Godric's Sword (only a tiny bit of sex)

[grannybat84112]

No: HPFGUIDX 83877

Leon has no patience for my philosophical ponderings:

> I think the explanation can be far more obvious.
> 
> Godric lived during a time when swords were commonplace. We can 
> infer that he was a wealthy person, of "noble" blood of one sort or 
> another (muggle or wizard designations). *Not* to own a sword would 
> have in some way been anachronistic for such a person at such a 
> time. 

I beg to differ. Male nobility carrying swords may have been the norm 
among Muggles, but we have no indication that the same norm applied 
to Magicals. Harry mentions no other sword residing in Dumbledore's 
office or hanging above the numerous fireplaces in Hogwarts; no sword 
appears among the drawing room artifacts of the Blacks, whose 
medieval roots are pointed out by Sirius and the tapestry of the 
family tree; Lucius Malfoy does not swagger through the halls with an 
ancestral rapier girding his hips. (If anyone would flaunt such an 
ostentatious symbol of his aristocratic status, Lucius would.) Even 
Lockhart, whose livelihood rests on his (bogus) reputation as a hero, 
never unsheathes his sword for the DADA students to admire. (I know 
what you're thiiiiiinkiiiiing....)

So often with JKR the truth lies not in what she says, but in what 
she doesn't say. 

 
> We don't even know that the sword is inherently magical. It slices, 
> it dices, it makes basilisk fries. 

I never said it had to be magical, dear. I was asking what function 
the sword served or is likely to serve within the parameters of the 
overarching story, beyond that of symbolism. It didn't exhibit any 
magical powers in CoS that I could see. 

But I do like your image of basilisk julienne.

> We don't know what the other founders left behind (besides Sal. Who 
> left an even-more-phallic rememberance. 

This ties in with my first point: If Salazar Slytherin had left a 
sword to be wielded by his heir, we would have heard about it by now. 
Diary!Riddle takes a great deal of pleasure in telling Harry of his 
(Riddle's) hereditary connection to Salazar, and savoring the 
similarities between himself and Harry. If Riddle had claimed 
Salazar's sword (or even if he hadn't found it yet, but knew of its 
existence) he would have bragged about that, too. Particularly after 
Harry pulls Godric's ruby and silver out of the sorting hat--Riddle 
had already gloated that Dumbledore was able to send only 
a "songbird" and an old hat to Harry's aid. If Riddle had possessed a 
blade equivalent to Gryffindor's, he would have used it to counter 
Harry. 

The phallic symbolism I'll discuss in a separate reply to Message 
83372, Olivier's fascinating essay on Jungian interpretation of CoS. 
I'm certain that post will take much more time and many rewrites.

Grannybat