Medieval Sports in the Renaissance Period

During the Renaissance, which can be defined as the span of time between the 1300s and the 1600s, Europe experienced a flowering of culture. This manifested itself in many aspects of public life, including sports. Many sports still played today, such as football (known as soccer in America) and bowling, had their origins during these centuries. These sports have, however, been refined from their medieval beginnings.

  1. Football

    • The game of kicking a ball between the goals of two opposing teams has been around for more than a millennium, but really picked up steam during the Renaissance. In the 14th century, football was so popular among English university students that it was banned by order of the king. This was not only because of the game's potential to distract young men from their studies, but because of early football hooliganism. There were no referees in medieval football, and it was not unusual for a losing team to pull out their daggers on the field to settle the score.

    Bowling

    • Bowling has its origins as a game that involved a heavy ball, but did not involve pins. Instead, the players would roll the bowling balls at one another, and whoever managed to remain standing at the end of the game was the winner. Another, less aggressive variant was feather bowling, in which participants aimed their bowling balls at a feather stuck upright in the ground. By the sixteenth century, bowling was so popular in England that when the Spanish Armada was invading in 1588, Sir Francis Drake is said to have delayed his arrival to the battlefield because he was in the middle of a frame.

    Archery

    • An ancient method of both hunting and warfare, archery was a major pastime during the Renaissance. The upper classes encouraged peasants to practice archery at the expense of other games, because it would allow them to be lethal soldiers in defense of their feudal lords. Archery tournaments were a common sight, both on wealthy estates and in peasant villages. By the end of the 16th century, however, archery had become more of a sport than a military exercise, since guns had been found to be more effective in combat.

    Jousting

    • Perhaps no image sums up medieval sports more than that of a knight on horseback, tilting at his opponent with a lance. Jousting's primary purpose was as a way for knights to keep their skills sharp when not at war, but it was a popular spectator sport as well. Knights were jousting for more than fame: The custom was that a knight on the field could select a woman of noble birth from the stands as his sponsor, and if he won the event, he could be assured of spending the night with her.