Doe Patronus Question

[sbursztynski]

No: HPFGUIDX 174711





--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "houyhnhnm102" <celizwh at ...> wrote:
>>> 
> houyhnhnm:
> 
> There is an awful lot of deer mythology, including the 
> symbolic association of hunting a hind with the pursuit 
> of wisdom.
> 
> In Erasmo de Valvasone's "La Caccia", the hind of the 
> fairies led Arthur into a cave, then out on the far 
> side of the mountain, to Morgan's palace. He was shown 
> the heavens and the earth to give him guidance for the future.
> 
> Harry is a Seeker who is persuing a white hind, so 
> naturally he has to have a burning question.  I'm not 
> sure it's meant to be as concrete as "Who cast this patronus?"
> 
> In Mary Stewart's _The Hollow Hills_, Arthur pursued a 
> white stag across the lake to the Isle of Glass where 
> Merlin had hidden the sword of Macsen Wledig.  Harry 
> was led by a white hind to Godric Gryffindor's sword 
> in a frozen pond.
>

Sue here:

Yes, the white deer comes into Arthurian romance  quite a lot (admittedly it's usually a 
stag, but still...). The knight/king/whoever is hunting when he sees a white deer and 
chases it and is led into adventure of one kind or another, an enchanted barge or 
whatever... I thought the same thing. And JKR does make use of quite a lot of mediaeval 
symbolism and Arthurian stuff. Even the sword from the Sorting Hat is a nod to the sword 
from the stone, I think, not to mention the sword from the lake - er, pool. :-)