"Morning, everyone," Gabrielle greeted, sliding up onto her desk to sit and deliver her lecture. "Another lecture today, I'm afraid. But," she quickly added, smiling at the class a little conspiratorially, "we get through this one and we'll celebrate next lesson." She'd elaborate further at the end of the lecture.
"So, let's talk about Stonehenge today. Surely you're somewhat aware of it - it's a ring of stones located in England, to put it bluntly. It's a source of great speculation, a monument that nobody is entirely sure of the origins of. After all, it's suggested the stones back date to somewhere between 2000 and 3000 BC. So, it's not as though we have very much in the way of records to go off of, unfortunately." There were some prevailing theories, and some mythologies surrounding it. "Now, the most common understanding of Stonehenge is that it is a burial ground of sorts. You will note that it is lined up to the sunrise on midsummer, as well, suggesting some ritualistic use of the monument." Gabrielle paused, realizing she was getting off track. "However, those are merely observations of what, but today we're discussing how, and some suggestions of who built Stonehenge and why."
She looked down at her notes, raising an eyebrow before looking back to the class. "One suggestion is that the stones are actually giants who danced in a circle, transfigured into stone. Or perhaps that these giants carried these stones from Africa to England. It is believed that these stones had healing powers of sorts." Even as a witch herself, Gabrielle was a little dubious on some of these theories, but that was the point, they were theories, and this was more of an exercise in considering all options available.
"Then of course, our good friend Merlin is theorized to have levitated the stones all the way from the Irish mountains to England, where they lie now. He arranged them as they are and that is how they have been left." Gabrielle gave a small smirk at that. "Just when you thought you'd get through a year of History of Magic without bringing it back to Merlin, there he is again. We can never escape." She was teasing, of course - Gabrielle had a respect for Merlin, though she did wish the coursework wasn't so heavily focused on him at times.
"One last suggestion is a belief the Devil himself put the stones where they are. The story goes that the stones were growing in the backyard of an old woman in Ireland, and the devil wanted them for himself. He disguised himself as an ordinary human and offered the woman a very large sack of gold in exchange for the stones. She agreed to sell them, thinking he would take years to move them and he'd made a bad deal. Of course, this is the devil we're talking about here - he spirited those stones right away to where they are now."
Gabrielle looked around, taking a drink of water while the students finished writing. "Or we could just say it was aliens." She added as a joke, hoping they didn't actually write that part down. "They're all interesting stories, of course, though their accuracy is debatable. And speaking of stories of dubious truth, I'd like to hear your theories on how you think Stonehenge came to be for homework." She gave a small laugh, slipping off the desk to stand up properly. "Or if you can't think of one, tell me which one of the ones I mentioned you like the sound of most. And as for next week...make sure you all come dressed in muggle clothes. I'll give you three guesses as to where we're going, and the first two don't count." It was pretty obvious, really, given today's lecture. "As ever, if you're struggling, or need anything, please feel free to come and see me. But that's all for today. Have a great week!"
Homework
RP the lesson. Extra credit for the homework in the lesson. A single paragraph is fine, creativity is always welcomed. Yes, you can say it was aliens, as long as you word it in a way that makes me laugh.
"So, let's talk about Stonehenge today. Surely you're somewhat aware of it - it's a ring of stones located in England, to put it bluntly. It's a source of great speculation, a monument that nobody is entirely sure of the origins of. After all, it's suggested the stones back date to somewhere between 2000 and 3000 BC. So, it's not as though we have very much in the way of records to go off of, unfortunately." There were some prevailing theories, and some mythologies surrounding it. "Now, the most common understanding of Stonehenge is that it is a burial ground of sorts. You will note that it is lined up to the sunrise on midsummer, as well, suggesting some ritualistic use of the monument." Gabrielle paused, realizing she was getting off track. "However, those are merely observations of what, but today we're discussing how, and some suggestions of who built Stonehenge and why."
She looked down at her notes, raising an eyebrow before looking back to the class. "One suggestion is that the stones are actually giants who danced in a circle, transfigured into stone. Or perhaps that these giants carried these stones from Africa to England. It is believed that these stones had healing powers of sorts." Even as a witch herself, Gabrielle was a little dubious on some of these theories, but that was the point, they were theories, and this was more of an exercise in considering all options available.
"Then of course, our good friend Merlin is theorized to have levitated the stones all the way from the Irish mountains to England, where they lie now. He arranged them as they are and that is how they have been left." Gabrielle gave a small smirk at that. "Just when you thought you'd get through a year of History of Magic without bringing it back to Merlin, there he is again. We can never escape." She was teasing, of course - Gabrielle had a respect for Merlin, though she did wish the coursework wasn't so heavily focused on him at times.
"One last suggestion is a belief the Devil himself put the stones where they are. The story goes that the stones were growing in the backyard of an old woman in Ireland, and the devil wanted them for himself. He disguised himself as an ordinary human and offered the woman a very large sack of gold in exchange for the stones. She agreed to sell them, thinking he would take years to move them and he'd made a bad deal. Of course, this is the devil we're talking about here - he spirited those stones right away to where they are now."
Gabrielle looked around, taking a drink of water while the students finished writing. "Or we could just say it was aliens." She added as a joke, hoping they didn't actually write that part down. "They're all interesting stories, of course, though their accuracy is debatable. And speaking of stories of dubious truth, I'd like to hear your theories on how you think Stonehenge came to be for homework." She gave a small laugh, slipping off the desk to stand up properly. "Or if you can't think of one, tell me which one of the ones I mentioned you like the sound of most. And as for next week...make sure you all come dressed in muggle clothes. I'll give you three guesses as to where we're going, and the first two don't count." It was pretty obvious, really, given today's lecture. "As ever, if you're struggling, or need anything, please feel free to come and see me. But that's all for today. Have a great week!"
Homework
RP the lesson. Extra credit for the homework in the lesson. A single paragraph is fine, creativity is always welcomed. Yes, you can say it was aliens, as long as you word it in a way that makes me laugh.
