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"People ask me what it's like being a gargoyle... well, to be honest, most of the time you have a very cold bottom."
Lonely Male Gargoyle[src]

Gargoyle refers to a carved stone or statue with an ugly monstrous design.[1] Since medieval times, gargoyle statues had been commonly seen in many structures and buildings, including the Hogwarts Castle, and like many other statues in the wizarding world, most wizarding gargoyles were enchanted to be animate and, oftentimes, even sentient.[2]

Nature[]

Gargoyles served as statues for buildings such as Hogwarts Castle, both externally and internally.[2]

It should be noted that, whilst some gargoyles, like the Lonely Male Gargoyle, did seem to have some degree of sentience,[2] this is not known to be an innate ability and any noted animation was likely due to magic, such as a charm.

In 1911, there was a strike held by Gargoyles. It was led by a group of wildcat Gargoyles.[3]

Known gargoyles[]

Sentient Hogwarts gargoyles[]

Gargoyle statue 1995

A gargoyle statue in the Middle Courtyard at Hogwarts

A number of Hogwarts gargoyles had the ability to talk and possess personality, such as:

Other gargoyles[]

Main article: :Category:Gargoyles

Etymology[]

From the French gargouille, meaning "throat" or "gullet". In Latin gurgulio, gula, and similar words derived from the root gar, meaning "to swallow", which represented the gurgling sound of water.

Behind the scenes[]

Appearances[]

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Notes and references[]

  1. WP favicon Gargoyle on Wikipedia
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
  3. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 6, Chapter 18 (Into the Forest) - History of Magic Lesson "Gargoyle Strike of 1911"
  4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 31 (The Battle of Hogwarts)
  5. Harry Potter Trading Card Game
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