TOP 10 SEVERUS SNAPE SURPRISING FACTS
Severus Snape is undeniably one of the most complex and intriguing characters in the Potterverse.
And largely responsible for ending Voldemort’s reign.
While many fans spent most of the books or films despising him, many, myself including,
grew an unexpected adoration of the character.
So today we’re counting down the top 10 severus snape surprising facts.
Let’s jump in.
10 Saviour or Sinister?
Let’s start off this list with an age old debate about Severus Snape.
Is he evil?
Or good?
A saint or scoundrel?
According to JK Rowling, Snape can’t be classified as either.
She has said, I quote, “Snape is all grey.
You can’t make him a saint: he was vindictive and bullying.
You can’t make him a devil.
He died to save the wizarding world.”
9 His Scent Speaking of Rowling, in our next number is
a fact she revealed about Snape via twitter.
Twitter user HeirOfSlytherin asked the author “what does Snape smell like?” to which
she responded, “bitterness and old shoes.”
8 Descriptive Words While we’re on the topic of descriptive
facts, do you guys know what the most common descriptive words used for Snape throughout
the books are?
Along with other facts about the potions master, the site tracked every adjective and adverb
applied to Snape’s character, actions and appearance.
22 of them to be exact.
And what are the top 3?
Black comes in first, Cold comes in second and third?
Soft.
7 Alan Rickman The late, great Alan Rickman had a lot of
impact on the portrayal of the character in the Harry Potter films, aside from, you know,
playing him.
The wardrobe department collaborated with the actor when drafting up what Snape would
wear, with Rickman suggesting that his sleeves be tight and long, covering his hands to add
to his mystery, and his top layers have lots of buttons.
And, an additional fun fact, he wasn’t the first choice for the character - actor Tim
Roth was.
6 He Invented Spells Y’all are probably familiar with the curse
Sectumsmpra, the offensive spell that slashes at it’s target like a sword.
But did you also know he created a counter curse for it as well?
Vulnera Sanentur VUL-neh-rah Sah-Nen-tour.
And he’s also responsible for Muffliato, Levicorpus, Langlock and the toenail growing
hex.
According to Sirius Black, Snape knew more curses when he arrived at school than half
the kids in 7th year.
5 His Parents Half Blood Prince nickname was because his
father was Tobias Snape, a muggle, and his mother Eileen Prince was a witch.
Tobias was abusive towards Eileen, and the two fought often, and it’s likely that her
marriage to him caused her to be disowned by the Prince family.
Tobias wasn’t fond of much according to Severus.
But his mother Eileen has attending Hogwarts, and was the president of the Hogwarts Gobstone
Club.
Not much is known of what happened to his parent’s after he became the potions master
at hogwarts, but he did take ownership of the house they all lived in together when
he was a boy.
4 Transgender Theory A new theory has been circulating the inter
webs this year, and it’s that Snape was Transgender.
There’s a pretty active fandom for this theory, which was birthed on tumblr, with
supporters using in depth readings of the texts from the books that Snape has an underlying
feminine identity, with Snape’s affinity to potions being interpreted as an attempt
to magically transition.
There’s even a trans snape week that was created back in 2015 to celebrate the discourse.
There’s a pretty in depth article about it on Broadly that sums up the main points,
give it a google and check it out.
3 Youngest Headmaster of Hogwarts While you all are aware that Snape was the
headmaster of Hogwarts during harry’s 7th year (despite not being at the school that
is), did you know that he was the youngest Headmaster to ever run Hogwarts?
He was 38 years old when he died.
This also makes him the youngest head of house.
2 Always Getting back to Alan Rickman for this number.
While Rowling never told Rickman what Snape’s secrets were during the production of the
earlier films - aka the fact that he was a double agent, she did give him one clue to
help motivate his performance.
And that clue was something Rickman kept a secret for the rest of his life.
But lucky for us, a fan did ask Rowling on twitter if she would reveal it, and she did
in 2016 - she had told Rickman the meaning behind the word Always.
Snape’s love for Lily.
And that was enough.
1 Victorian Flower Language Reddit user TedTheGreek_Atheos started a discussion
on the site pointing out that Snape’s first encounter with Harry in potions class had
a deeper meaning, and not the I bitterly regret Lily’s death theory that has been going
around online.
So let’s break this down - Snape says “Potter!
What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?”
Asphodel is a type of lily associated with deaths and graves in ancient greece.
Meaning “my regrets follow you to the grave.”
The original theory claimed wormwood’s etymological roots were with the word absence.
Translate that and symbolically it can mean ‘I bitterly regret Lily’s death’.”
But the etymological meaning doesn’t hold up, BUT fear not because wormwood was also
called artemisia absinthium which was commonly burned as a protective offering by the greeks.
Combine that and you’ve got “On Lily’s grave, I promise to protect you.”
What do you guys think?
A Pottermore article did vaguely confirm a flower language connection between Lily and
Severus’ names, and much between them was stated to be symbolic on many levels, including
things that Snape would later say to Harry in passing being symbolic as well.
There we have it!
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I’ve been kelly paoli for top 10 nerd and I’ll catch you all in the next one.