WOLFRAM'S _PARZIVAL_ CONTINUES TO INSPIRE AND INFLUENCE, IN MODERN TIMES WORKS AS DIVERSE AS WAGNER'S _PARSIFAL_ AND _LOHENGRIN_, FRANZ KAFKA'S _THE CASTLE_, TERRY GILLIAM'S FILM _THE FISHER KING_, AND UMBERTO ECO'S _BAUDOLINO_. Vast in its scope, incomparably dense in its imagery, Wolfram von Eschenbach's _Parzival_ ranks alongside Dante's _Divine Comedy_ as one of the foremost narrative works to emerge from medieval Europe. This book is a newtranslation of _Parzival_, together with the fragments of the _Titurel_, an elegiac offshoot of _Parzival_, and the nine love-songs attributed to Wolfram. _Parzival_ is the greatest of the medieval Grail romances. In its depth and complexity of characterisation this work of the early thirteenth century anticipates the modern novel. It encompasses deeds of chivalry, tournaments and sieges, courtly love, and other erotic undertakings, but also sin and penance, and a deeply moving study in depression. Centre stage are the Grail Castle and Arthur's Round Table, but the pagan world of the Orient also is also reflected. _Parzival_ has inspired and influenced works as diverse as Wagner's _Parsifal_ and _Lohengrin_, Franz Kafka's _The Castle_, Terry Gilliam's film _The Fisher King_, and Umberto Eco's _Baudolino_. Cyril Edwards' thoughtful translation vividlyconveys the power of this complex, wide-ranging medieval masterpiece. CYRIL EDWARDS is a lecturer in German at St Peter's College and Research Fellow of the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford. He is the author of _The Beginnings of German Literature_ (Camden House, 2002), and numerous articles on the medieval lyric and Old High German. His previous translations include Hans Sachs's "Song of the Nose" for the King's Singers, Bernhard Maier's _Dictionary of Celtic Religion and Culture_ (Boydell & Brewer, 1997) and _The Medieval Housebook_ (Prestel-Verlag, 1997).