Skip to main content

harry potter - Who was the rightful owner of the Sword of Gryffindor?



Who was the rightful owner of the Sword of Gryffindor?



‘So where is it?’ Harry asked suspiciously.

‘Unfortunately,’ said Scrimgeour, ‘that sword was not Dumbledore’s to give away. The sword of Godric Gryffindor is an important historical artefact, and as such, belongs –’

‘It belongs to Harry!’ said Hermione hotly. ‘It chose him, he was the one who found it, it came to him out of the Sorting Hat –’

‘According to reliable historical sources, the sword may present itself to any worthy Gryffindor,’ said Scrimgeour. ‘That does not make it the exclusive property of Mr Potter.’

Deathly Hallows - page 109 - Bloomsbury - chapter seven - The Will of Albus Dumbledore



Scrimgeour doesn't go on to say the Sword of Gryffindor belongs to the Ministry, although he does say it does not belong to Harry. Even so, I'm sceptical enough of the Ministry's motives to conclude that a case could probably be made for Harry being the sword's rightful owner. But was he?


Is there a canon answer to this question? If not a direct answer from the books, a speculative answer in the spirit of canon is welcome.


Who was the rightful owner of the Sword of Gryffindor?



Answer



Western Law and the Right of Property


Without a copy of the wizard world's equivalent of the "Commentaries on the Laws of England", it's impossible to determine who the true owner of the sword would be. If, however we assume that the laws are broadly equivalent to English Common Law then the answer is actually pretty straightforward:



Blackstone's commentary states that...



"...things personal...are goods, money, and all other movables which may attend the owner's person wherever he thinks proper to go".



Since Godric Gryffindor was instrumental in creating the Sorting Hat for the exclusive use of Hogwarts and since he subsequently enchanted the Sword to appear within the hat in times of need, it follows that the sword can be treated as a bequest of assets to the School.


As Headmaster, it's highly unlikely that Dumbledore has the authority to dispose of a valuable asset belonging to the School without the express permission of the School's Board of Governors. This means that the most likely answer is that the sword is (and remains) the property of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in perpetuum until such time as it is disposed of in a lawful manner.



With regard to Scrimgeour's decision to take the sword into custody, it's highly likely that the Ministry of Magic has sufficient legal authority to justify (temporarily) confiscating it in a time of national crisis. This wouldn't affect who the ultimate owner was and they could expect to have it returned once the crisis was at an end.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Was Barty Crouch Jr. an Occlumens?

An Occlumens is a practitioner of Occlumency , while Occlumency means closing the mind. Despite being in the same school with two great Legilimens (Dumbledore and Snape), he was only discovered to be an impostor after the last round of the Triwizard Tournament in Goblet of Fire : “Moody,” Harry said. He was still in a state of complete disbelief. “How can it have been Moody?” “This is not Alastor Moody,” said Dumbledore quietly. “You have never known Alastor Moody. The real Moody would not have removed you from my sight after what happened tonight. The moment he took you, I knew — and I followed.” Does this mean that Barty Crouch Jr. is an Occlumens? Because if not, then Snape or Dumbledore would have found it out earlier, right? Answer It is not stated anywhere in the books that Legilimency was applied to fake Moody/Crouch jr. The conclusion Dumbledore made (quoted in the question) is based on pure logic, not Legilimency or any other magical means. So unless any other canon inform
Post a Comment
Read more

game of thrones - Who were the Kingsguard escorting Cersei?

Now to the question... During the scene where Cersei sits on the Iron Throne and is "sworn in" we see her escorted by seven members of the Kingsguard. Now this is what I would expect as that is the correct number. However, I have no idea who they are ! [embedded content] The books pay more attention to detail in this area, but the show is also diverging and outpacing in this regard. We can see that a few of the names are not possible on the show. I have listed the names from the books and given why the reason they could not be members on the show in bold. Ser Jaime Lannister, Lord Commander - Stripped of title Ser Loras Tyrell - Dead and also was never a KG on the show. Ser Osmund Kettleblack - Possible, but not mentioned by name Ser Balon Swann - Possible, but not mentioned by name Ser Meryn Trant - Dead Ser Boros Blount - Possible, but not mentioned by name Ser Robert Strong (aka Zombie Mountain) - Confirmed I know it can be confusing mixing the books and shows, but the qu
Post a Comment
Read more

character motivation - Why do Hastur & Cthulhu hate each other?

Everything's in the title. Hastur & Cthulhu are both Great Old Ones, yet the former lives on Aldebaran whereas the latter lives in R'lyeh. And both of them hate the other, taking it to the point where Hastur even helps humans who do not worship him if it could bother Cthulhu. My question is : What happened between Hastur & Cthulhu that made them "fight" ? In some stories, they are depicted as half-brothers or at least relatives. Is it written in any story involving one or both of them ? If so, is it possible to get the name of this story ? Answer No relationship between Cthulhu and Hastur was mentioned in any of Lovecraft's original stories (I think Lovecraft only once mentioned Hastur in a list of names of powerful entities in The Whisperer in Darkness, see the quote here ), this rivalry was created by August Derleth in his own "Cthulhu Mythos" stories written after Lovecraft's death. This entry at a Mythos wiki says: Although Cthulhu is
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - What real-world substance most closely corresponds to mithril?

While reading descriptions of mithril in The Lord of the Rings, it struck me that its properties might well correspond to a real material, possibly as an alloy with other metals. Is there such a real-world substance? Answer The problem with Mithril as chain mail is not ductility. Even if each link perfectly holds its shape, when a cave troll puts his bulk behind a spear, you have a spearhead-shaped piece of Mithril piercing your chest cavity nearly as deeply as the spearhead would have. Effectively, you have reduced the sharpness of the edge, but the pounds per square inch have not been reduced sufficiently to withstand the mass of a pissed-off cave troll and convert a potential puncture into a mere bruise. Frodo should at least have had broken ribs and crushed organs; squished like a bug. More likely, he'd have had a deep wound with Mithril chain mail stuffed into it. The problem is the weave. Nothing is both flexible enough to behave as seen in the movie when held up and exami
Post a Comment
Read more