Praise for Quidditch Through the Ages 1 страница

Name of borrower

Date due back

A warning: If you rip, tear, shred, bend, fold, deface,

disfigure, smear, smudge, throw, drop, or in any

other manner damage, mistreat, or show lack of

respect towards this book, the consequences will be

as awful as it is within my power to make them.

Irma Pince, Hogwarts Librarian

About Comic Relief: A note from J. K. Rowling

Comic Relief is one of Britain’s most famous and successful charities.

Begun in 1985, the organization has raised more than $250,000,000 for

such charities as the Red Cross, Oxfam, Sight Savers, the International

HIV/AIDS Alliance, and Anti-Slavery International. The Harry Potter books

represent a new opportunity in Comic Relief’s quest to make a meaningful

difference in people’s lives. A special Harry’s Books fund has been created

where twenty percent of the retail sales price less taxes from the sale of

Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them

will go to support children’s causes throughout the world. Every book sold

counts! Fifty cents will send a child to school for a week – and change his

or her life forever.

Log on to www.comicrelief.com/harrysbooks and see how the money

from the purchase of these books is being used to help others. The Harry’s

Books fund will support such efforts as the education of children, the fight

against child slavery, and the reuniting of parents and children separated

by war. The fund will also educate people about the AIDS/HIV epidemic

and will support child victims of landmine explosions.

What is so wonderful about Comic Relief is that its costs are

sponsored, therefore it does not take money for its own administration from

the money given by the public. This means that in fact, because of

accumulated interest, more than 100% of the money it raises it passes on

to charity projects.

I have always had a sneaking desire to write Fantastic Beasts &

Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages, so when Richard

Curtis of Comic Relief wrote to me, I thought it was a wonderful opportunity

to help a charity I have always supported. Everyone involved with bringing

these books to fruition, the publishers, vendors, and retailers, has enabled

the contribution of a proportion of the cover price of these books to Comic

Relief’s Harry’s Books fund.

Thank you for buying this book!

Q U I D D I T C H

T H R O U G H T H E A G E S

Kennilworthy Whisp

Arthur A. Levine Books

AN IMPRINT OF SC HOLASTIC PRESS

in association with

129B DIAGONALLEY, LONDON

Praise for Quidditch Through the Ages

“Kennilworthy Whisp’s painstaking research has uncovered a veritable

treasure trove of hitherto unknown facts about the sport of warlocks.

A fascinating read.” — Bathilda Bagshot, author, A History of Magic

“Whisp has produced a thoroughly enjoyable book; Quidditch fans are

sure to find it both instructive and entertaining.”

— Editor, Which Broomstick

“The definitive work on the origins and history of Quidditch. Highly

recommended.” — Brutus Scrimgeour, author, The Beaters’ Bible

“Mr. Whisp shows a lot of promise. If he keeps up the good work, he

may well find himself sharing a photoshoot with me one of these days!”

— Gilderoy Lockhart, author, Magical Me

“Bet you anything it’ll be a best-seller. Go on, I bet you.”

— Ludovic Bagman, England and Wimbourne Wasps Beater

“I’ve read worse.”

— Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet

Text copyright © 2001 by J. K. Rowling.  Illustrations and hand lettering copyright © 2001 by J. K. Rowling.

All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, a division of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC,

SCHOLASTIC PRESS, and the LANTERN LOGO are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. HARRY

POTTER and all related characters, names, and related indicia are trademarks ofWarner Bros.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,

electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information

regarding permissions, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 555 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

Scholastic Inc. has arranged for twenty percent of the retail sales price less taxes from the sale of this book to go to Comic

Relief U. K.’s Harry’s Books fund. J. K. Rowling is donating all royalties to which she would be entitled. The purchase of this

book is not tax deductible. Comic Relief may be contacted at: Comic Relief, 5th Floor, Albert Embankment, London SEI 77P,

name in the United Sutes.

ISBN 0-439-32161-1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available

20 19 18 17 16 15 14

07 08 09

Printed in the United States and bound in Mexico 23

First hardcover boxset edition, September 2001

K

About the Author

ENNILWORTHY WHISP is a renowned Quidditch

-177expert (and, he says, fanatic). He is the author of many

Quidditch-related works, including The Wonder of Wigtown

Wanderers, He Flew Like a Madman (a biography of

“Dangerous” Dai Llewellyn) and Beating the Bludgers – A

Study of Defensive Strategies in Quidditch.

Kennilworthy Whisp divides his time between his home

in Nottinghamshire and “wherever Wigtown Wanderers are

playing this week.” His hobbies include backgammon,

vegetarian cookery, and collecting vintage broomsticks.

Foreword

Contents

vii

1. The Evolution of the Flying Broomstick

2. Ancient Broom Games

3. The Game From Queerditch Marsh

4. The Arrival of the Golden Snitch

5. Anti-Muggle Precautions

6. Changes in Quidditch Since the

Fourteenth Century

Pitch

Balls

Players

Rules

Referees

7. Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland

8. The Spread of Quidditch Worldwide

9. The Development of the Racing Broom

10. Quidditch Today

vi

1

3

10

15

17

17

20

23

27

30

31

38

47

51

Foreword

Q UIDDIT CH THROU GH THE AGES is one of the most

popular titles in the Hogwarts school library. Madam Pince,

our librarian, tells me that it is “pawed about, dribbled on, and

generally maltreated” nearly every day – a high compliment for any

book. Anyone who plays or watches Quidditch regularly will relish

Mr. Whisp’s book, as do those of us interested in wider wizarding

history. As we have developed the game of Quidditch, so it has

developed us; Quidditch unites witches and wizards from all walks

of life, bringing us together to share moments of exhilaration,

triumph, and (for those who support the Chudley Cannons)

despair.

It was with some difficulty, I must own, that I persuaded Madam

Pince to part with one of her books so that it might be copied for

wider consumption. Indeed, when I told her it was to be made

available to Muggles, she was rendered temporarily speechless, and

neither moved nor blinked for several minutes. When she came to

herself she was thoughtful enough to ask whether I had taken leave

of my senses. I was pleased to reassure her on that point and went

on to explain why I had taken this unprecedented decision.

Muggle readers will need no introduction to the work of Comic

Relief U. K. (which, funnily enough, has nothing to do with the

American organization of the same name), so I now repeat my

explanation to Madam Pince for the benefit of witches and wizards

who have purchased this book. Comic Relief U. K. uses laughter to

fight poverty, injustice, and disaster. Widespread amusement is

converted into large quantities of money (over 250 million dollars