(Editing out some repitition - that picture of Sally's locket.) |
No edit summary Tag: Source edit |
||
| (426 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| + | {{Spoiler|HM|PAS|MA|HL}} |
||
| − | {{Slytherin individual infobox |
||
| + | {{Youmay|one of the founders of [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry|Hogwarts]]|the house in [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry|Hogwarts]], [[Slytherin]]}} |
||
| − | |name= Salazar Slytherin |
||
| + | {{Individual infobox |
||
| − | |image=[[File:Sada2.jpg|250px]] |
||
| + | |theme = slytherin |
||
| − | |hideb= |
||
| + | |image = PM SalazarSlytherin Founders.jpg<!--- Please discuss on the talk page regarding the changing of this profile image, before changing it with something different, thanks.---> |
||
| − | |born=[[10th century]] |
||
| + | |name = Salazar Slytherin |
||
| − | |died= |
||
| + | |born = Pre [[First millennium A.D.|976]]<ref name="founding">{{COS|B|9}} - "You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago - the precise date is uncertain - by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age." Binns says this late in the year 1992. Given that Slytherin would be of age by the school's founding, the latest he could be born is 976.</ref> |
||
| − | |blood=[[Pure-blood]] |
||
| + | |died = |
||
| − | |marital= |
||
| + | |blood = [[Pure-blood]]<ref name="COS9"/> |
||
| − | |alias=Serpent-tongue |
||
| + | |marital = |
||
| − | |title=*[[Hogwarts founders|Founder]] |
||
| + | |nationality = [[England|English]] or [[Ireland|Irish]]<ref name="fen">In {{GOF}}, the Sorting Hat says, "''Shrewd Slytherin, from fen.''" Ireland is known for several fen-land areas; therefore, some have suggested Slytherin might be from [[Ireland]], as that would represent all four kingdoms in which Hogwarts serves (with [[Rowena Ravenclaw]] being Scottish, [[Helga Hufflepuff]] being Welsh, and [[Godric Gryffindor]] being English). However, there are also fens in Eastern [[England]] in Norfolk, Suffolk, Lincolnshire, and Cambridgeshire.</ref> |
||
| − | *[[Professor]] |
||
| + | |alias = Serpent-tongue<ref name="COS11">{{COS|B|11}}</ref> |
||
| − | |hidep= |
||
| + | |title = [[Professor]]<ref name="WWHP">{{WWHP}}</ref> |
||
| − | |species=[[Human]] |
||
| + | |signature = |
||
| − | |gender=Male |
||
| + | |species = [[Human]]<ref name="COS9">{{COS|B|9}}</ref> |
||
| − | |height= |
||
| + | |gender = Male<ref name="COS9"/> |
||
| − | |hair=Grey<ref name="JKR">As appeared on [[J.K.Rowling Official Site|J.K. Rowling's official website]].</ref> |
||
| + | |height = |
||
| − | |eyes=Grey<ref name="JKR"/> |
||
| + | |weight = |
||
| − | |skin=Light<ref name="JKR"/> |
||
| + | |hair = Grey<ref name="JKRS">{{JKRS}} - [[Wizard of the Month]]</ref> |
||
| − | |hidef= |
||
| + | |eyes = Grey<ref name="JKRS"/> |
||
| − | |family=[[House of Gaunt|Gaunt family]] (descendants) |
||
| + | |skin = Light<ref name="JKRS"/> |
||
| − | |hidem=hide |
||
| + | |family =*[[Slytherin family]]<ref name="COS9"/> |
||
| − | |animagus= |
||
| + | *[[House of Gaunt]] (descendants)<ref name="merope">{{WW|the-sad-history-of-merope-gaunt}}</ref> |
||
| − | |boggart= |
||
| + | **[[Isolt Sayre]]<ref name="PM-ilvermorny">{{WW|ilvermorny}}</ref> (descendant) † |
||
| − | |wand= |
||
| + | **[[Corvinus Gaunt]] (descendant) † |
||
| − | |patronus= |
||
| + | **[[Marvolo Gaunt]] (descendant) † |
||
| − | |hidea= |
||
| + | **[[Merope Riddle]] (née Gaunt) (descendant) † |
||
| − | |job=[[Professor]] at [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry|Hogwarts School]] (c. [[10th century]]) |
||
| + | **[[Morfin Gaunt]] (descendant) † |
||
| − | |house=[[Slytherin]] |
||
| + | **[[Tom Riddle|Lord Voldemort]] (descendant) †<ref name="COS17"/> |
||
| − | |loyalty=*[[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]] |
||
| + | **[[Delphini]] (descendant) |
||
| − | *[[Slytherin family]] |
||
| + | |romances = |
||
| − | *[[Slytherin]] |
||
| + | |animagus = |
||
| + | |boggart = |
||
| + | |wand = [[Salazar Slytherin's wand|Unknown length, Snakewood, Basilisk horn]]<ref name="PM-ilvermorny" /> |
||
| + | |patronus = Non-corporeal<ref name="LEGOY2">{{LEGO|Y2}}</ref> |
||
| + | |job = *[[Professor]] at [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]]<ref name="COS9"/> |
||
| + | *[[Hogwarts founders|Founder]] of [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]]<ref name="COS9"/> |
||
| + | |house = [[Slytherin]]<ref name="COS9"/> |
||
| + | |loyalty = *[[Slytherin family]]<ref name="COS9"/> |
||
| + | *[[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]]<ref name="COS9"/> |
||
| + | **[[Slytherin]]<ref name="COS9"/> |
||
}} |
}} |
||
| − | {{Quote|We'll teach just those whose ancestry's purest.| |
+ | {{Quote|We'll teach just those whose ancestry's purest.|Slytherin's opinion regarding the running of [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry|Hogwarts]]|Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix}} |
| + | '''Salazar Slytherin''' (fl. c. [[First millennium A.D.|993]]) was a [[pure-blood]] [[Wizardkind|wizard]], noted for his cunning and determination. He was regarded as one of the greatest wizards of the age, regarded for his abilities as a [[Parseltongue|Parselmouth]]<ref name="COS11"/> and as a skilled [[Legilimency|Legilimens]].<ref name="JKRS"/> Slytherin was one of the [[Hogwarts founders|four founders]] of [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]] along with [[Godric Gryffindor]], [[Helga Hufflepuff]], and [[Rowena Ravenclaw]]. He was also the namesake of [[Slytherin|Slytherin House]].<ref name="COS9"/> |
||
| + | He mistrusted [[Muggle-born]] students to the point of proposing that they should not be accepted at Hogwarts. When he expressed his opinion to the other Hogwarts founders, they did not agree with him. In response, he left the school, never to return, and constructed the [[Chamber of Secrets]] to house a [[Serpent of Slytherin|Basilisk]], so that one day, the [[Tom Riddle|Heir of Slytherin]] could purge the school of Muggle-borns in his name, and fulfil his long-lasting wish of having only students with at least one wizarding relative.<ref name="COS17"/> |
||
| − | '''Professor Salazar Slytherin''' was a [[pure-blood]] [[Wizardkind|wizard]] of medieval times. He was a [[Parseltongue|Parselmouth]] (a wizard with the rare ability to speak with [[snake]]s) and skilled at [[Legilimency]].<ref name="JKR" /> He was one of the four founders of [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]] and the former best friend of [[Godric Gryffindor]], a fellow founder. Slytherin didn't trust [[Muggle-born]] students, and he expressed his opinion not to accept them at Hogwarts. However, when the other [[Hogwarts founders]] didn't agree, Slytherin left the school and did not return again but not before creating the [[Chamber of Secrets]] and concealing a [[Salazar Slytherin's basilisk|basilisk]] inside. He died sometime in the Middle Ages. |
||
==Biography== |
==Biography== |
||
===Early life=== |
===Early life=== |
||
| + | Salazar Slytherin was raised into a [[pure-blood]] family in either [[England]] or [[Ireland]], where he was either born or raised in a [[fen]]-land area.<ref name="fen"/> He and his family had the rare [[magic]]al gift of speaking [[Parseltongue]].<ref name="COS11"/> During his youth, he was best friends with [[Godric Gryffindor]].{{Fact}} |
||
| − | The [[Sorting Hat]] described him as "power hungry [[Slytherin]]" and that he came "from a [[fen]]." This could be the reason why he and his family have the rare gift of speaking [[Parseltongue]]. It is also said that anyone who can speak Parseltongue is somehow related to Salazar Slytherin. The fens of Eastern [[England]] are in Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, and adjoining counties, although it is not established that [[Slytherin]] actually came from that particular region. |
||
| + | At some point, Slytherin created his [[Salazar Slytherin's wand|own wand]], made of [[Snakewood]] with a core of [[Basilisk horn]]. He taught it the unique ability to "sleep" when commanded in [[parseltongue]].<ref name="PM-ilvermorny" /> |
||
| − | ===Founder of Hogwarts=== |
||
| − | [[File:Slytherincrest.jpg|thumb|left|The house Salazar created, [[Slytherin]].]] |
||
| − | Like [[Rowena Ravenclaw]] and [[Godric Gryffindor]], Salazar Slytherin appears to have carefully selected members of [[Slytherin|his own House]]. According to [[Albus Dumbledore]], the qualities which Slytherin prized in his "handpicked students" included resourcefulness, cleverness, determination, and a certain disregard for the rules, along with the ability to speak [[Parseltongue]]. He also selected his students according to cunning, ambition, and [[blood purity]]. His [[Hogwarts Houses|House]] within [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry|Hogwarts]] is symbolised by a serpent, with House colours of green and silver. |
||
| − | === |
+ | ===Hogwarts founder=== |
| + | [[File:Salazar Slytherin WWHP.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Salazar Slytherin wearing his locket]] |
||
| − | {{Quote|I always knew Salazar Slytherin was a twisted old loony, but I never knew he started all this pure-blood stuff. I wouldn't be in his house if you paid me. Honestly, if the [[Sorting Hat]] had tried to put me in Slytherin, I'd've got the train straight back home...|[[Ronald Weasley|Ron Weasley]] expressing his claims on Slytherin's views.|Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets}} |
||
| + | Salazar Slytherin founded [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]], with [[Godric Gryffindor]], [[Helga Hufflepuff]] and [[Rowena Ravenclaw]]. He appeared to have carefully selected the members of [[Slytherin|his own House]].<ref name="COS9"/> |
||
| + | The qualities which Slytherin prized in his "''handpicked students''" included resourcefulness, determination, and a certain disregard for the rules, along with the ability to speak [[Parseltongue]].<ref name="COS18">{{COS|B|18}}</ref> He also selected his students according to their cunning, ambition, and [[Blood status|blood purity]].<ref name="OOTP11">{{OOTP|B|11}}</ref> His house within Hogwarts was symbolised by a serpent,<ref name="COS11">{{COS|B|11}}</ref> with house colours of green and silver.<ref name="colours">{{WW|colours}}</ref> |
||
| − | After founding Hogwarts and co-existing for years, a rift eventually began to grow between Slytherin and the other founders. Slytherin despised taking students from [[Muggle]] families, seeing them as untrustworthy, and tried to persuade the other [[Hogwarts founders|founders]] to only take students from [[pure-blood]] [[:Category:Pure-blood families|families]]. However, the other founders didn't agree with Slytherin, particularly Gryffindor. Eventually, Slytherin and Gryffindor had a huge argument over the subject, according to the Sorting Hat it is possible that they dueled, or that a civil war of sorts broke out between the houses. Slytherin chose to leave the school eventually, but he had left the Chamber of Secrets and his Basilisk behind.<ref>[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]]</ref> It is unknown when he died. |
||
| + | As a [[professor]], he was in favour of teaching the [[Dark Arts]]. He sent one [[Salazar Slytherin's student|student]] on a task to study a [[relic|Dark relic]] in the nearby [[Feldcroft Catacomb]], which had the power to summon [[Inferius|Inferi]], which Slytherin recorded in his [[Slytherin's Spellbook|Spellbook]]. He also taught the [[Unforgivable Curses]], such as the [[Imperius Curse]], which were not illegal at the time.<ref name="HL-time">{{HL|In the Shadow of Time}}</ref> |
||
| − | ===Post-mortem=== |
||
| − | [[File:Secrets1.JPG|thumb|right|207px|The statue of Salazar Slytherin and the hiding-place of [[Salazar Slytherin's basilisk|Slytherin's basilisk]] in the [[Chamber of Secrets]].]] |
||
| − | According to ancient legend, as told by [[History of Magic]] Professor [[Cuthbert Binns]], Salazar Slytherin was responsible for the construction of the [[Chamber of Secrets]] beneath [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry|Hogwarts]] dungeons. It was specifically created for the purpose of purging the school of all [[Muggle-born]] students. The Chamber contained a [[Serpent of Slytherin|basilisk]] which could be controlled only by his own "true [[Tom Riddle|heir]]", and use it to rid the school of all [[Muggle-born]]s. At least part of the legend was revealed to be true in [[1943]], when [[Tom Riddle|Tom Marvolo Riddle]], the heir of Slytherin, opened the Chamber and used the Basilisk to attack Muggle-borns. |
||
| + | He constructed a secret [[Slytherin's Scriptorium|Scriptorium]], which could only be accessed by those who spoke Parseltongue and had the willingness to cast the [[Cruciatus Curse]] on somebody else to enter. There, he kept his Spellbook, a tome that recorded his life and gave further insight into the Dark Arts. The secret of the Scriptorium passed through his descendants, the [[House of Gaunt]], for generations, until it was eventually opened by [[Ominis Gaunt]], along with [[Sebastian Sallow]] and their [[Unidentified 19th-century Hogwarts student|mutual friend]], in the [[1890–1891 school year]].<ref name="HL-study">{{HL|In the Shadow of the Study}}</ref> |
||
| − | One girl the [[Basilisk]] actually killed is now a ghost known by the name of [[Myrtle|Moaning Myrtle]]. The opening to the Chamber of Secrets is located in the bathroom she now haunts, and can only be opened by speaking Parseltongue, as Slytherin could. Riddle opened the Chamber again in [[1993]] through the use of one of his seven [[Horcrux]]es, his diary. Using the bit of his soul encompassed by the diary, he possessed [[Ginevra Weasley|Ginny Weasley]] and forced her to do his bidding. However, this second time opening the Chamber, Riddle seemed to have a slightly different goal than the first time. For example, Ginny is a pure-blood witch, but he did not care. While he still attacked Muggle-born students, ultimately, his goal was to lure [[Harry Potter]] into the Chamber and kill him. |
||
| + | Finally, and most famously, Salazar Slytherin was responsible for the construction of the [[Chamber of Secrets]] beneath the [[Dungeons]] of [[Hogwarts Castle]]. The Chamber contained a [[Serpent of Slytherin|Basilisk]] which could only be controlled by his own descendant, the "''Heir of Slytherin''", to be used to purge the school of all Muggle-borns.<ref name="COS13">{{COS|B|13}}</ref> In [[1943]], [[Tom Riddle]], the Heir of Slytherin, opened the Chamber and used the Basilisk to attack Muggle-borns, resulting in the [[death]] of [[Myrtle Warren]]. It was opened again in [[1992]], by [[Ginny Weasley]] under the influence of [[T. M. Riddle's Diary|Tom Riddle's Diary]], which [[Horcrux|contained a fragment]] of his [[soul]].<ref name="COS17"/> |
||
| − | [[File:Salazar Slytherin (full size).gif|thumb|left|Salazar Slytherin]] |
||
| − | Salazar Slytherin owned a [[Salazar Slytherin's Locket|locket]] emblazoned with the letter ''S'' that became an heirloom of his last known line of descendants, the [[House of Gaunt|Gaunts]]. [[Merope Gaunt]] sold the locket to [[Caractacus Burke]]. It was then bought up by [[Hepzibah Smith]], who had a love for antiques. It was subsequently stolen from her by [[Tom Riddle|Tom Marvolo Riddle]]. Riddle would later turn the locket into a [[Horcrux]], and conceal it in a seaside cave he had visited in his youth. The same locket was later removed from the cave by [[Regulus Black]] with aid from his [[house-elf]], [[Kreacher]]. Kreacher was ordered to destroy the locket, but was unable to do so. And years later it fell into the hands of [[Harry Potter]], who was also trying to destroy it. |
||
| + | As time advanced, however, the Chamber turned into legend, as recounted by [[Professor]] [[Cuthbert Binns]] to his students one-thousand years later.<ref name="COS9" /> |
||
| − | It was later stolen from the [[House of Black|Black family]] home at [[12 Grimmauld Place]] by [[Mundungus Fletcher]], and eventually found its way into the hands of the [[British Ministry of Magic|Ministry of Magic]] employee, [[Dolores Umbridge]]. Umbridge used it as an intimidation tool by wearing it and claiming the ''S'' stood for [[Selwyn]], a [[pure-blood]] family line. She either did not know better or wanted to conceal its real meaning from the public. |
||
| + | ===Leaving Hogwarts=== |
||
| − | [[File:Slytherinn.gif|thumb|Salazar Slytherin's Chocolate Frog card.]] |
||
| + | {{Quote|I fear we shall never come to an accord. I cannot persuade even one of them to listen to reason. I had dared hope that Godric's thoughts aligned with my own; that he understood why the calibre of students needed to be exceptional. But he has fallen prey to the ridiculous notion that Muggle-borns are somehow as capable as pure-bloods.|An excerpt from [[Salazar Slytherin's note]], in his own hand|Hogwarts Legacy}} |
||
| + | [[File:Chamber.png|250px|thumb|right|The statue of Salazar Slytherin and the hiding-place of Slytherin's Basilisk in the [[Chamber of Secrets]]]] |
||
| + | After founding Hogwarts and co-existing for years, a rift began to grow between Slytherin and the other founders. Slytherin disliked taking students from families with only [[Non-magic people|Muggles]], seeing them as untrustworthy and unworthy of being taught how to use their magic, and tried to persuade the other [[Hogwarts founders|founders]] to only take students from [[pure-blood]] or [[half-blood]] [[:Category:Pure-blood families|families]]. However, the other founders didn't agree with Slytherin, particularly [[Godric Gryffindor]].<ref name="COS9"/><ref name="HL-study"/> |
||
| + | Eventually, Slytherin and Gryffindor had a bitter argument over the subject. Slytherin chose to leave the school completely, but he had left the Chamber of Secrets and his Basilisk behind.<ref name="COS9" /> |
||
| − | The locket was recovered by [[Harry Potter]], and was later destroyed by [[Ronald Weasley|Ron Weasley]] with [[Godric Gryffindor's Sword|Godric Gryffindor's sword]]. The act of destruction removed all of the [[Horcrux]]'s power. |
||
| + | ===Post-mortem=== |
||
| − | There were also portraits of Slytherin hung at [[Hogwarts Castle]], one guarding a secret shortcut between the dungeons antechamber and the [[Entrance Hall]] side room. The password required to gain access to said shortcut was ''Mortal Dread''<ref>''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)]]'' - PC version</ref>. The other was hung at the [[Headmaster's office]], part of the [[Headmaster portraits]] gallery<ref>''[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)]]'' DVD (Disc 2 - Dumbledore's Office)</ref>. |
||
| + | ====Artistic representations==== |
||
| + | There were [[portrait]]s of Slytherin hung at [[Hogwarts Castle]], one guarding a secret shortcut between the [[Dungeons|Dungeon]]'s antechamber and the [[Entrance Hall]] side room. The password required to gain access to said shortcut was ''Mortal Dread''.<ref name="POAG">{{POA|G}} - PC version</ref> The other was hung at the [[Headmaster's office]], part of the [[Headmaster portraits]] gallery.<ref name="COSF">{{COS|F}} DVD (Disc 2 - Dumbledore's Office)</ref> Slytherin featured on various [[Chocolate Frog Cards]].<ref name="COSG">{{COS|G}}</ref> |
||
| + | ====Lord Voldemort==== |
||
| − | [[File:SalazarLocket.jpg|thumb|Locket of Salazar Slytherin ]]In the [[1997–1998 school year]], Slytherin's heir, Riddle (now known as Lord Voldemort), realised his ancestor's wish of purging the school of Muggle-borns via another method: by taking over the [[British Ministry of Magic|Ministry of Magic]] and using [[Muggle-Born Registration Commission|falsified propaganda]], Voldemort managed to have Muggle-borns evicted from the wizarding world, and at the end of the year, Voldemort even claimed that Hogwarts no longer needed Sorting, and that Slytherin's symbols, shields and colours would suffice. After Voldemort's death, all of this was repealed, and Slytherin's ultimate desire ended in failure. |
||
| + | [[File:COS carrying Myrtle's body away.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The death of Myrtle Warren]] |
||
| + | In [[1943]], [[Tom Riddle]], the "''Heir of Slytherin''", opened the [[Chamber of Secrets]] to conduct a purge on [[Muggle-born]] students. This resulted in the [[death]] of [[Myrtle Warren]], who eventually returned as a [[ghost]].<ref name="COS16">{{COS|B|16}}</ref> Riddle opened the Chamber again in [[1993]] through the use of one of his seven [[Horcrux]]es, his [[T. M. Riddle's Diary|diary]]. Using the fragment of his [[soul]] within the diary, he possessed [[Ginevra Weasley|Ginny Weasley]] and forced her to do his bidding. While he still attacked Muggle-born students (none of whom died, and were simply [[petrification|petrified]]), his ultimate goal was to lure Harry Potter into the Chamber and kill him.<ref name="COS17">{{COS|B|17}}</ref> |
||
| + | |||
| + | [[File:LocketDH.PNG|thumb|right|250px|Slytherin's Locket: one of the Horcruxes created by Lord Voldemort]] |
||
| + | Salazar Slytherin owned a locket emblazoned with the letter "''S''", which became an heirloom of his last known line of descendants, the [[House of Gaunt|Gaunts]]. [[Merope Riddle|Merope Gaunt]] sold the locket to [[Caractacus Burke]]. It was then bought up by [[Hepzibah Smith]], who had a love for antiques. It was subsequently stolen from her by [[Tom Riddle]], later known as Lord Voldemort.<ref name="HBP20">{{HBP|B|20}}</ref> Riddle would later turn the locket into a Horcrux<ref name="HBP23">{{HBP|B|23}}</ref> and conceal it in a [[The Cave|seaside cave]] he had visited in his youth.<ref name="HBP26">{{HBP|B|26}}</ref> The same locket was removed from the cave by [[Regulus Black]] with the aid of his [[house-elf]], [[Kreacher]]. Kreacher was ordered to destroy the locket, but was unable to do so.<ref name="DH10">{{DH|B|10}}</ref> |
||
| + | |||
| + | It was later stolen from the [[House of Black|Black family]] home at [[12 Grimmauld Place]] by [[Mundungus Fletcher]], and found its way into the hands of the Ministry of Magic bureaucrat, [[Dolores Umbridge]]. Umbridge claiming the "''S''" stood for [[Selwyn family|Selwyn]], a [[pure-blood]] family line. She either did not know better or intended to conceal its real meaning from the public.<ref name="DH13">{{DH|B|13}}</ref> |
||
| + | [[File:Locket destruction.gif|thumb|left|250px|The destruction of the Horcrux with Gryffindor's sword]] |
||
| + | The locket was recovered by [[Harry Potter]], and was later destroyed in the winter of [[1997]] by [[Ronald Weasley|Ron Weasley]] with [[Sword of Gryffindor|Godric Gryffindor's sword]]. This act of destruction removed all of the Horcrux's power.<ref name="DH19">{{DH|B|19}}</ref> |
||
| + | |||
| + | In [[1997]], Riddle, now known as Lord Voldemort, realised his ancestor's wish of purging the school of Muggle-borns by another method: by [[Fall of the British Ministry of Magic|taking over]] the [[British Ministry of Magic]] and using [[Muggle-Born Registration Commission|falsified propaganda]] to ostracise and eradicate Muggle-borns in the British wizarding population.<ref name="DH11">{{DH|B|11}}</ref> Voldemort managed to have Muggle-borns evicted from the wizarding world,<ref name="DH11"/><ref name="DH13"/> and at the end of the year, Voldemort even claimed that Hogwarts no longer needed [[Sorting Ceremony|sorting]], and that Slytherin's symbols, shields and colours would suffice. After [[Voldemort's Last Stand]], where he was defeated by [[Harry Potter]], all of this was repealed, and Slytherin's ultimate desire ended in failure.<ref name="DH36">{{DH|B|36}}</ref> |
||
| + | |||
| + | However, even after Voldemort's death, Salazar Slytherin's bloodline survived through Voldemort's secret daugther, [[Delphini]], whom he conceived with [[Bellatrix Lestrange]]. As of [[2020]], Delphini was the last known survivor of the Slytherin bloodline.<ref name="CC">{{CC}}</ref> |
||
| + | |||
| + | ====Theories==== |
||
| + | While it is true that Slytherin constructed the Chamber,<ref name="HL-study"/> a popular historical theory mentioned on the [[Wizards' Ordinary Magic and Basic Aptitude Test]] was that towards the end of his life Salazar reconciled with the other founders and returned to the school, where he eventually died.<ref>[https://www.hp-lexicon.org/source/other-canon/jkr/jkr-w3/ WOMBAT Test 3] from {{JKRS}} (archived at [https://www.hp-lexicon.org/ The Harry Potter Lexicon])</ref> |
||
==Physical description== |
==Physical description== |
||
| + | [[File:Salazar Slytherin (full size).gif|180px|thumb|Salazar Slytherin]] |
||
| − | The statue of Salazar Slytherin in the [[Chamber of Secrets]] depicts an "ancient and monkey-like" man with a "long thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of his sweeping robes." His beard was white in colour. [[Marvolo Gaunt]], a blood relative, is similarly described as being monkey-like in appearance. |
||
| + | {{Quote|Then, as Harry drew level with the last pair of pillars, a statue high as the Chamber itself loomed into view, standing against the back wall... It was ancient and monkeyish, with a long, thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of the wizard's sweeping stone robes, where two enormous grey feet stood on the smooth Chamber floor.|Description of the Statue of Slytherin|Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets}} |
||
| − | ==Personality and traits == |
||
| + | The statue of Salazar Slytherin in the [[Chamber of Secrets]] depicted an "''ancient and monkeyish''" man with a "''long thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of his sweeping robes''".<ref name="COS17"/> His beard was white in colour.<ref name="JKRS"/> [[Marvolo Gaunt]], a blood relative, was similarly described as being [[monkey]]-like in appearance.<ref name="HBP10">{{HBP|B|10}}</ref> |
||
| − | Salazar Slytherin was known to possess great cunning and determination, qualities he prized in students of Slytherin House. At one point, the Sorting Hat refers to him as "power-hungry Slytherin". He seemed to stop at nothing to get what he wanted; this was proven when he constructed the Chamber of Secrets to purge Muggle-borns, despite the fact that the other founders disagreed with his beliefs. Slytherin is said to be one of the greatest wizards of his age, with extensive abilities, particularly in Legilimency. When considering Sorting a student into Slytherin, the Sorting Hat looks for Slytherin's traits in the student, including cunning, determination, and resourcefulness. |
||
| + | |||
| + | ==Personality and traits== |
||
| + | Salazar Slytherin was known to possess great cunning and determination, qualities which he prized in students of [[Slytherin|Slytherin House]].<ref name="OOTP11"/> At one point, the [[Sorting Hat]] referred to him as "''power-hungry Slytherin''".<ref name="GOF12">{{GOF|B|12}}</ref> He seemed to stop at nothing to get what he wanted, which was proven when he constructed the [[Chamber of Secrets]] to purge [[Muggle-born]]s from the school, despite the fact that the other founders disagreed with his beliefs.<ref name="COS9"/><ref name="HL-study"/> This unrepentant ruthlessness mixed with his [[Pure-blood supremacy|pure-blood supremacist]] views would be adopted by numerous descendants of his, the infamous [[Tom Riddle|Lord Voldemort]] most of all.<ref name="COS17"/> |
||
| + | |||
| + | Slytherin was also quite proud and vain, as he went to the trouble of immortalising his image in the Chamber of Secrets in the form of a titanic statue standing several dozen feet tall, something that the other three founders were never known to have done.<ref name="COS17"/> An effigy of such proportions would certainly reflect a grandiose image of oneself.<ref name="COS17"/> This love of grandeur was apparently passed onto his bloodline as well, as the descending [[House of Gaunt|Gaunt bloodline]] ended up squandering their fortune for self-indulgent lavishness long before the generation of [[Marvolo Gaunt|Marvolo]], who continued to flaunt the little heirlooms he had left in front of others.<ref name="HBP10"/> |
||
| + | |||
| + | Slytherin was said to be one of the greatest wizards of his age,<ref name="COS9"/> with extensive [[magic]]al abilities, particularly in [[Legilimency]].<ref name="JKRS"/> When considering [[Sorting Ceremony|sorting]] a student into Slytherin, the [[Sorting Hat]] looked for Slytherin's traits in the student, including cunning, determination, ambition, and resourcefulness.<ref name="COS18"/> |
||
==Magical abilities and skills== |
==Magical abilities and skills== |
||
| + | {{Quote|It matters, because being able to talk to snakes was what Salazar Slytherin was famous for. That's why the symbol of Slytherin House is a serpent.|[[Hermione Granger]] informing [[Harry Potter]] of Slytherin's ability as a Parselmouth|Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets}} |
||
| + | *'''[[Parseltongue]]''': Salazar Slytherin was one of the earliest recorded [[Parseltongue|Parselmouths]] and used this ability to control a [[Serpent of Slytherin|Basilisk]]. His house's symbol was a [[Snake|serpent]] because to this, and he passed this trait on to his [[House of Gaunt|descendants]].<ref name="COS11"/> |
||
| + | *'''[[Legilimency]]''': Slytherin was said to have been a skilled Legilimens.<ref name="JKRS"/> |
||
| + | *'''[[Dark Arts]]''': He was capable of casting the [[Killing Curse]] and the [[Imperius Curse]], which were not [[Unforgivable Curses|unforgivable]] during his lifetime, and was skilled in the handling of [[curse]]d objects.<ref name="LEGOY2">{{LEGO|Y2}}</ref><ref name="HL-time"/><ref name="HL-study"/> |
||
| + | *'''[[Wandlore]]/[[Wandmaker|Wandmaking]]''': Slytherin created his [[Salazar Slytherin's wand|own wand]] of [[Snakewood]] and [[Basilisk horn]]. He also taught it the unique ability to "sleep" when instructed.<ref name="PM-ilvermorny" /> |
||
| + | *'''[[Basilisk]] breeding''': Slytherin managed to breed [[Serpent of Slytherin|a Basilisk]] and kept it alive in the [[Chamber of Secrets]] for over one thousand years, surpassing its average nine-hundred year lifespan.<ref name="COS17"/> |
||
| + | *'''[[Charm]]s''': With the combined abilities of the other founders, he helped to bewitch the [[Sorting Hat]] into a sentient and talking magical object with personality, to [[Sorting ceremony|sort]] students well after their lifetime.<ref name="PM-sorting hat">{{WW|the-sorting-hat}}</ref> He could also produce at least a non-corporeal [[Patronus Charm|Patronus]].<ref name="LEGOY2"/> |
||
| + | ==Possessions== |
||
| − | *'''Parselmouth''': Salazar Slytherin was one of the earliest recorded [[Parselmouth]]s and used this ability to control a basilisk. His house's symbol is a serpent due to this, and he passed this trait on to his descendants. |
||
| + | *'''[[Salazar Slytherin's wand|Wand]]''': Slytherin owned a [[wand]] made of [[Snakewood]] with a [[Basilisk horn]] [[Wand core|core]]. It was passed down through the generations until it was stolen from Gormlaith Gaunt by her niece Isolt Sayre, and later buried on the grounds of Ilvermorny School in North America.<ref name="PM-ilvermorny" /> |
||
| − | *'''Legilimency''': Slytherin was said to have been a skilled Legilimens. |
||
| + | *'''[[Slytherin's Locket|Locket]]''': Slytherin owned a locket which he passed down to his descendants.<ref name="HBP20"/> It was later turned into a Horcrux by his descendant Tom Riddle.<ref name="HBP23"/> |
||
| − | *'''Basilisk breeder''': Slytherin managed to breed a basilisk and kept it alive in the Chamber of Secrets for over one thousand years, surpassing its average nine-hundred years lifespan. |
||
| + | *'''[[Serpent of Slytherin|Basilisk]]''': Slytherin owned a [[Basilisk]] and kept it in the Chamber of Secrets.<ref name="COS17"/> |
||
| + | *'''[[Slytherin's Spellbook|Spellbook]]''': Slytherin wrote a [[book]] which he kept in his [[Slytherin's Scriptorium|Scriptorium]], recounting his life and knowledge of the [[Dark Arts]].<ref name="HL-study"/> |
||
| + | *'''[[Slytherin's Scriptorium|Scriptorium]]''': a secret office in the [[Dungeons]] of [[Hogwarts Castle]], the knowledge of which was privy only to his [[House of Gaunt|descendants]].<ref name="HL-study"/> |
||
| + | *'''[[Slytherin Lock]]''': Sentient locks used to guard his Scriptorium, invented by Salazar himself.<ref name="HL-study"/> |
||
| + | *'''[[Chamber of Secrets]]''': the underground chamber which Slytherin constructed at Hogwarts to house his Basilisk.<ref name="COS9"/> |
||
==Etymology== |
==Etymology== |
||
| + | According to [[J. K. Rowling]], Salazar Slytherin was named after the Portuguese dictator, {{w|António de Oliveira Salazar}}, who ruled from 1932 to 1968.<ref>https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/852974465587847168</ref> The name ''Salazar'' means "old hall", from {{w|Castilian}} ''sala'' and {{w|Basque}} ''zahar''.<ref>{{Wikilink|Salazar (surname)}}</ref> |
||
| − | The name '''Salazar''' is originally a Portuguese family name. [[Wikipedia:António de Oliveira Salazar|António de Oliveira '''Salazar''']] was a fascist dictator of Portugal (where Rowling lived for several years) from [[1930s|1932]] to [[1960s|1968]]. Rowling stated that the name "'''Salazar''' Slytherin" was chosen after the Portuguese dictator's name. |
||
| + | ==Behind the scenes== |
||
| − | Meanwhile, ''Slytherin'' may refer to the words "sly" as well as "slithering", which is the form of locomotion of snakes, possibly referring to his rare ability to talk to snakes called parseltongue. Salazar, sometimes spelled as Salasar, is a Basque surname meaning old hall (from Castilian Sala (hall) and Basque zahar (old)). The name originates from the town of the same name: Salazar, in northern Burgos, Castile. |
||
| + | [[File:SalazarSlytherinLEGO.jpg|150px|thumb|Salazar Slytherin as a LEGO mini-figure]] |
||
| + | [[File:Salazar Slytherin.png|150px|thumb|Salazar Slytherin in {{LEGO|Y2}}]] |
||
| + | *Slytherin said he was "''only teaching those whose ancestry is purest''", not only those whose ancestry is "[[Pure-blood|completely spotless]]". As such, he did not view [[half-blood]] witches and wizards differently from [[Pure-blood|pure-bloods]] from a blood purity point of view, even if he considered them less respectable than pure-bloods, and thus Slytherin House let wizards such as [[Severus Snape]] and [[Tom Riddle]] into its ranks. It does mean, however, that he "usually" never allows [[Muggle-born]]s into his house. |
||
| + | *Slytherin was the featured "[[Wizard of the Month]]" for June 2007 on [[J. K. Rowling]]'s website, where he was profiled: "''One of the four celebrated Founders of [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]], Salazar Slytherin was one of the first recorded [[Parseltongue|Parselmouths]], an accomplished [[Legilimency|Legilimens]], and a notorious champion of [[pure-blood supremacy]]''". |
||
| + | *In {{COS|F}}, the statue of Salazar Slytherin only covers his head, compared to the book where it was full-body. It was revealed in ''[[Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey|Page to Screen]]'' that the Chamber is flooded so that the rest of the statue below his head is submerged beneath the water. |
||
| + | *Both pictures of Slytherin in the [[Wizard of the Month]] and at the Famous Cards depict Slytherin with steepled fingers. |
||
| + | *Salazar Slytherin appears as a portrait in the "Forbidden Journey" ride at Universal Orlando, where he expresses his dislike for [[Harry Potter]] and [[Albus Dumbledore]]. He is also the only one of the four Founders to appear in behind the scenes footage of the ride. A DVD extra shows the actor being dressed up on set. |
||
| + | *Although it was briefly speculated in ''Chamber of Secrets'', Harry is not, in fact, a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin, though he ''is'' a distant cousin of [[Lord Voldemort]], as both are descended from the [[Peverell family]]. |
||
| + | *Slytherin built the Chamber of Secrets to allow his heir to purge the school of Muggle-borns. However, after the chamber's failure, Voldemort accomplished Slytherin's wishes with another method: by taking over the [[British Ministry of Magic]] and creating the [[Muggle-Born Registration Commission]] to purge Muggle-borns from the wider wizarding population. |
||
| + | *Although it has been suggested that Salazar Slytherin was from the Fens in eastern [[England]], it has not been confirmed. It would also make sense if Slytherin came from [[Ireland]], as that would mean that the four founders of Hogwarts would have originated from the four main countries that make up a vast majority of Hogwarts students. [[Scotland]] ([[Rowena Ravenclaw]]), [[Wales]] ([[Helga Hufflepuff]]), England ([[Godric Gryffindor]]) and Ireland. However, Ireland does not have snakes, and it is unknown when and where Slytherin discovered his Parselmouth abilities. The Gaunt family, his descendants, have lived in both England and Ireland. |
||
| + | *He is played by actor [[Ken Bones]] in {{HPFJ}}.<ref name="imdb">[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0094297/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t1 Ken Bones's profile on IMDb]</ref> |
||
| + | *Since snakewood is not naturally found in what [[Muggle]]s call the Old World,<ref>{{Wikilink|Snakewood}}</ref> it is likely that Slytherin travelled to [[North America|North]] or [[South America]] or to [[Australia]] to acquire the wood for his wand, as [[wizardkind|wizards]] were aware of the New World long before Muggles. |
||
| + | *In [[2019]], a new species of pit viper discovered in [[Wikipedia:Arunachal Pradesh|Arunachal Pradesh]], [[India]] was named ''[[Wikipedia:Trimeresurus salazar|Trimeresurus salazar]]'', after Salazar Slytherin.<ref>[https://zse.pensoft.net/article/48431/element/8/21033// A new species of green pit vipers of the genus Trimeresurus Lacépède, 1804 (Reptilia, Serpentes, Viperidae) from western Arunachal Pradesh, India]</ref> |
||
| + | *Although his only known descendant in [[2020]] was [[Delphini]], Salazar may have had descendants in [[United States of America|America]] via [[Martha Steward II|Martha Steward]]. |
||
| + | **Martha, however, was a [[Squib]], and she married a [[Martha Steward II's husband|Muggle]], so if there were descendants of hers in America, they most likely would be Muggle-born wizards, or Muggles. Ironically, Salazar Slytherin, may therefore have had descendants who were in the two categories of people he hated most. |
||
| + | ==Appearances== |
||
| − | Alonso de Salazar Frías was a 16th-17th century Spanish inquisitor who is famous for convincing the Spanish Inquisition that most of the witchcraft cases were based on insanity and confessions made to stop torture, rather than accurate cases of people associating with the devil. He was able to stop convictions based solely on testimony. |
||
| + | {{Imagecat|Images of Salazar Slytherin}} |
||
| + | *{{PS|G}} {{FWC}} |
||
| + | *{{COS}} {{1st Mention}} {{Statue}} |
||
| + | *{{COS|F}} {{Statue}} {{Portrait}} |
||
| + | *{{COS|G}} {{Statue}} {{FWC}} |
||
| + | *{{POA|F}} {{Portrait}} |
||
| + | *{{HBP}} {{Mention}} |
||
| + | *{{HBP|F}} {{Portrait}} |
||
| + | *{{HBP|G}} {{Mention}} {{NDS only}} |
||
| + | *{{DH}} {{Mention}} |
||
| + | *{{DH|F2}} {{Statue}} |
||
| + | *{{DH|G2}} {{Statue}} |
||
| + | *{{PM}} |
||
| + | *{{WW}} |
||
| + | *{{JKRS}} |
||
| + | *{{LEGO}} |
||
| + | *{{LEGO|Y1}} {{C|Mentioned only in DS version}} |
||
| + | *{{LEGO|Y2}}<ref name="LHP">Slytherin is available in the Nintendo DS version of {{LEGO|Y2}}. For other devices, he is available in the "Downloadable Character Pack" [[Wikipedia:Downloadable content|DLC]] for the game.</ref> |
||
| + | *{{WWHP}} {{Portrait}} |
||
| + | *{{HPV|CR}} {{Mention}} |
||
| + | *{{HM}} {{Mention}} |
||
| + | *{{WU}} {{Portrait}} |
||
| + | *{{PAS}} {{Statue}} |
||
| + | *{{MA}} {{Statue}} {{FWC}} |
||
| + | *{{HL}} {{Statue}} |
||
| − | == |
+ | ==Notes and references== |
| + | {{Reflist}} |
||
| − | * Slytherin was the featured "[[Wizard of the Month]]" for June 2007 on [[J. K. Rowling]]'s website, where he was profiled thus: "One of the four celebrated Founders of [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]], Salazar Slytherin was one of the first recorded [[Parseltongue|Parselmouths]], an accomplished [[Legilimency|Legilimens]], and a notorious champion of [[pure-blood]] supremacy". |
||
| − | * In the film, the statue of Salazar Slytherin only covers his head, compared to the book where it was full-body. It was revealed in Page to Screen that the Chamber is flooded so that the rest of the statue below his head is submerged beneath the water. |
||
| − | * Both pictures of Slytherin in the [[Wizard of the Month]] and at the Famous Cards depict Slytherin with steepled fingers. |
||
| − | * Salazar Slytherin appears as a portrait in the "Forbidden Journey" ride at Universal Orlando, where he expresses his dislike for [[Harry Potter]] and [[Albus Dumbledore]]. |
||
| − | * Harry is very distantly related to Salazar Slytherin, but is not a descendant of him, as Voldemort is descended from Slytherin, and the second Peverell brother, while Harry is a descendant of the third. |
||
| − | * The picture of Salazar at the top of this page bears a striking resemblance to Anton LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan. It is unknown if this is intentional. |
||
| − | * The depiction of Salazar on his Chocolate Frog Card bears a striking resemblance to Verminous Skumm, an antagonist from ''Captain Planet and the Planeteers''. |
||
| − | * In the Chamber of Secrets book, when Dumbledore explains the real reason why Harry Potter is able to speak Parselmouth, the text erroneously labels Voldemort as being Salazar Slytherin's ancestor rather than his descendant. |
||
| − | * Slytherin built the Chamber of Secrets to allow his heir to purge the school of Muggle-borns. However, after the chamber's failure, Voldemort accomplished Slytherin's wishes with another method: by taking over the Ministry of Magic and creating the [[Muggle-Born Registration Commission]]. |
||
==See also== |
==See also== |
||
| Line 100: | Line 179: | ||
*[[Helga Hufflepuff]] |
*[[Helga Hufflepuff]] |
||
*[[Godric Gryffindor]] |
*[[Godric Gryffindor]] |
||
| − | *[[ |
+ | *[[Serpent of Slytherin]] |
| − | *[[ |
+ | *[[Slytherin's Locket]] |
*[[Tom Riddle]] |
*[[Tom Riddle]] |
||
*[[Chamber of Secrets]] |
*[[Chamber of Secrets]] |
||
| − | |||
| − | ==Appearances== |
||
| − | {{Imagecat|Images of Salazar Slytherin}} |
||
| − | *''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)]]'' {{FWC}} |
||
| − | *''[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]]'' {{Statue}} |
||
| − | *''[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)]]'' {{Statue}} {{Comment|Non-canon in portrait}} |
||
| − | *''[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)]]'' {{Statue}} {{FWC}} |
||
| − | *''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)]]'' {{Portrait}} |
||
| − | *''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]]'' {{Mention}} |
||
| − | *''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)]]'' {{Portrait}} |
||
| − | *''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]'' {{Mention}} |
||
| − | *''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2]]'' {{Statue}} |
||
| − | *''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)]]'' {{Statue}} |
||
| − | *''[[LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4]]'' {{C|Mentioned only in DS version}} |
||
| − | *''[[LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7]] ''<ref name="LHP">Slytherin is available in the Nintendo DS version of ''[[LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7]]''. For other devices, he is available in the "Downloadable Character Pack" [[Wikipedia:Downloadable content|DLC]] for the game.</ref> |
||
| − | *''[[The Wizarding World of Harry Potter]]'' {{Portrait}} |
||
| − | *''[[Wizard of the Month]]'' |
||
| − | *''[[Pottermore]]'' {{Mention}} |
||
| − | |||
| − | ==Notes and references== |
||
| − | {{Reflist}} |
||
| − | |||
{{Start box}} |
{{Start box}} |
||
{{Succession box |
{{Succession box |
||
| Line 131: | Line 188: | ||
|years= |
|years= |
||
|position=[[Head of Slytherin House]] |
|position=[[Head of Slytherin House]] |
||
| − | |successor=Unknown, eventually [[ |
+ | |successor=Unknown, eventually [[Abraham Ronen]] |
}} |
}} |
||
{{End box}} |
{{End box}} |
||
{{Hogwarts}} |
{{Hogwarts}} |
||
{{Hogwarts below ground floor}} |
{{Hogwarts below ground floor}} |
||
| + | {{Chocolate Frog Cards}} |
||
| − | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slytherin, Salazar}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slytherin, Salazar}} |
||
| − | |||
[[de:Salazar Slytherin]] |
[[de:Salazar Slytherin]] |
||
| + | [[de2:Salazar Slytherin]] |
||
[[es:Salazar Slytherin]] |
[[es:Salazar Slytherin]] |
||
[[fi:Salazar Luihunen]] |
[[fi:Salazar Luihunen]] |
||
[[fr:Salazar Serpentard]] |
[[fr:Salazar Serpentard]] |
||
[[it:Salazar Serpeverde]] |
[[it:Salazar Serpeverde]] |
||
| + | [[ja:サラザール・スリザリン]] |
||
[[nl:Zalazar Zwadderich]] |
[[nl:Zalazar Zwadderich]] |
||
| + | [[no:Salazar Smygard]] |
||
[[pl:Salazar Slytherin]] |
[[pl:Salazar Slytherin]] |
||
[[ru:Салазар Слизерин]] |
[[ru:Салазар Слизерин]] |
||
| + | [[vi:Salazar Slytherin]] |
||
| + | [[Category:10th century births]] |
||
| + | [[Category:Authors]] |
||
| + | [[Category:Basilisk owners]] |
||
| + | [[Category:Breeders]] |
||
| + | [[Category:British or Irish individuals]] |
||
[[Category:Dark wizards]] |
[[Category:Dark wizards]] |
||
| − | [[Category: |
+ | [[Category:Foundables]] |
| − | [[Category: |
+ | [[Category:Gold Chocolate Frog Cards]] |
| + | [[Category:Grey-eyed individuals]] |
||
| + | [[Category:Heads of House]] |
||
[[Category:Historical figures|Slytherin]] |
[[Category:Historical figures|Slytherin]] |
||
| − | [[Category: |
+ | [[Category:Hogwarts Castle namesakes]] |
| − | [[Category:Chocolate Frog Cards]] |
||
| − | [[Category:Males]] |
||
[[Category:Hogwarts founders]] |
[[Category:Hogwarts founders]] |
||
| + | [[Category:Inventors]] |
||
| + | [[Category:Legilimens]] |
||
| + | [[Category:Males]] |
||
| + | [[Category:Parselmouths]] |
||
[[Category:Portraits]] |
[[Category:Portraits]] |
||
| − | [[Category:Professors]] |
||
[[Category:Pure-blood supremacists]] |
[[Category:Pure-blood supremacists]] |
||
[[Category:Pure-bloods]] |
[[Category:Pure-bloods]] |
||
| + | [[Category:Slytherin family|Salazar]] |
||
[[Category:Slytherins]] |
[[Category:Slytherins]] |
||
[[Category:Statues]] |
[[Category:Statues]] |
||
| + | [[Category:Wandmakers]] |
||
[[Category:Wizard of the Month]] |
[[Category:Wizard of the Month]] |
||
| − | [[Category:Wizards]] |
||
| − | [[Category:Slytherin Family]] |
||
| − | [[Category:Heads of House]] |
||
| − | [[Category:Slytherin House]] |
||
| − | [[Category:Parselmouths]] |
||
| − | [[Category:Plot to Open the Chamber of Secrets Participants]] |
||
Latest revision as of 09:32, 27 March 2024
|
Warning!
At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in: Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery & Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells & Harry Potter: Magic Awakened & Hogwarts Legacy. |
Salazar Slytherin (fl. c. 993) was a pure-blood wizard, noted for his cunning and determination. He was regarded as one of the greatest wizards of the age, regarded for his abilities as a Parselmouth[4] and as a skilled Legilimens.[6] Slytherin was one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry along with Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, and Rowena Ravenclaw. He was also the namesake of Slytherin House.[2]
He mistrusted Muggle-born students to the point of proposing that they should not be accepted at Hogwarts. When he expressed his opinion to the other Hogwarts founders, they did not agree with him. In response, he left the school, never to return, and constructed the Chamber of Secrets to house a Basilisk, so that one day, the Heir of Slytherin could purge the school of Muggle-borns in his name, and fulfil his long-lasting wish of having only students with at least one wizarding relative.[9]
Biography
Early life
Salazar Slytherin was raised into a pure-blood family in either England or Ireland, where he was either born or raised in a fen-land area.[3] He and his family had the rare magical gift of speaking Parseltongue.[4] During his youth, he was best friends with Godric Gryffindor.[citation needed]
At some point, Slytherin created his own wand, made of Snakewood with a core of Basilisk horn. He taught it the unique ability to "sleep" when commanded in parseltongue.[8]
Hogwarts founder
Salazar Slytherin wearing his locket
Salazar Slytherin founded Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, with Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw. He appeared to have carefully selected the members of his own House.[2]
The qualities which Slytherin prized in his "handpicked students" included resourcefulness, determination, and a certain disregard for the rules, along with the ability to speak Parseltongue.[11] He also selected his students according to their cunning, ambition, and blood purity.[12] His house within Hogwarts was symbolised by a serpent,[4] with house colours of green and silver.[13]
As a professor, he was in favour of teaching the Dark Arts. He sent one student on a task to study a Dark relic in the nearby Feldcroft Catacomb, which had the power to summon Inferi, which Slytherin recorded in his Spellbook. He also taught the Unforgivable Curses, such as the Imperius Curse, which were not illegal at the time.[14]
He constructed a secret Scriptorium, which could only be accessed by those who spoke Parseltongue and had the willingness to cast the Cruciatus Curse on somebody else to enter. There, he kept his Spellbook, a tome that recorded his life and gave further insight into the Dark Arts. The secret of the Scriptorium passed through his descendants, the House of Gaunt, for generations, until it was eventually opened by Ominis Gaunt, along with Sebastian Sallow and their mutual friend, in the 1890–1891 school year.[15]
Finally, and most famously, Salazar Slytherin was responsible for the construction of the Chamber of Secrets beneath the Dungeons of Hogwarts Castle. The Chamber contained a Basilisk which could only be controlled by his own descendant, the "Heir of Slytherin", to be used to purge the school of all Muggle-borns.[16] In 1943, Tom Riddle, the Heir of Slytherin, opened the Chamber and used the Basilisk to attack Muggle-borns, resulting in the death of Myrtle Warren. It was opened again in 1992, by Ginny Weasley under the influence of Tom Riddle's Diary, which contained a fragment of his soul.[9]
As time advanced, however, the Chamber turned into legend, as recounted by Professor Cuthbert Binns to his students one-thousand years later.[2]
Leaving Hogwarts
- "I fear we shall never come to an accord. I cannot persuade even one of them to listen to reason. I had dared hope that Godric's thoughts aligned with my own; that he understood why the calibre of students needed to be exceptional. But he has fallen prey to the ridiculous notion that Muggle-borns are somehow as capable as pure-bloods."
- — An excerpt from Salazar Slytherin's note, in his own hand[src]
The statue of Salazar Slytherin and the hiding-place of Slytherin's Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets
After founding Hogwarts and co-existing for years, a rift began to grow between Slytherin and the other founders. Slytherin disliked taking students from families with only Muggles, seeing them as untrustworthy and unworthy of being taught how to use their magic, and tried to persuade the other founders to only take students from pure-blood or half-blood families. However, the other founders didn't agree with Slytherin, particularly Godric Gryffindor.[2][15]
Eventually, Slytherin and Gryffindor had a bitter argument over the subject. Slytherin chose to leave the school completely, but he had left the Chamber of Secrets and his Basilisk behind.[2]
Post-mortem
Artistic representations
There were portraits of Slytherin hung at Hogwarts Castle, one guarding a secret shortcut between the Dungeon's antechamber and the Entrance Hall side room. The password required to gain access to said shortcut was Mortal Dread.[17] The other was hung at the Headmaster's office, part of the Headmaster portraits gallery.[18] Slytherin featured on various Chocolate Frog Cards.[19]
Lord Voldemort
The death of Myrtle Warren
In 1943, Tom Riddle, the "Heir of Slytherin", opened the Chamber of Secrets to conduct a purge on Muggle-born students. This resulted in the death of Myrtle Warren, who eventually returned as a ghost.[20] Riddle opened the Chamber again in 1993 through the use of one of his seven Horcruxes, his diary. Using the fragment of his soul within the diary, he possessed Ginny Weasley and forced her to do his bidding. While he still attacked Muggle-born students (none of whom died, and were simply petrified), his ultimate goal was to lure Harry Potter into the Chamber and kill him.[9]
Slytherin's Locket: one of the Horcruxes created by Lord Voldemort
Salazar Slytherin owned a locket emblazoned with the letter "S", which became an heirloom of his last known line of descendants, the Gaunts. Merope Gaunt sold the locket to Caractacus Burke. It was then bought up by Hepzibah Smith, who had a love for antiques. It was subsequently stolen from her by Tom Riddle, later known as Lord Voldemort.[21] Riddle would later turn the locket into a Horcrux[22] and conceal it in a seaside cave he had visited in his youth.[23] The same locket was removed from the cave by Regulus Black with the aid of his house-elf, Kreacher. Kreacher was ordered to destroy the locket, but was unable to do so.[24]
It was later stolen from the Black family home at 12 Grimmauld Place by Mundungus Fletcher, and found its way into the hands of the Ministry of Magic bureaucrat, Dolores Umbridge. Umbridge claiming the "S" stood for Selwyn, a pure-blood family line. She either did not know better or intended to conceal its real meaning from the public.[25]
The destruction of the Horcrux with Gryffindor's sword
The locket was recovered by Harry Potter, and was later destroyed in the winter of 1997 by Ron Weasley with Godric Gryffindor's sword. This act of destruction removed all of the Horcrux's power.[26]
In 1997, Riddle, now known as Lord Voldemort, realised his ancestor's wish of purging the school of Muggle-borns by another method: by taking over the British Ministry of Magic and using falsified propaganda to ostracise and eradicate Muggle-borns in the British wizarding population.[27] Voldemort managed to have Muggle-borns evicted from the wizarding world,[27][25] and at the end of the year, Voldemort even claimed that Hogwarts no longer needed sorting, and that Slytherin's symbols, shields and colours would suffice. After Voldemort's Last Stand, where he was defeated by Harry Potter, all of this was repealed, and Slytherin's ultimate desire ended in failure.[28]
However, even after Voldemort's death, Salazar Slytherin's bloodline survived through Voldemort's secret daugther, Delphini, whom he conceived with Bellatrix Lestrange. As of 2020, Delphini was the last known survivor of the Slytherin bloodline.[29]
Theories
While it is true that Slytherin constructed the Chamber,[15] a popular historical theory mentioned on the Wizards' Ordinary Magic and Basic Aptitude Test was that towards the end of his life Salazar reconciled with the other founders and returned to the school, where he eventually died.[30]
Physical description
Salazar Slytherin
- "Then, as Harry drew level with the last pair of pillars, a statue high as the Chamber itself loomed into view, standing against the back wall... It was ancient and monkeyish, with a long, thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of the wizard's sweeping stone robes, where two enormous grey feet stood on the smooth Chamber floor."
- — Description of the Statue of Slytherin[src]
The statue of Salazar Slytherin in the Chamber of Secrets depicted an "ancient and monkeyish" man with a "long thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of his sweeping robes".[9] His beard was white in colour.[6] Marvolo Gaunt, a blood relative, was similarly described as being monkey-like in appearance.[31]
Personality and traits
Salazar Slytherin was known to possess great cunning and determination, qualities which he prized in students of Slytherin House.[12] At one point, the Sorting Hat referred to him as "power-hungry Slytherin".[32] He seemed to stop at nothing to get what he wanted, which was proven when he constructed the Chamber of Secrets to purge Muggle-borns from the school, despite the fact that the other founders disagreed with his beliefs.[2][15] This unrepentant ruthlessness mixed with his pure-blood supremacist views would be adopted by numerous descendants of his, the infamous Lord Voldemort most of all.[9]
Slytherin was also quite proud and vain, as he went to the trouble of immortalising his image in the Chamber of Secrets in the form of a titanic statue standing several dozen feet tall, something that the other three founders were never known to have done.[9] An effigy of such proportions would certainly reflect a grandiose image of oneself.[9] This love of grandeur was apparently passed onto his bloodline as well, as the descending Gaunt bloodline ended up squandering their fortune for self-indulgent lavishness long before the generation of Marvolo, who continued to flaunt the little heirlooms he had left in front of others.[31]
Slytherin was said to be one of the greatest wizards of his age,[2] with extensive magical abilities, particularly in Legilimency.[6] When considering sorting a student into Slytherin, the Sorting Hat looked for Slytherin's traits in the student, including cunning, determination, ambition, and resourcefulness.[11]
Magical abilities and skills
- "It matters, because being able to talk to snakes was what Salazar Slytherin was famous for. That's why the symbol of Slytherin House is a serpent."
- — Hermione Granger informing Harry Potter of Slytherin's ability as a Parselmouth[src]
- Parseltongue: Salazar Slytherin was one of the earliest recorded Parselmouths and used this ability to control a Basilisk. His house's symbol was a serpent because to this, and he passed this trait on to his descendants.[4]
- Legilimency: Slytherin was said to have been a skilled Legilimens.[6]
- Dark Arts: He was capable of casting the Killing Curse and the Imperius Curse, which were not unforgivable during his lifetime, and was skilled in the handling of cursed objects.[10][14][15]
- Wandlore/Wandmaking: Slytherin created his own wand of Snakewood and Basilisk horn. He also taught it the unique ability to "sleep" when instructed.[8]
- Basilisk breeding: Slytherin managed to breed a Basilisk and kept it alive in the Chamber of Secrets for over one thousand years, surpassing its average nine-hundred year lifespan.[9]
- Charms: With the combined abilities of the other founders, he helped to bewitch the Sorting Hat into a sentient and talking magical object with personality, to sort students well after their lifetime.[33] He could also produce at least a non-corporeal Patronus.[10]
Possessions
- Wand: Slytherin owned a wand made of Snakewood with a Basilisk horn core. It was passed down through the generations until it was stolen from Gormlaith Gaunt by her niece Isolt Sayre, and later buried on the grounds of Ilvermorny School in North America.[8]
- Locket: Slytherin owned a locket which he passed down to his descendants.[21] It was later turned into a Horcrux by his descendant Tom Riddle.[22]
- Basilisk: Slytherin owned a Basilisk and kept it in the Chamber of Secrets.[9]
- Spellbook: Slytherin wrote a book which he kept in his Scriptorium, recounting his life and knowledge of the Dark Arts.[15]
- Scriptorium: a secret office in the Dungeons of Hogwarts Castle, the knowledge of which was privy only to his descendants.[15]
- Slytherin Lock: Sentient locks used to guard his Scriptorium, invented by Salazar himself.[15]
- Chamber of Secrets: the underground chamber which Slytherin constructed at Hogwarts to house his Basilisk.[2]
Etymology
According to J. K. Rowling, Salazar Slytherin was named after the Portuguese dictator, António de Oliveira Salazar, who ruled from 1932 to 1968.[34] The name Salazar means "old hall", from Castilian sala and Basque zahar.[35]
Behind the scenes
Salazar Slytherin as a LEGO mini-figure
Salazar Slytherin in LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
- Slytherin said he was "only teaching those whose ancestry is purest", not only those whose ancestry is "completely spotless". As such, he did not view half-blood witches and wizards differently from pure-bloods from a blood purity point of view, even if he considered them less respectable than pure-bloods, and thus Slytherin House let wizards such as Severus Snape and Tom Riddle into its ranks. It does mean, however, that he "usually" never allows Muggle-borns into his house.
- Slytherin was the featured "Wizard of the Month" for June 2007 on J. K. Rowling's website, where he was profiled: "One of the four celebrated Founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Salazar Slytherin was one of the first recorded Parselmouths, an accomplished Legilimens, and a notorious champion of pure-blood supremacy".
- In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film), the statue of Salazar Slytherin only covers his head, compared to the book where it was full-body. It was revealed in Page to Screen that the Chamber is flooded so that the rest of the statue below his head is submerged beneath the water.
- Both pictures of Slytherin in the Wizard of the Month and at the Famous Cards depict Slytherin with steepled fingers.
- Salazar Slytherin appears as a portrait in the "Forbidden Journey" ride at Universal Orlando, where he expresses his dislike for Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore. He is also the only one of the four Founders to appear in behind the scenes footage of the ride. A DVD extra shows the actor being dressed up on set.
- Although it was briefly speculated in Chamber of Secrets, Harry is not, in fact, a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin, though he is a distant cousin of Lord Voldemort, as both are descended from the Peverell family.
- Slytherin built the Chamber of Secrets to allow his heir to purge the school of Muggle-borns. However, after the chamber's failure, Voldemort accomplished Slytherin's wishes with another method: by taking over the British Ministry of Magic and creating the Muggle-Born Registration Commission to purge Muggle-borns from the wider wizarding population.
- Although it has been suggested that Salazar Slytherin was from the Fens in eastern England, it has not been confirmed. It would also make sense if Slytherin came from Ireland, as that would mean that the four founders of Hogwarts would have originated from the four main countries that make up a vast majority of Hogwarts students. Scotland (Rowena Ravenclaw), Wales (Helga Hufflepuff), England (Godric Gryffindor) and Ireland. However, Ireland does not have snakes, and it is unknown when and where Slytherin discovered his Parselmouth abilities. The Gaunt family, his descendants, have lived in both England and Ireland.
- He is played by actor Ken Bones in Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.[36]
- Since snakewood is not naturally found in what Muggles call the Old World,[37] it is likely that Slytherin travelled to North or South America or to Australia to acquire the wood for his wand, as wizards were aware of the New World long before Muggles.
- In 2019, a new species of pit viper discovered in Arunachal Pradesh, India was named Trimeresurus salazar, after Salazar Slytherin.[38]
- Although his only known descendant in 2020 was Delphini, Salazar may have had descendants in America via Martha Steward.
Appearances
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (First mentioned) (Appears as statue)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film) (Appears as statue) (Appears in portrait(s))
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) (Appears as statue) (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film) (Appears in portrait(s))
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) (Appears in portrait(s))
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game) (Mentioned only) (NDS version only)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Appears as statue)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game) (Appears as statue)
- Pottermore
- Wizarding World
- J. K. Rowling's official site
- LEGO Harry Potter
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (Mentioned only in DS version)
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7[39]
- The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (Appears in portrait(s))
- Harry Potter: The Creature Vault (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (Appears in portrait(s))
- Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells (Appears as statue)
- Harry Potter: Magic Awakened (Appears as statue) (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card)
- Hogwarts Legacy (Appears as statue)
Notes and references
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 9 (The Writing on the Wall) - "You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago - the precise date is uncertain - by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age." Binns says this late in the year 1992. Given that Slytherin would be of age by the school's founding, the latest he could be born is 976.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 9 (The Writing on the Wall)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the Sorting Hat says, "Shrewd Slytherin, from fen." Ireland is known for several fen-land areas; therefore, some have suggested Slytherin might be from Ireland, as that would represent all four kingdoms in which Hogwarts serves (with Rowena Ravenclaw being Scottish, Helga Hufflepuff being Welsh, and Godric Gryffindor being English). However, there are also fens in Eastern England in Norfolk, Suffolk, Lincolnshire, and Cambridgeshire.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 11 (The Duelling Club)
- ↑ The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 J. K. Rowling's official site - Wizard of the Month
- ↑ ARTICLE - Add to Template:WW at Wizarding World
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" at Wizarding World
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8 9.9 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 17 (The Heir of Slytherin)
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 18 (Dobby's Reward)
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 11 (The Sorting Hat's New Song)
- ↑ Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Colours" at Wizarding World
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Hogwarts Legacy, Relationship Quest "In the Shadow of Time"
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 15.7 Hogwarts Legacy, Relationship Quest "In the Shadow of the Study"
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 13 (The Very Secret Diary)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game) - PC version
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film) DVD (Disc 2 - Dumbledore's Office)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 16 (The Chamber of Secrets)
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 20 (Lord Voldemort's Request)
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 23 (Horcruxes)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 26 (The Cave)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 10 (Kreacher's Tale)
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 13 (The Muggle-Born Registration Commission)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 19 (The Silver Doe)
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 11 (The Bribe)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 36 (The Flaw in the Plan)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
- ↑ WOMBAT Test 3 from J. K. Rowling's official site (archived at The Harry Potter Lexicon)
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 10 (The House of Gaunt)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 12 (The Triwizard Tournament)
- ↑ Writing by J. K. Rowling: "The Sorting Hat" at Wizarding World
- ↑ https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/852974465587847168
- ↑
Salazar (surname) on Wikipedia
- ↑ Ken Bones's profile on IMDb
- ↑ Snakewood on Wikipedia
- ↑ A new species of green pit vipers of the genus Trimeresurus Lacépède, 1804 (Reptilia, Serpentes, Viperidae) from western Arunachal Pradesh, India
- ↑ Slytherin is available in the Nintendo DS version of LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7. For other devices, he is available in the "Downloadable Character Pack" DLC for the game.
See also
- Rowena Ravenclaw
- Helga Hufflepuff
- Godric Gryffindor
- Serpent of Slytherin
- Slytherin's Locket
- Tom Riddle
- Chamber of Secrets
.gif){kind=link}
