Outdoor Sports of Elizabethan Era

Outdoor Sports

      In Tudor dynasty, sport was controlled by government. During Henry VIII’s reign, there was a law passed in 1512 that banned the ordinary person (the lower class) to play certain kinds of games such as tennis, cards, dice, bowls, and skittles. Elizabeth I, however, forced people to play archery by passing the Archery Act of 1542. Ian Mortimer, the author of the book The Time Traveller’s Guide to Elizabethan England said, “every man over the age of seventeen and under the age of sixty who is not lame or maimed, a nobleman, a clergyman, or a judge must keep a bow and four arrows in his house at all times” (202). If they did not have a bow and four arrows in their houses, they would have to pay a fine of six shillings and four pennies.

Jousting
      Jousting was one of the popular sports in Elizabethan Era and Henry VIII enjoyed to play it. Only the upper class was allowed to play in jousting tournaments and the tournament was usually sponsored by a rich noble. The word “tournament” was often used to refer jousting. The meaning of “tournament” was slightly different from the word “joust.” A tournament referred to mounted combats between parties of knight that several knights competed. In contrast, a joust usually referred to the single competition between two combatants. The tournament was usually sponsored by a rich noble. 

The Courtly Love

      The Courtly love is based on the idea that love is unrelated to marriage. This idea of love prevailed throughout the European countries including England. Henry VIII was also influenced by the courtly love which led him to marry several times. The idea of Courtly love allowed a Knight to express their love even for married women. It was a tradition that a Knight would beg a favour from a lady that he liked and if she liked him, then she would give him a garment from her cloth. If the Knight won the tournament, he would ask the lady to marry him and the lady had to accept him.

 

Rules 
      Geoffroi de Purelli, a French man, was known for his first written tournament guidlines. Unfortunately, he was killed in the tournament, followed by his guidelines. No sharp lances or swords were allowed in the tournament due to the injury. However, there were still many injuries and casualties. For instance, Henry VIII had to stop playing sports after he was injured during jousting tournaments.

Types
      There were three types of tournaments in Elizabethan Era

1. Melee or Tourney Proper
2. Individual Joust
3. Practice Tournament



Melee or Tourney Proper - This form is the most brutal and dangerous form of joust because there were many knights fighting at the same time and tried to unhorse all others by using their lances.

http://nationaljousting.com/history/medieval.htm

Individual Joust - only two combatants were trying to hit the shield and if one of the knight hit the rider or horse, he was immediately disqualified. A low wall between two knights was built to reduce injury of both horse and knight.
Individual Joust

Practice Tournament - knights usually practice with the quintain and the ring to improve their accuracy. The riders would travel about 80 yard track and try to catch the rings or to strike the quintain. 
Quintain

Fencing

      Fencing is another sport existed in the Elizabethan era. Only the upper class could play fencing. The fencers usually trained and practiced for years to become skilled and to be a knight. It required fourteen-years of training to become a Knight.

Hawking

      Hunting was a favorite sport of the upper class in the Elizabethan time and one of their favorite way of hunting is Falconry or Hawking. Since it was very expensive for the lower class to afford to train the hawks or falcon, only the upper class could enjoy hawking. Sometimes, the upper class would host other nobles to hunt together. Other birds were also trained such as an owl, a vulture, and so forth.

http://www.animalstown.com/animals/v/vulture/wallpapers/vulture-wallpaper-02.php

Resources
"Tudor Sports and Pastimes". HistoryLearningSite.co.uk. 2014. Web.

"Elizabethan Era". elizabethan-era.org.uk. 2012. Web.

"The Medieval Tourney". nationaljousting.com. April 20, 2003.Web.

Mortimer, Ian. The Time Traveler's Guide to Elizabethan England. New York: Penguin, 2014. 
Print.