Armand Malfoy was a Norman wizard who came to Great Britain around the early 11th century. He could be considered the founding patriarch of the Malfoy family in Great Britain. He was also the first Malfoy to set foot in Great Britain. His ancestors were otherwise from France and had no connections with Great Britain. Armand Malfoy is attributed to the construction of the Malfoy Manor and the estate surrounding it, which his descendants later expanded by acquiring lands that belonged to Muggles in that locality of Wiltshire. Some of his descendants include Abraxas Malfoy, Septimus Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, and Scorpius Malfoy.
Etymology
Armand’s first name is a French name of Germanic origin. The Germanic name Herman is derived from this French name, and Herman is known to mean Army man in German. The surname “Malfoy” is also of Old French origin and is derived from the French mal foi, which means bad faith. Therefore, it is possible that the name Armand Malfoy, in totality, implies and represents a “man of bad faith.” However, it is unlikely that somebody would deliberately name themselves that, which is why it is highly likely that J. K. Rowling would name him that because most Malfoys in the Harry Potter series are known to be criminal and Pure-blood fanatics with very little regard for others.
Early Life of Armand Malfoy
Armand Malfoy was born in France around the year 1100. He may have attended Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, although it is still being determined if this school existed then. After getting home-schooled in magic or attending a magical school like Beauxbatons, young Armand Malfoy accompanied a part of the invading Norman Army to Great Britain.
In Great Britain
Once Armand reached Great Britain, he considered settling there instead of returning to France. He became a friend of King William I, and the two worked together. William, later known as William the Conqueror, became King of England in 1066. Armand Malfoy offered the King various services, making him quite close to the kingdom. Likely, Armand Malfoy’s services were mostly magical and even nefarious, as very little is known about the exact details of these services. Knowing Malfoy’s reputation, it must have been dark and bad.
King William bought a large piece of land near Wiltshire for Armand Malfoy around the late 10th century to repay his services to the kingdom. The friendship with William seemed very fruitful to Armand as he had been gifted a piece of property for himself, which would later become the home of the Malfoy family.
Armand Malfoy used the land he received from the King to build the Malfoy Manor. He, therefore, became the founder of Malfoy Manor. King William had seized the property from its previous landlords and former landholders to grant it to Armand. Armand Malfoy’s descendants and later members of the family would later do something similar and expand their estate by acquiring the lands of the surrounding Muggles and other local landowners.
Armand Malfoy’s Successors
The most known successor of Armand Malfoy in the Harry Potter series is Draco Malfoy, a rival of Harry Potter at Hogwarts. His son, Scorpius Malfoy, is also an important member of the Malfoy family and appears in the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. His mother, Astoria Greengrass, became a member of the Malfoy family after she married Draco Malfoy. Draco’s father and Scorpius’s grandfather, Lucius Malfoy, was another recurrent character in the Harry Potter series. Narcissa Malfoy, the wife of Lucius Malfoy, was another member of the Malfoy family who appeared in the Harry Potter series. In chronological order, first Lucius Malfoy and then the rest of the characters above appeared in the Harry Potter series.
Other members of the Malfoy family tree mentioned in the Harry Potter universe include Nicholas Malfoy, Brutus Malfoy, Septimus Malfoy, and Abraxas Malfoy.
The Malfoys have remained on the throne of Malfoy Manor for successive centuries. Throughout history, wizarding historians have recorded that the Malfoy name has been strongly associated with wizards’ superiority, like the Lestranges, Gaunts, and other Pure-blood fanatic families. Subsequent generations of the Malfoys have also followed the somewhat dangerous practice of inter-marrying. However, despite their espousal of Pure-blood values, it is ironic that the Malfoys made their fortune mostly because of Armand Malfoy’s friendship and services to the Muggle king of his time.
Furthermore, the Malfoys used to fraternize regularly and naturally with the non-magical community, especially the high-born Muggle circles, until the International Statute of Secrecy was considered. After the imposition of the Statute of Secrecy, they swore against any contact with the Muggle community. The Malfoys had long been one of the richest wizarding families and one of the strongly maintained Pure-blood families. Despite being among a small minority of fanatic families, they still had a lot of power in the magical community, the enjoyable sphere of social life, and, by extension, the Ministry of Magic due to their wealth and legacy.
The Irony of Immigration
Armand Malfoy was a French wizard who came to England during the Norman Invasion. He made his fortune in England helping the King with some shady business using magic. However, he eventually settled in Great Britain, receiving ample gifts from the King in land and grants. Interestingly, the people he replaced to get his estate ready were mostly Muggles who lived in that region. However, once he claimed the land as his own, he and his descendants would hold a strong grudge against Muggles and Muggle-borns in the future, preventing them from ever coming near the Malfoy Manor.
This situation is very similar to several Supremacists who claim their land as their own and blame immigrants for the chaos in their region. They fail almost always to acknowledge that they are immigrants themselves, and there is no difference between the two situations.
FAQs
What does Malfoy mean in French?
The surname Malfoy comes from the French term mal foi, which means bad faith. Armand Malfoy’s name together meant a man of bad faith, which accurately describes the character as he literally made his fortune helping the King of England with shady businesses using magic. Furthermore, he also captured the lands of several Muggles and others to build his estate and the Malfoy Manor.
Why are the Malfoys so rich?
The Malfoys are very rich and prosperous because their founding patriarch in Great Britain, Armand Malfoy, came to England during the Norman Invasion from France. He then went on to amass a lot of fortunes as gifts from the king of England, including a lot of land where he built an estate and the house that came to be known as the Malfoy Manor. Over the years, most of his descendants continued to encroach on the land of the people living in the surrounding areas, making them richer in time.
Were all Malfoys in Slytherin?
Yes, likely, every Malfoy who ever studied at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was in Slytherin. This is because almost every Malfoy that appears or is mentioned in the Harry Potter series except Scorpius Malfoy was a strong believer in blood purity and wizarding supremacy over Muggles. Therefore, the only house that would accept and reward such beliefs at Hogwarts was the house of Slytherin, as Salazar Slytherin himself was known to believe in these ideas.
