Founders as Wizarding Government

[Hester Griffith]

No: HPFGUIDX 117942


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "lupinlore" <bob.oliver at c...> wrote:
> 
> 
> In a recent post Steve (bboymin) brought up the issue of whether
Hogwarts is a Private or Public School (American sense of those
terms).  This got me to thinking about the Founders and their role in
their society.

<snip>  In addition, we have never heard anyone talk about paying
tuition at Hogwarts,

Hester:  Yes, we have.  Harry discusses it briefly with Hagrid when he
first learns about Hogwarts

> it seems likely that Hogwarts is supported in whole or at least in
the great majority by government funds.

Hester:  That is quite possible, but more likely any influence of the
MM is through the board of directors.
  
> Now, how could this come about?  Perhaps the Founders were the 
closest thing Wizarding Britain had to a government circa 1000 A.D.
Given that they are described as the four greatest wizards of their
age, that would make sense.  Perhaps they functioned as a sort of
combined executive, with Hogwarts being their primary governmental
project.

Hester:  I always immagined it being founded prior to the organization
of the MM.  This would have been the middle ages and most magical folk
would have been in smaller communities and there wouldn't have been so
much need to hide from muggles.  It would probably have been about the
time muggles started fearing magic.
 
> One interesting corollary to this would be to give further weight to
the idea that the Half-Blood Prince is in fact Godric Gryffindor. 
<snip> Maybe part of the plot in Book VI will be Harry meeting Godric
through the medium of the Hat.
 
> Lupinlore

Hester:  That is interesting.  Perhaps something like the pensieve or
Riddles diary.  I  personally don't hold with the theory of the hbp
being GG, but have no basis in cannon for disbelieving this or for my
theory of the hbp being Flamel.  Whoever the HBP is, it would
certainly be interesting to have a view of Hogwarts at its inception.

Hester