- "That's Clerk Carmine on fiddle!"
- —Maude Ivory to a crowd at the Hob[src]
Clerk Carmine Clade, sometimes known as CC, was a member of the Covey, and he played the fiddle in their band. He was the brother of Billy Taupe Clade.
History[]
During the Covey's first musical performance at the Hob after the 10th Hunger Games, Clerk Carmine played his way across the stage after being introduced by Maude Ivory. During a song primarily sung by Lucy Gray Baird, Clerk Carmine embellished the melody with some fancy finger work on his fiddle while the others backed him up.[1]
Billy Taupe appeared at the performance of the Covey after being kicked out, trying to convince them to take him back. After the others rejected him, he tried to appeal to Clerk Carmine, asking him if it was how he felt as well, but Carmine stood his ground and did not reply. Later, when Billy Taupe came back to the house they lived in, Clerk Carmine hung his head off the loft and looked unhappy.[2] Lucy Gray worried about Clerk Carmine, as he still missed his brother.[3]
When Barb Azure Baird took a pan of chilled milk out of the fridge, Clerk Carmine retrieved a churn Tam Amber had made, hoping to make cream for butter for Maude Ivory. Even though it was said to be a fool's errand, he hoped it might work if they gave it another day, as Maude Ivory was crazy for butter.[4]
During a discussion of the ballad Lucy Gray Baird had been named after, he chimed in after Maude Ivory said that the Lucy Gray was different, calling her a "bonehead" and saying that she was a ghost and had fallen down a bridge and died. However, Maude Ivory didn't think this possible, as the snow would look different if she had fallen. She then appealed to Lucy Gray Baird, asking her to explain, but responded that it was a mystery, like her name. At the lake, Clerk brought Lucy Gray some katniss, but it wasn't yet in season for eating.[5]
After Maude Ivory fell asleep, Clerk Carmine brought over a bright blue feather he had found, wanting it to be an anonymous gift for her. When she awoke, she admired the feather and Lucy Gray fixed it in her hair. While heading back to town, Clerk Carmine spotted a tree full of apples and climbed it to throw down fruit to the others.[3]
Etymology[]
Clerk seems to be an older form of the name Clark, both coming from the Latin "clericus", meaning a member of the clergy or a scholar. Since Covey names are drawn from ballads,[5] his might be taken from Clerk Saunders or Clerk Colvill.
The second part of his name, Carmine, is a shade of deep red, and Clade might come from the Ancient Greek "kládos", meaning a young slip or shoot of a tree, the kind broken off for grafting.
Trivia[]
- A "lone fiddler" was known to have escaped the bombing of District 12 with his instrument. As a refugee in District 13, he performed at the wedding of Finnick Odair and Annie Cresta.[6] Knowing the importance of music to the Covey, this may have been Clerk Carmine or a descendant.
References[]
- ↑ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 23
- ↑ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 24
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 28
- ↑ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 25
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 27
- ↑ Mockingjay, Chapter 16