Wall of Fame | Lesson 1
Research Essay
Wizarding Community: Ilkley
Ilkley is a wizarding community that is found in West Yorkshire, England. When it was founded (or who by) isn’t known, but the earliest correspondence found from that place dates back to at least the 12th Century so we know for certain it has been around housing both magical and muggles alike since at least then.
The letter from the 12th Century indicated that Ilkley had a Kwidditch team (Kwidditch being an old spelling and variation of Quidditch) and they played against another Yorkshire Team. Many of the terms we know today were different then (as indicated by the letter)- for example, Chasers were ‘Catchers’ and Bludgers were ‘Blooders’. It also highlighted some of the historical changes within the game. In this version, the game used three barrels raised on stilts as goalposts which had evolved from simply using trees. Today, Quidditch is still popular in the area as it has a local stadium nearby for spectators to watch teams play.
There isn’t much else in terms of the interesting wizarding history of the area as the people look after each other and the surrounding area well. However, much like the rest of the UK, different places have specific words for the same things. For example, if you were to ask 10 people from different parts of the UK what a bread roll was called (by visually showing them the item and not naming it), you’d likely get at least 5 variations. The same applies to magical things. Grypts are larvae from a Grindylow, but they aren’t known as that in Ilkley- they call them Pollywiggle. We can all agree that it’s a much more fun name for what it is.
- Ereshkigal Csintalan, Slytherin
My Research Essay is about Holyhead. Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey. Holyhead lays at the Irish Sea. Holyhead is known for having the major Irish Sea port, serving Ireland. For Muggles Holyhead also has the largest Ferry transportation towards Ireland. Luckily Wizards don’t have to use this kind of transportation to visit Ireland.
Holyhead’s town centre is built around St. Cybi’s Church, which is built inside one of Europe’s few three-walled Roman forts. On top of Holyhead Mountain inside of Mynydd y Twr the Romans built a watchtower. Beside the watchtower Muggles also build a lighthouse on the other side of it. At the current moment there are a lot of prehistoric monuments from the prehistoric times at Holyhead. You have circular huts, burial chambers and standing stones which are featured in the highest concentration in Britain.
For Muggles and Wizards Holyhead is a great spot to watch birds, because their are a lot of different birds at South Stack.
Beside that Holyhead is a popular spot for Muggles, for Wizards it’s also a popular place. The reason for this is because the all-female Quidditch team the Holyhead Harpies are from Holyhead. The Holyhead Harpies are famous because of the fact that one Ginny Potter-née Weasley played for them until she got kids.
- Fumei Shirokuro, fu802, Gryffindor
Cork is located in the province of Munster at the southwest coast of Ireland. It is the secound largest city in Ireland and has had a part wizard population since medieval times. The wizards located in Cork live alongside there Muggel population.
Cork has a early mention of Quidditch when a match was held between the local Quidditch team and the team from Lancashire in 1385 in Lancashire. The Irishmen team won because they displayed skills with the Quaffle the locals had never seen bevor. They had to flee the village and fear for there lives after winning because the local crowd drew there wands against them and chased them. The game was documented by Zacharias Mumps. Since this game the Lancashire Quidditch team is there Rival.
The wizards continued to live in Cork after the International Statue of Secrecy to rely on each other for mutual support.
- Pandora Evergreen, Hufflepuff
What I found most fascinating when doing part D of this assignment—I did that bit first—was discovering that a lot of the places I chose were actually real places and not made up like Godric’s Hollow. I’ll focus on Ballycastle, home of the Ballycastle Bats Quidditch team. Ballycastle is on the northern tip of Northern Ireland and you can actually see parts of Scotland from the beach on a clear day. A small town, the population of Ballycastle is just about 5,000 people and is part of a large area of outstanding natural beauty.
Fair Head is the biggest landmark in Ballycastle, rising more than 600 feet out of the bay. It’s extremely rugged and you can often see goats roaming around over there, but some very hardy and antisocial wizards have made their homes in small domiciles carved out of the cliff’s side. There is also a mountain called Knocklayde that is covered in heather and is a great way to see the sights. Kinbane Castle is on a headland that projects into the sea and was built in 1547 by a man who died in there just 11 years after it was built. (He was a wizard and was able to build the castle rather quickly. In the pre-Statute era, this did not go questioned by the Muggles.)
Some of the local specialties in Ballycastle include a special type of bright yellow chewy honeycomb toffee called Yellowman and edible seaweed called dulse (when you’re near the sea, you learn to use it to your advantage). Ballycastle hosts a special fair every August that is a harvest festival. Food and livestock are among the goodies sold at the fair.
Witches and wizards who live in Ballycastle have a fairly easy time getting to Hogsmeade since it’s not a long trip at all, even by broom.
- Patricia Cleary, pa978, Hufflepuff
Tutshill is the home of my favorite Quidditch team, the Tutshill Tornados! Tutshill is one of several wizarding villages located in south western England, also known as West Country. Tutshill itself is specifically located in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England. It is on the eastern bank of the River Wye. In fact, Tutshill was partly named because of its location on a hill overlooking the River Wye. "Tut" is the local term for watchtower. If you visit Tutshill, you will see the originally tower up on the hill, though now it is ruined and not functional. J.K. Rowling lived in Tutshill when she was a child.
Rubeus Hagrid was likely born near Tutshill and the Forest of Dean because he was a strong West Country accent. The Forest of Dean played an important role in the trio's journey. Hermione brought Harry to the Forest of Dean because she went camping there once with her parents. This was the location where Ron rejoined his friends after retrieved the sword of Godric Gryffindor from the pool and destroyed a Horcrux.
- Prof. Scarlet Leslie-Lewis, pr_sca, Slytherin
Ilkley is a wizarding community that is found in West Yorkshire, England. When it was founded (or who by) isn’t known, but the earliest correspondence found from that place dates back to at least the 12th Century so we know for certain it has been around housing both magical and muggles alike since at least then.
The letter from the 12th Century indicated that Ilkley had a Kwidditch team (Kwidditch being an old spelling and variation of Quidditch) and they played against another Yorkshire Team. Many of the terms we know today were different then (as indicated by the letter)- for example, Chasers were ‘Catchers’ and Bludgers were ‘Blooders’. It also highlighted some of the historical changes within the game. In this version, the game used three barrels raised on stilts as goalposts which had evolved from simply using trees. Today, Quidditch is still popular in the area as it has a local stadium nearby for spectators to watch teams play.
There isn’t much else in terms of the interesting wizarding history of the area as the people look after each other and the surrounding area well. However, much like the rest of the UK, different places have specific words for the same things. For example, if you were to ask 10 people from different parts of the UK what a bread roll was called (by visually showing them the item and not naming it), you’d likely get at least 5 variations. The same applies to magical things. Grypts are larvae from a Grindylow, but they aren’t known as that in Ilkley- they call them Pollywiggle. We can all agree that it’s a much more fun name for what it is.
- Ereshkigal Csintalan, Slytherin
My Research Essay is about Holyhead. Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey. Holyhead lays at the Irish Sea. Holyhead is known for having the major Irish Sea port, serving Ireland. For Muggles Holyhead also has the largest Ferry transportation towards Ireland. Luckily Wizards don’t have to use this kind of transportation to visit Ireland.
Holyhead’s town centre is built around St. Cybi’s Church, which is built inside one of Europe’s few three-walled Roman forts. On top of Holyhead Mountain inside of Mynydd y Twr the Romans built a watchtower. Beside the watchtower Muggles also build a lighthouse on the other side of it. At the current moment there are a lot of prehistoric monuments from the prehistoric times at Holyhead. You have circular huts, burial chambers and standing stones which are featured in the highest concentration in Britain.
For Muggles and Wizards Holyhead is a great spot to watch birds, because their are a lot of different birds at South Stack.
Beside that Holyhead is a popular spot for Muggles, for Wizards it’s also a popular place. The reason for this is because the all-female Quidditch team the Holyhead Harpies are from Holyhead. The Holyhead Harpies are famous because of the fact that one Ginny Potter-née Weasley played for them until she got kids.
- Fumei Shirokuro, fu802, Gryffindor
Cork is located in the province of Munster at the southwest coast of Ireland. It is the secound largest city in Ireland and has had a part wizard population since medieval times. The wizards located in Cork live alongside there Muggel population.
Cork has a early mention of Quidditch when a match was held between the local Quidditch team and the team from Lancashire in 1385 in Lancashire. The Irishmen team won because they displayed skills with the Quaffle the locals had never seen bevor. They had to flee the village and fear for there lives after winning because the local crowd drew there wands against them and chased them. The game was documented by Zacharias Mumps. Since this game the Lancashire Quidditch team is there Rival.
The wizards continued to live in Cork after the International Statue of Secrecy to rely on each other for mutual support.
- Pandora Evergreen, Hufflepuff
What I found most fascinating when doing part D of this assignment—I did that bit first—was discovering that a lot of the places I chose were actually real places and not made up like Godric’s Hollow. I’ll focus on Ballycastle, home of the Ballycastle Bats Quidditch team. Ballycastle is on the northern tip of Northern Ireland and you can actually see parts of Scotland from the beach on a clear day. A small town, the population of Ballycastle is just about 5,000 people and is part of a large area of outstanding natural beauty.
Fair Head is the biggest landmark in Ballycastle, rising more than 600 feet out of the bay. It’s extremely rugged and you can often see goats roaming around over there, but some very hardy and antisocial wizards have made their homes in small domiciles carved out of the cliff’s side. There is also a mountain called Knocklayde that is covered in heather and is a great way to see the sights. Kinbane Castle is on a headland that projects into the sea and was built in 1547 by a man who died in there just 11 years after it was built. (He was a wizard and was able to build the castle rather quickly. In the pre-Statute era, this did not go questioned by the Muggles.)
Some of the local specialties in Ballycastle include a special type of bright yellow chewy honeycomb toffee called Yellowman and edible seaweed called dulse (when you’re near the sea, you learn to use it to your advantage). Ballycastle hosts a special fair every August that is a harvest festival. Food and livestock are among the goodies sold at the fair.
Witches and wizards who live in Ballycastle have a fairly easy time getting to Hogsmeade since it’s not a long trip at all, even by broom.
- Patricia Cleary, pa978, Hufflepuff
Tutshill is the home of my favorite Quidditch team, the Tutshill Tornados! Tutshill is one of several wizarding villages located in south western England, also known as West Country. Tutshill itself is specifically located in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England. It is on the eastern bank of the River Wye. In fact, Tutshill was partly named because of its location on a hill overlooking the River Wye. "Tut" is the local term for watchtower. If you visit Tutshill, you will see the originally tower up on the hill, though now it is ruined and not functional. J.K. Rowling lived in Tutshill when she was a child.
Rubeus Hagrid was likely born near Tutshill and the Forest of Dean because he was a strong West Country accent. The Forest of Dean played an important role in the trio's journey. Hermione brought Harry to the Forest of Dean because she went camping there once with her parents. This was the location where Ron rejoined his friends after retrieved the sword of Godric Gryffindor from the pool and destroyed a Horcrux.
- Prof. Scarlet Leslie-Lewis, pr_sca, Slytherin
Opinion Essay
In my opinion the International Statue of Secrecy in 1689 was a good decision. On the one hand it prevents a witch hunt to happen and also a discrimination against wizards and witches. Another big issue that could occur is the exploitation of spells and potions by Muggels against each other or wizards. Muggels tend to love destroying stuff. If they had the knowledge or teamed up with bad wizards they could cause a lot of damage. On the other hand we, wizards and witches, could help Muggels with out knowledge and they could help us with there technology. If it were possible to prevent the negative Parts i think it would be a win for both parts. But i dont think that is possible because there will always be bad people.
So overall i think it was a good decision, but i also think that in the future wizards and witches should seek out the further connection to Muggels so both worlds are not divided and to prevent hate.
- Pandora Evergreen, Hufflepuff
Given our historical background, prejudice is a constant norm in the Muggle world. In stories, legends, and histories, wars have been fought from as little as the abduction of the most beautiful woman in the world, to as tedious and taxing as religion, politics, and economy. More commonly, they've been fought because one nation/kingdom/tribe has a gripe against its neighboring nation/kingdom/tribe. And all because they misunderstand each other's culture or have differing philosophies in various topics. So throw in the wizarding community, whose entire lifestyle is focused on a much different approach. That's definitely a kink in the infrastructure of how the world works already.
Additionally, the "great power comes great responsibility" seems to be a popular saying these days. The wizarding community holds a certain amount of unnatural, and great, power. To unleash it on a non-magical world may have positive outcomes, but as far as society goes, and the way it is going now, it might be a bad idea. So I agree with the statute of secrecy, because witch-hunts are not completely over, even in this day and age. There will be those wizards and witches who are type-based and discriminated against for being able to do or perform something others can't. So in a word, I agree with the wizarding community's decision in hiding from the Muggles, because I don't believe that co-existence would fare well with the global populace, even if there will be Muggles who are fine with this arrangement.
- Prof. Cassandra Sparkleissa Lobiesk, pr_lob, Ravenclaw
I feel that the wizarding community's decision to hide from Muggles was ill-considered. Things get out into the open, one way or another. Hidden things become revealed. Then the whole idea of attempting to conceal one's pets, conceal dragons, conceal a whole 'different' world. Why? Obviously the Muggles would not be able to destroy the wizards and witches. Look at the many times Wendelin the Weird was burned at the stake!
I think that the whole business of concealment is based in a fallacy that the wizards and witches think themselves better than Muggles instead of just different. I think it would have been far better to create a community within a community; that Muggles 'rule' over themselves and wizardkind rule over themselves, because they do NOT understand each other at all.
I think that what Hagrid said, about keeping magic separate from the Muggles, keeping Muggles in ignorance of magic, is not correct (HP1). 'Blimey Harry they would want us to do all their stuff for them with magic!' - I paraphrased. But it isn't true. I think that Muggles would end up wanting to do everything the Muggle way because they could then control it. 'They' would be in charge, and not the wizards. And vice versa.
This 'law' was done in 1689. Muggles were not very advanced in technology; they barely had what we consider necessary modern conveniences. If wizardkind had allowed themselves to be known, then Muggles would have had a whole different way of looking at things, and perhaps have advanced in life style and 'conveniences' -- because they saw it was possible. They would have invented all sorts of wonderful things to emulate broomsticks and owl post and all that!
An example of this kind, of different peoples living in the same world, is the Muggle story of the Lord of the Ring. You have Hobbits and Dwarves and Elves and Men and all kirds of different 'peoples' and generally they just form communities amongst themselves. There are some places where the different people interact - like Bree - but usually everyone just sort of stays in their own communities.
- Prof. Tarma Amelia Black, pr_tar, Hufflepuff
I absolutely agree with the original intent of the International Statute of Secrecy. We have to remember that this decree was written at a time where Muggles were rather narrow-minded and prejudiced (though some might argue that they still are). At the time it was still common practice to burn suspected witches at the stake, even when Muggles had no real evidence of witchcraft. As such, it would have been absolutely ridiculous to openly co-habitate with these individuals when they would threaten the Wizarding world’s very existence, and prosecute them accordingly. As such, I think it was a wise decision to create wizarding communities all around small the UK and Ireland (and around the world for that matter); small pockets where Wizards could somewhat openly be who they are, and not be afraid that their neighbours would burn them at the stake. Of course, this created challenges when large numbers of wizards congregate in one area (like during the Quidditch World Cup, or at the King’s Cross Station on September 1st), but Wizards have found ways to circumvent these challenges.
That being said, I think that this continued isolation from the Muggle world has also created huge prejudices against Muggles and especially against Muggle-borns, and continues to create a divide within the wizarding population. In order to create and maintain a more unified, I think it would be important to reconsider the Statute of Secrecy. The world is not the same place it was nearly 350 years ago, and as such I like to think that the Muggles are accepting enough to not threaten the wizarding ways were they to know about our existence.
- Rosanna Gullveig, ro837, Ravenclaw
I really think the decision to hide from the muggles with the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy was the right decision for the times considering what was happening. Back then, witches and wizards were being persecuted and killed. Even some innocent muggles were accused of witchcraft and put to death. So I believe it was absolutely the right thing to do at the time in order to save our kind from becoming extinct and saving the muggles too because over time there would be less and less witch trials. But even though are still some bad muggles and also bad witches and wizards out there today, times have changed. Most muggles would no longer persecute witches and wizards and kill them like before. There might still be some witches and wizards who believe in blood purity and may harm muggles. So something has to be done to prevent them from doing anything. We also wouldn't want to scare muggles by showing our magical selves to them all at once. So I think we should take it very slow and maybe over time, the statute of secrecy can start to disappear.
- Skylar Peyton, Hufflepuff
So overall i think it was a good decision, but i also think that in the future wizards and witches should seek out the further connection to Muggels so both worlds are not divided and to prevent hate.
- Pandora Evergreen, Hufflepuff
Given our historical background, prejudice is a constant norm in the Muggle world. In stories, legends, and histories, wars have been fought from as little as the abduction of the most beautiful woman in the world, to as tedious and taxing as religion, politics, and economy. More commonly, they've been fought because one nation/kingdom/tribe has a gripe against its neighboring nation/kingdom/tribe. And all because they misunderstand each other's culture or have differing philosophies in various topics. So throw in the wizarding community, whose entire lifestyle is focused on a much different approach. That's definitely a kink in the infrastructure of how the world works already.
Additionally, the "great power comes great responsibility" seems to be a popular saying these days. The wizarding community holds a certain amount of unnatural, and great, power. To unleash it on a non-magical world may have positive outcomes, but as far as society goes, and the way it is going now, it might be a bad idea. So I agree with the statute of secrecy, because witch-hunts are not completely over, even in this day and age. There will be those wizards and witches who are type-based and discriminated against for being able to do or perform something others can't. So in a word, I agree with the wizarding community's decision in hiding from the Muggles, because I don't believe that co-existence would fare well with the global populace, even if there will be Muggles who are fine with this arrangement.
- Prof. Cassandra Sparkleissa Lobiesk, pr_lob, Ravenclaw
I feel that the wizarding community's decision to hide from Muggles was ill-considered. Things get out into the open, one way or another. Hidden things become revealed. Then the whole idea of attempting to conceal one's pets, conceal dragons, conceal a whole 'different' world. Why? Obviously the Muggles would not be able to destroy the wizards and witches. Look at the many times Wendelin the Weird was burned at the stake!
I think that the whole business of concealment is based in a fallacy that the wizards and witches think themselves better than Muggles instead of just different. I think it would have been far better to create a community within a community; that Muggles 'rule' over themselves and wizardkind rule over themselves, because they do NOT understand each other at all.
I think that what Hagrid said, about keeping magic separate from the Muggles, keeping Muggles in ignorance of magic, is not correct (HP1). 'Blimey Harry they would want us to do all their stuff for them with magic!' - I paraphrased. But it isn't true. I think that Muggles would end up wanting to do everything the Muggle way because they could then control it. 'They' would be in charge, and not the wizards. And vice versa.
This 'law' was done in 1689. Muggles were not very advanced in technology; they barely had what we consider necessary modern conveniences. If wizardkind had allowed themselves to be known, then Muggles would have had a whole different way of looking at things, and perhaps have advanced in life style and 'conveniences' -- because they saw it was possible. They would have invented all sorts of wonderful things to emulate broomsticks and owl post and all that!
An example of this kind, of different peoples living in the same world, is the Muggle story of the Lord of the Ring. You have Hobbits and Dwarves and Elves and Men and all kirds of different 'peoples' and generally they just form communities amongst themselves. There are some places where the different people interact - like Bree - but usually everyone just sort of stays in their own communities.
- Prof. Tarma Amelia Black, pr_tar, Hufflepuff
I absolutely agree with the original intent of the International Statute of Secrecy. We have to remember that this decree was written at a time where Muggles were rather narrow-minded and prejudiced (though some might argue that they still are). At the time it was still common practice to burn suspected witches at the stake, even when Muggles had no real evidence of witchcraft. As such, it would have been absolutely ridiculous to openly co-habitate with these individuals when they would threaten the Wizarding world’s very existence, and prosecute them accordingly. As such, I think it was a wise decision to create wizarding communities all around small the UK and Ireland (and around the world for that matter); small pockets where Wizards could somewhat openly be who they are, and not be afraid that their neighbours would burn them at the stake. Of course, this created challenges when large numbers of wizards congregate in one area (like during the Quidditch World Cup, or at the King’s Cross Station on September 1st), but Wizards have found ways to circumvent these challenges.
That being said, I think that this continued isolation from the Muggle world has also created huge prejudices against Muggles and especially against Muggle-borns, and continues to create a divide within the wizarding population. In order to create and maintain a more unified, I think it would be important to reconsider the Statute of Secrecy. The world is not the same place it was nearly 350 years ago, and as such I like to think that the Muggles are accepting enough to not threaten the wizarding ways were they to know about our existence.
- Rosanna Gullveig, ro837, Ravenclaw
I really think the decision to hide from the muggles with the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy was the right decision for the times considering what was happening. Back then, witches and wizards were being persecuted and killed. Even some innocent muggles were accused of witchcraft and put to death. So I believe it was absolutely the right thing to do at the time in order to save our kind from becoming extinct and saving the muggles too because over time there would be less and less witch trials. But even though are still some bad muggles and also bad witches and wizards out there today, times have changed. Most muggles would no longer persecute witches and wizards and kill them like before. There might still be some witches and wizards who believe in blood purity and may harm muggles. So something has to be done to prevent them from doing anything. We also wouldn't want to scare muggles by showing our magical selves to them all at once. So I think we should take it very slow and maybe over time, the statute of secrecy can start to disappear.
- Skylar Peyton, Hufflepuff
Map Activity