Titurel
Titurel is a prequel to Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, which is a continuation of Chrétien's Perceval. So, technically, Titurel is a prequel of a sequel but was published after Parzival--a 1217 publication as compared to Parzival's earlier publication in the same century. Titurel was continued by Albrecht von Scharfenberg in Jüngere Titurel, or Young Titurel, which is now the sequel of the prequel of the sequel. Titurel is incomplete but continues the stories of the characters from Parzival and dives deeper in the Holy Grail theme. Young Titurel would later come in to patch up the work and complete it. Titurel most notably provided back story to the characters of Parzival, particularly the Grail King, Titurel, and Sigune and Schionatulander--lovers related to the titular Titurel by way of Princess Sigune being the granddaughter of Titurel and cousin of Parzival, only expanding upon the family interconnectedness within these texts.
As a character, Titurel is the grandfather of Parzival (though the musical/opera Parsifal suggests he is a greatgrandfather to Parzival as Wolfram apparently skipped the first generation after Titurel). Titurel is the original Winner of the Grail and the founder of the Community of the Grail Knights. Within Parsifal the Opera, Titurel represents extreme age to Parsifal's youth. In Parzival, Titurel is in the Fisher King's Castle and Parzival sees him in passing, laying in bed weak. He is mentioned again in Book 9 as the original guardian of the Grail, passing it onto his son, Anfortas. Parzival then learns that Titurel cannot die because he constantly sees the Grail. He is also present in Book 16 when Fierfiz decides to be baptized and Parzival becomes a Lord of the Grail.
Interesting Fact:
There is an asteroid belt called 9508-Titurel named for this character.
There is also an online gaming freighter vessel named after him. (According to online forums, the engine malfunctions a lot)
If you are interested in Titurel and his complicatedly published works, here are some resources:
The "Titurel" of Wolfram von Eschenbach: Structure and Character
Margaret F. Richey
The Modern Language Review
Vol. 56, No. 2 (Apr., 1961), pp. 180-193
The Art of Narration in Wolfram's Parzival and Albrecht's Jüngerer Titurel
By Linda B. Parshall
Finally, this link will take you to an, assumedly, full production of the show with English Subtitles.
Works Cited:
"Glossary of Names." Glossary of Names. Derrick Everett. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.
Pogány, Willy. Titurel Bore It Homeward Reverently. 1912. Parsifal, or the Legend of the Holy Grail Retold from Antient Sources with Acknowledgement to the "Parsifal" of Richard Wagner, University of Rochester.
"Titurel." Bibliotheca Augustana. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.
"Titurel." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 22 Mar. 2016. (All of Wiki's sources were in German, which I do not speak)
