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Vom Fall in die Farbe. Chromophilie in Wolframs von Eschenbach ›Parzival‹

2008; De Gruyter; Volume: 130; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1515/bgsl.2008.052

1865-9373

Monika Schausten,

Historical and Religious Studies of Rome

The paper explores the negotiations of medieval theological discourses on colours in Wolfram's ›Parzival‹. The episode of Parzival's encounter with Ither, the red knight, for example, points to the significance of these discourses for Wolfram's construction of the story. On the one hand, Parzival's desire for and his violent acquisition of Ither's armour seem to draw from chromophobic arguments by Bernhard of Clairvaux, since the colour of the armour represents the hero's murder and his fall from grace. On the other hand, Parzival's appropriation of the red armour simultaneously signifies his rise in courtly society. Thus, the episode reflects the high esteem of colours in the Middle Ages derived from the medieval philosophy of light.