The Peverell Brothers

The Peverell brothers—Antioch, Cadmus, and Ignotus—were three highly skilled, medieval wizards who are the subjects of the famous wizarding fairy tale, *The Tale of the Three Brothers*. According to the legend, they were the original masters of the Deathly Hallows, three immensely powerful magical objects that they received from Death himself. Albus Dumbledore, however, believed it more likely that the brothers were the extraordinarily talented creators of the Hallows. Their lineage is of central importance to the Harry Potter series, as they are the direct ancestors of both Harry Potter (through Ignotus) and Lord Voldemort (through Cadmus).

The story of the Peverell brothers is most famously preserved in *The Tales of Beedle the Bard*. As told by Xenophilius Lovegood, the legend states that the three brothers, while travelling together at twilight, came to a river too deep and dangerous to cross. Being proficient in magic, they conjured a bridge. Halfway across, they were met by a hooded figure, Death, who was angered that they had cheated him of new victims. Pretending to be impressed, Death offered to reward each brother with a prize of his choosing. Their choices and subsequent fates are as follows:

• Antioch Peverell: The eldest and most combative brother, he asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence. Death broke a branch from a nearby elder tree and fashioned it into the Elder Wand. Antioch later travelled to a distant village, sought out a wizard with whom he had quarrelled, and defeated him in a duel. That night, while boasting of his unbeatable wand, another wizard stole it and slit Antioch's throat for good measure. Thus, Death took the first brother.
• Cadmus Peverell: The second and most arrogant brother, he wished to humiliate Death further and asked for the power to recall the dead. Death picked up a stone from the riverbank and gave it to him, creating the Resurrection Stone. Cadmus returned home and used the stone to bring back the woman he had intended to marry before her untimely death. However, she was a mere shadow of her former self—sad, cold, and separated from him by a veil. Driven mad with hopeless longing, Cadmus killed himself to truly be with her. Thus, Death took the second brother.
• Ignotus Peverell: The youngest and wisest brother, he did not trust Death. He asked for something that would allow him to leave that place without being followed. Reluctantly, Death handed over his own Invisibility Cloak. The cloak allowed Ignotus to evade Death for many years. Only when he had reached a great old age did he take off the cloak, give it to his son, and greet Death as an old friend, departing this life as an equal.

Albus Dumbledore explained to Harry Potter that he believed the story to be a legend that grew around three real, historical figures. He considered it far more probable that the Peverell brothers were simply “unusually gifted, dangerous wizards who succeeded in creating” the Deathly Hallows themselves, rather than receiving them from Death personified.

While their physical appearances are unknown, the tale provides insight into their personalities: Antioch was combative and boastful; Cadmus was arrogant; and Ignotus was humble and wise. As wizards, they were exceptionally powerful and skilled. Their ability to conjure a bridge over a treacherous river demonstrates high-level Charms or Transfiguration. If Dumbledore's theory is correct, their creation of the Deathly Hallows would place them among the most powerful and innovative wizards in history, requiring a mastery of magic that has likely never been equalled.

The Peverell brothers are inextricably linked to the three objects they are said to have mastered or created, known collectively as the Deathly Hallows. According to legend, possessing all three makes one the “Master of Death.”

• The Elder Wand: The unbeatable wand, originally owned by Antioch.
• The Resurrection Stone: The stone that can recall echoes of the dead, originally owned by Cadmus.
• The Invisibility Cloak: A cloak that grants true and permanent invisibility, originally owned by Ignotus.

The Peverell male line died out, but their bloodlines continued through female descendants.

• Cadmus Peverell is the ancestor of the Gaunt family, a pure-blood line that eventually produced Merope Gaunt, the mother of Tom Marvolo Riddle. Lord Voldemort is therefore a direct descendant of Cadmus and inherited the Resurrection Stone (set within Marvolo Gaunt's Ring).
• Ignotus Peverell is the ancestor of the Potter family. The Invisibility Cloak was passed down through generations, eventually reaching James Potter and then his son, Harry Potter.

This shared ancestry makes Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort very distant cousins. The graves of the Peverell family, including Ignotus's tombstone marked with the symbol of the Deathly Hallows, are located in the graveyard of Godric's Hollow.

• Peverell: An old Norman name, associated with William Peverel, a knight who fought in the Norman Conquest of England. The name suggests an ancient and noble lineage within Britain.
• Antioch: The name of an ancient Greek city in what is now Turkey, a major center of early Christianity. It evokes a sense of age and historical significance.
• Cadmus: In Greek mythology, Cadmus was the founder and first king of Thebes who, after slaying a sacred dragon, sowed its teeth to grow an army of warriors. This parallels the act of bringing beings (in his case, the dead) back into the world.
• Ignotus: The Latin word for “unknown.” This is highly fitting for the brother who used the Invisibility Cloak to remain hidden and unknown to Death for his entire life.

• The story of the Peverell brothers is a central plot device in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and is first detailed in the book of wizarding fairy tales, *The Tales of Beedle the Bard*, which was later published as a real-world book by J.K. Rowling.
• In the film adaptation, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, *The Tale of the Three Brothers* is depicted through a distinct and widely praised animated sequence (film).
• J.K. Rowling has confirmed that the Peverell brothers are indeed the ancestors of both Harry and Voldemort, reinforcing the deep, albeit distant, connection between the two adversaries (J.K. Rowling interview).