More Harry Potter spam...

There's something that I've been thinking about since DH came out, and that's people immediately assuming Grindelwald was German. Obvious parallels aside... you do realize that Germany as we know it didn't exist in the 1880s, right? So he's either from the German Empire (the one with Bismarck) or the Austro-Hungarian Empire (the one with Sissi movies Strauss II the Habsburgs).

Now, while Grindelwald definitely sounds German (I think I read somewhere that she got it from a map?), Gellert... not so much. And Google tells me that the name is - guess what - Hungarian. Means "powerful soldier", by the way. And, yes, I'm double-checking with different sites.

Now I sort of want an excuse to call him Austro-Hungarian somewhere and see if people go "nonono he was GERMAN!!!" (I wouldn't object to people writing him as someone from the German Empire, mind you. I just object to people assuming countries haven't changed since the 1880s.)


In a sort of related note, I have this pet theory about Durmstrang being relatively new and founded during the Austro-Hungarian Empire, or maybe a bit earlier, during the Austrian Empire. It makes sense because of the name (Sturm und Drang, an artistic movement that didn't happen until the late 1700s) and the presence of students from several nationalities, including Slavic countries. (It still doesn't explain Bulgaria, though. Sorry, Viktor.)


So, my conclusions about this, in short:

1) I'm the nerdiest nerd in Ravenclaw.
2) One would think someone who likes the Austro-Hungarian Empire and its history wouldn't go out of her way to associate it with the Dark Arts. o.O