Ancient Broom Games (QA)
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Ancient Broom Games is the second chapter of Quidditch through the Ages.
Summary
Predictably, once broomsticks were invented that were advanced enough that they gave fliers the ability to turn corners, as well as play with height and speed, broom sports were created. Ancient paintings and writings lend a view into what these games might have looked like. These either died out, or evolved and changed into what we know today.
The well-known international broom race that occurs in Sweden every year can be traced as far back as the tenth century. The fliers start the race at Kopparberg and end at Arjeplog, which ends up being a distance of over three hundred miles. The trophy, which is a huge silver Swedish Short-Snout model, has to do with the fact that fliers have to race through a dragon reservation. The witches and wizards that watch Apparate to Arjeplog to congratulate those that survive.
Stichstock, a broom sport that died out in the 1300s, is shown in Günther der Gewalttätige ist der Gewinner ('Gunther the Violent is the Winner'), a famous painting done in 1105. In it, an inflated dragon bladder is attached to the top of a twenty foot high pole. One player had the job of guarding the bladder, riding on a broomstick all the while. The guardian was tied to the pole, limiting his/her movement to that a radius of ten feet. Other players took turns trying to puncture the bladder with the sharpened ends of their own brooms, while the guardian used his/her wand to defend the bladder. Once the bladder was punctured, or if the opponents were all tired or hexed, the game was declared over.
Aingingein, a famous broom sport game in Ireland, was slightly different. Here, the players would take the ball—a goat's gallbladder called Dom—and race through a number of burning barrels, set on stilts high above the ground. The point of the game was to throw the Dom into the last barrel. The player who managed to do so in the fastest time without catching fire won the game.
In Scotland, the broom sport played was Creaothceann. Here, the players had a cauldron attached to their heads. Rocks and boulders which were charmed to remain hovering a certain distance above the ground were dropped at the sound of a horn or drum. The player who caught the most amount of rocks/boulders in their cauldron won. It was eventually outlawed because of its extreme risks.
In Devon, England, Shuntbumps was played—a game that was similar to jousting, the point being to knock as many players off their brooms. The final player remaining on their broom won.
However, in Herefordshire, another game called Swivenhodge was invented. It also had an inflated bladder, that of a pig's usually. While sitting backwards on their brooms, players vaulted the bladder to each other over a hedge with the brush ens of their brooms. The player that missed gave his/her opponent a point, and the person who first reached fifty points emerged the winner.
Although Swivenhodge is still played, it is not extraordinarily popular, while Shuntbumps remains a game for children. It was at Queerditch Marsh, however, that a game was created that became, eventually, the most popular in that of the wizarding world.
| Previous chapter | This chapter | Next chapter |
|---|---|---|
| The Evolution of the Flying Broomstick | Ancient Broom Games | The Game from Queerditch Marsh |
