Parzival, an Arthurian romance completed by Wolfram van Eschenbach in the first years of the thirteenth century, is one of the formost works of German literature and a classic that can stand with the great masterpieces of the world. The most important aspects of human existence, wordly and spiritual, are presented in strikingly modern terms against the panorama of battles and tournaments and Parzival's long search for the Grail. The world of knighthood, of love and loyalty and human endeavor despite the cruelty and suffering of life, is constantly mingling with the world of the Grail, affirming the inherent unity between man's temporal condition and his quest for something beyond human existence.
