Untold stories about four founders of Hogwarts

We’ve all heard about Harry Potter and marauders, but without the four important people. Those four
people are the creators of Hogwarts itself, Slytherin, Helga Hufflepuff, Godric Gryffindor and Rowena
Ravenclaw. They built the school from nothing and did it while witches and wizards were widely
persecuted. Apart from something you know about them in film, let’s have a deeper look at their untold
stories in this video.

1. The sorting Hat thinks the founders were wrong to divide students

The sorting Hat appeared right in the first installment of Harry Potter series. It takes responsibility
for magically determine which of the four school Houses each new student belongs most to. Each
year during student dividing, the sorting hat will sing a different song to celebrate a new generation
of students. This is not very strange because the hat itself is a combination of the wisdom from the
four great wizards who founded Hogwarts. In a speech in The Order of the Phoenix, the Sorting Hat
had a new song which implies that when Hogwarts was originally founded, the founders were not
selective when it came to choosing the type of students they would teach. It was only after
Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Gryffindor became more picky about who they allowed in their houses
that the harmony between the four houses began to deteriorate. According to the Hat, only after
this division did the houses turn on each other. Though the Hat proceeds to sort the students, saying
that it is condemned to do so, it also says that splitting the students up is wrong.

2. Godric used the sword of Gryffindor against Muggles

The Sword of Gryffindor was a thousand-year-old, goblin-made magical sword owned by the famed
wizard Godric Gryffindor, one of the four founders of Hogwarts. Like the Sorting Hat, the sword is
another legendary magical artifact. As fans of Harry Potter know, the sword will materialize for
Gryffindors who prove themselves worthy. Fans have often wondered why a wizard would need a
sword when he has a wand, which would arguably be far more practical in a battle. Rowling
provided an answer on Pottermore, saying that in the time before the International Statute of
Secrecy was put into effect, wizards wielded swords in order to defend themselves against muggles,
presumably muggles who were persecuting magical folk.

3. Slytherin and Gryffindor weren’t always rivals

A notable string of charged Slytherin and Gryffindor adversaries (Grindelwald and Dumbledore,
Voldemort and Harry, Snape and James) started with the founders of the two strong-willed houses.
Based on what we learned from the Harry Potter books, it seems like every generation has their own
intense Slytherin and Gryffindor rivalry. Interestingly, the Sorting Hat says that Slytherin and
Gryffindor were good friends when they founded Hogwarts, but as time wore on and Slytherin
became more selective in his admission process, their friendship suffered. Their ideologies tore
them apart, namely Slytherin’s prejudice against any wizard who wasn’t a pure-blood. That said, the
Pottermore Slytherin acceptance letter says that the two wizards were more alike than we think,
noting that Slytherin and Gryffindor often favored the same kinds of students. The letter also says
that the two houses are opposite sides of the same coin, which could also explain why they clashed
so fiercely.

4. The founders represent different parts of the United Kingdom

Much of the theories about the founders and their origins come from the Sorting Hat’s speech in
The Goblet of Fire. During Harry’s fourth year, the Sorting Hat describes the founders as follows:
“Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor, Fair Ravenclaw, from glen, Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,
Shrewd Slytherin, from fen.” Fans have almost unanimously taken this to mean that Ravenclaw is
from Scotland, Hufflepuff is from Wales, and Slytherin is from East England. There has, however,
been some disagreement about Gryffindor’s birthplace. Some believe he’s also from Scotland since
the Gryffindor flag bears a striking resemblance to the Royal Flag of Scotland, but there’s also
compelling evidence from the books that suggests Gryffindor is from a West Country village in
England.

5. Ravenclaw died of a broken heart

Rowena Ravenclaw’s end was a tragic one. It’s said she died of a broken heart that was caused by
the loss of her daughter, Helena, who would eventually become the Ravenclaw house ghost, the
Grey Lady. The strain between Rowena and her daughter’s relationship began when Helena stole
Rowena’s diadem, a magical artifact the Dark Lord eventually found and turned into one of his
Horcruxes. Apparently, Helena was jealous of the attention Rowena received. Granted, it must have
been difficult to be the daughter of the most brilliant witch alive. So Helena ran away, taking her
mother’s diadem with her. In an act that undoubtedly added to Rowena’s despair, she sent the
Bloody Baron to retrieve Helena. As fans of The Deathly Hallows know, it was this act that resulted
in Helena’s death. The Baron killed Helena, and her mother followed soon after.

6. Hufflepuff was the most tolerant of the four

Many people view the Hufflepuffs as the leftovers – the students who weren’t intelligent enough,
brave enough, or ambitious enough to be placed in the other houses. This, of course, isn’t true, as
Cedric Diggory exhibits each of these traits on top of the typical traits associated with Huffflepuffs –
kindness, loyalty, and dedication. Rowling herself has said that Hufflepuff is her favorite house,
despite personally identifying as a Gryffindor. When the founders began to decide what kind of
students they wanted in their houses, Helga Hufflepuff said, “I'll teach the lot and treat them just the
same.” Unlike the other founders, Hufflepuff didn’t think students needed to have any qualifying
traits to learn magic. She was guided by egalitarian principles, believing anyone who was capable of
learning magic should be given the opportunity to get an education.

7. Ravenclaw was responsible for designing and naming Hogwarts

Rowena Ravenclaw wasn’t called the brightest witch of her time for nothing. Much of the credit for
the design of Hogwarts goes to her since the founders used her blueprints to build the castle. One of
her more notable skills was magical architecture, a skill she used to create Hogwarts’ constantly
changing grand staircase. Considering the size of the castle and the intricate spellwork required to
create moving staircases and disappearing rooms, this was no small feat. It’s also widely believed
that Ravenclaw was responsible for naming the school of witchcraft and wizardry. In a W.O.M.B.A.T.
test posted on J.K. Rowling's original website, one of the questions implied that Ravenclaw named
the school after she had a dream about a warty hog leading her to the cliff by the Great Lake.

8. Helga hufflepuff brought the elves to Hogwarts

While Hufflepuff will take any student and believes all students should have an equal opportunity to
receive an education, her egalitarian principles don’t necessarily extend to house elves. Unlike
Dobby and Winky, who get paid for their work at Hogwarts, the rest of the house elves at the school
are still technically enslaved. Rowling has said that the house elves’ servitude is a “complicated”
issue. In an interview with The Leaky Cauldron crew, Rowling said, “Hufflepuff did what was the
most moral thing to do at that time, and we are talking about over a thousand years ago. So that
would be to give them good conditions of work. There was no kind of activism there, so no one’s
going to say, ‘Here’s an idea, let’s free them. Let’s pay them.’ It was just, ‘Well we’ll bring them
somewhere they can work and not be abused.’”

9. Salazar slytherin was inspired by a portuguese dictator

While even Rowling is against stereotyping the four houses, there’s no getting around the fact that
Salazar Slytherin just sounds like an evil name. Slytherin is obviously a reference to snakes, the
house’s animal, but where did Salazar come from? According to Rowling, Slytherin’s first name is
based on António de Oliveira Salazar, a Portuguese dictator who was the Prime Minister of Portugal
from 1932 to 1968. Rowling lived in Portugal from 1990 to 1993. Shortly after having her daughter,
she moved to Edinburgh and started working on Harry Potter, but some accounts say that much of
Rowling’s inspiration for the Harry Potter series, like Slytherin's name, came from her time in
Portugal and that she even started working on the first novel when she was there.

10. Hufflepuff created the menus for the Hogwarts meals

Each of the founders excelled at a specific skill. Ravenclaw was a genius of magical architecture,
Gryffindor was the most accomplished duelist of his time, and Slytherin was a master Legilimens.
Helga Hufflepuff was highly skilled in charms, especially food-related charms. This isn’t all that
surprising since the Hufflepuff common room entrance is right next to the Hogwarts kitchens. Given
her knack for food-related charms, it has been theorized that Hufflepuff’s cup was one of the first
magically enchanted items used to help House Elves move massive feasts from the kitchens to the
Great Hall. It’s also said that Hufflepuff created the menus for the Hogwarts meals. Her recipes were
so good that many of them are still used to this day.

And that’s all for this video today. I hope you find it interesting. Don’t forget to like, share and
subscribe to our channel. Thanks for watching, and see you next time.