Pelles
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King Pelles is the name of the Maimed King in some versions of the Arthurian legend. One of a line of Grail keepers established by Joseph of Arimathea, Pelles is the father of Eliazer and Elaine, mother of Galahad, and resides in the castle of Corbinec in Listenois. Pelles and his relative Pellehan appear in both the Vulgate and Post-Vulgate Cycles, as well as in later works, such as Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur (in which Pellehan is called Pellam). In the Vulgate, Pelles is the son of Pellehan, but the Post-Vulgate is less clear about their relationship. It is even murkier in Malory's work: one passage explicitly identifies them (book XVIII, chapter 5), though this is contradicted elsewhere.
Galahad, the knight prophesied to achieve the Holy Grail and heal the Maimed King, is conceived when Elaine uses magic to trick Lancelot into thinking she is his love Guinevere. Lancelot sleeps with her, but flees when he realizes what he has done. Galahad is raised by his aunt in a convent, and when he is eighteen, comes to King Arthur's court and begins the Grail quest. Only he, Percival, and Bors are virtuous enough to achieve the Grail and restore Pelles.
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