Elizabethan Sports

Elizabethan Sports BY: JORDAN WITHJACK

Team Sports Sports were a great form of entertainment during the Elizabethan era, especially for the Nobility.

Team Sports Continued

Team sports became popular during the reign of Queen Elizabeth and were appreciated by players as well as spectators. Team sports were very rough and violent during the Elizabethan era, so most would be created for very fit, young, and active men.

Team Sports Include:  Elizabethan Hunting- “At Force” Hunts were the

most arduous forms of hunting. In this sport, teams of men would hunt ferocious, wild boars.  Elizabethan Tournaments- In these tournaments, or tourneys, team elements were incorporated in many ways. The main form of tournaments were knights fighting on horseback or even on foot.

 Elizabethan Bowls-This sport was believed to have

    

been played in teams similar to modern day ten pin bowling. Battledore and Shuttlecock- These team sports were the ancestors of today’s badminton. Gameball- This was a very violent version of modern day football. Hurling or Shinty- Similar to hockey. Pall Mall- An ancestor to Croquet. Rounders- A bat-and-ball game similar to today’s baseball.

Elizabethan Individual Sports All sports in the Elizabethan era tended to include an element of gambling.

Elizabethan Individual Sports Included:  Elizabethan Archery- Archery contests were extremely  

   

popular during the Elizabethan era. Billiards- An early ancestor to the game Pool played today. Colf- This sport was an older version of golf. Elizabethan Tennis- The sport was similar to modern day tennis. Wrestling- This sport was similar to the modern day version, except it was more violent. Horseshoes- Participants would throw horseshoes at a target. Quarter-staff Contests- Quarterstaffs were long wooden poles often reinforced with a metal tip at the end to injure the opponent.

Fencing Fencing was a very prominent individual sport. It was a requirement for all Upper Class Nobility to have skill in fencing. Also, fencing was a popular training technique for knights. Because of fencing, a sword also became part of the apparel during the time period.

In Conclusion:

Most Elizabethan sports were considered blood sports and were very rough and violent. While some sports were open to anybody that wanted to watch, some could only be viewed by the Nobility.

Sources:

http://www.elizabethan-

era.org.uk/ http://www.elizabethanera.org.uk/elizabethanfencing.htm