Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
Today we’re going to be discussing Azkaban Prison.
This will include discussions surrounding the island that it’s on, when the prison
was introduced, who created the prison itself, and WHERE the island actually IS.
Considered by many to be reminiscent of the DEPTHS of HELL- Azkaban Prison would be the
last place that a witch or wizard in the Harry Potter universe would want to end up.
In fact, the name ‘Azkaban’ even backs up this horrific reputation- a sinister name
that was created through combining ‘Alcatraz’ a famous Muggle island prison, and ‘Abaddon’
- the Hebrew word for ‘place of destruction’ OR ‘depths of hell’.
But where did this terrible place come from?
Was the island that housed Azkaban prison always a magnet for dark magic?
Before the fortress was built, what was the island like?
The truth is, before the dark wizard known as Ekrizdis ever set foot on the island, Azkaban
was an island just like any other.
When we think of the significant Dark Wizards in Wizarding history, Ekrizdis isn’t necessarily
the most well-known, but after this video- he might just be the FIRST Dark wizard that
comes to mind.
You see, Ekrizdis was a practitioner of the worst kinds of dark arts imaginable.
Very little is known about Ekrizdis, other than the fact that he was alive during the
15th century, and that he was evil-pure evil.
No one even knows his nationality.
But what we do know is that Ekrizdis was the first dark wizard..or maybe even the first
PERSON to ever step foot on the island that would later support Azkaban’s dark fortress.
While travelling in the 15th century, Ekrizdis stumbled upon the island- which at the time
had no infrastructure to speak of.
However, it wasn’t long before Ekrizdis made the island his own little dark arts experiment-
placing all sorts of charms on the unclaimed territory.
One of the first charms that Ekrizdis placed on the island was a concealment charm- preventing
anyone other than him from intentionally locating it.
For this reason, Azkaban has never appeared on any map- muggle or magical.
All we know is that it’s located in The North Sea - a marginal sea of the Atlantic
Ocean located between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium
and France.
This was the beginning of the island’s turn for the worse.
After placing the concealment charms on the island, Ekrizdis began his twisted dark arts
experiments by luring muggle sailors to the island.
After capturing them, Ekrizdis would torture and eventualy murder them- using whatever
twisted abilities he had in his magical arsenal to ensure maximum suffering.
And what did Ekrizdis need to conduct these horrific experiments?
Why, a fortress of course.
Not long after his experiments began, Ekrizdis erected a gigantic, dark fortress terrifying
enough to strike fear in to even the most courageous witches and wizards.
This continued for many many years- claiming a vast number of victims.
Eventually, after enough torture and murder, Ekrizdis had completely lost touch with reality.
The Dark Wizard who was hopping mad BEFORE landing on the island had reached an entirely
new level of insanity- the product of constant experimentation with dark magic.
It was in his state of complete madness that many suspect Ekrizdis created the first ever
Dementors - the aftermath of all of those tortured sailors.
“Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth.
They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain
peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them.
Even Muggles feel their presence, though they can’t see them.
Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you.
If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself
— soul-less and evil.
You’ll be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life.”
It wasn’t until many many years later, when Ekrizdis finally died, that the concealment
charms on the island faded away- finally revealing the island to others.
The giant island (which Ekrizdis had enlarged) simply appeared out of nowhere, which prompted
the Ministry of Magic at the time to investigate.
“Those who entered to investigate refused afterwards to talk of what they had found
inside, but the least frightening part of it was that the place was infested with Dementors.
Many in authority thought Azkaban an evil place that was best destroyed.
Others were afraid of what might happen to the Dementors infesting the building if they
deprived them of their home.
The creatures were already strong and impossible to kill; many feared a horrible revenge if
they took away a habitat where they appeared to thrive.
The very walls of the building seemed steeped in misery and pain, and the Dementors were
determined to cling to it.
Experts who had studied buildings built with and around Dark magic contended that Azkaban
might wreak its own revenge upon anybody attempting to destroy it.
The fortress was therefore left abandoned for many years, a home to continually breeding
Dementors.”
As mentioned above, after the initial attempts to survey the Island, the decision was made
to leave the island alone entirely.
This decision was driven mainly out of the FEAR that anyone attempting to destroy it
would be met with the Island’s revenge.
However, shortly after the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy was introduced in 1689,
that all changed.
"Upon the signature of the International Statute of Secrecy in 1689, wizards went into hiding
for good.
It was natural, perhaps, that they formed their own small communities within a community.
Many small villages and hamlets attracted several magical families, who banded together
for mutual support and protection."
The Minister for Magic at the time (and the SECOND ever official Minister for Magic I
might add) was Damocles Rowle.
Rowle took over from Ulick Gamp and integrated being ‘tough on muggles’ in to his election
campaign.
However, in later years Rowle did take things too far, eventually being censured by the
International Confederation of Wizards and being forced to step down.
Before all of this, though, it occurred to Rowle that the system for imprisoning witches
and wizards at that time was no longer going to work- primarily due to concerns surrounding
security.
You see, before Azkaban became THE spot for imprisoning witches and wizards, there were
many many different locations that someone who broke wizarding law could be locked up.
“The Ministry of Magic felt that the small wizarding prisons that existed up and down
the country in various towns and villages posed a security risk, because attempts by
incarcerated witches and wizards to break out often led to undesirable bangs, smells
and light shows.
A purpose-built prison, located on some remote Hebridean island, was preferred, and plans
had been drawn up when Damocles Rowle became Minister for Magic.”
The International Statute of Secrecy was introduced in 1689, and Rowle didn’t take over until
1718.
This meant that for nearly 2 decades PRIOR to Rowle taking over, the wizarding prison
issue had been on their radar.
However, Rowle didn’t agree with the existing plans to create a new purpose-built prison,
instead- he pushed and pushed to utilize the existing infrastructure at Azkaban.
“Rowle was an authoritarian who had risen to power on an anti-Muggle agenda, capitalising
on the anger felt by much of the wizarding community at being forced to go underground.
Sadistic by nature, Rowle scrapped the plans for the new prison at once and insisted on
using Azkaban.
He claimed that the Dementors living there were an advantage: they could be harnessed
as guards, saving the Ministry time, trouble and expense.
In spite of opposition from many wizards, among them experts on both Dementors and buildings
with Azkaban’s kind of Dark history, Rowle carried out his plan and soon a steady trickle
of prisoners had been placed there.
None ever emerged.
If they were not mad and dangerous before being placed in Azkaban, they swiftly became
so.”
Rowle continued in his role for a number of years before being ousted, and was eventually
succeeded by the third ever Minister for Magic- Perseus Parkinson- who shared similarly hateful
views on muggles- even going as far as to try and ban witches and wizards from marrying
muggles.
“Rowle was succeeded by Perseus Parkinson, who was likewise pro-Azkaban.
By the time that Eldritch Diggory took over as Minister for Magic, the prison had been
operating for fifteen years.
There had been no breakouts and no breaches of security.
The new prison seemed to be working well.
It was only when Diggory went to visit that he realised exactly what conditions inside
were like.
Prisoners were mostly insane and a graveyard had been established to accommodate those
that died of despair.”
By the time Eldritch Diggory, the only minister who may have actually opposed the use of Azkaban,
took over, it was too late, as Azkaban had proven itself a competent holding facility.
However, he did still question the use of Dementors as prison-guards, launching a committee
to look in to things further:
“Back in London, Diggory established a committee to explore alternatives to Azkaban, or at
least to remove the Dementors as guards.
Experts explained to him that the only reason the Dementors were (mostly) confined to the
island was that they were being provided with a constant supply of souls on which to feed.
If deprived of prisoners, they were likely to abandon the prison and head for the mainland.
This advice notwithstanding, Diggory had been so horrified by what he had seen inside Azkaban
that he pressed the committee to find alternatives.
Before they could reach any decision, however, Diggory caught dragon pox and died.
“
Diggory tried his best during his years as Minister to find a replacement for the Dementor’s
that inhabited Azkaban, but due to his untimely death at the hands of Dragon Pox, this plan
never came to fruition.
After Diggory, no Minister for Magic questioned the activities of Azkaban for 265 years- with
Minister after Minister choosing to turn a blind eye to the inhumane conditions inside
of the fortress.
As awful as the fortress was, it was effective as a prison, and its existence meant that
the terrifying Dementors inhabiting the island were accounted for.
It wasn’t until Kingsley Shackebolt took over in 1998 that things were revisited, with
Shackebolt purging the prison of Dementors.
To this day, Azkaban prison is still used by the Ministry of Magic, but it’s a lot
different than it used to be.
Gone are the days of horrifying Dementors patrolling the fortress.
Instead, the Ministry of Magic utilizes Aurors as guards who are regularly rotated from the
mainland.
While it’s certainly no island paradise, the walls of Azkaban are a touch less dismal
than they used to be.
Where before a sentence in Azkaban could rob you of your humanity, the new Azkaban just
might offer the right witch or wizard a chance at rehabilitation.
And that’s it for this video!
Did you know about Azkaban’s RICH History?
The CREATION of the Dementors?
Ekrizdis?
If you have any questions leave them in the comment section below
Until next time
Remember
It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.