Scotland is a wealthy and strategically significant nation in Europe. In the muggle world, it is well-known for its power as a prominent nation throughout its history, but its significance in the magical world is far greater. Scotland is home to the world's most renowned wizarding school, despite the country's lack of magical reputation and its residents' typically forced adoption of British principles and regulations.

We should first discuss, although only briefly, Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. Hogwarts, created in the tenth century, was founded by four powerful wizards and witches: Helga Hufflepuff, Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. I won’t go into much detail because you can learn much more about this in your History of Magic course, but I will go through a brief history. Salazar Slytherin did not agree with the ideals that many of the other founders had, and thus he departed the school so that he would not have to stay with them. The other three left the school soon after, and from then on the school had only one headmaster or headmistress at a time. Throughout the years many famous wizards and witches studied at Hogwarts and went on to accomplish amazing feats in their lives. The school has had many incredible professors including the legendary Albus Dumbledore among them. The last known headmistress of Hogwarts is Minerva McGonagall, who has held the position past 2020. Now, in 2024, Hogwarts is governed by Headmistress Oshiro, a Japanese witch.

Close to Hogwarts is Hogsmeade, one of the most significant wizarding settlements in magical history. It is enormous and has hosted a number of important events including the Goblin Rebellion of 1612. I’d highly recommend spending time at the amazing town of Hogsmeade, which is still home to many famous witches and wizards.

Moving on, Scotland is also home to two distinct types of magical sports. The first is the well-known sport of Quidditch, so I will not delve into the rules of that particular game. The other game is called Creaothceann (deriving from the Scottish Gaelic phrase of "creoth ceann", meaning Quail Head), and it originated in Scotland Creaothceann is an incredibly dangerous sport where players ride on brooms with cauldrons on their head. One hundred levitating stones are released at the beginning of the game, and players' goal is to collect as many of these stones in their cauldrons as they can. Sounds dangerous, right? Below is a poem about Creaothceann which may illustrate how dangerous the sport is:

"The players assemble, twelve fine, hearty men,
They strapped on their cauldrons, stood poised to fly,
At the sound of the horn they were swiftly airborne,
But ten of their number were fated to die."

Now, would you dare to risk playing Creaothceann? To wrap this week up, we’ll talk about a few magical creatures that are indigenous to Scotland. Some of these include Selkies, Blast-Ended Skrewts, Giant Squids, Hebridian Blacks, Quintapeds, and Hinkypunks. There aren’t many native to the country, but then again, the country is also not that big.

Well, that once more sums up another discussion on yet another country! I’m aware that some of you may have missed my history lectures, therefore, I will be bringing them back the following month! Next month the country of focus will be India, so get ready for that!

Written by Michael Isserles.
Edited by Marlee Potter.
Proofread by Sara Rowan.