Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In this video, we’re going to be
discussing Voldemort’s loyal followers, The Death Eaters. Now, in our own muggle world
there are both good and bad people- we have the morally righteous on one side- pure, selfless
individuals that look out for nothing but the best interest of others, and on the other
side we have individuals that are fuelled with hatred- who want nothing but pain and
suffering for the rest of humanity. Most environments, even outside the context of civilizations,
generally possess this type of dichotomy- a light and a dark, and the wizarding world
is certainly no exception.
In the late 1930’s, 1938 to be exact, a young man by the name of Tom Riddle began
attending Hogwarts. Though on the outside Riddle appeared to be a normal young man,
deep down he had an unimaginable number of demons- demons that haunted him every single
day of his life. You see, Tom didn’t have a normal childhood- as he was abandoned by
his witch mother right at the time of his birth. He didn’t have a mother or father
figure- he was just left at an orphanage- and so he never had any true concept of love,
or family. Like many powerful, evil, and enigmatic figures of history - Riddle had a rough start
to his life- and this paved the way for the dark path that he was destined to follow.
But, when Riddle eventually began to act on his dark nature, and began pursuing dark endeavours-
he wasn’t alone, and he was able to bring many other dark witches and wizards along
for the ride.
While he was a student at Hogwarts, Riddle was a member of Slytherin House. Riddle’s
charismatic, cunning and manipulative nature meant that it didn’t take long for him to
form a ‘gang’ of sorts. The gang that Riddle formed was once described
by Dumbledore as “a mixture of the weak seeking protection, the ambitious seeking
glory, and the thuggish seeking a leader who could show them more refined cruelty”. At
that point in time Riddle’s gang were known as the ‘Knights of Walpurgis’ - a kind
of sinister name derived from the pagan holiday ‘Walpurgisnacht’ - a night when “the
devil was abroad, the graves were opened and the dead came forth and walked. When all evil
things of earth and air and water held revel.”
But, if we fast forward to the year 1970, the beginning of Tom Riddle aka Voldemort’s
rise to power, these ‘Knights of Walpurgis’ were known by a different name: ’Death Eaters’.
As far as dark witches and wizards went, the Death Eaters were the worst. Their group was
comprised of evil witches and wizards that were all hellbent on pursuing their dark ambitions.
They were the followers of Lord Voldemort- and they obeyed his bidding in an effort to
‘cleanse’ the wizarding world- with the goal of restoring pure-blood authority over
the wizarding world. The death eaters were a group of pure-blood radical supremacists,
ever-bloodthirsty and always more than eager to resort to the darkest of deeds if it meant
achieving their goal of blood purity.
But one thing I’ve always wondered is: How do witches and wizards get mixed up with the
Death Eaters in the first place? Sure, I suppose some of them were there right from the start-
as they attended school with Riddle. And I suppose another portion of the Death Eaters
came from the family lineage of the original members- but what about the rest of them?
How do you BECOME a Death Eater?
The first requirement to be an official Death Eater is to not only follow lord voldemort,
but also bear ‘The Dark mark’- a fear-inspiring symbol magically etched in to the skin, like
a tattoo.
The mark represents their goal of cleansing the wizarding world, and is used by them as
a way of inciting fear in the general population- often projecting it into the sky using the
curse ‘Morsmordre’.
"Then he realised that it was a colossal skull, composed of what looked like emerald stars,
with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue. As they watched, it rose higher
and higher, blazing in a haze of greenish smoke, etched against the black sky like a
new constellation.".
Arthur Weasley had a lot to say about the symbol:
"...You-Know-Who and his followers sent the Dark Mark into the air whenever they killed.
The terror it inspired... you have no idea, you’re too young. Just picture coming home
and finding the Dark Mark hovering over your house, and knowing what you’re about to
find inside... Everyone’s worst fear... the very worst."
A distinction should be made between the symbol that is projected in to the sky, and the symbol
on their arm, however, as the one in the sky is a simplified version of the one they bear
on their arm- which is much more intricate.
But, who chooses who gets the Dark Mark? Who gets to officially decide WHO is a Death Eater?
Do they let in just anyone that’s in alignment with their cause? Is it purely up to Voldemort
to decide on new Death Eaters? Or can existing Death Eaters invite new witches/wizards to
their group?
We know for sure that there’s some kind of recruitment process in play, because professor
Slughorn mentions that the Death Eaters were trying to recruit him in the Half Blood Prince:
“'So, all these precautions against intruders, Horace... are they for the Death Eaters' benefit,
or mine?' asked Dumbledore.
'What would the Death Eaters want with a poor broken-down old buffer like me?' demanded
Slughorn.
'I imagine that they would want you to turn your considerable talents to coercion, torture,
and murder,' said Dumbledore. 'Are you really telling me that they haven't come recruiting
yet?'
Slughorn eyed Dumbledore balefully for a moment, then muttered, 'I haven't given them the chance.”
What this also tells me is that Slughorn is a target for recruitment for a couple of reasons:
First of all, Horace Slughorn is a PURE-BLOOD wizard, and that’s probably the most important
aspect to consider when bringing in someone new. A major goal of their cause is to oppress
muggleborns, so, bringing them on would be entirely counterproductive. However, we do
know that they bring SOME half-bloods on board, like Snape, and I suspect that they would
only bring on a half-blood if they were particularly talented. Magical talent can very easily translate
in to SINISTER magical application, and that’s probably the other main reason that they targeted
Slughorn- for he was a truly powerful wizard.
I have a couple of theories for how Death Eaters are formally recruited. My first theory
is that Lord Voldemort handpicks all subjects himself, and simply sends his followers off
to retrieve them. He’s an incredibly powerful wizard with the ability to read people’s
minds- and I think that, with all of his talents, he would be the best person to choose his
own followers, as he would be able to quickly figure out if they were truly in allegiance
with him or not. It’s also suggested by Slughorn that Voldemort is involved with recruitment,
as he mentions that he’s most likely in Voldemort’s bad-books by avoiding him:
“And I suppose one could argue that as I have not joined the Death Eaters, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named
can hardly count me a friend... in which case, I might well be safer a little closer to Albus…”
So my first theory is basically this: Voldemort makes an executive decision on who he wants,
and if they don’t agree to his terms, they either join or die.
My second theory involves Voldemort’s existing followers, and a sort of ‘Death Eater’
sponsorship program which would allow death eaters to bring on new recruits- vouching
for them. You would be brought before lord Voldemort, at which point he would analyze
you - likely using legilimency to uncover your true intentions. He would then set you
off on some kind of initiation to PROVE to him that you are worthy. What this initiation
would involve is not stated anywhere, but I would imagine that, similar to joining a
gang, it would involve a ‘hit’ or sinister act of some sort. The Death Eaters are all
huge proponents of the unforgivable curses, so I would imagine that it would involve them
in some capacity- perhaps having to control, torture, or kill someone. Or maybe even a
combination of the three.
After successfully completing your mission, you would then return to lord voldemort and
he would either approve or deny your ‘application’. If you weren’t worthy, I expect he’d just
kill you, and if you did prove your worth, I suspect that Voldemort or one of the existing
Death Eaters would come along and engrave the dark man on your arm.
What do you guys think? How do you officially become a Death Eater? Let me know down in
the comment section below
Until next time
YER A WIZARD ARRY