Beauxbatons

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Beauxbatons Academy of Magic (French: Académie de Magie Beauxbâtons) is a fictional magic school similar to Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series of books. It was first introduced in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and existed at least 700 years ago, as that was when they began participating in the Triwizard Tournament. Beauxbatons is located in southern France and its current headmistress is Olympe Maxime. The school coat of arms is two golden wands crossed over one another, each shooting three stars. The literal French translation of Beauxbatons is "Beautiful Sticks", but in this case, "Beautiful Wands".

[edit] Location

Bouillabaisse was one of the foods served at the opening feast of the Triwizard Tournament, and it was received with enthusiasm by the Beauxbatons students. This fish soup is widely served in the southeast of France; therefore Beauxbatons could be located somewhere on the Mediterranean coast of France, perhaps around Marseille. This would also explain why the Beauxbatons students felt cold when they arrived at Hogwarts, which is located further north in Scotland. According to Hagrid, the school is further south than Dijon.^[HP5] When asked about his whereabouts during his quest of giants with Olympe, he says that he had taken a holiday in southern France.

[edit] Uniforms and Study

Beauxbatons uniforms as in the film version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It was erroneously assumed to be an all-girl school.

The students' uniforms also suggest they are accustomed to warmer weather than they encounter at Hogwarts; Beauxbatons robes are made of light blue silk.

Beauxbatons students follow a strict system of protocol concerning their behaviour towards their professors, noticeably absent at Hogwarts, standing when their headmistress enters the room (this used to be fairly common in both British and French schools; Rowling herself once lived and taught in France.) They also seem to care more about their studies and their school's reputation. The French school follows a different examination system as well. At Hogwarts, major board exams are taken in the fifth and seventh years. Beauxbatons students sit for their exams in the sixth year.

[edit] The School of Beauxbatons

The Academy is housed in a glittering palace, brighter than Hogwarts Castle, as befitting its distinct Mediterranean feel. The food, at least according to alumna Fleur Delacour, is delicious but much lighter than the food served at Hogwarts. Rather than suits of armour, the halls of Beauxbatons are flanked by statues of ice that glitter like diamonds during the Christmas season. Beauxbatons is Unplottable (as most magical buildings in the Harry Potter universe are), so no Muggles or even wizards from rival schools can find it on a map, and it may be disguised so no one can really see it unless they know to look for it.

"Beaux bâtons" is French for "beautiful sticks". The "bâtons" part is presumably a reference to magical wands. The French word for "magic wand" is "baguette magique", which would make most people in the English-speaking world think of a loaf of bread, so it is not surprising that Rowling did not use it.

Beauxbatons competed in the 1994 Triwizard Tournament. Fleur Delacour was her school's champion. Neither Fleur nor the other Beauxbatons were very impressed with Hogwarts; Fleur spent much of her time bragging about how much better Beauxbatons was.

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Olympe Maxime journeyed with Rubeus Hagrid to entice the giants onto the Order of the Phoenix's side before Lord Voldemort could.

[edit] Film Changes

In the film adaptation of The Goblet of Fire, it is implied that Beauxbatons is an all-girls' school. This differs from the book: male Beauxbatons students are clearly mentioned in The Goblet of Fire novel^[1]. Hogwarts student Parvati Patil even briefly dates a Beauxbatons boy.

[edit] See also

• Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
• Durmstrang Institute for Magical Study

[edit] External Links

• Beauxbatons on the Harry Potter Wiki