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Griphook: "The right to carry a wand has long been contested between wizards and goblins."
Ron Weasley: "Well, goblins can do magic without wands."
Griphook: "That is immaterial! Wizards refuse to share the secrets of wandlore with other magical beings, they deny us the possibility of extending our powers!"
Griphook the Goblin[src]

The Wand Ban was Clause Three of the Code of Wand Use (passed by the Wizards' Council[1] in 1631).[2] According to Amos Diggory, it was worded "No non-human creature is permitted to carry or use a wand",[3] meaning that any magical beings other than witches and wizards, such as giants, goblins, vampires, hags, and house-elves, were forbidden from owning or using wands of their own.

History[]

This clause of the Code of Wand Use was probably written as a consequence of the Goblin Rebellion of 1612, a bloody and vicious revolution that occurred in Hogsmeade. Ironically, this law was one of the causes that contributed to the later Goblin Rebellions of the eighteenth century, given the anger expressed by some goblins, such as Griphook,[4] about wizards denying goblins the right to use wands.

There was apparently a favourable distinction between non-human magical beings and part-human magical beings when defining one's right to carry a wand. For example, Hagrid was a half-giant, and while a pure giant would not be permitted to carry a wand under Clause Three, he had a wizard father and was therefore part-human and permitted to carry a wand. The same principle then applied to Filius Flitwick, who was a wizard with goblin ancestry and presumably to Fleur Delacour who had Veela ancestry.

Notably, Werewolves were recognised as humans afflicted with lycanthropy and were therefore permitted to carry wands, though in their transformed state they lost the ability to practise magic as a normal witch or wizard anyway.

Behind the scenes[]

  • The Third W.O.M.B.A.T. at J. K. Rowling's official site refers to the Wand Ban as having been passed by Ministry of Magic.[2] Pottermore, however, later established that the Ministry of Magic was only formally established in 1707, 76 years after the Code of Wand Use was passed. This seems to imply that the term "Ministry of Magic" is loosely applied to also refer to the Wizards' Council, that preceded the Ministry.

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Ministers for Magic" at Wizarding World says that the Ministry was formally established in 1707, having been preceded by the Wizards' Council.
  2. 2.0 2.1 J. K. Rowling's official site - Third W.O.M.B.A.T.
  3. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 9 (The Dark Mark)
  4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 24 (The Wandmaker)

See also[]

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