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Toujours Pur

The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black

"Any time the family produced someone halfway decent they were disowned."
Sirius Black on his family[src]

The House of Black is one of the largest and oldest pure-blood wizarding families in Britain. Many wizarding families in Britain are distantly related to the House of Black. The Black Family Tree is displayed in the drawing room of the family home at 12 Grimmauld Place in London, England on an intricate tapestry. It starts in the Middle Ages and shows the dominant line of the family up to the present day.[1]

By the late twentieth century, the House of Black became extinct in the male line with the deaths of Sirius and Regulus Black, neither of whom had children.[2] The female line is still extant through the Malfoy family and Teddy Lupin, though the latter descends from a Black who was disowned.

History

"...my parents, with their pure-blood mania, convinced that to be a Black made you practically royal..."
Sirius Black to Harry Potter on his family's values[src]
Siriusveil

Sirius Black being pushed to his death by a curse of his cousin's.

The Black family traces its origin back to the Middle Ages. They claim to have entirely magical ancestry, but as Sirius Black informed his godson Harry Potter, no truly pure-blood family existed by the twentieth century. The pure-blood families like the Blacks simply removed Muggles and Squibs from their family trees. The Blacks place a great importance on blood purity, considering themselves akin to royalty in the wizarding world and disdaining Muggles and Muggle-borns. The family motto, which can be found on the family crest, is Toujours Pur, which means "Always Pure" in French.[2]

Because of their views, a large number of the Black family members practice the Dark Arts and supported Lord Voldemort during the First and Second Wizarding Wars. A few Blacks became Death Eaters, while many others never took the Dark Mark but believed in the "purification" of the wizarding world nevertheless.[2] A few members of the family, however, disagreed with the traditional views of their family; Sirius Black, for example, joined the Order of the Phoenix, as did Nymphadora Tonks, a distaff member of the Black family. Both were murdered by Bellatrix Lestrange née Black, Sirius's cousin and Tonks's aunt, in battle.

With Sirius's death, the male line of the Black family ended; the female line continues through the descendants of his cousins Andromeda Tonks and Narcissa Malfoy[3].

Family Tree

"This is the Black family tree... I hated the lot of them."
Sirius Black to Harry Potter[src]
Black Family Tree

Legend: Names in grey were removed from the tree by Walburga Black. The published tree does not contain descendants of side branches of the family. See also:

"Blasted Off"

File:Siriusburn.jpg

Sirius' burn mark on the Black family tree.

"Blood traitor, abomination, shame of my flesh! …Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers!"
— The portrait of Walburga Black screaming at her "traitor" son[src]

The original tree described from Grimmauld Place was subject to some magical interference. According to Sirius Black, his mother Walburga blasted names of "blood traitors" off the tapestry without hesitation.[2] The Black family motto of Toujours Pur ("always pure") was followed assiduously by family members; any who disagreed with the notion of blood purity or married Muggles or people of different blood statuses were disowned and blasted off the family tree, as were any Squibs. Thus, family members that remain on the tapestry can be assumed to have married fellow pure-bloods. Some even married their own cousins; Walburga and Orion Black, for instance, were second cousins. Generations of this practice resulted in inbreeding, which in turn has caused problems such as low fertility and mental instability.

Etymology of Given Names

Most Black family members are named after stars or constellations. For example, the star Sirius is in the constellation Canis Major (the Dog). What's more, Sirius Black, an Animagus, could morph at will into a black dog named Padfoot. Another example is Bellatrix, the third brightest star in the constellation Orion, which is also the name of Sirius's father and Bellatrix's uncle. Cygnus, Andromeda, and Cassiopeia are also constellations, and Regulus, Alphard and Arcturus are stars as well.

Some members of the extended family have also chosen to follow this naming pattern. For example, Narcissa Malfoy née Black named her son Draco, which is the name of a constellation. In turn, he named his son Scorpius, which is one of the constellations of the zodiac, known as Scorpio in Western astrology.

Blood Relatives

File:Bellatrixprofile.jpg

Bellatrix Lestrange née Black

SiriusBlack

Sirius Black.

Relatives by Marriage

LuciusMalfoy1

Lucius Malfoy.

Distant Relatives

Weasleys

Four of the Weasley children.

Nymphadora Tonks

Nymphadora Tonks.

Draco Malfoy

Draco Malfoy.

Barty Crouch Jr

Barty Crouch Jr.

Distant Relative Relation to the House of Black
Arthur Weasley Son of Cedrella Weasley née Black[4].
Molly Weasley née Prewett Wife of Arthur Weasley and niece of Lucretia Prewett née Black[5].
Gideon Prewett Nephew of Lucretia Prewett née Black[5].
Fabian Prewett Nephew of Lucretia Prewett née Black[5].
William Weasley Paternal grandmother is Cedrella Weasley née Black.
Charlie Weasley Paternal grandmother is Cedrella Weasley née Black.
Percy Weasley Paternal grgrandmother is Cedrella Weasley née Black.
Fred Weasley Paternal grandmother is Cedrella Weasley née Black.
George Weasley Paternal grandmother is Cedrella Weasley née Black.
Ronald Weasley Paternal grandmother is Cedrella Weasley née Black.
Ginevra Weasley Paternal grandmother is Cedrella Weasley née Black.
Victoire Weasley Paternal great-grandmother is Cedrella Weasley née Black.
Dominique Weasley Paternal great-grandmother is Cedrella Weasley née Black.
Louis Weasley Paternal great-grandmother is Cedrella Weasley née Black.
Molly Weasley II Paternal great-grandmother is Cedrella Weasley née Black.
Lucy Weasley Paternal great-grandmother is Cedrella Weasley née Black.
Fred Weasley II Paternal great-grandmother is Cedrella Weasley née Black.
Roxanne Weasley Paternal great-grandmother is Cedrella Weasley née Black.
Rose Weasley Paternal great-grandmother is Cedrella Weasley née Black.
Hugo Weasley Paternal great-grandmother is Cedrella Weasley née Black.
James Potter II Maternal great-grandmother is Cedrella Weasley née Black.
Albus Potter Maternal great-grandmother is Cedrella Weasley née Black.
Lily Potter Maternal great-grandmother is Cedrella Weasley née Black.
Nymphadora Tonks Daughter of Andromeda Tonks née Black.
Teddy Lupin Maternal grandmother is Andromeda Tonks née Black.
Draco Malfoy Son of Narcissa Malfoy née Black.
Scorpius Malfoy Paternal grandmother is Narcissa Malfoy née Black.
A son of Charlus Potter Son of Dorea Potter née Black.
James Potter Possible relation of Dorea Potter née Black.
Harry Potter Possible relation of Dorea Potter née Black.
James Potter II Maternal great-grandmother is Cedrella Weasley née Black; possible relation of Dorea Potter née Black on paternal side.
Albus Potter Maternal great-grandmother is Cedrella Weasley née Black; possible relation of Dorea Potter née Black on paternal side.
Lily Potter Maternal great-grandmother is Cedrella Weasley née Black; possible relation of Dorea Potter née Black on paternal side.
Frank Longbottom Possible relation of Callidora Longbottom née Black.
Alice Longbottom Wife of Frank Longbottom.
Neville Longbottom Possible relation of Callidora Longbottom née Black.
Barty Crouch Sr Possible relation of Charis Crouch née Black.
Barty Crouch Jr. Possible relation of Charis Crouch née Black.

Thus, the Blacks are related to the Flint, Gamp, Bulstrode, Burke, Yaxley, Macmillan, Crabbe, Potter, Longbottom, Weasley, Crouch, Prewett, Rosier, Lestrange, Tonks, Malfoy, and Lupin families.

Etymology

Black can be considered a colour, though it is more accurately the absence of colour. In Western culture, the colour black has typically been associated with evil, darkness, and witchcraft, but also with prestige and sophistication — appropriate for the House of Black. Black has also been associated with life and prosperity by other cultures. In ancient China, black was the symbol of the element of water, which also corresponds to Slytherin, the Hogwarts house of almost all members of the Black family. In English heraldry, black respresents darkness and ignorance; a possible allusion to the prejudice common to members of the House of Black.

However, the English word black is derived from either the Old English blœc, meaning "black", or blac, meaning "pale".[6] Pallor is associated with sickness and the colour white, which is usually held to symbolize purity in Western and Indian culture, and death in East Asian cultures. This mirrors the typical colouring of members of the House of Black — dark hair and pale skin[7].

Behind the scenes

  • A hand drawn copy of the most recent section of the family tree was donated to a charity auction for Book Aid by J.K. Rowling, in February 2006. The drawing was purchased on behalf of Daniel Radcliffe for £30,000.
  • Another version of the family tree tapestry appeared in the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film).
  • Many members of the House of Black have died at considerably younger ages than is the norm for wizards and witches. Of those whose dates of birth and death are shown on the family tree, none lived to be older than ninety, and most died between the ages of fifty and eighty[1].

Notes and references

  1. 1.0 1.1 Black Family Tree
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
  3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
  4. Although it has never been confirmed that Septimus and Cedrella are Arthur's parents, this can be inferred based on Sirius Black's statement in Ch. 6 of Order of the Phoenix that Arthur was "something like [his] second cousin once removed." The Black family tree establishes Cedrella as a first cousin once removed of both Orion and Walburga Black, Sirius's parents. Thus, any children she had would be their second cousins, and second cousins once removed of their sons Sirius and Regulus. Also, almost all of Sirius's relatives can be seen on the Black family tree because both his parents were born into the House of Black, making it unlikely that he could be related to Arthur in a way not shown. See also this talk page and an HPL essay for more information.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Sirius Black stated in Ch. 6 of Order of the Pheonix that Molly Weasley was his "cousin by marriage". This means that Ignatius Prewett, Lucretia's husband, could not have been Molly, Fabian, and Gideon's father, as this would have made them first cousins by blood of Sirius. Ignatius was Sirius's uncle by marriage, and if Molly was his niece, this could explain Sirius's comment. See this talk page for more information.
  6. Behind the Name: Black
  7. Sirius Black, Regulus Black, and Bellatrix Lestrange née Black are all noted to have black hair and pale skin, while Andromeda Tonks née Black has brown hair and pale skin.
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