House of Black

"Toujours pur."

- The family motto, translating to "Always Pure"

The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black was one of the largest, oldest and wealthiest pure-blooded wizarding families in Britain, and one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Many wizarding families in Britain are distantly related to the House of Black. Like the Malfoy and Lestrange families, the House of Black is synonymous with elevated status and wealth. The Black family tree is displayed in the drawing room of the family home at 12 Grimmauld Place in London, England on an intricate tapestry, as an ornate mural. It starts in the Middle Ages and shows the dominant line of the family up to the present day.

By the late twentieth century, the House of Black had become extinct in the male line with the deaths of Sirius and Regulus Black, neither of whom had children. The female line continued through the Malfoy family, Teddy Lupin and through Delphini who was Bellatrix's illegitimate daughter.

Family history
"...my parents, with their pure-blood mania, convinced that to be a Black made you practically royal..."

- Sirius Black to Harry Potter on his family's values

The Black family traces its origin back to the Middle Ages. They claim to have entirely magical ancestry, but as Sirius Black informed his godson Harry Potter, no true pure-blood families existed by the twentieth century. The pure-blood families like the Blacks simply removed Muggles and Squibs from their family trees. The Blacks place a great importance on blood purity, considering themselves akin to royalty in the wizarding world and disdaining Muggles, Squibs, blood traitors, and Muggle-borns. The family motto, which can be found on the family crest, is Toujours Pur, which means "Always Pure" in French. Many members took this phrase very seriously. Because of their views, a large number of the Black family members practised the Dark Arts and supported Lord Voldemort during the First and Second Wizarding Wars. A few Blacks even became Death Eaters, while many others never took the Dark Mark but believed in the "purification" of the wizarding world nevertheless. A few members of the family, however, disagreed with the traditional views of their family; Sirius Black, for example, joined the Order of the Phoenix, as did Nymphadora Tonks, a distant member of the Black family. Both were murdered by Bellatrix Lestrange, Sirius's cousin and Tonks's aunt, in battle. Supportive of Voldemort at first, the family loyalists who did not become Death Eaters got cold feet when they saw the levels he would go to achieve his goals. Their hatred towards muggles is such that some members who are not outright Death Eaters would go to lengths to persecute them, such as Araminta Meliflua trying to pass a Ministry Bill to make Muggle-hunting legal. However, even those who originally supported Voldemort's actions to purge the Muggles got cold feet when they saw what he was willing to do for power. With Sirius's death, the male line of the Black family ended; the female line continues through the descendants of his cousins Bellatrix Lestrange, Andromeda Tonks and Narcissa Malfoy, his second cousin, once removed, Arthur Weasley, the Burke family, the Crouches, the Longbottoms and the Potter family.

Harry is shocked to find Sirius is related to the Malfoys, but Sirius explains all pure-blood families are interlinked somehow. Sirius is, in fact, related to Molly and Arthur Weasley.

Relatives by marriage

 * Bob Hitchens — husband of Iola Hitchens
 * Caspar Crouch — husband of Charis Crouch
 * Charlus Potter — husband of Dorea Potter
 * Druella Rosier — wife of Cygnus Black III
 * Ella Max — wife of Cygnus Black I
 * Harfang Longbottom — husband of Callidora Longbottom
 * Herbert Burke — husband of Belvina Burke
 * Hesper Gamp — wife of Sirius Black II
 * Ignatius Prewett — husband of Lucretia Prewett
 * Irma Crabbe — wife of Pollux Black
 * Jimbo Blishwick — husband of Misapinoa Blishwick
 * Lucius Malfoy — husband of Narcissa Malfoy
 * Lysandra Yaxley — wife of Arcturus Black II
 * Magenta Tripe — wife of Licorus Black
 * Melania Macmillan — wife of Arcturus Black III
 * Rodolphus Lestrange — husband of Bellatrix Lestrange
 * Septimus Weasley — husband of Cedrella Weasley
 * Ted Tonks — husband of Andromeda Tonks
 * Ursula Flint — wife of Phineas Nigellus Black
 * Violetta Bulstrode — wife of Cygnus Black II

Family tree
"En stirps nobilis et gens antiquissima Black."

- Latin inscription on the Black family tree tapestry

Blasted off of the tapestry
"Blood traitor, abomination, shame of my flesh! …Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers!"

- The portrait of Walburga Black screaming at her "traitor" son

The original tree described from Grimmauld Place was subject to some magical interference. According to Sirius Black, his mother Walburga blasted names of "blood traitors" off the tapestry without hesitation. The Black family motto of Toujours Pur ("always pure") was followed assiduously by family members; any who disagreed with the notion of blood purity or married Muggles or people of different blood statuses were disowned and blasted off the family tree, as were any Squibs. Thus, family members that remain on the tapestry can be assumed to have married fellow ("respectable") pure-bloods. Some even married their own cousins; Walburga and Orion Black, for instance, were second cousins. Generations of this practise resulted in inbreeding, which in turn has caused problems such as low fertility and mental instability.

The known disowned members are Eduardus Limette Black (for an unknown reason); Iola Black, for marrying Muggle Bob Hitchens; Phineas Black, for supporting Muggle rights; Marius Black, for being a Squib; Cedrella Black, for marrying blood traitor Septimus Weasley; Alphard Black, for giving gold to his runaway nephew Sirius; Sirius Black III, for running away from home; and Andromeda Black, for marrying Muggle-born Ted Tonks.

Thus, the Blacks are related to the Max, Blishwick, Flint, Hitchens, Gamp, Bulstrode, Burke, Yaxley, Macmillan, Crabbe, Potter, Peverell, Gaunt, Longbottom, Fortescue, Weasley, Delacour, Johnson, Granger, Crouch, Prewett, Rosier, Lestrange, Meliflua, Tonks, Malfoy, and Lupin families (albeit most of them distantly) but are related to all wizarding families as all families were once pure-blood and all pure-blood families are related. Also, muggle-born people are descendants of Squibs who are born into either a pure-blood family or a half-blood family (which is part pure-blood). Therefore, all wizarding families (and some Muggle ones) are related to the House of Black.

Physical appearances
The Blacks are commonly described as having "great good looks". They are considered to be beautiful people, being tall, thin, and having attractive features. The traditional look for most of the Black family is black hair and dark eyes with some exceptions, such as Narcissa Malfoy née Black who has blonde hair and blue eyes, Andromeda Tonks née Black having light brown eyes and brown hair and Sirius Black III, with grey eyes. They possess a certain aristocratic elegance that reflects upon their personality, as they consider themselves "practically royal". Even after incarceration in Azkaban and escape, Bellatrix Lestrange and Sirius were both described to have retained vestiges of these "great good looks", despite losing much of it in the depression of the prison.

Wealth
The Black family, as with many other pure-blood wizarding families like the Malfoys and the Potter family, is considered to be very wealthy. This may be one of the reasons why the members of this family acted somewhat arrogantly.

In 1993, Sirius Black III used money from Vault 711 to pay for Harry Potter's Firebolt. This vault may have been property of the Blacks, since Sirius may have inherited this vault after his mother's death. However, he may have acquired it after being disowned, using the money given to him by his Uncle Alphard.

After Sirius died in 1996, his godson Harry Potter inherited all of Sirius Black's properties, including his house, his house-elf and his vault, which still contained "a reasonable amount of gold". Given its depth, it is likely a high-security vault.

Etymology
can be considered a colour, and is the result of the absence of, or complete absorption of, light. In Western culture, the colour black has typically been associated with evil, darkness, and witchcraft, but also with prestige and sophistication — appropriate for the rich and House of Black. Black has also been associated with life and prosperity by other cultures. In ancient China, black was the symbol of the element of water, which also corresponds to Slytherin, the Hogwarts house of almost all members of the Black family. In English heraldry, black represents darkness and ignorance; a possible allusion to the prejudice common to members of the House of Black.

However, the English word black is derived from either the Old English blœc, meaning "black", or blac, meaning "pale". Pallor is associated with sickness and the colour white, which is usually held to symbolise purity in Western and Indian culture, and death in East Asian cultures. This mirrors the typical colouring of members of the House of Black — dark hair and pale skin.

Etymology of given names
Most Black family members are named after stars or constellations. For example, the star is in the constellation Canis Major (the Dog). What's more, Sirius Black, an Animagus, could change into a massive black dog named Padfoot. Another example is, the third brightest star in the constellation , which is also the name of Sirius's father and Bellatrix's uncle. , Andromeda, and Cassiopeia are also constellations, and, and  are named after stars as well.

Some members of the extended family have also chosen to follow this naming pattern. For example, Narcissa Malfoy née Black named her son Draco, which is the name of a constellation. In turn, he named his son Scorpius, which is one of the constellations of the zodiac, known as Scorpio in Western astrology. Narcissa herself, however, was not named in keeping with this convention. She was instead named for a plant, the flower Narcissus. Lycoris Black is also named for a plant.

However if a member of the family is disowned and blasted off the Black family tree then the name is never used again in the following generations.

Behind the scenes

 * A hand drawn copy of the most recent section of the family tree was donated to a charity auction for Book Aid by J. K. Rowling, in February 2006. The drawing was purchased on behalf of Daniel Radcliffe for £30,000.
 * According to Sirius Black, if all of the pure-blood families stick with only pure-blood marriages, almost all of them will be relatives because there are only a few pure-blood families. Therefore Sirius relates to the Crabbe family, the Potter family, the Weasley family, the Malfoy family, the Crouch family, the Longbottom family, the Lestrange family, the Lupin family, the Gaunt family, the Riddle family, the Peverell family, the Bulstrode family and the Slytherin family.
 * Walburga and Orion Black were second cousins, though they married, a common occurrence historically for aristocratic, wealthy families.
 * Another version of the family tree tapestry appeared in the . When film makers told Rowling that they needed to "visualise Sirius Black's family tree", she faxed them the complete Black family tree, going back eight generations. On that tree the name Phineas is misspelt Phineus.
 * Many members of the House of Black have died at considerably younger ages than is normal for wizards and witches, and even muggles for that matter. Of those whose dates of birth and death are shown on the family tree, none lived to be older than one hundred, and most died between the ages of fifty and eighty, with an average life expectancy of only 59.5 years (based on the family tree), though this is possibly the result of major inbreeding (see above) as well as mental instability and war (as seen ).
 * Many members of the family are said to have great good looks, with a touch of aristocratic arrogance to it.
 * After Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the only pure-blood members who weren't dead or imprisoned are: Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, Scorpius Malfoy, Astoria Greengrass, Andromeda Tonks, Arthur Weasley, Molly Weasley, Bill, Charlie, Percy, George, Ron and Ginny.
 * The female lines continue through Bellatrix (through her descendant with Lord Voldemort, ironically), Narcissa (with Lucius Malfoy), Andromeda (with Ted Tonks), Callidora (with Harfang Longbottom), Cedrella (with Septimus Weasley) and possibly Iola (with Bob Hitchens).
 * Out of 36 members, most are descendants of Phineas Nigellus and Ursula Flint (25), 7 were of known generations preceding him and 3 were his siblings. The remaining 1 was Phineas himself.
 * There is at least one disowned Black in each generation (except the generation consisting of Cygnus Black I, Arcturus Black I and Misapinoa Black.)
 * All of the males that have been blasted off the family tree were not disowned due to marriage (except for possibly Eduardus Limette Black, who was blasted off for an unknown reason). Phineas was disowned for supporting Muggle rights, Marius was disowned for being a Squib, Alphard for leaving gold to his disowned nephew, and Sirius for running away from his home and not believing in the importance of blood-purity. The three females to have been disowned after marriage are Andromeda, Cedrella and Iola Black (all for marriage to a Muggle-born, a blood traitor, and a Muggle, respectively).
 * It is possible that some of the disowned male members of the family have male-line descendants that are not recognised by the greater Black family due to their ancestors' actions. Their descendance, if any, had however to have gone extinct (fully or just in the male line) by the late 1995, when Sirius stated that he was the last of the Blacks.
 * Though many members of the Black family were supporters of either Voldemort directly or his principles of blood purity, the family did not become related to him until the birth of Delphini, daughter of Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange (née Black) as well as marriage of Ginny Weasley, a member of the Weasley family and the House of Black, and Harry Potter, who is related to Voldemort through the Peverell brothers, distant ancestors of both of them.
 * It was once speculated that Dorea Black and her husband Charlus Potter were in fact James Potter's parents, since they had an only child; however, the actual names of James's parents, Fleamont and Euphemia Potter, were recently revealed via Pottermore, proving this to be untrue. The female line of the House of Black, however, continues through Harry's children, James Sirius Potter, Albus Severus Potter and Lily Luna Potter, whose maternal great-grandmother is Cedrella Weasley née Black, also making Harry related to the House of Black via marriage.

Notes and references
Familie Black Casa Black Famille Black Блэки Ród Blacków