Hey fellow Claws and Claw supporters, happy Ravenclaw Pride Day! Here’s to Hogwarts’s bluest, wittiest, and most creative House, founded by Rowena Ravenclaw of Glen (a.k.a. Scotland). To celebrate this special day dedicated to the intelligent Claws among us at Bookstr (myself included), here are the five most interesting facts about the House, its history, and more, that you may not have already known. What’s more knowledge, am I right, Claws?
1. Ravenclaw’s Mascot Is… Wait For It… An Eagle
Image via Pinterest
Yep, that’s right. Despite what the House’s name suggests, the House’s mascot takes after an eagle and not a raven, because for Rowena’s family, the eagle held prestigious value, as well as other reasons specifically for the Ravenclaws’ lineage and history. Above all, while ravens have proven to be the ideal candidate to be the House’s mascot in terms of intelligence, the eagle represents the ability to soar to new heights, higher than anyone can climb, symbolizing how knowledge can take one to places far and wide than otherwise (in other words, broad vision).
And though the surname Ravenclaw was not inspired by the eagle, the name had been theorized to have some connection to the eagle’s raven-clawed talons. If you want to find out more about the eagle’s significance, as well as Rowena Ravenclaw’s family, click on the below video!
2. Ravenclaw’s Colors Are Blue And Bronze, Not Blue And Silver/Gold
Image via Pinterest
Yeah, I know: Ravenclaw needs better representation. Regardless of what you may have seen in the movies and in the merchandise, the true colors of Ravenclaw House are blue and bronze, taken from the color of the sky and the color of the eagle’s feathers.
(Though for me personally, I would have preferred either non-bronze pairing alternative: blue and silver create a pleasing aesthetic I can get behind; and blue and gold were actually my high school’s spirit colors!)
3. Ravenclaw Is Associated With The Element of Air
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If at this point you’ve already clicked on the video link that I put at the end of the first fact, you may recall J saying that Ravenclaw is associated with the air element. Well, here we are! J.K. Rowling specifically intended to have all four of the Hogwarts Houses be associated with the four elements of nature: air, fire, water, and earth.
This fact is of course no surprise, since the previous points have already touched base with Ravenclaw House’s tendency to elevate its Sorted students to great heights through the pursuit of knowledge! Not only that, but the sky fits well with the House’s dominant blue hue, and of course connects to the spirit and mind of one’s being. And let’s not forget to take as compliments of being “eagle-eyed” or having your “head in the clouds”!
4. Both McGonagall And Hermione Were Almost Ravenclaws
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If you really think about it, this would make sense. I mean, why weren’t Professor McGonagall or Hermione Sorted into the Ravenclaw House? Why were they put in Gryffindor? (Yes, in the grand scheme of things, we wouldn’t have it any other way, but at the time, surely this had to have given you pause… And also, how fitting is this picture of McGonagall setting the Sorting Hat on Hermione’s head, and both have exactly the same results, before and after?)
As I stated so in my tribute article to Professor McGonagall on her – and my – birthday, her sorting took over five whole minutes (hence a “Hat-Stall), as it was pondering very intently on whether to place her in Ravenclaw or Gryffindor but at long last chose the latter. Flash-forward to Harry Potter’s year, Hermione’s Sorting almost created a full-on “Hat-Stall” as it took only four minutes, not five, and placed her into Gryffindor (her preferred House over Ravenclaw) alongside her friends, as well as the professor and Gryff House Head.
5. Ravenclaw was not always called “Ravenclaw”
Image via QuotesGram
And finally, last but certainly not least, here is the most bizarre fact of all about Ravenclaw: despite the House’s name being from the founder’s surname, it has been changed to other, weirder titles in other countries’ copies of the books.
The name has been changed to “Ochi-de-soim” meaning “hawk’s eye” in Romania (a name that does correlate to the gemstone named “hawk’s eye” which symbolizes clear-sightedness), “Corvinal” meaning “raven” in Brazil, and “serres d’aigle” meaning “eagle’s claw” in France… and those are just the tamest translations. The wildest one is Italy’s translation of the name: the initial word for Ravenclaw was “Pecoranera” which translates as “black sheep” until later being replaced by “Corvonero” which translates to “black raven” or “black crow.”
Well anyway, those were five main things about Ravenclaw House that I found to be the most interesting. So, go ahead and decorate your walls a lovely shade of blue… and bronze, or maybe even silver and gold, and celebrate all things Ravenclaw! And remember: anytime is a great time for reading and gaining knowledge about something. (That’s what we’re all here for…)
To cap off this article, here’s a fun little clip that probably every Ravenclaw can relate to…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjF41IM_G0Q
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