Harry Potter Wiki
Don't have an account?
Register
Advertisement
Register
Harry Potter Wiki
Harry Potter Wiki
22,027
pages
in: Policy
English

Harry Potter Wiki:Canon

View source
E D N 98
PROCLAMATION: Educational Decree No. 24
This page is considered an official policy on the Harry Potter Wiki.
It has wide acceptance among editors and is considered a standard that everyone should follow. Please make use of the Talk Page to propose changes to this policy or its wording.


Policies

General policy
Awards policy
Blocking policy
Blog policy
Canon policy
Character infobox guidelines
Discord policy
Editing policy
Image policy
Layout guide
Multiple accounts
Neutral point of view
No personal attacks
Notability guidelines
Signatures
Talk page policy
User policy
User Rights policy
Voting policy

Shortcut:
HPW:CANON

Since there are different sources of information for Harry Potter canon and sources do, on occasion, conflict with one another, the following guide is to be used on the Harry Potter Wiki. In order to simplify the different areas that exist as sources for canon information in the Harry Potter universe we have devised a three tier system summarised below. Please remember any type of fanon, information created by fans using the Harry Potter characters, is not considered canon at all and must be marked as such, unless made canon by a legitimate source.

Although there are different levels of canon, this does not mean relevant information cannot be included in situations where there are conflicting canon sources. Ambiguous continuity should always be noted. If an "official" canon source has been chosen, (e.g. J. K. Rowling has said that a fact was a mistake and it was meant to be something else), the information from the conflicting source should still appear in the article in the "Behind the scenes" section.

Basically put, everything is canon unless specifically contradicted by a "higher" source.

Canon tiers

Tier One: J. K. Rowling

These sources come from J. K. Rowling herself. She either wrote them herself, or was involved in writing/developing them. Texts in their original language, J. K. Rowling's British English and corrected editions are the most valuable.[1] When J. K. Rowling contradicts herself, the newest source is to be taken as the "most" canon.

Tier Two: JKR Involved

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

Tier Three: Licensed

These sources are where J. K. Rowling or Warner Bros. (the makers of the Harry Potter films and her primary licensee) licensed the use of elements of the Harry Potter universe to a third-party.

Examples of usage

  1. Oliver Wood mentions in the Philosopher's Stone film that he took a Bludger to the head in the first few minutes of his first ever Quidditch game. This is never mentioned in the books. Is it canon according to our guide? Yes, since there is no evidence from the books to say that it didn't happen.
  2. The Harry Potter games contain a spell known as Avifors to change statues into birds. Is this canon according to our guide? Yes, since there is no evidence to suggest that such a spell doesn't exist. This can generally be applied to most spells/items from the games.
  3. In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Krum attacks Fleur in the Maze during the Triwizard Tournament. Is this considered canon? No, because the book, a higher source of canon, specifically states that Crouch/Moody did it. However, it should be noted in the "Behind the scenes" section.
  4. Mafalda is a cut character from an early draft of Goblet of Fire. Is she canon according to our guide? Yes and no. The fact that she exists may be considered canon, but anything about her intended part in the story cannot be considered canon because it did not happen in the books.
  5. In the games, are the various challenges/levels considered canon according to our guide? Yes and no. Levels like the Glacius Challenge from the Prisoner of Azkaban game should not be considered canon since it is highly unlikely that the students would be put in danger like that. However, challenges like helping to assemble Dumbledore's Army for their first meeting in Order of the Phoenix could conceivably be considered canon because they usually involve helping out with a task to free the student up to attend.

Notes

  1. ↑ Differences between editions of the books
  2. ↑ J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) on Twitter: "The story of #CursedChild should be considered canon, though. @jackthorne, John Tiffany (the director) and I developed it together."
Deutsch Español Português do Brasil Русский 中文
*Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, Fandom will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
More Fandoms
Advertisement