Pellinore
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King Pellinore is the king of Listenoise or of "the Isles" (possibly Anglesey, or perhaps the medieval kingdom of the same name), according to the Arthurian legend. Son of King Pellam and brother of Kings Pelles and Alain, he is most famous for his endless hunt of the Questing Beast, which he is tracking when King Arthur first meets him. Pellinore beats King Arthur after three jousts and breaks the sword Arthur had withdrawn from the stone (in some versions this is Excalibur, though he gets another sword of that name from the Lady of the Lake soon after.) Merlin throws a spell of enchantment on Pellinore to save Arthur’s life. Arthur praises Pellinore’s skill, and they soon become friends, with Arthur inviting him to join the Knights of the Round Table. He has many legitimate and illegitimate children; his sons Tor, Aglovale, Lamorak, Dornar, and Percival all eventually join the Round Table as well, and his unnamed daughter (see Dindrane) becomes a servant of the Holy Grail and helps Percival, Galahad and Bors achieve the mystical object.
Pellinore is a major figure in the Post-Vulgate Cycle and the sections of Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur based on it. There, he helps Arthur in his early wars against rebelling vassals, but when he kills King Lot of Orkney during the Battle of Tarabel (also called Dimilioc), he sparks a blood feud between his and Lot's family that results in his death and the deaths of many others. Before this, Pellinore is frequently encountered pursuing the Questing Beast, a strange monster with the head of a snake, the body of a leopard, the haunches of a lion and the feet of a deer. Though he claims his bloodline is destined to perpetually chase the bizarre creature, Sir Palamedes the Saracen takes up the quest, and, according to one version, slays the beast.
Pellinore was said to have been of the royal line of Joseph of Arimathea, whose dynasty guard the Holy Grail, according to Arthurian lore. Indeed, it is Pellinore’s own son, Percival, who was one of the first Grail seekers, and his grand nephew, Galahad, who finally succeeds in the quest. In the Livre d'Artus (early 13th century), Pellinore is called the "Maimed King" after being wounded by a holy spear, having doubted the powers of the Grail.
A memorable portrayal of King Pellinore comes from T. H. White's The Once and Future King, where he is a bumbling but endearing old man who can't give up his search for the "Questin' Beast" lest the poor creature die of loneliness. He also tends to say the word "what" after his sentences (Merlyn makes fun of him by stating: "…Or, if I were King Pellinore, I would say 'what what, what?'".)
