During the proposal to install an elaborate plumbing system, Corvinus Gaunt was a student at Hogwarts. This development risked the discovery of the Chamber of Secrets, so Corvinus Gaunt concealed several important parts of the Chamber using magic when the new plumbing system was being constructed.
He could distract the plumbers from the concealed trapdoor, which led to the Chamber’s entrance and a series of magical tunnels, allowing people to travel to different locations in the castle.
Some notable members of the Gaunt family include Ominis Gaunt, Gormlaith Gaunt, Marvolo Gaunt, Morfin Gaunt, Merope Gaunt, and Tom Marvolo Riddle, who later came to be known as Lord Voldemort.
Introduction To Corvinus Gaunt
Corvinus Gaunt was born in the 1700s in Great Britain into the Gaunt family, one of the staunch Pure-blood families and direct descendants of Salazar Slytherin. He was also a Parselmouth and could speak to snakes.
Corvinus grew up in Great Britain in the Gaunt family and likely spoke in Parseltongue. However, since he was not unstable as a person, or lacking intelligence, it is possible that he was also trained in magic and was sent to Hogwarts. The early stages of inbreeding may not have been as serious as Marvolo Gaunt, Morfin Gaunt, and Merope Gaunt’s cases, where they had developmental disabilities due to inbreeding.
Etymology
Corvinus Gaunt’s first name, “Corvinus,” comes from the Latin Corvus, a diminutive of the same. Corvus means Raven in Latin. Corvinus’s name may also have been derived from the 15th-century Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus or the Roman General Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus. The latter was a patron of literature and art.
Matthias Corvinus, being royalty, would have been an apt inspiration for Corvinus Gaunt as the Pure-blood house of Gaunt was known for its grandeur and pure-blood supremacy. His surname, Gaunt, may be derived from the English word Gaunt, which means haggard and emaciated.
Pure Blood Heritage And Family History
The Gaunt House was known for its ancestry and connection with Salazar Slytherin. Furthermore, almost all members of that family were notoriously famous for inbreeding. Almost every Gaunt married their family members. Since Corvinus Gaunt was a descendant of Salazar Slytherin, he may have owned the Gaunt ring and Salazar Slytherin’s locket at some point.
Salazar Slytherin would have probably considered Corvinus as a worthy descendant since Corvinus helped maintain the secrecy of the Chamber of Secrets and helped pave the way for the Heir of Slytherin, Tom Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort, to open the Chamber and let the Basilisk loose in the Hogwarts Castle.
Discovery Of The Chamber Of Secrets And Its Concealment
Since Corvinus Gaunt was a member of the Gaunt family, it is possible that he was told the family secret about the existence of the Chamber of Secrets. However, the Chamber of Secrets was not a family secret, and nobody knew about it. In that case, Corvinus found out about it and researched it enough to know crucial details.
Once he discovered the Chamber of Secrets, he needed to keep it secret. He was also responsible for preventing anyone from finding out about it alone.
Role In The Placement Of The New Pipeline In Hogwarts
Corvinus Gaunt was a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry when the proposal to install new plumbing was sanctioned. At that time, the Chamber of Secrets was still present, with one of its entrances opening at the sink in the girls’ bathroom. This bathroom is part of Moaning Myrtle’s leisure area, as seen in the Harry Potter series.
However, since Corvinus was present in Hogwarts then, he could magically conceal any part of the Chamber of Secrets visible to the plumbers installing new pipelines. Corvinus must have developed exceptional magical abilities and was very intelligent, as he could fool the entirety of Hogwarts and its people by hiding the Chamber of Secrets.
Legacy And Impact On The Wizarding World
Corvinus Gaunt’s clever manipulation of the entire Hogwarts, preventing them from finding out about the Chamber of Secrets, led to Tom Riddle eventually opening the Chamber when he studied at Hogwarts. Myrtle Warren, who was later known as Moaning Myrtle after she became a ghost, died after seeing the Basilisk, which Tom Riddle had set free. Corvinus’s actions directly led to Tom Riddle successfully opening the Chamber of Secrets.
Tom Riddle made Ginny Weasley open the Chamber of Secrets again and was eventually stopped by Harry Potter after the latter destroyed Tom’s diary. Incidentally, Tom’s diary was the first Horcrux he made to be destroyed.
Similarities With Other Characters From The Harry Potter Series
One of the most obvious characters that has similarities with Corvinus is Tom Marvolo Riddle, his descendant. Both Corvinus and Tom did very similar things. They preserved the ideology and relics of their famous ancestor, Salazar Slytherin. Corvinus Gaunt’s actions paved the way for Tom Riddle to become the prophesized Heir of Slytherin. They let out the Basilisk that Salazar Slytherin hid in the Chamber of Secrets.
Lord Voldemort opens the Chamber of Secrets in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Similarly, Corvinus Gaunt single-handedly concealed it from being discovered while studying at Hogwarts. Both these characters are very similar because they were able to secretly do impactful things without being discovered in a place as powerful and able as Hogwarts.
FAQs
Who was Corvinus Gaunt?
Corvinus Gaunt was a British wizard who studied at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was a descendant of Salazar Slytherin and was responsible for concealing the Chamber of Secrets from the plumbers assigned to lay new pipelines throughout Hogwarts. He was a clever wizard who eventually paved the way for Lord Voldemort to open the Chamber of Secrets.
Why didn’t Corvinus Gaunt unleash the Basilisk upon the school?
Corvinus Gaunt was responsible for concealing the Chamber of Secrets from the plumbers who laid new pipelines throughout Hogwarts in the 1700s. Corvinus likely didn’t know the Chamber of Secrets to the level of depth that Tom Riddle knew about it. He knew about the Chamber of Secrets, but it is possible that he did not know about the Basilisk or how to revive it.
Was Corvinus related to Voldemort?
Yes, Corvinus Gaunt was related to Lord Voldemort. Lord Voldemort, previously known as Tom Riddle, was the descendant of Salazar Slytherin. Corvinus Gaunt was also a descendant of Salazar Slytherin, but since he lived in the 1700s, Tom Riddle was also a descendant of Corvinus Gaunt. They were both from the Gaunt family.
