Darger 1

Laina Darger
Scott Richardson
Composition 1
November 29, 2011
The Symbol of the Deathly Hallows
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we are introduced to an old wizarding legend
that has been around for years; the Tale of the Three Brothers, which tells the story of the
Deathly Hallows. While reading, many of us turned into detectives, putting clues together and
trying to decide whether certain characters were reliable and credible sources. Our hearts
pounded as Harry, Ron, and Hermione raced through forests, broke into Hogwarts, and destroyed
each one of Voldemorts horcruxes one by one. But the end of the book comes way too soon, and
we are left with some questions about the Deathly Hallows.
The Deathly Hallows symbol originated in a tale that Beedle the Bard, a fictional author
created for the Harry Potter book series, wrote in the 1600s. It is a story about three brothers who
are walking along a road at night when they come across a river, which they have no way of
crossing. Since these brothers are all wizards, they construct a bridge and walk across it. But
before they can get halfway across the bridge, they are approached by Death.
He is furious that they were able to escape death by building this bridge, and, cleverly,
pretends to congratulate them on their accomplishments. He offers them each a prize; anything
they could want is theirs. The first brother requests a wand that will defeat anyone he comes up
against. Death gives him the Elder Wand, and he goes on his way. The second brother, in an
attempt to make a fool of Death, asks him for a way to bring loved ones back from the dead.
Death gives the brother the Resurrection Stone, and the second brother continues across the

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bridge. The third brother asks Death for a way to leave the bridge and never be found by Death
again. Death realizes that the third brother was by far the smartest, cleverest brother, and
reluctantly hands over his own Invisibility Cloak. The brother wraps the Cloak around himself
and leaves.
The first two brothers died not long after the events on the bridge. The first brother went
to a faraway town and immediately met up with a wizard he had once fought with. He killed that
wizard, and went about bragging to anyone who would listen of the power of his wand. A jealous
wizard who overheard the first brother bragging about his wand, snuck into his room in the
middle of the night and killed him, taking the wand as he left. Death came and quickly took the
first brother.
The second brother brought his dead fiance back from the dead. However, she was not
the same as she had been before. She was cold and lifeless. Out of depression and in an effort to
join his fiance in the afterlife, the second brother hung himself and Death claimed the second
brother.
Death searched for the third brother for years and years, but he could not find him
anywhere. Finally, at an old age, the third brother took of his Cloak, gave it to his son, and joined
Death as an old friend (Rowling, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Pg. 87 93).
It was a wise decision, on J.K. Rowlings part, to release The Tales of Beedle the Bard as
a companion book to the Potter series. It is a nice way to give readers more information on the
series, and a chance to read other stories that have been mentioned within the series, while still
keeping the information in the books from getting to outrageous.
There are many different meanings to the Deathly Hallows. Wizards who hear of them
come up with ridiculous, impossible ways to define them. Most, if not all of the theories are

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merely speculation. Really, finding out their meanings is just as simple as reading The Tale of the
Three Brothers.
For many wizards who are familiar with the Tale of the Three Brothers, it is just that; a
tale. They were told the story as young children by their mothers and fathers, and were fascinated
by it, along with the other stories of Beedle the Bard. But for others, the Tale of the Three
Brothers is much more than a fable made up and written down in the fifteenth century. For some,
it is as reliable as a history book, and is the stepping stone to the discovery of great treasures.
There have been wizards who were enthralled so much by the mystery that they set out to
find the items mentioned in this story; the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, and the
Invisibility Cloak, seen below in figure 1. These three items alone are very powerful, but
together they make the Deathly Hallows. The witches and wizards who search for them can be
recognized by the symbol. Xenophilius Lovegood, one such wizard, wears it on a chain around
his neck; a circle inside a triangle, that is bisected by a vertical line. Anyone who is lucky enough
to own the wand, stone, and cloak, can, according to Lovegood, become the master of death
(Rowling, Deathly Hallows, Pg. 410 ).
In the beginning of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, during Bill and Fleurs
wedding, Xenophilius Lovegood, Lunas father, is wearing the symbol of the Deathly Hallows
on a necklace around his neck. Viktor Krum sees this symbol and is upset by it. Krum knows that
this is a symbol that is often connected to Gellert Grindelwald, as the latter carved it into his
bedpost when he was a student at Durmstrang Institute, a wizarding school for children that is
located in either northern Sweden or Norway.
Grindelwald was an evil wizard. In fact, he was the most evil wizard in history, until Lord
Voldemort came along. When Albus Dumbledore and Grindelwald were teenagers, they heard

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about the Deathly Hallows and thought that to be the Master of Death meant that they would be
invincible. Neither realized that being the Master of Death would be so because of the reasons
that they use the Hallows, not the way in which they are put to use. Dumbledore and
Grindelwald both wanted muggles to be subservient to wizards. At school, Grindelwald had a
small, dedicated group of followers, like Voldemort and his Death Eaters, who were willing to do
what they could to help his cause. However, at the height of his power in 1945, the same time
that the muggles were ending World War II, Albus Dumbledore tracked Grindelwald down and
defeated him, which resulted in Grindelwald being sent to his own prison, Nurmengard, to be a
prisoner on the top floor. Grindelwald stayed there until 1998, when Voldemort found him and,
after questioning him about the Elder Wand, killed him.
While Viktor Krum took offense to the symbol, he was the only person that we know for
sure was offended by it. However, it is safe to assume that other witches and wizards who are
familiar with the history of Grindelwald would be very offended at the sight of the Deathly
Hallows.
The Deathly Hallows, even though it was popularized by Grindelwald and his horrible
actions, can also be seen as a noble symbol.
For those who believe in the Hallows and know of their true origin, it is nothing more
than a beacon of hope. Everybody wants to believe that the grand fairy tale from their younger
years was more than a fairy tale, and keep the dream alive.
The Deathly Hallows is a tale that originated in the sixteenth century. It is about three
brothers and the day they outwitted Death, and were given prizes for their quick thinking. For all
but one of the brothers, however, the prizes were ultimately their undoing. Many wizards think
of the Deathly Hallows in many different ways. Some view the Hallows as a sign of evil, and

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connect them to their most infamous fan; Gellert Grindelwald, a dark wizard who was defeated
by Albus Dumbledore in 1945. Others, like Grindelwald and Dumbledore, see the Hallows for
what they really are; three objects given to three brothers that allow
them control or manipulate death.

Figure 1, Deathly Hallows Symbol

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Works Cited
http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Gellert_Grindelwald
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Muggles
%27_Guide_to_Harry_Potter/Books/Deathly_Hallows/Chapter_21
"File:Deathly Hallows Sign.svg." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 1 Dec. 2011.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Deathly_Hallows_Sign.svg>.
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine, 2007.
Print.
Rowling, J. K. The Tales of Beedle the Bard. London: Children's High Level Group, 2008. Print.