Wolfram von Eschenbach [key], c.1170–c.1220, German poet. Perhaps the greatest of the German minnesingers, and one of the finest poets of medieval Europe. He was a knight who led a restless, roving life. In 1203 he was at the court of Landgrave Hermann von Thüringen. His only complete work is his famous Parzival, a poem of chivalry notable for its lyricism, humor, and depth of conception (see Parsifal). Wolfram's other works include two unfinished epic poems, Willehalm and Titurel, and lyrics. Richard Wagner's final opera Parsifal (1882) was based on his epic, and Wolfram himself was a character in the same composer's Tannhäuser (1845).
See the interpretation of Parzival by M. F. Richey (1933) and the translation by J. Weston (1894); study by J. F. Poag (1972).
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