WOLFRAM VON ESCHENBACH. charval German epic poet b Escbenhach, near Angled, Middle Franconia, Bavaria. about 1170; rt. perhaps at the same place. abLsut 1219 (?). He was of noble Bavarian famffr and served various powerful overlords, such as the counts of Wertheim, the Landgrai Her mann von Thuringen (at whose court he lived about 1.333, and who provided him with the material for Wolfram's 'Willehahn.' namely. the chave.mn de gest', 'Bataille After the death of Hermann in 1217 be is said to have retired to his native province, perhaps to %1ildenberg (Wehlenberg); his remains are reported to have been interred in the disireli of Our Lady at F.s•heribult Of all the epee poets who wrote in Middle High German olfram has the strongest personality, the most original artistry and the most mature moral and religious feeling. Although in point of style and passion he is excelled by Gott fried son Strassburg, be stands alone in sredirNal German literature in the realism of his observation, the depth of his psychology, the sanity and originality of his views and a broad toleration and sense of humor. Eight and three epics are the sum of his work, far as it has been preserved. The greatest of these is the epic '1"arzival) (finished 1208, preserved in 15 complete manuscripts), prob ably based on the 'Percival* in 'Li conies du graa!' of Chrestien de Troyes (q.v.); but Wol
fram mentions another authority 'Kyot, den meister wolbekant.' In this long biography, in 25,000 lines of verse, Wolfram presents a pic ture of tolerant spiritual knighthood, as dis tinguished from the traditional ideals of chivalry, such as his generous and balanced nature would evolve it. Thus, he exalts the calm happiness of the state of wed lock as opposed to the conventional intrigue and exaggeration of the minnesingers and their cult of romantic affection. Again, in the epic fragment 'Sigune and Schionatulander' (also called iTiture19, he decries the unnatural eti quette of the courts and their knightly mimic. In the incomplete epic 'Willehalm' the underly ing idea is the principle of Christian toleration toward pagan opponents. Editions of the original text have been published by Karl Lach mann (Berlin 1101); Martin, E., (Halle 1900); Leitzmann, A. (Halle 19(2); modern German translations by K. Stmrock (Stuttgart 1883); Hertz (Stuttgart 1906). Consult San Marie, 'Parzivalstudien' (3 vols., Halle 1861); Mar tin, E., 'Zur Gralsage' (Strassburg 1880); Grimm, 'Wolfram von Eschenbach and die Zeitgenossen' (Leipzig 1897).