Skender

Skender
Physical information
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Magical characteristics
Wand	Unknown wood, core material and length
Affiliation
Occupation	Wizarding circus owner
Loyalty	Circus Arcanus

Skender (fl. 1927) was a wizard and the owner of the Circus Arcanus.

Biography

Skender was the rather cruel and exploitative owner of the Circus Arcanus, a travelling magical circus and freak show, which toured the wizarding world, with its display of magical oddities.

In 1927, Skender and the Circus Arcanus were set up in the wizarding street of Place Cachée of Paris. After announcing the snake transformation of Nagini, the circus' maledictus, Skender was attacked by the snake, giving Credence Barebone time to cause a distraction so he and Nagini could leave the circus and find the former's birth mother. This distraction caused the zouwu to escape and engulf the entire circus in fire, creating mass panic and horror in the crowd. After Auror Tina Goldstein took care of the situation, Skender promptly fled Paris with his circus.

Magical abilities and skills

• Charms: Skender was skilled in Charms as he was able to magically shrink the entirety of the equipment used in his Circus Arcanus into a small chest.

• Transfiguration: Skender was able to transfigure his wand into a walking stick.

Etymology

• The name Skender is a masculine first name commonly found in various Southeastern European countries whose historic origins are unclear, but has several theories:
  • The origin of the name Skender in the Balkan region is from the closely related Turkish name Iskender, Persian Iskandar and Arabic Al-Iskandar, which are all in turn derived from Alexander (meaning "defender of men").
  • Johann Pokorny gives two possible original meanings of the name, using the roots "skend" and "skand":
    • Pokorny lists the root "skend" as the separating of skin, scale or rind. "Sken-tr" is the act of cutting and "sken-to" is the part that has been cut off.
    • In modern German, one finds the expansion of this root as schinnen, which comes from the same Celtic origin and means to skin one's enemy, plunder and mishandle him. Thus, Pokorny notes the word "skan-do", meaning "land laying in waste" (that is, plundered or "skinned") is the Celto-Germanic root.
    • Pokorny also notes the second root "skend-" as meaning "illuminated, glowing or bright," This root has more of a visual or "seeing" connotation.

• Skender is also found in the old German and Saxon word Skander, which means Scandinavian or Viking raider. It may be the origin of the Gaelic word Skene and Skene-to, which is the traditional knife the Scots carry in their stockings, as well as the source of the Latvian name, Skenders, which is believed to have come to that land via the Teutonic Knights who would have had this ancient German word meaning "violent or scandalous behavior".

Behind the scenes

• Skender was played by Ólafur Darri Ólafsson in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

File:Skender's Wand.jpeg

Skender's wand

Appearances

• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

Notes and references

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