Roman Culture in Harry Potter

Roman Culture in Harry Potter

When reading the Harry Potter books, I found lots of words that I knew were derived from or were Latin. The motto of their school, Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus, is translated into English as "Never tickle a sleeping dragon." Latin was just adopted into the wizard culture altogether in Harry Potter because even though people didn't speak it, that is what almost all of their spells were in, and in the movies sometimes their surroundings had words in Latin. In the context of this motto, the headmaster Albus Dumbledore would say something exactly like that. He is a person who says random things, but it also acknowledges the fact that in the world of Harry Potter, they live with dragons. It is funny to me because lots of people that read harry potter don't know Latin, and they never translate the motto for you in the book, so you have to either know Latin or look it up. You would usually expect a school's motto to be educational, so it was funny that the writer disguised it with Latin. 

Abby Jackson

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