======Pure-Blood======
=====Definition and Ideology=====
A **pure-blood** is a witch or [[wizard]] with a family tree devoid of any known [[Muggle]] or [[Muggle-born]] ancestry. The term is central to a supremacist ideology held by a segment of the wizarding community, which posits that magical ability is diluted or tainted by non-magical heritage. Adherents to this belief system advocate for the dominance of pure-bloods in wizarding society and the subjugation or exclusion of [[Muggle-borns]], whom they derogatorily call "//Mudbloods//."
This ideology has deep historical roots, most famously championed by [[Salazar Slytherin]], one of the four founders of [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]]. [[Slytherin]] believed that magical education should be reserved for those of entirely magical lineage, a belief that led to his conflict with the other founders and the creation of the [[Chamber of Secrets]]. This prejudice was later adopted and weaponized by [[Dark Arts]] practitioners, most notably [[Lord Voldemort]] and his [[Death Eaters]].
=====Social Status and Influence=====
Historically, many of the oldest and wealthiest wizarding families were pure-blood, and they often wielded considerable influence within the [[Ministry of Magic]] and broader society. Families such as the [[Malfoys]], the [[Blacks]], and the [[Lestranges]] used their lineage and wealth to maintain a high social standing and promote their prejudiced views. During [[Lord Voldemort]]'s second rise to power, this ideology became state policy, leading to the creation of the [[Muggle-Born Registration Commission]] and the systematic persecution of [[Muggle-borns]].
However, not all pure-blood families subscribed to this supremacist doctrine. Families like the [[Weasleys]] and the [[Longbottoms]] were pure-blood but did not hold any prejudice against [[Muggles]] or [[Muggle-borns]]. For this reason, they were labeled as "**[[blood traitors]]**" by extremists. [[Sirius Black]] noted that most pure-blood families were interrelated because their refusal to marry [[Muggles]] or [[Muggle-borns]] had severely limited their pool of potential partners over the centuries. [[Ron Weasley]] speculates that the wizarding race would have died out without intermarriage with [[Muggles]].
=====Notable Pure-Blood Families=====
The following are some of the prominent families identified as pure-blood in the novels:
  * [[Abbott]]
  * [[Avery]]
  * [[Black]]
  * [[Carrow]]
  * [[Crouch]]
  * [[Gaunt]]
  * [[Greengrass]]
  * [[Lestrange]]
  * [[Longbottom]]
  * [[Malfoy]]
  * [[Nott]]
  * [[Rosier]]
  * [[Selwyn]]
  * [[Shacklebolt]]
  * [[Slughorn]]
  * [[Travers]]
  * [[Weasley]]
  * [[Yaxley]]
=====Contradictions and Flaws=====
The concept of blood purity is fraught with hypocrisy and internal contradictions. The most significant of these is that its most powerful champion, [[Lord Voldemort]], was himself a [[half-blood]], the son of a pure-blood witch ([[Merope Gaunt]]) and a [[Muggle]] ([[Tom Riddle Sr.]]).
Furthermore, the obsessive inbreeding among some fanatical families, such as the [[Gaunts]], did not lead to enhanced power but rather to poverty, mental instability, and a decline in their family line. The existence of [[Squibs]]—non-magical individuals born into wizarding families—also serves as a constant embarrassment to pure-blood supremacists, as it proves that magical heritage does not guarantee magical ability. Many families, like the [[Blacks]], would disown [[Squib]] relatives and remove them from family records.
=====Related Terms=====
  * **[[Half-blood]]**: A witch or wizard with both magical and [[Muggle]] or [[Muggle-born]] parents or grandparents.
  * **[[Muggle-born]]**: A witch or wizard born to two non-magical parents.
  * **[[Blood traitor]]**: A pejorative term for a pure-blood or [[half-blood]] who socializes with or is sympathetic towards [[Muggles]] and [[Muggle-borns]].
  * **[[Squib]]**: A person born into a wizarding family but who has no magical ability.
  * **[[Mudblood]]**: A highly offensive and vulgar slur used to denigrate a [[Muggle-born]] witch or wizard.
=====Behind the Scenes=====
J.K. Rowling has stated that the pure-blood ideology and the [[Death Eaters]]' campaign were directly inspired by Nazi Germany's concept of an "Aryan master race" and the accompanying racial purity laws. The persecution of [[Muggle-borns]] thematically mirrors the Holocaust. (J.K. Rowling interview)
On the Pottermore website, an article was published about the "Sacred Twenty-Eight," a list of supposedly "truly" pure-blood British families from the 1930s, published in an anonymous //Pure-Blood Directory//. The list was controversial; the [[Potter]] family was excluded because their common surname suggested possible [[Muggle]] origins, and the [[Weasleys]] publicly decried their inclusion, proudly stating they had [[Muggle]] ancestors and were related to "most of the Muggles in England." (Pottermore)