Hey everyone, welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
Which of Hogwarts’ founders lived the most tragic life?
You might be tempted to answer with Salazar Slytherin…
But if we take a second look at the four co-founders, we’ll find that Rowena Ravenclaw, might
have suffered the greatest tragedy of all.
What was it?
And why was it so awful?
Join us, and find out, as we take a look at the life and times of Rowena Ravenclaw.
Birth & Early Life
Rowena Ravenclaw, just like her other co-founders of Hogwarts, represented a unique part of
the British landscape.
While Godric Gryffindor was from a small town in the West Country of England…
Helga Hufflepuff lived in a rural, hill-covered county in Wales,... and Salazar Slytherin
was reported to have been born in Ireland…
Helga represented Scotland and called the highlands her home.
All four of them were born in the 10th century, some decades before they founded Hogwarts
sometime around 990 AD.
In the years leading to the formation of the school, Rowena had already become renowned
as one of the most skilled witches of her era.
Her mastery of charms, which she would later use to create her famous diadem, made her
quite a formidable magic user.
Her thirst for knowledge pushed her to study magic at a pace nearly no other wizard or
witch could compete with.
But it wasn’t just her tenacity that made her a powerful witch.
Rowena also possessed an inexplicable, innate connection to the magical world, which is
best reflected in her dreams.
Prior to meeting her co-founders, Rowena would often dream of a wild boar.
In those dreams, the beast would wind through the woods and valleys, until it drew her to
the foot of a massive, dark-blue lake.
Later in life, Rowena took these dreams as a premonition, and used them to guide her
when choosing Hogwarts’ location, right at the foot of the Great Lake, which many
Grindylows called home.
Founding Hogwarts
By the year 990 AD, Rowena had known her fellow Hogwarts founders for some time.
Although Helga Hufflepuff was her closest friend in the bunch, the other two members,
Godric Gryffindor, and Salazar Slytherin, were important to her, as well.
Together, they created Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and dedicated their
lives to educating the magical youth of Britain in the ways of the wizarding world.
Although the Ministry of Magic was still a few centuries away from creation, the ancient
Britain that Rowena called home was still ruled by a complex series of laws.
With disputes between Muggles and wizards always increasing, Rowena and her fellow teachers
strived to keep their students safe.
And for a relatively short while, they achieved just that.
As one of the co-founders of Hogwarts, Rowena left a strong impression on the school.
In the years that followed her death, the values she instilled continued, making House
Ravenclaw every bit as formidable as it had been during Rowena’s tenure.
When choosing students, Rowena had a very specific set of qualities that she looked
for.
Unlike Godric Gryffindor, who sought courage… or Slytherin, who went after pure-bloods…
Ravenclaw wanted only the brightest students.
The entire wizarding world would come to know just how selective Ravenclaw was, and graduates
from her house would show off their affiliation with great honor.
Daughter
At some point, during her time as a professor at Hogwarts, Rowena’s daughter enrolled
at the school.
We’re not quite sure what Rowena’s relationship with the young girl was like, but it’s easy
to see that something was wrong.
Although the historical records never mention it, a second look at Rowena’s life, and
achievements, might tell us all we need to know about her merit as a parent.
Rowena was ambitious…
ambitious enough to devote her time and energy to the arduous task of creating Hogwarts.
She likely worked tirelessly at this task while Helena was still a young child… something
that could have built animosity between the two.
And whether Rowena deliberately sought to burden her, or not, the pressure of having
one of the smartest witches in Britain as your mother was second to none.
Helena likely bore the weight of perfection, and studied tirelessly to live up to her mother’s
expectations.
After all, by the time Helena enrolled in Hogwarts, she would need to be smart enough
for her mother to accept her into her own house, Ravenclaw.
All of this pressure, combined with the judgment of her peers in the wizarding community, drove
Helena to resent her mother even more.
And when Helena finally acted out, the harm was too much for her mother, Rowena, to bear.
Sorting Hat and Slytherin’s Departure
But before we move to the final conflict between Rowena and her daughter, Helena, let’s look
back at Rowena’s time at Hogwarts, because she was involved in some pretty important
milestones.
After a few years, when Hogwarts had developed a reputation as the premier destination for
Britain’s wizarding youth, the founders turned their attention toward their legacy.
How could Hogwarts continue forward, after the four of them had died?
Eventually, a system of headmasters would evolve, in order to run the administrative
side of the school.
But in terms of the spirit of the houses, and keeping the flame of the original four
founders alive,Rowena and her peers decided to create a device to sort students into the
correct houses.
Each considered the individual character of their students as the most important part
of the selection process, so they took Godric’s old hat, and enchanted it.
From that moment, it became known as the Sorting Hat, and it decided which house first years
would join after they took the journey across the great lake.
Sometime later, Slytherin’s concern for the legacy of the school drove a wedge between
him and the other founders.
Salazar was increasingly worried that mudbloods would ruin Hogwarts, and wanted to bar their
enrollment.
But Rowena, along with Helga and Godric, wouldn’t even entertain the idea.
In the end, Slytherin was forced to leave, while Rowena, and the other two founders remained.
Helena’s Betrayal and Murder
But it wouldn’t be long before Rowena met her own demise.
While her daughter, Helena, was still a student at Hogwarts, she decided to run away.
The animosity between her, and her mother, had grown too great.
Overwhelmed by the adoration her mother drew from other wizards and witches, Helena vowed
that she would become even greater.
So, she stole her mother’s enchanted diadem, and took off for Albania.
Her mother’s diadem was supposedly bewitched so that it granted its wearer greater wisdom.
But in the months that followed Helena’s act of betrayal, she never seemed to grow
any wiser.
Back at Hogwarts, Rowena could hardly fathom what had happened.
Instead of telling her fellow founders, and enlisting their help to bring Helena back
to safety, Rowena hid the entire ordeal.
Although Godric and Salazar might not have been helpful, Rowena wrongly hid the ordeal
from Helga Hufflepuff.
Helga, more than any witch in the wizarding world, was renowned for her compassion, and
her ability to reach out to troubled magic users.
But in the end the shame was simply too much for Rowena to bear.
Soon after Helena’s departure, Rowena fell ill.
Although she didn’t know it at the time, she was dying.
Magical historians often wonder if Rowena died from heartache, due to her daughter’s
disappearance.
Such a fate wasn’t uncommon in the ancient, magical world.
Unfortunately, we might never know the truth.
But in those final days, Rowena made another grave mistake.
Realizing that her end was drawing near, Rowena wanted nothing more than to see her dear daughter
again.
Even though Helena had stolen her treasured Diadem, Rowena was eager to forgive her, and
hoped to hold her hand as she passed.
But instead of calling upon her fellow cofounders for aide, Rowena turned to a strange ally:
the Bloody Baron.
Known then only as the Baron, he was a strange boy.
He was one of Salazar Slytherin’s earliest students, and he was consumed with many of
the same vices that other dark wizards possessed.
But mostly, his hot-temper often led him to trouble, and ultimately, would be the cause
of Helena’s death.
Rowena turned to the Baron for a simple reason: he was obsessed with her daughter.
Since their time as students at Hogwarts, the Baron had tried to make Helena his spouse…
but she always refused.
Rowena, still as sharp as ever, knew that the Baron was the one person she could send
to Albania, who wouldn’t just quit when the pursuit became too difficult.
But Rowena underestimated just how rageful the Baron was.
When he finally located Helena in Albania, he once again tried to confess his love.
But this time, when Helena rejected him, the Baron withdrew a razor-sharp dagger, and struck
her dead.
In the end, Rowena probably died before her daughter ever returned as a ghost.
Legacy
When we look at Rowena Ravenclaw’s legacy, and all that she accomplished, it’s hard
not to ignore her personal failings.
She created one of the most disciplined houses at any wizarding school.
And as we’ve already mentioned, she actually chose the iconic location for Hogwarts’
construction, a decision that led to innumerable, famous encounters between students and magical
creatures within the Great Lake and Forbidden Forest.
According to legend, Rowena even designed the shifting floorplan, which made Hogwarts
almost unchartable (unless you had the Marauder’s Map, of course).
For all these accomplishments, and more, Rowena Ravenclaw is easily one of the most interesting
co-founders at Hogwarts.
But, perhaps, the only way to achieve these great deeds, was to sacrifice her relationship
with her daughter.
And sadly, that tragedy, and the fate of Helena Ravenclaw, is what we’ll remember most about
Rowena.
And that’s it for this video!
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Until next time
Remember
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live