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Licorus Black[2] (18081872)[1] was a pure-blood wizard. He married a pure-blood witch, Magenta Tripe, and was the earliest known ancestor of the Black family, being depicted on the Black family tree tapestry that hung in the ancestral home of 12 Grimmauld Place.[3]

Biography[]

Licorus was born to the House of Black in 1808, to unknown pure-blood parents. He was raised in a household that strongly believed in the importance of blood purity. He died in 1872.

Etymology[]

Licorus is a form of the name Lycorus.

In Greek mythology, Lycorus was a son of the god Apollo.[4] After him a city was named Lycoreia.[5]

Behind the scenes[]

  • Based on a statement by Horace Slughorn, Licorus may have been a member of Slytherin house. However, he attended Hogwarts from 1819/1820 to 1826/1827, long before Slughorn was even born.[6]
  • This character appears only on the version of the Black family tree shown in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. He was not included on the version of the tree which J. K. Rowling gave to a charity auction in 2006.[7] However, according to director David Yates, Rowling provided the filmmakers with a copy of the Black family tree going back eight generations.[8] The filmmakers presumably received a more complete version of the tree than the one auctioned off, which only goes back six generations.
  • Except for the colour of his hat, this character's picture on the family tree bears a striking resemblance to that of Pollux Black. This was likely done by the film-makers to save time, as other characters, such as Elladora and Callidora Black also have images that are remarkably similar.[9]
  • His name is similar to the name of his relative, Lycoris Black.
  • He is the first known member of the Black family.

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 See this image.
  2. On the Black family tapestry in the Order of the Phoenix film, only Blacks by birth have portraits, and only their given names are listed on the scrolls beneath these portraits. This indicates that this character was a Black, not the husband of a female Black.
  3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
  4. Hyginus, Fabulae, 161
  5. Pausanias, Description of Greece, 10. 6. 3
  6. ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
  7. "Black Family Tree" on The Harry Potter Lexicon
  8. "'Empire' Magazine Feature on OotP" from The Leaky Cauldron
  9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
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