Character Discussion: James

[Renee]

No: HPFGUIDX 120592


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Geoff Bannister" 
<gbannister10 at a...> wrote:
> 
> 
> > Alla:
> > 
> > Could you please educate me a little bit, since although I am 
> > fascinated with this kind of imaginary, I am not really familiar 
> > with it?
> > 
> > Is stag a biblical symbol for the Water of life and "stag" 
> > and "hart" are the same thing?
> 
> 
> Geoff:
> A stag is the male of a large deer, especially the red deer and a 
> hart is a male deer, escpecially a red, usually after its fifth 
year.
> 
> OT, you may be interested to know that I see these deer almost 
every 
> day when walking my dogs. Exmoor has one of the largest herds of 
red 
> in the UK.
> 
> One interesting thing which always occurs to me is that Harry's 
> Patronus is the same as his father's Animagus form; I wonder what 
> James' Patronus was? Or have I missed this somewhere?
> 
> In Christianity, the stag has no symbolism. The comparison in the 
> psalm is that we, the seekers, are like deer looking for water. 
The 
> same Psalm, in the New International Version, which I tend to use 
> reads:
> 
> "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, 
O 
> God"
> 

Renee:
In the medieval Church the stag was sometimes used as a symbol for 
Christ Triumphant (like the unicorn symbolised the purity of Christ 
and the Phoenix the Resurrection). In Catholic iconography this stag 
is often found in pictures of St. Hubert, encountering a majestic 
stag with a cross between its antlers while hunting in the forest - 
an experience which led to Hubert's conversion, if I recall the 
story correctly.

After and because of the Reformation, most of this symbolism was 
lost to Protestantism. But I wouldn't be surprised if JKR, though a 
member of the Church of Scotland, knew what the stag stood for in 
the medieval Church. She's obviously fond of animal symbolism. 

Renee
(wishing people a happy Christmas)