About the real Name of William James Moriarty
On several occasions we are shown that William James Moriarty possesses a birth name that we do not know. The first one is in chapter 33, when Charles Augustus Milverton investigates the professor’s past and discovers the record of a trial he participated in when he was little. Milverton complains that the name of the plaintiff, the child (that is, our William) is illegible (how convenient.)
The second time this is indicated to us is in chapter 53. Following William’s instructions, Sherlock Holmes runs to an abandoned house where he finds the evidence of the plans that the Lord of Crime has been carrying out. Among the documents are the birth certificates of the siblings. “So this is Liam’s real name…”
In addition, the theme is also joked in two omakes. In the one of chapter 33, (related to the scene ut supra diximus) Milverton is amazed about th fact that the water has only erased William’s name from all the documents. In chapter 34, Bond asks William for his real name; he firmly replies that it is a secret.
(Sorry, I didn’t find the text in english.)
We still have no clue of which one this name may be. I, a person who believes a lot in the symbolism of the names, have three in mind: Joshua, Michael and Adam. I will begin to explain them in order from least to greatest personal taste.
The original name of Jesus Christ in Biblical Hebrew was יְהוֹשֻׁעַ yehoshua. The english variant of this name is Joshua.
Perhaps this comparison is the most obvious of the three. William’s goal is to sacrifice himself for the world to make it pure. He alone bears the sins of all mankind. He is a martyr, that if we do a bit of etymology, we remember that it comes from the Greek «μάρτυς, -υρος», «witness», in the sense that he gives testimony of his faith even when he is going to be sacrificed. The main martyr in history is the figure of Jesus, with whom the manga itself has made the comparison twice.
Indeed, Sebastian Moran says that “he’s starting to look like the guy who carried a cross while climbing the hill of Golgotha, bearing all of our sins and ultimately dying alone.”
We also have an illustration (chapter 61) of William with the crown of thorns, a characteristic sign of Jesus, since they forced him to put it on his head while carrying the cross. The objective was to make fun of him: it was a deserved crown for “the king of the Jews”.
In any case, these two references with Moran present make me think that this comparison refers more to Moran’s perception of William than how William sees himself.
In Hebrew: מיכאל mica.el, (literally: Who is like Him?) being its English version, Michael (pronounced /‘maɪ.kl/). It is in reference to the archangel Michael, commander of God’s troops in the jewish-christian religion and in charge of expelling the angels (future demons, including Lucifer) who rebelled in heaven. Of course, Lucifer would also suit him (light bearer, misunderstood angel…) but I find it a bit too dramatic.
The fall of the rebel angels by Luca Giordano (c.1666)
To support this theory, according to Christopher Roden, a Holmesian expert, a fellow student at Arthur Conan Doyle’s school may have served as the inspiration for Moriarty’s last name. This young man was called Michael Moriarty, and in his first year of school he won a math contest by presenting a paper on the binomial theorem. Let us remember that the three Moriartys obtained a prestigious degree (The King’s Scholar) in the school where they studied, and that the thesis that gave William his doctorate was precisely about the binomial theorem.
In reference to the first man, lider of mankind, and the first sinner. From the Hebrew "adamá” (אדמה) which means red clay. It can also mean blood, very appropriate for William, who seems to be obsessed with this concept: he sees his hands constantly stained with scarlet due to the guiltiness of his sins.
(Let me catch my breath. This scenes break my heart.)
Curiously, on the back cover of volume 9 of the Spanish version we can see that it says “The Past of the Lord of Crime is like the forbidden fruit …”
On the other hand we have the identification of Milverton with the serpent of Eden, the evil that incites to sin. This being the case, William could be Adam, who is forced to start the Final Problem earlier than expected because Milverton had agreed to reveal the identity of the Lord of Crime if he dies. Miverton, (the serpent), forces William (Adam) to sin and flee from “paradise” (tranquility and purity).
And you will say, is Sherlock Eve then, Adam’s partner? Well, although it may be funny in the first instance, if we think about it Milverton also “incites” Sherlock to sin: he forces him to kill him, sharing William and Sherlock the same crime since that night, becoming partners…in crime. (Thanks to Kiba –Laura- for this idea.)
What’s more, the real person the original Moriarty is based on was a criminal named Adam Worth. You could say that since he was the real person, Adam is Moriarty’s real name.
The small drawback that I see with this name is that there is already a character in the play called like that (Adam Whiteley), but since we also have coincidences like Bill (the math student) and Billy (Billy the Kid, who rescues Sherlock and William) maybe they could just let it go.
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For me, a name has a lot of power. At the end of the day, it is how we refer to a person, it is a way to identify them immediately. That is why I have tried to argue these names that in my opinion are very appropriate for the character of William James Moriarty. However, just as a name is important, so is not having it. We have already seen in yuumori that there is a lot of emphasis on William’s hidden name. Even in the songs for the anime adaptation “名 前 な き 生 贄” (Nameless Sacrifice) in Dying Wish. Not knowing William’s name is one of the crucial elements in the story. William acts from anonymity: he wants society to hate the ”evil Professor Moriarty", while his true self (his real name) remains hidden in the shadows. The issue of the no name can already be seen in another manga work, Monster, where this fact is also given great relevance.
In conclusion, although I would like to know which the real name of William James Moriarty is, I think that part of the magic (and meaning of his character) is in not knowing it. The decision is for the authors to make. For now, I’d be happy if everyone called William however they wanted. He is still a version of the charismatic Professor Moriarty, and that name doesn’t leave anyone indifferent.