graduation / Veritaserum

[Geoff]

No: HPFGUIDX 188323

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Catlady (Rita Prince" <catlady at ...> wrote:
>
> Brian wrote in <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/188285>:
> 
> << The reason I get annoyed by US writers putting in a totally illogical graduation is that they are writing a story set in Britain. Is it SO hard to expect an American writer to respect British culture when writing about Britain? >>
> 
> Yes, but British wizard culture is not exactly the same as British muggle culture, and Hogwarts is a unique institution. It was founded at a time when there were no universities in Britain or Western Europe, and I don't think there were any schools not associated with monasteries, and Hogwarts must have awarded its own qualifications (degrees, diplomas) for the centuries before OWLs and NEWTs were invented, so it may have had graduation and degree-granting ceremonies before universities did.

Geoff:
I seriously doubt that because Hogwarts is not a post-Sixth Form institution 
and, historically in the UK, there is no granting of degrees, graduation or 
similar event for the eighteen year old. These are the preserve of the 
universities, colleges of further education and other post-A level 
organisations.

On the question of dates, Oxford University is a close contemporary of 
Hogwarts and the universities of Bologna and Paris were earlier European 
foundations. There were certainly earlier Islamic universities existing at 
this time, the one at Fes in Morocco being considered as the oldest 
degree-granting, dating from AD 859.