[HPforGrownups] Karkaroff's name (Was: Re: Durmstrang)

[Maria Kirilenko]

No: HPFGUIDX 48448


<raunistar at y...> wrote:
> Even the name
> Karkaroff sounds like a Russian name to me. Like Finland (especially
> Lapland), north-eastern Russia has some old folk tradition of
> witchcraft, shamans and such.
> raunistar

Me:

I also believe that Durmstrang is in north-western Russia or in Finland, in Karelia maybe. The fact that Karkaroff doesn't have an accent means nothing. There *are* Russian people who speak English without an accent. He could be Russian and educated in the UK. His phrase about "dear old Hogwarts" supports that.

But what interests me more is Karkaroff's last name. It has a Russian masculine ending (-off), but in my opinion is rather artificial. But it does have a very interesting meaning.

Kar (or karr) is (in Russian) the sound that the crow makes. In Russian mythology the crow, or rather the raven, is the symbol of bad news, a messenger of death. That is pretty symbolic, isn't it? JKR did her research well.

Also, another question that was raised: why does Krum go to Durmstrang when it's so far from Bulgaria? It could be that it's a family tradition. If his father went to Durmstrang, Krum'd probably go there too.

Besides, if Durmstrang *is* in Russia, which is highly probable, Krum, being Bulgarian, might want to go to another Slavic country to get his education

Any thoughts?

Masha 

(who was Maria but is changing her name since there

appears to be another Maria on the list)



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