Option One | History Of Magic

THE FOUNTAIN OF FAIR FORTUNE

2nd Year - Option One

"High up on a hill in an enchanted garden, enclosed by tall walls and protected by strong magic, flowed the Fountain of Fair Fortune."

This is the opening line from "The Fountain of Fair Fortune" story found in The Tales of Beedle the Bard. This tale is famous in the wizarding world for describing the journey of three witches and a knight as they attempt to reach the Fountain of Fair Fortune. By bathing in the fountain, they were certain each of their problems would be solved. The story can be accessed below by clicking the arrow on the right-hand side of the gallery to turn the page. You will need this for your homework!

As you will discover in the story, the Fountain of Fair Fortune sits atop a hill in an enchanted garden, where rare herbs, fruit, and flowers grow. It was said to award good fortune for evermore to anyone who bathed in it. Once a year, on the longest day of summer, one person -- muggle or magicfolk -- was given the chance to bathe in the fountain. The trials one must endure in order to reach the fountain result in the seeker of fortune being forced to leave behind everything that was previously holding them back, thereby improving their life. In other words, it was not the fountain itself that resulted in good fortune, but the path to reach it.

The Fountain of Fair Fortune, though it may be the only of its kind in the wizarding world, was not the first fountain in history that was sought out for its powers.

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Depiction of the Fountain of Youth

The Fountain of Youth appears in historical records dating as far back as the 5th century, BC, in the writings of a Greek historian by the name of Herodotus. Herodotus claimed the existence of a healing water source in the land of the Macrobians, which would have been located on the Horn of Africa.

The story of the Fountain of Youth gained popularity after the death of Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León, who was said to have searched for this mythical water source when he traveled through Florida. According to legend, Ponce de León was told by the Indigenous Americans that the Fountain of Youth was not located in Florida, but in Bimini -- a chain of islands in the Bahamas.

The Fountain of Youth is the muggle equivalent to the Fountain of Fair Fortune. As with the Fountain of Fair Fortune, the Fountain of Youth is a mythical water source that is said to have the power to prevent aging/restore youth and cure sickness, for whoever drinks or bathes in its waters.

HOMEWORK:

1) Do some research and find another example of a muggle water source that supposedly has healing powers (fictional or historical). How does it compare and contrast to the Fountain of Fair Fortune or the Fountain of Youth?

2) Do some research on Bimini and its relation to the Fountain of Youth. What can be found in the salt water mangrove swamp in North Bimini? How might this provide a scientific explanation for the Fountain of Youth?

3) Do you think the Fountain of Fair Fortune and the Fountain of Youth existed in the same way legend portrays? Why or why not?