A Comparative Study of the Fate of Kay Khosrow in the Shahnameh and Perceval in the Grail Romances

This is an academic article that examines Iranian influences on medieval European chivalric romances. The article argues that previous scholarship on this topic, dating back to the nineteenth century, has remained largely speculative, and sets out to move beyond guesswork by grounding its analysis in primary texts and comparative study. Specifically, it traces parallel trajectories between the knight Perceval, hero of several medieval works including Chrétien de Troyes's story of the Grail, Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, the Third Continuation of the Grail story by Manessier, and the High Book of the Grail, and the Iranian king Kay Khosrow, whom the article presents as an original model.