Lohengrin
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Lohengrin () is a character in German
Arthurian According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a leader of the post-Ro ...
literature. The son of
Parzival ''Parzival'' () is a medieval chivalric romance by the poet and knight Wolfram von Eschenbach in Middle High German. The poem, commonly dated to the first quarter of the 13th century, centers on the Arthurian hero Parzival (Percival in English) ...
(Percival), he is a knight of the
Holy Grail The Holy Grail (, , , ) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miraculous healing powers, sometimes providing eternal youth or sustenanc ...
sent in a boat pulled by
swan Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe (biology) ...
s to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in
Wolfram von Eschenbach Wolfram von Eschenbach (; – ) was a German knight, poet and composer, regarded as one of the greatest epic poets of medieval German literature. As a Minnesinger, he also wrote lyric poetry. Life Little is known of Wolfram's life. Ther ...
's ''
Parzival ''Parzival'' () is a medieval chivalric romance by the poet and knight Wolfram von Eschenbach in Middle High German. The poem, commonly dated to the first quarter of the 13th century, centers on the Arthurian hero Parzival (Percival in English) ...
'', is a version of the Knight of the Swan legend known from a variety of medieval sources. Wolfram's story was expanded in two later romances.
Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
's opera '' Lohengrin'' of 1848 is based upon the legend.


Origin

Lohengrin first appears as "Loherangrin", the son of Parzival and Condwiramurs in
Wolfram von Eschenbach Wolfram von Eschenbach (; – ) was a German knight, poet and composer, regarded as one of the greatest epic poets of medieval German literature. As a Minnesinger, he also wrote lyric poetry. Life Little is known of Wolfram's life. Ther ...
's ''
Parzival ''Parzival'' () is a medieval chivalric romance by the poet and knight Wolfram von Eschenbach in Middle High German. The poem, commonly dated to the first quarter of the 13th century, centers on the Arthurian hero Parzival (Percival in English) ...
''. Wolfram's story is a variation of the Knight of the Swan tale, previously attached to the Crusade cycle of medieval literature. Loherangrin and his twin brother Kardeiz join their parents in Munsalväsche when Parzival becomes the Grail King; Kardeiz later inherits their father's secular lands, and Loherangrin remains in Munsalväsche as a Grail Knight. Members of this order are sent out in secret to provide lords to kingdoms that have lost their protectors and Loherangrin is eventually called to this duty in Brabant, where the duke has died without a male heir. His daughter Elsa fears the kingdom will be lost, but Loherangrin arrives in a boat pulled by a swan and offers to defend her, though he warns her she must never ask his name. He weds the duchess and serves Brabant for years, but one day Elsa asks the forbidden question. He explains his origin and steps back onto his swan boat, never to return. The Knight of the Swan story was previously known from the tales of the ancestry of
Godfrey of Bouillon Godfrey of Bouillon (; ; ; ; 1060 – 18 July 1100) was a preeminent leader of the First Crusade, and the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099 to 1100. Although initially reluctant to take the title of king, he agreed to rule as pri ...
, the first ruler of the Crusader
Kingdom of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem, also known as the Crusader Kingdom, was one of the Crusader states established in the Levant immediately after the First Crusade. It lasted for almost two hundred years, from the accession of Godfrey of Bouillon in 1 ...
. The story appears in the two versions of the tale ''Naissance du Chevalier au Cygne'', which describes the Swan Knight Elias arriving to defend the dispossessed Duchess of Bouillon. They marry and have a daughter, Ida, who becomes the mother of Godfrey and his brothers. The Knight of the Swan is not the only altered version of a popular story Wolfram uses in his narrative; he makes
Prester John Prester John () was a mythical Christian patriarch, presbyter, and king. Stories popular in Europe in the 12th to the 17th centuries told of a Church of the East, Nestorian patriarch and king who was said to rule over a Christian state, Christian ...
the son of his character
Feirefiz Feirefiz (also ''Feirefis, Feirafiz, Ferafiz, Firafiz'') is a character in Wolfram von Eschenbach's Arthurian legend, Arthurian poem ''Parzival''. He is the half-brother of Percival, Parzival, the story's hero. He is the child of their father ...
. Graham Seal suggests that the tale of Lohengrin reworks elements from Northern European folklore.


Later versions

The story was picked up and expanded in the late 13th-century ''Lohengrin'' by a certain "Nouhusius" or "Nouhuwius", who changed the character's name and tied the romance's Grail and Swan Knight elements into the history of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
. The story follows Wolfram closely but adds certain details – notably, Princess Elsa's questioning of her husband occurs only after prodding by an antagonist who spreads rumors that Lohengrin is not of noble blood – that extends the material into a full romance. In expanding the material, the author drew on several other medieval German literary works, including the '' Sächsische Weltchronik'', the '' Jüngerer Titurel'', and the '' Wartburgkrieg''. In the 15th century, the story was taken up again for the anonymous ''Lorengel''. This version does not include the taboo against asking the protagonist about his mysterious origin and Lorengel and his princess can live happily ever after. In 1848,
Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
, drawing on the contemporary work of Ludwig Lucas, adapted the tale into his popular
opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
'' Lohengrin'', arguably the work through which Lohengrin's story is best known today. While King
Henry the Fowler Henry the Fowler ( or '; ; – 2 July 936) was the duke of Saxony from 912 and the king of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non- Frankish king of East Francia, he established the Ottonian dynasty of kings and emper ...
tries to assemble forces in Brabant to combat the Hungarian invasions, Lohengrin appears on the
Scheldt The Scheldt ( ; ; ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old Englis ...
River to defend Princess Elsa from the false accusation of killing her younger brother Gottfried (who turns out to be alive and returns at the end of the opera). According to Wagner, the Grail imbues the Knight of the Swan with mystical powers that can only be maintained if their nature is kept secret; hence the danger of Elsa's question. The most famous piece from ''Lohengrin'' is the " Bridal Chorus" ("Here Comes the Bride"), still played at many Western weddings. Wagner's ''Lohengrin'' was parodied in
Victor Herbert Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an American composer, Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor of English and Irish ancestry and German training. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and co ...
's 1906
burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.
'' The Magic Knight'', and was reworked into Salvatore Sciarrino's 1982 opera '' Lohengrin'', which reduces the narrative to a manic hallucination.


References


Sources

* Lacy, Norris J. (Ed.) (1991). ''The New Arthurian Encyclopedia''. New York: Garland. . *Wolfram von Eschenbach; Hatto, A. T. (translator) (1980). ''Parzival''. New York: Penguin.


Further reading

* Matthews, Alastair. The Medieval German Lohengrin: Narrative Poetics in the Story of the Swan Knight. NED - New edition ed., Boydell & Brewer, 2016. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.7722/j.ctt1k3s90m. Accessed 29 Apr. 2020.


External links

* {{Authority control Arthurian characters Arthurian literature in German Holy Grail * Legendary German people Parzival