[HPforGrownups] Re: Red-haired Gryffindors

[yellows at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 58688

In a message dated 5/25/2003 9:03:19 PM Eastern Standard Time, jodel writes:

> 'Gruffydd is a Welsh name, a varient form of Griffin ... They were very 
> literal in the old days, ... 'Griffin' also means the same thing as the Celtic 
> 'Griffith' and the Greek 'Rufus'... They all mean 'red-haired'."
> 
> So we have Godric "Gryffindor" which might just possibly have been a simple 
> "name-by-physical-trait" way of calling him Godric the 
> re-headed.

That's very interesting. What hair colors would the others have had, then? I see Slytherin as a blond -- probably because of the Malfoys. But is there any textual evidence for this? How about Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw? Brown and Black, respectively? Those are the colors I always associated with those names. Anyone else have a thought?

I also wonder if the hair color really does matter more than we know, and that's why the sorting is done by a hat. Why not a cloak or a necklace or a goblet or any other magical object? Other than reading students' minds, which is the most obvious reason for the hat, what if hair color provides real symbolism that reflects your inner nature?

Brief Chronicles