Warning!
At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells. Spoilers will be present within the article. |
- "Then he realised it was a colossal skull, comprised 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."
- — Harry Potter viewing the Dark Mark in the sky, summoned with this spell[src]
Morsmordre was the incantation of a dark charm used to conjure the image of the Dark Mark, the skull-and-serpent sign used by Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters, in the sky.[1] The Death Eaters cast their mark over the homes of anyone they killed as their calling card.[1] It was said to have been created by Lord Voldemort himself.[2]
History[]
First Wizarding War[]
- Ron Weasley: "I don't get it. I mean ... it's still only a shape in the sky...."
- Arthur Weasley: "Ron, 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 ..."
- — Arthur Weasley informing his son Ron about this spell's history and usage[src]
In the First Wizarding War, Morsmordre became something of a signature move for the Death Eaters.[1] After a murder, the spell would be cast in order to both claim credit for the attack, and to further terrify the wizarding community.[1]
After Voldemort's first defeat, the Mark was no longer seen since the method for casting it was known only to the innermost circle of Death Eaters. If these individuals had escaped death or Azkaban, they had done so by lying about their membership in the organisation, and therefore casting the spell would have been something of a give-away. It was noted that precious few wizards knew how to perform this spell.[1]
1994[]
- Barty Crouch Senior: "Which of you did it? Which of you conjured the Dark Mark?"
- Harry Potter: "We didn't do that!"
- Ron Weasley: "We didn't do anything! What did you want to attack us for?"
- Barty Crouch Senior: "Do not lie, sir! You have been discovered at the scene of the crime!"
- — Bartemius Crouch Senior accusing Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger of having used this spell at the Quidditch World Cup riot[src]
Barty Crouch Junior cast the spell after witnessing a number of disloyal Death Eaters engaged in Muggle torture of the Roberts family and rioting after the Quidditch World Cup. His motive in casting this spell was primarily to terrify the former Death Eaters, as opposed to the other spectators.[3] This caused a widespread panic, as seeing the sign after 14 years made people think Voldemort had returned,[1] and Death Eaters feared the possibility of Voldemort's return more than the civilians due to their fear that their disloyalty to the Dark Lord may bring retribution from him.[3]
At first, the house-elf Winky was blamed for the act due to the fact that both she and the wand used to cast the spell were found together at the location from which the spell was apparently cast. After it was remembered that only a former Death Eater would have had the knowledge to cast the spell, both Winky along with Harry, Ron and Hermione were cleared of any involvement.[1]
Voldemort later used his knowledge of this event to contradict Lucius Malfoy's claim that he was on the alert for any sign of Voldemort's return, and would have immediately rejoined him, upon his return at the Little Hangleton graveyard.[4]
1996[]
Igor Karkaroff was killed in 1996 by Death Eaters for betraying Lord Voldemort, and the Dark Mark was cast over the shack in which his body was found.[5]
1997[]
- "There it was, hanging in the sky above the school: the blazing green skull with a serpent tongue, the mark Death Eaters left behind whenever they had entered a building... wherever they had murdered...."
- — The Dark Mark over Hogwarts, before the Battle of the Astronomy Tower[src]
It was cast over the Astronomy Tower at Hogwarts by Gibbon when the Death Eaters invaded the castle in 1997, in order to lure Albus Dumbledore to the tower so that Draco Malfoy could kill him. In this case, the Mark was cast before, rather than after, a murder.[6] Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and Madam Rosmerta witnessed the Dark Mark over the school from Hogsmeade, and Rosmerta gave Albus and Harry brooms so they could travel to the castle as quickly as possible.[7]
Known practitioners[]
Etymology[]
The incantation of this spell appears to be derived from the Latin mors, "death", and mordere, "to bite". This alludes to the name of Voldemort's followers, the Death Eaters.
Another derivation may come from French mort, "death", and mordre, "to bite". The English word murder could also contribute. The literal translation of the Norwegian word "morsmodre" would be "mothers killers".
It may also be a reference to the word "mord", which means "murder" in Icelandic, German, Norwegian, Danish Polish and Swedish, since the spell is cast after someone has been murdered, and sounds like "mass murder" and "mortal".
Behind the scenes[]
- Despite the film adaptations showing that the caster simply has to point the wand upwards and speak the incantation to launch the mark, in Harry Potter: Spells shows the hand movement required.
- In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the Dark Mark only appears greenish when it was cast at the Quidditch World Cup. When cast later in the same film after Voldemort's resurrection, along with its appearances in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, it appears to be formed out of dark grey clouds.
- In the book Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the Dark Mark was cast over the Quidditch World Cup by Barty Crouch Jnr with Harry's wand in order to terrify the disloyal Death Eaters who were willing to engage in Muggle torture but not search for their (former) master. However, in the film adaptation, Crouch Jnr cast the Mark with his own wand after the Death Eaters had already disappeared, seeemingly simply to signify the crime that took place there.
- In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the Dark Mark was cast after the Death Eaters attacked Diagon Alley and destroyed the Millennium Bridge, with it towering over London.
- In the book Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the Dark Mark was cast over the Astronomy Tower by Gibbon in order to lure Dumbledore to that location. However, in the film adaptation, the Mark was nonverbally cast by Bellatrix Lestrange in celebration after Dumbledore was killed. Furthermore, in the film the Mark was dispelled by the mourning residents of Hogwarts as a sign of respect for the late Headmaster.
- This is the only spell that Barty Crouch Jnr casts onscreen, in his true form, before becoming Alastor Moody by means of Polyjuice Potion.
Appearances[]
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (Seen in the Daily Prophet) (Heard)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
- Pottermore
- Harry Potter (website)
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
- Harry Potter: Spells
- Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
- Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells
- The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 9 (The Dark Mark)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Harry Potter: Wizards Unite "Brilliant Event: An Imperfect Love"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 35 (Veritaserum)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 33 (The Death Eaters)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 6 (Draco's Detour)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 29 (The Phoenix Lament)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 27 (The Lightning-Struck Tower)