In Fate/stay night: Heaven's feel III, why does Kirei end the chant against Zouken, with the greek "Κύριε ελέησον" (kyrie eleison)?
It means "O Lord show mercy"
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1while i can't say about the langue choice (why Greek instead of Japanese), from the meaning it would be because he would say it because he's still a member of the Church so it makes sense– Memor-XApr 3, 2022 at 22:18
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I guessed as much as well, I was wondering about the language choice. But thanks for your time– platinoob_Apr 4, 2022 at 5:07
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1On that note, why are incantations German in Fate? Who knows.– OceanApr 4, 2022 at 12:26
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@Ocean you are correct– platinoob_Apr 4, 2022 at 13:44
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@Ocean Not all incantations are in German, we see plenty of incantations in Japanese like the Servant Summonning, English ones like Archer's UBW. For the Tohsaka family in particular, their magic was derived from Western magic after one of Rin ancestors shagged one of the Edelfelt sisters after the 3rd Holy Grail War. That's how they got Gandr. That raises another question: The Edelfelts are Finnish, so why is their magic in German. Who knows?– paulnamidaApr 8, 2022 at 13:57
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1 Answer
It's because of Christian liturgy. The "Kyrie eleison" is the name of a prayer, and one of the most ancient of gregorian chants.
It has its origins in Eastern Christian doctrine, it derives from ἐλέησόν με κύριε (eleison me kyrie), which was the Greek translation of a Biblical phrase often found in the Psalms: חָנֵּנִי יְהוָה, "have mercy on me, Lord". It's used as part of the litany, which is prayer that consists of petition to God or to a Saint to intercede, as the priest asks the petition, the chorus would answer "Kyrie eleison and "Christe eleison" in alternation.
So it seems fitting that for Fate worlds, where Christian doctrine is also a form of Magecraft, this chant is used as an incantation part of exorcism rituals, as it's asking for God to lend his power.
