NarniaWeb Community Forums

waggawerewolf27 wrote:I hesitate to actually enter this competition as I'm far too old, and they don't want to know about some of the more hideous names that occurred to me. Greenie Queenie was also one, you know.

Oh, Wagga, now we want to hear some of them! We can have our own "Name the Witch" contest and the winner gets...um, well, something. Don't you think so? Depending on how the acting is done, we may need several different names to describe our opinions

I wish they'd tell us why they want to name her. Perhaps that's part of the suspense and excitement--they're keeping us on tenterhooks deliberately.

Rya wrote:...what if the Lady of the Green Kirtle is called by multiple names in the film?

I can see what you're describing working well on the page, and probably also in a TV series. I like the idea. I just can't visualize how it'd be done in a feature film.

You all have come up with some really good names! I went to the binomial names of snakes for inspiration. First I tried the green tree python (Morelia viridis) and came up with Viridia (I use viridian green oil paint). I also looked at the eyelash pit viper (Bothriechis schlegelii) and finally decided on Geliia as my submission. I was already partial to the name Geila as it is the name of a very evil woman in an ancient medieval/Christian tale. It also reminds me a bit of a gila monster.

I'm feeling a little bit derisive today, and I think because of that, I came up with a name which I have submitted: Lilith.

I'm sure it won't be picked, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. (Although the fan fiction that would inevitably follow could be highly amusing. )

FK, You're not the only person to use that name! I've seen over a dozen comments on the Facebook post suggesting Lilith! I don't think they'll use it though since it's already a fairly well known figure in mythology.

I'm not surprised at all that others have come up with it. I suspect whatever the writers choose to go with, it'll be original.

I don't think they'll use it though since it's already a fairly well known figure in mythology.

Not to mention Lewis drops the name as the ancestor of Jadis (which is why I picked it).

While thinking about a name for the Lady of the Green Kirtle, I couldn’t help but be reminded of a similar character featured in the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: the Lady Bertilak.

Although there are notable differences between the LotGK and LB, their respective stories have some significant overlap: the LotGK is friendly with the Harfang giants, while LB’s husband is able to change into a giant. The LotGK attempts to destroy our heroes by offering them as delicacies for the giants’ feast, and LB seduces Sir Gawain during her lord’s hunting and feasting. The primary clothing associated with the ladies are a green kirtle and a green girdle, respectively. The LotGK can transform into a snake, which is strongly connected with the temptation of Adam and Eve, and Sir Gawain draws an analogy between LB’s behavior and Eve.

So what do you think of Lady Bertilak (or a suitable variation) as a name?

What a neat name, Anfinwen! I'm guessing it's pronounced Heel-ee-ya? Very pretty. I love your idea about looking up the binomial names for snakes. Really clever!

Your thoughts about the parallels between Lady Bertilak and thte Lady of the Green Kirtle are really interesting, Inkling! I was looking over the etymology of the name and found this on the wikipedia page for the Green Knight:

The name "Bertilak" may derive from bachlach, a Celtic word meaning "churl" (i.e. rogueish, unmannerly), or from "bresalak", meaning "contentious". The Old French word bertolais translates as "Bertilak" in the Arthurian tale Merlin from the Lancelot-Grail Cycle of Arthurian legend. Notably, the 'Bert-' prefix means 'bright', and the '-lak' can mean either 'lake' or "play, sport, fun, etc".

I like the fact that bert means bright, especially since the LotGK is described as being a "shining" woman.

Ryadian wrote:...what if the Lady of the Green Kirtle is called by multiple names in the film? For example, if they show when Rilian first meets the her (after his mother's death, before his enchantment), she might introduce herself by some name (as a placeholder name, I'm calling her "Catherine"). After all, if Rilian is suddenly obsessively infatuated with this woman, wouldn't it make sense for him to know her name--at least, the name she tells him?

Interesting, though I like Catherine and one of our daughters missed the name only because there were already too many Catherines around at the time. Did you listen to the latest Podcast with Rilian and glumPuddle? They were discussing this naming of the LOTGK, glumPuddle noting how awkward this acronym is. Even a better acronym would help I thought. Rilian said he felt uncomfortable with giving the LOTGK a name. One of his reasons, I think, was because she is only in a couple of scenes. However, she is extensively discussed by other people.

That is where your idea of several names might work, and it is in the book as well. She is called LOTGK sometimes, Queen of the Underland and Rilian (Prince that is, not the Narniawebber Podcaster ), describes her in such soppy terms that maybe he might know of her by something similarly mawkish, such as some of those really horrible Victorian names? Sophronia or Adelina? Precious, maybe? Or maybe after all the different names we find out she was called something fairly plain and ordinary, after all. Jane, perhaps?

Maybe her real name is something like Deearne. I know there are people called Deearne, but I always took it as a somewhat pretentious way of calling a little girl Diane, a perfectly respectable and useful name. Pretentious really describes LOTGK. And however beautiful she may appear, does her name have to be beautiful? I was thinking of names like Medusa or Gorgonia.

What I am trying to get at is that her name is not so necessary that C.S.Lewis bothered with it. It might be an eminently forgettable name that everyone would find hard to remember, including herself. Perhaps even a name that Jill and Eustace, as frightened as they were of their situation, might have difficulty in suppressing a snigger.

waggawerewolf27 wrote:Did you listen to the latest Podcast with Rilian and glumPuddle? They were discussing this naming of the LOTGK, glumPuddle noting how awkward this acronym is. Even a better acronym would help I thought. Rilian said he felt uncomfortable with giving the LOTGK a name. One of his reasons, I think, was because she is only in a couple of scenes. However, she is extensively discussed by other people.

For an acronym, wouldn't LGK be enough? It's about the same as using LWW instead of TLTWATW.
I can see how the film maker would like a name for their character, but I agree that it wouldn't be necessary to have one.

Im glad they aren't asking submitters to give a reason for a name. I do think that a name just has to sound well (like Lilliandil). The name I submitted has no meaning, I just picked something that sounded good.. IMO anyways.
Speaking if Lilliandil, I know that some of you are not happy with her being named, (especially given that she introduced herself only once) but it was quite necessary. I just can't imagine Lilliandil coming down from the sky in VDT and saying "hello, I'm Ramandus Daughter" or Ramandu saying "this is my daughter (with no name following)". At some point she was going to have to identify herself and that would have sounded awkward on screen. It will be the same for LOTGK.

Varna wrote:For an acronym, wouldn't LGK be enough?

The problem with that, as I see it, is that we're all used to seeing LotGK. It seems (based on Ramandu's Daughter to Lilliandil) that it'd be easier to transition to an actual name than a variation on an existing habit.

Change in general makes me nervous.

(Okay, I'm also objecting because LGK makes me think 'Little G. K. (Chesterton)'. )

I'm okay with her having a name, but I'm even more okay with it if it's an alias she uses as part of her disguise rather than her real name. Lilliandil is a very Narnian name and I was fine with them naming her, but she didn't introduce herself in the book and we were all okay with that. IDK. You guys came up with better names than I did. XD

I think that the name Deplora could do well. I like it because its a slight nod that Lotgk coming from the same world as Jadis (same race, not same person.) Anyways, that's my thoughts.

I missed the deadline. *facepalm* (We really need a facepalm emote on here.) I got busy and it completely slipped my mind; Monday came and went without me entering a name. Honestly, though, this isn't the end of the world because I never could decide on a name, and I thought a lot of the ideas that I saw were very, very good. So, I'm confident that Mr. Gordon, Mr. Magee and Mr. Gresham will have a lot of good options to choose from.

Deplora's an interesting name, Aslan Fan! It has a pretty sound to it.

Best of luck to everyone who entered the contest, by the way! I hope that we learn some news about this sweepstakes soon; hopefully in the next few months. Rilian said on the podcast that he wished they would pick a top five and then let the fans vote from there, and I'll admit that I like this idea as well, but I'm not sure the rules of the competition will allow for it. Anyway, it'll be interesting to see what they decide on, and even more interesting to see how this name is used in the film.

The Rose-Tree Dryad wrote:I missed the deadline. *facepalm* (We really need a facepalm emote on here.) I got busy and it completely slipped my mind; Monday came and went without me entering a name. Honestly, though, this isn't the end of the world because I never could decide on a name, and I thought a lot of the ideas that I saw were very, very good.

The truth is that you helped us all come up with great names due to your research. Give yourself a pat on the back. I consider this a team effort anyway, no matter what name is chosen.

This is a bit of an after-thought, but I just ran across a short description of Hecate:

CliffsNotes On Shakespeare's Hamlet; Act III, Scene 2 Glossary wrote:...the Greek goddess of the moon, earth, and underground realm of the dead, later regarded as the goddess of sorcery and witchcraft.

That description of Hecate reminded me slightly of LotGK. Does anyone with more knowledge of Greek mythology have any more insight?