Harry Potter’s Magical Beasts: From Legendary Archetypes to Expressions of British Culture in Children Imagination

When first published in 1997, probably very few people would have imagined that Harry Potter was about to become such a huge success and a classic for children. J.K. Rowling, its author, thus, had been able to create a whole new universe populated by wizards and witches as well as strange magical creatures and fantastic beasts. In drawing inspiration for Harry Potter’s world, J.K. Rowling mixed the British cultural elements, such as Gothic castles and buildings, Trolls and Unicorns with elements stemming from her classical studies and using Greek mythology as well as popular medieval or ancient stories and legends. On the other hand, whether consciously or unconsciously, she made references to other cultures, mainly within the British population, such as Hindu and Caribbean legends and myths. The aim of this paper is to throw some light on the origins of the magical beasts in Harry Potter, especially in the first books, and to try to understand whether they can be representative for British children of their own culture. In other words, it will be investigated whether, despite their foreign origins and inspiration, the representation of fantastic beasts in Harry Potter books retain some aspects of what can be called Britishness which make those mythical animals and their inherent meanings familiar to a British reader.