Quidditch Through the Ages is a supplement to the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, who is writing in the persona of ’’Kennilworthy Whisp’’, a wizard and Quidditch expert. The book is a mockup of a library book, complete with worn cover and a seal labeling it as ’’Property of Hogwarts Library’’. (Hogwarts is the wizarding school that Harry Potter attends, and Quidditch is the favorite sport of wizards and witches.) The book includes an ’’About the Author’’ about the fictitious Kennilworthy Whisp, and a ’’Foreword’’ by Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts’ illustrious headmaster.
The meat of the book is devoted to Quidditch, a sport played on flying broomsticks. The teams have seven players each: three Chasers, two Beaters, one Keeper, and one Seeker. The Chasers and the Seeker are offensive positions, while the others are defensive. There are also four balls: the Quaffle, the two Bludgers, and the winged Golden Snitch. The team whose Seeker catches the Snitch earns 150 points, and therefore generally wins the game. (Throwing the Quaffle through any of the goalposts is worth 10 points.)
Quidditch begins with the game’s historical background, describing the development of flying broomsticks and early games played on flying broomstick. Some of these sound highly dangerous, particularly the Scottish ’’Creaothceann’’, in which players tried to catch enchanted rocks with the cauldrons strapped to their heads. Not surprisingly, this game was made illegal in 1762.
Quidditch proper has been traced back as far as the 11th century, appearing in its modern form sometime in the 14th century. The description of Quidditch’s evolution include the origins of the name and the various positions as wells as changes in the playing field, the balls, and the goal posts.
Rowling then describes modern Quidditch, including the current pro teams. She also discusses ’’Quodpot’’, a sport favored by wizards and witches in the United States. The most entertaining section would have to be the one describing fouls. Wizards and witches are just as capable of poor sportsmanship as anybody else, and they have some creative ways of displaying that fault. These include ’’flying with intent to collide’’, ’’setting fire to an opponent’s broom tail’’, and ’’hitting Bludgers toward crowd’’. (Bludgers are made of metal, so this would be a fairly serious offense).
In her ’’Kennilworthy Whisp’’ persona, Rowling displays an entertainingly dry wit, apparently describing the most preposterous events with a straight face. In this passage, she describes the perils of being a referee at a Quidditch match:
’’Refereeing a Quidditch match was once a task for only the bravest witches and wizards. Zacharias Mumps tells us that a Norfolk referee called Cyprian Youdle died during a friendly match between local wizards in 1357. The originator of the curse was never caught but is believed to have been a member of the crowd. While there have been no proven referee slayings since, there have been several incidences of broom-tampering over the centuries, the most dangerous being the transformation of the referee’s broom into a Portkey, so that he or she is whisked away from the match halfway though and turns up months later in the Sahara Desert.’’
But there’s a serious purpose behind the fun: proceeds from the book’s sales will go to Comic Relief, a British charity dedicated to helping children around the world. For more information about Comic Relief, visit https://comicrelief.com/harrysbooks.