King Pellinore is one of the first knights Wart meets as a child. He is a bumbling idiot, but good-hearted, whose life purpose is to chase the Questing Beast. However, in Book II, Pellinore falls in love with the Queen of Flanders' daughter and abandons his quest. King Pellinore is Sir Percival's father—one of the knights to find the Holy Grail.
King Pellinore Quotes in The Once and Future King
The The Once and Future King quotes below are all either spoken by King Pellinore or refer to King Pellinore. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Ace Books edition of The Once and Future King published in 1987.
Book 1, Chapter 2
Quotes
Before the clink there were just the beeches, but immediately afterward there was a knight in full armor, standing still and silent and unearthly, among the majestic trunks…All was moonlit, all silver, too beautiful to describe.
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Explanation and Analysis:
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King Pellinore Character Timeline in The Once and Future King
The timeline below shows where the character King Pellinore appears in The Once and Future King. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 1, Chapter 2
...the knight responds that he too is lost. He says that his name is King Pellinore and he's been chasing the Questing Beast for seventeen years.
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The Questing Beast, according to King Pellinore, has the head of a serpent, the body of a leopard, and the haunches of...
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Suddenly, they hear a loud noise. Sure it's the Questing Beast, Pellinore grabs his lance and gallops after it. He quickly gets tangled in a tree, but...
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Book 1, Chapter 7
Wart finds himself deep in the Forest Sauvage with Merlyn at his side. King Pellinore emerges out of the gloom, shortly followed by Sir Grummore Grummerson wearing proper tilting garb...
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Book 1, Chapter 15
...has come to dinner in the hall. There is dancing and eating, and even King Pellinore and William Twyti (the King's Huntsman) sing. Finally, Sir Ector winds up the whole proceedings...
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Book 1, Chapter 16
...job. The whole castle shivers with excitement; boar-hunting is dangerous and unpredictable. Wart and King Pellinore can barely eat, while Sir Ector and Sir Grummore eat with gusto—Kay misses breakfast all...
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...The foot-people soon gather and a small barrel of wine is provided. However, suddenly King Pellinore appears frantically, exclaiming the most horrible thing has happened. The gathering moves off after him...
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King Pellinore says that he had not meant to leave the questing beast alone, and he angrily...
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Book 1, Chapter 17
...bounded off into the snow weeks ago, to be followed two hours later by King Pellinore. Merlyn, in his tower with Wart, asks him what he would like to be. Wart...
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Book 1, Chapter 22
King Pellinore arrives for the knighting ceremony with news from London: King Uther Pendragon has died. The...
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The sword, Pellinore continues, has not yet been pulled out although all the Lords of London have been...
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Book 2, Chapter 5
...see a magic barge on the water. Inside of the barge are three seasick knights—King Pellinore bursts into tears after being reprimanded by Sir Grummore. Upon landing, the knights hop out—the...
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Book 2, Chapter 7
This is how the three knights had arrived at Orkney: King Pellinore had been chasing the questing beast, who had dived into the ocean. He had hailed...
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Book 2, Chapter 9
To help King Pellinore get over his lovesickness, Sir Palomides and Sir Grummore decided to dress as the questing...
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Soon, the knights finish the questing beast costume. They tell Pellinore that they have spotted a beast near the cliff earlier. Pellinore is confused and unexcited;...
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Sir Grummore and Sir Palomides button themselves into the costume. Meanwhile, King Pellinore stands under the dripping cliff in full armor, thinking about the Queen of Flanders' daughter,...
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Book 2, Chapter 11
After breakfast, Pellinore walks out along the shore where he comes across Sir Grummore and Sir Palomides dressed...
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...and draw the drawbridge in time. The whole party mounts the battlements to look for Pellinore (who they believe must have been eaten). After an hour or so, two figures appear...
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Book 2, Chapter 13
A few weeks later, King Pellinore is sitting atop the cliff with his bride-to-be. They are to travel to England the...
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Book 2, Chapter 14
...is excited to see his old friends again and quickly arranges a wedding for King Pellinore. No trouble is spared—there are flowers, bells, and feasts. Meanwhile, far away Merlyn jumps up...
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Book 3, Chapter 1
Lancelot is fiercely in love with Arthur. When they were embarking for France after Pellinore's wedding, King Arthur had called him over. Arthur had told him that he wanted to...
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Book 3, Chapter 26
...Agravaine, Mordred and Gawaine have killed his mother because they found her in bed with Pellinore's son Sir Lamorak and then stabbed Sir Lamorak in the back.
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Book 3, Chapter 30
The next arrival is Sir Aglovale, one of the young sons of the late King Pellinore, wearing a black sash for his late mother. Aglovale wants to kill Mordred and Gawaine...
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...adventures. He recounts the tale of his brother Sir Percivale who had been much like Pellinore and whose letter had been found in the hands of their dead sister. Percy had...
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