Pin It

Last week I received a most welcome email from osterby:

Hi there, I just read your post about the origins of SVM names.  I think I may have another “link”… I have often thought my interests in this area of history as a wealth of useless knowledge but when I read your post, I recalled an Earl of Wessex during the reign of the Anglo-Saxons and Danes (referred to as the Vikings for the last 200 years or so) beginning with Alfred the Great in 871 until Henry 1 in 1135). His name GODWIN.  Godric LDID, Godfrey (for the last century, Bill tells Stan and Sookie in LDID), could this imply there has been more than one change to Godric’s name? .  Please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin,_Earl_of_Wessex . I am beginning to think there is more than just coincidence, or is this just me?

Osterby has actually turned up a number of historical figures that could have been the inspiration for Grodric.

The first candidate is Godwin, Earl of Wessex, one of the the most powerful lords in England at the time.  He was also the  the father of  the King of England, Harold Godwinson, before William the Conqueror invaded in 1066. Eric’s comment about Godric’s enormous power remind me of Godwin, and if Eric does become king, Godric would posthumously be the father of a king. (The name Godwin means “Friend of God.”)

Then there is Godric the Sheriff who was allied with Harold Godwinson and fought against William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings. It’s clear that the office of vampire sheriff is close to its medieval origins than today’s sherif, than today’s position, but the entry for Godric the Sheriff sums it up nicely. “As a sheriff, he had the powers of arrest, he could raise armies, collect taxes and levies, and he presided over courts, dealt with traitors and generally supervised on the King’s behalf everything that went on in the area of the Kingdom under his jurisdiction.”  This description fits with what we know from the books about Eric’s duties and last season’s dealings wtih Royce. (Godric means “Power of God,” but  ’ric’ means rule and law, so that opens up a few more associations with his name.)

Saint Godric is another possibility. An encounter with the brothers at a monastery changed his life and led to his conversion to Christianity. While TB Godric did not die a Christian, he did have a profound encounter with a sincere Christian before dying. St. Godric’s desire to be a hermit also seems to relate to TB Godric’s desire to withdraw from the world. St. Godric was considered so exceptionally wise and spiritual that popes and kings sought his counsel.

Godfrey of Bouillion is an interesting contender, too. He was the leader of the first crusade and became the King of Jerusalem, although he refused to be called such. He might have interesting implications for the allegorical Christian reading of True Blood I outlined in “Sookie’s Sojourn.” (Godfrey means “Peace of God.”)

There’s something incestuous about all these figures. Except for St. Godric, they were all involved in one side or another in the Battle of Hastings. Godfrey de Bouillion’s father, Eustace II, fought with William the Conqueror against Harold Godwin’s son at the Battle of Hastings. It will be interesting to see if the speculation is correct about Russell Edington being Godric’s maker and the target of Eric’s wrath. That would echo the intrigue between Eustace II and Harold Godwinson. I’m wondering if AB crafted Godric from a composit of  all of these figures.

There is a fifth contender that I’m going to throw into the mix, and that is Godric Gryffindor, a character in Harry Potter who allegorically represents God. Charlaine Harris and Alan Ball have both paid homage to J.K.Rowling by naming characters after ones in the Harry Potter Series. (That post is currently in development.)

If I were more technologically savvy, I’d insert one of those little polls here so that everyone could vote on which historical or fictional character was the inspiration for Godric. As it is, I’m looking forward to reading everyone’s comments.