Help/About

The Essays

"I hope it's not too long--it's two rolls of parchment more than Professor Binns asked for."
     -- Hermione Granger (PA1)

Some of the most popular features of the Lexicon are the essays. They come in all genres, from comedy to literary analysis. They are not really canon, and there was a time when I seriously doubted that it would be a good idea to include them. That was back in the days right after book four came out and we were desperately trying to assimilate a lot of new information into our understanding of the Wizarding World. Then three things happened to make up my mind. First, Alan Jacobs wrote a marvelous essay about the magic in the Harry Potter books. It was published in 2000 in First Things magazine. A few months later, I received his permission to republish it in the Lexicon. Second, I was involved in a lively discussion on Harry Potter for Grown Ups about how many students there were at Hogwarts, (a discussion which is still going on, off and on, even today). Out of that discussion came an essay by me which pulled together all the facts I could find on the subject. Third, Neil Ward wrote an intriguing post on Harry Potter for Grown Ups about the size of Hogwarts Castle. This short essay was speculation, certainly, but it seemed to fit the facts as they were given in the books and it was a wonderfully imaginative look at Rowling's world. So I begged Neil for permission to reprint his essay in the Lexicon. He agreed. These three essays became the first of many to appear in the Lexicon over the years.

Which essay has been the most popular? Morag Traynor's essay about socks has probably generated the most email and has been linked to the most often. Which has gotten the most people upset? I would have to say that Penny's shipping essay certainly kicked up a small storm, but hers isn't the only one to do so. Some people didn't care much for the essay about Ginny, especially once book five came out and we all learned so much more about her. And I've probably gotten more arguments about my essays about the timeline than any other essays anywhere on the Lexicon, as you can tell by the fact that I wrote several essays defending the position of the Lexicon.

Each essay is speculation, of course. Each one is someone's opinion, someone's guess, someone's attempt to put together the details from all the books and answer the questions we have. And all of them are great fun to read. Many of you have asked (some repeatedly) that I create an index of the essays so that you can read them more easily. I suspect that some of you just want to make sure you haven't missed one, tucked away in some dark corner of the Lexicon. So I spent a few hours going through all my files and indexing all the essays. I think I found them all, but there might still be one that escaped my search. I'll update this list if I find any like that.

At any rate, have fun reading.

Steve Vander Ark

The Lexicon Essays

2000
The Limits of Magic by Caius Marcius (12/14/2000)
Harry Potter's Magic by Alan Jacobs (12/14/2000)

2001
How Many Students are there at Hogwarts? by Steve Vander Ark (2/7/2001)
How Big is Hogwarts? by Neil Ward (2/17/2001)
Where Does the Name "Knight Bus" Come From? by Morag Traynor (2/22/2001)
Thoughts About Wands by Amy Z. (3/3/2001)
Is Godric's Hollow in Wales? by Steve Vander Ark (3/18/2001)
The Number Twelve by Doreen Rich (4/13/2001, but updated periodically)
Why Change The Triwizard Cup into a Portkey? by Trina Gabbert (4/22/2001)
Everything you Always Wanted to Know About Socks by Morag Traynor (5/1/2001)
Muggle vs. Wizarding Technology by Joywitch Curmudgeon (6/11/2001)
Who Sent the Valentine? by David Frankis (6/21/2001)