Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
Today, we’re going to be discussing Goblins.
It probably wouldn’t surprise you to know that the wizarding community didn't treat
Goblins with the utmost respect at all times.
Pure bloods outright hated them.
But even the most progressive members of the wizarding world felt a general mistrust for
the tiny, monstrous humanoid-creatures.
And all of those negative interactions built up over the years, burdening wizard-goblin
relations, until the Goblins rebelled.
In fact, If we open up our history books, and look back at the records of Goblins in
the wizarding world, we’ll find a series of great rebellions centered around one common
theme: to be treated with equal respect.
What were these rebellions?
And what type of impact did they have on the wizarding community?
That’s what we’ll discuss today.
First, let’s go over a bit of Goblin-wizard history.
For almost all of recorded magical history, goblins and the wizarding world shared a somewhat
peaceful co-existence.
Although much of goblin’s origins isn’t well known by wizard scholars, if we take
one look at their distant relatives, the North American Pukwudgie, then we can make a few
safe assumptions.
Primarily, just like humans and the magical community, goblins themselves must have been
a diverse species that migrated through the known world.
While wizards typically treated other human-like creatures, like the giants, with a fair bit
of fear, they never really outwardly displayed the same concern for goblins.
Just like humans of the ancient world looked down on wizards, it seems that from the earliest
records, wizards treated goblins with an equal amount of disdain.
Throughout the Goblin Rebellions of the 17th and 18th century, this would manifest itself
in new laws, like the Code of Wand Use (which we’ll talk about later).
But if we spend a bit more time talking about the early relationship between wizards and
the Goblin community, we’ll find a peculiar niche that the shorter, more monstrous creatures
developed for themselves.
Goblins were extremely talented in a handful of things.
For starters, they were incredibly smart, and the word often used to describe them was
“cunning”.
This, combined with their love for precious metals, made them great gold and silversmiths.
At one point, in the 11th century, the Goblins even crafted the sword of Godric Gryffindor…
the very same blade that would serve Gryffindor’s heirs in the centuries to come, and eventually
save Harry Potter’s life in the Chamber of Secrets.
But that weapon’s origin is far darker than you might guess.
Among the many cultural differences that brought strife to wizards and goblins in the middle
ages, the most contentious idea was that of ownership.
To wizards, it was simple.
If you bought something, then you owned it.
But to goblins, it was far more complex.
Purchasing an item, no matter how expensive, didn’t mean that you owned it.
Most goblins simply thought that you were renting the sword or necklace or what-have-you
for the duration of your life… and goblins could collect it upon your passing.
You see… to goblins, ownership always belonged to the creator of the item.
And when wizards tried to pass down their Goblin-forged heirlooms, it wasn’t uncommon
for goblins and wizard heirs to come to blows.
So when it comes to Gryffindor’s sword, you can see why the Goblins would hold a grudge.
Even before Godric died, the sword’s creator, King Ragnuk, tried to manipulate his fellow
magical creatures into stealing the blade.
That’s how much he loved the weapon.
In the years following Gryffindor’s death, Ragnuk and his fellow Goblins were insulted
even more, as the sword stayed in Hogwarts, and passed through the hands of wizard heirs
for nearly 1,000 years.
This tale, and others like it, were one of the main sources of resentment that launched
the Goblin Rebellions.
Centuries later, the goblins continued to thrive, and expanded their community’s specialization
as gold and silver smiths.
In the year 1474, they opened Gringotts, the greatest bank in the wizarding world.
There, thanks to their cunning, goblins were entrusted with the wealth of the British wizarding
community, and even in Harry Potter’s era, over 500 years later, Gringotts was the premier
bank.
If you really think about it carefully…
Goblins patiently managed the banks, and almost all of the finance, in the wizarding world.
For that reason, and more, they were among the most important beings in the entire magical
community.
But even in the decades that followed Gringott’s foundation, the goblins continued to suffer
harsh treatment from human wizards.
Throughout that time, there were likely small protests, and battles, that the Goblins waged
in order to gain rights.
But it wasn’t until the Goblin Rebellion of 1612 that historians decided to pay attention,
and record the events.
We’re not quite certain about the exact location, but it seems that this armed conflict
arose in or around Hogsmeade Village.
The Goblin forces took an inn as their base, and ravaged the nearby buildings, setting
many of them on fire.
The exact number of lives laid down on both sides has been lost to the years, but the
casualties were remarkably high, at least, according to Hogwarts’ 5th year History
of Magic class.
And when we look at the exact cause of this rebellion, there’s no shortage of reasons
for why the Goblins would have started it.
At a glance, the average goblin was far more important to the lives of wizards and witches
around England.
Although the same could be said for house-elves, who more often than not kept houses clean
and meals on the table…
Goblins were responsible for far more skilled tasks.
Goblins forged the most powerful weapons, indestructible armor, and through their natural
propensity for hoarding gold, Goblins basically kept the entire wizarding economy moving forward.
And yet… wizards and witches looked down on them wherever they went.
Not only that, they almost always refused to teach them the ways of wandlore, which
meant that Goblins had to accomplish their magical feats with the far more difficult,and
more dangerous, technique of wandless magic.
Even the highest court in Britain, the Wizengamot, refused to allow a Goblin a seat.
Without fair representation, it’s likely that the Goblins decided enough was enough…
and went on a rampage, in the year 1612.
But, unfortunately for the Goblin community, their Rebellion only made matters worse.
In response to the display of violence in Hogsmeade, the wizarding community of Britain
convened, and created a series of laws that restricted non-human magical creatures.
The harshest among them was the new Code of Wand Use, which the Wizard’s Council passed
less than two decades after the rebellion.
This restricted wands to human wizards, and made it a crime for goblins, house-elves,
giants, and other non-humans to wield them….
While human wizards simply hoarded wandlore in the centuries before, now it was actually
illegal for Goblins to study and possess wands.
At a glance, you can see how this law made it almost impossible for Goblins to defend
themselves from wand-armed wizards and witches.
But if you think about it more carefully, the restriction on wand ownership would completely
hinder the ability of Goblins to develop independent of the Wizarding community… and meant that
they would always depend on them.
In later years, the Goblins-right group called the Brotherhood of Goblins would protest this
law, but even the most progressive human wizards ignored them.
Following the first major Rebellion, in 1612, several more followed throughout the centuries.
Again, the causes for these were never explicitly spelled out, but if we take a look at the
prejudiced laws of the Ministry of Magic, you wouldn’t have a hard time finding a
reason for Goblins to rebel.
Throughout the years the Ministry denied goblins seats on courts, they tried to restrict goblin
management at Gringotts, and they even attempted to force goblins into being house-elves.
The Goblin Rebellion of 1752 was the next time Goblins stood up for themselves, and
this one was even bloodier than the battle at Hogsmeade, over a hundred years prior.
This time, the Goblins pledged themselves to an unlikely alliance: a partnership with
werewolves.
With the primal beasts on their side, the goblins wreaked havoc across britain.
The reigning Minister of Magic at the time, Albert Boot, was so embarrassed by his inability
to control the goblins, that he was forced to step down.
And not long after, his replacement, a pure blood named Basil Flack, was forced to retire
as well.
This Goblin Rebellion was so terrible, that Flack only lasted 8 weeks in office.
Guess he got a lot of flack.
It was Flack’s successor, Hesphaestus Gore, who eventually turned the tides of battle,
and stopped the Rebellion for good.
In a series of bloody contests, Gore defeated both the Goblins, and werewolves, and even
killed one of their greatest champions in battle, a goblin warrior known as Vargot.
But only shortly later, another disgruntled Goblin hero would arise.
This was Urg the Unclean, and he was probably the only Goblin warrior that Harry Potter
and his classmates knew about, because he was depicted on a Chocolate Frog Card.
When we look at Urg’s origins, we’ll actually find some pretty sad insight into the life
of a goblin.
For most of his days, it seemed like Urg had to always be careful where he walked, and
try his best to avoid eye-contact with human wizards and witches.
Their neverending jeers were a constant threat whenever Urg just wanted to walk to the local
grocers, or stop by a pub that served his kind.
And worse, Urg had to mentally prepare himself to endure physical bullying as well.
It was after one of these events, when a group of wizarding students threw him into a body
of water, that Urg decided enough was enough.
Tired of being treated like a second class citizen, Urg organized his fellow Goblins,
and led a rebellion.
This rebellion, like the others before it, was eventually put down with the superior
numbers, and wands, of the Ministry of Magic.
But in 1890, another Goblin, by the name of Ranrok, took up arms.
Ranrok continued the legacy of his ancestors…
trying to expand the rights of Goblin-kind.
But Ranrok’s allies, a dark wizard by the name of Victor Rookwood, showed that the goblin
leader was willing to go much further than his predecessors.
Ranrok will be featured as an antagonist the new Hogwarts Legacy game.
Ultimately, by the time of Harry Potter’s enrollment at Hogwarts, the Goblin Rebellions
were relegated to a short series of lectures in the History of Magic courses.
Although goblins still appeared to be treated as second class citizens, they had managed
to expand their rights somewhat.
Perhaps, by the time Potter’s own children were grown, Goblins would be treated with
the respect they deserve.
And that’s it for this video!
If you enjoy the content please LIKE the video and SUBSCRIBE to the channel
Until next time
Remember
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live