Arthur and Lucius--What's in a name?

[ftah3]

No: HPFGUIDX 34836

gideoner4 wrote:
> In legends and facts concerning King Arthur, we can see that King 
> Lucius is involved. The war against Rome ended with King Arthur 
> killing King Lucius according to Thomas Malory's and Vulgate's 
> version. That brought me to the idea that Lucius Malfoy and Arthur 
> Weasley will come face to face each other in battle (which is very 
> very likely to happen), and Arthur might be the one to kill Lucius. 

I think it's possible.  It's also possible that the names signify not 
ultimate outcome of the relationship, but only the antagonistic 
relationship.  Arthur and Lucius were enemies in legend, and are in 
the book; it may go no further than that.  

> And I was also thinking about Percy (which is an English nickname 
for 
> old French Perceval or Percival). In King Arthur's legends/storeis, 
> Perceval was the frail and unexpected kingiht who sought the much 
> sought-after Holy Grail. Now, I think Percy could be candidate for 
an 
> unexpected hero (because a lot of people think he might even turn 
to 
> the Dark Side, and Percy is a rigid character, but I don't know 
what 
> could be the Holy Grail's equivalent in the books. I was just 
struck 
> by how Perceval was part of King Arthur's (stress on Arthur)
legends. 

I really like this theory.  Even without a Holy Grail, Percy as an 
unexpected hero would be a relief to me, because I'd be terribly 
bummed (though not surprised) if he turned out to be the weak link in 
his family.  

I've often wondered if, like Sibyl Trelawney, Percy's name wasn't a 
little tongue-in-cheek.  While Trelawney has, apparently, experienced 
a couple of real vision, two actual visions in an entire career don't 
seem to imply much of a Seer.  Percy acts all proper and knightly and 
important, in the spirit of Arthur's knight, but so far it's been 
more of a parody.  Perhaps Percy *will* seek a 'Holy Grail,' but it 
will be a false quest, a misguided quest which parodies Percival's 
quest for the Grail....

> WHy did J.K. Rowling cjoose to name Percy as that? Fred, George, 
> Bill, Ron, and Ginny (or any form of their names) aren't part of 
King 
> Arthur's legends.

Ginny could possibly align with Guinevere.

And though not part of the Arthurian legend, there is Saint George, 
dragonslayer and patron saint of England.  "William" is a name that 
figures a great deal in England's royal history; as does Charles, 
though if one wanted to reach further, Charlemagne.  There are a lot 
of famous "Freds" too.

Incidentally, Frederick Barbarossa & Charlemagne share something in 
common in legend ~ there was a so-called "Spear of Destiny," which, 
like the Holy Grail, was purported to have mystic powers from its 
association with the death of Christ.  It is said that both Frederick 
Barbarossa & Charlemagne possessed the Spear in their times, and were 
undefeated in battle until they lost it.

> I'll really appreciate your opinion over the whole matter over 
> Lucius, Arthur, and Percy's names. My friends and I can't help but 
> think that J.K. Rowling could have used the names for a reason. Or 
> maybe I am just reading too mucn into everything? Should I even 
think 
> of these things? Do you think it's worth analyzing, or does it 
sound 
> ludicrous? Please tell us what you think.

I think it's worth analysing, and I'm really intrigued by the 
Arthur/Lucius connection (I was unfamiliar with that one).  Though, I 
also think that while certain mythical character names suggest 
specific character types, it might sometimes be only the name that 
the author liked, or only the basic character traits, rather than the 
whole mythic destiny.

Mahoney