E 326K // Literature of the Middle Ages in Translation: Mysteries of the Grail

Maimed King

The Maimed King is a recurring motif through the evolution of the legend of the Holy Grail that is meant to represent impotency through the lower body injury sometimes said to be located at his hip or between his legs. The infertility of Logres, his kingdom coincides with his injury and all he can do is fish as he awaits a savior to restore him to his former health and his kingdom to its former glory. The Maimed King's roots can be found in Celtic legend. The wounded king, called Bron in the Vulgate cycle not coincidentally, can be seen as a parallel to Bran the Blessed, a Celtic entity that is always associated with a large cauldron that can resurrect the deceased.
The Maimed King takes many forms in the various recountings of the legend of the Grail, first appearing as the Fisher King in Chretian de Troyes' Percival, while later taking the form of Bron in the Robert De Boron's Joseph De Arimethea, or as Pelles in the Lancelot-Grail cycle. His role in the story also evolves from the simple keeper of the grail to the father of Gallihad's mother and the engineer behind the deception that led to Gallihad's conception. In some accounts of the legend, the Maimed King even takes two seperate identities: the more crippled father, and the more active son. While accounts differ, all agree that the Fisher King lived in the castle of Corbenic, was safeguarding the Grail, and was of the descent of Joseph De Arimathea, and, potentially, Jesus Christ.