Hogwarts: A History...

[averygoodun42]

What do you think "Hogwarts: A History" contains? Obviously it tells of the spell work used for the Great Hall and the protections it offers, but what else might be in there? Backstories of the founders? Legends? Ancient gossip? How do you think it was edited? Was it written by one person long ago and then revised to add in new information, or is it a collection of essays, each submitted by different authors? Is it an encyclopedia or treatise?

What about it holds such appeal for Hermione?

Comments

[benevolntgoddes.livejournal.com]

I think it would have the "press release" information on the founders that would have been edited Wiki style by later people. There's likely a map or five, grant deeds on the property and notes on prominant students. I tend to think that it's a magical book edited by headmasters, deputies and "appointed people" that makes room in itself for new pages. Every few years, the edits are sent along to the publisher for new editions. Might be fun to write one, actually.

[alienor77310.livejournal.com]

In my mind's eye, it's close to a series of books from French publisher Larousse, with magic added. I'll have to scan and explain a few pages. Mostly, the books go decade by decade, year by year or month by month, if the events warrant it, with articles anywhere from 100 to 2000 words and images explaining what happened in that period, portraits of important characters, etc. There's a little gossip interspersed in the history through excerpts of contemporary letters and such.

Considering how slow the Wizarding World moves, I'd say there's a new edition once or twice a century.

For Hermione, it would be a multifaceted access to wizarding society through the last millenium.

[mundungus42.livejournal.com]

In my mind, "Hogwarts: A History" is sort of like "The Joy of Cooking." It's basically a history of the school, but there's just so much information that it can't all fit into a a single book. Thus, new editions come out every ten years or so, and each edition contains the bare bones plus perennial favorites and information dependent editors' whims and the popular trends of the day. A wartime edition would feature special features on Defence classes and duelling clubs, that sort of thing.

So yes, I think there would have to be multiple authors and editors for each edition, far more like a scholarly textbook or encyclopedia than a treatise or collection of essays. I think Hermione would be so fascinated by it because you can find all sorts of tidbits in each edition that don't exist in other editions. And because so much of the content is dependent on social climates, it's not just a history of Hogwarts, it's a history of the entire wizarding world.

It's quite coincidental that you asked this today when only yesterday I was wrestling with the same questions! :D

[junewilliams7.livejournal.com]

While Binns' "History of Magic" offers lots of dry textbook material about goblin wars and famous wizards and witches, "Hogwarts: A History" likely contains info on students and faculty -- folks like Hermione and her friends -- and the background of the school where almost every British witch and wizard spends six-seven years. HOGWARTS is the place where Tom Riddle met his first allies, where young Muggleborns first fight for acceptance, where lifetime rivalries start as school rivalries. It is the school of evil and great wizards and witches, where their lives can go right or wrong and reputations are made, and is thus possibly more influential than their parents during these crucial years.

[pigwidgeon37.livejournal.com]

That's a very, very inspiring question!
I think it might contain:
A brief chapter about education before Hogwarts
Biographies of the founders
Veeery long - and possibly boring - part about the actual founding of the shool
Information about the history of the board of governors
History of Hogwarts' legal status (before and after the MoM was created)
Something about famous alumni
Architectural history - surely there were additions etc. over time
Something about the Sorting Hat

Ithink Hermione is so fascinated by it, because for her, as for all Muggleborn students, Hogwarts is the place where they really begin to understand the wizarding world.

[zalena.livejournal.com]

She totally reads it to get the dirt on her teachers. I also bet she knows more about Harry's parents than Harry does.