She also mentioned the presence of a ' big Scottish warlock' who may have been a Creaothceann player, which would show a clear link between the two sports. The third entry noted the introduction of flying rocks that had been bewitched to knock the players off their broomsticks, which were the forerunners of the Bludgers. This was the earliest incarnation of the Quaffle and the scoring hoops. Ī second entry showed that the players did not give up, but had made themselves a new ball and were then trying to score goals by throwing it through trees at the end of the marsh. When the ball landed in her cabbage patch, she confiscated it and then hexed the man who asked for it. Her first note simply recorded her annoyance at a number of people playing a game with a ball whilst flying their broomsticks above the marsh. Koldovstoretz Quidditch players flying on uprooted trees Successive entries in her journal show the evolution of the game and how each element was introduced. A witch by the name of Gertie Keddle lived on the edge of the marsh around the year 1050 and recorded what she saw in a diary that survives to this day. The sport of Quidditch got its name from Queerditch Marsh, the location of the first ever recorded game. This game could have been the inspiration of the Quidditch position of Chaser, simply because it was the first and only mentioned broom game involving a ball being passed, barring Quidditch itself. Ī game rather like Tennis on a broomstick, Swivenhodge involved hitting an inflated pig's bladder backwards and forwards across a hedge. Shuntbumps was a very simple form of broomstick-jousting where one flyer attempts to knock the others off of their broom. This game, as noted in Quidditch Through the Ages, was thought to be the inspiration of the Beater position. ![]() The winner was the player who caught the most rocks (this game has been outlawed for many years). A horn was sounded, the rocks were released, and the players would fly around on their broomsticks trying to catch as many rocks in their cauldron as possible. A large number of boulders were charmed to hover in the air and each player had a cauldron strapped to his/her head. ![]() Ĭreaothceann was an exceptionally violent and often fatal game that originated in Scotland. The wizard who completed the course and scored a goal in the shortest time was the winner. At the end of this fiery course was a goal which the ball had to be hurled into. This game may have been the inspiration for the Quidditch position of Keeper.Īn Irish game by the name of Aingingein required broomstick-mounted players to fly through a number of burning barrels set in the air, whilst all the time clutching a ball with one hand. A number of other players mounted on broomsticks would attempt to pierce the bladder, with the first who successfully did so being declared the winner. The main ancient games that provided some inspiration for Quidditch were:Ī goal post in an early version of QuidditchĪ game by the name of Stichstock originated in Germany and consisted of a single wizard acting as a guardian or goalkeeper, trying to protect an inflated dragon bladder. The beauty of Quidditch was that it took the best aspects of all its predecessors, added its own unique twists, and ended up as a game that would remain popular with the masses for centuries. All of these archaic broom games were popular in localised areas, but none had the vast appeal that Quidditch did. In truth, Quidditch probably owed a debt to a number of its forerunners in making it as successful as it became. ![]() While Quidditch was the first (and so far, only) broomstick-based game to attain near-worldwide popularity amongst the wizarding people, it was certainly not the first broomstick game.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |