St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries
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| Harry Potter locale | |
| St Mungo's Hospital | |
|---|---|
| Location | London |
| Owner | Unknown (Possibly Ministry of Magic) |
| Affiliation | None |
| Permanent residents | Gilderoy Lockhart, Frank Longbottom, Alice Longbottom and others |
| First appearance | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix |
St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries is a fictional place in the Harry Potter series of books. St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries is the wizarding hospital of Britain. Doctors at the hospital are not called doctors, but are known as Healers and wear lime-green robes. To become a Healer, a Hogwarts student must have N.E.W.T.s of at least grade E (Exceeds Expectations, second highest possible grade) in the subjects of Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, Herbology and Defence Against the Dark Arts.
Founded by famous wizard Healer Mungo Bonham, St Mungo's is located in London. To enter the premises, one has to step through the window of what appears to be a derelict department store called Purge and Dowse Ltd. This acts as a magical gateway to the main building, very much like the magical barrier at King's Cross railway station on Platform 9¾. The exteriors of the hospital are red-bricked and dirty, which is the complete opposite of the interiors. Inside, everything is very neat and looks exactly as a hospital should. There are six floors:
- Ground Floor. Reception (where a plump, blonde witch greets you as you enter) and Artifact Accidents
- Floor 1. Creature-Induced Injuries
- Floor 2. Magical Bugs and Diseases
- Floor 3. Potion and Plant Poisoning
- Floor 4. Spell Damage
- Floor 5. Tea Rooms and Hospital Shop
St Mungo's was founded by Mungo Bonham, the famous Healer, in the 1600's. The exact date is unknown. The emblem of St Mungo's is a magic wand crossed with a bone.
Harry Potter first enters St Mungo's after Mr Arthur Weasley was attacked by a snake (Harry actually witnessed this attack in a dream). Other known characters taken to St Mungos include:
- Professor Minerva McGonagall who had to spend some time there when she received four Stunning Spells to her chest from accomplices of Dolores Umbridge who were trying to remove Rubeus Hagrid from Hogwarts.
- Nymphadora Tonks was taken there after she was unconscious at the end of fifth book after battling with Bellatrix Lestrange.
- Katie Bell, a Gryffindor student, was sent to St Mungo's after touching a cursed necklace she was carrying under the influence of an Imperius curse.
- Gilderoy Lockhart, who inadvertently erased his own memory.
- Frank and Alice Longbottom, tortured to insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange.
- Broderick Bode, Ministry of Magic employee driven insane.
- Herbert Chorley, Muggle Junior Minister, was under the influence of a badly performed Imperius Curse and started to impersonate a duck. He was treated at St Mungo's where he tried to strangle some Healers.
Lucius Malfoy's generous donations (possibly bribes) to St Mungo's hospital have helped to give him influence with the Ministry of Magic and Cornelius Fudge.
Mungo Bohnam could have been named after the historical Saint Mungo (also known as Kentigern), who was the patron saint of Glasgow [1]. "Mungo" was a nickname meaning "dear one" or "darling". He is considered the first bishop of Scotland. According to the stories about him, his pregnant mother was abandoned by her family before his birth (1). This theme of abandoned mothers is also found in the story of Merope, the mother of Voldemort, who was rejected by her family.
[edit] References
- ^ Source: Pocket Dictionary of Saints, published by Image Books, 1983.
