Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
Today, we’re going to be discussing Harry Potter Events in the Medieval Period.
Do you know the tale of Godelot the Dark Wizard?
Or the history of early Quidditch?
How about the very first Triwizard Tournament?
If you take a moment, and look back at the history of the medieval wizarding world, you’ll
find the answer to all these questions, and more.
So join me, as we trek back a few hundred years, and learn a thing or two about wizards
and witches in the middle ages.
10th century
Dark Wizard Godelot
Continuing the tradition of Herpo the Foul, Godelot pushed the study of dark magic to
its limits.
With the elder wand under his control, the dark wizard recorded his discoveries in a
book called Magick Moste Evile.
Through that book, later wizards would master many spells and curses that would be outlawed
by the Ministry of Magic centuries later.
Interestingly, Godelot considered some magical topics too taboo to write about… an uncommon
trait for a dark wizard.
Although he knew a great deal about Horcruxes, Godelot wouldn’t explain how to create them
in his book.
His contribution to magic aided Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters, during the 20th century.
He was also directly connected to Harry Potter, since he had once possessed the Elder Wand.
The Founding of Hogwarts
About a decade before the turn of the first millennium, four powerful wizards and witches
gathered in Scotland to open the doors to a brand new school.
These four figures…
Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Helga Hufflepuff… would never
have believed that their school would remain, a thousand years later, as one of the greatest
wizarding academies in the world.
Although the school created some of the greatest wizards and witches in history, it was also
responsible for educating the most terrible dark wizards, like Voldemort.
11th century
Quidditch predecessor
Early predecessors of Quidditch were captured in paintings and books around Europe and Britain.
One of these, a game from Germany known as Stichstock or Stichstock, bore a striking
resemblance.
In it, two teams of broom-mounted wizards flew around a field, trying to score goals
by puncturing a dragon’s bladder filled with air.
Another of these early predecessors came from Ireland.
This one, called Aingingein, shares a few common traits, but you can clearly see how
it diverges.
Instead of pitting two teams against each other, this game consisted of a simple racing
course, which wizards individually raced through.
Their time was recorded at the very end of the course, after they successfully threw
a ball through a goal.
Sir Cadogan vs the Wyvern of Wye
Although the Muggle World didn’t know about it, there was another member of Sir Arthur’s
Knights of the round table.
His name was Sir Cadogan, and he was a wand-carrying member of the wizarding community.
During his time as a knight, CAdogan faced off against a Wyvern, from River Wye.
At first, Cadogan couldn’t muster the strength needed to defeat the beast, and was quickly
beaten back.
But in their second encounter, Cadogan struck a lucky blow, and killed the creature in a
fiery display.
Bloody Baron murders Helena Ravenclaw
Although he was one of the ghosts that haunted Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,
the Bloody Baron’s deeds in life should have prohibited him from being around children.
In the 11th century, when Rowena Ravenclaw’s daughter, Helena, ran away, the Baron was
sent after her.
When he caught up with Helena, the Baron tried to convince her to come back together with
him.
Of course, she refused, and the Baron… overwhelmed with anger…
decided the best course of action was to kill the woman he loved.
And that’s exactly what he did.
With a short knife, the Baron murdered Helena in cold-blood.
In the aftermath, he was so overwhelmed with shame, that the BAron turned the blade on
himself, and took his own life.
Sword of Gryffindor
Sometime during the 11th century, Godric Gryffindor’s famous, ruby-adorned sword was crafted by
the goblin named Ragnuk the First.
The sword was so spectacular that the goblins tried to steal it back from Godric, but after
a short conflict, the Hogwarts co-founder quickly sent the goblins home in defeat.
Chamber of Secrets
During this century, Salazar Slytherin and his three other co founders came to an impasse.
Slytherin refused to allow half-bloods and muggle-borns to enroll at Hogwarts, and the
other three disagreed.
In the end, Slytherin left the school, but not without leaving a gift.
He crafted the Chamber of Secrets away from the prying eyes of the other house leaders,
and left it with a basilisk inside, to protect the honour of pure bloods.
Malfoys come to England
During the late 11th century, the Malfoys voyaged to England, after successfully aiding
William the Conqueror during the Battle of Hastings.
Draco Malfoy’s ancestor at the time, a wizard known to his peers as Arman, fought against
Harold Godwinson.
In doing so, he won a nice plot of land for himself as a reward, and used his status to
rise through society as a pure-blood wizard.
12th century
Trade in wizarding communities
Throughout the 12th century, the wizarding community in Britain continued to evolve.
During this time, many new businesses formed, and bartering became a weekly or daily event
for everyday wizards and witches.
During this century, the very first glimmer of capitalism in the wizarding community,
and the dense shopping district of Diagon Alley, can be seen.
Puddlemere united founded
Wizards and witches continued to refine the game of Quidditch, and by the year 1163, the
game had become so popular that league teams were established.
The oldest one, Puddlemere United, was created this year.
13th century
Golden snidget introduced
The Golden Snidget, a predecessor of the Golden Snitch, was first introduced in a Quidditch
match in this century.
Instead of a small enchanted ball, an actual yellow bird, named a Snidget, was used.
And instead of awarding 150 points to the winning team, whoever caught the bird was
promised 150 galleons.
By the end of the game, every spectator in the stands realized that snidgets made the
game much more thrilling.
From that day on, the birds were included in every game.
International warlocks convention
In the year 1289, a mysterious order of warlocks convened in a secret meeting.
Even if you pour over the historical records for days, you won’t be able to find much
about this clandestine conference.
Since warlocks were known to be battle-hardened wizards, it’s likely that the meeting was
called in order to avoid a new war in the wizarding community… or launch a secret
one.
Triwizard tournament
In the 13th century, the very first Triwizard Tournament between Hogwarts, Beauxbatons,
and Durmstrang was held.
Since that day, the tournament has been held every five years, for over 7 centuries.
Although the games had been put on hold in the late 18th century, they eventually returned
during Harry Potter’s time at Hogwarts, in the late 1990’s.
A Manticore Attack
During the medieval era, human settlements had forced many of the magical world’s beasts
and creatures to the fringes.
This meant dangerous encounters were at an all time low, and growing ever rarer.
But in the 13th century, a savage manticore attacked an innocent passerby, terrorizing
the local community, and pushing the wizarding world to its limits.
In the end, the manticore was too powerful to capture, and ended up leaving the site
of its attack out of its own volition.
14th Century
Golden snitch
During the 14th century, the golden snitch was finally introduced in the game of Quidditch.
This saved the lives of thousands of golden snidgets, the yellow-feathered bird which
had been used for centuries prior.
The creature had nearly been put into extinction by its use in the wizarding game.
The Golden Snitch marked one of the final changes to the game of Quidditch.
By the end of the century, the only new additions were rules declaring when and where you could
play the game… in order to avoid detection by muggles.
More witch hunts
Throughout the 14th century, Muggle persecution of witches and wizards escalated.
With witch hunts and public burnings at all time highs, the wizarding community desperately
pleaded, in secret, with muggle leaders to stop the violence.
With only a few royal families interested in helping wizards, the magical community
was forced to come up with a solution themselves.
So, they created the flame-freezing charm, which made the muggle’s fascination with
burning witches alive at the stake, an impossible feat to achieve.
Philosopher’s stone invented
Nicolas Flamel was born in 1326.
And only a few decades later, his passionate pursuit of alchemy led him to create the sorcerer’s
stone.
With this stone, he was able to produce the elixir of life, which kept him and his wife
alive for hundreds of years.
At the time, this was the only successful creation of the stone, which had been a goal
of alchemists for thousands of years.
More quidditch teams
As the golden snitch made the game of Quidditch more accessible, more and more regional teams
sprouted up.
The Wimbourne Wasps and many more joined other established teams, like the Pride of Portree
and the Kenmare Kestrels.
With so many swelling teams, sightings by muggles became more and more common, and so
did the wizarding courts’ fines for getting caught.
And that’s it for this video!
If you want to know what happened in the centuries that followed, then please leave a comment
down below.
Until next time
Remember
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live