Historical Salazar Slytherin

Slytherin was the toughest yet in my historical founders series! Slytherin is an early medieval Englishman, from East Anglia and the 10th and 9th centuries specifically. He is always shown as older than the other founders. Slytherin was easy to interpret as an aristocrat given his value on ancestry, ambition, cunning and resourcefulness. His mistrust for Muggles was probably influenced by the legislation against witchcraft that was passed by the Anglo-Saxon kings as England was consolidated.

Anglo-Saxon men actually wore tunics much shorter than Slytherin's, but as his statue in the Chamber of Secrets has floor-length robes, I did my best to stick with canon. The solution is that, like the contemporary Ottonian emperors, Slytherin emulated the longer tunic style of the Byzantine upper class. The Byzantines were seen by some as the heirs of the Roman Empire and the height of medieval civilisation. Similarly, the length of Slytherin's beard is also a symbol of his status; for English (and Germanic in general) men, the length of beard and hair was very important in determining social rank in the early Middle Ages.

Slytherin is showing off Europe's finest needlework, that of Anglo-Saxon seamstresses, in his cloak and tunic. So much gold was embroidered into the clothing of wealthy nobles that their garments were often later burned for the hundreds of pounds worth of gold within them. There are few surviving examples of medieval English embroidery, so the designs here are also inspired by medieval  English metalwork, leatherwork, and illuminated manuscripts. His sleeves and hose are wrinkled in the English style, and his cruciform brooch is of an early medieval East Anglian design. Black clothes were uncommon but were notably popular among the Danes, who controlled Slytherin's native East Anglia during much of his lifetime. The dye was achieved by adding iron to other dyes. Dark green was a mixture of weld (yellow) and woad (blue).

The main issue was his locket. The design in the books and movies is quite Victorian. It's such an important artefact that I couldn't do away with it, though. The locket pictured is a medieval locket (although the design may postdate Slytherin by a few hundred years). They were not worn around the neck but were used for storing saints' relics, medicine, talismans or poison. Perhaps through the centuries as the locket was damaged and fashions changed, it was restored via labour and magic by his descendants to fit in with contemporary designs. (You can see the Victorians "improving" it like that...)

He's carrying a batch of scrolls because there are young witches and wizards to be educated! If you would like to read more (and there is a lot more), go here: sta.sh/0atolrlj8ih The photo isn't as high quality as I'd like along the bottom, but the picture was also drawn in much smaller scale than the fullview.

How many snakes can you find in the picture?

Other Historical Founders
Rowena Ravenclaw
Godric Gryffindor
Helga Hufflepuff