Changes: Wizards' Council

Revision as of 23:26, 18 June 2015

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At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in the latest update of Pottermore. As such, spoilers will be present within the article. Please take care when reading this article if you have not yet been through the latest update.

The Wizards' Council was the longest-serving (though not the only) body to govern the wizarding community of Britain, before the establishment of the Ministry of Magic^[1]

Upon the signature of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy in 1692, the wizarding community needed a more highly structured, organised and complex government structure, to support and regulate the community in hiding. Thus, in 1707, the Wizards' Council disbanded to be replaced by the Ministry of Magic. The first Minister was Ulick Gamp, who, in the days of the Council, had served as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.^[1]

Known Wizards' Council members

Barberus Bragge (Chief, c. 1269)
Burdock Muldoon (Chief, 1448-1450) ^[2]
Elfrida Clagg (Chief, fourteenth or seventeenth century)
Ulick Gamp (Head of the Wizengamot, early eighteenth century)^[1]

Known Wizard's Council Actions

1340s: Does not censure Nicholas Malfoy, who was widely believed to have been killing Muggle tenants and disguising their deaths as Black Death victims.^[3]
1362: Made it illegal to play Quidditch within 50 miles of towns.
1368: Amended the ban on Quidditch by outlawing all playing within 100 miles of a town.
1499: Decreed that Quidditch should not be played anywhere where there is the slightest chance a Muggle could see and that violators of that decree would be chained to the wall of a dungeon.
1631: Passes the Code of Wand Use (which Clause Three is the infamous Wand Ban, forbidding non-Human magical Beings such as house-elves or goblins to carry a wand).
1637: Develops the Werewolf Code of Conduct, in hopes that werewolves sign it. Unsurprisingly, none was willing to show up before the Council and admit to being a werewolf.
1692: Signed the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy.^[1]
1707: Disbanded, to be replaced by the Ministry of Magic.^[1]

Behind the scenes

It is known that the Department of Mysteries was already in operation in at least 1672,^[4] so it is probable that before the inception of the Ministry of Magic in 1707, it was a division of the Wizards' Council.
In Elfrida Clagg's entry on Pottermore's Timeline of the Wizarding World, the Wizards' Council was originally incorrectly referred to as the "Warlock's Councils". The mistake has since been corrected.^[5]

Appearances

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) (Mentioned on a Famous Wizard Card)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) (Mentioned on a Famous Wizard Card)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game) (Mentioned on a Famous Wizard Card)
Quidditch Through the Ages
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Pottermore (Mentioned only)

Notes and references

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 ^1.5 Pottermore - New from J.K. Rowling: "Ministers for Magic"
↑ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
↑ Pottermore - "The Malfoy Family"
↑ The Tales of Beedle the Bard - Albus Dumbledore on "Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump"
↑ Pottermore - Timeline of the Wizarding World

[PMministers-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 ^1.5 Pottermore - New from J.K. Rowling: "Ministers for Magic"

[2] Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)

[PMmalfoy-3] Pottermore - "The Malfoy Family"

[TBBbrcs-4] The Tales of Beedle the Bard - Albus Dumbledore on "Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump"

[5] Pottermore - Timeline of the Wizarding World

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 ==Known Wizard's Council Actions==
+* [[1340s]]: Does not censure [[Nicholas Malfoy]], who was widely believed to have been killing [[Muggle]] tenants and disguising their deaths as [[Black Death]] victims.<ref name="PMmalfoy">''[[Pottermore]]'' - "The Malfoy Family"</ref>
 * [[1360s|1362]]: Made it illegal to play Quidditch within 50 miles of towns.
 * [[1360s|1368]]: Amended the ban on Quidditch by outlawing all playing within 100 miles of a town.
 * [[1490s|1499]]: Decreed that Quidditch should not be played anywhere where there is the slightest chance a Muggle could see and that violators of that decree would be chained to the wall of a dungeon.
+* [[1630s|1631]]: Passes the [[Code of Wand Use]] (which Clause Three is the infamous [[Wand Ban]], forbidding non-Human magical Beings such as [[house-elf|house-elves]] or [[goblin]]s to carry a wand).
+* [[1630s|1637]]: Develops the [[Werewolf Code of Conduct]], in hopes that werewolves sign it. Unsurprisingly, none was willing to show up before the Council and admit to being a werewolf.
 * [[1690s|1692]]: Signed the [[International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy]].<ref name="PMministers"/>
 * [[1700s|1707]]: Disbanded, to be replaced by the [[British Ministry of Magic|Ministry of Magic]].<ref name="PMministers"/>
+==Behind the scenes==
+*It is known that the [[Department of Mysteries]] was already in operation in at least [[1670s|1672]],<ref name="TBBbrcs">''[[The Tales of Beedle the Bard (real)|The Tales of Beedle the Bard]]'' - ''Albus Dumbledore on "''Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump''"''</ref> so it is probable that before the inception of the [[British Ministry of Magic|Ministry of Magic]] in [[1700s|1707]], it was a division of the Wizards' Council.
+*In Elfrida Clagg's entry on ''[[Pottermore]]'''s Timeline of the Wizarding World, the Wizards' Council was originally incorrectly referred to as the "Warlock's Councils". The mistake has since been corrected.<ref>''[[Pottermore]]'' - [http://www.pottermore.com/en/timeline Timeline of the Wizarding World]</ref>
 ==See also==