Pondering some Blacks - Mostly Walburga

[goddlefrood]

Mrs. Black intrigued me right from our first meeting with her. The portrait of her was just too odd to be anything but a parody, or was it? This began as a speculation on R. A. B. many moons ago, it has grown into a bit of a monster and newer material is incorporated herein. Walburga may be the last thing you want to read any more about if, or when

Comments

[sollersuk]

Walburga/Walpurgis is surely a reference to Walpurgisnacht? May Eve, one of the nights when witches run loose (Die Erste Walpurgisnacht is a poem hypothesising that the whole idea was dreamed up by druids etc to keep Christians away from their worship)

If the portraits (at any rate such as Dumbledore's)appear at death, are they actually painted or do they simply come into being? If the latter they might well represent the individual at the moment of death, which would confirm your suggestion about poisoning, poaaibly by something with similar characteristics to arsenic. The big question then, of course, is who poisoned her and how.

[goddlefrood]

Walpurgis no doubt is as you have referred. I had not gone to that point, concentrating as I had been on my role as the Knight of Walburga.

Portraits in HP are interesting. How they come about does seem not to involve any artist as we would understand it.

[narcissa_snape]

That's a really interesting essay, especially the bit about Walburga/ K of Walpurgis.
I just want to point out that Bellatrix is an example of a genuinely mad Black. Yes, her stint in Azkaban undoubtedly worsened whatever tenedencies she may have had, but she was at least highly fanatical to be so devoted & proud to go to Azkaban for her Lord's sake.

[goddlefrood]

Well, there's madness and then there's fanaticism ...

[phonebill]

another interesting (more like lol-inducing) fact about Saint Walburga:

from catholicforum.com

Patronage
against coughs; against famine; against plague; against storms; Antwerp, Belgium; boatmen; coughs; dog bites; diocese of Eichstätt, Germany; Gronigen. Holland; harvests; hydrophobia; mad dogs; mariners; Oudenarde, Belgium; plague; diocese of Plymouth, England; rabies; sailors; storms; watermen; Zutphen. Holland

[goddlefrood]

All in all a rather popular Saint in her time then :-)

[seaislewitch]

Another very enjoyable essay. :) Thank you.

[goddlefrood]

Thanks for reading it

[goldenmoonrose]

I really like your essay and ideas on Mrs. Black. She is quite the intriguing character, as the mother of Sirius and Regulus

[goddlefrood]

Thanks for the compliments. On the fist point I do have some thoughts on Sirius's laughter. Basically he was laughing at his own stupiditiy in underestimating Peter. This seems something many are prone to do in the books. Peter, while perhaps not as powerful as some, is certainly a very able wizard despite his inherent cowardice.

On the second point, well, I did start off by wondering if Walburga is simply inserted for comedic value. That may well be all, but it would be fun, and interesting, to find out if anything I have divined about her is correct or otherwise.

Glad it got you thinking, though, Mrs. Black may have a place in the overall scheme of things, after all.

There was one other thing that did not get fully incorporated in the main essay, which is that the Blacks, both Orion and Walburga, certainly would have known Tom Riddle from Hogwarts. They would both have been Slytherins with Tom. I wonder if Ma Black ever had something going with Tom, now that really would be off the wall.