Wolfram von Eschenbach’s epic of Parzival draws on several central and western European traditions connected with King Arthur and the Grail. In this glorious and wonderfully woven tale we accompany our hero on his quest in which the great biographical archetypes of destiny and development provide the artistic structure for an exciting and inspiring story. Wolfram combines the highest spiritual ideals with the most earthly human realities of our daily live in a way that confirms the integrity of our human striving. What can such literature written so long ago and set in so unfamiliar a context (almost contemporaneous with the equally significant Tale of Genji) mean for us in the twenty-first century? Is such a story just enjoyable entertainment and historically fascinating? Or can we recognize in it (just as in Murasaki Shikibu’s great epic) a timeless expression of our deepest longing to know who we are and what the meaning of our life is?
This course will explore several aspects of the story and include the opportunity to discover more through biography work and painting. These practical and artistic elements will enable participants to engage in the whole theme actively.
Yuko Tamura (painter and art therapist) will lead the painting to add the experience of colour and form to our work, and Toshio Niwa (Mathematician and Biography Counselor) will guide us to recognize the corresponding evolutionary significance of certain moments in our own life story. Andrew Wolpert has studied and lectured on Parzival for several years in　Europe　 and　Japan　 working on the themes of education, destiny and freedom in the context of Rudolf Steiner’s work and Anthroposophy.