The Evolution of the Flying Broomstick

Calendar and Dates

The chapter covers from a period from the 10th to the early 12th century.

A.D. 962
A German illuminated manuscript of this period shows three warlocks dismounting their brooms, clearly before the development of the Cushioning Charm.

A.D. 1107
Guthrie Lochrin, a wizard from Scotland, wrote about the painful injuries suffered after a broom journey.

Interesting facts and notes

More about the development of brooms can be found in Chapter 9, which covers racing brooms.

No spell yet devised enables wizards to fly unaided in human form.

This is canon (see also DH5). The films ignore this and have people flying all over the place.

Those few Animagi who transform into winged creatures may enjoy flight, but they are a rarity. The witch or wizard who finds him- or herself transfigured into a bat may take to the air, but, having a bat's brain, they are sure to forget where they want to go the moment they take flight.

So this is a key element of the Animagus transformation - the retention of the ability to think. Why, then, did Draco Malfoy attempt to flee for the dungeons when the fake Professor Moody (Barty Crouch Jr) transfigured him into a ferret during his fourth year? How did he remember that he could find help there? (GF13)

Characters Introduced

• Guthrie Lochrin