Pelles
Grail-keeper king and grandfather of Galahad, cousin of Joseph of Arimathie, the maimed king.
King Pelles is the keeper of the Holy Grail in Le Morte d'Arthur, identified as "Pelles, king of the foreign country, and cousin nigh unto Joseph of Armathie" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XI, Ch. II). His role is pivotal: through enchantment and design, he engineers the begetting of Galahad upon his daughter Elaine by Launcelot, thereby ensuring the Grail quest can be fulfilled. The text later names him "the maimed king" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XVII, Ch. V), linking him to the wounded Fisher King tradition.
Pelles operates throughout Le Morte d'Arthur as both a pious guardian and a shrewd manipulator. He commands Brisen to deceive Launcelot into lying with Elaine by sending her "to this castle with twenty-five knights unto the Castle of Case" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XI, Ch. II). When Launcelot discovers the deception and confronts Elaine, she reveals herself as "the daughter of King Pelles" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XI, Ch. III). Pelles is unapologetic about the Grail's demands on visitors: "here shall no knight win no worship but if he be of worship himself and of good living, and that loveth God and dreadeth God" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XI, Ch. IV).
The consequences of Pelles's scheme ripple through the narrative. When Elaine comes to Camelot, she does so as "the daughter of King Pelles" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XI, Ch. VII), and Launcelot's renewed entanglement with her drives him to madness. Pelles himself cares for the mad Launcelot, riding "with ten knights, and Dame Elaine, and twenty ladies" to the Castle of Bliant (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XII, Ch. VI). The child Galahad grows up under Pelles's protection, and when sent to Arthur's court, instructs the old man to "recommend me unto my grandsire, King Pelles" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XIII, Ch. IV).
Pelles's own wounding is explicitly tied to the Grail mysteries. He is identified as "a king that hight Pelles, the maimed king" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XVII, Ch. V), smitten through both thighs for drawing the forbidden sword. His son Eliazar plays a role in the climax of the quest, bringing "the broken sword wherewith Joseph was stricken through the thigh" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XVII, Ch. XIX). At the final Grail ceremony, only Pelles, Eliazar, and a maid remain with the three achieving knights: "So they went thence, all save King Pelles and Eliazar, his son, the which were holy men" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XVII, Ch. XIX). After the vision of the Sangreal, "then King Pelles and his son departed" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XVII, Ch. XX).
Appears in: Beings, Entities in Le Morte d'Arthur, British Tradition