Ither from Gaheviez

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ither von Gaheviez is a legendary figure and literary figure who plays a role in Wolfram von Eschenbach's courtly novel Parzival . Ither von Gaheviez was also called the Red Knight because of his armor adorned with red velvet . According to the medieval Parzival legend, Ither von Gaheviez was a knight at the court of King Arthur .

legend

Ither was the king of "Cucumerland" or "Gaheviez". For the first time he is mentioned by Hartmann von Aue as one of the knights of King Arthur. With Wolfram von Eschenbach he takes on the role of the Red Knight from Chrétien de Troyes “ Parzival ”.

At first he was the lord of Parzival's uncle Trevrizent before he became a noble knight of the Round Table. He was both the cousin of Arthur and Parzival and the lover of Parzival's aunt Lamiere. Ither went to Nantes to see King Arthur to lay claim to his inherited lands, but inadvertently insulted him because he spilled wine into Queen Guinevere's lap during a feast . Although this mishap was unintentional, Ither left the courtyard and stayed on the blachfeld in front of the castle. He gives the passing young Parzival the task of aligning King Arthur, he is waiting for the knight who will fight with him for the golden cup with which the mishap happened to him. Parzival admires and desires Ithers red armor, whereupon Arthur's seneschal Keie advises Parzival to claim the armor from Ither. Parzival returns to Ither, who refuses to give in to Parzival's wish and points out that Arthur had given him his own life along with the armor. The Parzival, equipped only with one for game hunting, kills the fully armed Ither, who is expecting a worthy opponent on horseback, with a targeted throw of the javelin into Ithers visor. With the help of Ginover's squire Iwanet, Parzival puts on armor and sword. The nickname "Red Knight" is given to him by his teacher Gurnemanz, whom he will meet next. Parzival, contrary to every knightly rule, leaves the body of Ithers lying on the field. Ginover will instruct Iwanet to bring him to Nantes so that he can be buried appropriately.

literature

  • Gerhard Aick: The most beautiful hero and knight sagas of the Middle Ages. Tosa Publishing House.
  • Wolfram von Eschenbach . Parzival. (Volume 1: Book 1-8, Volume 2: Book 9-16). Philipp Reclam, Stuttgart 1986, ISBN 3-15-003682-8 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gerhard Aick: The most beautiful hero and knight sagas of the Middle Ages. Tosa Verlag, page 406.
  2. ↑ gorddcymru.org
  3. ↑ Gerhard Aick: The most beautiful hero and knight sagas of the Middle Ages. Tosa Verlag, page 409.