Prince Septimus
Prince Septimus (Mark Strong) from Stardust (2007 film). Mark Strong (born August 1963 is an English Actor. Biography Early life Strong the son of an Italian father and an Austrian Stardust is a 2007 Fantasy Film from Paramount Pictures, directed by Matthew Vaughn.
First appearance	Stardust
Cause/reason	Drowning
Portrayed by	Mark Strong
Information
Gender	Male
Family	The King of Stormhold (father) Primus (brother) Secundus (brother) Tertius (brother) Quartus (brother) Quintus (brother) Sextus (brother) Una (sister)
Relatives	Tristran Thorn (nephew)

Prince Septimus of Stormhold is the seventh son of the eighty-first King of Stormhold in the novella Stardust by Neil Gaiman^[1] and the 2007 movie 'Stardust' from Paramount pictures. Stardust (1998 is the first solo prose novel by Neil Gaiman. It is usually published as a novel with illustrations by Charles Vess. Mark Strong (born August 1963 is an English Actor. Biography Early life Strong the son of an Italian father and an Austrian Tristran Thorn is the hero of Neil Gaiman 's novel ''Stardust''. Stormhold is a Fictional country from the book Stardust (1998 by Neil Gaiman. Stardust (1998 is the first solo prose novel by Neil Gaiman. It is usually published as a novel with illustrations by Charles Vess. Neil Richard Gaiman (ˈgeɪmən (born November 10, 1960) is an English author of Science fiction and Fantasy short stories and Though not as prominent a character in the film as Tristan or Yvaine, Mark Strong's portrayal of Septimus has won a large following of fans across the globe, swelling the ranks of those already fans of the book character. Sir Tristan ( Latin / Brythonic: Drustanus; Welsh: Drystan; also known as Tristran, Tristram, etc Yvaine is the heroine of Neil Gaiman 's novel Stardust.She is a fallen star who is found by young Tristran Thorn and they have Mark Strong (born August 1963 is an English Actor. Biography Early life Strong the son of an Italian father and an Austrian

Name origins

Like all the names of the Stormhold princes, the name of Prince Septimus is of Latin origin. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It derives from the root 'Septem', (seven). In mathematics Seven is the fourth Prime number. It is not only a Mersenne prime (since 23 &minus 1 = 7 but also a 'Septimus' is a 2nd Declension, Nominative, Singular, Masculine Ordinal, and means 'seventh'. In Linguistics, declension (or declination) is the occurrence of Inflection in Nouns Pronouns and Adjectives indicating The nominative case is a Grammatical case for a Noun, which generally marks the subject of a Verb, as opposed to its object or other SINGULAR is a Computer algebra system for Polynomial computations with special emphasis on the needs of Commutative algebra, Algebraic geometry In Linguistics, grammatical genders, sometimes also called Noun classes are classes of nouns reflected in the behavior of associated words every noun must belong ^[2] As a name, its meaning is 'seventh-born'. It marks his position in the line of sons, since he is indeed the seventh born.

(Note that while Princes of Stormhold have ordinal numbers for names, their only sister, Princess Una, has a cardinal number for a name. The Latin 'una' is a 1st Declension, Singular, Feminine Cardinal and can be Nominative, Vocative or Ablative. The vocative case is the case used for a Noun identifying the person (animal object etc In Linguistics, ablative case ( abbreviated ABL) is a name given to cases in various languages whose common characteristic Its meaning as an Adjective also appears pertinent with regard to Neil Gaiman's choice of the name, since it means alone/sole/only (1st Declension, 3rd Variant, Nominative, Vocative and Ablative, Feminine Singular, and Nominative, Vocative and Accusative Neuter Plural)). In Grammar, an adjective is a word whose main syntactic role is to modify a Noun or Pronoun, giving more information about the The accusative case ( abbreviated ACC) of a Noun is the Grammatical case used to mark the Direct object of a Transitive Plural is a Grammatical number, typically referring to more than one of the Referent in the real world ^[3]

In the movie

We first meet Prince Septimus (Mark Strong) in the company of his brothers Primus (Jason Flemyng) and Tertius (Mark Heap) as they wait beside the deathbed of their father, the King of Stormhold (Peter O'Toole). Mark Strong (born August 1963 is an English Actor. Biography Early life Strong the son of an Italian father and an Austrian Jason Flemyng (born September 25 1966) is an English actor He is known for his Film work which has included roles in British Mark Heap (born 13 May 1957 in Kodaikanal, India is an English Actor best known for a variety of Television comedy roles including struggling Peter O'Toole (born 2 August 1932) is an Irish and British actor who achieved instant stardom in 1962 playing T They are waiting for a fourth brother, Secundus (Rupert Everett), so that the King can declare a successor. Rupert James Hector Everett (born May 29, 1959) is a two-time Golden Globe -nominated English film Actor and ex- Singer According to Stormhold tradition, princes are expected to kill each other off so that a sole remaining heir may inherit the throne. Faced with the dilemma of having four surviving sons, the King decides to address the matter of succession in a non-traditional way. Before doing so, however, he orders Prince Secundus to look out the window, providing Prince Septimus with the opportunity to eliminate his brother by pushing him from the tower. Just before his death, and with only three sons remaining, the King removes the Power of Stormhold from around his neck and throws it out into the night sky, dictating that "he of royal blood" who first claims and restores the ruby will become the next ruler of Stormhold.

Shortly thereafter, Prince Septimus successfully poisons his brother Tertius, but accidentally kills the Bishop instead of Primus. After providing Primus with the opportunity to bow out of the competition and thus preserve his life, a proposition the elder brother refuses, Septimus sets out on the quest for the Stone with six men.

Upon reaching the southernmost border of Stormhold, on the shore of an icy sea, he summons the Soothsayer who pointed Septimus' party south. Through a series of questions, Septimus discovers that the old man is working for Primus; after killing the traitor, Septimus consults the runes in order to determine a new path.

When Primus is killed after unwittingly walking into a trap set by the witch queen Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer), Septimus becomes the last surviving son of the King. Michelle Marie Pfeiffer ( IPA: /mɪˈʃɛl ˈfаɪfɜr/ born April 29 1958 is an American Actress. While in pursuit of the stone that would make him king, Septimus learns that it is currently in the possession of the fallen star, Yvaine (Claire Danes). Yvaine is the heroine of Neil Gaiman 's novel Stardust.She is a fallen star who is found by young Tristran Thorn and they have Claire Catherine Danes (born April 12, 1979) is a Golden Globe Award -winning and Emmy Award -nominated American Film The knowledge that the heart of a star can grant immortality only spurs Septimus' quest further as he decides to follow the tracks of his brother's murderer. Septimus, like the witch before him, tries to get information about the star from Ferdy the Fence (Ricky Gervais), but the merchant can utter only strange parrot-sounds after his encounter with Lamia, and taking these as mockery, Septimus stabs him. Ricky Dene Gervais (dʒɜːˈveɪz born 25 June 1961 is an English Actor, Comedian, Writer, director, Producer and former

Following the trail of the witch further, Septimus and his men find Captain Shakespeare's sky-vessel (Robert De Niro) on which the star and her companion, Tristan Thorn (Charlie Cox) had previously travelled moored at the side of a lake. Robert Mario De Niro Jr (born August 17 1943 is a two-time Academy Award -winning American Film Actor, director and producer Tristran Thorn is the hero of Neil Gaiman 's novel ''Stardust''. Charlie Cox (born 21 December 1982) is an English Actor. Cox the youngest of five children was born in London, England During the attack on the vessel the prince's men get killed and Septimus himself has to flee, to continue his quest for the Stone and for the star's heart alone.

Again on the trail of Lamia he rides towards Wall, finds the remains of Ditchwater Sal (Melanie Hill) and eventually the hall of Lamia and her sisters, where Tristan is already lurking outside. Not to be confused with the contestant from Big Brother 2000 (UK Melanie Hill (born 11 January 1962 in Sunderland

After forging a hasty alliance of mutual distrust, Septimus and Tristan decide to attack the witches by surprise. The prince tries to kill the servant of the witches first, but he realises that she is his long lost sister, Una (Kate Magowan). Kate Magowan is an English Actress. She made her stage debut in a production of Caryl Churchill 's Top Girls and has gone on to work Changing his plans, he advances on one of the Lilim, Empusa (Sarah Alexander) instead, killing her after a fierce battle of flames and steel. Sarah Alexander ( née Smith, born 3 January 1971) is an English actress, known for her roles in various British comedy Upon witnessing their sister's death, Lamia and Mormo (Joanna Scanlan) move to avenge her. Joanna Scanlan is an English Actress, known for her roles in various British comedy series such as The Thick of It, Doctors and Nurses With her voodoo doll Lamia manages to break the arm and leg of Septimus, and finally she drowns him in a pool of water.

Septimus can't rest in peace even after joining the rank of his ghostly brothers, for when Tristan attacks her, Lamia uses the doll again, reanimating the prince's dead body to fight the boy. After killing the witch Tristan accidentally finds the Stone and restores it to its original, red state, revealing to the ghostly brothers that he is the last remaining male heir of the Stormhold line. Finally, Septimus and his brothers can move on to the afterlife.

Cultural references

Crows

In the book Lord Septimus is depicted as a tall, dark, crow-like young man. The true crows are large Passerine Birds that comprise the Genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Apart from being known as highly intelligent animals, in European legends and mythology crows often feature as omens of death or ill fate, appearing around scenes of death. A legend ( Latin, legenda, "things to be read" is a Narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to The word mythology (from the Greek grc μυθολογία mythología, meaning "a story-telling a legendary lore" An omen (also called portent or presage) is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the Future, often signifying the advent of change

For much of the film Septimus wears a long black great coat with a capelet at the shoulders. This cape and the coat in general flap in the wind, especially when he is riding, and this is strongly reminiscent of his metaphorical connection to crows in the book.

Nature's Poisoner

Both in the book and in the film Septimus uses poison to kill some of his brothers. In the context of Biology, poisons are substances that can cause damage, Illness, or Death to Organisms usually by Throughout history and mythology poison has been used as a method of murder, though often regarded as an ignoble way of killing. Neil Gaiman can be seen to be writing Septimus in the tradition of real life poisoners like the Borgias, and the tradition of extreme political cunning and ruthlessness that Machiavelli is popularly seen to epitomise. Neil Gaiman even describes Prince Septimus in one chapter as being dressed like an 'Elizabethan assassin', tapping into the sinister images of political assassination still proliferated in both film and literature; both the 'Elizabeth' films (Elizabeth (film) and Elizabeth: The Golden Age) are further examples of this. Elizabeth or Elisabeth is the Greek form Ελισ(σάβετ Elis(savet of the Hebrew Elisheva, meaning "my God is an oath" Elizabeth is a 1998 film loosely based on the early reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England. Elizabeth The Golden Age is a 2007 film sequel to the 1998 film Elizabeth, directed by Shekhar Kapur and produced by (See also 'History of poison')

This aspect of Septimus's character is less prominent in the film than in the book, although the shooting script contains a scene where he tries (unsuccessfully) to poison his brother Primus's horses. The history of Poison stretches from before 4500 BC to the Present day. Uncovering the plot, Primus sighs, 'Septimus, Septimus, always with the poisoning'^[4], a clear nod to the book, where he is described by Gaiman as 'one of nature's poisoners'. ^[5]

Anti-villain

An anti-villain is an antagonist who engages in serious crimes and/or controversial acts, but is neither purely evil nor entirely unsympathetic, yet considered to be villainous, because he comes in direct conflict with a main protagonist. ^[6]

Though presumably all the Princes of Stormhold are capable of murdering each other and those who threaten their rise to the throne, Prince Septimus is the only brother who is considered to be more on the side of the villains, because he is the only one who acts against the aims of the hero, Tristan Thorn. Tristran Thorn is the hero of Neil Gaiman 's novel ''Stardust''.

See also

Stardust (novella)
Stardust (2007 film)

Notes

External Links

Official Stardust Movie website.
Stormhold Seven Community
Septimus on imdb
Neil Gaiman's Journal
Mark Strong Community
Mark Strong on imdb