Indeed, it would be prudent to resist, given the wand’s tendency to attract would-be murderers. Tempting as it may be, one can own the Elder Wand without bragging about it.

However, this may not tell us the full story. Only men have claimed ownership, as far as we knowĪll wizards who boasted of winning the Elder Wand had something in common – they were, quite specifically, wizards. In the twentieth century, the wizards Gregorovitch, Gellert Grindelwald and Severus Snape were all slaughtered in Lord Voldemort’s pursuit of the Elder Wand.Īs Dumbledore stated in Tales of Beedle the Bard, ‘Those who are knowledgeable about wandlore will agree that wands do indeed absorb the expertise of those who use them.’ With the volume of dark deeds attributed to the Elder Wand, that is a terrifying thought. Loxias ended the reign of the fearsome warlock Barnabas Deverill, only to be defeated himself by an unknown person (two possible contenders were Arcus and Livius) who presumably took the wand for their own. Over a century later, Godelot, who had the wand in his possession while writing Magick Moste Evile, perished after being locked in the cellar by his own son Hereward. In the words of Xenophilius Lovegood: ‘The bloody trail of the Elder Wand is splattered across the pages of wizarding history.’Įgbert the Egregious was said to have slaughtered Emeric the Evil to win ownership. Unlike the Resurrection Stone and Invisibility Cloak, which were handed down through the Gaunt and Potter family lines respectively, the Elder Wand was repeatedly seized by power-hungry wizards. It was also dubbed the ‘Deathstick’ by Loxias, who ensured that the instrument lived up to its title, and the Dark wizard Godelot called it ‘My most wicked and subtle friend, with body of Ellhorn, who knowes ways of magick moste evile.’ It didn’t catch on. Some were derived from simple translations, such as the ‘Eldrun Wand’, which was the name given by Barnabas Deverill (‘eldrun’ and ‘ellhorn’ both being archaic terms for ‘elder’). Other names have been bestowed upon it through the years. The Elder Wand has also been known as the ‘Wand of Destiny’, a title evocative of the grandeur and power that has enticed so many wizards. As the oldest Peverell brother, Antioch was the one associated with the Elder Wand. Xenophilius Lovegood's claim that the Peverell brothers – Antioch, Cadmus and Ignotus – were their original owners was supported by Albus Dumbledore’s theory that they were also the inventors. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, it became apparent that the Elder Wand, along with the Resurrection Stone and Invisibility Cloak, were very real objects in the wizarding world. In the end, he was murdered for his seemingly unbeatable wand.

In the wizard fable ‘ The Tale of the Three Brothers', the eldest brother was gifted a powerful wand created by Death himself. It was probably first used by Antioch Peverell

Dumbledore wand