Kyot
Kyot the Provençal is claimed by
Wolfram does not mention Kyot until Book 8 of Parzival, where he abruptly names him as his source. Kyot's story is elaborated upon in Book 9, where Wolfram explains the Provençal had uncovered a neglected
Formerly, some scholars who believe Kyot was real identified him with Guiot de Provins.[1] The names Kyot and Guiot are cognate, but the historical poet was not from the southern French region of Provence, but the northern town of Provins, and none of Guiot's surviving works deal with the Holy Grail or suggest any thematic relation with Parzival. Some aspects of Parzival may hint at a source besides Wolfram's imagination and Chrétien, such as an implied knowledge of French literature and a reverence for the House of Anjou, but none of these obstacles are better explained as deriving from an authentic Kyot than from an extraordinary mind with broad interests.
Kyot appears as a companion of the titular protagonist in Umberto Eco's novel Baudolino, where he argues with Robert de Boron over the nature of the Grail. The character in the novel is a conflation of Kyot the Provençal with Guiot, being from Champagne.
Notes
- ^ a b Bumke 2004, pp. 245–246.
- ^ Bumke 2004, p. 209.
See also
- Cide Hamete Benengeli – fictional character, a Muslim historian created by Miguel de Cervantes in his novel Don Quixote
References
- ISBN 0-14-044361-4.
- Bumke, Joachim (2004). Wolfram von Eschenbach (8 ed.). Stuttgart, Weimar: Metzler.