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- "The Dark Lord will rise again, Crouch! Throw us into Azkaban; we will wait! He will rise again and will come for us, he will reward us beyond any of his other supporters! We alone were faithful! We alone tried to find him!"
- — Bellatrix Lestrange declaring her family's loyalty[src]
Lestrange is the surname of an ancient pure-blood wizarding family, and one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. They are related to the Black, Malfoy, Tonks, Lupin, and Rosier families.[2] Bellatrix Black married into the family only because it was expected of her to make a respectable pure-blood marriage.
The Lestranges are a very old and wealthy family with a vault at Gringotts Wizarding Bank full of treasure.[3] Like the House of Black many Lestranges practise the Dark Arts and believe in the notion of pure-blood supremacy, they disdain Muggles, Muggle-borns, blood traitors, and in some cases half-bloods. Similar to the Gaunt, they are willing to intermarry with cousins to maintain their purity.
History
Three members of the Lestrange family on trial in front of the Council of Magical Law
During the First and Second Wizarding Wars, they supported Lord Voldemort and at least a few members of the family were Death Eaters. Voldemort named Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan Lestrange among his most loyal followers, as they were the only Death Eaters who tried to find him after his defeat in 1981 and spent fourteen years in Azkaban because of their loyalty.[4] Bellatrix, in particular, described herself as "the Dark Lord's most loyal servant".[5] One member of the Lestrange family had a "secret" relationship with Lord Voldemort. Her name was Bellatrix Lestrange. Bellatrix had a child with Lord Voldemort before the Battle of Hogwarts.
Family members
- "The family has, however, eschewed the somewhat dangerous practise of inter-marrying within such a small pool of pure-bloods that they become enfeebled or unstable, unlike a small minority of fanatic families such as the Gaunts and Lestranges, and many a half-blood appears on the Malfoy family tree."
- — Description of the Malfoy family[src]
Bellatrix Lestrange, a notorious and sadistic Death Eater
| Wizard(s) | Notes |
|---|---|
| Radolphus Lestrange | Minister for Magic from 1835 to 1841. |
| F. Lestrange | A family member who lived in the mid-19th century. |
| R. Lestrange | A family member who lived in the late mid-19th century. |
| Lestrange | A classmate of Tom Riddle and one of his earliest Death Eaters; possibly father of Rodolphus and Rabastan. |
| Rabastan Lestrange | A Death Eater; brother of Rodolphus and the brother-in-law of Bellatrix. |
| Rodolphus Lestrange | A Death Eater; brother of Rabastan and the husband of Bellatrix. |
| Bellatrix Lestrange (née Black) | A fanatically loyal Death Eater killed by Molly Weasley during the Battle of Hogwarts; wife of Rodolphus. |
Family tree
Etymology
The name 'Lestrange' echoes the French phrase l'étrange, literally "the strange one", referring to Bellatrix's mental disability. In Old French, estrange means "foreigner"[6]. The surname may allude to English journalist Roger L'Estrange, who was known for opposing religious toleration and for being involved in plots against the government of William and Mary, similar to the Lestranges' intolerance about blood purity and involvement in the Death Eaters organisation.
Behind the scenes
- Although it is pronounced le-STRANGE in the films, the Scholastic Official Website states that it is pronounced la-STRAWNGE.[7]
Notes and references
- ↑ Rodolphus and Rabastan were the only known remaining member by blood of the family; the former never had any children from his wife Bellatrix, and is either dead or imprisoned in Azkaban, as the latter, who does not seem to have been married or ever had children as well.
- ↑ Black family tree
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 26 (Gringotts)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- ↑ Behind the Name: French Surnames
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Pronunciation Guide
