It seems like the spells in the HP universe are complicated and abstract enough that they must have been designed (programmed?) by wizards long ago, who added them to the laws of the universe and left them there.
You’d think that, but in the series there are references to people inventing spells of their own. The series implies that the “science” behind spells does exist, but Rowling never explains any of it.
Well, the word ‘wing’ does date back to the 12th century, a little earlier than halfway between us and Merlin, and a time in which learned people did know Latin but were also starting to mangle it up pretty badly (not quite that badly IRL, but if we assume wizards were always a bit more eccentric than Muggles...).
Unfortunately, that particular fan-wank completely breaks down when you consider that the pronunciation (let alone spelling) of ‘wing’ was nowhere near the same back then. Although you could save it by suggesting that, just as spoken language evolves really, really slowly, so did the spell-marks imprinted on reality as the spell got cast a million times over a thousand years, a wee little bit differently every time.
You’d think that, but in the series there are references to people inventing spells of their own. The series implies that the “science” behind spells does exist, but Rowling never explains any of it.
‘Inventing’ might mean ‘discovering’.
Not to mention, the ancient wizards made the levitation spell be called “Wingardium Leviosa”?
Well, the word ‘wing’ does date back to the 12th century, a little earlier than halfway between us and Merlin, and a time in which learned people did know Latin but were also starting to mangle it up pretty badly (not quite that badly IRL, but if we assume wizards were always a bit more eccentric than Muggles...).
Unfortunately, that particular fan-wank completely breaks down when you consider that the pronunciation (let alone spelling) of ‘wing’ was nowhere near the same back then. Although you could save it by suggesting that, just as spoken language evolves really, really slowly, so did the spell-marks imprinted on reality as the spell got cast a million times over a thousand years, a wee little bit differently every time.