How many DEs were there at the height of Voldemort's power in the first war?
With some help of @tedwardremus and @siriuslychessi, I've been geeking out again.
In short, I think there were about 50-100 dark mark bearing Death Eaters at the height of the war. So let's get into it:
Those we know escaped punishment: c30 DEs
…and what use would it be to deprive Voldemort of his wand, even if he could, when he was surrounded by Death Eaters, outnumbering at least thirty to one?
In the graveyard in GOF, there were about 30 DEs (if we take Harry’s 30 to 1 statement literally). Of those, we know the following seven were present: Lucius Malfoy, Walden Macnair, Avery, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, and Peter Pettigrew.
Additionally, in ‘Spinner’s End’ (HBP) we learn from Snape that he was among the many Death Eaters who did not go to Azkaban for their crimes. The three(/four) examples given were: Lucius Malfoy, the Carrows, and Yaxley. Apart from Lucius, that adds three more Death Eaters that, since they weren’t in Azkaban, would likely have Apparated to Voldemort's side in the graveyard; the Carrow siblings, Alecto and Amycus, and Corban Yaxley.
Those we know got killed: c 3 DEs
“Rosier and Wilkes — they were both killed by Aurors the year before Voldemort fell.”
“[Evan] Rosier is dead,” said Crouch. “He was caught shortly after you were too. He preferred to fight rather than come quietly and was killed in the struggle.”
Evan Rosier is a separate Rosier from "Rosier and Wilkes" because Evan Rosier was killed after the McKinnon's and the Prewetts were murdered.
Those we know got imprisoned and escaped Azkaban in OOTP: 10
…she spread the newspaper on the table in front of them and pointed at ten black-and-white photographs that filled the whole of the front page, nine showing wizards’ faces and the tenth, a witch’s.
Of those, seven are referenced/seen in ‘The Pensieve’ (GOF) being sent to Azkaban: Antonin Dolohov, Augustus Rookwood, Mulciber, and Travers; as well as the three Lestranges, Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan.
Igor Karkaroff—was a Death Eater during the first war, but chose to make a deal with the ministry and ran for it when Voldemort returned.
Severus Snape—was a Death Eater during the first war, turned spy for Dumbledore
Regulus Black—was a Death Eater during the first war, died trying to destroy a horcrux
Death Eaters we don’t know the origin of
We also know the name of some Death Eaters that either might have gone to Azkaban, or might have been present at the re-birth of Voldemort or might have joined in the second war.
If the four were part of the first wizarding war, they would have either been in the graveyard or they would have been imprisoned, and therefore does nothing to the total count of Death Eaters we know operated during the first war. I've merely added them for completeness:
Jugson—Jugson was definitely either at the rebirth or in Azkaban because he’s mentioned in passing when Lucius yells out every Death Eater’s name when chasing Harry and the group in the DOM. At this point, Voldemort is operating in secret, and there’s no way he will have recruited new DEs yet.
Gibbon—Remus recognises him during the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, which some take to believe means he was likely on a wanted poster of the Azkaban escapees more than a year previous, and I am inclined to agree this is probable. In any case, I suspect he must have been part of the first wizarding war for Remus to recognise him so easily (unless Remus ran into him at school or something).
Throfinn Rowle—”That’s Dolohov. I recognize him from the old wanted posters. I think the big one’s Thorfinn Rowle.” (Ron, DH) The fact that Ron recognises Dolohov from the wanted poster, and not Rowle, suggests he wasn’t amongst the ten escapees, but I’ve heard the counter argument that there’s no other way for Ron to have recognised Rowle but the wanted posters.
Selwyn—”Behind him came another scream, ‘Your wand, Selwyn, give me your wand!’” (Battle of the seven potters, DH) We know Selwyn was an active DE in the second war even before the Ministry fell, but we have no idea if he was part of the first wizarding war.
We know there are at least 40 Death Eaters in the second war, who were active during the first war, plus 3 defected (Karkaroff, Snape, Regulus) plus 3 Death Eaters that got killed (Rosier, Rosier and Wilkes).
There is also the case of the potentially missing Mulciber. We know there’s at least one Mulciber active during the second war, but there were two in the first war—Muliciber Snape’s friend and Mulciber Sr who went to the Hogs Head with a group of Death Eaters back when Voldemort cursed the DADA position.
“Then if I were to stop in the Hog’s Head this evening, I wouldn’t find Nott, Rosier, Mulciber and Dolohov waiting for your return?”
It’s possible one of the Mulcibers got killed or arrested (if so I’d bet on it being before Karkaroff’s trial, as Crouch never asks him to specify which Mulciber), and subsequently died in prison.
In any case, we’re looking at about 46-47 Death Eaters.
However, we also have this number from Remus:
“... you weren’t in the Order then, you don’t understand, last time we were outnumbered twenty to one by the Death Eaters and they were picking us off one by one...”
Which begs the question: How many members were there in the Order of the Phoenix?
In the Order Photograph: 20
Alastor Moody; Dedalus Diggle; Marlene McKinnon, Frank and Alice Longbottom; Emmeline Vance; Remus Lupin; Benjy Fenwick; Edgar Bones; Sturgis Podmore; Caradoc Dearborn; Rubeus Hagrid; Elphias Doge; Gideon Prewett; Aberforth Dumbledore; Dorcas Meadows; Lily and James Potter, Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black
“You are to alert Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher — the old crowd. Lie low at Lupins for a while; I will contact you there.”
In addition to the Order photo, we know Figg and Fletcher were part of the Order
And let us not forget Albus Dumbledore. Plus, I think we all assume Fabian Prewett was part of the Order, but just not available for the picture.
Meaning there are about 24 Order members in the original order.
If we take Remus’ statement literally there should be c480 Death Eaters. Given about 30 escape punishment, and 10 survives Azkaban long enough to escape it in OOTP, that would mean 440 Death Eaters got caught and either killed or died in Azkaban. The maths isn’t mathing. But it doesn’t have to.
Now, given Death Eaters are often described as Voldemort’s inner circle:
“And when You-Know-Who disappeared,” said Fred, craning around to look at Harry, “Lucius Malfoy came back saying he’d never meant any of it. Load of dung — Dad reckons he was right in You-Know- Who’s inner circle.”
“Malfoy’s dad must have told him,” said Harry, ignoring Ron. “He was right in Voldemort’s inner circle — ”
Harry thought he knew why Greyback was not calling Voldemort. The werewolf might be allowed to wear Death Eater robes when they wanted to use him, but only Voldemort’s inner circle were branded with the Dark Mark: Greyback had not been granted this highest honor.
I don’t think we can assume Remus is being entirely literal when he says they were outnumbered 20-1 with Death Eaters. It’s more likely he is referring to the broader group of Voldemort’s supporters: Werewolves, giants, snatchers and those allowed to wear Death Eater robes (like Fenrir) without bearing the mark. That does probably amount to about 500, given:
By the time the four friends [Remus, Peter, Sirius and James] left school, Lord Voldemort’s ascendancy was almost complete. True resistance to him was concentrated in the underground organisation called the Order of the Phoenix, which all four young men joined.
If we can't take Remus' number literally, we're going to have to rely on logic. My guess is that we’re looking at about 50-100 Dark Mark bearing/inner circle Death Eaters.
At 100, then 70 got caught, 60 got killed or died in Azkaban, 10 escaped and 30 evaded punishment to begin with. But you can see why it was such a headache for the Ministry! There might have been upwards of 500 wizards, witches and magic beings who operated under Lord Voldemort’s command, and about 50-100 who were part of an elite inner circle. That’s not nothing to try to take down in the aftermath, especially with stuff like the imperius curse.
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