Title of Book 7 (Spoiler... CAREFUL, NOW!)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 163154

Carol notes:

I have a feeling that we don't really need the spoiler space now but
just in case:


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houyhnhnm wrote:

> Hallow=saint or spirit?  As in All Hallows' E'en or Halloween, the 
> night of Voldemort's attack on the Potters?

Carol responds:

I thought that "hallow" meaning "saint" was a misconception and that
"Hallowmas" originally meant something along the lines of "All Holy
Things Mass," which was later interpreted to mean All Saints Mass" or
All Saints Day. However, since I couldn't confirm the etymology, it
occurred to me to check out a Middle English glossary or dictionary
and, surprise! It turns out that "hallow" is All Hallows Day (and
consequently, Halloween) does mean "saint." Actually, the Middle
English words "halewis" and "halwes" mean "saints," plural. A holy
thing or relic is "halidom."

http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/concise/concise.html

Of course, it's always dangerous to assume that JKR has researched her
etymology. But if the connection is All Hallows Eve/Day (the Potters
probably were killed on November 1 rather than exactly at midnight on
October 31), the Hallows could be the two days or the saints in the
names of the days rather than holy relics ("hallows" of the Arthurian
kind). Where spirits fit it I don't know. Dead "saints" a la Saint
Mungo (or Saint Brutus, for whom the possibly imaginary Muggle reform
school St. Brutus's is named)? Or the Founders as saints? That seems
to be pushing the limits of definition. "Saints" can also refer to all
"believers" (in Christianity), but I don't think that JKR would use it
in that sense since the HP books are not overtly Christian like, say,
the Narnia series.

For the record, All Souls' Day, which used to relate to spirits but is
now a day for remembering the beloved dead, is not Halloween but
November 2. Somehow, the celebrations for the two became mixed
together. (And, no, I'm not talking about Celtic Samhain but medieval
Christian traditions.) Here's a website with an interesting theory:

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/47/story_4771_1.html

And, no, I haven't come any closer to figuring out the significance of
the title. I'm just flinging ideas around between preparations for a
very different holiday tomorrow.

Carol, wishing a Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it!