Flower of the Court

[Laura Klotz]

No: HPFGUIDX 29934


Tabouli wrote <some nifty observations on the possible meaning of "flower
of the court">

Well, you requested aid from an SCA type, so here I am.  The court, in
medieval society, was basically wherever the ruling monarch could be
found.  Rulers of kingdoms have traditionally had several residences
throughout their domains, and the court would periodically pack itself up
and move to a new one.  Wherever the king (or, less frequently, queen)
was, he/she was said to be "holding court" at that location.  The court
was usually packed with lower members of the nobility -- the monarch's
own family members, as well as barons, dukes, counts, and so forth who
pretty much hung around trying to curry the king or queen's favor; this
quite often included members of the gentry as well, meaning knights and
their ladies.  Young women from wealthier families often ended up in
court too, usually as a lady-in-waiting to the queen or one of her
daughters; not only was it prestigious for a girl to hold such a
position, but it was also her best chance of catching a well-to-do
husband if her marriage had not already been arranged.  As to the phrase
"flower of the court," I seem to recall having heard the expression being
used to describe the most beautiful daughter of the reigning monarch.  I
think it may also have been directed at Elizabeth I in her own court, of
which she was undoubtedly the flower!  

I did a bit of digging for the term "flower of the court," to see if I
could find it used anywhere outside Potterdom in the hopes of verifying
any of this.  The first reference I found is in a poem about a princess,
who is sad and lonely in her "marble prison" and dreams of a prince; the
line is "The flowers are sad for the flower of the court."  You can read
the whole poem, if you're interested, at
http://www.nmu.edu/www-edgar/language/Martin/sonatina.htm

The phrase is also used to describe the character Sigrun Bjornsdottir, in
the Nordic-Celtic historical fantasy "The Rhymer and the Ravens" by Jodie
Forrest.  An excerpt of the first chapter, including that reference, can
be read at http://www.stevenforrest.com/excerpt.html; unfortunately, it
doesn't really elaborate on its usage.  Flower of what court?  It doesn't
say.

I did find a copy of the chat transcript in which JKR tells us that
Fleur's surname means of the court, rather than of the heart.  She also
qualifies this remark by saying "Like a noblewoman," which could lend
credibility to the theory of Fleur's family being sort of a French
equivalent of the Malfoys.  (I still don't think they're evil, though!) 
If you would like to read it, it's at
http://www.ncte.org/lists/hogwarts-haven/archives/oct2000/msg00020.html. 
She also lets us in on a few nifty, though unrelated to this topic, facts
as well -- like that James Potter inherited the Invisibility Cloak from
his own father!  It's a definitely neat read.

This was the best of what Google had to offer, I'm afraid.  I will check
in my medieval reference books to see if I can find anything more
substantive.  If I do, I'll let everyone know!
~Laura K.
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