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