Unicorns, dragons and centaurs feature heavily in the world of Harry Potter, and while JK Rowling didn’t invent these magical beasts herself, she certainly gave age-old myths a new lease of life. She re-imagines the phoenix, a bird from Greek mythology, in her second Potter book, The Chamber of Secrets. It’s a swan-sized scarlet bird with a gold beak and talons, who endearingly looks a bit like a half-plucked Christmas turkey when it gets near its 'Burning Day' – the day the bird extinguishes and is reborn as a new, baby phoenix from its ashes.

What JK Rowling does invent is the idea that phoenix feathers can feature as constituent parts of a wizard’s wand, such as those of Harry and Lord Voldemort. A phoenix’s tears can also heal wounds, as Fawkes, Professor Dumbledore’s bird, does to Harry after he’s wounded by the Basilisk in the second book. Notoriously difficult to domesticate, they can nevertheless become a loyal pet for life; when Professor Dumbledore is killed later in the series, Fawkes sings the ‘Phoenix Lament’ – a mournful song so heartbreaking that it feels like it comes from inside the listener.

This book manuscript from the 13th Century shows a phoenix rising from its ashes; proving that JK Rowling’s predecessors were possessed of equally vivid imaginations.

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