Regulus Black
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| Harry Potter character | |
| Regulus Black | |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| House | Slytherin |
| Parentage | Pure-blood |
| Allegiance | Unknown (formerly Death Eaters) |
| First appearance | None (first mentioned in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) |
Regulus Black is a fictional character in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of novels.
Regulus (1961–1979) is the son of Orion Black and his wife (and second-cousin) Walburga. The Black family was one of dark wizards. According to Sirius Black, Regulus's older brother, the Blacks believed that to be a Black made one wizarding royalty, and the family shared many of the Death Eaters' ideas about blood purity. Because Regulus shared a similar mentality with their parents, it appears that he was their favourite.
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[edit] Role in the stories
Regulus is a minor character who has attracted much attention and speculation on the part of fans of the series. Very little information about him is given through any of the books so far, but some of that information suggests that he may have played a more significant role than has yet been revealed. Readers of the series have picked up on this possibility because Rowling's writing style frequently involves small hints that lead to more significant revelations.
All information on this character (with the exception of the Black Family Tree) has been given by Sirius Black, who was not in touch with his family following his fifth year at Hogwarts (age 16). It appears that he got most of his information second-hand, either from friends prior to the Fall of Voldemort, or from fellow prisoners in Azkaban during his unjust incarceration. As a result, the information Sirius gives on Regulus's life and death is scanty, and is possibly unreliable.
When Lord Voldemort rose to power, Regulus became a Death Eater. Sirius speculated that his parents probably thought he was a "right little hero" for doing so. Sirius also noted that many pure blooded wizards supported Voldemort in the beginning, before he (Voldemort) showed his true colours. However, Rowling has stated that "Regulus got in a little too deep. Like Draco, he was attracted to it. But the reality of what it meant was way too much to handle," which led to his inevitable death.
[edit] Death
According to Sirius, when Regulus realised what was expected of him as a Death Eater, he wanted to quit. However, it is not a simple matter to quit such an organisation.[HP5] A Death Eater is expected to commit one's life to service of Voldemort. Shortly after this point (around 1979), Regulus was allegedly killed, it is assumed by another Death Eater, rather than Voldemort himself.
"... he was murdered by Voldemort. Or on Voldemort's orders, more likely, I doubt Regulus was ever important enough to be killed by Voldemort in person." — Sirius Black
It is unclear how Sirius received his information on his brother's death, and what agenda his informants may have had. Although J.K. Rowling has stated Regulus is actually dead, she has not indicated that the allegations of Regulus's death via the Death Eaters nor Voldemort are accurate.
[edit] The Search for R.A.B.
Near the end of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Dumbledore attempts to recover a locket believed to be a Horcrux created by Voldemort. Instead, he finds a different locket containing a message signed with the initials R.A.B. Some have interpreted this as Regulus A. Black. Rowling was asked in an interview whether Regulus was R.A.B., and called this theory "a fine guess". However, she did not intend her reply either to confirm or deny the guess.
[edit] The Argument that Regulus Black is R.A.B.
Support for the theory that Regulus Black is R.A.B. has been gathered from the translation of Half-Blood Prince to other languages. In the Dutch translation of the novel, Regulus Black is called Regulus Zwarts and the initials in the locket are R.A.Z. In the Norwegian edition, Regulus Black is called Regulus Svaart, and the initials R.A.S. are in the locket, while in the Finnish translation, Regulus Black is called Regulus Musta, and the initials are R.A.M. These make the theory that R.A.B. is Sirius's brother quite plausible. Other potential candidates, such as Mr Borgin (of "Borgin and Burkes") do not translate in the same way. Also, the fact that Rowling would take an entire page of her book to explain Regulus and really create him as a detailed character appears suspicious: Rowling is not known for any great characterisation of unimportant characters, so her build-up of him without any reason would be an unusual aberration. [1] However, it is neither confirmed nor denied whether Rowling had any communications with the translators regarding either the initials or Regulus's surname.
A further potential clue is that the writer of the note refers to Lord Voldemort as the Dark Lord. In The Order of the Phoenix, after being scolded by Professor Snape for using "the Dark Lord's name", Harry retorts that only Death Eaters refer to him as the Dark Lord, as opposed to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or You-Know-Who. This would appear to suggest that R.A.B. is, or was a former Death Eater. However, since Ginny Weasley, anything but a Death Eater, referred to Harry in her sung valentine to him (in 'The Chamber of Secrets') as 'The Hero who conquered the Dark Lord', Harry may have been wrong in claiming that 'only' Death Eaters use the title; but it should be noted that during the time in which Ginny sent Harry the singing valentine, she had only recently ridded herself of Tom Marvolo Riddle's enchanted diary, which had exercised a great power over her - and accordingly, her choice of term in referring to Lord Voldemort may have been in part derived from having been controlled by that man.
Isabel Nunes, the Portuguese translator of the series, claimed to the Portuguese website Nimbus Network that R.A.B. is indeed Sirius's brother. She asked the gender of the mystery character, for matters of translation, and in the answer she received not only the sex, but the name: Regulus Arcturus Black.
Also, a 'heavy' locket was found at Grimmauld Place during its cleaning in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that no one could open. Some speculate this locket is the Horcrux.
[edit] The Argument that R.A.B. is Not Regulus Black
There are, however, counter-arguments to the theory that Regulus Black is R.A.B. From what Rowling has shown readers, Kreacher is completely lacking in both the sanity and fortitude to be involved in such an arduous venture, let alone play a major role. Rowling has also given nothing to indicate that Regulus Black had the courage to drink the potion which has been seen, by its effects upon Albus Dumbledore, to cause such great pain. (Though proponents of the theory believe that it was drinking the potion that produced the state that Kreacher is now in.)
The popular theory that the ‘unopenable locket’ in no. 12 Grimmauld Place is Slytherin’s locket, and a horcrux, is flawed: although it is indeed a heavy locket, its colour was not referred to. More importantly, Harry did not notice the prominent snake engraved upon it, which one would expect him to note immediately (after all, snakes in wizarding Britain seem to be very much linked to Slytherin, and Harry has a sensitivity to snakes due to his inheritance of Voldemort’s power). Rowling has a history of hiding red herrings in her novels (for example, the suggestion in HBP that Nymphadora Tonks was in love with Sirius Black: she in fact proves to be in love with Remus Lupin), and it would be unsurprising if the locket were to prove one.
The title of ‘Dark Lord’ has been shown not to be the exclusive preserve of (former) Death Eaters: Professor Trelawney uses the title in her two prophecies, and the indubitably virtuous Ginny Weasley uses it in her valentine to Harry Potter. One must also remember that when Harry mocks Snape with the claim that ‘only Death Eaters’ call Voldemort ‘Dark Lord’, he is still a student, and still has little knowledge of the wizarding world: it cannot be assumed that he has any great knowledge of the usage.
Thus far in the novels, all accounts of Regulus Black have suggested that he was a coward; Sirius Black specifically claimed that Regulus became scared of his involvement in Voldemort’s organisation, and tried to escape, only to be killed. Nothing has been said to suggest that Regulus Black was brave enough, or had any inclination, to shift loyalties and damage Voldemort.
Theoretically, Black could have learned the secret of the Horcruxes, or of Voldemort’s blood, etc. (if, for example, the Inferi were kept in the enchanted cave in the First War). But there has been no confirmation or denial of any (largely unfounded) suggestions of how it could have happened. Certainly, finding out the full secrets of the Horcruxes, and of Voldemort, would be a tremendous task for Regulus who, given his birth year, can only have been out of school for around six months before his death. However, since Harry has achieved so many feats without graduating it is not that hard to believe that a Hogwarts graduate could accomplish such.
[edit] Middle name
In August 2005, the Harry Potter Lexicon claimed to have been informed by a reliable source that Regulus' middle name is Arcturus. [2]
The Lexicon claim that Regulus's second name is Arcturus has since been withdrawn, but without any explanation of the incident. However, one of the editors of that fansite has stated that he stands behind this information. He posted the following on another site (The Leaky Cauldron):
Obviously, Jo is the source of this information. When have you ever known me to post rumours as facts? It's from Jo. That doesn't mean she talked to me directly, of course, but I do know that it came from Jo.
I honestly think that Jo figures she's already told us that it's Regulus. Read the Melissa/Emerson interview. I think she would be surprised that this is even an issue.
I have asked permission to reveal who told me. If they say I can, I'll let you all know. Otherwise, feel free to take this with whatever grain of salt you need to.
Steve
—Comment posted at "The Leaky Cauldron" fan site.
Subsequently, in January 2006, the name Arcturus indeed appeared as that of one of Sirius and Regulus's ancestors in a hand-drawn sketch of the Black family tree made by J.K. Rowling herself. Therefore, it is plausible, although not confirmed in any way, that Regulus could have had Arcturus as a middle name.
The history of the name Arcturus is important. Arcturus is the third brightest star in the night sky (after Sirius and Canopus). Black Family names almost exclusively are taken from the names of stars. Regulus is also the brightest star in the constellation Leo. Of course, there are other astronomical possibilities. Another star in that constellation is Aldhafera. There is also a binary star, Algieba, in the same constellation. Notably, Algieba and Regulus are two of five stars in Leo which can be seen even during bad light pollution: light amid the darkness (and if Regulus was a 'good' person in the midst of evil death eaters, he would be 'light amid the darkness').
It has also been noted in the books (and the aforementioned family tree) that Regulus had an uncle whose name was "Alphard" (named after the star). It has been speculated that Regulus may have instead been named after Alphard, since middle names are often family members of the same gender.
Nevertheless, if Regulus was not R.A.B., then his middle name could, essentially, begin with any letter, making all "A" name theories not applicable. Also, even if Regulus's initials are R.A.B., there remains the possibility of another R.A.B.'s having been the R.A.B. in question.
[edit] Origin of name
In astronomical terms, Regulus is the brightest star in the constellation Leo, the Lion; another name for this star is "cor leonis" because it is situated at the lion's heart.
In Latin, "Regulus" means little king (or petty king). It is the Latin name for the basilisk, which itself derives from the Greek "Basiliskos", which is also cognate to little king.
Wild speculation, partially based on the fact that J.K. Rowling has used name origins before (like using Sirius [the dog star] Black as the name for a man who can change form to become a black dog), might somehow tie Regulus to Gryffindor, as the house symbol is a lion. It has since been confirmed that Regulus was a member of Slytherin, but the possibility that his name is a reference to "lionheartedness" has yet to be addressed. Rowling has also made several references to the tie between Gryffindor and Slytherin: e.g. the fact that Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin were good friends before Slytherin began showing his prejudice against 'Muggleborn' students, and Harry possessing qualities which make him eligible for both Slytherin and Gryffindor. It is possible that the symbolism of Regulus' name being linked both to a basilisk and a lion is yet another facet of this continuing theme.
Alternatively, the basilisk connection could also mean a predisposition towards Slytherin, as a basilisk was revealed as the especial pet of Salazar Slytherin in the Chamber of Secrets. The fact that Regulus once was a Death Eater and tried to escape them implies both of the above.
The name can also be connected to Marcus Atilius Regulus, a famous Roman martyr. This might be a clue from Rowling, saying he died as a martyr. In his story, Regulus claimed to have been given a slow-acting poison in order to help Rome. This was a lie, but it served his purpose. Of course, this does not tell fans if Regulus Black drank a slow-acting poison in the cave, or if this is once again a lie.
Regulus is also the name of a fallen angel.
[edit] Regulus Black's family tree
Regulus is the brother of Sirius and son of Walburga and Orion Black. A full version of the Black family tree can be found here.
[edit] External links
- The Mystery of R. A. B. An original editorial by Kirstie E. R. of Mugglenet.com
