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"Troll -- in the dungeons -- thought you ought to know."
Quirinus Quirrell to Hogwarts School on 31 October, 1991[src]

A troll was a magical beast of prodigious strength and immense stupidity. In fact, they were so synonymous with stupidity that they actually had the lowest wizarding exam failing grade named after them. Trolls were grouped in the taxonomical genus Troglodytarum.[5] Trolls possessed rudimentary magic, but it is not known how they applied it.[6]

Description[]

Physical appearance[]

Trolls generally reached a height of about twelve feet and weighed up to a tonne.[1] Troll whiskers had magical properties, and were sometimes used as wand cores, though they were considered inferior to the Supreme Cores. Their feet had two toes, both with giant toenails.[7]

Behaviour[]

They were dangerously violent and incredibly aggressive, and they engaged in unpredictable behaviour, comparable to giants.[1] They were also incredibly low in intelligence when compared to other species; to give at least one example, giants seemed to have more intelligence than the troll, despite their otherwise similarities.[1] Trolls were particularly attracted to unpleasant smells, such as Dungbombs.[8]

Diet[]

Trolls, similar to Acromantulas, had a taste for human flesh. They enjoyed it raw, but were not exactly fussy about what they ate. Trolls were also fond of fish.[3]

Society and culture[]

"Anyone can speak Troll. All you have to do is point and grunt."
— The Troll language[src]

Troll language was supposedly nothing more than simple grunts that only trolls seemed to be able to interpret, though skilled magical multi-linguists such as Bartemius Crouch Senior could understand them.[9] Trolls understood only a limited number of human words, and some of the smarter ones who knew English could be skillfully trained as security trolls.[10] Professor Quirrell had a gift for communicating with trolls, having used it to set one loose in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1991 in an effort to steal the Philosopher's Stone.[11][12]

Mountain trolls had been known to tame and ride Graphorns, or at least try to ride them. However, the Graphorns didn't seem to be very keen on the idea.[1]

Trolls did not usually wear armour and would usually be prone to smashing it in confusion or anger. This makes it all the more surprising that a fully intact suit of Troll Armour was on display in the Armoury during the 1890s.[13]

History[]

"I went looking for the troll because I — I thought I could deal with it on my own — you know, because I've read all about them."
— Hermione Granger lying after encountering a troll[src]

Trolls originated in Scandinavia, but were later found all across Europe.[1]

Trolls were not recognised as magical beings, but instead classified as beasts by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures of the British Ministry of Magic, most likely due to their aggressive natures.[1] Pierre Bonaccord, the first Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, wanted to stop troll-hunting and give them rights, but his appointment to that office was contested by Liechtenstein, since they were having problems with a tribe of very dangerous mountain trolls at the time.[14]

Artemius Lawson was an outspoken advocate for the strict restraint of trolls. He thought it was wrong to allow them to roam free, stating that "they were creatures who weighed a ton, but had brains the size of a bogey".[15]

The Black family kept an umbrella stand made out of a troll's leg in their front hall.[16]

In the end of the 19th century, Ranrok's followers had enlisted trolls among their ranks. In 1890, they sent two of them to attack Hogsmeade in an attempt to create a diversion so that Victor Rookwood could abduct the new fifth-year student that had previously encountered Ranrok. However, the first troll was repelled by officer Ruth Singer and other villagers, while the second one was killed by the student with ancient magic.[17] During the final battle for control of the final repository located beneath Hogwarts, no less than four trolls were mobilised by Ranrok's troops; three of them were disposed of by the student and Professor Eleazar Fig, while the last one was taken out by Professor Aesop Sharp.[18]

Throughout their exploration of the region, the student would frequently encounter trolls (including ones that were not in Ranrok's army), such as when they went to find Bubotuber pus for Sacharissa Tugwood.[19] They also took out the troll that Alexandra Ricketts had unsuccessfully attempted to train to help defend Brocburrow.[20]

After the details of the Sorting Ceremony were revealed to him in 1991, Ron stated that he was going to kill his brother Fred, who had scared him earlier by suggesting that the test to get into Hogwarts involved wrestling a troll.[21]

A troll was Quirrell's contribution to guarding the Philosopher's Stone in the Underground Chambers, during the 1991–1992 school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.[22]

To create a diversion so he could go after the Philosopher's Stone, Professor Quirrell let another mountain troll into the castle on Hallowe'en 1991, appearing in the dungeon.[12] It wandered around the corridors until Harry Potter and Ron Weasley locked it in a girls' bathroom, only to realise soon after that Hermione Granger was also in that particular bathroom. With a combination of using the Levitation Charm and what Minerva McGonagall would cite as "sheer dumb luck", Ron managed to knock it by levitating its club and dropping it on its head, incapacitating it and saving Hermione.[11]

Trolls participated in wizarding society to some extent; some witches and wizards made a career out of training security trolls.[23] These were evidently a different type of troll than the mountain variety, since they seemed considerably more intelligent and less smelly. Dumbledore hired security trolls to guard the Fat Lady after Sirius Black attacked her. They spent all their time pacing the corridor in front of the Fat Lady's portrait, giving dirty looks to everyone who happened by and comparing the sizes of their clubs.[10] They left at the end of the year, when Sirius was deemed to have left the country.[24]

The wizarding author and celebrity Gilderoy Lockhart wrote about his supposed adventures with trolls in his book Travels with Trolls, which was a mandatory Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook for his classes in that subject for the 1992–1993 school year when he was that year's Professor.[25] As Gilderoy Lockhart was in reality a dishonest con artist who fraudulently took the credit of the achievements of far braver wizards and witches, by erasing their memories of their deeds with the Memory Charm, Lockhart in reality had no actual experience with these creatures.[26]

When Ron Weasley was captured by Snatchers in 1997, he told them he was Stan Shunpike, due to them not looking very intelligent, and even speculated that one of them might have been part-troll, judging by his odour.[27]

During the Calamity, several trolls started randomly appearing throughout the wizarding world guarding various magical Confoundables, with volunteer members of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force having to incapacitate them with spells such as the the Ebublio Jinx and the Knockback Jinx, in order to overpower the Confoundables and return them to their rightful place.[28]

Known breeds[]

There were three known different types of trolls, each with its own highly unique set of physical differences.

Breed Image Description
Mountain troll Mountain Troll Standing twelve feet tall, it was the largest of the various troll species. It had grey skin, a lumpy body, and flat horny feet. It exuded a powerfully awful smell that was reminiscent of “a mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean.” Its nose was full of what looks like lumpy, grey glue: troll bogeys. It was also the most violent kind of troll.[11]
Forest troll Forest troll It had pale-green skin and straggly hair.[29] This breed of troll was native to forests or woodlands, and some may have even lived in the Forbidden Forest.[30]
River troll RiverTroll It had hairy purple skin and short horns. It was often found lurking under bridges or in the middle of rivers.[1]
Part-troll Beings with some, but not a complete, amount of troll heritage or blood, as well as part human blood. Harry Potter once speculated that Marcus Flint had some traces of troll blood in him; however, this might have been simply to insult Flint's stupidity and appearance.[31]

Behind the scenes[]

Appearances[]

Wiki
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Notes and references[]

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
  2. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) - PS1 version
  3. 3.0 3.1 Wonderbook: Book of Potions - see this video
  4. Pottermore - "History of Quidditch World Cup Part 2" on the "Pottermore Insider"
  5. Illustration of Diagon Alley by Jim Kay from the Deluxe Illustrated Slipcase Edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (see here).
  6. J. K. Rowling's official site
  7. Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Wand Cores" at Wizarding World
  8. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game) - Console versions
  9. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 7 (Bagman and Crouch)
  10. 10.0 10.1 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 14 (Snape's Grudge)
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 10 (Hallowe'en)
  12. 12.0 12.1 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 17 (The Man with Two Faces)
  13. Hogwarts Legacy
  14. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 31 (O.W.L.s)
  15. Daily Prophet Newsletters, 8 February, 1999, Page 1
  16. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 4 (Number Twelve Grimmauld Place)
  17. Hogwarts Legacy, Main Quest "Welcome to Hogsmeade"
  18. Hogwarts Legacy, Main Quest "The Final Repository"
  19. Hogwarts Legacy, Side Quest "Spot Removal"
  20. Hogwarts Legacy, Side Quest "Troll Control"
  21. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 7 (The Sorting Hat)
  22. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 16 (Through the Trapdoor)
  23. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 29 (Careers Advice)
  24. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 22 (Owl Post Again)
  25. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 3 (The Burrow)
  26. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 16 (The Chamber of Secrets)
  27. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 23 (Malfoy Manor)
  28. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
  29. Fantastic Beasts: Cases from the Wizarding World
  30. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) - PS1 version
  31. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 11 (Quidditch)
  32. LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4

See also[]

Magical creatures by classification
X Flobberworm · Horklump
XX Augurey · Bowtruckle · Chizpurfle · Clabbert · Diricawl · Fairy · Ghoul · Gnome · Grindylow · Imp · Jobberknoll · Mooncalf · Porlock · Puffskein · Ramora · Winged horse
XXX Ashwinder · Billywig · Bundimun · Crup · Doxy · Dugbog · Fire crab · Fwooper · Glumbumble · Hippocampus · Hippogriff · Hodag · Jarvey · Knarl · Kneazle · Leprechaun · Lobalug · Mackled Malaclaw · Moke · Murtlap · Niffler · Nogtail · Pixie · Plimpy · Pogrebin · Red Cap · Salamander · Sea serpent · Shrake · Streeler · Winged horse
XXXX Centaur · Demiguise · Erkling · Erumpent · Golden Snidget · Graphorn · Griffin · Hidebehind · Kappa · Kelpie · Merperson · Occamy · Phoenix · Re'em · Runespoor · Snallygaster · Sphinx · Tebo · Thestral · Thunderbird · Troll · Unicorn · Winged horse · Yeti
XXXXX Acromantula · Basilisk · Chimaera · Dragon · Horned Serpent · Lethifold · Manticore · Nundu · Quintaped · Wampus cat · Werewolf
Albus Dumbledore-101-chocFrogCard
Chocolate Frog Cards
Bridget-wenlock-card-lrg
Gold cards

Armando Dippet · Albus Dumbledore · Barberus Bragge · Bertie Bott · Carlotta Pinkstone · Dzou Yen · Falco Aesalon · Godric Gryffindor · Harry Potter · Herpo the Foul · Helga Hufflepuff · Montague Knightley · Phillipus von Hohenheim · Rowena Ravenclaw · Salazar Slytherin

Silver cards

Alberic Grunnion · Alberta Toothill · Andros the Invincible · Artemisia Lufkin · Blenheim Stalk · Bowman Wright · Chauncey Oldridge · Circe · Cliodna · Crispin Cronk · Cyprian Youdle · Daisy Dodderidge · Derwent Shimpling · Donaghan Tremlett · Dunbar Oglethorpe · Dymphna Furmage · Elfrida Clagg · Felix Summerbee · Fulbert the Fearful · Gaspard Shingleton · Gideon Crumb · Glenda Chittock · Gondoline Oliphant · Gregory the Smarmy · Gwenog Jones · Honoria Nutcombe · Ignatia Wildsmith · Joscelind Wadcock · Kirley Duke · Laverne de Montmorency · Leopoldina Smethwyck · Maeve · Mirabella Plunkett · Mopsus · Morgan le Fay · Oswald Beamish · Roderick Plumpton · Sacharissa Tugwood · Thaddeus Thurkell · Wendelin the Weird · Xavier Rastrick

Bronze cards

Adalbert Waffling · Almeric Sawbridge · Archibald Alderton · Balfour Blane · Beatrix Bloxam · Beaumont Marjoribanks · Bridget Wenlock · Burdock Muldoon · Cassandra Vablatsky · Celestina Warbeck · Cornelius Agrippa · Devlin Whitehorn · Dorcas Wellbeloved · Edgar Stroulger · Elladora Ketteridge · Ethelred the Ever-Ready · Flavius Belby · Gifford Ollerton · Glanmore Peakes · Glover Hipworth · Greta Catchlove · Grogan Stump · Gulliver Pokeby · Gunhilda de Gorsemoor · Havelock Sweeting · Hengist of Woodcroft · Heathcote Barbary · Herman Wintringham · Hesper Starkey · Jocunda Sykes · Justus Pilliwickle · Merlin · Merton Graves · Merwyn the Malicious · Miranda Goshawk · Mungo Bonham · Musidora Barkwith · Myron Wagtail · Newton Scamander · Norvel Twonk · Orsino Thruston · Perpetua Fancourt · Quong Po · Roland Kegg · Stoddard Withers · Tilly Toke · Uric the Oddball · Yardley Platt

Famous Vampires cards

Blodwyn Bludd · Vlad Drakul · Amarillo Lestoat · Carmilla Sanguina · Herbert Varney

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Babayaga · Malodora Grymm · Old Mother Hubbard · Cordelia Misericordia · Leticia Somnolens

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Bran the Bloodthirsty · Cyclops · Goliath · Morholt · Hengist of Upper Barnton

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Alguff the Awful · Eargit the Ugly · Gringott · Ug the Unreliable · Urg the Unclean

Dragon cards

Common Welsh Green · Hebridean Black · Hungarian Horntail · Norwegian Ridgeback · Romanian Longhorn

Beast cards

Billywig · Bowtruckle · Doxy · Double-ended Newt · Giant Purple Toad · Giant Squid · Gnome · Gytrash · Imp · Kelpie · Manticore · Mountain Troll · Streeler · Phoenix · Unicorn

Defence Against the Dark Arts (D.A.D.A.)
Subjectsdada
D.A.D.A. at Hogwarts
Classroom 3C · Classroom 3C backrooms · Temporary Classroom · Hogwarts Turris Magnus · Teacher's Office · Storeroom · Staircase · Storage room · Lesson Cup · Race Cup · Duelling Club · Dumbledore's Army
Professors
Isidora Morganach · Dinah Hecat · Arsenius Jigger · Albus Dumbledore · Galatea Merrythought · 1984–1985 professor · 1985–1986 professor · 1986–1987 professor · 1987–1988 professor · Patricia Rakepick · 1989–1990 professor · First 1990–1991 professor · Olivia Green · Quirinus Quirrell · Gilderoy Lockhart · Remus Lupin · Bartemius Crouch Junior (as Alastor Moody) · Dolores Umbridge · Severus Snape · Amycus Carrow (as Dark Arts teacher) · Unidentified professor · Brindlemore
Textbooks
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection · Advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts · Break with a Banshee · Gadding with Ghouls · Holidays with Hags · Travels with Trolls · Voyages with Vampires · Wanderings with Werewolves · Year with the Yeti · The Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts · Defensive Magical Theory · Dark Arts Defence – Basics for Beginners · Confronting the Faceless · Defence Against the Dark Arts
Spells studied at Hogwarts under D.A.D.A.
Aqua Eructo · Boggart-Banishing Spell (Riddikulus) · Bombarda Maxima · Cave inimicum · Concealment Charms · Counter-curses · Counter-jinxes · Cruciatus Curse (Crucio) · Curse of the Bogies (Mucus ad Nauseam) · Cursed barrier spell · Densaugeo · Deprimo Spell (Deprimo) · Disarming Charm (Expelliarmus) · Ear-Shrivelling Curse · Everte Statum · Freezing Spell (Glacius) · Full Body-Bind Curse (Petrificus Totalus) · Fumos Duo · Green Sparks · Hex-Breaker· Hex-deflection · Hex Zapper · Homorphus Charm · Human-presence-revealing Spell (Homenum Revelio) · Impediment Jinx (Impedimenta) · Imperius Curse (Imperio) · Imperturbable Charm · Killing Curse (Avada Kedavra) · Knockback Jinx (Flipendo) · Lacarnum Inflamari · Langlock · Levitation Spell (Levioso) · Limbo Mist anticharm · Nonverbal spells · Patronus Charm (Expecto Patronum) · Pimple Jinx (Furnunculus) · Protective enchantments · Red Sparks (Vermillious) · Reductor Curse (Reducto) · Salvio hexia · Sea Urchin Jinx · Seize and pull charm (Carpe Retractum) · Shield Charm (Protego) · Smokescreen Spell (Fumos) · Snake-Vanishing Spell (Vipera Evanesca) · Softening Charm (Spongify) · Stretching Jinx · Tickling Charm (Rictusempra) · Tongue-Tying Curse (Mimblewimble) · Trip Jinx · Twitchy-Ears Hex · Verdimillious Charm (Verdimillious) · Verdimillious Duo Spell (Verdimillious) · Verdimillious Tria · Vermillious Duo · Vermillious Tria · Wand-Lighting Charm (Lumos)
Creatures studied at Hogwarts under D.A.D.A.
Banshee · Boggart · Chameleon Ghoul · Charmed skeleton · Cornish Pixie · Dementor · Dugbog · Erkling · Flesh-Eating Slug · Ghost · Ghoul · Gnome · Grindylow · Gytrash · Hag · Hinkypunk · Iguana · Imp · Inferius · Kappa · Manticore · Nocturnal beasts · Nogtail · Poltergeist · Red Cap · Snake · Troll · Vampire · Vampire bat · Werewolf · Yeti · Zombie
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