[HPforGrownups] NY Times article

[Tim Kronsell]

No: HPFGUIDX 18663

Very interesting, BUT: 
While the Arthur legend may hold much sway in some countries, in others such 
as Denmark where I live for instance it is only little known actually.

So while it is an interesting theory, the Potter/Arthur similarities can only 
be a small part of the explanation of the books popularity. That is, if you 
need any explanation other than it is a damn good series.

Darreder

>===== Original Message From HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com =====
>Todays (May 12) NY Times has an article entitled:
>
>*An Improbable Sequel: Harry Potter and the Ivory Tower*
>
>It is not actually all that interesting, IMHO.  Most of it is about
>an academic conference on the Medieval, and only a little bit on HP,
>but here are the relevant bits.  (I know its a lot, but since it is
>only a small section of a very long article, I dont think I am
>breaking any copyright laws here.):
>
>***START ARTICLE***
>
>KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Millions of books after Harry Potter became the
>most beguiling wizard of the modern age, scholars have welcomed him
>into the temple of Muggle academia.
>
>"If you look closely, you see a lot of Arthurian components," said
>Heather Arden, a professor at the University of Cincinnati who has
>drawn parallels between J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter stories and
>classic medieval legends. "So much of it fits into wonderful ancient
>patterns."
>
>That a best-selling children's book would be the subject of scholarly
>attention isn't a surprise; after all, academics have delved into the
>finer points of everything from Martha Stewart to table salt. But
>this engagement with the modern world is a hallmark of the
>International Congress on Medieval Studies, a yearly conference held
>at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, which attracted Ms.
>Arden and about 3,000 other scholars earlier this month.
>
>[snip many paragraphs of blather]
>
>In keeping with the conference's informal atmosphere, the professors
>who discussed Harry Potter assumed roles as witches on the faculty at
>Hogwarts, the school where he studies wizardry. Their paper was in
>the form of a dialogue about Harry's proposed senior thesis comparing
>Hogwarts to the court of King Arthur. The professors, Ms. Arden and
>Kathryn Lorenz, started by noting physical similarities like
>invisible doors, magical animals and the use of parchment, sealing
>wax and coats of arms. >From there they turned to thematic devices
>like the ease with which characters move between normal and abnormal
>worlds.
>
>"Like Arthur, Harry is destined to make an exemplary stand against
>the forces of evil and chaos," Ms. Arden said. "The phenomenal
>popularity of the Potter chronicles may be linked to the way they
>reflect the underlying attractions of the Arthurian world. They give
>their readers a picture of a wonderful community centered on a
>superhuman leader and made up of exceptional individuals of whom the
>hero is the most exceptional."
>
>And that explains the continuing hold that medieval themes have on
>people, she added. "The hero himself, whether Arthur, Percivale or
>our own Harry Potter, shows us that a seemingly ordinary orphan child
>can turn out to be an exceptional person. Perhaps the greatest
>quality shared by Harry and the Arthurian hero is to show us the
>power of imagination to transform the established boundaries between
>things and people, to show us the possibilities of other worlds."
>
>--Joywitch
>
>
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