1media/nschfishing2-1.jpgmedia/sangreal.jpg2016-01-17T19:04:29-08:00Fisher King36image_header2016-01-29T09:18:08-08:00The Fisher King is the original maimed king and Monarch in charge of guarding the Holy Grail who suffers from wounds between his thighs and/or to his groin. The wounds may symbolize the “original sin” of humankind, or represent the wounds Jesus suffered on the cross. The wounds may also be generally representative of the evils of humankind. The Fisher King suffers tremendous pain, and his Kingdom deteriorates as a result of his debilitating injuries. The King’s wounds suggest his impotence, and also symbolize infertility and barrenness of the land in his Kingdom, which is a wasteland. The King is helpless, and depends upon another to relieve his suffering and the suffering of his Kingdom, so he fishes in the river near his castle, and waits for this savior to arrive.
There are many stories of The Fisher King, and the stories vary. The story first appears in Chrétien de Troyes’ Perceval. Perceval comes upon the King who is fishing, and asks for lodging. While feasting with the King, Perceval witnesses a procession of the Holy Grail, and the bleeding Holy Lance, but fails to ask about the objects and their purpose, thus failing to save the King and his Kingdom. Wolfram von Eschenbach elaborates on The Fisher King in Parzival, providing more details to his story. In the Vulgate Cycle, The Fisher King becomes multiple kings suffering from various injuries. Modern incarnations of the story include T.S. Elliot’s poem The Wasteland, and Terry Gilliam’s 1991 film The Fisher King, starring Robin Williams as a man who loses his wife and child in a mass shooting, is bereft, becomes homeless, and searches for The Holy Grail.
