In Chrétien’s seminal version, a second maiden follows the Grail Maiden. This second maiden, whom P.A. Karr call “Etheria,” carries a silver carving-dish (Owen’s translation) or platter (Cline’s). Chrétien gives no further details concerning this carving-dish. Its purpose seems obscure if, as Chrétien later explains, the Fisher King’s father receives as his entire meal a single Mass wafer from the Grail.
The platter may serve as a paten, either to cover the Grail or, perhaps, to convey the wafer from Grail to recipient. Or, the Grail being seen as the cup, might the platter echo the dish of the paschal lamb at the Last Supper?
See also
Fisher King’s Candlesticks | The Legend of King Arthur
Fisher King’s Table | The Legend of King Arthur