Godric Gryffindor

"*We'll teach all those with brave deeds to their name.*"
—Gryffindor's preference of students[src]

**Godric Gryffindor** was a wizard and one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was great friends with Salazar Slytherin but opposed him when he later thought that they should not accept Muggle-born students at Hogwarts. It is unknown when he died. Gryffindor's birthplace became known as Godric's Hollow, in his honour. Godric Gryffindor's portrait still remains at Hogwarts.

## Biography

### Early life

"*Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor...*"
—The Sorting Hat singing about the founders' birthplaces[src]

Gryffindor hailed from a moor which is now known as Godric's Hollow, a small West Country village in England. He was described as being "the best duellist of his time".

### Founder of Hogwarts

Said to be one of "the four most brilliant witches and wizards of the time", Godric Gryffindor founded Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in his adulthood, with friends Salazar Slytherin, Helga Hufflepuff, and Rowena Ravenclaw, though he later severed ties with Slytherin. He even appears to have carefully selected members of his own House.

#### Preferences for students

"*By Gryffindor, the bravest were prized far beyond the rest.*"
—Sorting Hat regarding Gryffindor[src]

Gryffindor is said to have praised courage, determination and strength of heart above all other qualities. Indeed, he selected students for his house based upon their daring and bravery, according to the Sorting Hat. He also was the most in favour of allowing Muggle-borns into the school.

The founders, however, were unsure of how they would Sort the students when they were dead. To solve this, Gryffindor took off his hat and all four of them enchanted it so that it could sort the students long after their deaths. It was, from then on, known as the Sorting Hat.

Gryffindor was initially a close friend of Salazar Slytherin, but over time their friendship deteriorated. After a number of years of working peacefully together, Slytherin eventually grew apart from his fellow founders due to his distrust of Muggle-borns, and his belief that they should not be accepted into Hogwarts. When Slytherin failed to convince Gryffindor and the others to accept his ideas, he chose to leave the school. Unbeknownst to Gryffindor, his former friend built a hidden chamber within the castle, in which he hid a basilisk that his heir would later use to try and purge the school of Muggle-borns.

It is unknown how or when Gryffindor died, though he left an enduring legacy.

### Post-mortem

A portrait of Gryffindor hung at Hogwarts Castle guarded a secret short cut between the seventh-floor landing of the Grand Staircase and the Entrance Hall side room. The password required to gain access to said shortcut was *Starshine*.

Gryffindor left two known relics: a goblin-made sword, adorned with rubies, and the Sorting Hat. The two items share a particular bond; whenever a "true Gryffindor" needs it, the Sword will let itself be pulled out of the hat. Godric's sword was capable of acquiring powers from those it had slain and thus was imbued with venom from Harry Potter's defeat of the Basilisk, making it suitable as a tool for destroying Voldemort's Horcruxes. Albus Dumbledore used it to destroy Marvolo Gaunt's Ring, Ron Weasley used it to eliminate Salazar Slytherin's Locket, and Neville Longbottom used it to kill Nagini, the final Horcrux.

## Physical appearance

Godric Gryffindor's portrait depicts him as a tall, muscular man with a lion-like mane of wavy red hair and a beard to match. He had green eyes, peach-coloured skin and is often shown with his famous sword, with which he had great skill in wielding.

He has also been shown as wearing segmented red sword gauntlets adorned with gold fittings that are often depicted as being rather worn and burned-looking. He is also shown as wearing magnificent red robes with gold highlights and rather intricate designs on the sleeves. He is also frequently depicted with a rather powerful and stern gaze.

## Personality and traits

Godric Gryffindor valued courage, determination, chivalry, and strength of heart, and was described as one of the four most brilliant witches and wizards of his time. He was also tolerant and accepting of Muggle-borns, a point which brought about the end of his friendship with Salazar Slytherin. He was very forward thinking due to his creating the Sorting Hat to preserve the selection of the students after his time. This showcases his cleverness and creativity.

He also had a versatile mindset as he chose to wield a sword as well as a wand, making him a rather dynamic man who deferred to the duelling style of his opponent, muggle and wizard alike. Going along with this, it shows that he was respectful and fair, choosing to wield a sword instead of magic against muggle combatants out of a sense of fair play as magic would be a most decidedly unbalanced weapon in a duel against a simple sword. In addition to showing his sense of fairness, his deference to the duelling style of opponent also shows a need to challenge himself, proving his worth and courage, which became one of the signature traits of his House at Hogwarts.

His threat to unsheathe and use his famous blade against Ragnuk the First and his followers shows that despite his noble heart and good intentions, that Godric was very much capable of taking the lives of sapient beings such as Goblins. This would not have been an uncommon trait for a man of his era or personality due to the constant violence that pervaded medieval Europe and the acceptability of duelling to the death among both wizard and muggles alike.

## Magical abilities and skills

* **Duelling:** Godric Gryffindor was said to be the greatest duellist of his time, and was also highly skilled in Muggle duelling, using his sword in combat. His skill as a swordsman was such that he preferred to duel muggles with his sword instead of his magic, despite magic being the more decisive and powerful weapon.
* **Transfiguration:** With the help of the other founders, Godric transfigured the Sorting Hat into a sentient artefact to sort students after his lifetime.

## Etymology

* The name Godric is an Anglo-Saxon name in form, and can have several meanings, including, "he who rules with God" or "he who rules well".
* His surname is a reference to the half-lion magical beast, the Griffin, a fierce, legendary beast with the body of a lion, and the head and wings of an eagle. The Hogwarts house named after him uses a lion as its symbol. Furthermore, the last part of his surname, "dor", is similar to both the French *d'or*, "made from gold", "golden", which is one of the colours of his Hogwarts House, or the suffix *dore*, which means "gift of," in which case the meaning of "Gryffindor" would be "gift of the Gryffin."
* Gryffindor is also a pun on the golden griffin, which is a lion that only has eagle wings, so it has the head and front paws of a lion, and has golden fur and feathers. Even the French for Griffindor, Griffondor is a French homophone for the actual beast, Griffon d'Or.

## See also

* Rowena Ravenclaw
* Helga Hufflepuff
* Salazar Slytherin
* Hogwarts founders
* Sorting Hat
* Godric Gryffindor's Sword
* Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

## Notes and references

1. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Chapter 9 (*The Writing on the Wall*) - "You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago - the precise date is uncertain - by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age." Binns says this late in the year 1992.
2. ↑ Given Slytherin's hatred of Muggleborns, it's unlikely he'd work with one.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Chapter 9 (*The Writing on the Wall*)
4. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*
5. ↑ Wizard of the Month, July 2007, on J.K. Rowling's official website
6. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)* - PC version
7. ↑ Pottermore - Writing by J.K. Rowling: "The Sword of Gryffindor"

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