce him.
he king then sends to Josaphat the orphan daughter of a king, a beautiful maiden. The
young prince attempts to convert her to his new religion, to which she responds that she will
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/josaphat.htm (1 of 3) [30/05/2002 15:54:24]

only convert if Josaphat will marry her. Josaphat tells her that he has taken a vow of chastity. The
maiden tells him, if you want to save my soul, grant me one little request: sleep with me tonight, just
once is all I ask, and I promise you I will become a Christian first thing tomorrow morning... just do as I
ask this once and you will win my salvation. Josaphat prays and receives a vision of heaven. He rejects
the temptress, and is attacked by evil spirits. Josaphat destroys them by making the sign of the
cross.
Parsifal and Kundry

o it seems that the Buddha became a Christian saint, and even received a feast-day, 27
November. The name Josaphat has been derived from Bodhisattva, one whose being is
illumination. It seems entirely possible that Wagner had this story in mind when he made
his first sketch for Parsifal. The sorcerer Theodas became Klingsor, Josaphat became the act 2
Parsifal and the beautiful maiden the act 2 Kundry. It could be argued that Wagner based his scene
directly on a Buddhist version of the story, perhaps never having read the Christian version. Two
elements weigh against this hypothesis. One is the common emphasis on chastity, typical of
medieval Christian literature, but less important in the Buddhist versions. The other is that
Josaphat concludes the struggle with the agents of Theodas by making the sign of the cross. It
would have been typical of Wagner to go beneath the surface of the sources he first encountered,
and by 1865 he had almost certainly read several versions of the life of the Buddha. In none of
these, however, does the Buddha make the sign of the cross!
fter the apparently Buddhist detour of the second act of Parsifal, an act that might have
been based on the struggle between the future Buddha and the dark lord, Mr, we
suddenly encounter a Christian symbol. It seems so out of place that most "modern"
productions simply (but unwisely) ignore Wagner's stage directions at the end of this act:
Er hat den Speer im Zeichen des Kreuzes geschwangen; wie durch ein Erdbeben versinkt das Schloss.
Der Garten ist schnell zur Einde verdorrt; verwelkte Blumen verstreuen sich auf dem Boden. Kundry ist
schreiend zusammengesunken.
(He has swung the Spear in the sign of the Cross; the castle collapses as in an earthquake. The garden
withers to a desert; the ground is strewn with faded flowers. Kundry collapses with a scream.)
English translation of Josaphat and Barlaam from the Greek text.

This page last updated (new link) 03/15/01 23:10:55.

Orgeluse the Haughty Lady
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Kundry | Seven Faces | Orgeluse
hen we compare Richard Wagner's Parsifal with his most obvious source, the epic poem
Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach, we find that Wagner has simplified considerably
(before adding material from other sources). Wolfram's poem contains two strands, wound
about one another like a double helix, with direct and indirect links between them. In one of these
strands, Parzival learns that it is his mission to release Anfortas (of the Grail Castle; where his own
grandfather is, unknown to Parzival, the old, unseen king who is served by the Grail) and the realm
of the Grail. The other strand concerns Gawain, whose mission is to release Orgeluse and the
women of the Castle of Marvels (which is also the Castle of Women, and where unknown to
Gawain, his own sister and grandmother are among the captives). Wagner cast aside the second of
these threads. After reading Wolfram and then turning to Wagner's music-drama, like Amfortas
we miss the presence of Gawain. Wagner also merged the characters of Gurnemanz and Trevrizent
into one, who is a guide and tutor to young Parsifal in the first act and an elderly hermit in the third
act; and he merged three female characters, so that cousin Sigune and Condrie the sorceress
became the Kundry of the first act, while Orgeluse became the seductive Kundry of the second half
of the second act.
Diana Nemorensis
n Wolfram's poem, Orgeluse has been married to Duke Cidegast. As her name suggests, she
is a proud lady. Her husband was killed by Gramoflanz, who also usurped the sacred grove
in which he now reigns as King of the Wood (Rex Nemorensis). For details of this ancient
legend, the reader is advised to consult the first chapter of Frazer's The Golden Bough. Orgeluse
(who can be seen as the classical Diana Nemorensis) seeks a champion who will enter the sacred
grove and take from it the garland (the golden bough of Frazer's title), then accept the resulting
challenge from the King of the Wood and slay him. The victor will then reign with her as the new
Priest-King of the Wood.
his is the mission of Gawain, which parallels the mission of Parzival (to succeed as Priest-
King of the Grail). The two missions are interconnected by Wolfram. For example, Parzival
arrives at the Castle of Marvels, where he defeats five of the knights serving Orgeluse. She
asks him to be her champion, but Parzival tells her that he already has a mission; she lets him go on
his way. There are indirect connections, too, through two distant poles: in the west, the peripatetic
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/orgeluse.htm (1 of 3) [30/05/2002 15:55:09]

court of King Arthur, from which both of Wolfram's heroes have set out; in the east, the court of
Queen Secundille, whose magic mirror was stolen by Clinschor, and who sent gifts to Anfortas, one
of which was her servant Condrie.
Clinschor and Klingsor

olfram's sorcerer Clinschor is often seen
as the model for Wagner's Klingsor. As
with Condrie the sorceress, however, on
close examination these characters do not have
much in common with Wagner's roles, beyond
their names. There is no direct connection
between them in Wolfram, although we can
speculate that they have met in India. In
Wolfram it is Orgeluse (and the ladies of the
Castle of Marvels) who are in the power of
Clinschor, an ally of the usurper Gramoflanz.
For Clinschor has the art of necromancy at his
beck unfailingly, so that he can bind men and
women with his spells. So the Kundry who is in
the power of Klingsor, in act 2 of Wagner's
drama, is to some extent based on Orgeluse. In
Klingsor's castle, however,the women are not
imprisoned princesses, but magic creatures
created by Klingsor, apparently from flowers.
Anfortas and
Amfortas
nother link between the two strands of Wolfram's Parzival is the wounding of Anfortas. The
young Grail King, like many others, gave his heart to the proud and beautiful Orgeluse. In
her service, he was attacked and wounded by the poisoned spear of a heathen knight. His
wound will not heal. This version of the wound was of no interest to Wagner, however; in his
Parsifal the spear is a holy relic carried by Amfortas; while he embraces the beautiful Kundry, the
sorcerer Klingsor steals the spear and wounds the Grail King, who escapes with the help of his

squire, Gurnemanz. In Wolfram's story, the cause of this dolorous stroke seems to be that Anfortas
fell into a trap of pride, which as we know, comes before a fall. In Wagner's reworking, the cause of
the misfortune seems to be that Amfortas used the holy spear as a weapon. After it has been guided
by an Unseen Hand into the care of Parsifal, unlike Amfortas he carries it with reverence: denn
nicht ihn selber durft' ich fhren im Streite, unentweih't fhr' ich ihn mir zur Seite.

Celtic Legends: Niall and Conn
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Sources | Wolfram von
Eschenbach | Chrtien de Troyes | Celtic stories
The Kiss of Sovereignty
we will consider an Irish legend concerning a young hero called Niall of

the Nine Hostages. Niall was on a hunting expedition with his four brothers. One of
the brothers went to fetch water from a spring and there met a hideous hag who
demanded a kiss; the boy ran away. The same thing happened to each brother in turn,
until Niall went to the holy spring. He kissed the old crone and one thing led to
another. The old hag turned into a radiantly beautiful woman, who told Niall that she
was the Sovereignty of Ireland. Her ugliness was a sign that it was not easy to attain
the kingship which Niall had now won.
The Magic Vessels of the

Otherworld Castle
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/celtic.htm (1 of 2) [30/05/2002 15:55:47]

Celtic Legends: Niall and Conn
is another Irish legend called

Baile in Scail (The Phantoms Frenzy). It tells of
how the hero, Conn of the Hundred Battles,
discovered a marvellous stone, the Lia Fail,
which shrieked to signify the number of his
descendants who would be kings. In the usual
Celtic fashion, Conn lost his way in a mist and,
guided by a rider, arrived at a castle in the
Otherworld. There he met the lord of the castle
(who was in fact the god Lugh) and beside him
a beautiful girl. She sat on a throne of crystal
and had beside her a silver vat which never ran
dry of ale, a golden cup and another vessel of
gold from which she gave Conn a generous
helping of meat. Then she filled the golden cup
and asked, "to whom shall this cup be given?" -
to which Lugh replied, "serve it to Conn of the
Hundred Battles". As the girl repeatedly refilled
the hero's cup, she asked the same question and
the god named in turn each of the kings who
would be descended from Conn. Finally, Lugh,
the girl and the castle all disappeared, leaving
Conn in possession of the golden vessels.
The Four Treasures of the Tuatha da

Danann
Celtic Goddesses
This page last updated (non-css message)

05/05/02 19:43:36.
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/celtic.htm (2 of 2) [30/05/2002 15:55:47]

The Loathly Damsel
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Kundry | Seven Faces | Condrie
The Loathly Damsel
his figure of the Loathly Damsel is comparable, and perhaps related, to that Zoroastrian Spirit of the Way who meets the soul at
death on the Chinvat Bridge to the Persian yonder world. Those of wicked life see her as ugly; those of unsullied virtue, most
fair. The Loathly Damsel or Ugly Bride is a well-known figure, moreover, in Celtic fairytale and legend. We have met with one
of her manifestations in the Irish folktale of the daughter of the King of the Land of Youth, who was cursed with the head of a pig (as [in
Wolfram's text below] a pig's bristles and boar's snout), but when boldly kissed became beautiful and bestowed on her saviour the
kingship of her timeless realm. The Kingdom of the Grail is such a land: to be achieved only by one capable of transcending the painted
wall of space-time with its foul and fair, good and evil, true and false display of the names and forms of merely phenomenal pairs of
opposites. Geoffrey Chaucer (1340? - 1400) provides an elegant example of the resolution of the Loathly Bride motif in his Tale of the
Wife of Bath; John Gower (1325? - 1408) another in his Tale of Florent. There is also the fifteenth- century poem The Weddynge of Sir
Gawen and Dame Ragnall as well as a mid-seventeenth- century ballad, The Marriage of Sir Gawain. The transformation of the fairy
bride and the sovereignty that she bestows are, finally, of one's own heart in fulfillment.
[Joseph Campbell, The Masks of God, vol. 4 Creative Mythology, page 455.]
Dame Ragnelle
he following description of the Loathly Damsel is from the Middle English The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle.
225 Kyng Arthoure rode forthe on the other day next

Into Yngleswod as hys gate laye, path led
And ther he mett with a Lady.
She was as ungoodly a creature uncouth
As evere man sawe, withoute mesure. beyond measure
230 Kyng Arthure mervaylyd securly. marveled transfixed
Her face was red, her nose snotyd withalle, snotted as well
Her mowithe wyde, her tethe yalowe overe alle, mouth; teeth yellow
With bleryd eyen gretter then a balle. bleary; than
Her mowithe was nott to lak: oversmall
235 Her tethe hyng overe her lyppes, hung
Her chekys syde as wemens hippes. broad; hips
A lute she bare upon her bak; hump; back
Her nek long and therto greatt; equally broad
Her here cloteryd on an hepe; hair clotted; heap
240 In the sholders she was a yard brode.
Hangyng pappys to be an hors lode, breasts [large enough]
And lyke a barelle she was made.
And to reherse the fowlnesse of that Lady, recount
Ther is no tung may telle, securly; surely
245 Of lothynesse inowghe she had. ugliness enough
She satt on a palfray was gay begon, palfrey [that] was richly draped
With gold besett and many a precious stone. adorned
Ther was an unsemely syghte: incongruous
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/condrie.htm (1 of 3) [30/05/2002 15:56:34]

The Loathly Damsel
So fowlle a creature withoute mesure

250 To ryde so gayly, I you ensure, handsomely; assure
Ytt was no reason ne ryghte. neither proper nor
She rode to Arthoure and thus she sayd:
"God spede, Sir Kyng! I am welle payd satisfied
That I have with the mett;
255 Speke with me, I rede, or thou goo, advise before
For thy lyfe is in my hand, I warn the soo; promise you
That shalt thou fynde, and I itt nott lett." if; prevent
Wolfram's Description
agner first encountered the Loathly Damsel in Wolfram's Parzival, book 6, stanzas 34-35. The Middle High German
text is shown in the left column and an English paraphrase in the right column.
ber den huot ein zopf ir swanc A plait of her hair fell down over her hat
unz f den ml: der was s lanc, and dangled over the mule: it was so long,
swarz, herte und niht ze clr, black, tough, not altogether lovely,
linde als eins swnes rckehr. about as soft as a boar's bristles.
si was genaset als ein hunt: Her nose was like a dog's,
zwn ebers zene ir fr den munt and tusks jutted from her jaws
giengen wol spannen lanc. to the length of several spans.
ietweder wintpr sich dranc Both eyebrows pushed past her hair-band
mit zpfen fr die hrsnuor. and drooped down in tresses.
mn zuht durch wrheit missefuor, In truth I have erred against propriety
daz ich sus muoz von frouwen sagen: in having to speak thus about a lady,
kein andriu darf ez von mir klagen. even if no other has cause to complain about me.
Cundr truoc ren als ein ber, Cundrie's ears resembled a bear's,
niht nch friundes minne ger: her rugged visage was not such
Rch was ir antltze erkant. as would arouse a lover's desire.
ein geisel fuorte se in der hant: In her hand she held a knout:
dem wrn die swenkel sdn the lashes were of silk
unt der stil ein rubbn. and the stock of ruby.
gevar als eines affen ht This fetching sweetheart had
truoc hende diz gaebe trt. hands the colour of ape-skin.
die nagele wren niht ze lieht; Her fingernails were none too transparent;
wan mir diu ventiure gieht, for my source tells me
si stenden als eins lewen kln. that they were like a lion's claws.
nch ir minn was selten tjost getn. Seldom were lances broken for her love.
Chrtien's Description
he above account seems to be based upon the following description of the Loathly Damsel from Chrtien's Le Roman de
Perceval ou le Conte du Graal, starting at line 4603.

The Loathly Damsel
Marianne Brandt as Kundry in Act 1, Bayreuth 1882. Richard- Wagner- Gedenksttte.
he king, the queen and the barons gave the most joyful welcome to Perceval
the Welshman, and led him back to Carlion, returning there that day. They
celebrated all night and the day that followed: until, on the third day, they saw
a girl coming on a tawny mule, clutching a whip in her right hand. Her hair hung in two
tresses, black and twisted: and if the words of my source are true, there was no creature
so utterly ugly even in Hell. You have never seen iron as black as her neck and hands,
but that was little compared to the rest of her ugliness: her eyes were just two holes, tiny
as the eyes of a rat; her nose was like a cat's or monkey's, her lips like an ass's or a
cow's; her teeth were so discoloured that they looked like egg-yolk; and she had a beard
like a billy-goat. She had a hump in the middle of her chest and her back was like a
crook ... She greeted the king and his barons all together - except for Perceval. Sitting
upon the tawny mule she said: 'Ah, Perceval! Fortune has hair in front but is bald
behind. A curse on anyone who greets or wishes you well, for you didn't take Fortune by
the hand when you met her. You entered the house of the Fisher King and saw the lance
that bleeds, but it was so much trouble for you to open your mouth and speak that you
couldn't ask why that drop of blood sprang from the tip of the white head; nor did you
ask what worthy man was served by the Grail that you saw. How wretched is the man
who sees the perfect opportunity and still waits for a better one! And you, you are the
wretched one, who saw that it was the time and place to speak and yet stayed silent; you
had ample opportunity! It was an evil hour when you held your tongue, for if you had
asked, the rich king who is so distressed would now have been quite healed of his wound
and would have held his land in peace ...'
[translation: Nigel Bryant]

Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Prose draft of 1865 | Act 2 page 1 |
page 2 | page 3 | Notes on Act 2
Notes on Act 2
1. Wagner's Footnote
2. The Magic Mirror
3. The Significance of the Kiss
Wagner's Footnote
agner added the following, probably a few days later, to the last paragraph of the draft of Act
2: it is the spear with which Longinus had once wounded the Redeemer in the side, and of
which, as a very valuable means to magic, Klingsor had possessed himself.
More notes on the spear

The spear as a magic symbol
The Magic Mirror

ike Tennyson's Lady of Shalott, Klingsor experiences the world not face to face, but as
reflections in a mirror. In his magic mirror, Klingsor sees Parsifal approach his castle of
maidens. The mirror seems to be a device or instrument for seeing at a distance.

he inspiration for this element of Klingsor's domain seems to have been the marvellous pillar of
the castle of marvels in Wolfram's Parzival, which had been brought from the Orient by the
magician Clinschor. Like Klingsor's mirror, in Clinschor's pillar one could see for miles around
the castle.
t seemed [to Gawain] as though each land was revealed to him in the great pillar, that they
were whirling round and the huge mountains clashing with one another. He saw people in the
pillar, riding and walking, this man running, that one standing... He asked his mistress to tell
him the nature of the pillar there. "Sir", said she, "ever since I first came to know it, this stone has shone
out all day and night over the countryside to a distance of six miles on all sides. All that takes place
within that range can be seen in this pillar, whether it be on land or on water. It is the true tell-tale of
bird and beast, strangers and foresters, foreigners and familiars - all these have been relected in it! Its
lustre extends over six miles and it is so solid and whole that no smith, however adroit, could flaw it
with his hammer. It was taken from Queen Secundille in Thabronit, without her leave, I fancy".
[Parzival, book XI]
he wonderful pillar is one of many oriental elements in Wolfram's story. It has been suggested
that the original pillar was, at the time when Wolfram wrote his story, a wonder of the Hindu
city of Ajmer, which was then ruled by the young queen Samyogita (possibly Wolfram's
Secundille). This polished steel column, the Qutb-Minar, can now be seen in a mosque in Delhi.

Left: Flower Maiden costume by Paul von Joukowsky,

Bayreuth 1882. Richard- Wagner- Gedenksttte.
The Significance of the

Kiss
he kiss may be regarded as the dramatic climax of
Wagner's Parsifal. It is the point at which the boy
becomes a hero, and therefore at which the voice
changes to a heldentenor.
n Wieland Wagner's analysis of his grandfather's last

major work, two intersecting dimensions were
identified: in one of them, Parsifal travels and time goes
by, so that he ages and matures. In the other dimension,
Kundry, trapped in her cycle of eternal rebirth, moves in space
between the domains of the Grail and of Klingsor. At the centre
of this cross, these dimensions meet in the kiss. Kundry is the
catalyst of Parsifal's awakening; his rejection of her, frees
Kundry from her curse.
hat is the significance of Kundry's kiss?' - That, my

belovd, is a terrible secret! You know, of course, the
serpent of Paradise and its tempting promise: 'eritis
sicut Deus, scientes bonum et malum' [Genesis 3:5, 'Ye shall be
as gods, knowing good and evil']. Adam and Eve became
'knowing'. They became 'conscious of sin'. The human race had to atone for that consciousness by
suffering shame and misery until redeemed by Christ, who took upon himself the sin of mankind.
y dearest friend, how can I speak of such profound matters except in a simile, by means of a
comparison? But only the clairvoyant can say what its inner meaning may be. Adam - Eve -
Christ. - How would it be if we were to add to them: - 'Anfortas - Kundry: Parzival" ? But
with considerable caution! -
he kiss which causes Anfortas to fall into sin, awakens in Parzival a full awareness of that sin,
not as his own sin but as that of the grievously afflicted Anfortas whose lamentations he had
heard only dully, but the cause of which now dawns upon him in all its brightness, through his
sharing the feeling of sin: with the speed of lightning he said to himself, as it were: 'ah! that is the

poison that causes him to sicken, whose grief I did not understand until now!' - Thus he knows more that
all the others, more, especially than all the assembled Knights of the Grail who continued to think that
Anfortas was complaining merely of the spear-wound! Parzival now sees deeper ..."
[Richard Wagner to his patron, King Ludwig II of Bavaria, 7 September

1865]
ith the words, Love sends you now a mother's blessing, greets a son with Love's first kiss!,
Kundry kisses Parsifal, who reacts with revulsion. Up to this point, his thoughts have been
concerned with his mother, of whom Kundry has awakened memories; now those thoughts
are swept aside by a revelatory insight, Welthellsicht, and suddenly his overriding concern is for
Amfortas and his wound. Deep within, he remembers the strange and terrible cries he heard in the hall
of the Grail, and he sees the wound bleeding. Then he realises that the pain he experiences is not that of
Amfortas but his own. He sees that the burden of guilt is upon him alone; he cries out to the Redeemer,
Erlser! Heiland! Parsifal must now suffer and perform deeds of compassion and courage before he can
bring healing to the Grail king.
n the third act, Kundry's kiss is returned. Wagner may have found the inspiration for this scene
in Wolfram's poem. Although what happens there is quite different: after years of wandering,
Parzival has arrived at the court of King Arthur. Once before, Condrie had appeared at the
same court and cursed Parzival for his silence at the Grail Castle. Now she appears again, this time
begging forgiveness. Condrie kneels before Parzival and through her tears asks him to forgive her
without a kiss of reconciliation. When he has forgiven her, she stands up, casts aside her veil and
declares that Parzival is to heal Anfortas and then take his place as king of the Grail. In Wagner's
version, the recognition that Parsifal is to bring healing and then become king is transferred to
Gurnemanz and Kundry is mute. As in Wolfram, Kundry weeps, but first she receives a kiss of
forgiveness.

The Waste Land: Eliot, Wagner and the Magical Rites of Adonis.
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Jessie L. Weston | Waste Land
The Waste Land
1. Introduction A rat crept softly through the vegetation

2. Three Kings Dragging its slimy belly on the bank
3. Three Heroes While I was fishing in the dull canal
4. Three Gods On a winter evening round behind the gashouse
5. Conclusions Musing upon the king my brother's wreck
And on the king my father's death before him.
White bodies naked on the low damp ground
And bones cast in a low dry garret,
Rattled by the rat's foot only, year to year.
[T.S.Eliot, The Fire Sermon from The Waste Land, 1922]
n course of time, the slow advance of knowledge, which has dispelled so many cherished illusions,
convinced at least the more thoughtful portion of mankind that the alternations of summer and winter,
of spring and autumn, were not merely the result of their own magical rites, but that some deeper
cause, some mightier power, was at work behind the shifting scenes of nature. They now pictured to
themselves the growth and decay of vegetation, the birth and death of living creatures, as effects of the waxing
or waning strength of divine beings, of gods and goddesses, who were born and died, who married and begot
children, on the pattern of human life. Thus the old magical theory of the seasons was displaced, or rather
supplemented, by a religious theory. For although men now attributed the annual cycle of change primarily to
corresponding changes in their deities, they still thought that by performing certain magical rites they could
aid the god, who was the principle of life, in his struggle with the opposing principle of death.
[J.G.Fraser, The Myth of Adonis from The Golden Bough, revised 1922.]
Introduction
f Wagner's Parsifal is, as the composer would have us believe, a profoundly Christian work, then as
such it does not seem to fit into any Christian dramatic or musical sacred tradition. It has been
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/logres.htm (1 of 11) [30/05/2002 15:57:49]

regarded as a kind of miracle play, which makes use of Christian symbols, although it seems also to draw
some ideas from Buddhism. The present article will consider the evidence for regarding Wagner's Parsifal as
neither Christian nor Buddhist, but as a sacred drama in an Indo-European tradition that began thousands of
years before either of those religions had been established.
Three Kings
The Old King
common feature of kingship in primitive societies is the intimate association of the king with the land.
The king is often regarded as the temporary incarnation of a god whose youth, vigour and virility are
essential to the kingdom: the king's life or spirit is so sympathetically bound up with the prosperity of
the whole country, that if he fell ill or grew senile the cattle would sicken or cease to multiply, the crops would
rot in the fields, and men would perish of widespread disease.
[J.G.Fraser, The Golden Bough].
herefore, in such societies, the king is only allowed to rule for a fixed term, after which he is killed
(usually by his successor) and replaced. In the most extreme cases, the term is one year, so that the
death of the old king coincides with the passing of the old year. J.G.Fraser notes that such annual
regicide seems to have been common in Western Asia and particularly in Phrygia, where the king-priest was
slain in the character of Attis, a god of vegetation.
o what does this have to do with Wagner's drama? In the three decades between the composer's
discovery of Wolfram's Parzival and the completion of his own poem, Wagner rejected Wolfram's
account and selected elements from the Grail literature. One such element is that of an old king, a
character who appears in several of the Grail romances. In Chrtien's story, he is the father of the Grail king;
in Wolfram's account, his grandfather. In Wagner's poem, the old king Titurel lies in a tomb and is kept alive
by the sight of the Grail alone. It may be that Chrtien was the first author to locate two kings in the Grail
castle, perhaps as the result of merging two earlier stories; in any case, the double-king element was adopted
both by Wolfram and by Wagner. In a later form of the story, developed in The Quest of the Holy Grail,
there are three kings; all of them are wounded. The life of one, Mordrains, has been preternaturally prolonged
and his youth is restored by the completion of the quest.
The Maimed King

essie Weston distinguished between the Maimed King and the Fisher King, in her analysis of the
Grail legend and its possible ritual origin: Students of the Grail cycle will hardly need to be reminded

that the identity of the Maimed King is a hopeless puzzle. He may be the Fisher King, or the Fisher King's
father, or have no connection with either, as in the Evalach-Mordrains story. He may have been wounded in
battle, or accidentally, or wilfully, or by supernatural means, as the punishment of too close an approach to
the spiritual mysteries... Probably the characters of the Maimed King and the Fisher King were originally
distinct, the Maimed King representing, as we have suggested, the god, in whose honour the rites were
performed; the Fisher King, who, whether maimed or not, invariably acts as host, representing the Priest.
[J.L.Weston, The Grail and the Rites of Adonis].
n the earliest (Gawain) form of the Grail romances, it seems that the lord of the Grail castle was
neither old nor infirm, but dead. It was on account of the death of this knight that misfortune had
fallen upon the land. In all of the Perceval versions, however, it was the king who had been wounded
(or, in the case of the Didot Perceval only, grown old) and this was the cause of the wasting of the land. To
achieve the quest and revive the land, either the king had to be healed, or restored to youth and vigour, or a
young and vigorous successor had to undertake the burden of kingship.
agner seems to have distilled the essence of the story. He tells us that he rejected Wolfram's
account and recognised that, even in Chrtien's account, the Question was an unnecessary
complication. In his Parsifal, the collapse of the Grail community is a result of Anfortas' wound,
which is both physical and spiritual. In place of asking a Question, the destined successor has to fulfil a quest
through which the symbols of cup and lance are reunited, and the Maimed King is both healed and succeeded.
The Fisher King

n Robert de Boron's Joseph d'Arimathie, the brother of Joseph is called Bron. When the company
of the Grail are starving, Bron is told to catch a fish, which feeds them in a ritual meal. After this,
Bron is known as the Rich Fisher. Joseph, the original Winner of the Grail, and his brother Bron are
another example of the double-king element found in later versions of the story. The fisherman element is
found in all of the Perceval versions. In Chrtien's Perceval, for example, the hero meets the Grail king
when he is fishing from a boat. It may be significant that the Grail castle is always located close to water (and
in at least two cases, on an island). The fish is a traditional fertility symbol, perhaps as a result of its fecundity,
a characteristic that it shares with another Grail symbol, the dove.
More about the Fisher King (this page is very slow on account of large
graphics)

Frisch weht der Wind

Der Heimat zu
Mein Irisch Kind
Wo weilest du?
'You gave me hyacinths first a year ago;

'They called me the hyacinth girl.'
-- Yet when we came back, late,
from the hyacinth garden,
Your arms full, and your hair wet, I could not
Speak, and my eyes failed, I was neither
Living nor dead, and I knew nothing,
Looked into the heart of light, the silence.
Oed' und leer das Meer.
[T.S.Eliot, The Burial of the Dead from The

Waste Land, 1922. The work quoted is
Wagner's Tristan und Isolde.]
Three Heroes
Gawain (Gwalchmai)
essie Weston identified three stages of development in the medieval Grail romances. In the first of
them, the hero was Gawain (Welsh form: Gwalchmai) and the land had been wasted as a consequence
of the mysterious death of an unnamed knight. In this form of the legend, the body of the dead knight
lies on a scarlet cloth upon a bier in the Grail castle. Another feature specific to the Gawain version is that the
Grail-bearer weeps piteously. The most curious instance of the persistence of this part of the original
tradition is to be found in Gawain's visit to Corbenic, in the prose Lancelot, where he sees no one, but twelve
maidens kneeling at the closed door of the Grail chamber, weeping bitterly and praying to be delivered from
their torment. But the dwellers in Castle Corbenic, so far from being in torment, have all that heart can desire,
and, moreover, the honour of being guardians of the (here) sacred and most Christian relic, the Holy Grail.
[J.L.Weston, The Grail and the Rites of Adonis]

he best- known version of this form is known as the First Continuation to Perceval; which is not
consistent with Chrtien's unfinished poem. It appears to be based on an independent story. Gawain
fails to ask about the Grail (by which he would have restored the Waste Land) but he does ask about
the spear, which brings about a partial restoration.
n the later German text Diu Crne (The Crown), from about 1230, the lord of the Grail castle is old
and weak. After Gawain has asked the Question, removing the enchantment from the Waste Land,
we are told that the king and his attendants were in fact dead, but held in semblance of life until the
task was completed.
Perceval (Peredur)
n the second stage of development, the Widow's Son displaced Gawain as the primary hero. J.L.
Weston pointed to a distinctive feature common to the otherwise differing Perceval versions: the
sickness and disability of the ruler of the Waste Land, who is called the Fisher King. According to
Weston, the element of the Waste Land declined in importance during the development of this form until, in
Wolfram's Parzival, the healing of the Fisher King appears to be an end in itself. This wasting of the land is
found in three Gawain Grail-stories, [that] by Bleheris, the version of Chastel Merveilleus, and Diu Crne; it
is found in one Perceval text, the Gerbert continuation. Thus, briefly, the object of the Rites is the restoration
of Vegetation, connected with the revival of the god; the object of the Quest is the same, but connected with the
restoration to health of the King.
Right: The Achievement of Sangreal by Sir

Galahad, William Hatherell (1855- 1928).
King Arthur's Hall.
riginally, the distress of the land was a

direct result of the death of the king, or the
injury or aging of the king; but in
Chrtien's account, the disaster only develops
after the failure of Perceval to ask the Question
on his first visit to the Grail castle and in the
Perlesvaus, the wasting is a direct consequence of
Perceval's failure. The Welsh version, Peredur
Son of Evrawg, is a confused tale apparently
based upon an imperfect recollection either of Chrtien's poem or an earlier version of the same form, perhaps
the prose original referred to by Chrtien, and also possibly the Third Continuation. Like Perlesvaus, it is a
revenge story.

he Grail romances are characterised by a tension between the theme of revenge and the theme of
healing. This tension points to at least two distinct, original sources. As we review some of the findings
of the previous chapters, we perceive that there were not only two main themes which tended to
combine in bewildering associations, but several subordinate disharmonies contributed to the mystification of
both the authors and their readers. There was a wounded King for the hero to cure; there was a slain King for
him to avenge. Yet they seemed to bear somewhat the same name. The King's infirmity or death caused his
land to be sterile and waste; yet, strange to say, he possessed a talisman of inexhaustible abundance. There
were two damsels in the King's household, one whose function was to serve his guests with the talismanic
vessel, to assume a monstrous shape when the hero failed in his task of healing the King, and violently to
rebuke him; the other whose function was to spur the hero on to avenge a kinsman's death. The task of healing
required the hero to ask a spell-breaking Question; the task of vengeance required him to unite the fragments
of a broken sword.
[R.S.Loomis, The Grail: from Celtic Myth to Christian Symbol, 1963]
The Attainment of the Holy Grail by Sir Galahad (1898-99), a tapestry after a design by Sir Edward
Burne-Jones (1833-1898). Christie's Images, London.
Galahad (Galaad)
n the final stage, the themes of vengeance and healing, together with such elements as the wasting of
the land and the Question, have disappeared and what remains is a spiritual quest. As in Perlesvaus,
the story is dominated by moralising and Christian allegory. The hero is now Galahad, son of
Lancelot. In The Quest of the Holy Grail, there are two wounded kings at the Grail castle, and the title of
Fisher King is variously applied to both of them. The virgin Galahad, who was born at the Grail castle, has
never failed and achieves the quest in fulfilment of his destiny.

Right: Sir Galahad, by G.F. Watts (1817-1904).
et us note first, that whatever else changes in the story, the essential framework
remains the same. Always the castle is found by chance; always the hero
beholds marvels he does not comprehend; always he fails to fulfil the test which
would have qualified him to receive the explanation of those marvels; always he
recognises his fault too late, when the opportunity has passed beyond recall; and only
after long trial is it again granted to him. Let us clear our minds once and for all from
the delusion that the Grail story is primarily the story of a quest; it is that secondarily.
In its primary form it is the romance of a lost opportunity; for always, and in every
instance, the first visit connotes failure; it is to redress that failure that the quest is
undertaken. So essential is this part of the story that it survives even in the Galahad
version; that immaculate and uninteresting hero does not fail, of course; but neither
does he come to the Grail castle for the first time when he presides at the solemn and symbolic feast; he was
brought up there, but has left it before the Quest begins; like his predecessors, Gawain and Perceval, he goes
forth from the castle in order to return.
Three Gods
Tammuz (Dumuzi)
he cult of the god known to the Sumerians and Akkadians as Dumuzi-abzu, but better known under his
Syrian name of Tammuz, may be traced back to about 3000 B.C. Dumuzi is a Sumerian deity of the
marshes. His name means "quickener of the young in the mother womb of the deep," and he is
generally seen as a fertility deity. His sister, Geshtinanna, is the power in the grape, and his female consort is
Inanna, who in the earliest period symbolizes the "storehouse of dates." Dumuzi, Inanna, and Geshtinanna, as
well as Duttura, the mother of Dumuzi, and Ereshkigal, the sister of Inanna and goddess of the underworld, are
prominent in several mythological cycles and mythical dramas. In a pantheon containing thousands of deities,
these serve as examples of the reigning symbolism of fertility. As the god of the harvest, Dumuzi was
required, like Osiris of Egypt, to conquer death by emerging from the Underworld. The surviving Sumerian
and Akkadian texts contain many lamentations for Dumuzi, who left the surface of the earth once a year, with
disastrous consequences for animal and vegetable life. A Sumerian text, The Descent of Inanna, tells of how
the goddess descends into the underworld to bring back the god, ensuring seasonal fertility. There is a shorter
Akkadian text, found in both Babylonia and Assyria, telling essentially the same story, although the names are
changed to Ishtar and Tammuz. Dumuzi-Tammuz appears to have been more than a seasonal god, however; it
seems that he was believed to participate in the reproductive activities of all forms of life.

Attis
he Phrygian cult of Attis may be as old as that of Dumuzi-Tammuz and both may have derived from
the worship of a common predecessor. Or, despite their common features, they may have developed
independently: the annual death and revival of vegetation is a conception which readily presents itself
to men in every stage of savagery and civilisation: and the vastness of the scale on which this ever-recurring
decay and regeneration takes place, together with man's most intimate dependence on it for subsistence,
combine to render it the most impressive annual occurrence in nature, at least within the temperate zones. It is
no wonder that a phenomenon so important, so striking, and so universal should, by suggesting similar ideas,
have given rise to similar rites in many lands.
[J.G.Fraser, The Golden Bough]
he death and resurrection of Attis were annually mourned and rejoiced over at a festival in spring,
usually at the vernal equinox. Attis was said to have been a fair young shepherd or herdsman beloved
by Cybele, the Mother of the Gods. There are two different accounts of his death: in one he castrated
himself under a pine-tree and bled to death. This version may have been invented to explain the self-castration
of his priests. In the other, he was, like Adonis, killed by a wild boar, and hence his followers abstained from
pork. He was subsequently changed into a pine-tree and therefore such a tree, decorated with violets, was
venerated during the spring festival.

O you who turn the wheel and look to windward,

Consider Phlebas, who was once handsome
and tall as you.
[T.S.Eliot, Death by Water from The Waste

Land, 1922.]
I weep for Adonais -- he is dead!

O, weep for Adonais! though our tears
Thaw not the frost that binds so dear a head!
[P.B.Shelley, Adonais, 1821.]
Adonis
he cult of Adonis seems to have originated in Phoenicia and spread first to Cyprus and then
throughout the Greek world in about the 7th century B.C. The name or title Adonis was also applied to
Tammuz, Adon being the Syrian word meaning Lord. Originally, Adonis was the lover of the goddess
Astarte, who became identified with the Greek goddess Aphrodite. He was said to have been a mortal who was
killed by a wild boar, who may have been Aphrodite's jealous husband, Ares. The intercession of Aphrodite
persuaded Zeus to allow Adonis to return from the underworld for a portion of the year. The dispute between
Aphrodite and Persephone for possession of Adonis is a curious parallel to that between Ishtar and Ereshkigal
for Tammuz. It is possible that the Phrygian Adonis was originally a river-god; the river Nahr Ibrahim, which
reaches the sea just south of Byblus, bore in antiquity the name Adonis and there is a complex of temples to
Astarte around the gorge of the river. The spring rain colours the river red with clay washed from the hills; this
is still referred to as the blood of Adonis. His rites usually ended with the effigy of the god being cast into the
sea or a river; this is still echoed in vernal folk-customs in many lands.
raser records that the worship of Adonis as a corn-spirit, i.e. a spirit of harvest, in the month of
Tammuz (July) persisted in Syria into the Middle Ages. An Arabic writer of the tenth century
recorded: In the middle of this month is the festival of el-Bgt, that is, of the weeping women, and this
is the T-uz festival, which is celebrated in honour of the god T-uz. The women bewail him, because his lord
slew him so cruelly, ground his bones in a mill, and then scattered them to the wind.[The Golden Bough].

This propitiation of the corn-god may be ultimately derived from an older, primitive belief that the spirits of
animals and vegetation had to be appeased by those who ate them.
essie Weston identified the following points of contact between the Adonis ritual and the Gawain
form of the story of the Grail castle: the waste land; the slain king (or knight); the mourning, with
special insistence on the part played by women; and the restoration of fertility. Another point is worth
noting: the dove was sacred to Adonis and doves were sacrificed during his rites.
Conclusions
essie Weston traced the possible origins of the medieval Grail romances through Gnostic mystery
religions back to the fertility rites and initiation ceremonies of ancient vegetation cults. Independently,
evidence for the oriental origin of elements of theGrail legends was gathered by L.E. Iselin (Der
morgenlndische Ursprung der Grallegende, 1909). Since Wagner's text draws upon these Grail romances
and because Wagner selected elements that connect these romances with the rituals of Indo-European
mystery religions, then it seems justifiable to regard his Parsifal as belonging to a religious tradition that is at
least five thousand years old.
n this perspective, Parsifal is the story of a failed initiation into a mystery religion. It tells of an infirm
king who is, at first, neither healed nor replaced by a vigorous successor and how, as a result, the land
becomes a Waste Land and the people of the Grail castle decay. The old king, his father, dies before
the quest has been completed. The Grail-bearer, who is also the messenger of the Grail, weeps bitterly on a
spring morning. The symbols of cup and spear are re-united to assure the renewed fertility of land and people.
Postscript
Wagner and the Waste Land
hen I wrote the first version of the article above, in December 1996, it was my intention to explore the
connections between T.S. Eliot's most famous poem and Wagner's last music-drama. In his own notes
on The Waste Land Eliot informs us: Not only the title, but the plan and a good deal of the incidental
symbolism of the poem were suggested by Miss Jessie L. Weston's book on the Grail legend: From Ritual to
Romance ... To another work of anthropology I am indebted in general, one which has influenced our
generation profoundly; I mean The Golden Bough; I have used especially the two volumes Adonis, Attis,
Osiris. Anyone who is acquainted with these works will immediately recognise in the poem certain references

to vegetation ceremonies.
So Eliot was influenced by Frazer's anthropological writings both directly and through J.L. Weston. Similarly
his relationship to Wagner is both direct (the poem quotes Tristan und Isolde and Das Rheingold; it also
quotes Verlaine's poem about Parsifal) and through the Wagnerian J.L. Weston. Furthermore, Eliot's poem
is connected to Wagner's last music-drama by drawing on a common myth, the Grail legend. It might be
fortuitous that the quotation from Petronius with which Eliot prefaced his poem is singularly appropriate to
Kundry: Said the boys, "What do you want, Sibyl?"; she answered, "I want to die".
So there are threads connecting Eliot's Grail poem and Wagner's Grail drama. Unfortunately those threads
have led some to believe that Wagner had built his Parsifal upon the myth of the Waste Land, i.e. the variant
of the Grail legend in which the land (and the vegetable and animal life of that land) suffers as a result of the
king's sickness. In some versions of the myth, it is specifically the infertility of the king that causes the
infertility of the crops and livestock of the kingdom. Wagner's treatment of the Grail legend is not, however,
based on the Waste Land variant. If Wagner had wanted to stress the sexual aspect of the king's injury, then he
would have made the wound one through the genitals and not through the side, which is where the Prose
Draft locates the (physical) wound. It is the same wound as the Redeemer received upon the Cross.
So the implication in Harry Kupfer's Berlin production that Amfortas' problem is one of sexual dysfunction is
an idea that Kupfer has added himself, rather than his interpretation of Wagner's text. Wagner is not concerned
with any link between the king and his kingdom although he is concerned with the indirect results of the king's
sickness on the community of Monsalvat; it is because the king will not perform the Grail ceremony that the
community fails to function. The problem that must be solved, or the need that must be addressed, is not
infertility that affects the king and the land, rather it is the king's realisation of his own inadequacy that leaves
the knights leaderless. There is no evidence, in the Prose Drafts or Poem, that the domain of the Grail
becomes a Waste Land. Yet it has become a clich of stage productions that the third act (and in some
productions also the first act) of Parsifal is set in a bleak waste land. This contradicts not only Wagner's stage
directions but also his poem (libretto). Emphasis on the Eliot connection reached its apogee in the Niklaus
Lehnhoff production (soon to be re-staged in Chicago). For all merits, Lehnhoff's production is an example of
how not to produce Wagner's dramas. It imposes ideas and references that would not have been recognised by
Wagner not as a means by which to make Wagner's own ideas intelligible to a modern audience but instead of
presenting his ideas.

The Question and the Fisher King
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Sources | Wolfram | Chrtien | Celtic
stories | Visit to the Grail Castle | Question
The Question
he thing about the Question is that it is so utterly preposterous and totally meaningless.
[Richard Wagner, Wesendonck-Briefe 190-5, tr. Spencer and Millington.]
he myth of Perceval is part of a larger tradition of stories about young heroes who are
brought to a test or trial. The hero has to take the correct action or make the correct
response instinctively. Passing the test may bring a kingdom, riches or some gift; failing the
test may bring death or exclusion. Usually, the hero only gets one chance. The unasked Question is
the opposite of a riddle and therefore a more difficult test.
erceval, or Peredur or Parzival, visits the Grail Castle twice. On the first occasion, the boy
remembers that he has been taught not to ask unnecessary questions, and so does not ask a
necessary question. As a result, he fails and the land becomes, or at least continues to be, a
waste land. By the time he finds the Grail Castle again, the hero has achieved enlightenment and is
able to ask the Question and so bring healing.
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/question.htm (1 of 3) [30/05/2002 15:58:49]

n Chrtien's account, the necessary Question is: Who is served by the grail?. A possible
answer would be: The old king, whose heir you are .
n itself, deliverance as the result of the right kind of question is

a universal, i.e. an archetypal, motif. Indeed, in fairy-tales it is
usual for the hero who wishes to acquire the treasure to have
to fulfil one or more special conditions, on the correct execution of
which the result depends. One such condition is the question. There is
often a prohibition on asking, as for instance in the legend of
Lohengrin where it is a matter of guarding a mystery. The mystery is
generally that of the hero's descent which, most frequently, is
miraculous. With Perceval the matter stands differently. Excepting in
Wolfram, and in Wagner where a pure fool, through pity wise becomes
the quintessence of Parsifal's character, the question is not based on
compassion.
[Emma Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz, The Grail

Legend.]
n Wolfram's account, the necessary Question is: Sir, why do

you suffer so?. A possible answer would be: I was wounded
by the spear and it alone can heal me.
agner dispensed with the Question entirely. What is

important is not the question, but the recovery of the spear
(Cosima's Diary, 30 January 1877). Wagner realised that there was another possibility:
Parsifal fails to understand what he experiences at the Grail Castle, until he has relived Amfortas'
encounter with Kundry. He then understands through emotional identification with the suffering
Fisher King.
here is, however, a question in Wagner's version: it is asked by Parsifal on his arrival at the
lake in the domain of the Grail. Who is the Grail?, he asks. Gurnemanz laughs. That cannot
be spoken, he says, but if you are called to its service, the knowledge will not be hidden for long.

This page last updated (image padding and borders) 05/28/02 14:46:54.

Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Kundry | Seven Faces of Kundry
ore than any other work of Richard Wagner, his Parsifal is a a fine mlange, as the
composer described one passage he had just composed for the first act. All was grist to his
mill: scenery that he had seen in Paris, costumes worn by a chorus in London, characters
from medieval and modern literature, poetry and prose, tales from Europe and India. The many
ingredients were stirred together and simmered over more than thirty years before the result could
be written down as the libretto of 1877. The range and variety of these ingredients can be revealed
by examining the composite personality of one of the central characters, Kundry. In addition to a
number of minor ones, it is possible to discern seven major components in Wagner's Kundry. The
following notes are a summary of these components.
The Beautiful Maiden is Kundry transformed by the power of Klingsor, appearing after his
magic maidens have failed to seduce the future hero. The odd thing about this seduction
scene is that it is difficult to identify anything similar in Wagner's sources, thus it has naturally
been assumed that Wagner invented this scene out of whole cloth. However, a possible inspiration
for the scene is one of the books that Wagner left behind him in Dresden in 1849: a book by Rudolf
von Ems, published in Leipzig five years earlier, which contains the story of the saints Barlaam and
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/faces.htm (1 of 3) [30/05/2002 15:59:43]

Josaphat. Details in the story are curiously similar to details of the second act of Parsifal. More
about St. Josaphat and the Beautiful Maiden.
Condrie or Cundrie is of all characters in Wolfram's Parzival, the most likely to have
inspired Wagner in creating Kundry. Wagner was scornful of Wolfram's poem, but a few
things stuck in my mind - the Good Friday, the wild appearance of Condrie. Beyond the similarity of
name, however, they have little in common whether of appearance, behaviour or incident. Kundry
owes more to two other characters in Wolfram's poem: Orgeluse and Sigune. Condrie is the loathly
damsel, a character with her own literary tradition, which has been traced back to her origin as the
Sovereignty of the land. The loathly damsel has a double character: she can appear either in her
winter aspect as a repulsive hag, or in her spring aspect as a beautiful maiden. The latter has been
identified with the radiant maiden who bears the Holy Grail. More about Condrie and the Loathly
Damsel.
Herodias is one of the names used by Klingsor in his invocation of Kundry at the start of the
second act of Parsifal. Like the young Parsifal, the wild woman has had many names. While
the other names are unimportant, the name Herodias appears to be significant; it might even be
Kundry's original name. As she reveals in the final part of the second act, Kundry has been cursed
to wander ever since she laughed at the suffering of Jesus. Whilst it is never stated that Kundry,
perhaps in the first of many lives, was of Jewish race, this is often inferred. Wagner's use of the
name Herodias seems to have been inspired by two literary sources. One of them is Heine's poem
Atta Troll, in which the poet tells of his love for the Jewish princess, Herodias, who is dead and
buried at Jerusalem. She now joins the Wild Hunt, and with them, like Kundry in act one of
Parsifal, laughing, rides across the sky. Jede Nacht, an deiner Seite, Reit ich mit dem wilden Heere,
Und wir kosen und wir lachen ber meine tollen Reden. The other source was Sue's novel, published
in serial form, Le juif errant. The Wandering Jew of the title, Ahasuerus, is accompanied by
Herodias, who like him is unable to find rest. More about Herodias.
Mary Magdalene is suggested by the actions of the penitent Kundry in the third act of
Wagner's drama. In late 1848 he had sketched a scenario for a play called Jesus of Nazareth,
which includes a scene in which the penitent Magdalen kneels in repentence before Jesus on the
shore of Lake Gennesareth; later in the play she was to anoint his head and wash his feet, just as
Kundry does toward Parsifal in the opera. There is an interesting parallel between the Magdalen,
who desires to serve Jesus and the apostles, and Prakriti, who wants to join the community of
Shakyamuni, the future Buddha. This desire to serve is also a characteristic of the penitent
Kundry; in fact her only words in the third act are dienen -- dienen. More about Mary Magdalene.
Orgeluse or the haughty lady of Logres is one of Wolfram's characters who would seem to be
indispensable to Wagner's version of the story. She has been put under a spell by the
sorcerer Clinschor. Wolfram's Anfortas set out to win the heart of Orgeluse, and in her service was

wounded. In Wagner's account, Amfortas is enamoured of the beautiful Kundry, and in her
embrace he is both deprived of and wounded by the spear in his charge, now wielded by the
sorcerer Klingsor. Thus as Anfortas became Amfortas, Clinschor became Klingsor and Orgeluse
became the beautiful Kundry. More about Orgeluse.
Prakriti was to have been the principal female character in Wagner's projected opera based
on an Indian text, Die Sieger; although he later changed the name of this character to Savitri,
who was the heroine of a different tale entirely. It is possible that one of the reasons for Wagner's
failure to make progress with Die Sieger was that many of his ideas for Prakriti had been used in
creating Kundry. In particular, the idea that Kundry is in some sense reborn, that she carries a
burden of sins committed in a past life, and the motif of mocking laughter that is, in Parsifal, an
expression of Schadenfreude, the opposite of Mitleid. More about Prakriti.
Sigune is (in Wolfram) Parzival's cousin. In the earlier poem by Chrtien, where she is
nameless, the hero-to-be meets her only once; in Wolfram's poem the future hero encounters
Sigune several times during the story at what appear to be milestones in his spiritual development.
It is Sigune who tells Parzival of the death of his mother, and she either reveals to him or causes
him to remember his name. More about Sigune.
lesser genius than Richard Wagner, starting from Wolfram's epic poem Parzival, would
have kept three distinct, female characters: Orgeluse, Sigune and Condrie. Wagner merged
them into a single person; not content with that, he spiced the mixture with characters from
completely different literary and religious traditions: a Chandala girl from north-east India, a
penitent Magdalen, an Indian princess sent to test the virtue of a Bodhisattva, and Heine's princess
of Judea. The result was Kundry.

Parsifal Prose Draft Act 2 - Page 1
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Prose draft of 1865 | Act 2 page 1
29 Aug. [1865]
undry has again vanished, fallen into a death-like sleep. Klingsor has regained power over her soul: he
needs the help of this the most wondrous of women to deliver his final blow. At his castle, in an inaccessible
dungeon, he sits in his magician's workshop: he is the daemon of hidden sin, the raging of impotence
against sin. Using his magician's powers, he conjures up Kundry's soul; her spirit appears in the depths of a dark
cave. From the dialogue of these two, we learn something of their relationship.

Right: Klingsor's Castle, Act 2 Scene 1,

Bayreuth production of 1882.
undry is living an unending

life of constantly alternating
rebirths as the result of an
ancient curse which, in a manner
reminiscent of the Wandering Jew,
condemns her, in ever-new shapes,
to bring to men the suffering of
seduction; redemption, death,
complete annihilation is vouchsafed
her only if her most powerful
blandishments are withstood by the
most chaste and virile of men. So
far, they have not been. After each
new and, in the end, profoundly hateful victory, after each new fall by man, she flies into a rage; she then flees into the
wilderness, where by the most severe atonements and chastisements she is, for a while, able to escape from the power of
the curse upon her; yet it is denied to her to find salvation by this route. Within her, again and again, arises a desire to be
redeemed by a man, this being the only way of redemption offered by the curse: thus does innermost necessity cause her
repeatedly to fall victim anew to the power through which she is reborn as a seductress. The penitent then falls into a
death-like sleep: it is the seductress who wakes, and who, after her mad frenzy, becomes a penitent again.

Left: Marcel Journet (1867-1933) as Klingsor. Richard- Wagner-

Gedenksttte.
s no one but a man can redeem her, she has taken refuge as a
penitent with the Knights of the Grail; here, among them, must
the redeemer be found. She serves them with the most
passionate self- sacrifice: never, when she is in this state, does she
receive a loving look, being no more than a servant and despised slave.
Klingsor's magic has found her out; he knows the curse and the power
through which she can be forced into his service. To avenge the
dreadful disgrace he once suffered from Titurel, he traps and seduces
the noblest Knights of the Grail into breaking their vow of chastity.
What, however, gives him power over Kundry, this most exquisite
instrument of seduction, is not only the magic power through which he
controls the curse upon Kundry, but also the most powerful assistance
he finds in Kundry's own soul. -
Right: Kirsten Flagstad as Kundry, Act 2. ACME

Newspictures.
ince only one man can redeem her and so she

feels given to him in complete submission, her
experience of the weakness of these men
cannot but fill her with strange bitterness: feeling that
only one man, who withstands the force of her
feminine charms, can destroy and redeem her, she is
repeatedly driven by something deep in her own soul to
be tested again: but mixed with this is her scorn, her
despair at being subjugated to this feeble breed, and a
fearful blazing hatred which, while it disposes her for
the destruction of men, at the same time repeatedly
arouses her wild, loving desire in a consuming,
fearfully fiery manner to that fit of ecstacy by means of which she can work the magic, while remaining its' slave.

Left: Maria Callas as Kundry, Act 2. (Photograph supplied by Lycia Collins).
er latest task, under Klingsor's guidance, has been the seduction of

Anfortas. The sorcerer's only wish was to have Anfortas in his power: he
planned for him the disgrace that, in raving blindness, he once inflicted
upon himself: he managed to lure the Keeper of the Grail himself into the arms of
Kundry, reborn as the wondrously seductive woman, and while he was lost in her
embrace, the knights enslaved by Klingsor fell upon him; they were not allowed
to kill him; the vigilant Gurnemans, calling upon the aid of the Grail, managed to
free the already wounded Anfortas. Thus was Klingsor deprived of the prize of his
venture: Kundry, to her distress, had fared better in proving her power anew!
After violent ravings, she again woke penitent. From one state to the next, she
retains no real memory of what has occurred: to her it is like a dream experienced
in very deep sleep which, on waking, one cannot recall, although there is a vague,
deep-seated feeling of impotence. Yet she gazes with both sadness and scorn at
the wounded man, who she, penitent once more now, again serves with the most
passionate devotion, but - without hope, without respect.
This page last updated (css message, layout) 05/24/02 16:19:07.

Richard Wagner's Letter to Mathilde
Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Richard to Mathilde August 1860 | Notes on
Wagner's Letter
Richard Wagner's Letter to

Mathilde
1. Metempsychosis
2. Parsifal's Purity
3. Time and Space
4. The Beautiful Kundry
5. Kundry's Restlessness
Introduction
he following notes refer to the extract from a letter to Mathilde Wesendonk reproduced on
the preceding page. Wagner's letters to Mathilde are of great value in understanding his
Parsifal. This letter in particular, when read with an awareness of what Wagner had been
reading and writing elsewhere during the years 1854-1860, not only explains several aspects of
Parsifal but also opens up a perspective on the work that is at odds with its interpretation in the
20th century. In order to show why this true, unfortunately, it will be necessary to venture out into
the deep waters of philosophy and religion.
nyone who has read Lucy Beckett's book on Parsifal will know that, in her interpretation,
the work is thoroughly and exclusively Christian. So much so, she tells her readers, that
Nietzsche was shocked by Wagner's apparent conversion to the slave-morality of
Christianity. For Nietzsche, when Wagner wrote about purity he was promoting chastity, a subject
on which, Nietzsche remarked with typical sarcasm, Wagner was a leading authority. Beckett's
view of Parsifal is often encountered; most recently it was summarised in the program book for the
latest Covent Garden production, which states that Beckett's book is recognised as the standard work
on the opera. Although her book does indeed contain much interesting and relevant information
about Parsifal, this note will show where Beckett's "proposed interpretation" is fundamentally
wrong.
ucy Beckett's view of Parsifal is one that is rooted in the English tradition. Initially at least
Parsifal was received in England as a work of Christian mysticism. A century ago it was not
http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/exegesis.htm (1 of 9) [30/05/2002 16:00:40]

unusual for English Wagnerians to prepare for a performance of Parsifal, in Bayreuth or

elsewhere, with prayer and fasting. Beckett follows Jessie L. Weston in regarding Parsifal as a work
in which there is a tension between pagan elements (drawn from Celtic and Germanic mythology)
and Christian elements, a tension that originates in Wagner's medieval sources. While this
misunderstanding is understandable where Weston was concerned, it is inexcusable that Beckett
has ignored other medieval sources that indicate a different basis for both the inner and the outer
action of Parsifal. Weston took the view that the primary source and inspiration for Wagner's last
drama was Wolfram's Parzival and this accepts Beckett uncritically. Understandably because it is
what Wagner's autobiography implies. It is at best, however, a half-truth.
nother interpretation of Parsifal has been influential during the last thirty years. It was put
forward by Robert Gutman in the last chapter of his Richard Wagner: the Man, his Mind
and his Music. In this bizarre interpretation, which seems to be accepted as absolute truth
by the current generation of stage directors, Wagner created Parsifal as the "gospel" of Nazism, an
ideology which Gutman and his followers believe to have been Wagner's invention. In this
interpretation, when Wagner's text refers to purity he means racial purity. In Parsifal, according to
Gutman, Wagner set forth a religion of racism under the cover of Christian legend. Parsifal is an
enactment of the Aryan's plight, struggle, and hope for redemption, a drama characterized not only by the
composer's naively obscure and elliptical literary style, but also by the indigenous circumlocutions of
allegory, the calculated unrealities of symbolism, and, especially, the sultry corruptions of decadence.
Strong stuff, indeed, and even more fundamentally wrong than Beckett's interpretation. As this
letter of August 1860 reveals.
Right: Mathilde Wesendonk.
Metempsychosis
nly a profound acceptance of the doctrine of metempsychosis
has been able to console me by revealing the point at which all
things finally converge at the same level of redemption, after
the various individual existences - which run alongside each other in
time - have come together in a meaningful way outside time.
he more perceptive of his biographers recognise that the

most important event in Richard Wagner's life was his
discovery, in the autumn of 1854, of the philosopy of
Arthur Schopenhauer, whose book The World as Will and Representation changed Wagner's life by
changing his understanding of the universe. In the course of a year he read the book four times and
also read some of Schopenhauer's minor works. These probably included his essay On the Basis of
Morality, in which the philosopher argues that the only basis of morality is compassion, and On the

Will in Nature. This latter work included (in the 1854 edition and subsequent revisions) a reading
list of books and articles about Indian religions. One of the books recommended was Burnouf's
Introduction to the History of Indian Buddhism. It was in this book that Wagner found the story that
was to be the basis of his sketch for a Buddhist drama, Die Sieger (The Victors). He was also
fascinated to read, in this and other books recommended by Schopenhauer, about reincarnation.
n his recent book on Parsifal, Peter Bassett explains:
Wagner was especially attracted to the story's secondary theme of reincarnation as a vehicle for
his compositional technique of Emotional Reminiscence, usually referred to by the term 'leitmotiv'. "Only
music", he said, "can convey the mysteries of reincarnation". Die Sieger was never developed beyond a
sketch but some of its ideas were used again in Parsifal, and Prakriti [the outcast maiden] reappeared
(transformed) as Kundry. Wagner's fascination with Buddhism intensified as the years went by and
coloured his general philosophy. It is seen most vividly in Parsifal and Tristan und Isolde (where, for
example, one finds a correlation between Truth, Nirvana and Night) but there are also traces in Der Ring
des Nibelungen. In 1856, the same year as Die Sieger, Wagner drafted a Buddhist ending for the Ring,
with Brnnhilde achieving enlightenment (that is, becoming a Buddha herself) and attaining Nirvana.
That ending was subsequently replaced by the present one.
ust over four years later, in August 1860, Wagner wrote to Mathilde Wesendonk that he
had accepted the doctrine of metempsychosis, Seelenwanderung. This was a doctrine that,
according to Schopenhauer, was found not only in Indian religions but throughout the
ancient world, for example taught by the Greek philosophers Pythagoras and Plato. (Schopenhauer
added, with his usual dry humour, that reincarnation would be a good thing if it meant that one
could remember the Greek grammar that one had learned in an earlier existence!) As
Schopenhauer explained in the 1859 edition of his magnum opus -- which Wagner had not yet read
when he wrote this letter -- he had experienced some difficulty in understanding the difference
between metempsychosis (the doctrine taught by the Greeks and also found in Hinduism
=Brahminism) and the subtler Buddhist doctrine of palingenesis. (Schopenhauer explained that he
had understood more after reading the Manual of Buddhism by Robert Spence Hardy. That
Wagner subsequently also read at least part of Spence Hardy's book is revealed by an addition that
he made to the second act of Parsifal in 1877). So what Wagner had understood as a beautiful
Buddhist doctrine probably was not Buddhist at all, but some version of metempsychosis, the
migration of souls. It is important to remember, when considering the Buddhist ideas that have
been identified in Parsifal, that both Schopenhauer and Wagner had a very imperfect
understanding of Buddhist concepts.
t might strike the observant reader as strange that Wagner, when he wrote this letter, was
thinking of Lohengrin as the reincarnation of Parsifal, since his Lohengrin speaks of his
father as if he were still alive. The most likely explanation is that Wagner was trying to
reconcile two different concepts of reincarnation: one of them an imperfectly understood

Buddhist/Brahmin doctrine, the other a concept introduced by Schopenhauer. As the philosopher

belatedly realised, reincarnation was a logical consequence of his doctrine of the pacification of the
will. If the will was not pacified, then suffering would continue; hence Schopenhauer's doctrine that
suicide, or death in general, was not a way out. Wagner illustrates this doctrine in Parsifal when
Amfortas expresses the belief that the prophesied one who will come to end his suffering is death.
His desire for death then becomes the cause of the distress and suffering of the community. In
Schopenhauer's doctrine of reincarnation, it is the individual will (which is in fact a manifestation
of the universal Will) that is passed on from generation to generation. It can be passed on from
parent to child, even while the parent is still alive; this aspect of the doctrine clearly is related to the
sexual nature of the Will, which causes new generations to be born to suffering. Even if Wagner
was aware that the Buddhist doctrine (in which it is a karmic record that is inherited) and the
Schopenhauerean doctrine (in which the will of a parent or ancestor is inherited) were
incompatible, he was quite capable of believing in two incompatible doctrines at the same time!
nother writer who has examined Wagner's fascination with the concept of reincarnation is
Wolfgang Osthoff, the author of the definitive study of Die Sieger. He points out that the
original reason for legend on which Wagner's sketch was based, that of showing the Buddha
teaching against the tradition of caste, was of little interest to Wagner. Osthoff notes that the story
had two other main points, ones that were of interest:
(1) The redemption of the individual which, arising from a spontaneous emotional crisis and the resulting
insight and purification, renounces all natural passion and personal will. This takes place in Prakriti - but
"emotional experience" and a "new insight" lead even the Buddha himself to the "final blessedness":
through compassion for the woman he fulfills "his saving path through this world for the weal of all
creatures". (2)The long path of individual redemption leading through the suffering of reincarnations,
resulting from past faults, to the deliverance in sanctification. The Buddha shows this in the case of
Prakriti.
rom these features, it is clear that the Buddha's attaining of new insight through compassion (or
sympathy) is particularly relevant to Parsifal, who also finds "knowledge through compassion".
n fact, as I have suggested elsewhere, a comparison between the Buddha's compassion for
Prakriti in the last act of Die Sieger and Parsifal's compassion for Kundry in the last act of
Parsifal is the key to understanding what happens in the Good Friday meadow. Returning
to Wagner's letter to Mathilde, he continues:
ccording to the beautiful Buddhist doctrine, the spotless purity of Lohengrin is easily explicable
in terms of his being the continuation of Parzifal [sic] - who was the first to strive towards purity.
Elsa, similarly, would reach the level of Lohengrin through being reborn. Thus my plan for the
Victors struck me as being the concluding section of Lohengrin. Here Savitri (Elsa) entirely reaches the
level of Ananda.

s if this letter were not obscure enough for modern readers already, Wagner has changed
the name of his heroine from Prakriti to Savitri, who was the heroine of a different story
entirely. Osthoff comments:
reflection of this speculative tracing of a connection from Lohengrin back to The Victors can
perhaps be seen in the music of Parsifal. Now Parsifal's entrance is marked by his wanton
slaughter of a wild swan ... In musical terms, this report [by the 1st knight] is an episode of
almost uncanny peacefulness within the agitated scene. The accompaniment is in the deep woodwind and
divisi violas. The scene opens with a drumroll that -- at the entry of the mentioned woodwind -- moves the
second kettledrum, which should be muted. Such muting of timpani was in the 18th and early 19th
centuries characteristic of funeral music. Wagner certainly knew this tradition... Heinrich Porges, who
once again took part in the rehearsals in Bayreuth in 1882, recorded the instruction Wagner gave
specifically for the entry of the woodwind and muted kettle-drum: "The orchestra must be like an invisible
soul".
t is not beyond all possibility that Wagner intended the swan to represent a reincarnation of
Parsifal's mother, Herzeleide. Another bird that appears in Siegfried, in a scene that
Wagner was scoring during the summer of 1856, might also be interpreted as a
reincarnation, in this case of Siegfried's mother, Sieglinde. H.C. Chamberlain, writing in the
Bayreuther Bltter in 1933, claimed that Wagner had described the bird as the motherly soul of
Sieglinde; and in her book about Wagner's dramas, Judith Gautier wrote: would this not be the soul
of his mother?
ne does not have to look to external references in order to find the subject of reincarnation
in Parsifal. In the first act Gurnemanz thinks aloud: She (Kundry) may be cursed. She lives
here now, perhaps reincarnated, to atone for some offence in a former life... (Hier lebt sie heut',
vielleicht erneut, zu bssen Schuld aus frh'rem Leben...) In Buddhist and Hindu (Brahmin) belief
(and here I hope that Hindus and Buddhists will forgive some simplification of their doctrines) the
rebirth of an (apparent) individual depends on actions that were made in an earlier life. The
Sanskrit word for action is karma. It is widely used to mean the consequences of actions and, in
Buddhism, an extended concept of cause and effect that is believed to be the fundamental principle
of the universe. When he wrote of Elsa achieving the level of Lohengrin, or of Savitri (Prakriti)
achieving the level of Ananda (cousin and disciple of the Buddha), beyond any doubt whatsoever he
is declaring his belief not only in reincarnation but also in karma.
Parsifal's Purity
hen Nietzsche read the text of Parsifal, he interpreted Wagner's references to purity in
terms of chastity. The Grail community were pure in the sense that they abstained from sex
and all forms of sensuality, and this was the source of their power and strength. By
deserting the Grail in the service of love (Minne dienst), Amfortas had lost that protection and

therefore he was wounded by the spear when he tried to use it against Klingsor. Nietzsche's reading
was understandable but wrong.
hen Gutman read the text of Parsifal, he interpreted Wagner's references to purity,
following a suggestion by Adorno and notes made by Wagner in 1882, in terms of race. The
Grail community were pure in the sense that they had pure blood, untainted by that of
inferior races. By his erotic misadventure with the mysterious seductress (Kundry), Amfortas had
lost the protection of the Grail etc. Gutman's reading was understandable but wrong.
t is incredible what interpretations can be imposed on Parsifal if one ignores what Wagner
actually wrote about it! In this letter to Mathilde, Wagner states clearly and unambiguously
that when he refers to the purity of Parsifal, he means the hero's karma acquired in
previous lives, when the youth had those many names that he has now forgotten. It is through his
merit (purity=karma) that Parsifal is able to resist Kundry. It is on account of his merit
(purity=karma) that the Spear will not harm him, instead it rests in the air above his head (like the
magic weapon did in the account of the life of the Buddha that Wagner found in Spence Hardy's
Manual of Buddhism). It is by means of his merit that Parsifal is able to find the path of deliverance,
at the end of which he achieves total enlightenment (that is, Parsifal becomes a Buddha himself)
after which, transferring his superabundance of merit (purity=karma) to Kundry, allows her to
achieve Nirvana. Osthoff is surely right when he states: her deliverance [Erlsung] is extinction
[=Nirvana] in the Buddhist sense.
Parsifal Act 1 in the Norwegian Opera production. Parsifal:

Reiner Goldberg, Gurnemanz: Manfred Schenk. Den Norske
Opera.
Time and Space

... but since time and space are merely our way of
perceiving things ...
agner's Parsifal is not a Buddhist drama, even if

it makes use of Buddhist ideas. The "religion"
of Parsifal, which Wagner referred to as a
religion of compassion, is a synthesis of what Wagner saw as the common fundamentals of
Buddhism and Christianity, i.e. the teachings of the historical Buddha and those of the historical
Jesus, at best imperfectly preserved in the respective scriptures of Buddhism and the Christian
Church. In essence, however, Parsifal is a work written under the influence of Schopenhauer, and
in particular the ideas that the philosopher had described in On the Basis of Morality. In the
appendix to that essay, Schopenhauer explained how his ideas about morality were a consequence

of his metaphysics. Although Parsifal is more concerned with Schopenhauer's ethical teaching and
less with his metaphysical teachings than is Tristan und Isolde, those metaphysical teachings are
relevant to the former because they underpin the ethical teachings that are at its core. Therefore On
the Basis of Morality is as important for an understanding of Parsifal as The World as Will and
Representation is to both (even if Lucy Beckett might disagree).
hese brief notes cannot be expected to review Schopenhauer's metaphysics. The following
are the relevant points to this discussion; the reader is recommended to read The World as
Will and Representation for the full story. Schopenhauer's starting point is the philosophy of
Immanuel Kant, a philosopher whom Schopenhauer greatly respected. This did not inhibit him
from correcting what he regarded as Kant's errors, both in his metaphysical teachings and his
ethical teachings. Kant taught that human beings (actually he wrote about "rational beings", for
which Schopenhauer -- who had obviously never seen Star Trek -- took Kant to task, saying that the
only known rational beings were human, and even some of them were not noticeably rational)
interpret the world through sensory phenomena (what our senses tell us about "things in
themselves") and interpret this data using mechanisms hard-wired into our brains. These
mechanisms (which in Schopenhauer's terms amount to "the world as representation") include a
"world-view" that is defined by the a priori institutions of three-dimensional space and a time
dimension, together with some general concepts or "categories". As he developed his critique of
Kant, Schopenhauer eventually arrived at a philosophy that was radically different from
contemporary western philosophy, while still recognisably Kantian.
n Schopenhauer's development of Kant's ideas, there are no individuals, since the

"principle of individuation" is no more that a concept hard-wired into our brains. There
are no separate individuals, whether living beings or inanimate objects. Furthermore,
events are neither separated in space nor ordered in time, since these dimensions are also no more
than a priori fictions that our brains use to interpret sense-data. Developing ethical ideas from these
metaphysical ideas, Schopenhauer arrived at the conclusion that what we do to others, we really do
to ourselves, since there are no separate individuals. He also concluded that the world is
characterised by suffering and that the only escape from suffering is to correct the error of
existence. He was delighted to discover that these ideas, which he had developed from western
philosophy, had been taught by the Buddha and his followers for more than two millenia. In other
words, Schopenhauer's philosophy was a rational basis for something very close to Buddhism.
hus Wagner, following Schopenhauer and Kant, wrote that time and space are merely our
way of perceiving things ... and in his Parsifal he shows what happens when someone receives
a flash of enlightenment in which he sees, not the world as representation, but the world as
will. In the shock and agitation that he is caused by Kundry's kiss, Parsifal sees beneath what
Hindus call the veil of Maya. The illusion or delusion of our way of perceiving things is lifted,
momentarily, and he perceives that there are in reality no individuals, no separation in space or
time. Parsifal is one with Amfortas, he feels the pain in his own heart, he experiences the temptation
and wounding of Amfortas as if it were happening to him here and now, because here is also there,

now is also then. This revelation is impossible to describe in words but, as Schopenhauer revealed in
The World as Will and Representation, of all the arts, music alone can describe the "world as will"
because it belongs to the "world as will". Here we have central ideas of Wagner's Parsifal that are
ignored by those who, like Lucy Beckett, deny the influence of Schopenhauer on this most
Schopenhauerian of all dramas.
Right: Waltraud Meier as Kundry, Bayreuth 1989.
The Beautiful Kundry

... the fabulously wild messenger of the Grail is to be one and the same
person as the enchantress of the second act. Since this dawned on me,
almost everything else about the subject has become clear to me.
n his book Parzival und der Gral in der Dichtung des

Mittelalters und der Neuzeit, Wolfgang Golther attempted
to establish what Wagner had written in the lost sketch of
early May 1857. He realised that there was a basis for such a
reconstruction in Wagner's letters to Mathilde. This letter of
August 1860 tells us something of particular importance, namely,
that in Wagner's original (1857) conception, Kundry did not appear in the second act. In other
words, originally, the maiden whose kiss provoked in Parsifal his first taste of enlightenment was
not Kundry. In a stroke of genius, now Wagner made the nameless maiden into a transformed
Kundry, so that she became not only the source of the compassion that would enable his final
enlightenment (exactly parallel to what happened to the Buddha Shakyamuni in the last act of Die
Sieger) but also the source of his first taste of enlightenment.
here did Wagner get this idea? In his autobiography Wagner relates that on that spring
morning in 1857, when he conceived his Parsifal, he had not looked at Wolfram's poem
Parzival for twelve years. It was only after he had told Mathilde about his ideas, indeed after
the crisis which forced him to relocate to Venice, that she found a new edition of Parzival and sent it
to him. This enabled Wagner to refresh his acquaintance with the medieval romance. He would
have found, among other details that are easily missed on a first reading, that there were two
Condries. One of them was the hideous messenger of the Grail, a heathen sorceress (originally from
India) and the other was "Condrie la Belle", sister of Gawain, who was one of the women
imprisoned in Clinschor's magic castle. It is highly probable that this gave Wagner the idea of
making his Kundry a double character, who appears in the domain of the Grail as the messenger
but in the magic castle as a "fearfully beautiful" maiden. This maiden was originally the nameless
princess who attempted to seduce Josaphat in another medieval poem, one that Weston, Beckett

and other commentators have completely ignored.
This woman suffers unspeakable restlessness and excitement; the old esquire had noticed this on previous
occasions, each time that she had shortly afterwards disappeared.
nce we realise that, in the 1857 conception of Parsifal, Kundry did not appear in the second
act, then almost everything else about the subject becomes clear. In the original, therefore,
Kundry appeared in the first act, when she suffered from unspeakable restlessness and
excitement, and again in the third act, where as Gurnemanz remarks she is changed, peaceful,
almost silent. What Wagner intended to show here, beyond any doubt, is the denial of the will.
Amfortas' wound is a symbol of sickness in general, and his suffering (for which Kundry strives to
find a cure) represents universal suffering. This is a central idea of Schopenhauer's philosophy: the
world is characterised by suffering, the only cure for suffering is to end existence, but the only way
to end existence (presupposing that there is such a thing as reincarnation, the wheel of samsara, the
cycle of death and rebirth) is not death, as Amfortas wrongly believes, but through the denial of the
will to live. Eventually Kundry finds her escape by denying the will to live, which only becomes
possible for her after Parsifal has freed her (and himself) from the illusions of Klingsor's garden,
i.e. the world as representation.
n this note on Wagner's letter to Mathilde of August 1860 I have tried to show how
important aspects of the work, ones that must be taken into account in any interpretation,
have been overlooked by some earlier commentators such as Weston, only partially
understood by other commentators such as Golther, and ignored by more recent commentators,
notably Gutman and Beckett. A rejection of their respective interpretations, which inform current
productions of Wagner's Parsifal, and attention to what Wagner wrote to his beloved Mathilde,
might allow not only (apparent) individuals, but entire audiences, to discover Parsifal anew.

Richard Wagner&#39;s Parsifal: An Anthology of Articles

Caricato da

Informazioni sul documento

Copyright

Formati disponibili

Condividi questo documento

Condividi o incorpora il documento

Opzioni di condivisione

Hai trovato utile questo documento?

Questo contenuto è inappropriato?

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

Richard Wagner&#39;s Parsifal: An Anthology of Articles

Caricato da

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

Index of Articles. Parsifal by Richard Wagner.

(Version for all current popular browsers)

Articles - Sources and

http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/concommon.htm (1 of 4) [26/05/2002 22:17:15]

Parzival and Parsifal

The Wounding and Healing Spear

Parsifal and Greek Myth

Swans and Geese: Wagner's Wildfowl

Wagner, Buddhism and Parsifal

The Origins of Kundry

The Eagle, the Phoenix and the

Richard Wagner to Mathilde

http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/concommon.htm (2 of 4) [26/05/2002 22:17:15]

Articles - Articles - References

Good Friday Further Reading

Erlsung dem Erlser A Parsifal Discography

Parsifal and Christianity Parzival in der Gralsburg

Articles - Performance Articles - the Music

Transformation Music Prelude to Act 1

The Bells of Monsalvat Prelude to Act 2

Parsifal at Covent Garden Prelude to Act 3

Bernard Levin on Parsifal Meyerbeer's Robert and Wagner's

Parsifal at Baireuth (M.G. van

Wagner's Parsifal (C.D. Warner)

http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/concommon.htm (3 of 4) [26/05/2002 22:17:15]

G.B. Shaw on Parsifal

A Poem by Paul Verlaine

Parsifal and the Nazis

Thomas Mann on Parsifal

Pablo Picasso and Parsifal

Franz Stassen (1869-1949)

http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/concommon.htm (4 of 4) [26/05/2002 22:17:15]

Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Synopsis

he scene is laid first in the

Act 1 - A rock-strewn clearing in a forest, shadowy but not gloomy. Daybreak.

Act 3 - Flowering meadows at the edge of a forest. It is early on a spring morning.

But what happens in Parsifal ?

But what is the message of Parsifal ?

http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/story0.htm (1 of 2) [26/05/2002 22:17:43]

This page last updated (non-CSS message) 14/04/02 18:36:34.

http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/story0.htm (2 of 2) [26/05/2002 22:17:43]

The Ghost in the

"Root canal," he said after looking at the films.

"You always say that," I opined.

http://www.interoz.com/lubbock/lubmag/Kurtzman9709.htm (1 of 4) [26/05/2002 22:18:02]

stereo and went about my usual Saturday night activities.

http://www.interoz.com/lubbock/lubmag/Kurtzman9709.htm (2 of 4) [26/05/2002 22:18:02]

"Okay," he said, "meet me at my office in 20 minutes."

I was there in five.

"Will that cure me?"

"Who knows," he shrugged, "but its all science has to offer."

http://www.interoz.com/lubbock/lubmag/Kurtzman9709.htm (3 of 4) [26/05/2002 22:18:02]

Mama, dont let your babies grow up to be Wagnerians.

http://www.interoz.com/lubbock/lubmag/Kurtzman9709.htm (4 of 4) [26/05/2002 22:18:02]

Monsalvat: the Parsifal homepage | Wagner's sources for Parsifal

Wagner's Grail Studies

http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/sources.htm (1 of 5) [26/05/2002 22:18:41]

Left: The Holy Spear of Antioch carried by

olfram's work is based on

http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/sources.htm (2 of 5) [26/05/2002 22:18:41]

anonymous Perlesvaus, or both.

A Note on Wagner's Bayreuth Library

http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/sources.htm (3 of 5) [26/05/2002 22:18:41]

s noted in the accompanying article on Kundry, an interesting feature of Perlesvaus (also

Richard Wagner's Parsifal: An Anthology of Articles

Richard Wagner's Parsifal: An Anthology of Articles