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 as having been Archchancellor, although the only evidence to his having held this title is in "Lords And Ladies", in a passing reference during a conversation between Mustrum Ridcully and Granny Weatherwax - Ridcully names Spold as the Archchancellor during his own student days. So, if we assume Ridcully's memory is not mistaken, Spold must have been one of the few people to step down voluntarily from the position (or to be ousted from it without violence), since his tenure must have been evidently some years and possibly decades before the appointment of Galder Weatherwax, the incumbent (until his death and succession by Ymper Trymon) in the first two books. Spold, in fact, dies during Weatherwax's tenure, some seven or eight pages before Weatherwax meets his own demise. This seems unusual since the job of Archchancellor seems to be traditionally "for life", whether the incumbent dies a natural death or (more usually) by assassination or accident.
The film version of The Colour of Magic suggests that Spold would 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.