Medieval Sports

1. Medieval Sports Jacob Whitwam Period:5/6

2. Stoolball • The batter bats until he gets a hit or the pitcher throws the ball and it hits home • No foul balls, run no matter what on contact • Batter is out when he hits a pop-fly and its caught • Every player gets to hit once per inning • You must have fun • Must run clockwise around the bases • Batter is also out when fielder hits home if the batter has not touched the base and then came back to home • YOU are allowed as many swings as you want. • 3o ft. from base to home • Need a soft ball

3. Gameball • No rules • Ball was a pig bladder • 1st team to score wins • No limit of players • Teams # of players were never the same • Field size changed from a dozen yards to 2 miles away • “Superbowl” of gameball was played on Shrove Thursday • Women and men played together • No penalty for hurting ref • Combined rugby, football, and soccer

4. Quarterstaff • Quarterstaffs are long shafts that consisted of hard wood • Shaft had long fat pole between 6 and 9 ft • Sometimes quarterstaffs had metal tips cut out of iron • Made of hawthorn, ash, or oak • Striking • Jabbing • Bludgeoning • You have to swing heavy pole for defense • Need strength • Need speed

5. Jousting • Lance • Shield • Plate mail • Set of greaves • Leg protectors • Bracers or gauntless • Armored gloves • Helm • Heavy boots • horse

6. Shinty • Fast moving sport • Like hockey or lacrosse • Use curved stick called a caman • 2 teams with 12 players on each team • Corked ball, similar in size with a tennis ball • First played = 1896 • Stick made from ash of a tree • Game is 90 minutes long • Feet but not hands are used to stop the ball(unless you’re the keeper) • Stick is allowed to be swung ABOUT SHOULDER HEIGHT

7. Archery • A medieval archer had a bow and arrow-sometimes called a bowman • The time to become an archer was quite lenghtley • You had to have expert marksmen skills • Lowerclassmen had to practice archery • Englishmen between 15 and 60 had to have a bow and arrow • The training helped the english kill 2000 french knights I n 1346 while only losing 50 men • Training places called the butts • Archery laws led to many accidents when people would get hit by loose arrows • Bow was 120 lbs • Archer was trained to shoot 12 to 15 arrows per minute

8. Wrestling • No holds below the waist • Times could last many hours • Kicking, ”showing the toe” • Throw opponent to ground so he/she lands with both hips and one shoulder squarely on the ground • Very few restrictions • Clasp hands behind other shoulders • Squatting down to protect your legs • Jumping up at your opponent • Go slow to lull your opponent to sleep • Grabbing and gouging opponent

9. Pictures and clips of Nacho Libre • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hpxvzQ7d1c

10. Hammer Throw • Originated scotland, england, ireland • Started when man took a chariot wheel, grabbed it by its axle, swung it around his head and threw it • Changed when they used a boulder connected to a wooden hurdle • Received its name when king henry8 threw a sludge-hammer • Created by a forged iron • No uniformed weight or length • Swung it over their head and threw it standing still • English created a uniform weight of 16 lbs and a length of 3 feet 6 inches • Had to be thrown within a 7 foot circle in diameter • Athletes would turn 1-2 circles before they threw it

11. Skittles • Also called nine pins • Players take turns throwing wooden balls • Goal was to hit wooden skittles to knock them over • Each player would take a turn • Each player got 5 turns • Most pins knocked down at the end was winner • Pins at front worth fewest points • Pins in back worth most points • Skittles set up in patterns • Turn ends when ball comes to a stop

12. Bowls • Played on smooth lawn • Rolled balls for points • Rolled grapefruit sized balls • Rolled towards a target that smaller then a tennis ball • Gain points on whoever gets closest to target • Can knock opponents balls away • Only wealthy people could play • Played on lawns, carpets, mats, etc. • Didn’t want poor people playing because of loss of archery time • Poor could only play on christmas

13. Works cited page • Connolly, Harold. “Hammer Throwing History.” http://hammerthrow.com/technique/articles/history.htm • Green, Wenyeva A. “Stoolball: a Medieval Baseball Game.” http://slumberland.org.sca/articles/stoolball.html. • Jewell, Brian. “Brief History of Wrestling in England.” http://www.the-exiles.org/article. • “Medieval Games of Bowling. “ http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia.bowls. • “Medieval Sports.” http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-life/medieval-archer.htm. • “Quarterstaff.” http://www.middle-ages.org.UK/quarterstaff.htm. • Reeves, Compton. “Game of the Month: Football.” http://www.heronter.org/library/gameofthemonth/football.html. • “Rule for Toptafel.” http://www.mastergames.com/rules/toptafel-rules.htm. • “Shinty.” http://www.scottishsport.co.uk/othersports/shinty.htm. • White, David A. “Medieval Tournaments and Jousting.” http://www.helium.com/items/626700-medievaltournaments-and-jousting?page=2

15. Time for the quiz

16. True or False Quiz Notes are optional • In stoolball, you are supposed to run counter-clockwise around the bases • There is no limit of players in gameball • Quarterstaffs always consisted of metal tips made of iron. • Jousters did not use bracers or gauntless. • You may use your feet but not your handsin shinty. • A trained archer had to shoot 12-15 arrows per minute. • There were many restrictions in medieval wrestling. • The hammer in the hammer throw had to land in 7 ft. circle in diameter. • You wanted to avoid hitting the wooden skittles for points while playing skittles. • You can play bowls on many different surfaces.

17. ANSWERS • False • True • False • False • True • True • False • True • False • true