Master of This School

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 111762

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "zendemort" <zendemort at y...> 
wrote:

zendemort:
> I found something very intringuing while reading PoA for the second 
> time. It is minute, but interesting nonetheless. 
> 
> When Snape comes across the Marauder's Map, he tells the 
> map "Professor Severus Snape, master of this school, demands that 
> you reveal the secrets you hide" (quote is not exact but along the 
> same lines, although the "master of this school" part is exact). 
But 
> there is a little problem here. You see, Snape is not the master of 
> Hogwarts!!!! DD is the "master of this school"!!!! So why does 
Snape 
> call himself master of the school? I wonder what he is after? Does 
> he wish to become the Headmaster of Hogwarts at one point? 
> hmmm....... 

Geoff:
I am trying to pull together a few points which have been aired and 
looking at it from a UK point of view (and as a reitred teacher). 

First, looking at the Inspector Morse example: the Master of a 
College in Oxford would in some other colleges or universities be 
called Principal; that was the case at my training college.

Again, from my POV, if someone pointed out a Hogwarts teacher and 
said "That is Professor X" and, of a different person, "That's the 
Divination master", I would tend to assume that the Professor was 
senior.

In my experience, pupils would address teachers either by their name: 
Mr.Jones, Mrs.Smith, Miss James, Dr. Johnson etc or as "Sir" 
or "Miss" (even of married staff) and I would describe myself as a 
schoolmaster or a schoolteacher - more usually the latter. As I said 
previously, Snape's approach to the map seems rather stilted and 
formal but again, it's "master of this school" rather the "the master 
of this school", establishing by what authority he is interrogating 
this magical artefact.

Geoff
See my views of Exmoor and the 
heritage West Somerset Railway at:
http://www.aspectsofexmoor.com