Percy and Neville (Was Re: Percy....)

[arrowsmithbt]

No: HPFGUIDX 60583

I have to admit that it was thhe possible association of Weasley with 'weasely' that 
first attracted  my attention. Here was a large family, ostensibly  on the 'good' side; 
what were the chances that one of them would turn bad, and who was the likeliest 
candidate?

Also JKR seemed to give more clues to character in surnames than in forenames. 
Now, of course, Percy as a name has  burst into the spotlight. Theories that it is a 
derivitive of Perceval / Parsifal from the Continental Romances and tracing this line 
through to the Grail Quest are popular; the alternative, that it is Percy as in the great 
Northern family of English history is another. 

I prefer the latter, probably because it gives some support to my conviction that Percy 
is a bad 'un.

A bit of research has confirmed a vague memory stretching back to schooldays that 
there was something else.

The Percys had traditional rivals and enemies: the Nevilles.

The Percy family ( despite the fable that it comes from 'pierce-eye' ) originated in 
Perci in northern France, came across with Duke William and were given the duty of 
guarding the border with Scotland against incursions, and to carry out punitive raids, 
just to remind the Scots to behave themselves.

Running at right angles to the border are a range of hills, the Penines, that break 
northern England in two. At the time they were a considerable military obstacle. So 
defence of the border was split, east and west. Percy got the east and Neville got the 
west, becoming eventually the Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland, 
respectively.

In a not very gentle age, the Percys in particular were renowned for their pitiless 
brutality. For three centuries the battle cry of "A Percy! A Percy" was the equivalent of 
"No Quarter!" The word 'mercy' did not seem to exist in their vocabulary.

The Nevilles, though no push-over, had a better press.

 Both being ambitious, proud and touchy,  they did not make good neighbours and 
the bickering and occasional warfare became a traditional emnity. Geographically 
distant from legitimate authority they almost became kingdoms in their own right. 
The Percys saw no reason to follow any interest but their own and became notorious 
trouble makers. If the Scots were quiet and there was no foreign war to entertain 
them, they seemed to delight in involving themselves in plots and rebellions. From 
the Civil War of Stephen and Matilda ( 1140s ), to the Battle of Shrewsbury ( where 
Prince Harry ! is supposed to have defeated Henry Percy - Hotspur, in single combat ), 
to the Wars of the Roses and through to the Gunpowder Plot ( 1605 ), there was 
generally a Percy amongst the rebels. There was a family pride in the number who 
had been executed for treason.

The Nevilles fared better. Being traditionally opposed to the Percys, they were 
generally on the side of legitimacy and became enormously rich and powerful. Their 
apogee was probably reached by Richard Neville - Warwick the Kingmaker.

In all of English history, only one other family has an equal or higher significance than 
these two; the Cecils.

Now this is all very interesting ( I hope! ), but does it mean much?
 
Well, in these last few days of fevered speculation, consider:

Percy, who became powerful, merciless, a rebel but a loser. Jealous of and enemy to

Neville who became powerful, a supporter of the status quo and a winner.

 The big question is does this translate into the Potterverse? Well, if names are of the 
significance that many suppose, it might, it just might.

Kneasy
(who loves English history -  it's so bloody! )