"You talk about wands like they've got feelings... as they can think for themselves."- Harry Potter to Ollivander, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2
What is wandlore?
Wandlore is an ancient, complex, and mysterious branch of magic dealing with the history, abilities, and actions of wands, quasi-sentient magical tools used by witches and wizards to cast spells. This particular branch of magic is carefully studied by such as Garrick Ollivander and Mykew Gregorivitch. Some of the foremost experts of American Wandlore include Holly Pickok, Edison Huxley Fielding, Berit Aphra, Rendwick Keene, Shikoba Wolfe, Orchid Edenthew, and John Torrey. Just to name a few.
I think one of the first things you've forgotten is that the Mediterranean also includes North Africa and some friends and I have formed some pretty solid ideas that North Africa - specifically Egypt - is where wands started and later evolved into the wands we know today.
Prehistoric wandlore
Historically we have evidence of Ivory wands existing in a burial (dating to 33,000 years ago) in Paviland Cave, in South Wales but, personally, I imagine there wouldn't be any magical residue left in something that old, so they generally aren't considered the first wands cos you can't know for sure. Of course, European Wizards would claim them as the first evidence anyway because of fucking Eurocentrism.
I think then that wands wizards and witches could prove that wands came to be in Ancient Egypt, and were made of bone, ivory, or similar. I imagine that before this point spells were cast through sheer magical power and wandless magic. The introduction of wands was to allow those with relatively less magical power, due to a poor magi-genetic inheritance (permitted through the theory of magic) to wield the magic of equivalent power to those without wands, with wands acting almost as levers to lower the amount of sheer energy required to do a thing, and also in part directing the thing.
Ancient Egypt
YOU ARE READING
A Guide To American Wandlore
FanfictionIn this world, there are many tools one may use to direct magic. One of the most well known of these is the wand. Of course it is a common saying that "The wand chooses the wizard", with all wands having a degree of awareness with which they select...