- “Excudo!”
- ―Rupert Giles[src]
The Hammer of Govannon was a conjuration spell used to project a mass of concussive energy and blast it against a target. Like many spells, it had the appearance of a light bolt of energy.
History
In May 2002, using the borrowed power of the Devon Coven, Rupert Giles used this spell in his magical duel against Willow Rosenberg after she became capable of countering his Binding Field spell.[1]
After the end of magic, Willow was able to cast this spell during her time in Wonderland, striking and eliminating creatures that tried to attack her and her companions. However, its power manifested in a minor scale, and not always affecting the target creature.[2][3]
To destroy the Safe Zone force field, Willow cast the spell at the building housing its generators, freeing dozens of demons and vampires. She called it “Hammer of Govannon”, and used it at a strength enough to tap her out.[4] When Faith Lehane mentioned preferring this spell, Willow explained: “Yeah, it’s great if you have an hour to recover. Not if need to, y’know, be useful.”[5]
Gallery
Add a photo to this galleryBehind the Scenes
- In the Welsh mythology, Govannon is the metalsmith god, with power over the weather and the elements such as thunder and fire.
- Differently from its first use by Giles ("Grave"), Willow pronounced this spell as “Escudo" in Season Nine. In Season Eleven, her pronunciation was “Excudo”, indicating that the previous use (with an “s” in place of “x”) was an writing mistake. Notably, an in-universe explanation could reside on Willow’s difficulty in pronouncing Latin, as noted by Giles in New Rules, Part One, despite her natural magic abilities which allow the spell to be cast anyway.
- The Hammer of Govannon is one of the spells the player is able to cast in the video game Sacrifice, in which Willow uses Buffy Summers as a conduit for each item on her spellbook.
Appearances
- "Grave"
- Sacrifice
- Wonderland, Part One
- Wonderland, Part Two
- The Great Escape
- Revelations (Only mentioned)
