Broomology is a field of study concerning the design, mathematics, construction and mechanics of broomsticks.

The need for broomsticks started as a necessity, and the study of broomology advanced very slowly in that time.

Brooms came from the need wizards had for an easier way of transport than walking. Many a wizard therefore sought means of flight, but unable to make themselves fly, they started making objects that could. Many wizards realized that the larger muggle population would take advantage of such an invention, so the wizards enchanted otherwise everyday items with the ability to fly and thus the first broomsticks were created.

A broom was something they wouldn’t be questioned for having if a muggle found it, and it was common enough that you could keep it around your house without being labeled as weird.

We have records of brooms existing as early as A.D. 926, but these brooms were only used when needed, as they were horribly built and terrible to fly and sit on. This is backed up by a painting from a German manuscript made at that time showing three warlocks unmounting their brooms with rather unpleasant expressions on their faces.
It is further backed up by a book written by the Scottish wizard Guthrie Lochrin in 1107 that was named “Splinter-filled Buttocks and Bulging Piles” describing a short ride the author had flown from Montrose to Arbroath.

The brooms of this time were all made by everyday wizards in their own homes and were often just your everyday broom enchanted with a levitating spell and a spell to make it move forward at a set speed, to the left and to the right.

A broom being kept at the Museum of Quidditch in London from the time shows how simple they were. This broom can be seen by anyone willing to take the trip to the Museum.

This broom can be seen at the Quidditch Museum in London

The field of Broomology started first when wizards began to barter services. A wizard particularly skilled at making brooms would often barter for services or items from other wizards in the area by making them brooms.

And by the twelfth century people skilled enough to be willing to put their name on the product popped up here and there. The race to out-build other craftsmen began. It would however take a considerable amount of time before the true first advancement in Broomology would occur.

Up to the 19th century, brooms were of varying quality and build, but what they shared in common was that they still only held the most basic spells, up, to the right, to the left, and often a single constant speed.
But in 1820 a wizard by the name of Elliot Smethwyck found a way of enchanting a cushioning charm to the broom, making it considerably more comfortable to ride, and created a wish to own brooms not only for the necessity of it, but also for convenience. Brooms became a status symbol for the rich and powerful, and craftsmen started focusing more on the style and craftsmanship of the brooms rather than handling.

The first well know brooms came out of this era, the Oakshaft 79, Moontrimmer and Silver Arrow all made an impact on the bigger market, but was still design by hand, and a single inventor held the blueprints for each broom.
They all focused more on the style of the broom, its wood and brush, rather than its handling. This is why the Oakshaft 79 never became a much used quidditch broom, as it lacked greatly in agility, having only the bare basics of turning. It does however sell for a considerable amount of gold as a collectors item for vintage broom collectors.

They would continue as this until the early 20th century. The creation of brooms such we know them today came with the creation of the first companies manufacturing brooms, most noticeably here in Britain was the Cleansweep Broom Company or the CBC, and the Comet Trading Company, aka the CTC. These two companies would constantly compete and were bitter rivals throughout the entire century.
Several others have emerged and disappeared through the years leading up to today, for example the Nimbus Racing Broom Company, which is still pushing the boundaries of broomology to this day.

One of the major advantages the companies created, was that they collected many craftsmen under one banner, fast-lining the time it took to create a broom and making it considerably cheaper for the everyday wizard. They also created a way for craftsmen to pool their knowledge. That way people excelling in something would add that to an always bigger pile of how's and how not’s on how to create brooms.

The above picture show an assortment of handcrafted brooms from the 19th century.

Today brooms have a considerable amount of charms weaved into them. This includes improved charms to levitate, rise higher than ever before, turns, change speed, speed in turns, backing up, and most broom models also have model-specific charms weaved in. Like Firebolts' self-levitating charm which allows the broom to float in the air by its user in mounting height.

The continuation of the cushioning charm is also always evolving, and brooms more specialized on long travels rather then the quick and agile movements needed for the quidditch pitch will often have modifications such as a cushion for your back. This makes it possible to lean back on longer journeys. The cushioning charm is also always invisible, this was done to keep the broom looking like a broom.

One of the newer additions demanded on all British manufactured brooms is the added Disillusionment Charm. It takes effect after the user comes up in a certain speed. What the charm does is making the user mostly invisible to the ground below. It still has some issues, and no one has been able to make it entirely invisible yet, because the background moves too quickly, but if a person on the ground looks up as you fly by they will likely only see a slight shimmer. This only works at greater speeds though, and a stand-still wizard floating on a broom will be entirely visible to anyone on the ground. The reason for this is that most wizards would have a problem with finding their own brooms if it turned invisible whenever it stood still.

Brooms must be maintained regularly. This generally consists of adding polish and wax to the broom, trimming the brush, pulling loose twigs from the brush and generally making sure the broom is safe to fly. Trimming generally is needed to keep the broom's aerodynamics. Wax and polish are needed to maintain that the brooms last longer, and it is always important to check for cracks or twisting in the wood. This is because these things are a strong indication the brooms charms are wearing of, but it is not always easy to figure out which of the many charms that is. It is therefore advised that wizards take their brooms to a licensed servicer if they find cracks or twisting, so a professional can help fix it. Some charms are however fixable at home, for example the charm to cure reluctant reversers, which can be found in the book “Handbook Of Do-It-Yourself Broomcare”.

The Above image shows a broom after the standards of today. Fully equipped with advance movement and speed spells, cushioning charms and disillusionment charm