In the Potterverse, Dumbledore had a Phoenix named Fawkes.
Was Fawkes the only Phoenix in the Wizarding world?
asked Oct 24, 2013 at 3:45
-
1scifi.stackexchange.com/a/14792/10774– sherin_Oct 24, 2013 at 4:08
-
1possible duplicate of Did Voldemort seek out Phoenix tears?– Thaddeus HowzeOct 24, 2013 at 6:44
-
3Fawkes would hardly need a name if he was the only phoenix in existence. Or to put it another way, if he was the only phoenix in existence, his name would be Phoenix.– MarthaOct 24, 2013 at 14:06
-
1@Martha Dolly, the first cloned sheep, was named something besides 'first cloned sheep'.– user1027Oct 24, 2013 at 17:47
-
1@Keen: notice that "first": Dolly wasn't created with any expectation of being the only one of her kind. Plus, regardless of the conception method, she was still a sheep, and thus hardly unique.– MarthaOct 24, 2013 at 18:33
Add a comment
|
2 Answers
No.
Some evidence for other phoenixes:
In Quidditch Through the Ages, there’s mention of a Quidditch team with a phoenix as their mascot:
Antipodean teams have always thrilled European crowds with their speed and showmanship. Among the best are the Moutohora Macaws (New Zealand), with their famous red, yellow, and blue robes, and their phoenix mascot Sparky.
This is the only other named phoenix in the canon. (Don’t ask me why the mascot isn’t a macaw.)
Ollivander remarks that Harry and Voldemort's wand have tail feathers from the same phoenix (Fawkes). If phoenixes were rare (or Fawkes was the only one), then it would be more remarkable that Harry's wand had any phoenix feather.
Instead, phoenix feathers are described as one of several possible wand cores. Indeed, when Harry first visits Ollivander, he's offered another wand with a phoenix feather core:
“Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try —”
Harry tried — but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr Ollivander.
Clearly Fawkes is not a unique specimen.
Indeed, there are at least two other wands with phoenix tail feathers, which surely cannot come solely from Fawkes.
They're described in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them:
The phoenix gains a XXXX rating not because it is aggressive, but because very few wizards have ever succeeded in domesticating it.
I'm not sure whether you could describe Fawkes as domesticated, but this again tells us that there are other phoenixes. Otherwise, why mention them?
answered Oct 24, 2013 at 9:56
-
1I completely agree with your conclusion based on your second and third bullet. The first I'm not sure is very strong evidence. The Tennessee Titans NFL team has a named mascot as well, but it doesn't mean Titans exist. He's a fictional character represented by cartoons and people in costume. That seems a fine way to have a phoenix mascot, especially given how difficult they are to domesticate.– PeterLMay 6, 2014 at 23:00
-
5@PeterL You think a magical sports team that play a sport on flying brooms wouldn't have an actual phoenix? The irish team has Leprachauns and the Bulgarian team had Veelas. May 7, 2014 at 11:37
-
Harry Potter book 1, chapter 5, Ollivander says: "No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same." Q.E.D.– MarthaFeb 16, 2020 at 6:45
No. We know that Fawkes has only ever given two feathers to be used in a wand, which is why Ollivander thought Harry's wand was so special. But we also know that there are other wands made of phoenix feathers. As a consequence, there must be other phoenixes, even if we don't directly meet them.
