How many have heard of Parzival? In Wolfram von Eschenbach's epic poem written in the early 13th century the half brother of the titular character is named Feirefiz. Described as having skin like a magpie or parchment with writings on it, Feirefiz is the son of Parzival's 1/
father and an African queen. Some scholars think that von Eschenbach may have seen someone with vitiligo and though it was the result of a interracial pairing. Nevertheless, Feirefiz is described as handsome and many of the ladies of the court swoon. Eventually he and his 2/
wife (a white European woman, to be clear) head east and, per the tale become the parents of Prester John. In the late 13th century another Arthurian tale speaks of Morien, another son of one of Arthur's knights and a Black African queen. Morien is described as all black 3/
save for this teeth. His countenance (his dark skin) frightenens even battle hardened knights when they first meet him because people mistake him for the Devil. He is also described as strong enough to carry his own warhorse despite being only 14, able to fight Lancelot to a 4/
draw, and tactically skilled enough that it is his plan that the knights use to rescue Arthur from captivity in the tale. Both of these men have come to Europe searching for their fathers to bring the home to their mothers, which both do at the end of the epics. 5/
So, if white Europeans in the damn 13th century could include Black people in their tales over 700 years ago, then what's up with all these people whining over the #RingsofPower? That doesn't require an answer, I know what's up with them. Despite their whining 6/
about what a man who's nearly 50 years dead would have wanted, there were Black people in Europe and its fiction in the Middle Ages. Tolkien, much as I respect his influence on fantasy & his work as a scholar, is dead. The world has moved on since he wrote LotR, and 7/
once he released his story to the world, while his family may retain the legal rights, in a way it belongs to the world. Not just to one subset of people who have some misguided views of Europe based to a poor K-12 education and popular misconceptions, it belongs to everyone. 8/
The world is changing, the past isn't what many people think, and peeps can either adapt or find themsleves on the long list of people who will one day be referred to as "products of their time" if people are being generous, or far worse if they're not. /9
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