Kyot
Kyot the Provençal was a French poet believed to be invented by Wolfram Von Eschenbach. Wolfram was thought to incorporate Kyot into his writing in order to create historical backing for his Holy Grail adventure, Parzival. Instead of Kyot, scholars now believe that Wolfram actually got his information from Chretien de Troyes’ Perceval and created the rest himself.
Kyot first appears in chapter eight of Wolfram’s Parzival. He is then later elaborated upon in chapter nine. Wolfram defended the reason Kyot had never been mentioned before by saying that the poet had told him it was imperative his identity was not discovered until the right moment.
It was said by Wolfram that Kyot had given him information about the Grail, which he procured from Arabic and Angevin sources. While in Spain, Kyot found a neglected manuscript. The manuscript was thought to be written by Flegetanis, a decedent of Solomon, and it contained secrets of the Grail. Upon further travels to Anjou he was said to have found manuscripts concerning particulars about Parzival's family.
Possibilities for Kyot:
Guiot de Provins- While some scholars completely deny the existence of Kyot, others think that he could have been a real poet during the time period. They believe that Kyot actually referred to the French poet Guiot. Guiot transcribed many works among which was La Bible Guiot, a satirical piece.
Michael Scot- Another circulating theory is that Meister Kyot was in fact a pseudonym for Michael Scot. Scot was a scholar, alchemist and astrologer during Wolfram’s era.
Other works:
Kyot also appeared in Umberto Eco’s novel Baudolino, where he argued with Robert de Boron over the nature of the Grail.
