• This article is about the Fisher King from Arthurian legend. See The Fisher King (movie) for the 1991 film.

The Fisher King or the Wounded King figures in Arthurian legend as the latest in a line charged with keeping the Holy Grail. Versions of his story vary widely, but he is always wounded in the legs or groin, and incapable of moving on his own. When he is injured, his kingdom suffers as he does, his impotence affecting the fertility of the land and reducing it to a barren Wasteland. Little is left for him to do but fish in the river near his castle Corbenic. Knights travel from many lands to heal the Fisher King but only the chosen can accomplish the feat. This is Percival in the earlier stories, in the later versions Percival is joined by Galahad and Bors. The Fisher King is a movie from 1991 written by Richard LaGravenese and directed by Terry Gilliam. ... The Matter of Britain is a name given collectively to the legends that concern the Celtic and legendary history of the British Isles, centering around King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. ... This article refers to the Christian artifact. ... Percival or Perceval is one of King Arthurs legendary Knights of the Round Table. ... A potrait of Sir Galahad by George Frederick Watts. ... In Arthurian Legend, Sir Bors was a Knight of the Round Table. ...

Confusingly, many works have two wounded Grail Kings who live in the same castle, a father (or grandfather) and son. The more seriously wounded father stays in the castle, sustained by the Grail alone, while the more active son can meet with guests and go fishing. For simplicity, the father will be called the Wounded King, the son the Fisher King where both appear in the remainder of this article.

Why "Fisher King"?

The title has several possible origins: these are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

• Christian symbolism: the fish is a symbol for Christ; the first apostles were fishermen until Christ sent them out to be "fishers of men".

• Celtic mythology: there is an Irish myth about the Salmon of Wisdom.

• A play on words: the French words for "fisher" and "sinner" are almost identical (pêcheur and pécheur respectively).

Christian symbolism is the use of actions or objects to represent the truths of the Christian faith, either as a reminder of those truths or as a way of spiritually connecting with the underlying truth or act. ... The ichthys or fish symbol represents Christianity Ichthys (Greek: ; also transliterated and latinized as ichthus, icthus, or ikhthus), is the Greek word for fish. ... This page is about the title, for the Christian figure, see Jesus Christ is the English representation of the Greek word Χριστός (transliterated as Khristós), which means anointed. ... The Twelve Apostles (in Koine Greek απόστολος apostolos [1], someone sent forth/sent out, an emissary) were probably Galilean Jewish men (10 names are Aramaic, 4 names are Greek) chosen from among the disciples, who were sent forth by Jesus of Nazareth to preach the Gospel to both Jews and Gentiles... Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, the apparent religion of the Iron Age Celts. ... The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branches of Celtic mythology. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Word play is a literary technique in which the nature of the words used themselves become part of the subject of the work. ... Sin has been a term most usually used in a religious context, and today describes any lack of conformity to the will of God; especially, any willful disregard for the norms revealed by God is a sin. ...

Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval

The Fisher King first appears in Chrétien de Troyes' unfinished romance Perceval, the Story of the Grail. Neither his wound nor his father's is explained, but Perceval later discovers the kings would have been healed if he had only asked about the Grail (his teacher had warned him not to ask too many questions). Perceval learns he is related to the Grail Kings through his mother, the Wounded King's daughter; the poem breaks off before Perceval can return to the Grail castle. Chrétien de Troyes wrote in Champagne, France, during the last half of the twelfth century. ... Perceval, the Story of the Grail (French:Perceval, le Conte du Graal) is the unfinished fifth romance of Chrétien de Troyes. ...

It should be noted that Chrétien never calls his object the Holy Grail, and it is clear he used the word graal knowing his audience would be familiar with it as a fairly common item. It is not until Robert de Boron (see below) that the Grail is connected with Jesus; later writers identified the Bleeding Lance with the Spear of Destiny as well. Robert de Boron (also spelled in the manuscripts Bouron, Beron) was a French poet of the 13th century, originally from the village of Boron, in the département of Montbéliard. ... This article contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ...

Celtic mythology

The Fisher King appears first in Perceval, but the character's roots lie in Celtic Mythology. He may be derived more or less directly from the figure of Bran the Blessed in the Mabinogion; Bran had a cauldron that could restore life (albeit imperfectly), and he gave it to the king of Ireland as a wedding gift for the king and his sister Branwen. Later, he wages war on the Irish and is wounded in the foot or leg, and the cauldron is destroyed. He asks his followers to sever his head and take it back to Britain, and his head continues talking and keeps them company on their trip. The group lands in Grassholm, where they spend 80 years in a castle of joy and abundance, but finally they leave and bury Bran's head in London. Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, the apparent religion of the Iron Age Celts. ... Bran the Blessed (aka Bendigeidfran) was a character in Welsh mythology, a son of Llyr and Penarddun, who appears in the Mabinogion. ... The Mabinogion is a collection of prose stories from medieval Welsh manuscripts. ... In Welsh mythology, Branwen was a daughter of Llyr and Penarddun and has been interpreted as a goddess of love and beauty. ... Grassholm (Welsh: Ynys Gwales) is a tiny, uninhabited island off south west Pembrokeshire in Wales, lying west of Skomer. ... London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ...

Additionally, Arthur's men must travel to Ireland to retrieve a magical cauldron in the Mabinogion tale Culhwch and Olwen, and the obscure poem The Spoils of Annwn speaks of a similar quest and a mystical cauldron. Culhwch and Olwen is a Welsh story that survives in only two manuscripts: a complete version in the Red Book of Hergest, ca. ...

In the Welsh Romance Peredur, based on Chrétien but containing several prominant deviations, the Grail has been removed entirely. The character of the Fisher King (though he is not called by that name) appears, and presents Peredur with a severed head on a platter. Peredur later learns he was related to that king, and that the severed head was that of his cousin, whose death he must avenge. The Three Welsh Romances are three tales associated with the Mabinogion. ... Peredur Arueu Dur, King of Ebrauc (c. ...

Later medieval works

The Fisher King's next development occurs in Robert de Boron's Joseph d'Arimathie, the first work to connect the Grail with Jesus. Here, the "Rich Fisher" is called "Bron", a name similar enough to Bran to suggest a relationship, and he is said to be the brother-in-law of Joseph of Arimathea, who had used the Grail to catch Christ's blood before laying him in the tomb. Joseph founds a religious community that travels eventually to Britain, and he entrusts the Grail to Bron. Bron, called the "Rich Fisher" because he catches a fish eaten at the Grail table, founds the line of Grail keepers that eventually includes Perceval. Robert de Boron (also spelled in the manuscripts Bouron, Beron) was a French poet of the 13th century, originally from the village of Boron, in the département of Montbéliard. ... Jesus, also known as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus the Nazarene, is the central figure of Christianity, in which context he is known as Jesus Christ (from Greek Ιησούς Χριστός) with Christ being a title meaning Anointed One or Messiah. According to those who support the Nicene Creed, Jesus is both the... Joseph of Arimathea, according to the Gospels, was the man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus after his crucifixion. ...

In the Didot-Perceval, thought to be a prosification of a lost work by Robert de Boron, Bron is called the "Fisher King", and his story is told when Percival returns to his castle and asks the healing question.

Wolfram von Eschenbach takes up Chrétien's story and expands it greatly in his epic Parzival. He reworks the nature of the Grail and the community that surrounds it, and gives names to characters Chrétien left nameless (the Wounded King is "Titurel" and the Fisher King is "Anfortas"). Portrait of Wolfram from the Codex Manesse. ... Parzival is one of the two great epic poems in Middle High German. ...

The Lancelot-Grail cycle includes a more elaborate backstory for the Fisher King. Many in his line are wounded for their failings, and the only two that survive to Arthur's day are the Wounded King, called Pellam or Pellehan, and the Fisher King, Pelles. Pelles engineers the birth of Galahad by tricking Lancelot into bed with his daughter Elaine, and it is prophesied that Galahad will achieve the Grail and heal the Wasteland. In the Post-Vulgate Cycle and Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, the Fisher King's wound was given to him by Sir Balin in the "Dolorous Stroke". To defend himself from an enraged Pellam, Balin grabs a spear and stabs him. The spear is the Spear of Longinus, however, and Pellam and his land must suffer for its misuse until the coming of Galahad. The Lancelot-Grail, also known as the prose Lancelot, the Vulgate Cycle, or the Pseudo-Map Cycle, is a major source of Arthurian legend. ... King Pellam of Listeneise is the name that Malory gives to the Maimed King in his rendition of the tale of Sir Balin, at whose hands Pellam suffers the Dolorous Stroke. ... King Pellam of Listeneise is the name that Malory gives to the Maimed King in his rendition of the tale of Sir Balin, at whose hands Pellam suffers the Dolorous Stroke. ... A potrait of Sir Galahad by George Frederick Watts. ... In the Arthurian legend, Sir Lancelot (Lancelot du Lac, or Lancelot of the Lake; also Launcelot) is one of the Knights of the Round Table. ... Elaine (a form of Helen) is a name shared by several different characters in Arthurian Legend. ... The Post-Vulgate Cycle is one of the major Old French prose cycles of Arthurian literature. ... Sir Thomas Malory (c. ... Le Morte dArthur (The Death of Arthur)—the title is actually spelled as Le Morte Darthur in the first printing and also in some modern editions—is Sir Thomas Malorys compilation of some French and English Arthurian romances. ... Sir Balin le Savage, also known as the Knight with Two Swords, is a character in Arthurian legend. ... The Dolorous Stroke is a trope in Arthurian legend and some other stories of Celtic origin. ... This article contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ...

In Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, there are four characters (some of whom can probably be identified with each other) filling the role of Fisher King or Wounded King: Sir Thomas Malory (c. ... Le Morte dArthur (The Death of Arthur)—the title is actually spelled as Le Morte Darthur in the first printing and also in some modern editions—is Sir Thomas Malorys compilation of some French and English Arthurian romances. ...

1. King Pellam, wounded by Balin, as in the Post-Vulgate.
2. King Pelles, grandfather of Galahad, described as "the maimed king". In one passage he is explicitly identifed with Pellam; in another, however, he is said to have suffered his wound in quite different circumstances.
3. King Pescheour or Petchere, lord of the Grail Castle, who never appears on stage (at least under that name). He owes his existence to a mistake by Malory, who took the French le Roi Pêcheur ("the Fisher King", a phrase Malory never otherwise uses) for a name rather than an epithet. Nevertheless, Malory treats him as distinct from Pelles.
4. An anonymous, bedridden Maimed King, healed by Galahad at the climax of the Grail Quest. He is definitely distinct from Pelles, who has just been sent out of the room, and who is anyway at least mobile.

It would appear that Malory intended to have one Maimed King, wounded by Balin and suffering until healed by his grandson Galahad, but never managed to successfully reconcile his sources.

Modern takes on the legend

Wagner used the Fisher King in his opera Parsifal, based on Wolfram's work, and T.S. Eliot made extensive use of the Fisher King legend in his poem The Waste Land. The Fisher King shows up as "Pop Kingfisher" in the novel and film The Natural, and the story is dealt with humorously in the movie The Fisher King. Other modern takes on the Fisher King appear in novels like C.S. Lewis' That Hideous Strength, Paule Marshall's The Fisher King: A Novel, Tim Powers' Last Call, and the comic book series Mage by Matt Wagner. Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813 in Leipzig – February 13, 1883 in Venice) was an influential German composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his groundbreaking symphonic-operas (or music dramas). His compositions are notable for their continuous contrapuntal texture, rich harmonies and orchestration, and elaborate... Amalie Maternam Emil Scaria and Hermann Winkelmann in the 1882 premiere production of Parsifal Parsifal is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner. ... Thomas Stearns Eliot (September 26, 1888 - January 4, 1965), was a major Modernist Anglo-American poet, dramatist, and literary critic. ... T. S. Eliot (by E. O. Hoppe, 1919) The Waste Land is a highly influential 433-line poem by T. S. Eliot. ... The Natural is a 1952 novel about baseball written by Bernard Malamud and Kevin Baker. ... The Fisher King is a movie from 1991 written by Richard LaGravenese and directed by Terry Gilliam. ... Clive Staples Lewis (November 29, 1898 – November 22, 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis, was an author and scholar. ... That Hideous Strength is a novel by C. S. Lewis first published in 1945. ... Cover of Brown Girl, Brownstones (1959) Paule Marshall (April 9, 1929) is an American author. ... Tim Powers at the Israeli ICon 2005 SF&F Convention Timothy Thomas Powers (born February 29, 1952) is a Catholic American science fiction and fantasy author. ... Last Call (1992) is a fantasy novel by Tim Powers. ... Mage: The Hero Defined cover by Matt Wagner Mage is a semi-autobiographical superhero comic book written and illustrated by Matt Wagner. ... Matt Wagner is an American writer and artist of comic books. ...

Further reading

• The Grail: From Celtic Myth to Christian Symbol by Roger Sherman Loomis ISBN 0691020752

Roger Sherman Loomis (1887-1966) was an American scholar of Arthurian literature. ...

External links

• Student Research on the Fisher King at the University of Idaho