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Llyssa
I've searched it, haven't found it, so here it goes.  

Why can't Godric be named after somebody that's not a wizard?  Godric's Hollow isn't just wizards.  It's muggles too.  Hogsmeade is the only all wizarding village in Britain.  (PoA)

I reckon it was named after a famous muggle......  perhaps a saint?

From Wikipedia-

QUOTE
Godric of Finchale (c. 1065 - May 21, 1170) was an English hermit and popular medieval saint, although he was never formally canonized. He was born in Walpole in Norfolk and died in Finchale in County Durham.

Godric's life was recorded by a contemporary of his: a monk named Reginald of Durham. Several other hagiographies are also extant. According to these accounts, Godric, who began from humble beginnings as the son of Ailward and Edwenna, "both of slender rank and wealth, but abundant in righteousness and virtue", was a pedlar, then a sailor and entrepreneur, and may have been the captain and owner of the ship that conveyed Baldwin I of Jerusalem to Jaffa. in 1102. After years at sea, Godric reportedly went to the island of Lindisfarne and there encountered Saint Cuthbert. This encounter changed his life, and he devoted himself to Christianity and service to God thereafter.

After many pilgrimages around the Mediterranean, Godric returned to England and lived with a hermit named Aelric for two years. Upon Aelric's death, Godric made one last pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and then returned home where he convinced Ranulf Flambard, the Bishop of Durham to grant him a place to live as a hermit at Finchale, by the River Wear. He had previously served as doorkeeper, the lowest of the minor orders, at the hospital church of nearby St Giles Hospital in Durham. He is recorded to have lived at Finchale for the final 60 years of his life, occasionally meeting with visitors approved by the local prior. As the years passed, his reputation grew, and Thomas Becket and Pope Alexander III both reportedly sought Godric's advice as a wise and holy man.

Reginald describes Godric's physical attributes:

   For he was vigorous and strenuous in mind, whole of limb and strong in body. He was of middle stature, broad-shouldered and deep-chested, with a long face, grey eyes most clear and piercing, bushy brows, a broad forehead, long and open nostrils, a nose of comely curve, and a pointed chin. His beard was thick, and longer than the ordinary, his mouth well-shaped, with lips of moderate thickness; in youth his hair was black, in age as white as snow; his neck was short and thick, knotted with veins and sinews; his legs were somewhat slender, his instep high, his knees hardened and horny with frequent kneeling; his whole skin rough beyond the ordinary, until all this roughness was softened by old age....

Godric is perhaps best remembered for his kindness toward animals, and many stories recall his protection of the creatures who lived near his forest home. According to one of these, he hid a stag from pursuing hunters; according to another, he even allowed snakes to warm themselves by his fire.

Reginald recorded four songs of Godric's: they are the oldest songs in English for which the original musical settings survive.


Doesn't that make more sense?  I mean, muggles live there, so they'd be curious as to who their village is named for.  They'd at least say something like that to satisfy them.  That it was named for Godric of Finchale.  Because the wizards probably wouldn't go "Oh yeah, Godric's Hollow is named after Godric Gryffindor who's really a wizard and blah blah blah"  Baaaaaad idea.  XD  

So yeah, I think that it can't be named after Gryffindor because Muggles would wonder.

So what do you think?  Yay?  Nay?  Maybe so?
totallyobsessedwidHP
Alyssa. You are the new JK Rowling. It's offical.

XD
~Dumbledore's~Ghost¿~
You say the Hogsmeade is the only all Wizarding village in Britain & you are correct but it might not have always been so.
Godric's Hollow could quite conceivably been an all Wizarding village about 500 years ago but as the muggle population grew the Muggles moved outwards & gradually moved in to Wizarding villages.

Hogsmeade probably benefits from its proximity to Hogwarts as an unplottable village & it's remoteness in Scotland means it has been overlooked by Muggles.
By our nature if a name of a village seems meaningless people will invent something that is plausible enough to be the origin whether it is correct or not. There are names in England that are believed to date back about 2,500 years but we will never know if they are actually correct. It's all just best guess. So it is still quite conceivable that it was named after Godric Gryffindor 900 years ago as an all Wizarding village. :wizard:
Llyssa
QUOTE(~Dumbledore's~Ghost¿~ @ Feb. 28 2006,07:28 )
You say the Hogsmeade is the only all Wizarding village in Britain & you are correct but it might not have always been so.
Godric's Hollow could quite conceivably been an all Wizarding village about 500 years ago but as the muggle population grew the Muggles moved outwards & gradually moved in to Wizarding villages.

Hogsmeade probably benefits from its proximity to Hogwarts as an unplottable village & it's remoteness in Scotland means it has been overlooked by Muggles.
By our nature if a name of a village seems meaningless people will invent something that is plausible enough to be the origin whether it is correct or not. There are names in England that are believed to date back about 2,500 years but we will never know if they are actually correct. It's all just best guess. So it is still quite conceivable that it was named after Godric Gryffindor 900 years ago as an all Wizarding village. :wizard:




Gah.  I wish Jo would answer this question............  

That could be plausible.  I think that at any rate the muggles that live there would have to be told something of their town, so perhaps he could be the scapegoat of sorts.

But that is true, it could have perhaps started out wizarding!  :)
Puffin
Could it be possible that the Godric that is on Wikipedia could be the SAME individual as Godric Gryffindor? Didn't the split between the Wizard and Muggle worlds happen after Hogwarts was created?
Llyssa
QUOTE(Puffin @ Mar. 01 2006,02:09 )
Could it be possible that the Godric that is on Wikipedia could be the SAME individual as Godric Gryffindor? Didn't the split between the Wizard and Muggle worlds happen after Hogwarts was created?



Oooo, now that's a clever one!  That didn't even cross my mind.........  That would be interesting....  Plus, it works to make the wizards and muggles happy.  XD
matilda
Hmm. The Godrics could be the same person. But my bet is that it's for Godric Gryffindor simply because it's more JKR's style to name-drop like that. In "real life" there may be difficulties about where the name came from, or there may not be-- many wizards were obviously living among muggles and living in disguise, maybe GG was one; like, Godric's Hollow was named for it's first mayor a thousand years ago, Godric Gryffindor!, while the wizards chuckle silently.

From a literary standpoint it makes sense that if JKR is going to go to the trouble of naming this village and gives it an immediately recognizable name from within her little world, then there should be a connection between the two. That's why there was such a furor over the 'Mark Evans' incident, when a Mark Evans is mentioned once in the beginning of Order of the Phoenix. Everybody jumped on it and wondered if there was a connection to Lilly Evans, when there was actually no connection. Evans is a common name, though. Godric is anything but common, as can be evidenced by the fact that Llyssa only found one historical example of the name. "Benjamin Gryffindor' and "Benjamin's Hollow", or "Godfrey Gryffindor" and "Godfrey's Hollow", for example, would be a more believable "coincidence" if there's not supposed to be a connection; JKR went out of her way to choose a very uncommon name and use it in two places. We naturally draw a line between the two.

Basically there are no coincidences in the names of fiction; it's either a connection/clue, an intentional red herring, or an error on the part of the author. My vote is for a connection!
Lax Scrutiny
I really like the references you dug up, but JKR has pretty much confirmed it all...
QUOTE
And I'm going to ask one other question which you'll say isn't clever at all. The significance of the place where Harry and his parents lived, the first name -- Godric Gryffindor.
Very good, you're a bit good you are, aren't you?
Thank you.
I'm impressed. My editor didn't notice, I said to her haven't you noticed any connection between where Harry's parents were born, not born, where they lived, and one of the Hogwarts houses and she's sitting there going erm... I'm not being rude about Emma she's a brilliant editor, the best I've ever [had]. But no she didn't pick that up either. You're a bit good you are.


Now, she doesn't seem to just pick names totally randomly either, and I think there's value in the research about the name Godric, but I'd be pretty sure Godric's Hollow was named for G. Gryffindor.
Spinks
Why would the villagers be that interested in who Godric was? It's just a name. If I lived in a place called Godric's Hollow I'd just presume Godric was just some historical bozo who named the place. There are many places named after people - the public don't tend to go around worrying if they don't know who the person was.
Kirin
I think it sounds very plausible, don't get me wrong.

But what makes me doubt it.. is the fact that in the Dutch translation the name has no connection at all with Godric Gryffindor... It's called 'Halvemaanstraat' which literally means "Half-moon street"..

That could be just a wrong translation, of course, but usually they are very accurate (for instance R.A.B. is made into R.A.Z., I am sure the translator contacts Jo about such things) and I can't imagine the translator (who must read every sentence very carefully) wouldn't have noticed the Godric....

And Jo doesn't actually say that the theory is correct... but I agree she suggests it is...
I'm confused!!! unsure.gif
CrazyFan
Hi Kirin, that is interesting if Godric's Hollow in Dutch means "Half-Moon street", It made me think of Dumbledore his glasess are always described as being "Half-Moon" spectacles. There might be a connection with GH and Dumbledore. I wonder if someonme could translate it again in another lanuage and see if it stays the same or becomes something different. smile.gif I thought i'd post this and see if anyone else could come up with anything else about your post.
theredwitch
QUOTE(Kirin @ Mar 12 2006, 04:19 PM) [snapback]740699[/snapback]

I think it sounds very plausible, don't get me wrong.

But what makes me doubt it.. is the fact that in the Dutch translation the name has no connection at all with Godric Gryffindor... It's called 'Halvemaanstraat' which literally means "Half-moon street"..

That could be just a wrong translation, of course, but usually they are very accurate (for instance R.A.B. is made into R.A.Z., I am sure the translator contacts Jo about such things) and I can't imagine the translator (who must read every sentence very carefully) wouldn't have noticed the Godric....

And Jo doesn't actually say that the theory is correct... but I agree she suggests it is...
I'm confused!!! unsure.gif



I think the translator messed up because JK Rowling says on her website that Godric's Hollow is a village. Why would a village be called 'Half Moon Street'?
Moondog
QUOTE(theredwitch @ Mar 20 2006, 10:22 PM) [snapback]750870[/snapback]

QUOTE(Kirin @ Mar 12 2006, 04:19 PM) [snapback]740699[/snapback]

I think it sounds very plausible, don't get me wrong.

But what makes me doubt it.. is the fact that in the Dutch translation the name has no connection at all with Godric Gryffindor... It's called 'Halvemaanstraat' which literally means "Half-moon street"..

That could be just a wrong translation, of course, but usually they are very accurate (for instance R.A.B. is made into R.A.Z., I am sure the translator contacts Jo about such things) and I can't imagine the translator (who must read every sentence very carefully) wouldn't have noticed the Godric....

And Jo doesn't actually say that the theory is correct... but I agree she suggests it is...
I'm confused!!! unsure.gif



I think the translator messed up because JK Rowling says on her website that Godric's Hollow is a village. Why would a village be called 'Half Moon Street'?

Sometimes an owl is just an owl. I think it was bruce willis that said "This is America pal, our names don't mean......*&*(. For whatever reason, JKR wanted the place called Godric's Hollow. It's not really important what the dutch believe it to mean, does it?
Kirin
Well, it does show that either the translator messed up (which is really likely if it is in fact a village, haven't found that information yet but I'm sure you're right, theredwhich), or the name has no significance.

If a name or term does need to refer to a certain character or place, it is important for the translator to know that, because otherwise the hint is lost.

So I agree, the translator could have messed up here smile.gif
theredwitch
Plus, in all the RAB furor and waiting for the translations to confirm that RAB is Regulus, the translators had said in interviews reprinted here at Leaky that they translated certain things a certain way by consulting amongst themselves and not Rowling. Therefore any translations that point to Regulus Black are conjecture on the translator's part and not canon. Maybe Godric's is meant to be Half Moon in Dutch but it is not a street and there is where I think the translator made the error and proves they do not consult with Rowling.
hpaddict
We've got an (older) thread over in obscurus about different translations and how they affected (or didn't) the HP series...



Take a look over here...



Cenna
The translater could be just fine as well, as it's a STREET in the Dutch version, not a VILLAGE. Maybe there was more on the original copy he had to translate... like the house being in half-moon street?!

Isn't it that DD's family is buried in Godric's Hollow? I sense there'e a connection of some sort between DD and GG.

The village is called Godric's HOLLOW... makes me think of an animal... a lion? The discribtion of Saint Godric sounds a bit lion-like to me? "For he was vigorous and strenuous in mind, whole of limb and strong in body. He was of middle stature, broad-shouldered and deep-chested, with a long face, grey eyes most clear and piercing, bushy brows, a broad forehead, long and open nostrils, a nose of comely curve, and a pointed chin. His beard was thick, and longer than the ordinary,..." Maybe it really isn't a coincedence.

That Godric, the saint, knew to foretell... that could have something to do with book 7. I dunno... Just feel as if it's an important place.
Hufflepuffquizer
Did Jo smash the rumor that DD and GG area related? Sorry I forget things alot doh.gif
Stile4aly
Although I tend to believe that Godric's Hollow is named after Godric Gryffindor, it does sound like Godric the historical figure is the inspiration for the name of Godric Gryffindor.

I find this section from your research to be interesting:

Godric is perhaps best remembered for his kindness toward animals, and many stories recall his protection of the creatures who lived near his forest home. According to one of these, he hid a stag from pursuing hunters; according to another, he even allowed snakes to warm themselves by his fire.

Of course, James' animagus form was a stag, as is Harry's Patronus. Could this be a GG DD connection? Also, the bit about snakes warming by the fire is reminiscent of GG and SS being good friends before SS left.
Silvia
I think that Godric's really does have some sort of a connection with GG but even if muggles were wondering who the Godric person of Godric's hollow..people could say it was the saint..while really having a deeper meaning to wizards. GG.
~Dumbledore's~Ghost¿~
QUOTE(Cenna @ May 20 2006, 01:02 PM) [snapback]826850[/snapback]
The translater could be just fine as well, as it's a STREET in the Dutch version, not a VILLAGE. Maybe there was more on the original copy he had to translate... like the house being in half-moon street?!

Isn't it that DD's family is buried in Godric's Hollow? I sense there'e a connection of some sort between DD and GG.

Oh I think there is a definite connection between DD & GG. I personally believe that DD in a direct decendant of GG. It would explain so much.


QUOTE
That Godric, the saint, knew to foretell... that could have something to do with book 7. I dunno... Just feel as if it's an important place.
Well it is important in as much as the Potters were killed there & Harry will be visiting Godric's Hollow in book 7 (which he said at the end of book 6).



My money is on the Godric of history being the inspiration for the fictional Godric Gryffindor. wizard.gif

Hermoine_Granger45
Yeah, I agree with Dumbledores Ghost, it would explain so much if DD was realated to GG as he has GG sword in his office. and he is brave and loyal like GG.
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