Percy Weasley and the Camelot connections of the Weasleys

[farquarson2003]

No: HPFGUIDX 100715

bookworm:
> I do think the Weasleys will come out on top in some fashion. I 
> don't think Rowling is following any exact blueprint or basing 
> her stories exactly on Camelot or any other legend, but there are 
> enough elements of all of them in the Weasleys to make them look 
> awfully special in some way:
> 
>    -- The names: Arthur Weasley/King Arthur; Ginny/Ginevra/Queen 
> Guinevere; Percy/Sir Percival.
>    -- References to royalty: Harry dreams of Ron and Hermione 
> wearing crowns; the Slytherins and then the Gryffindors 
> sing "Weasley is our King"; Bill, the oldest son, is dating Fleur, 
> whose full name translates to "flower of the court"; Ron plays the 
> part of a knight in the human game of Wizard's Chess in the very 
> first story; even the Weasleys swearing by "Merlin's beard." 
> <snip>    
> 
> If I were to make predictions, I'd say she did pick them for a 
> reason and is maybe toying with the idea of making Arthur Minister 
> of Magic; maybe the Weasley sons and daughter will become honored 
> for their courage and feats of daring as knights in Dumbledore's 
> Army; maybe Percy, who was sorted into Gryffindor like the rest of 
> his brave, loyal, red-headed siblings, will redeem himself and die 
> heroically; maybe Ginny will begin dating Harry and Ron will date 
> Hermione and both will be important in some sense as lead couples 
> of the wizarding world.


You may well be right. 

In any case, all of the Weasleys have names that are associated with 
royalty--even Ron.  His full name, as we know, is Ronald Bilius 
Weasley. "Ronald" is a Norse name, derived from "Rogunald" 
or "Ragnald," meaning "Mighty power."

After careful examination of names of British monarchs, I found the 
following:

KING OF THE ISLES (Hebrides)

Ragnald 1164-c.1210

NORSE KINGS OF THE ISLE OF MAN

Ragnald 1164
Ragnald 1187-1229
Ragnald 1248-1249

So there are four kings who bear the name from which Ron's name is 
derived.

Bill Weasley bears the name of four kings as well: William I(1066-
87), usually called William the Conqueror; William II(1087-1100), 
called William Rufus for his red hair; William III (1689-1702)
 of the House of Orange, co-ruler with his wife Mary; and William IV
(1830-37) of the House of Hanover, Queen Victoria's uncle. Not to 
mention, of course, the eldest son of the current Prince of Wales.

Charlie Weasley bears the name of the current Prince of Wales and two 
kings: Charles I (1625-49), who was beheaded, and Charles II(1660-
85), second son of Charles I.

Percy Ignatius Weasley bears a foreshortened form of Percival, the 
name of a knight in Arthurian legend. Here is the Encyclopedia 
Mythica (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/p/percival.html) on the 
subject:

"The Knight of the Round Table who, according to Malory's Le Morte 
d'Arthur, finally won sight of the Holy Grail. He was the son of Sir 
Pellinore and brother of Sir Lamorak. In the earlier French romances 
he has no connection with the Grail, but here he sees the lance, 
dripping with blood, and the severed head surrounded by blood on a 
dish. 
 
"The French version of the romance is by Chrétien de Troyes (12th 
century), which formed the basis of Sebastian Evans's The High 
History of the Holy Graal (1893)." 

"Percy" is also the name of a noble English family of Flemish descent 
who were allegedly kin to kings. Interestingly, Henry Percy, 9th Earl 
of Northumberland (1585-1632), was later known as the Wizard Earl. (I 
like that.)

Fred Weasley's name is more problematic. The pattern has been that of 
kings who reigned over British territory. While there are a couple of 
kings named Frederick (Frederick William and Frederick the Great), 
both are Prussian, not British. Perhaps "Fred" is a foreshortened 
form of "Alfred."  In that case, we'd have Alfred (871-99), called 
the Great.

George Weasley bears a name of no less than six kings: George I (1714-
27), George II (1727-60), George III (1760-1820), George IV (1820-
30), all of the House of Hanover; and George V (1910-36) and George 
VI (1936-52), both of the House of Windsor.

Ron has been discussed already.

Ginevra Molly Weasley. Ginevra, the Italian form of Guinevere. This 
has probably been mentioned already, but here is Encyclopedia 
Mythica's article on Guinevere and various interpretations of her 
character (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/g/guinevere.html):

"Arthur's queen. According to Giraldus Cambrensis, the inscribed 
cross from the royal grave at Glastonbury named her as Arthur's 
second wife. Nothing is known of this first wife. Since the only 
surviving drawing of the cross only depicts one side and, presumably, 
any allusion to the queen was on the other, the claim of Giraldus is 
unverifiable. Those who believe Arthur died and was buried at 
Glastonbury generally accept that Guinevere was buried with him. 

"By the hand of Geoffrey of Monmouth, Guinevere becomes a beautiful 
lady with a Roman heritage, raised in the house of Duke Cador of 
Cornwall. Little else is said until the end of Arthur's reign when 
she betrays the King by becoming the lover of the usurper Mordred. 
However, while the two are in battle, she runs away to Caerleon and 
enters a convent. The recurring theme of her entanglement with men 
besides her husband, whether by consent or abduction, has many 
variations. When kidnapped, she must be saved. On the archivolt in 
Modena Cathedral is a depiction, maybe pre-Geoffrey, of Arthur 
rescuing the queen. He must do it again in Caradoc's "Vitae" of 
Gildas, this time the queen having been abducted by King Melwas of 
Somerset. When connected to the theme of infidelity later, the 
rescuer becomes not her husband but Lancelot. 

"These depictions might arise from a misinterpretation of the 
traditions of Celtic queens. A Celtic queen, like Medb of the Irish 
saga Tain Bo Culainge, was the equal of her husband in power and 
wealth. She also had affairs without reproach. Medieval writers could 
not have seen this free and equal behaviour as anything but stubborn 
infidelity. Their altered social perceptions would have precluded any 
true understanding hence Guinevere has since been cast as the 
unfaithful woman. 

"The romances depict her as the daughter of Leodegan, previous owner 
of the Round Table, which she brings as part of her dowry to Arthur. 
She has a doppleganger named the False Guinevere, another daughter of 
Leodegan, who tempts Arthur away from court. The queens conduct is 
given further excuse by Arthur's encounters with Morgause and other 
women. Whereas the Welsh are always critical of her (until recently, 
to call a girl Guinevere in Wales was a reflection on her chastity), 
the continental writers show a sympathy for her that cause them to 
break totally from Geoffrey. They redirect the Queen's attentions 
from Mordred, whose lustful advances are rejected with scorn, to 
Lancelot, a more noble and magnificent character. 

"The affair is well established by the time of Chrétien de Troyes. A 
constant problem for writers is the King's disposition about it. Rare 
among literary characters, Arthur is cuckolded yet is able to retain 
his dignity. He refuses to acknowledge the problem until it is 
scandalously forced into the open by Agravain. When Arthur tries to 
fufill his duty and execute her, she is resued by Lancelot but the 
ensuing conflicts and rivalries signal the beginning of the end to 
Arthur's golden age. 

"In Malory, the Queen reaches a depth that had only been hinted at by 
his predecessors. She becomes giving and tragically passionate. She 
is childless in a marriage to a man she respects but doesn't love and 
in love with a man she can never have. The love affair with Lancelot, 
while jealous and sometimes cruel, endures and is undeniable. She 
enters the convent at Amesbury after the final battle. Lancelot 
visits her there and she sends him away with a fond but penitent 
farewell, realizing that their deeds have brought about the ruin of 
the noblest group the world has known. Malory says, "She was a true 
lover and therefore she had a good end.""

Molly Weasley doesn't actually have to have a name with a royal or 
Arthurian theme, being a Weasley by marriage and not by blood. 
However, if you accept Molly as being a derivative or diminuitive 
form of Mary, then you have Mary I(1553-58), eldest daughter of Henry 
VIII, and Mary II (1689-1702), of the House of Stuart, co-ruler with 
William III of the House of Orange.

So there we have it. All the Weasleys, without exception, bear the 
names of kings and queens who ruled over Britian or areas now 
belonging to Britain.

 "farquarson2003"