Feirefiz

Feirefiz (or: Feirafiz, in the original. Fri: Vaire - Fils) is a character from the epic Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach. He is Parzival's half- brother, who has emerged from the first marriage of Parzival's father Gahmuret with the ' Mohr Queen ' Belakane and comes in the first book of the narrative, which contains the history of the protagonist to the world.

About the Name

The name Feirefiz can be derived from French and means something like " colorful son ": Veir or vair meant in Old French colored or gray-white patterned. The narrator here had the idea to visualize the origin of a combination of dark and white skin color with a name that was once only for clothing or horses ( " Pinto " ) are common. Wolfram takes up this idea in his Willehalm where he can experience a two-colored named Josweiz ( verse 386, 14-21 ), to whom he gave a white father and a mœrinne mother. The sometimes expressed assumption that tungsten 've never seen a dark-skinned people and he is a child of a mixed connection only as a pied had therefore imagined proves insofar as questionable, as this is a poetic idea of ​​the everyday word from his relationship breaks.

On the significance of the figure

Only at the end of the Parzival story Feirefiz reappears, now a grown man and hero. Parzival does not recognize him as his brother and it comes to a fight, the narrator leaves out positive. After the mutual recognition Feirefiz Parzival becomes a companion and is on its side, as is this King of the Grail. The Heath Feirefiz is baptized in order to marry the Gralshüterin Repanse de Schoye. The couple moved to India and gets a son, Johan, who is recognized as the ancestor of the legendary Prester John, who - according to the tradition - the Christian ruler was " three India " on the. This tungsten lift ( so Bumke 1991, pp. 247ff. ) The claim, " to explain the origin of Prester John, and thus to make this mysterious figure, about which no one knew Accurate, comprehensible ".