Hogwarts
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Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry | |
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Universe | Wizarding World |
First appearance | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) |
Most recent appearance | Hogwarts Legacy (2023) |
In-universe information | |
Type | |
Founded | c. 9th/10th century |
Location | Scotland |
Owner | Latin: Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus |
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (/ˈhɒɡwɔːrts/) is a fictional boarding school of magic for students aged eleven to eighteen, and is the primary setting for the first six books in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series and serves as a major setting in the Wizarding World universe.[3]
History
Establishment
Founded around the
Middle Ages
About 300 years after the school was founded, the
Academics and traditions
Hogwarts is a
Admission
According to the novels, admission to Hogwarts is selective, in that children who show magical ability will automatically gain a place,
Letters to
Though the school is in Great Britain, its catchment area is the wider British Isles, as Irish students can also attend.
Each student is allowed to bring an owl, a cat or a toad. Along with the acceptance letter, first-year students are sent a list of required equipment which includes a wand, subject books, a standard size 2 pewter cauldron, a set of brass scales, a set of glass or crystal phials, a kit of basic potion ingredients (for Potions), and a telescope (for Astronomy). The prospective student is expected to buy all the necessary materials, normally from shops in
The Hogwarts uniform consists of plain work robes in black, a plain black hat, a pair of protective gloves, and a black winter cloak with silver fastenings. Each uniform must contain the wearer's nametag. First years are not allowed a
Arrival
The primary mode of transport to Hogwarts is the
From there, first-year students are accompanied by the "Keeper of the Keys, Game and Grounds" (which was
After the
Houses
Hogwarts is divided into four
In the early days of Hogwarts, the four founders hand-picked students for their Houses. When the founders worried how students would be selected after their deaths, Godric Gryffindor took his hat off and they each added knowledge to it, allowing the Sorting Hat to choose the students by judging each student's qualities and placing them in the most appropriate house. The student's own choices may affect the decision: the clearest example is the Hat telling Harry that he would do well in
The translators of the books' foreign editions had difficulty translating the "house" concept; in countries where this system does not exist, no word could adequately convey the importance of belonging to a house, the loyalty owed to it, and the pride taken in prizes won by the house.[12]
Gryffindor
Gryffindor values courage, bravery, nerve, and chivalry. Gryffindor's mascot is the lion, and its colours are scarlet red and gold (maroon and gold on the ties and scarves). During the books, the Head of this house is the
The Gryffindor common room is in one of the castle's highest towers, and its entrance is on the seventh floor in the east wing of the castle and is guarded by a painting of
Hufflepuff
Hufflepuff values hard work, patience, justice, and loyalty. The house mascot is the badger, and canary yellow and black (or golden yellow and graphite in the The founder of this house is Helga Hufflepuff.
The entrance to the Hufflepuff dormitories and common room entrance is concealed in a pile of large barrels in an alcove in the corridor that holds the kitchen. To enter, one must tap the barrel two from the bottom in the middle of the second row in the rhythm of "Helga Hufflepuff". Unlike any other house, the Hufflepuff common room has a repelling device that douses the illegal entrant in vinegar if the wrong lid is tapped or the rhythm is wrong.[14] The Hufflepuff common room is filled with yellow hangings and fat armchairs and it has little tunnels leading to the dormitories, all of which have perfectly round doors, like barrel tops.[15]
Ravenclaw
Ravenclaw values intelligence, learning, wisdom and wit. The founder of this house is Rowena Ravenclaw.
The dormitories are in Ravenclaw Tower, on the west side of Hogwarts. The common room is round and filled with blue hangings and armchairs, has a domed ceiling painted with stars and features a replica statue of Rowena wearing her diadem. Harry also notes that Ravenclaws "have a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains". A logical riddle must be solved to gain entry, whereas the Gryffindor and Slytherin common rooms only require a password.
Slytherin
Slytherin values ambition, cunning, leadership, and resourcefulness; the Sorting Hat said, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, that Slytherins will do anything to get their way. The house mascot of Slytherin is the serpent, and the house colours are green and silver. Throughout the series, until the seventh book, the Head of House is Professor
The Slytherin dormitories and common room are reached by speaking a password to a patch of bare stone wall in the dungeons, which causes a hidden door to open. The Slytherin common room is a long, low, dungeon-style room, under the Hogwarts Lake, furnished with green lamps and carved armchairs. The room is described in the second book as having a greenish glow.
The Sorting Hat claims that
When believing Harry to be dead and thinking that he has victory in his grasp, Voldemort proclaims his intention to abolish the other three houses and force all Hogwarts students into Slytherin. This design is foiled by his defeat and death, after which Slytherin becomes more diluted in its blood purity, no longer remaining the pure-blood bastion it once was.
Subjects and teachers
Being a school of magic, many subjects at Hogwarts differ from the studies of a typical school. Some subjects, such as
At the end of their fifth year, students take the Ordinary Wizarding Level (O.W.L.) examinations for all subjects in which they are enrolled.[citation needed] Each examination consists of a written knowledge test and, where applicable, a practical demonstration of skills before a panel of proctors from the Ministry of Magic. Students who achieve a high enough O.W.L. grade in a particular subject may take its advanced course for the final two years, in preparation for the Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests (N.E.W.T.) given at the end of the seventh year.
Daily life
The day begins at Hogwarts with breakfast in the Great Hall. Students sit at their own House table and can eat and socialise, or finish homework. The Headmaster or Headmistress eats with the professors at the High Table placed at the far end of the hall. During breakfast, owls bring in the students' post, generally consisting of
There are two long morning classes with a short break in between them for students to get to their next class. After lunch, classes resume at 1 pm, and there is a break around afternoon teatime before another class period. The classes are about one hour in length, with occasional double periods lasting two hours. Classes end around five o'clock. First-year students get Friday afternoons off, while sixth- and seventh-year students have several free periods during the week. In the evening, students eat their dinner in the Great Hall, after which they are expected to be in their common rooms. Astronomy classes take place late at night in the Astronomy Tower.
The four House dormitories have secret entrances, generally known only to members of that house and require a password (Gryffindor and Slytherin), riddle answer (Ravenclaw) or ritual (Hufflepuff) in order to gain entrance. Inside is the common room, which contains armchairs and sofas for the pupils and tables for studying and homework. There are fireplaces to keep the rooms warm, and students either relax here in the evenings or else complete their homework, but may complete their work in the bedroom. There are notice boards in each common room and at other strategic points throughout the school. The students sleep in their House dormitories, which branch off from the common rooms. Each dormitory gets at least two rooms; one for boys and one for girls (an enchantment prevents boys from entering the girls' area, although there is no spell to prevent the reverse from occurring). Each student sleeps in a large four-poster bed with bed covers and heavy curtains in the House colours, and thick white pillows. There is a bedside table for each bed, and each dormitory has a jug of water and goblets on a tray.
On designated weekends, Hogwarts students in their third year or higher, with a signed permission slip, are permitted to walk to the nearby wizarding village of Hogsmeade, where they can relax and enjoy the pubs, restaurants and shops. There appears to be a good relationship between the school and the village, and the students get on well with the locals. Favourite places in Hogsmeade include
Food
The
Discipline
Apart from losing points from a house, serious misdeeds at Hogwarts are punishable by detention. Whenever a student loses a house point, their house jewels (ruby for Gryffindors, emeralds for Slytherin, sapphires for Ravenclaw, and diamonds for Hufflepuff) are taken away from a glass hourglass located in every classroom. The same goes for adding points to the specific house, although the teacher or prefect must conjure the gems from thin air.
According to the school caretaker,
For even more serious offences, students may be suspended or even expelled from Hogwarts. Harry and
Professors seem to be able to punish students with relative impunity and can hand out detention, even for unsatisfactory grades. Enforcement of rules outside of class mainly falls to the caretaker, with the assistance of the prefects. A student's Head of House usually has the final say in disciplinary matters. However, during Umbridge's tenure at Hogwarts, she quickly obtains the power to have the final say in disciplinary actions, due to an Educational Decree (one of many) passed by Minister for Magic
In the summer before their fifth year, two fifth year students from each House are picked to be
Castle and grounds
J. K. Rowling says she visualises Hogwarts, in its entirety, to be:
A huge, rambling, quite scary-looking castle, with a jumble of towers and battlements. Like the
In the novels, Hogwarts is somewhere in Scotland[19] (the film Prisoner of Azkaban says that Dufftown is near). The school is depicted as having numerous charms and spells on and around it that make it impossible for a Muggle to locate it. Muggles cannot see the school; rather, they see only ruins and several warnings of danger.[GF Ch.11] The castle's setting is described as having extensive grounds with sloping lawns, flowerbeds and vegetable patches, a loch (called The Black Lake), a large dense forest (called the Forbidden Forest), several greenhouses and other outbuildings, and a full-size Quidditch pitch. There is also an owlery, which houses all the owls owned by the school and those owned by students. Some rooms in the school tend to "move around", and so do the stairs in the grand staircase.[20] Witches and wizards cannot Apparate or Disapparate in Hogwarts grounds, except when the Headmaster lifts the enchantment, whether only in certain areas or for the entire campus, so as to make the school less vulnerable when it serves the headmaster to allow Apparition.[GF Ch.28] Electricity and electronic devices are not found at Hogwarts. Hermione Granger indicates in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire that due to the high levels of magic, "substitutes for magic (that) Muggles use" such as computers, radar and electricity "go haywire" around Hogwarts. Radios however, make an exception. Rowling explains this by saying that the radios are not powered by electricity but by magic.
Hogwarts is on the shore of a lake, sometimes called the Black Lake. In that lake are merpeople, Grindylows, and a giant squid. The giant squid does not attack humans and sometimes acts as a lifeguard when students are in the lake. The castle and its grounds are home to many secret areas as well as well-known and well-used places.
Hiding place of the Philosopher's Stone
Accessed by entering a trapdoor in the forbidden corridor on the third floor, and protected by a gauntlet of seven magical challenges set up by the teachers.
- A giant three-headed dog named Fluffyplaced specially to guard the trapdoor by Hagrid.
- Devil's Snare, grown by Professor Sprout.
- A room containing dozens of keys, charmed by Flitwick to sprout wings and fly near the ceiling. One of these keys will unlock the door to the next section. In the film adaptation, the keys attack the seeker of the Stone.
- A large chessboard with an army of large chessmen, transfigured by McGonagall. To continue to the door on the opposite side, the person in question must beat the chessmen at a game of wizards' chess where the player must risk his life if he loses. Ron and Professor Quirrell are the only wizards to win the game of wizards' chess.
- A room with a large troll inside. This is Quirrell's challenge. In the book, Quirrell had knocked out his own troll to get to the last room and thus the trio did not have to fight it; in the film, it does not appear, but it appears in the PS1 and Game Boy Color version of the game.
- A series of potions, brewed by Snape. A logical riddle, not magic, has to be solved. There are two doors, blocked by fire. One potion will allow the person to exit the way he or she arrived, another will allow him or her to continue to the next chamber, two are nettle wine, and the other three are poison. This challenge does not appear in the film, but does in the video game adaptation.
- The Philosopher's Stoneupon a seeker only hoping to acquire the stone but not use it for selfish means.
Chamber of Secrets
The Chamber of Secrets, which is deep under the school (most likely under the lake),
The entrance to the Chamber is hidden in the second-floor girls' lavatory (haunted by
When Tom Riddle opened the Chamber, Myrtle was sulking in a stall after being teased by student Olive Hornby. She opened the door, intending to tell him to leave, but died immediately upon meeting the Basilisk's gaze and decided to become a ghost to get revenge on Hornby.[21] The bathroom remains operational, but is rarely used by students because of Myrtle's disagreeable presence and her habit of flooding it when she is distraught.
As shown in Deathly Hallows, the Chamber of Secrets does not appear on the Marauder's Map.
Passages
There are usually seven secret passages in and out of the school, and in addition, the series describes the use of twin
Filch knows of just four of the seven secret passages, while the Marauders (James Potter, Sirius Black,
- A passage beneath the Whomping Willow, leading to the Shrieking Shack.
- A passage behind a mirror on the fourth floor, which is caved in. It leads to Hogsmeade, but it is not known exactly where.
- A passage beneath the one-eyed witch statue by the stairs to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, leading to the cellar of Honeydukes. Speaking aloud the word 'Dissendium' to the witch allows access to this passage; the hump on the statue then opens and reveals the hidden passageway.
Besides passages in and out of the school, there are also numerous short-cuts that lead from one part of the castle to another. These are often concealed in such fashions as a tapestry which hides a hole in the wall.
Room of Requirement
On the seventh floor opposite an enormous tapestry depicting Barnabas the Barmy attempting to train trolls for the ballet, the Room of Requirement appears only when someone is in need of it. To make it appear, one must walk past its hidden entrance three times while concentrating on what is needed. The room will then appear, outfitted with whatever is required. To the Hogwarts
Dumbledore is the first to mention the room, noting that he discovered it at five-thirty in the morning, filled with
Harry learns of the room's abilities from Dobby in Order of the Phoenix, finding it the perfect location for his
In Deathly Hallows, the students who need a place to hide from the Carrows, two Death Eater professors, use the room. It is also revealed that the Room of Requirement's current version can change while still occupied, though should a completely different version be required (e.g. the Room of Hidden Things instead of DA Headquarters) the room must be empty. The Room can also answer to the desire of the wizard within the room, such as providing Harry with a whistle when he needed one during a Dumbledore's Army meeting, or creating a passage to the Hog's Head (as the room cannot produce food). Later,
Due to the Room of Requirement not being in a fixed location, it is one of the select locations in Hogwarts that does not appear on the Marauder's Map.
Forbidden Forest
The Forbidden Forest is a large, dark enchanted forest in the boundaries of the school grounds. It is usually referred to simply as "the Forest" and in the film series as the "Dark Forest". It is strictly forbidden to all students, except during Care of Magical Creatures lessons and, on rare occasions, detentions.
Among the plant species within the Forest are trees such as beech, oak, pine, sycamore, yew and knotgrass and thorn undergrowth. Though the Forest is vastly dense and wild, there are a few paths and clearings. Hagrid, who frequently travels into the Forest for various reasons, mostly makes these trails. The Forest is also home to an assortment of creatures, many of them dangerous.
In 2017, a Forbidden Forest expansion was added to the
Hogwarts Express
Hogwarts Express | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Hogwarts Express is a train that carries pupils non-stop from
The train began use in the 1850s. Before that, pupils used to reach Hogwarts on brooms or enchanted carriages.[24]
The steam engine used in the film adaptations is the GWR 4900 Class 5972 Olton Hall, but it was not the first locomotive to be disguised as the Hogwarts Express. To promote the books, the Southern Railway locomotive 34027 Taw Valley was repainted and renamed temporarily, but was rejected by director Chris Columbus as looking 'too modern' for the film. Filming locations for the Hogwarts Express sequences include Goathland on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, Kings Cross railway station and the route of the Jacobite Express which follows the West Highland Line from Fort William to Mallaig in Scotland, as it crosses the Glenfinnan Viaduct.[25]
Several model trains have been made of the Hogwarts Express. An
A completely functioning
The Hogwarts Express King's Cross Station features a wall between Platforms 9 and 10, where guests can "walk through" to get to Platform 9¾, as in the first film.-
The GWR 4900 Class 5972 Olton Hall, the steam engine used in the film series as the Hogwarts Express
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Crowds of people around 5972 in York, which had worked an enthusiast special from Manchester in June 2014
Creation for books and films
Rowling has suggested that she may have inadvertently taken the name from the hogwort plant (Croton capitatus), which she had seen at Kew Gardens some time before writing the series,[30] although the names "The Hogwarts" and "Hoggwart" appear in the 1954 Nigel Molesworth book How to Be Topp by Geoffrey Willans.[31][32] The name "Hogwart" also appears in the 1986 Labyrinth fantasy film.[33]
Most exterior scenes were shot on location at Alnwick Castle, but views of the exterior of the entire school were created from shots of Durham Cathedral with a digital spire added to the towers. Durham Cathedral also served as a set for Hogwarts interiors.
A scale model was created for exterior shots of the entire school. Models of Alnwick Castle and Durham Cathedral were also built to create more integration between the model and on location shots. It took a team of 86 artists and crew members 74 years worth of man hours to complete the model.[34]
Popularity
Hogwarts school was voted as the 36th-best Scottish educational establishment in a 2008 online ranking, outranking Edinburgh's Loretto School. According to a director of the Independent Schools Network Rankings, it was added to the schools listing "for fun" and was then voted on.[35]
In translation
Most translations keep the name 'Hogwarts', transcribing it if necessary. For example, in Arabic it is transcribed as هوغوورتس = Hūghwūrts, in Russian as Хогвартс = Khogvarts, in Japanese as ホグワーツ = Hoguwātsu, in Bengali as হগওয়ার্টস = Hogowarts, in Greek as Χόγκουαρτς = Hóguarts, and in simplified Chinese as 霍格沃茨 = Huògéwòcí.[36]
However, some translations translate or otherwise adapt the name: French Poudlard (lard = "
See also
References
- ^ Scholastic. 3 February 2000. Archived from the originalon 13 April 2001.
- .
- ISBN 978-0-7684-2279-5. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
- ^ "The origins of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry". Wizarding World. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
- ^ Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
- ISBN 1-58939-582-4.
- ^ "Transcript of J.K. Rowling's live interview on Scholastic.com". Scholastic. 16 October 2000. Archived from the original on 1 May 2001.
- ^ "The Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling: Part Two". MuggleNet. 16 July 2005. Archived from the original on 24 July 2005. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
- ^ a b "J.K.Rowling Official Site". p. F.A.Q. – About the Books. Archived from the original on 28 August 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
Everyone who shows magical ability before their eleventh birthday will automatically gain a place at Hogwarts; there is no question of not being 'magical enough'; you are either magical or you are not.
- ^ "J.K.Rowling Official Site". p. Extras – Miscellaneous. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
Squibs would not be able to attend Hogwarts as students.
- ^ Rowling, JK. "FAQ – We haven't heard the school song since the first book. Did the teachers rebel against it?". JKRowling.com. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
- S2CID 145173155.
- ^ a b c d Rowling, J.K. (10 August 2015). "Colours". wizardingworld.com. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
- Pottermore. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
- ^ Melissa (30 July 2007). "J.K. Rowling Web Chat Transcript". The Leaky Cauldron. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
- ^ The Leaky Cauldron and Mugglenet interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling: Part Three Archived 11 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine MuggleNet Retrieved on 2 September 2013
- Pottermore. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
- OCLC 44614312.
- ISBN 0-7497-4394-8. pp 20–21.
- ^ Rowling, J.K. "How do you remember everything from different books when you are still writing the HP series?". J.K.Rowling.com. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
- ^ a b c Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 16
- ^ Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 17
- ^ Maude, Belinda (31 March 2017). "Harry Potter fans can now visit the Forbidden Forest". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
- ^ Rowling, J. K. "The Hogwarts Express". Pottermore. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
- ^ "Harry Potter Express". steamtrain.info. Archived from the original on 13 August 2008. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
- ^ "Harry PotterTM HogwartsTM Express O-Gauge (4-6-0 Conv. LOCO #5972)". Lionel. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- ^ "Harry Potter Hogwarts Express G-Gauge Passenger Set (LOCO #5972)". Lionel. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- ^ MacDonald, Brady (9 May 2013). "What may come to Wizarding World of Harry Potter 2.0 at Universal Orlando". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
- ^ "Doppelmayr/Garaventa built the Hogwarts Express" (Press release). Doppelmayr Garaventa Group. 25 July 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ^ Abel, Katy. "Harry Potter Author Works Her Magic". Family Education. Archived from the original on 10 May 2006.
- ^ LRB: Thomas Jones, Swete Lavender, lrb.co.uk, 17 February 2000
- ^ Independent: Potter's Magic School, The Independent, 22 September 2000
- Odyssey (publication). 15 October 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
- ^ "ART DEPARTMENT". wbstudiotour.co.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- ^ Harry Potter School Outranks Loretto, The Scotsman
- ^ a b c d e "Harry Potter: What Is 'Hogwarts' In French? (& 9 Other Translations For The School)". Screen Rant. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
External links
- Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on Harry Potter Wiki, an external wiki
- Hogwarts Castle on Harry Potter Wiki, an external wiki
- The Harry Potter Lexicon's Hogwarts Atlas featuring numerous images of Hogwarts. hplex.info.
- The Marauder's Map from the Warner Bros website, harrypotter.warnerbros.co.uk