Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is both the oldest and most accomplished wizarding school ever established. Built around 990 A.D., it set a precedent that then the rest of the world would soon follow. Other prominent European schools such as Beauxbaton’s Academy of Magic and Durmstrang Institute were not established until after Hogwarts’ initial success.

Godric Gryffindor

Along with Hogwarts’ three other founders, Godric Gryffindor is considered to be one of the most talented wizards of all time, known especially for his duelling prowess. Of all the founders, Godric was closest to Salazar Slytherin. However, by the time that Salazar had fully formulated his intention to ban Muggle-born wizards to Hogwarts, their friendship had been severed. Born in a moor village (now known as Godric’s Hollow) to Muggle parents, Godric’s sensitivity towards Muggle-borns were certainly understandable, and, even though he had never told Salazar of his heritage, their break over this issue was inevitable.

Godric was known for his admirable bravery and loyalty. Those who duelled him found him to be a fearless, if slightly reckless, opponent. In early years, he often duelled to defend Salazar when he found a witch or wizard foolish enough to slander his friend. When Godric with the remaining two founders ejected Salazar from any further association with Hogwarts, Godric was devastated. During the rest of his years serving at Hogwarts, he held particular favour for students who would stand up to their friends, combining his two favourite qualities of bravery and loyalty with a bit of his own personal experience.

Rowena Ravenclaw

  Rowena was born in Scotland in 976 A.D. From her youth, she possessed an innate proclivity for knowledge. She was skilled in all areas of scholastic magic and dabbled in other areas such as magical architecture. As a young witch, Rowena studied wandlore extensively before designing and creating her own wand.

  Throughout her youth and early adulthood, Rowena dedicated herself to learning as much about everything as she could. Her home, the ruins of which are now a popular Scottish tour site, was covered wall to ceiling in books spanning every subject imaginable. Those who came into contact with her, Muggle, witch, and wizard alike, often shied away from both her undeniable beauty and daunting vocabulary. As such, Rowena formed very few relationships in her lifetime. At age twenty, nevertheless, Rowena met Jares Ravenclaw, a magical philosopher ten years her senior. While Rowena did her best to discourage him, love-struck Jares was persistent and eventually won her over.

  Helga Hufflepuff, Jares’ cousin, met Rowena shortly thereafter, and the two formed a close friendship that led to Rowena’s introduction into the project that became Hogwarts. As a founder, Rowena threw her entire self into the school, designing several key portions of the castle, most notably the innovative enchanted staircases that contain magic that still baffles witches and wizards today. The witch also taught the most varied subjects of the founders to her young students, encompassing everything from Transfiguration to Herbology (although she steadfastly refused to teach Divination).

  Rowena was widowed when a wizard’s misfired spell killed her husband. Rowena then moved into the castle with her young daughter Helena and threw herself even further into her work. As Helena grew older, she resented her mother and eventually fled the castle, taking with her the fabled diadem of wisdom. Although Godric and Helga both knew the truth, Rowena denied that her daughter had run away. Often, Rowena left the castle to search for her daughter, always under the guise of doing something else. Her friends and co-founders allowed Rowena her pride and soon hired another two full-time professors to cover Rowena’s frequent absences.

  After years of searching to no avail, Rowena’s health declined rapidly until she was bedridden. Desperate, Rowena instructed Baron Rasmus, a man who had long loved her daughter, to find Helena. The Baron soon located his love, who in turn rejected him. In anger, he killed her and, full of remorse, then killed himself. Almost luckily, Rowena died of her illness and a broken heart before she could hear the news.

Upon her death, Rowena’s extensive library was donated to Hogwarts and even still comprises over half of the school’s total book count.

Helga Hufflepuff

  Helga Hufflepuff, while also one of the most talented witches of her time, used her magic in mostly maternal ways. Considered by many to have cared more about the mental well-being of her students than any of the other founders, Helga was known to take many students under her wing every year. Because of this, Helga was very seldom alone.

  Born in Wales to low-class, magical parents, her parents were unable to have any children after Helga was born, but they adopted a Muggle boy and girl as well as a young wizard. This diversity and wide collection of different ideas helped build Helga into the legendarily tolerant witch that she became.

  Helga was the only one of the founders who was significantly immersed in Muggle culture, as Godric’s magical abilities were discovered early on, and he then spent most of his time learning from the wizard who ‘discovered’ him. Helga attended school for young Muggles with her adopted siblings until the age of thirteen. She and her wizard brother often received extremely low marks in school because they spent most of their time outside of school practicing magic. As Helga’s magical talents became more apparent, her parents scrimped and saved to pay for her to study with some of the most clever witches and wizards of the time. She worked her hardest to learn everything that they knew and eventually surpassed them all.

  She met Godric and Salazar when they were travelling together in search of adventure. Being several years older than the wizards, she provided a maternal, caring figure that both the young men craved. She kept in close contact with the two wizards as they grew older, and through her experiences watching them grow had the idea to create a wizarding school. With her discovery of Godric and Salazar and inclusion of Rowena, her project had all the components it needed to begin.

Salazar Slytherin

  Salazar Slytherin had many unusual magical talents. As a young boy, his friendship with Godric began when Salazar challenged Godric to a duel, then used Legilimency to anticipate the other boy’s move and quickly disarm him. Too impressed to be offended, Godric offered friendship on the condition that Salazar never read his mind again. To even Salazar’s own surprise, it was a promise that he kept for the entire time that they were on good terms.

  Growing up, Salazar’s wealthy parents kept him segregated from Muggles, never quite explaining to Salazar why they did so. One day, a Muggle boy was bullying a Muggle girl whom Salazar found quite beautiful. Seeing a serpent nearby, Salazar used Parseltongue to set the snake on the boy. The frightened girl ran back to her village to fetch adults, who returned to find the boy dead from the snake’s venom. The girl implicated Salazar, and the boy’s father went in search of the young wizard. When found, Salazar was nearly murdered in a brutal beating administered by the boy’s father, but Salazar’s own parents discovered the scene and killed the man.

  This experience planted seeds of distrust and hatred in Salazar that later defined him. When he told Helga, Godric, and Rowena of his plan to bar Muggle-borns from Hogwarts, he was genuinely surprised at Godric’s and Rowena’s adamant refusals. Salazar had expected Helga to strongly disapprove, but hoped that with the support of the others he could convince her otherwise.

  As Salazar had kept his promise to stay out of Godric’s mind, he had no idea that his friend was Muggle-born. As for Rowena, she had never considered the idea that Muggle-borns were any different than pure-bloods, and when asked to consider the concept, she was able to quickly decide that she liked them both equally.

  Full of bitterness and still hoping to ‘cleanse’ the school, Salazar created the Chamber of Secrets and placed a basilisk within that mirrored the hate in his heart. Godric, sensing that Salazar was practicing a very Dark magic, attempted to use Legilimency against him. Betrayed, Salazar pushed Godric out of his mind and with that contact finally discovered Godric’s heritage. That push, along with the continued and ever-growing hostility of the other founders, convinced Salazar to leave Hogwarts, but not before preparing the Chamber.