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"The Bludgers rocket around trying to knock players off their brooms."
Oliver Wood[src]

A Bludger was a black iron ball used in the wizarding sport of Quidditch. It was ten inches in diameter. There were two Bludgers used in every match, which were bewitched to fly around and try to knock the players off of their broomsticks. It was the Beaters' job to protect their teammates from the Bludgers and at the same time aim them towards the opposing players.[1]

History[]

Bludger

A Bludger's violent behaviour

Early Bludgers (known as Blooders) were simply rocks bewitched to chase players around the field. These were eventually too fragile, and could be smashed by a Beater's bat, which ended up with players being chased by flying gravel for the rest of the game. After a few years, Bludgers were made out of lead, which was also too soft for Bludger manufacture. The magically reinforced Beater's bats could dent it, thus impairing their ability to fly straight. All Bludgers are currently made of iron. The history of this latest development was discovered by Agatha Chubb, who discovered sixteenth-century lead Bludgers in an English peat bog.[2]

In 1992, Dobby the house-elf magically tampered with a Bludger to make it only chase Harry Potter, while it would normally try to attack all players equally.[3]

Behind the scenes[]

Quidditch Bludger Ball (Concept Artwork) 1

Concept art of a Bludger

Bludger - PAS

A Bludger as seen in Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells

Etymology[]

The word is probably derived from "bludgeon".

Translations[]

  • Albanian: Fluturak
  • Bulgarian: Блъджър (Bl"dzh"r)
  • Catalan: Bala (bullet)
  • Chinese (Simplified): 游走球
  • Chinese (Traditional): 摶格
  • Croatian: maljac
  • Czech: Potlouk (from a root meaning "to knock about")
  • Danish: Smasher (as in the English word "smash")
  • Dutch: Beuker (beaters)
  • Estonian: klomm
  • Faroese: Gartla
  • Finnish: ryhmy
  • French: Cognard (cogner "knock")
  • German: Klatscher (from klatschen "to slap" or "to hit")
  • Greek, Ancient: ῥοπαλοσφαίριον (ball to be hit with bat)
  • Greek, Modern: μαύρη μπάλα (black ball)
  • Hebrew: מרביצן (hitter)
  • Hindi: पहलवान (pahalavān)
  • Hungarian: gurkó
  • Icelandic: rotari
  • Italian: Bolide (generic term used for a large, fast-moving object)
  • Japanese: ブラッジャー (burajjaa)
  • Latin: Bludgeri
  • Lithuanian: Muštukas
  • Norwegian: klabb
  • Polish: tłuczek
  • Portuguese (Portugal): Bludger
  • Portuguese (Brazil): Balaço (Big Bullet)
  • Romanian: Balon-Ghiulea (Cannon Ball)
  • Russian: Бладжер
  • Serbian: Блаџерка (Bladžerka)
  • Slovak: dorážačka
  • Slovenian: štamf
  • Spanish: bludger
  • Swedish: Dunkare
  • Ukrainian: бладжер (bladzher)
  • Welsh: Dilynwyr

Appearances[]

Wiki
The Harry Potter Wiki has 27 images related to Bludger.

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 10 (Hallowe'en)
  2. Quidditch Through the Ages, Chapter 6 (Changes in Quidditch since the Fourteenth Century)
  3. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 10 (The Rogue Bludger)
Game of Quidditch
Quidditch pitch
Officials: Quidditch referee
Player positions: BeaterChaserKeeperSeeker
Playing equipment: Beater's batBludgerBroomstickGolden SnitchQuaffle
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