Salazar Slytherin - a Moor?
Okay, I've been wondering about this for a while now.
I have always loved fairy tales. And when Lady Diana became Princess Diana, I was hooked. That was it. I started looking for the HISTORY behind the fairy tales. If real-life princesses actually existed, then where were the castles and the crown jewels, yadda yadda.
So for the last decade or two I've been trolling for history and I can't help but have it in the back of my mind when I watch a Disney version of a fairy tale (seriously, where the hell DID Elsa ("Frozen") live anyway? Sweden, Norway, Finland?) or I see movies like...the Harry Potter series.
The more I read about the Moors in Europe, the more I think Salazar Slytherin was either one of them or educated within the Moorish empire. That could mean Spain (which the Moors invaded in 711 AD), or North Africa or the Middle East). Why do I think this? Well from the first time I heard his name in relation to the founders I thought "Wait a minute, that doesn't exactly sound Anglo-Saxon or Frankish or Irish etc." To me it sounded Mediterranean, possibly Spanish or Italian. Yes it could be something else, but that's just how his name struck me. Then I read that the Moors had great universities and had studied optics. Salazar was exceedingly intelligent (I think he was the strongest of the founders but that's my bias *grin*). Salazar allegedly could also control the Basilisk using a special pair of glasses.
The enmity between Salazar and the other founders (if it actually was enmity) could be explained by the politics of the day. The Moors worshipped Allah. The Europeans worshipped Christ. Spain was under the control of the Moors. The survivors of the Visigoth kingdoms that got overthrown were always fighting to get control of Spain back.
Oh and the Moors were also in Sicily so that could explain any Italian ancestry.
Here's another thought: the Moors were in contact with Europe, Africa, India and possibly China. If Salazar could practice magic from other non-European traditions it's possible the other founders misunderstood it, were frightened by it and labelled it Dark Magic.
Oh well, just some thoughts...
I have always loved fairy tales. And when Lady Diana became Princess Diana, I was hooked. That was it. I started looking for the HISTORY behind the fairy tales. If real-life princesses actually existed, then where were the castles and the crown jewels, yadda yadda.
So for the last decade or two I've been trolling for history and I can't help but have it in the back of my mind when I watch a Disney version of a fairy tale (seriously, where the hell DID Elsa ("Frozen") live anyway? Sweden, Norway, Finland?) or I see movies like...the Harry Potter series.
The more I read about the Moors in Europe, the more I think Salazar Slytherin was either one of them or educated within the Moorish empire. That could mean Spain (which the Moors invaded in 711 AD), or North Africa or the Middle East). Why do I think this? Well from the first time I heard his name in relation to the founders I thought "Wait a minute, that doesn't exactly sound Anglo-Saxon or Frankish or Irish etc." To me it sounded Mediterranean, possibly Spanish or Italian. Yes it could be something else, but that's just how his name struck me. Then I read that the Moors had great universities and had studied optics. Salazar was exceedingly intelligent (I think he was the strongest of the founders but that's my bias *grin*). Salazar allegedly could also control the Basilisk using a special pair of glasses.
The enmity between Salazar and the other founders (if it actually was enmity) could be explained by the politics of the day. The Moors worshipped Allah. The Europeans worshipped Christ. Spain was under the control of the Moors. The survivors of the Visigoth kingdoms that got overthrown were always fighting to get control of Spain back.
Oh and the Moors were also in Sicily so that could explain any Italian ancestry.
Here's another thought: the Moors were in contact with Europe, Africa, India and possibly China. If Salazar could practice magic from other non-European traditions it's possible the other founders misunderstood it, were frightened by it and labelled it Dark Magic.
Oh well, just some thoughts...