The Triwizard Tournament and Christian Theology in Goblet of Fire

This essay analyzes the religious and theological themes present in J.K. Rowling's 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire', focusing on the Triwizard Tournament and its parallels with Christian theology and the quest for the Holy Grail. The essay explores symbolism, such as the Golden Egg and the Triwizard Cup, and their connections to alchemical subjects and Arthurian legends. It examines the representation of the color gold, the four elements, and the concept of immortality through the philosopher's stone, drawing comparisons between the characters' quests and the biblical narrative. The essay concludes that the novel has deep connections with the Bible and other religious and mythological contexts.

Running head: THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Theology and Religious Studies
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

1THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Introduction
The topic of the following assignment is to discuss the importance of the Triwizard
tournament in the Harry potter and the Goblet of Fire. This has some serious connections with
the Christian theology and it reflects the quest for the Holy Grail as stated in the Holy Bible. It is
related with many alchemical subjects and one of the most important subjects is that of the
Golden Egg or the philosopher’s egg. The three different characters represent the three different
aspects of Christianity that will be disclosed later.
Different perspectives of the discussion
There are several connections of this book with the Biblical matters. The color gold has
been presented in the book from different perspectives. There are some four elements in the book
that relates to the ethics of Christianity. The Triwizard cup itself can be seen as a representative
of the Holy Grail. There are some other alchemical symbols as well. The representation of the
color gold has been done in various forms (Rowling, 2015). stadium had been like an egg that
could be compared to the philosopher’s egg (Šerešová, 2016). The theme of the golden egg can
also be attributed to this as well (Cohen, 2016).
One important aspect that is related to the quest to the Holy Grail is its relationship with
the Arthurian legends. The Holy Grail is considered to be one of the central themes in the
Arthurian literature. This is considered to be the cup from which Christ drank for the last time in
the last supper. This Holy Grail is also the cup which was used by Joseph of Arimathea to catch
the blood of Jesus as he was hung from the cross. There are certain things that are very
significant in the quest for Holy Grail. In the book Goblet of Fire, Voldermort was out to find the
philosopher’s stone that was golden in color and its shape was like an egg. This quest for the

2THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
philosopher’s stone was to find the immortality that was also the quest of the Arthur’s knights.
All the books of Harry Potter involve some quests. This is why the quest for the Holy Grail is
very much associated with the quest for the philosopher’s stone by Voldermort and Harry
himself. In the Arthurian legends it has been mentioned that Galahad came to the castle at
Camelot and then found the Grail that made him complete and he was transformed to heaven.
The Triwizard tournament is considered to be the mocrocosm of the quest for the Holy Grail.
Harry has to fight a dragon so that he can be able to retrieve the golden egg. It is similar to the
fact that the dragons are involved in the Arthurian legends as well. Another similarity is the fact
that harry has to fight the grindylows and merpeople so that he could rescue Ron. Likewise, King
Arthur had rescued Fleur’s sister. It has also been observed that the other rivals in the Triwizard
tournament are also on the quest to achieve the Holy Grail just like the knights of the Round
Table.
The dragons are the well-known symbols of the alchemists. This symbol is considered to
be the prima material that should be overcome so that gold can be created. There is a cynical
symbol that is the dragon biting its own tail. Jesus Christ made His way through resurrection and
in this portion an unnatural resurrection has been signified (Skolnick, 2012). This book has been
very effective in depicting the evil things.
In the middle chapter of the middle book, Harry got the golden egg. The stone of the
sorcerer has been presented in the form of the golden egg. The Quidditch stadium has been
presented in the shape of a golden egg i.e. very pertinent keeping in mind the golden egg of the
book. The Triwizard tournament winners would receive the Triwizard cup. This very cup can be
symbolized as the Holy Grail in Christianity indeed.

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This winning of the Triwizard cup is the way to meet Lord Voldermort face to face at Little
Hangleton. This is why it can be attributed to the immortality in Christianity (Lincoln, Baigent &
Leigh, 2013)
Conclusion
It can be concluded that this essay all the necessary links between the Biblical points of
views that can be compared to the goblet of fire. The various points where the deep underlying
things of Christianity have been discussed ware connected with the various parts of the book.
The aspect of the color gold, the egg shaped stadium and other things that are linked with
Christianity have been discussed to find out that this book has deep connections with the Bible.

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References
Berndt, K., & Steveker, L. (Eds.). (2016). Heroism in the Harry Potter Series. Routledge.
Bryden, I. (2016). Reinventing King Arthur: The Arthurian Legends in Victorian Culture.
Routledge.
Cohen, S. (2016). A Postmodern Wizard: The Religious Bricolage of the Harry Potter
Series. The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, 28(1), 54-66.
Lacy, N. J. (2013). The New Arthurian Encyclopedia: New Edition. Routledge.
Lincoln, H., Baigent, M., & Leigh, R. (2013). The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail. Random
House.
Sutcliff, R. (2013). The Light Beyond the Forest: The Quest for the Holy Grail: Part II of the
Legends of King Arthur. Random House.