What was tennis like in tudor times

It looks an interesting and physically challenging game and one worth preserving as one preserves old words and expressions in modern parlance. More power to it. Elements of esku huskako pilota, the barehanded version, and of the Trinquet still in use today in Pelota see St Jean de Luz are evident in the Real Tennis game of today.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Tennis in Tudor Times Until the fifteenth century, people exercised in order to be ready for war Thurley, Pg.

Sir Thomas Elyot by Holbein. Henry VIII after his coronation in Comments Robert Fripp says:. September 29, at pm. Natalie says:. October 1, at pm. Akf says:. May 16, at am. Talking Tudors Podcast. Subscribe to our Newsletter! The goals are three miles apart and there are only a few rules. The ball is a hand-painted, cork-filled ball. It is thought that this game has been played for a 1, years.

Only the rich were allowed to hunt deer. Yeoman farmers could hunt foxes but the poor were only allowed to hunt hares and rabbit. Individual bears were chained to a post in a bear-ring. A group of dogs were then set on the bear. The dogs tried to kill the bear by biting its throat. A ring was even built in the grounds of Whitehall so that the Tudor monarchs could watch bear-baiting from the windows of the palace.

A law was passed in that banned ordinary people from a whole range of games including tennis, dice, cards, bowls and skittles. This was because the government wanted people to work more and play less. Back to the top Tudor Music Executions Theatres. Follow me on Twitter mbarrow. Queen Elizabeth went on her tours of England, towns put on large bear-baiting shows for her. When the House of Commons in voted to ban bear-baiting on Sunday, Elizabeth overruled them.

Elizabethans also enjoyed watching other cruel events, for example, bears-that had been blinded being whipped by five or six men. Another event involved donkeys and bulls being attacked by teams of fierce dogs. People also paid to visit mental institutions like Bedlam Hospital in London, where they enjoyed watching the strange antics of the patients. Bedlam even hired out patients to appear as entertainers at weddings and banquets.

There is a round ball prepared The ball is made of wood and boiled in tallow to make it slippery and hard to hold The ball is called a knappan, and one of the company hurls it into the air He that gets the ball hurls it towards the goal It is a strange sight to see a thousand or fifteen hundred men chasing after the knappan The gamesters return home from this play with broken heads, black faces, bruised bodies and lame legs Yet they laugh and joke and tell stories about how they broke their heads Football is more a fight than a game Sometimes their necks are broken, sometimes their backs, sometimes their legs The bear cannot escape from them because of the chain; he defends himself with all his force and skill, throwing down all who come within his reach I went with some friends to the bear-garden One of the bulls tossed a dog into a lady's lap, as she sat in one of the boxes at a considerable height from the arena.

Two poor dogs were killed. They were to run it so often as to make up twenty-two miles The English man gained the lead on the second round. He kept the lead until the fifth round and then the Scotch man came up The English man fell down within a few yards of the post Answer Commentary. Was Queen Catherine Howard guilty of treason? Did Anne Boleyn have six fingers on her right hand? Martin Luther and the Reformation Answer Commentary.