Dark Lord

A **Dark Lord** is a wizard or witch who has been deemed a threat to Wizarding society, whether through political ambition, research into forbidden magic, or both. The term Dark Lord also appears in Divination, as True Prophecies never use real names. In the context of prophecy, a Dark Lord is a wizard or witch so terrible that Magic and Fate themselves have taken notice of them.

## Known Dark Lords

### Confirmed Dark Lords

* Circe - Ancient Greek witch. One of the most infamous Dark Ladies in history.
* Morgan Le Fay - Also called Morgana. One of the most infamous Dark Ladies in history.
* The Black Khan - Led the Mongol Empire during the 13th and 14th centuries. Opposed by the Founders of Durmstrang.
* Baba Jaga - One of the most infamous Dark Ladies in history. Later reformed, founded House Czarnobóg at Durmstrang, and helped defeat the Black Khan.
* Emeric the Evil - Creator of lycanthropy, rose to power in the 14th century
* Gellert Grindelwald - Pure-blood supremacist, warred against various European Wizarding governments in the early 20th century
* Alexander McAvity - Muggle-born and Squib Rights activist, rose to prominence in Britain in the 1950s but was forced to flee to Australia in the 1960s
* Li-Tsien Chang - Claimant to the title of Fifth Dragon Emperor in the 1970s
* Lord Voldemort - Pure-blood supremacist, first rose to power in the 1970s until his death in 1981, and began planning his resurrection in the 1990s

### Possible Dark Lords

* Herpo the Foul - Parselmouth who created the first Horcrux, bred the first Basilisk, and may have overseen the fall of Carthage in 146 BC.
* Selene of Byzantium - One of only a handful of wizards capable of casting a Mass Imperius.
* The Nameless Witch of Calais - One of only a handful of wizards capable of casting a Mass Imperius.
* Koschek the Mad - One of only a handful of wizards capable of casting a Mass Imperius.

### Other prominent dark wizards or witches

These individuals came close to meeting the criteria for Dark Lord, but were defeated or died before being identified as such

* Ekrizdis - Protégé of Emeric the Evil. Resided on the island of Azkaban, where he experimented on Muggle sailors.
* Lady Echidna- Tried to create an army of of human-creature hybrids in the 1920s
* Witch Queen Salanga - Attempted to unleash an undead army in Malaysia in the 1970s

### Leaders of the Light

The Leader of the Light is a more unofficial title given to a wizard or witch opposed to the current Dark Lord, who is usually closely aligned with the Wizarding government.

* Abraxas Malfoy - Self-titled Lord of Light, opposed Alexander McAvity
* Albus Dumbledore - Opposed Gellert Grindelwald and Lord Voldemort

## Known prophecies that refer to Dark Lords

* Cassandra Trelawney's Prophecy (refers to the "Darkest Lord" or "Dark God", a currently unknown individual)
* Sibyll Trelawney's First Prophecy (refers to Voldemort)
* Sibyll Trelawney's Second Prophecy (most likely refers to Voldemort)

## Behind the Scenes

* TSM revealed on Discord that the bible verse Exodus 22:18 ("Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live") was originally "Thou shalt not suffer a Dark Lord to live" before it was changed by the Statute of Secrecy.

## Canon Divergence

In Canon the term Dark Lord is only ever used to refer to Voldemort, and is only rarely used by characters who are not Death Eaters.

## References

Book 2 - HP&TSE - Ch. 57 - The Boggart (Pt 2),

Lockhart gives a lecture on werevolves.
 - Chapter not added yet,

Revealed in Supplemental Readings: The History of Magic, Bagshot, Chapter 12.
Book 3 - HP&DEM - Ch. 85 - Prelude (Jim) (Pt 1),

Gupta Baskar mentions several threats Magical Asia faced in the 1970s.
Book 2 - HP&TSE - Ch. 65 - Aftershocks,

"Oh come on, Hermione. You-Know-Who. Salazar Slytherin. Even Herpo the Foul. Everyone knows that Parseltongue is the sign of a dark wizard.".
Book 2 - HP&TSE - Ch. 75 - Endgame (Pt 2),

Written in Hogwarts: A History, 1st Edition, page 193.
Book 3 - HP&DEM - Ch. 103 - Chaos in Hogsmeade (Pt 1),

"[I]t is said that Herpo the Foul unleashed the Rune of Singular Hate in the ancient city of Carthage, and before his work was done, the Romans burned the great city to the ground...".
Book 3 - HP&DEM - Ch. 136 - The Fall of the House of Potter (Pt 2),

"Until yesterday, the only wizards definitively known to have successfully cast the Mass Imperius have been Herpo the Foul, the Nameless Witch of Calais, Ekrizdis, Selene of Byzantium, Koschek the Mad, Gellert Grindelwald, and You-Know-Who.".
Book 3 - HP&DEM - Ch. 89 - Azkaban,

A brief history of Azkaban is given.
Book 1 - HP&PoS - Ch. 27 - Who Is the Prince of Slytherin?,

"...and, well, one aspiring dark lord who died in Azkaban, but never mind her.".
Book 3 - HP&DEM - Ch. 84 - Prelude (Hermione & Blaise),

Blaise explains Gunther's background and Lady Echidna's experiments to Hermione.
Book 3 - HP&DEM - Ch. 125 - The Hunting of Sirius Black (Pt 4),

"In the Last Days, a Dark Lord, the Darkest Lord, will reveal himself as both Savior and Betrayer...".
Book 2 - HP&TSE - Ch. 68 - A New Year Begins,

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...".
Book 3 - HP&DEM - Ch. 128 - Redux (Pt 2),

"By his choices shall the greatest of the Dark Lord's servants be freed and the circle forged anew. The Dark Lord will be reborn in all his terrible glory.".