Why Fisher, anyway? There are many possibilities, but I think it’s a pun. The French words for “sinner” and “fisherman” are the same, pecheur, with a difference in accents in the written words(Sorry, I can’t seem to get a French accent above the “e” on my iPad, so you will have to Google it to see what I mean.)
This is a confusing character. There may be more than one of him. One is King Pelles, who is the father of Elaine of Carbonek. Or Pellam. Or maybe they are brothers? Father and son? Depends which version you read. It’s part of the Grail legend and, of course, appears in our friend Malory’s work, but also in French and German stories of the Middle Ages, and may even have pre-Christian Celtic elements.
Anyway, he is a sinner who has been wounded by the Spear of Longinus, which was used to stab Jesus on the cross. He can only be healed by a pure Grail knight who is sometimes Galahad and sometimes Percival. His wound is described as being in the thigh, but is probably meant to be in the genitals, so you have to assume he was wounded after fathering Elaine or other characters described as his children. What was his sin? Liking women too much, apparently!
In Malory there is an early story, “Balin and Balan” in which the two brothers end up killing each other unintentionally, the sort of story you will find in Tolkien’s more depressing works. In it, there is a downright scary scene in which Balin is rushing through a castle unarmed, having broken his weapon, being chased by King Pellam, whose brother he had just killed. He finds himself in a room with a bed, and a spear set on a gold table. Desperately, he grabs the spear and stabs his pursuer. Dreadful things happen, because this is not just any old spear, of course. The whole castle comes crashing down and both Balin and Pellam fall into a “swoon” for several days, awakening in the ruins. Balin has struck the Dolorous Stroke, and Pellam will be in agony from his unhealed wound for years till Galahad comes along to heal him.
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Or Percival. Or whoever. Anyway, that is the last we hear of it till the Grail Quest begins. Pellam is a Grail Keeper, a relative of Joseph of Arimathea, so is important.
More than that, the land is also “wounded”, becoming a wasteland. Maybe another good reason for not letting kings run around having knightly “adventures”!
In John Boorman’s film, Excalibur, the whole Fisher King thing is handed to Arthur himself, who needs to drink from the Grail to recover. The knight who achieves it and brings it back to his lord is Percival, who has to answer a riddle(no, not “what is your name, what is your quest, what is the flight velocity of an unladen swallow?”). Arthur has been wounded and the land with which he is connected has become a wasteland. When he is healed, he and his knights gallop across land which is blossoming with his recovery, to the tune of “O, Fortuna” from Orff’s Carmina Burana.
If the King Pelles of the Elaine story really is the Fisher King, no wonder he wants a grandson to relieve him of the misery of his wound!
Tomorrow’s letter is G, featuring Gawain, Guinevere and the Green Knight. See you then!
18 comments:
Most of this one is new to me. I've heard of Fisher King but that's about it. Learning heaps, Sue. Thanks :)
I hope you’re enjoying what you’re learning! 🙂
Totally! :)
Glad to hear it! I’m writing up my Gawain/Guinevere post today,
I had been remotely familiar with the Fisher King. Thanks for the detailed information. One of many interesting things is how there are different variations on the story.
Oh, yes, Brian, there are variations on pretty much every story! That’s why there are entire lists of tropes used in fairy tales.
I've only heard of the Fisher King from the Robin Williams movie - maybe that would make more sense if I had known where it came from? 😂 Clearly playing with other people's spears is a dangerous business 😉
Tasha 💖
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Agreed, Tasha, definitely unsafe! 😁
You make me want to dive head-first into research about Arthurian myths!
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I loved that blossom scene in the movie! :)
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You have been doing plenty of research of your own, from what I’ve seen on your blog! Nice to know this is of interest. Thanks!
Oh, yes, Zalka, a wonderful scene! Unfortunately, when I first saw the film, the tune, O Fortuna, had recently been used in a coffee commercial, so a lot o& people in the cinema burst out laughing. Kind of spoiled it for me back then! Not John Boorman’s fault, 🙂
Ah ha, the one Arthurian legend I do know! XD The Spear of Longinus seems to pop up everywhere - I was listening to a podcast about the Crusades and it pops up there as well. Clearly gets around. Loving this series!
Glad to hear you are enjoying, Melanie!
Another fascinating delve into the Arthurian world. I've come across the Fisher King in many ways, most often via Percival - or rather Parsifal. As for all your Excalibur - the movie - references, the music especially always works for me.
I agree, Roland, the music in that film works very well indeed.
Thanks for the info about the origin of the name "fisher king" -- I've always wondered why he was called that. The "sinner king" makes so much more sense. If you haven't seen it, I recommend Terry Gilliam's modern retelling of the tale in his movie "The Fisher King" (1991) with Robin Williams. Very poignant but funny too, in a tragicomic kind of way.
It does make more sense, doesn’t it? No, that is one film I have missed, though the combination of Terry Gilliam and Robin Williams should have interested me. Maybe if I can borrow it somewhere...
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