The Fisher King (myth)
The Fisher King is a significant figure in the legend of the Holy Grail, often depicted as a wounded king whose affliction symbolizes the spiritual and physical desolation of his land. The myth suggests that the Fisher King, or Le Roi Pecheur ("the Sinner King"), inherits a grievous wound as a result of his sinful actions, which leaves him unable to heal himself or restore his kingdom. This narrative unfolds within the broader context of Arthurian legend, particularly during the quest for the Grail, a sacred vessel associated with Jesus Christ and his Last Supper, which holds the promise of divine grace and healing.
The Fisher King’s plight is intertwined with the journeys of various knights, particularly Sir Percival and Sir Gawain, who seek to understand the mysteries of the Grail and restore the king’s health through the act of asking the right questions. This quest reflects deep themes of redemption, the interplay of pagan and Christian traditions, and the significance of heroism in overcoming personal and communal suffering. Various interpretations of the Fisher King highlight the dual influences of these traditions, suggesting that his story serves as a bridge between ancient fertility rites and medieval Christian symbolism. As such, the Fisher King stands as a poignant representation of the interconnectedness of myth, spirituality, and the human condition.
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The Fisher King (myth)
Author: Traditional
Time Period: 1001 CE–1500 CE
Country or Culture: England
Genre: Legend
PLOT SUMMARY
Many versions of the legend of the Holy Grail describe the Grail, or Sangreal, as the cup used by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper. Jesus gives the cup to Joseph of Arimathea, a holy man said to have donated his tomb to Jesus, and Joseph takes the cup to Europe, where it is passed down through the generations and guarded by holy men. For many years, pilgrims are able to observe the Grail, until one of the guardians falters by looking sinfully upon a young woman. He is immediately wounded by the sacred lance of Christ, a wound that cannot be healed. The guardian of the Grail becomes known as Le Roi Pecheur, or the Fisher King (a corruption of Le Roi Pécheur, “the Sinner King”), and both the Fisher King and the Grail vanish from public view.
Later, in the days of King Arthur, the magician Merlin sends the king a message telling him to seek the Grail, as the knight capable of achieving the deed is alive and of the right age. When the Knights of the Round Table gather at the vigil of Pentecost, they suddenly hear “a clap of thunder” and witness “a bright light burst[ing] forth,” and “the Holy Gra[il], covered with white samite” (Leeming 119), floats through the hall and then vanishes. Sir Gawain promises to seek the Grail for a year and a day, returning only after he has seen it, and most of the other knights follow suit. Arthur laments the lost fellowship of the hall.
Sir Percival (Perceval), another of Arthur’s knights, happens upon a lake where he finds a fisherman who is “richly dressed, but pale and sad” (119). The fisherman directs Percival to an opulent castle, where he is graciously received. In the hall, he finds four hundred “grave and silent” knights, who all rise and bow at his arrival. The master of the castle, who greatly resembles the fisherman, sits by the fire and appears to be ill with “some wasting disease” (120). Percival next witnesses a mysterious procession, as a servant carrying a bloodstained lance; beautiful maidens carrying velvet cushions, a stand, and other items; and Queen Repance, carrying a precious vessel, enter the room. The onlookers whisper that the vessel is the Holy Grail, and Percival stares in astonishment. The procession ends, and a bounty of food and drink is produced from the vessel, but the master eats very little. Though the castle’s master and servants both seem to expect something from Percival, they say nothing, and he asks no questions about anything he sees. Percival spends the night at the castle; as he departs the next morning, a voice calls out to curse his failure to perform the good work set before him.
Next, Sir Gawain visits the same castle, and he too witnesses the marvelous procession. However, he recognizes one of the maidens, who once spoke to him about the Grail and requested that if he should ever see her with five other women, he should “fail not to ask what they did there” (121). Gawain watches as three drops of blood fall from the spear into a tray the youths have placed on a table. Unable to contain his wonder, he entreats his host to explain the meaning of “this great company, and these marvels” (122). At this, everyone in the hall immediately jumps up to rejoice. The Fisher King congratulates Gawain; by asking the meaning of what he saw, he has achieved what Percival did not and delivered the people from God’s punishment.
SIGNIFICANCE
This version of the story, as retold by David Adams Leeming, is a composite of several other stories, a fact that nicely reflects the Grail story’s evolution since it first appeared in northern Europe in the late twelfth century. The story is one of many tales associated with the large body of literature known as Arthurian legend. One early version is Perceval, the Story of the Grail by the poet Chrétien de Troyes, but this is not considered the authoritative text because the tale is unfinished and likely existed in prior oral and Celtic sources. Moreover, within fifty years of its emergence in literary form, the story gave rise to numerous and conflicting variants (Bryant 2). Consequently, there is little consensus on what the Grail actually wasit is variously represented as a platter, a cauldron, and a chaliceand which knight achieves the quest. In most versions, either Sir Percival or Sir Galahad is successful; Leeming’s version is unusual in casting Gawain as the hero.
There has also been much debate regarding the significance of the Fisher King, and because the Grail story is believed to have both pagan and Christian roots, interpretations of the Fisher King center on the relative influence of those two traditions. In Leeming’s composite, the Fisher King is implied to be the Christian heir of the fallen guardian originally wounded by the sacred lance. This medieval king is thus understood to inherit the wound and must wait for an upstanding knight to heal it. The king also says at the end of Leeming’s excerpt that the people of his land have suffered from the fact that they “live, and yet are dead,” because God punished them after “one brother smote the other for his land” (122). According to scholar Jessie Weston in her 1920 study From Ritual to Romance, the convention of a hero needing to ask the right question to restore an afflicted king and his people derives from pagan fertility rituals. The cup or similar object in these rituals symbolizes the abundance and nourishment that both land and people require to flourish, and the Fisher King is an enchanted leader in need of restoration by a hero. Weston argues that the procession in the story was originally part of a pagan ritual that was eventually incorporated into Christian practice, which then suppressed the original pagan symbols to overlay the story with a new meaning. Many scholars have since followed and built upon Weston’s seminal thesis.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bryant, Nigel. The Legend of the Grail. Cambridge: Brewer, 2004. Print.
Leeming, David Adams. Mythology: The Voyage of the Hero. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford UP, 1998. Print.
Loomis, Roger Sherman. The Grail: From Celtic Myth to Christian Symbol. New York: Columbia UP, 1963. Print.
Umland, Rebecca A., and Samuel J. Umland. The Use of Arthurian Legend in Hollywood Film: From Connecticut Yankees to Fisher Kings. Westport: Greenwood, 1996. Print.
Weston, Jessie L. From Ritual to Romance. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1920. Print.