This work is an indepth study of the Gurnemanz Episode of Wolfram's Parzival (161,9-179,12) and is aimed at both the reader or student of Middle High German and the scholar in the field.

The text is commented from large to small. Each of the five chapters is introduced by a literary interpretation treating, among other things, the main themes, motifs, plot and character development, structure, and a comparison with Wolfram's source, Chrétien de Troyes' Perceva. Guided by the secondary literature on Parzivall, a closer examination of the smaller units of the text follows in which both literary and language-based comment is made, ranging from simple translation to detailed analysis.