Medieval sports events key words: Tournaments, jousting, Sword, lance, axe, Archery matches, Falconry, hunting, chess, dice, board games, knight, heralds, weapon, horseback, challengers, defenders, entertainment, fight, battlefield, courtyard

physical activity wasn´t usual in the middle ages but there was an important number of events which are the predecessors of several modern sports and physical activities. This classification shows the medieval origins of each event. The preferred recreation for most adults was drinking in the local tavern!!!!

medieval sports events Knighthood (lords, knights)

Medieval games

Tournaments. Jousting (Only men) heralds (only men, two men on horseback)) The melee Melee au pied(team of knights fighting on foot), melee au cheval (team event at the tournament) Sword, lance, axe Archery matches Falconry Hunting Fencing Medieval Dances (men and women and aristocrats) Bransle hay Carolingian pavane Picking up sticks Hole in the wall...

nobles Chess Gambling entertainment Dice (clergy also played) Backgammon Board games

Medieval recreation and spectacles Jester Acrobats Tumblers Juggling Mistery plays (in Christmas)

These games were played by nobles indoors. Nobles did not played many outdoors games

Population Folk football, la soule, paume Bowling Prisoner´s base Blind man´s buff hoodman´s blind Hammer throw

What is Jousting? A medieval spectacle! Jousting was a sport played by knights and lords. Each joust was a fight between two men on horseback. It wasn't a real fight, like on a battlefield. It was a sport with a set of rules. Jousts were organised by men called heralds. Challenges were sent out to the knights. The champions were ranked in order of how good they were (like tennis players today). Large amounts of money were bet on the contests. There were teams of challengers and defenders. Riders fought in pairs, one man from each team. They fought an agreed number of times. The men in charge, the marshal and constable, made sure they followed the rules.

The knights used a lance (a long weapon like a spear) or sometimes a sword or axe. They charged towards each other on horseback. The aim was to earn points by breaking the lance of the other knight. More points were made for breaking a lance on the other man's armour. Some curiosities about jousting The knights did not try to hurt each other, but it could be dangerous. In 1520, King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France met to make peace between their countries. They had a joust. One of Henry's men broke Francis's nose. Henry was a keen jouster. Twice he nearly died. He fought his friend, Charles Brandon, without covering his face. Brandon's lance landed just one centimeter away from making a hole in the king's head. Then when Henry was 44 years old, he was injured again. He was crushed by his horse and lay unconscious for two hours. This fall is thought to have damaged his health and made him grumpy. Jousts were big events. They were often held on special occasions. Many thousands of people watched, not just nobles. Anyone could get in for about 12 pence. There might also be plays and other entertainment put on at the same time. Many knights dressed up as heroes from history. When Henry married Catherine of Aragon in 1509, she played the role of a Greek goddess and the knights fought a joust for her.

See videos about jousting! http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Svbp8iYH3Sg http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Zr3SW_0bgP4 This letter describes people getting ready for a joust.

Irish traditions The Irish, Scottish, and English had a complete list of athletics traditions. Irish traditions were based on strength competitions. The “Tailtin games” a village in “Meath County”, Ireland, celebrated meetings in which throwing and jumping were the most representative event of the Celtic culture. Roth Cleas was the most valued of these games. Some legends told that Cuchulaim (a Celtic god) was able to jump high, doing dangerous springs; he was so strong that when He attacked his opponent he supported a house to avoid its collapse. When the Scoti tribe from “Hibernia”(Ireland) set up in “ Caledonia”(Scotland), they brought with them their traditions. They created the Ceres Games: Hammer throwing, stones, also wrestling were the sports and games that English preferred in the Middle ages. In the north of Europe there was a tradition among The Vikings, who used javelins for hunting. Later this tradition became a competition in which the young men competed for the best long distance. Nowadays, there is a technique in shot put called “O´Brian” invented and used by an Irish athlete. This is the most efficient way of throwing in shot put. Obviously, these events were before modern athletics (shot put, hammer throwing, javelin), boxing…so they are the predecessors of the most important sport events.

The predecessors of football, rugby, volley ball, tennis… The “soule” This game was the predecessor of our modern football. People played “soule” in 1300 in France. It was the traditional game from Normans and Bretons. The way they played “soule” consisted of two teams who fought for a big stuffed bran ball. To beat the other team it was necessary to lead and put the ball in a place previously accorded. This point was normally very far from the place where the game started. Sometimes the players used a stick to lead the ball. The game was sometimes violent and it was allowed pushing, treading down, knocking…to get the ball.

Do you remember any modern sports like this?

“

paume”

“Paume” was a street game, played in squares, streets and courtyards. The court had a line between the two teams, who tried to land the ball at a particular point, after that the other team repeated the action using the palm of their hands. The rules were very different depending on the place and people who played “paume”, even sticks or clubs were used to push the ball.

Is there any relationship between this sport and other modern sport?

ARCHERY The Normans who came from William the conqueror, preserved the traditions of archery, Javelins, and swords. They taught the art of throwing the Long Bow, a long ARCH WHICH could shoot arrows a DISTANCE of 200 METRES.

In London the people practiced Archery only as a pleasure. The archers were normally very well prepared farmers.

Medieval recreation and spectacles In the Middle age the spectacles of juggling, circus, acrobats and tumblers were part of the popular entertainment. These activities are the predecessors of modern gymnastics, artistic and sophisticated circus and many more spectacles.

The Aristocracy also had a predilection for these spectacles, but they had their own clowns and minstrels. These events were celebrated indoors, in the castles during feasts or weddings.

Medieval Music: Medieval Music

Medieval dance

Recreation and sports IN THE RENAISSANCE The most popular sport was “la soule”. We have studied this sport before but during the renaissance its characteristics became more similar to modern football and rugby. There were two kinds of “soule” during the Renaissance in England: Hurling Over country” played in the country, and “Hurling at goales” played by two teams of 20 players on a 100 metres pitch. You could not push or knock the rival. At the same time they played in Italy a game called “calcio” or “Gioco del calcio” with teams of 27 players.

Match: Rossi versus Azzurri

“Calcio Fiorentino” match in 1688

Fencing Fencing was a sport from the training of knights in the Middle Ages.. The renaissance modified the game. Fencing became an event where not for killing the rival but the aim was an exercise of balance between body and mind, so the sport had rules and a strict code of fighting. The word “Fence” comes from the Word “Defence”

Sword

“If you study the History of sports you can know and understand the origins of our recreation culture”