[HPforGrownups] The Falling-Out of the Hogwarts Four

[manawydan]

No: HPFGUIDX 126062

Steve wrote:
>Muggle-borns could be the children of peasant, farmers, craftsmen,
>scribes, landlords, businessmen, landed gentry, or aristocrats. I will

They could be (though I'm not sure how many people could have been described
(in our terms) as landlords and business people in the 10th century). But
unless we assume that there isn't a match between the makeup of the general
population and the makeup of the Muggleborns, the proportion who _weren't_
peasants would have been pretty small. Even 800 years later, the population
of the British Isles was overwhelmingly rural.

>addition, knowing certain Latin based incantations is a far cry from
>speaking Latin. Although, I admit that any educated person would be
>likely to speak Latin, but that could be magic or muggle.

Probably, though the vernacular languages were being written well before
this time. The Welsh Cynfeirdd wrote their stuff back in the 6th century,
for example.

>read, write, and do basic arithmetic would be highly educated. The
>only way for a muggle to achieve this would be for them to join a
>religious order at a very young age, or be the children of wealth
>and/or nobility.

Which is quite important. In my own version of WW history, the invention of
writing was one of the biggest spurs to the development of wizardry, making
it far easier to transmit information down the generations rather than
having to reinvent everything over and over again

>That's why I say that everything was done by Master/Apprentice
>relationships. The classic wizard's tale, starts with a Master Wizard

I'd agree with you on that one. Possibly also to say that there were both
High and Low Wizards: the High ones being the aristocracy with their own
castles/estates, the Low ones being the village wizards and witches doing
the work of healers and charmers. Each in their own way would then pick up
on any children with magical potential and train them up as best they could.

>Which brings us to the Basilisk. Just as I cautioned against believing
>what people are now say about Salazar, I again caution against
>accepting /legend-base/ opinions of what the Basilisk was for. All we

I remember some posts a long while ago (though I couldn't point you at the
number now) that argued cogently that the Basilisk was never conclusively
described as attacking Harry, its actions could equally well be described as
protecting him.

Cheers

Ffred

O Benryn wleth hyd Luch Reon
Cymru yn unfryd gerhyd Wrion
Gwret dy Cymry yghymeiri