The Questing Beast: What Are You Chasing?

I recently came across a part of Arthurian legend I wasn’t familiar with. About a beast that many sought but could never capture. A creature with a serpentine head and neck, body of a leopard, front legs like a deer, and haunches like a lion. From its belly came the sounds of countless hounds baying wildly. This creature never attacked or killed. It simply ran from all who pursued it. No horse could keep pace with it, and it always managed to stay ahead of those who chased it. It was known as the Questing Beast. So what is the questing beast? What did it represent, and more importantly, why mention it? Let’s dive in this week in Deeper Thoughts and see what this legend is all about!

Depending on which account you read, the Questing Beast will vary, so here we’ll just go over a little basic background for an understanding. While the exact origins of the beast vary, most have a common thread. In an old kingdom a princess lusted after her brother. She obsessed over him so much that she made a deal with a devil, and this devil in turn cursed her brother to fall in love with her. Then the devil tricked and manipulated the princess into accusing her brother of rape. As the prince was executed for the false allegations, he cursed his sister, who was with child, that she would give birth to an abomination.

Later we see King Pellinor chasing the beast. Some accounts say he was wandering in the wilderness and saw it and felt called to chase after it, feeling he was destined to chase after the beast. Other accounts say his family had always chased it, trying to capture it. It was a compulsion, an urge that couldn’t be quenched, and he sought after it constantly.

Besides King Pellinor there was Sir Palamedes, who also hunted the Questing Beast. He began his hunt for the beast after being rejected by Queen Isulda. He loved and obsessed over her, but she turned him down and he never fully recovered from the rejection. It was after this he saw the Questing Beast and began to chase after it.

For both King Pellinor and Sir Palamedes, the hunt for the Questing Beast was never ending. It wore down their mind, body, and soul, overtime causing them to become shadows of their former selves.

Later in some myths we see the son of King Pellinor, Sir Percival, come across the beast. The beast tempts him, trying to entice Percival to chase it, like his father before him. But Percival had seen what chasing the beast had done to his father, and instead did what his father could not. He turns away from the beast and refuses to give chase.

So what does the Questing Beast represent? It’s an allegory for obsession, all consuming obsession. Sometimes obsessions can be harmless, such as that friend of yours that’s read and seen anything by or about Lord of the Rings, or that person who’s obsessed with meeting their goals.

But obsession can become detrimental when it becomes all consuming. When we see that friend who’s so obsessed with their goals that they’ll hurt others, even those who depend on them, to achieve it without remorse. Or that person who’s so love struck that they can’t ever get over rejection from the object of their affection, obsess over them, stalk them, and worse.

It’s good to set goals and to attempt to achieve something great in this world, but we have to recognize when we’re chasing after something not meant for us. It could be we’re not ready for it yet, or it just isn’t meant to be. Not knowing when or how to give up the chase can ruin all you’ve achieved. It can alienate you from those closest to you. It can create enemies you never expected. This level of obsession can cause physical and mental harm to yourself as well, causing you to neglect your other needs, such as food, sleep, and social connection to name a few.

Take stock of your life to make sure you’re not chasing after your own Questing Beast, and if you are, be like Sir Percival and walk away. Thank you for reading, and I hope you all have an enlightening day.