Quidditch Fact File

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Quidditch is a wizarding sport played on broomsticks. It is the most popular game among wizards and witches, and, according to Rubeus Hagrid, the equivalent to Muggles' passion for football.
The object of the game is to score more points than your opponents. Each goal is worth ten points and catching the Snitch is worth one-hundred fifty points. The game ends when the Snitch is caught or an agreement is reached between the captains of both teams. Some games can go on for many days if the Snitch is not caught (the record, according to Quidditch Through the Ages, is three months)

History of Quidditch
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. In truth, Quidditch probably owes a debt to a number of its forerunners in making it what it is today. All of these archaic broom games were popular in localised areas, but none had the vast appeal that Quidditch today has. 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.

Ancient games
The main ancient games that provided some inspiration for Quidditch are:

Stichstock: This game originated in Germany and consisted of a single wizard acting as a guardian or goalkeeper, trying to protect an inflated dragon bladder. 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. This game may have been the inspiration for the Quidditch position of Keeper.

Aingingein: This is an Irish game which 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. At the end of this fiery course was a goal which the ball had to be hurled into. The wizard who completed the course and scored a goal in the shortest time was the winner.

Creaothceann: This is an exceptionally violent and often fatal game that originated in Scotland. A large number of boulders were charmed to hover in the air and each player had a cauldron strapped to his/her head. 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. The winner was the player who caught the most rocks (this game has been outlawed for many years). This game, as noted in Quidditch Through the Ages, is thought to be the inspiration of the Beater position.

Shuntbumps: This is a very simple form of broomstick-jousting where one flyer attempts to knock the other off his broom.

Swivenhodge: Rather like tennis on a broom, this involved hitting an inflated pig's bladder backwards and forwards across a hedge. 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.

The evolution of Quidditch 
The sport of Quidditch gets its name from Queerditch Marsh, the location of the first recorded game. 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. Successive entries in her journal show the evolution of the game and how each element was introduced.

Her first note simply records her annoyance at a number of people playing a game with a ball whilst flying their broomsticks above the marsh. When the ball landed in her cabbage patch, she confiscated it and then hexed the man who asked for it.

A second entry shows 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. This was the earliest incarnation of the Quaffle and the scoring hoops of today.

The third entry notes the introduction of flying rocks that had been bewitched to knock the players off their broomsticks, which were the forerunners of the Bludgers. 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.

With historical records of the time being rather limited, there is no further mention of Quidditch until a hundred years later, around 1150. A letter sent from a wizard called Goodwin Kneen to his Norwegian cousin Olaf survives from this time and gives a clear indication of how far the game had come. It had gained a name (although it was spelt "Kwidditch" at this time) and a number of organised teams, as well as titles for players and equipment. From the letter it can be seen that early Chasers were known as "Catchers", and the Bludger began its life as the "Blooder".

Kneen's letter also reveals a new innovation: using three barrels mounted on stilts to use as the goals. This was undoubtedly a massive improvement from using trees as the goals and is a clear precursor to the hoops used in the modern game. Therefore it can be seen that the sport of "Kwidditch" played by Kneen was already very similar to the game as it is played today.


The one missing element was the Golden Snitch.

By C.Wilson