FOLGER BOOKLETS & ON TUDOR AND STUART CIVILI&AT ION ENG LI S H S PO R T S AND R ECR EAT I O N S Li tone By lly C. S P & B LI SHED FOR THE FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRAR& Corn ll e & niv ersity Press FO LGER BOOKLETS ON T& DOR AND ST& ART CIVI LI&ATI ON THE FOl er S b o D C g hakespeare Li rary Of Washingt n , , a research institution founded by Henry Clay FOlger and dm d b the u of Am C o a inistere y Tr stees herst llege , has an d c c n of boo m m u c extraor inary olle tio ks , pa phlets , an s ripts , and other m aterials useful for the study of Western civiliza b 1715 A hou m u o tion from a out 1485 to . lt gh its pri ary p rp se to d c d c o and u is encourage a van e resear h in hist ry literat re , the FOlger Library als o recogniz es an obligation to the non specialist who wants to kn ow m ore about the civiliz ation of the Tudor and Stuart periods when the E nglish - spe aking people were beginning their first expansion overseas and oud o of m b d were laying the f n ati ns new real s a roa . This booklet is one Of a series planned by the Folger Library to des cribe various aspe cts of the cultural history Of the six teenth and c f b seventeenth enturies . Titles o other ooklets b o c d oo ub h d E ch of will e ann un e as s n as they are p lis e . a the pamphlets will be illustrated from contemp orary docu m c d ents . Tea hers esiring copies of the illustrative phot o graphs for use in preparing closed - circuit television pro grams or other visual aids for their classes s h ould write to b for m co the Folger Li rary an esti ate Of the st . O & I S B R I GH T D ire c or . t L W , TH E F OL GER SH AK ESP EAR E L I B RAR& I S AD M I N I ST ERED B & T H E T & ST S OF A M H ST C L L G R EE ER O E E . C o v e r illus r t a tio n: A ha ar d falco n and e ui m e nt fo r h kin ro g g q p aw g . F m S imon Lath am L a tha ms F alco nr , y ( 16 14 ) ENGLI SH“ S PO R T S AND R ECR EAT IONS Stone P & B L I SHED F O R THE FOLGER SHAKE SPEARE LIBRAR& Cornell & niv ersity Press I TH A CA N E W & O K , R CORNELL & NIVERSIT& PRESS Firs t publis hed 1 960 Second printing 1 964 ’ ALTHO UGH sports and pastimes in Shakespeare s age were are far less highly organized than they today , human nature was E i much the same , and nglishmen enjoyed many Of the act vities To that still have a place in their recreations . have an under of standing the social life and customs Of a nation , a knowledge Of its recreations is essential . The way a people spend their moments Of leisure provides a clue to their personalities and qualities Of character . During the years when the Tudors and early Stuarts gov E o r f erned ngland , roads were po r , t avel was di ficult and some not o times dangerous , and ordinary folk usually did g far & & be for yond their parish limits pleasure . Furthermore , life was hard for . for the ordinary citizen , and few had time much leisure for or Consequently, both time and Opportunity were lacking ganiz ed sports that could attract widespread attendance like a m r TO k modern football atch o modern horse racing . wor ing m en and apprentices many sports were forbidden by statute on except such specified holidays as Christmas , but the laws were not always rigidly enforced . Despite difficulties and handicaps , however , people Of all classes enjoyed a variety of simple sports and amusements . If E to the lizabethans had work long hours at hard tasks , they for nevertheless found time play and gaiety . Fairs , festivals , and church wakes provided Opportunities to villagers for many E to amusements . veryone could look forward the local fair , at which vendors Of a variety of wares spread out their goods for 0 sale . T the fairs came gleemen , jugglers , tumblers , acrobats , : and animal trainers with their beasts a dancing bear , monkeys , “ ” T an exotic camel , and an educated horse . raveling showmen “ also brought freaks , as in the sideshow at carnivals today, and - - A sleight of hand artists were common . fter the buying and sell in g were over , visitors to the fair , adults and children alike , i for joined in the activities . Women m ght dance a prize , and the e t men engaged in foot races , bowling matches , wr s ling , and m e . One of other similar co p titions the most curious events , at which stout young men sought to show their worth and endur of . B ance , was the sport shin kicking efore this event the par ticipants rubbed both their boots and shins with blue vitriol to At harden them . the close of the day many a young countryman must have been sore and sorry . of Festivals celebrated special occasions , such as the end the i i harvest , sheepshearing , and the beg nn ng of spring . Church ’ wakes were held on a saint s day or the day of dedication of the A church . wake began with the vigil at the church and a service; of then followed feasting, drinking , and contests skill and strength like those at fairs . Originally these celebrations were held in the churchyard , but as the activities became more and more secular the churchyard was abandoned or forbidden . M any of the festivals stemmed from pagan rites , and the church thought to rem ove the taint of heathenism somewhat by n ack owledging and modifying them . With the rise of the Puri tans , however , Objections grew louder , especially to such On celebrations as church ales . these occasions the church e of m wardens provid d a quantity malt , so e from the church stock and the rest from parishioners . The malt was brewed into o beer and ale and then sold t raise money for the church . This Stubb es who practice was condemned vociferously by Philip , complained in his Ana tomy of Abus es ( 1583 ) of a situation in which profit to the church increased in proportion to the con m su ption of beer and the drunkenness that followed . Pious Philip Stubb es also spoke out against the revelry that on M a . On or took place y Day the eve Of this holiday, in the m Of d a early orning hours the y itself, people were accustomed to go into the forests to gather boughs and branches as decora m A M tions for their ho es . ayp ole would be cut and drawn into i E t the v llage by oxen . ach ox had flowers tied o its horns and 1 on M a w M M y Day ith a fiddler , aid arian , and ten M M ed with horns and bells . aid arian was queen Of the e R mistress of the archery games . In lat r years obin t of M a . was in roduced , probably as king the y Upon such Stubb es e frown d , but he deplored most the fact that the “ to men and girls run gadding over night the woods , ” “ the hills , and mountains and there spend night in “ ” o one won times . He declared n good authority ( own ) that Of a hundred maids going out scarcely a ned in the state Of virginity . occupied an important place in the M ay - Day activ i the was virtually national sport . Laws discouraged ical exercises s o that men would not be diverted from From the time o f Edward III when the f longbow was e fectively demonstrated , it was thought wise to have all the men of England ready as trained archers in case of war . By the beginning of the seventeenth cen A B . s R tury the usefulness Of archery in war was declining . arret “ says in The The ory and Practice of M odern Wars ( 1598 ) they to to no [ archers &may serve some sorts Of service , but such ” Vi of effect as any Of the fiery weapons , but the ctories the long b ow at Créc A y , Poitiers , and gincourt were not quickly forgot to own to ten , and every man was expected a longbow and to in practice regularly . Shooting contests were held stimulate ’ tere st , and even churchwardens accounts sometimes include f B t of or . expenses making archery butts ut s were mounds earth , A banked with turf . gainst this mound was placed a white disk t for a target . Shooting at these taught accuracy . To learn o “ “ ” “ ” or keep a length the archers practiced prick clout shooting , which meant shooting at a target eighteen inches in diameter , ff 160 stu ed with straw . This mark was placed at a distance Of “ ” to 240 R to no yards .