Council of Elders (A Series of Unfortunate Events)

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A Series of Unfortunate Events organization
Council of Elders
Gender	Male and Female
Age	Elderly (no further details)
Film portrayers	None
First appearance	The Vile Village

The Council of Elders are a fictional organization in A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket.

Contents 1 Function and Members 2 Rules 3 Premises 4 References in other books

[edit] Function and Members

The Council of Elders are the government of the Village of Fowl Devotees. They are responsible for making the many thousands of rules in the Village of Fowl Devotees, as well as overviewing the residents strictly. The council do not seem to be very reliable, as they often make decisions on impulse.

All members of the council, which consists both of men and women, seem to be very old, as the youngest council member is described as "about 75 years old". The council members' distinctive feature is their crow-shaped hats.

[edit] Rules

The Council Of Elders have created nearly 20,000 rules, some absurdly strict (examples include one specifically regulating the number of nuts that must be placed on ice-cream sundaes served to them), and some contradicting others. Rulebreakers are burned at the stake in a medieval manner, in accordance with Rule #2. The most important rule, as proclaimed by the Elders is Rule #1, and states that nobody may harm a crow. A contradictory pair of rules are Rule #19 and #39. Rule #39 states that it is illegal to make anything out of crow feathers. However, Rule #19 states that only pens made from crow feathers are allowed within the village.

[edit] Premises

The council's headquarters are the Village of Fowl Devotees town hall, where they sit at a long table, and people with problems can sit on benches and wait for a turn to speak to the elders, in order to establish new rules.

[edit] References in other books

There is a reference to a Council Elder in The Penultimate Peril, as a woman with a crow-shaped hat is said to be listening to a bearded man playing a guitar. Like everyone present at the hotel during the fire, it is not known if she survived or perished.