Ged (Earthsea)
Encyclopedia
Ged is the true name
of a fictional character in Ursula K. Le Guin
's Earthsea
realm. He is introduced in A Wizard of Earthsea
, and plays both main and supporting roles in the subsequent Earthsea novels. In most of the Earthsea books he goes by the Hardic name Sparrowhawk.
in the land." He has red-brown skin.
When Ged was twelve, the island was attacked by Karg
s. This attack changed Ged's life forever. When the Kargads attacked, Ged, seeing the doom of his village, used two spells to protect his people from the Kargs. The first spell worked, enveloping the village in a fog, which made the Kargs unable to see where the villagers were. The second caused the presence of illusions in the fog. Ged's need to cover a large area in fog, for a long time overspent his strength, leaving him in a semi-conscious state.
The witch was unable to heal Ged, but the island's great wizard, Ogion
, had heard the tale of Ged's deed and sought him out. Ogion healed Ged and later returned to perform a naming ceremony for his passage out of childhood where Ogion gave him the "true name" of "Ged". After the naming ceremony, Ogion took Ged as a pupil in the wizardly arts.
Sensing the latent power within Ged, but understanding Ged's youthful impatience to be trained faster than Ogion was willing, Ogion gave Ged the choice to stay or to attend the wizard school on the island of Roke
. On Roke, Ged was a very good student, but his arrogance and a dispute with a classmate caused him to try a very dangerous spell: he attempted to call the spirit of the long-dead queen Elfarran. He succeeded in calling Elfarran, but an evil shadow-spirit slipped in through the "door" Ged had opened between the living world and the dead. This evil power hunted Ged until he was able to name the shadow and thus understand it was a dark part of himself—his materialised evil. By successfully naming the shadow Ged demonstrates he has a complete sense of his own magical powers and identity as a person; these understandings fully signify Ged's entrance into manhood.
Sometime later, Ged recovered the second half of the broken ring of Erreth-Akbe
(having been given the first half during his flight from the shadow) from the Tombs of Atuan, thus restoring a force for peace in Earthsea. In the process he met and befriended Tenar, the high priestess of the Nameless Ones who dwelt in the tombs, and took her away from Atuan.
Ged was later appointed as Archmage - the head of the wizard school of Roke.
In his last year as Archmage Ged embarked on a quest to halt the decline of magical power from Earthsea. During the course of his journey Ged met and befriended a prince named Arren, who would eventually became King Lebannen, the first king of Earthsea for many centuries after fulfilling an ancient prophecy. During the quest they discovered that an old enemy of Ged had mastered the ancient lore of the Grey Mage and become in his own right a great mage and a dragon slayer. His obsessive desire to secure immortality had led him to open a door in the land of dead to the land of the living which had led to the decline of magic.
In a titanic battle where Ged forced Cob to confront the truth of his existence, the Archmage had to sacrifice his own power to ensure the survival of magic within the world.
After this, Ged lived with Tenar on Gont (in Ogion's house after he died), although both of them were involved in some further adventures.
miniseries Legend of Earthsea, loosely based on the first two books of the series, the producers hired a white actor, Shawn Ashmore
to play the part of Ged. This alteration of the character's race was criticized by Le Guin as a "whitewashing" of Earthsea. (Among other changes, the miniseries also reversed the character's names, making "Ged" his common use-name and "Sparrowhawk" his true name.)
In the Gorō Miyazaki
animated adaptation
of the Wizard of Earthsea, Ged is portrayed as having slightly darker skin.
True name
A true name is a name of a thing or being that expresses, or is somehow identical with, its true nature. The notion that language, or some specific sacred language, refers to things by their true names has been central to philosophical and grammatical study as well as various traditions of magic,...
of a fictional character in Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
's Earthsea
Earthsea
Earthsea is a fictional realm originally created by Ursula K. Le Guin for her short story "The Word of Unbinding", published in 1964. Earthsea became the setting for a further six books, beginning with A Wizard of Earthsea, first published in 1968, and continuing with The Tombs of Atuan, The...
realm. He is introduced in A Wizard of Earthsea
A Wizard of Earthsea
A Wizard of Earthsea, first published in 1968, is the first of a series of books written by Ursula K. Le Guin and set in the fantasy world archipelago of Earthsea depicting the adventures of a budding young wizard named Ged...
, and plays both main and supporting roles in the subsequent Earthsea novels. In most of the Earthsea books he goes by the Hardic name Sparrowhawk.
Character overview
Ged is the main protagonist in A Wizard of Earthsea in which he is a serious and arrogant boy. He subsequently matures during his adolescent apprenticeship and young adulthood into "one of the wisest and most powerful magiciansMagician (fantasy)
A magician, mage, sorcerer, sorceress, wizard, enchanter, enchantress, thaumaturge or a person known under one of many other possible terms is someone who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources...
in the land." He has red-brown skin.
Biography
At birth Ged was given the child-name Duny. He was born on the island of Gont, as a son of bronze-smith. His mother died before he reached the age of one. As a small boy, Ged had overheard the village witch, his mother's sister, using various words of power to call goats. Ged later used the words without understanding of their meanings, to surprising effect. The witch knew that using words of power effectively without understanding them required innate power, so she endeavored to teach him what little she knew. After learning more from her, he was able to call animals to him. Particularly, he was seen in the company of wild sparrowhawks so often that his "use name" became Sparrowhawk. By the age of twelve, Ged had learned all the village witch could teach him.When Ged was twelve, the island was attacked by Karg
Karg
The Kargs are a fictional people in Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea canon.-Appearance:Kargs have fair skin and many have blond hair, unlike the majority of the inhabitants of Earthsea, who have dark skin and hair. Tenar, perhaps the best-known Kargish individual, happens to have dark hair...
s. This attack changed Ged's life forever. When the Kargads attacked, Ged, seeing the doom of his village, used two spells to protect his people from the Kargs. The first spell worked, enveloping the village in a fog, which made the Kargs unable to see where the villagers were. The second caused the presence of illusions in the fog. Ged's need to cover a large area in fog, for a long time overspent his strength, leaving him in a semi-conscious state.
The witch was unable to heal Ged, but the island's great wizard, Ogion
Aihal
Aihal is the true name of a fictional character in Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea fantasy series. In most of the Earthsea books he goes by the Hardic name Ogion or Ogion the Silent.-Biography:...
, had heard the tale of Ged's deed and sought him out. Ogion healed Ged and later returned to perform a naming ceremony for his passage out of childhood where Ogion gave him the "true name" of "Ged". After the naming ceremony, Ogion took Ged as a pupil in the wizardly arts.
Sensing the latent power within Ged, but understanding Ged's youthful impatience to be trained faster than Ogion was willing, Ogion gave Ged the choice to stay or to attend the wizard school on the island of Roke
Islands of Earthsea
The Islands of Earthsea are the hundreds of named islands, groups of islands, and unnamed islets that make up the lands of the largely oceanic fantasy world of Earthsea in the stories of Ursula K. Le Guin.-List of Islands and Places:...
. On Roke, Ged was a very good student, but his arrogance and a dispute with a classmate caused him to try a very dangerous spell: he attempted to call the spirit of the long-dead queen Elfarran. He succeeded in calling Elfarran, but an evil shadow-spirit slipped in through the "door" Ged had opened between the living world and the dead. This evil power hunted Ged until he was able to name the shadow and thus understand it was a dark part of himself—his materialised evil. By successfully naming the shadow Ged demonstrates he has a complete sense of his own magical powers and identity as a person; these understandings fully signify Ged's entrance into manhood.
Sometime later, Ged recovered the second half of the broken ring of Erreth-Akbe
Erreth-Akbe
Erreth-Akbe is a fictional character in Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea realm. He is introduced in A Wizard of Earthsea and is part of the historical back-story of the Earthsea novels.-Character Overview:...
(having been given the first half during his flight from the shadow) from the Tombs of Atuan, thus restoring a force for peace in Earthsea. In the process he met and befriended Tenar, the high priestess of the Nameless Ones who dwelt in the tombs, and took her away from Atuan.
Ged was later appointed as Archmage - the head of the wizard school of Roke.
In his last year as Archmage Ged embarked on a quest to halt the decline of magical power from Earthsea. During the course of his journey Ged met and befriended a prince named Arren, who would eventually became King Lebannen, the first king of Earthsea for many centuries after fulfilling an ancient prophecy. During the quest they discovered that an old enemy of Ged had mastered the ancient lore of the Grey Mage and become in his own right a great mage and a dragon slayer. His obsessive desire to secure immortality had led him to open a door in the land of dead to the land of the living which had led to the decline of magic.
In a titanic battle where Ged forced Cob to confront the truth of his existence, the Archmage had to sacrifice his own power to ensure the survival of magic within the world.
After this, Ged lived with Tenar on Gont (in Ogion's house after he died), although both of them were involved in some further adventures.
Portrayal in adaptations
In the Sci Fi ChannelSci Fi Channel (United States)
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
miniseries Legend of Earthsea, loosely based on the first two books of the series, the producers hired a white actor, Shawn Ashmore
Shawn Ashmore
Shawn Robert Ashmore is a Canadian film and television actor, perhaps best known for his role as Jake in the Animorphs television series and Iceman in the X-Men films. He is the twin brother of actor Aaron Ashmore.-Early life:...
to play the part of Ged. This alteration of the character's race was criticized by Le Guin as a "whitewashing" of Earthsea. (Among other changes, the miniseries also reversed the character's names, making "Ged" his common use-name and "Sparrowhawk" his true name.)
In the Gorō Miyazaki
Goro Miyazaki
is a Japanese film director of anime feature films, like his internationally-known father Hayao Miyazaki. Described as "reluctant" to follow his father's career, for decades Gorō chose to work in landscaping rather than animation....
animated adaptation
Tales from Earthsea (film)
is a 2006 Japanese animated fantasy film directed by Gorō Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli.The film is based on a combination of plots and characters from the first four books of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea series: A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore and Tehanu. The...
of the Wizard of Earthsea, Ged is portrayed as having slightly darker skin.