What's New?

"Ladies and gentlemen, what an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time!"
     -- Gilderoy Lockhart (CS4)

August 8, 2006
Belinda here. Once again the Wizard of the Month on Jo's site, Erica Stainwright, is a new canon character. This has been the case for the past four months, providing us here at the Lexicon with fresh new canon to incorporate! (We always get excited over new canon.) Also this week she added a book in the 'Links' bookcase: CHLG: The Children's Voice, with information and links to the website of the charity that she helped found through the Children's High Level group.

July 31 , 2006
Lisa and Bel here. We thought you'd enjoy reading the full list of questions that Lexicon staff came up with for the Lumos Trivia Challenge pitting The Leaky Cauldron against Mugglenet.

July 27, 2006
Lisa here. I have begun a blog where I intend to post Potter and Lexicon-related news and photographs: Madam Pince's Potter Pages.

July 26, 2006
Paula here. I've posted a new essay: Arthur Weasley's Relationship to Sirius Black: First Forays into the Black Family Tree, by new Lexicon contributor Sylvie Augustus. Of particular interest to the true Pottergeeks out there, I think!

June 30th, 2006
Belinda here. The Wizard of the Month on Jo's site for June (Daisy Hookum) and July (Tarquin McTavish) were both new characters. Most of the WotM have been from the Famous Wizard Cards, but occasionally she has given us these charming additions to the canon.

June 28th, 2006
Happy birthday, Dobby!

June 25, 2006
Paula here. Two new essays have been posted. One is on the ever-popular subject of Horcruxes, by new Lexicon contributor Megan Bostelmann, arguing that Harry is not a Horcrux. And Professor Koniphorous Swamp, who in her own words "appears to have too much free time on her hands," has written a new essay sharing with Lexicon readers "More than You Ever Wanted to Know about Frog-spawn."

June 4, 2006
Paula here. Have a look at our new essay, in which Owen de Lyon wonders "What Came Before the Hogwarts Express?"

May 17, 2006
Paula here. I recently posted a humorous and imaginative essay in which new Lexicon contributor pepoluan wonders of the wizarding world How do they make all those books? Have fun!

May 10, 2006
Paula again, with another fabulous scholarly essay.  Alan Jacobs, Professor of English at Wheaton College and a scholar of Christian theology and literature, among other things, has allowed us to publish on the Lexicon his essay “Opportunity Costs — What does it profit a man to defeat the Dark Lord but lose his soul?” The essay, a thoughtful exploration of the moral dilemmas depicted by Rowling in her books, but especially in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, originally appeared at Books & Culture, November/December 2005, Vol. 11, No. 6, Page 22 on ChristianityToday.com. Enjoy!

April 30, 2006
Paula here — three new essays have been posted! Douglas Moran has Some Thoughts on House Elves, and Professor Koniphorus Swamp, who “has devoted her career to the investigation of the biology of magic,” has provided Another View of Magic, Genes, and Pure Blood in response to an earlier essay on wizarding genetics by glamourousgeek, and explains Genes and Appearance in Animagi in another essay.

April 25, 2006
Some of you have already discovered that we've added a new feature to some of the Lexicon pages. It's called the Pensieve, and it's designed to allow you to add information to the page. Yes, it's a comment tool, but we'd like to encourage you to use it carefully. We'd like to accumulate some informative, insightful comments in each Pensieve which we will leave attached to the page to enhance what's already there. We won't be putting a Pensieve on every page. At the moment, there's a Pensieve only on these pages:

• The List
• the end of every Knight Bus tour
• Fifty Years Ago 
• Why? How? But if it's true...
• Sources of Lexicon Information

April 16, 2006
Paula here. From the moment it was physically possible for the first fan to have finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the Harry Potter fandom has been speculating on what is going to happen in Book Seven — and what needs to happen, given the puzzles, mysteries and loose ends scattered throughout the first six books. A new Lexicon essay, aptly named The List, is a list compiled by Anita (akh), Jo Mears (Serenadust) and Pippin, with contributions from Lyn J. Mangiameli and Siriusly Snapey Susan, of all the things the authors speculate — or hope! — will be addressed in Book Seven. For more information on Book Seven, you might also want to check out pages dedicated to the subject on The Lexicon, and Lexicon Floo Network partner Madam Scoop's.

April 8, 2006
Paula here. I've just posted a terrific scholarly essay on the depiction of virtue in the Harry Potter books that should be a real treat to read for anyone who appreciates just how important the Harry Potter books are. It's called Harry Potter and the Good Life, and it was written by Steven S. Tigner, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Toledo and a scholar at the Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character at the Boston University School of Education. Enjoy!

April 6, 2006
We have been asked to remove the archive of the test from the Lexicon, and we have done so. Sorry about that, I know that many of you never had a chance to see the test in action, but Jo has asked us not to provide the archive and we of course will comply.

April 4, 2006
Belinda here. I am very excited to announce that we now have functioning archive files of the latest Door opening onJKRowling.com. This is only a copy, but you will be able to work the puzzle to open the door and read the full W.O.M.B.A.T. test. You will not however, receive a Student Identification Code at the end, nor will this copy of the test be scored. We at the Lexicon wish only to preserve the experience for fans to revisit. You will also find files of all previous Door openings, and Instructions for working the puzzles, should you want them. We hope you enjoy replaying them, especially for those folks who missed them during their short time on Jo's site.

April 3, 2006
Paula again. Two more essays have been posted: Love and Death in Harry Potter, by Paul Spilsbury, and The Importance of Neville Longbottom, by Douglas Moran.

We've been busy little beavers at the Lexicon this weekend!

April 2, 2006
Hey y'all, this is Steve. We've just uploaded a commentary and guide to the W.O.M.B.A.T. test which Jo put on her website. This guide doesn't give "correct" answers since in many cases we just don't know for sure. It does pull together canon resources which will be helpful and also gives some thoughts and comments from me and Belinda. We're still going through things and we might be adding more commentary as the day goes on, so refresh your page every so often.

Just a side note, I'm on vacation on Jekyll Island where the weather is spectacular. I figured you would all be wanted some information about the test, though, so in spite of vacations and beautiful sunshine, I worked on this page last night and this morning over IM with Belinda. The sacrifices we make for Potter...

April 1, 2006
Paula here. I've neglected to mention the addition to the Lexicon of two essays published in February. The first, The Complications with Memory by Suzanne Foster, is a comprehensive survey of the myriad ways memory is integral to the progression of the Harry Potter series. The second, Where is Spinner's End? by Claire M. Jordan, is a detailed and fact-filled speculation about where the heck in the Muggle world Snape's home, Spinner's End, could possibly be. My apologizes to the authors of these fine essays!

March 31, 2006
Belinda here. I have updated the Guide to Jo's website with information about the fifth opening of the Secret Door including instructions on how to work the puzzle to get behind the door (for those who have yet to figure it out for themselves, or perhaps having troubles).

March 21, 2006
Lisa again. Steve let me fiddle with his page on the night Harry's parents were killed. I have clarified the timeline, added key quotes, and updated the information so that it takes into account recent statements Jo has made as well as the information from Book 6. I started a topic over on theLeaky Lounge if you want to discuss this page!

March 20, 2006
Lisa here. I have been adding new artwork to the following pages: Harry, Quotes about Harry, Quotes about Ron, Quotes about Voldemort, Luna, Snape, Tom Riddle, Lucius Malfoy and the Malfoy family. Many thanks to Sebastien Theilig, Makani, Tea with Voldy, and Jenny Dolfen. Hope you like them!

March 18, 2006
Paula here. I've posted two great new essays. The first, "Is Harry a Horcrux,"by Stephen Haas, makes a well-thought-out argument for the idea that, you know, Harry is a Horcrux! The second, "Dumbledore vivens Snapeque bonamicus", by Denis Howarth, is a spectacular essay theorizing, as many fans have, that Dumbledore is not dead (but making a very fine pitch for the theory), and also discussing the evolution of the relationship between Harry and Snape. Enjoy!

March 12, 2006
Lisa here. I think I have finally added all the new character names (canon and non-canon) and information from the new documents at JKR's site. Here is a summary:

• New names (non-canon): Mylor Sylvanus, Oakden Hobday and Bathsheba Babbling
• New names (canon): Tilden Toots and Georgina Smythe
• New first-names (non-canon): Aurora Sinistra, Cuthbert Binns and Septima Vector
• Rowling also considered the names 'Pi Vector' and 'Digit Vector' (non-canon)
• Alternative first-names (non-canon): Elvira Umbridge
• Alternative last names (non-canon): Draco Spungen
• Mopsus was to have been the Divination professor (non-canon)
• Peter Pettigrew was to have been the one that impersonated Moody, not Barty Crouch, Jr. Is this the infamous Book4 plot hole? (non-canon)
• In an early draft of OP, the Death Eater Macnair was the person visiting Bode at St. Mungo's on Christmas Eve.
• Jo chose the name 'Rosmerta' for a village woman because she equated it with "good purveyor"
• The Muggle Studies professor is female (non-canon)

March 9, 2006
Belinda here. I've updated the Guide to Jo's website with most of the changes today. You can find detailed instructions for collecting the new scrapbook extras in the Tips and Tricks section as well as many images of how the site looked before the update for comparison.

March 3, 2006
Clint here. Some of you may have already noticed, but there's a new way to explore the Lexicon! Check out our new Knight Bus Tours of the Lexicon. Each tour will take you on a journey to some places you know and some places you may have never been before. There are currently two tours running: a tour of the classical influences in Harry Potter and a tour of the new Gazetteer section. Please note that you must have JavaScript enabled to take the tours.

March 3, 2006
Lisa (again). Well, I finally came up with a design for the main Wizards page that I like! See what you think.

February 23, 2006
Lisa here. I have been adding possible name derivations for the Black family. Here is a sampling:

• Phineas is an English variant of 'Phinehas,' a name from the Bible. 'Phinehas' probably means "Nubian," though some believe it means "serpent's mouth" in Hebrew (BtN). In Greek mythology, Phineus was "a king of Thrace and a prophet. Because he prophesied too truly, revealing too much of the gods' truth to humans, Zeus blinded him and set the Harpies to plague him." Phineus later helped the Argonauts by telling them how to get past one of their hazards. (EM)
• Isla: 'Isla' means 'island' in Spanish; it is also the feminine version of a Scottish name referring to the island Islay, which lies off of the west coast of Scotland (BtN). Does not seem to be a star or constellation.
• Cygnus: 'Cygnus' = a male swan (Latin). In Greek mythology, 'Cycnus' was the Musician-king of the Ligurians who was turned into a swan (EM). It is also another name for the constellation called "The Northern Cross."
• Lycoris: Lycoris is the horticultural name for plants in the lily family. In Ovid and Virgil she was a mistress of Marc Antony (Lewis & Short).

Oh, and Phineas Nigellus has his own page now.

February 22, 2006
I have just discovered that our Lexicon email has been messed up for a few days. Apparently anything sent to an @hplex address will bounce.
UPDATE: (10 am) As far as I can tell, it's fixed. Sorry about the inconvenience.

February 20, 2006
Lisa here. The Lexicon's Black Family Tree has been updated with the new information! We'll be revising the character pages next.

February 20, 2006
Here's our report of the Black Family Tree, thanks to Aberforth!
Key 1 - Phineus' youngest sibling was Isla Black, who married muggle Bob Hitchens.

Key 2 - his 2nd child was another Phineus, who 'supported Muggle rights.

His 3rd child, who married Violetta, was Cygnus (1889-1943).

Their children were:

1. Pollux (1912-1990) who married Irma Crabbe
2. Cassiopeia (1915-92)
3. (Key 3) Marius, 'a squib'
4. 4 Dorea

Now back up to Phineus' oldest son, and he is another Sirius (1877-1952) who married Hesper Gamp [nod to Dickens?] Their children were:
1 Arcturus (1901-91) who married Melania MacMillan
2 Lycoris (1904-65) - not sure M or F
3 Regulus (1906-59)

Arcturus and Melania had 2 children:
1 Lucretia (1915-92) who married Ignatius Prewett
2 Orion (1929-79) who married Walburga and fathered Sirius (Key 6, who 'ran away') and Regulus (1961-79)

The piece de resistance is Key 4, the sister to Callidora and Charis:
Cedrella, scrubbed because she 'married Septimus Weasley')

Feb 17, 2006
John here. I haven't posted here in a while, but it doesn't mean I haven't been busy! I'm very excited to announce the debut of the Lexicon's newest section: the Gazetteer. It's a list of all the countries, cities, buildings, and other places mentioned in the books - nearly 300 in all. I really enjoyed putting it together, and I'll hope you'll enjoy looking through it just as much. Click here to take a peek.

Feb 15, 2006
Lisa here. I have been adding images from the Wizard cards and from Jo's Wizard of the Month to the Wizard A to Z pages. If you click on the thumbnails you can see a larger version of the image.

February 12, 2006
Big news from Italy today. Here's what Albireo sent us, along with scans which we're going over very carefully:

Today, on the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, there is an article about Book Aid International auction, with a complete picture of the Black family tree! You can recognize the half that we already know, but the other half is blurred! The article says that JK deliberately put it out of focus, making the tree not completely identifiable yet! :(

The photo is very small indeed, however you can still notice some bits of new information, which I include right here:

• One of Phineas' siblings still remained unknown from the previous image… now we know him: his name is Sirius (his dates are unreadable...).
• Charis Black and Caspar Crouch had 1 son and 2 daughters.
• One of Phineas' sons (whose name ends -nus) married Violetta Bulstrode and had 3 children: Dorea Black, a removed name and a blurred one. This last one had 3 sons too: one of them married Drusilla Rosier (I'm not certain about her name) and had Bellatrix, Andromeda (removed) and Narcissa. Finally we have the connection between the Malfoys and the main Black tree.
• Narcissa was born in 1955, Draco in 1980.
• The other "young branch", on the left, is blurred too: we know from the books it consists of Regulus and Sirius (removed). According to the tree, their parents are both Black

Lisa adds: The Black Family Tree has now been updated, as have Draco and Narcissa's entries.

http://www.potterindex.com

January 31, 2006
Paula here — lots of new essays posted!

We have two provocative essays by glamourousgeek, Magic, Genes, and Pure Blood, discussing wizarding genetics and the meaning of blood status in the wizarding world, and Merlin, God, and You-Know-Who: Religion in the Wizarding World. There's a fun piece analyzing Harry Potter's Astrological Birth Chart by lunalove, speculating that Jo Rowling has chosen the perfect birthdate for her hero based on the planetary positions on July 31, 1980. A Lexicon essay veteran, Ravenclaw Rambler, has done fine work again with his essay In Search of . . . Grimmauld Place. Micheal Hagel wonders Did Albus Dumbledore Set Up Events So That Harry Potter Would Go After the Philosopher’s Stone, and he's found some good reasons in the canon to wonder. For you detail freaks and overall Potterverse geeks (you'd be in good company with Steve!), Diana Summers has used demographics in the United Kingdom and meaning of names to adduce The Secrets of the Classlist first revealed to the fandom by Jo Rowling in the A & E Biography special Harry Potter and Me. There's enough minutiae in that essay to keep even the geekiest Pottergeek happy! Finally, we have an essay by Hugo Costa Paes, What is Magical Power in the Potterverse?

Enjoy!

January 30, 2006
I've been cleaning out my inbox, and have made a number of corrections suggested by our readers. Most notably, the birth and first year dates for Cedric have been changed, and Katie Bell now has her own, expanded page. More corrections & additions coming.

January 29, 2006
The updated and re-organized Black family pages are finished! If you had bookmarked the old pages you will need to update them.

• New Black family page
• New Black family tree
• New location of Sirius page

The Leaky Cauldron

January 16, 2006
Lisa here. Numerous people have been writing and asking us to clarify dates for Snape, Lily and the Marauders. I have added information to Snape's page with our latest thinking and links to the evidence we used to arrive at our calculation:

Notes on Dates for Snape, Lily and the Marauders: 1959 or 1960?
We know Snape's birthdate from Jo's website; the year range is more complicated to calculate. Our dates are based on the following:

• Jo said that Snape was 35 or '6 in an interview where she was referring to Goblet of Fire (Comic Relief chat), so that would be 1995 in Harry Potter time, which would make him born in 1959 or 1960.
• Then she said in a FAQ that Sirius was "around twenty-two" when he went to Azkaban, which would have been in 1981, and that points more to 1959.
  Harry describes the events in Snapes' pensieve memory as being "over 20 years ago" and that was when he was taking his O.W.L.s, so that would suggest that James (and Snape, Sirius, Pettigrew, Lupin and Lily) took their O.W.L.s in 1975, not 1976, which would have been exactly 20 years before; this actually skews us even more toward the late 1950s (OP28, OP35, OP36).