The Founders: Long-Lost History

Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin; the four biggest names in Wizarding World History of the UK. They created the very foundation where young witches and wizards get to learn from. Unfortunately, a very common theme in the Wizarding World is that much of their history has been lost or warped with time. This is something not uncommon, as even in the Muggle World-which reflects real life-is the same way. In the times when things weren't written down, or the language barriers were a thing that don't translate correctly now-days. English itself has gone through many dialect changes; it would be ignorant to believe that other languages haven't had their own changes as well.

Due to the lost history, when it comes to the Founders, most of their "history" is all fan theory at this point. There are things mentioned here and there, but nothing that is truly solid. We know that they each had relics that were left behind, that Gryffindor and Slytherin had a fight, and that Rowena sent her daughter's betrothed to fetch her, but he accidentally killed her then took his own life. The closest we could ever get to finding any history would be to speak to the Slytherin and Ravenclaw House ghosts considering that the Grey Lady was Rowena's daughter, and the Bloody Baron was her betrothed. To this end, since so much of their history is fan theory, I want to look into some of the more interesting ones.

I would like to point out that some of the best fan theory (especially in a case like this, or of the Marauders) will come from fanfiction. Not many people will see fanfiction as fan theory, but why not? They are stories told by the author regarding what happened, but none of it is canon; I would heavily consider that as fan theory. Let's jump into a couple of the more plausible theories on the Founders.

They Represent the UK

Being from America, despite having family in Britain, this one really intrigued me. Part of the very little information that we have on the Founders shows that Godric was, in fact, from England, Rowena was from Scotland, and Helga was from Wales. Looking at their primary house colours (red, blue, and yellow) they are closely associated with the flags of their country; in searching, the yellow for Helga is possibly closely related to the flag of Saint David. While Salazar's place of origin has never been explicitly revealed, some speculate that he may have hailed from Ireland. These speculations are based on little-known facts about him that suggest traits commonly associated with Irish heritage. This also would make sense as for why the four created a school for the magical children of the UK; if Salazar's roots were from anywhere else it would be a tad odd for him to help found a school in the UK. On the flip side of that, though, the founder of Ilvermory was an Irish immigrant so it's not entirely far-fetched; especially considering that he is a Parselmouth, but we will touch on that later.

Overall, this is quite a sound theory on where they all hailed from, and the fact that they took pride in their countries by choosing the primary House colours that would reflect and give a nod to their roots.

Parseltounge and Salazar's Alternative Roots

While there is no true canonical evidence where the origins of Paseltounge came from, there are plenty of fan theories that it originated in India. In history, snakes have a prevalence in the Hindu religion, which you find much more commonly in India; however, you cannot forget the other countries that have a lot to do with snakes too. Many people also believe this to be a stereotype, which is not entirely incorrect as there are a lot of things nowadays that are considered "stereotypical" to specific areas of the world.

In relation to the other countries, what I found in my research is that if you remember the mentioning of Herpo the Foul, who created the first Horcrux, you will also recall that he was a Parselmouth as well. However, Herpo was of a Greek origin. Many people forget that the universal symbol of medicine originated in Greece, and literally has two snakes wrapped in a double helix form.

Other places that have a rich history involving snakes will include Africa, Australia, South America, and China. Looking at Africa, we specifically would focus on Egypt; if you remember that according to ancient writings, Cleopatra died by the bite of an Asp. The Southern parts of North America, specifically the Southern states in the United States and Mexico, are heavy laden with snakes as well. I was born in Arizona and, let me tell you, there is a reason our baseball team is called the Diamondbacks! Looking at South America, the Aztecs held snakes in a very high regard; the Quetzalcoatl was one of the principal deities and has been depicted as a feathered serpent. In the wonderful world of Harry Potter, the Quetzalcoatl is often listed as a magical creature alongside Thunderbirds and other creatures that are considered mythical.

Considering all the places where Parseltounge could be considered "normal", there are many theories that Salazar was not from the UK. I have seen several where he and Godric met while Godric was traveling the world and, when Godric talked about the school he was building with his two friends, that Salazar came back with him and joined in the assistance of building. This theory isn't as sound as the others considering that Wizarding History does state that it was "four friends" who founded Hogwarts, implying that the four had known each other well enough before building the school together.

Godric and Salazar's Fight

There are many theories about the true nature of the fight between these two friends. While the general information that we have is that Salazar later thought that they should not accept the Muggleborns at Hogwarts, there is no exact information on why Salazar felt that way. Considering everywhere I looked was on a site that had the words "fandom" and nothing officially from Ms Rowling, herself, I believe that it is safe to say that we don't truly know the reason why.

In some fan theories that I have found there is the stereotypical ones about he was a Pureblood and believed that they were superior to the Muggleborns, but there was also a very fascinating one that I feel is very plausible. Despite the fact that Hogwarts canonically was established in 990AD, many people theorize that the school was built to protect the Magical community due to the witch hunts that were going on.

Now, while there were no documented witch hunts going on during that time, that is not to say there may not have been any at all. Back in the 10th Century, there was no real distinction of what "witchcraft" was. It was not until the later Medeivil period of the 15th and 16th century that the definition of "abnormal" changed into "witchcraft". Joan d'Arc is one of those of the 15th century that was burned for that very reason. So, while "witch hunts" were not really a thing when the school first opened, there is still a chance that there were people being killed for being "abnormal".

Using this as a basis for the theory, it is quite plausible that Salazar did not believe the Muggleborns "unworthy" of learning magic, but a potential threat to the magical community as a whole. This theory can be backed by the future choice of enacting the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy in 1692, when the witch hunts were at a very high peak. Considering that when the Statute was enacted it closed off Muggleborns from being able to tell anyone but immediate family about the Wizarding World, it makes plenty of sense that this would have been a legit worry of Salazar's that bringing in "outsiders" would risk exposure and put the rest of the students in danger.

Another theory is the cultural difference. Muggleborns come into the Wizarding World at 11, meaning many of them are very set in their ways as Muggles. There are fics out there where the "Olde Ways" are no longer taught. I am a Norse Pagan, my family celebrates Samhain (or All Hallows) and Ostera instead of Halloween or Easter. Taking this into consideration, the Purebloods probably celebrated older holidays as well. This would mean that with the Muggleborns coming in, their ways are being wiped out as are their traditions. A perfect example is that by the time Harry comes to Hogwarts they are celebrating Halloween and not All Hallows or Samhain which are both traditional Pagan holidays.

I could understand this being something to anger Salazar as well, which would be just yet another plausible reason for him to not want the Muggleborns at Hogwarts. Who would honestly want someone coming in and changing their traditions, to the point of even making some of them illegal. There are theories out there that Blood Magic (amongst other things) was made illegal, some of which there are theories that Blood Magic could have been used for healing or even rituals that were a part of those holiday traditions. Therefore, the Purebloods who kept tradition and celebrated the Olde Ways would now be celebrating illegally; if these changes were made to make the Muggleborns feel more comfortable, I would be livid in the shoes of the Purebloods too!

Now the argument stands that they should be taught instead of shunned; I plan on doing a much more in-depth post later about that as some of the theories behind why that takes place are much darker in nature. Outside of that, though, there are obviously some sound theories as to what actually transpired between Godric and Salazar that caused him to leave. You just have to dig into World History to find the evidence that would support them.

I hope you enjoyed our first dig into history for fan theory support! Especially when it comes to Harry Potter, this will be common in some instances and may be found often as we dig further into fandoms that have references to history. As we close this post, though, we take the time to remember all those lost on this 26th anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts.

Come join our community, and trade and debate theories with each other in our forum. You never know what you might find. Until next time, keep thinking up those theories!