Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
In today’s video, we’re going to be discussing the Hogwarts house system- specifically, Ravenclaw
house.
Now, as we all know, the four houses of Hogwarts can be identified by very unique, defining
characteristics- characteristics that allow these houses to stand out from the others.
Hufflepuffs are known for their loyalty and hard-work, Gryffindors for their bravery,
Slytherins for their cunning, and Ravenclaws for their knowledge and wisdom.
Of course- I am talking in generalizations here- but if the sorting hat is anything to
go by- it’s reasonably fair to summarize the houses based on the traits it preaches.
The sorting hat DOES sort students in to houses, after all.
"Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning, Will always find their kind."
Okay, so the houses can be recognized by defining attributes pertaining to TRAITS of the house-
but that’s not all that distinguishes them.
if you’re any kind of Harry Potter fan at all then you’ll know that each house is
also represented by specific colours, and of course- most important to this video- an
animal which is unique to the house.
This is first referenced in the Philosopher’s Stone before Harry has even had a chance to
step foot on the Hogwarts grounds.
“Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat
of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake surrounding a large letter ‘H’”
The Lion is Gryffindor’s mascot, the badger is Hufflepuff’s, the snake is Slytherin’s,
and the EAGLE is ravenclaws.
Lions have historically represented courage and power- so it seems an obvious choice for
Gryffindor house.
Snakes have long held the reputation of being cunning, so again, it seems like an obvious
choice for a house mascot.
Hufflepuff and the badger is a little more complicated- but based purely on my own speculation
I’d say that it’s probably something like this:
Badgers are relatively easy going creatures that mind their own business, shying away
from conflict.
However- badgers are also known to be quite fierce when someone or something stands in
their way (whether that be in the way of food or friend) and I think it’s this easy going
nature paired with an EDGE that makes them befitting of Hufflepuff house.
This brings us to the animal mascot associated with today’s video, and Ravenclaw house-
the eagle.
Or..wait, is it Raven?
From the day the first Harry Potter FILM came out (and FILM is an important word here)-
there has been a considerable amount of confusion surrounding Ravenclaw house, and whether or
not the house mascot is an EAGLE or a RAVEN.
If you look up Ravenclaw on google, you’re inevitably going to be bombarded with images
of both RAVENS and EAGLES (but mostly Ravens), and if you want to buy Harry Potter merchandise-
there’s a strong chance that you’re going to end up with a Raven on the house crest.
So- what’s the deal?
Well- as we know, the BOOK is TRUE canon- and when it comes down to a matter of book
vs film, the book should always be prioritized above its theatrical counterpart.
Yes, in the film the house is represented by a RAVEN and the colours are blue and silver,
but in reality the REAL Ravenclaw, the ORIGINAL Ravenclaw, and the BOOK Ravenclaw is represented
by the colours blue and bronze with an EAGLE serving as its mascot.
This is proven by several passages in the books, including the one I mentioned earlier:
“Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat
of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake surrounding a large lettter ‘H’”
As well as a passage from the Deathly hallows which specifically references the bronze colouring
as well as the eagle:
“At last they reached a door.
There was no handle and no keyhole: nothing but a plain expanse of aged wood, and a bronze
knocker in the shape of an eagle”
Furthermore, the Hogwarts crest is printed in some editions of the first book, and it’s
clearly an eagle that’s depicted representing Ravenclaw.
Given that the OFFICIAL colours AND mascot of the house were effectively replaced with
unofficial substitutes, it has prompted many Harry Potter fans who identify as Ravenclaw’s
to become vocal about the misrepresentation of their house.
It’s also never been made entirely clear WHY the switch was made for the films.
Why go from bronze to silver?
Why go from Eagle to Raven?
Well- I suppose one argument that could be made (at least as far as colour is concerned)
is that blue and silver simply worked better on screen.
But, that doesn’t explain the raven.
I think the simplest explanation here is that filmmakers simply felt that a ‘raven’
should represent ‘ravenclaw’ house, and that an eagle representing ‘raven’claw
might confuse fans.
However, if we dig in to the name ‘Raven’ claw a little deeper, then it’s not unreasonable
to infer that ‘raven’ claw is referring to ‘black claws’ or ‘black talons’
as ‘raven’ also means BLACK.
And it just so happens that a particular breed of eagle- the golden eagle- a native to Eurasia,
has DARK claws.
However, with all of that said I do still wonder if the Raven could have potentially
been a BETTER pairing with the house.
Why is the mascot for Ravenclaw an Eagle in the first place?
What does an eagle have to do with the traits of the house?
Well- if we look closely at the 4 Hogwarts houses, we should be able to notice a pattern,
each house appears to represent a different element.
Alchemy maintains a prevalent role in Harry Potter, and so it should be one of the first
things to consider when scrutinizing Harry Potter lore.
Gryffindor is associated with FIRE, Slytherin with WATER, Hufflepuff with Earth, and lastly-
Ravenclaw with AIR.
And, as it so happens, the eagle IS commonly linked to the element of air, where the raven
is not.
Eagles are also known for their keen vision and ability to ‘fly to great heights’-
which reminds me an awful lot of a passage from the book referencing the mascot of the
house.
“Our emblem is the eagle, which soars where others cannot climb; our house colors are
blue and bronze."
The eagle is also a symbol of strength and immortality, with strong ties to mythological
gods such as Zeus from Greek Mythology and Odin from Norse Mythology.
Side note: If you like Mythology, be sure to check out my Mythology channel which I’ll
link at the bottom of the description.
I post there a few times a week.
Above all else, however, the eagle’s historical representation of wit, intelligence and high
spirit are perhaps the overarching attributes that caused it to become the symbol of Ravenclaw
house.
Though one could argue that a raven also represents these things, particularly intelligence, it’s
also important to note that they are also associated with traits that bear a more negative
connotation, like cunning and manipulation.
The raven is a more ominous symbol, and for house Ravenclaw this type of characteristic
just doesn’t fit.
One final note:
Just because Rowena had ‘Raven’ in her name, it certainly didn’t mean that her
house mascot HAD to be a raven.
The same way Gryffindor’s mascot isn’t a gryffin, Hufflepuff’s a ‘Huffle’ or
Slytherin’s a ‘Slyther’.
The founders names were products of devised alliteration, and I don’t think that JK
Rowling at ANY point felt that these names would HAVE to be connected to the house mascot.
And that’s it for this video!
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What do YOU guys think of the Raven and Eagle being confused?
Are you a Ravenclaw?
Comment below
Until next time
Remember
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live