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Harry Potter Wiki
J.K

Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling. Information that comes directly from her is considered the highest source of canon on the Harry Potter Wiki

Canon is a term used to describe a fixed collection of material that is considered part of the Harry Potter world. The Harry Potter Wiki uses a three tier system which determines what sources are true and what sources are not.

The wiki believes that J. K. Rowling's word is law. Any material she has written or was involved in or has stated is canonical is the highest level of canonicity - even the illustrations, drawings, hand-lettering etc. that she created are part of that. The wiki also considers the texts written in their original language, J. K. Rowling's British English and editions with corrections she approved are the most valuable.[1]

Any extra material she has provided for select editions or copies of the books as well as her own pronunciation, intonation, etc. are considered tier-one canon as well as thing she says in videos, interviews and audio recordings of her reading her writings or talking about their content also belong to this category.

When J. K. Rowling contradicts herself, the newest source is to be taken as the "most" canonical. When J. K. Rowling makes obvious errors that the reader can see (i.e. mathematical errors, dates of events errors, characters saying the wrong things, etc.), they are either rectified in later editions or remain mistakes, some of which lead to plotholes.

J. K. Rowling's Wizarding World canon tiers[]

Tier One: J. K. Rowling[]

This tier includes only material directly attributable to J. K. Rowling. It comprises sources that she either wrote herself, contributed to, or explicitly recognised as canonical. Texts in their original language, incorporating Rowling's corrections and editions with additional material, are the most authoritative. However, American English editions may sometimes contain extra content. For instance, Dean Thomas's description was omitted from the British edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone after her editor's intervention. When Rowling wrote in a language other than British English, her original words hold more weight than any translation. For example, while Jean-François Ménard translated "muggle" as "moldu" for the French editions, Rowling herself later used "Non-Magique" in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay, making it the definitive term. Most sources include some elements not directly from Rowling, such as book covers or illustrations, which are excluded from tier one. Only visual art created by J. K. Rowling herself, as well as her own pronunciation and intonation from recordings, belong to this category. In cases where Rowling contradicts herself, the latest source should be considered the most canonical. If published, the Encyclopaedia of Potterworld would fall into this tier.

Sources included in Tier One[]

Tier Two: Based on J. K. Rowling's work[]

These sources do not contain information directly from J. K. Rowling herself, but they are projects based on her works in which she was involved in some capacity at some point.

Sources included in Tier Two[]

Tier Three: Licenced[]

These sources involve instances where J. K. Rowling or Warner Bros., the producers of the Harry Potter films and her primary licensee, authorised a third party to use elements of the Harry Potter universe.

Sources included in Tier Three[]

Fanon[]

Main article: Fanon

At the opposite end of the spectrum from canonicity is fanon, which consists of information, stories, and suppositions created by fans that are not addressed in any of the canonical sources listed above. Fanon is not considered part of the Harry Potter world created by Rowling and has no place on the wiki.

Uncertainty[]

The canonicity of the short film The Queen's Handbag is uncertain, given that it centres around a major anachronism - the date of Queen Elizabeth II's 80th birthday - and contains other elements that appear to contradict the continuity of the novels and the films.

Rowling was reportedly at work on a Harry Potter Encyclopedia project, but at this point work on it has apparently been discontinued in favour of Pottermore. Nevertheless, should it someday be completed, the information within will presumably be considered canon.

As expected, many fans have varying ideas of what is canon contrary to the Wiki's view. The HP Lexicon has the policy that only sources from JKR is canon.

Many fans have debated the canonicity of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The play is based on an original idea by her and she had some part in the development of the plot. However, she did not write it and fans with a negative view of it have commented that it cannot be considered canonical, as it contradicts previous canonical material. It is not known exactly what she came up with. Some fans believe the dialogue is not canonical and separate the script from the plot entirely. However, Rowling has stated that the story of the play is considered canonical by her and since her word is law on the Wiki, the play is considered canonical as well.

Notes and references[]

  1. Differences between editions of the books
  2. The 2014 Bloomsbury Children Editions features a map of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry drawn by Tomislav Tomic based off of Rowling's original sketch and end matter from Pottermore for each book in the series that were created to summaries relevant areas of the online experience and attract the Harry Potter readership back to pottermore.com. The first two books in the series were given two double-page spreads in order to educate the readers about pottermore.com and its functionality in detail. The remaining five books were given single double-page spreads. The Harry Potter Enhanced Editions iBooks have annotations written by J. K. Rowling from Pottermore to give you insights into the world of Harry Potter.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Including the content no longer found on the current version of the website.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Canon from her Twitter account, documentaries, interviews and articles she did not write herself may have been provided without a time of reflection as long as when Rowling is working on a book, a text or an article and may contradict information from other sources of canon. Her exact quotes are also most valuable than reports of her comments.
  5. http://www.harrypotter.bloomsbury.com/uk/british-library-editions/
  6. J. K. Rowling is credited for "Words and Creative Thoughts" in Wonderbook: Book of Spells while her website said that she wrote "spell descriptions and stories". J. K. Rowling is credited "for her creative contribution and writing" in Wonderbook: Book of Potions, a press release said she created Zygmunt Budge, the Wizarding Schools Potions Championship and its location especially for Book of Potions. It seems like she was less involved in Wonderbook: Book of Potions compared to Wonderbook: Book of Spells but both games include texts not coming from her. Distinction between the parts from J. K. Rowling herself and the parts from the developers is not possible.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Only the story was co-developed by J. K. Rowling and considered canon by her (X (formerly Twitter) logo J.K. Rowling on X: "The story of #CursedChild should be considered canon, though. @jackthorne, John Tiffany (the director) and I developed it together." ) but she did not write the play.
  8. The movie script was written by Rowling but the book was edited to match the final theatrical release of the film: some scenes were deleted or edited, the actors ad libbed lines, etc. Some of the home medias of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film) contain 11 deleted scenes (lasting 14:33 in total): Major Investigation Department; Jacob Tenement; Newt's Case; MACUSA Cell; Creocreatura; Tracking Demiguise; Suitcase Celebration; Skyscraper Roof; Obscuris Unleashed, Part 1; Obscuris Unleashed, Part 2; Newt Goodbye which script is not featured in the book.
  9. J. K. Rowling wrote letters to some of her fans containing new information and created/approved/was involved in the creation of some original content for non tier-one canon's sources such as the Harry Potter video games, the film series (for example, some Black family members appears only on the version of the Black family tree tapestry shown in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and were not included on the version of the tree which J. K. Rowling gave to a charity auction in 2006, according to director David Yates, Rowling provided the filmmakers with a copy of the Black family tree going back eight generations; so the filmmakers presumably received a more complete version of the tree than the one auctioned off, which only goes back six generations), The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, etc. if it ever happened that one specific element can be proved to have been originated directly from J. K. Rowling herself (or at least that she considers it canon) then this one element can be added to the tier-one. Unpublished/unused material Rowling created (such as drafts, cut content, proof copy, changes editors forced her to do, or ghost plots) have a specific status.

See also[]

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