Greyhald Spold
| Greyhald Spold | |
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| Name | Greyhald "Tudgy" Spold |
| Race | Human |
| Age | |
| Occupation | Wizard |
| Physical appearance | |
| Residence | |
| Death | The Light Fantastic |
| Parents | |
| Relatives | |
| Children | |
| Marital Status | |
| Appearances | |
| Books | The Light Fantastic |
| Cameos | |
Greyhald "Tudgy" Spold (his nickname is mentioned in Moving Pictures and Lords and Ladies) was Head of the Ancient and Truly Original Sages of the Unbroken Circle (a.k.a. the Illuminated Mages of the Unbroken Circle) - one of the seven-and-one orders of Wizardry at Unseen University during the events of The Colour of Magic.
In The Light Fantastic, he is reported as being (currently) the oldest wizard in the world. When the senior wizards perform the Rite of AshkEnte, Spold sees Death looking at him oddly, and creates an extremely magical and complicated hiding place, using many rare and smelly oils, a paste made of powdered mayflies, the eightfold octogram of Witholding, red and green candles, protective amulets, and a box made of the wood of the curlyfern pine. Unfortunately, what all his preparations didn't take into account was that the box required air holes, and so the last words he heard were, Dark in here, isn't it?
In Moving Pictures, we learn that as a student he was a friend of Windle Poons and "Numbers" Riktor, and in Hogfather, you can read about Spold's Unstirring Divisor - of which he is presumed, though not confirmed, to be the inventor.
In The Discworld Companion he is listed - probably incorrectly - as having been Archchancellor, although there is no evidence in the books that he ever held this title. If he ever did, he must have held the position before Galder Weatherwax and retired from it voluntarily: since he cannot have succeeded Galder even notionally before Ymper Trymon's takeover, on account of having died eight pages before Galder. It would seem more likely that the Discworld Companion is in error. The film version of The Colour of Magic sort-of-semi-rationalises this by making Spold be Weatherwax's likely successor should he outlive Weatherwax, which he does not.
Either way, there was no doubt to his title of oldest living wizard: his death left Windle Poons, his contemporary as a student, as the new holder of that position.
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