Bridget Wenlock (1202—1286) was a famous thirteenth-century Arithmancer, and the first to establish the magical properties of the number seven.[4]
Biography
Early life
Bridget Wenlock was born in the year 1202, in Tinworth, Cornwall.[1] In her youth, she attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from around 1213 to 1220, where she was Sorted into Hufflepuff.[3]
Adulthood
- "Wenlock first scribbled down her ground-breaking theorem on the magical properties of the number seven at breakfast one day apparently on the back of an envelope, using her usual invisible ink. She then proceeded to send her cousin a letter, using what she later believed to be the very envelope concealing the theorem."
- — Miranda Goshawk, Book of Spells.[src]
After her graduation from Hogwarts School, Bridget Wenlock studied further into Arithmancy, becoming an accomplished and celebrated Arithmancer.
Wenlock, like a number of other magical researchers, was very protective of her discoveries; her paranoia was so that she wrote exclusively in invisible ink, upside-down, back-to-front and in atrocious handwriting. She was also noted for her absent-mindedness, managing to promptly lose scraps of paper in which she had scribbled invisible notes. Because of this, it was not an unusual sight to see her retracing her steps through her hometown, attempting to use the Revealing Charm on every scrap of paper she came across, in search of a lost Arithmancy calculation.[1]
It was one day, during breakfast, that Wenlock wrote the immensely famous theorem that supported the magical properties of the number seven. She wrote it down on what she thought was the back of an envelope, in the usual invisible ink. That same day, she posted a letter to her cousin, using what she later realised was the envelope in which she had written the theorem. Wenlock seized her broom at once, and managed to overtake the owl carrying the letter mid-flight but the owl refused to give anyone the letter but its addressee. After several nips and scratches, Wenlock had to resort to simply following the owl to her cousin's house in John O'Groats, around 600 miles away.[1]
When she finally retrieved the envelope from her cousin, a Revealing Charm revealed that it contained no more than a cake recipe. It was only when she returned to Tinworth that Wenlock found out that her calculations were scrawled on a sugar packet that was still sitting on her kitchen table.[1] It was precisely this theorem that made her such a celebrated Arithmancer for centuries to come.
Death and post-mortem
Ms. Wenlock died in 1286, aged around 84. In her honour, her Arithmancy achievement was recorded on a Chocolate Frog Card.[5]
There was also a portrait of her hung on the Sixth Floor Corridor of Hogwarts Castle, hiding a secret passage to the Portrait Room (the password was Snafflejack).[6] There was also a bust of her on the Fat Lady's Corridor, on the seventh floor of the Castle.[7]
During his third year at Hogwarts School, sometime between 1987 and 1990, Gabriel Truman got into a big trouble for duelling a Ravenclaw Prefect, who insisted that Bridget Wenlock had come from his house. Instead of a week of detentions, Professor Sprout let him off with a warning and a box of coconut ice.[3]
Appearances
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game) (Appears as statue) (Appears in portrait(s))
- Wizard of the Month
- Pottermore (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card)
- Wonderbook: Book of Spells
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Wonderbook: Book of Spells - see this video
- ↑ According to Pottermore she died in 1285 (Timeline).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Pottermore introduction for Hufflepuffs (transcription available here)
- ↑ Wizard of the Month
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game) - PC version
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game) - PS2 version
Arithmancy | ||
---|---|---|
Professors: Septima Vector | ||
Known Arithmancers: Sage Bragnam · Lukas Karuzos · Chiara Lobosca's father · Bridget Wenlock | ||
Textbooks: Numerology and Grammatica · New Theory of Numerology | ||
Arithmancy at Hogwarts: Arithmancy (class) · Classroom 7A · Advanced Arithmancy Studies |