Colf, not golf

The elemental appeal of golf stems from one of man's primal instincts: the urge to strike an object with a stick. Indeed, reasonable skill in club swinging surely was key to the survival of the caveman. It's not hard to envision homo erectus hefting a sturdy tree limb to swat at stones or bones or whatever came into his path. In this sense, the notion-or at least the motion-of golf is older than civilization itself. Fundamentally, golf was not invented but was born within us. Across the English Channel, the French had taken to a rather genteel courtyard game called jeu de mail. Originally developed in Italy, it was a curious blend of billiards, croquet, and miniature golf, played with long-handled mallets and large wooden balls within a well-defined area. The object was to hit the ball through one or more iron hoops, using the fewest possible strokes. 
 Jeu de mail caught on briefly in England where it became the rage of the ruling class under the name "pall mall." It was first played in London on the street with the same name, which now runs between Buckingham Palace and Piccadilly Circus. Back in 1629, King Charles I was an avid pall maller, and the court of St. James included an impressive one thousand-yard-long area for royal play.
 By the eighteenth century, however, this game had played out except in southern France, where a more expansive version saw the Basques hitting over hill and dale to targets such as the sides of barns and pasture gates. Shades of golf there, for sure.
Meanwhile, in Belgium they were hooked on chole, a game with a delightfully spiteful quality. It was played cross country, usually in teams, with the players wielding heavy iron clubs to propel an egg-shaped wooden ball distances of up to four hundred yards. A target —a church door, a tree, almost anything—was established, sometimes as much as a mile away, and then the two teams bid on the number of shots needed to hit it. The low-bidding team led off by taking three strokes toward the target. Then the opponents—known as decholeurs—were allowed one stroke to send the ball into the nastiest possible trouble. Thereafter, the offense resumed pursuit with three more strokes, followed by one more for the defense, and so on until the bid was either hit or missed.
But whether these games of the Renaissance era bore any resemblance to golf is of little consequence, because by that time golf itself was well entrenched along the eastern coast of Scotland.
Indeed, the best candidate for a true forefather of the Scottish game comes from the people across the North Sea, the Dutch, who back in the thirteenth century were playing a game that bears a more than passing similarity to golf. And the name of that game? Colf, spelled c-o-l-f.
As early as 1296 the Dutch had a colf course, and a formidable one at that. It stretched forty-five hundred yards for just four holes-except that they weren't holes, they were doors-to a kitchen, a windmill, a castle, and a courthouse. Four-door models such as this were undoubtedly typical, but no target was off limits to the colf-crazed Dutchmen, who pursued their balls through churchyards, cemeteries, and smack through the centers of their own towns, often wreaking havoc with the local citizenry. The winners usually collected a barrel of beer from the losing side, which means the original "Nineteenth Hole" actually was the fifth.
Ultimately, when the toll of personal injuries and broken glass became insupportable, the "colfers" were banished to the countryside during the warmer months, and, in winter, to the frozen lakes and rivers where they directed their shots toward poles in the ice.
Numerous richly detailed landscape paintings done by the Dutch Masters show us that colf remained popular in Holland for at least four hundred years. By the early 1700s, however, the game had mysteriously vanished.
Where did it go? In all probability, to Scotland. After all, it doesn't take a Ph.D. in linguistics to make a connection between the words "colf" and "golf." The implements used were very similar, the balls nearly identical. And, above all, there is the compelling evidence of geography.
By 1650, golf—spelled the way we spell it today—was well-rooted in the fabric of a dozen or so cities along Scotland's east coast. One look at the map shows that the coast was but a short sail from more than forty commercial centers of Holland. Trade between the two countries was brisk, dating back to medieval times, and evidence exists that the Scots exported wooden colf clubs to the Dutch (along with wool and other products), while the Dutch returned with rudimentary colf balls. And there are numerous paintings of the period showing Scotsmen in kilts playing a ball-and-stick game on the ice as the Dutch did.
But, no matter where the seeds of golf were sown, without question it was the Scots who gave the game its unique character, the Scots who combined the elements of distance off the tee and deftness into the green, and the Scots who ingrained the notion of each player advancing independently toward the hole, without interference from his opponents. (The Scots were largely Calvinists, who knew that the greatest sins, deserving the greatest punishment, always came from within. How perfectly applicable to golf.)
From the very beginning, this game was dangerously addictive. Indeed, the first written evidence of golf is a parliamentary decree banning it for reasons of national security. In 1457, King James II of Scotland declared "that futeball and golfe be utterly cryit doune and nocht usit." Back then, the Scots were at war with England and the principal weapons of combat were the bow and arrow. But it seems the Scottish lads had been neglecting their archery practice in favor of golf.
Similar edicts were issued in the subsequent reigns of James III and IV . . . and were largely ignored. But when James IV married the daughter of England's King Henry IV, the conflict with the English suddenly ended-and so did the conflict with golfers. In fact, James IV himself became the first of a long line of royals who took to the links. In the account books of his court it is noted that funds were spent for the purchase of golf clubs and balls, and there also is the settling of a golf bet which the king lost. Legend also holds that in 1567 Mary Queen of Scots was so smitten with the game that she teed up the day after her husband, Lord Darnley, was murdered; this was, in fact, one of the charges leveled against her that eventually cost her the crown, her head, and a chance to win the rubber match.
In 1604, the King of England appointed a royal clubmaker, and soon after that, a seven-hole course was laid out near London on the Black Heath by the River Thames. Nearly four hundred years later, Royal Blackheath still sits there, although it wasn't established as a club until 1766.
It was an informal, almost free-form activity back then, with no rules, few guidelines (although playing on the Sabbath was, for a time, illegal), and no tournaments or competitions except for casual matches among friends. All evidence suggests that the Scots played this disorganized brand of golf for at least three centuries.
Just as disorganized, certainly by modern standards, were the methods used to play the early game. Instead of one way to swing there were as many swings as there were villages with courses of their own. The townspeople tended to copy the technique of the local champion, who usually hit on a set-up and swing that allowed him to conquer the vagaries of his local weather.
The Scottish coast is constantly buffeted by sea breezes, so the most successful golfers learned to hit the ball on a low trajectory that kept it under the wind. To accomplish this, they learned to spread their feet far apart (as much as a yard), aim their bodies to the right of the target, position the ball well back in the stance, and bend their knees deeply. Then they whipped the club around their bodies (rather than up and down, as we do today) on a markedly horizontal plane that further encouraged low flight. The ball flew just a few feet off the ground, traveling only about 150 yards, and would then run a long way after hitting the hard turf of the windblown links.
As the game spread, more methods and champions developed. Word of great play traveled from town to town. And, inevitably, a desire arose to determine the best golfer in the land. It was at that point that the game as we know it began to take shape.

Stoolball

The game we know as baseball may be relatively modern, but it has medieval roots. Many bat-and-ball games were played throughout the Middle Ages at religious festivals and events. One game, stool ball (sometimes possibly stow ball, or stob ball, or stump ball) dates back at least to the 14th century, and many historians believe that it is the common ancestor of both baseball and cricket. It was also the first bat-and-ball-type game known to have been played in North America (at Plymouth in 1621 at Christmastime, no less, much to the chagrin of Governor Bradford). In this game, the pitcher tries to hit a stool or stump with the ball, while the batter tries to defend the target using bare hands or a bat.

Stool ball was known for being played by both women and men together, and there are indications that it was a sort of springtime ritual, played at Easter time. Some of the poetic mentions of the game imply an undertone of sexuality; "playing at stool ball" was used at least once as a euphemism.

Equipment is simple. You need a very soft ball. (Not softball or a baseball!) A soft ball can be walloped pretty hard, but no gloves or helmets are necessary for safe play. You can use a medieval pattern that will provide a ball of just about the perfect softness, though if you don't have time to make a ball, you will probably be able to find a ball at a toy store that will work. A Nerf ball might work.


Rules

1.Swing as much as you want! There are no "strikes" or "balls". The batter stays at bat until a hit is made or the pitcher hits the Home with the ball.
2.Any contact is a hit. There are no "fouls" or "foul tips". RUN!
3.On hitting the ball, the batter must run counterclockwise around the outside of the Base. The batter may not stop on the Base -- once you start running, you have to run around the Base and all the way back home. You must touch the Home stool when you get there, but you don't have to touch the Base.
4.Batter is out when:
a. The pitcher hits Home with the ball while the batter is at bat
b. Any fielder catches the hit ball in the air, without a bounce
c. Any fielder hits Home with the ball while the batter is running to Base and back to Home. But…
5.Fielders must be on the Base side of the Batter's Line when throwing the ball at the Home target. So if the batter hits the ball behind Home (what in baseball would be a foul), the batter runs, and the fielders can go get the ball… but they can't throw it at Home and put the batter out until they get back on the other (Base) side of the batter's line.
6.Every player on the team gets one at-bat per inning. Each team gets the same number of innings at bat, but other than that the game can go on until the teams mutually agree to quit.
7.All players must have fun!

Shinty

Shinty is unique to Scotland and one of the oldest games in the world. The game is similar to games such as hockey and lacrosse in some aspects and has historical roots with golf and ice hockey. As with lacrosse the game is a fast moving aerial game where physical fitness is tested to the limits. However, different from both hockey and lacrosse as in Shinty, feet can be used to stop the ball but not the hands (unless you are the goal-keeper). You can carry the ball on your caman which can be also being swung above shoulder height. The fundamental difference between hockey and shinty is that in the game of shinty there is no restriction on the swing of the caman. Players can strike the ball with both sides of the stick - like ice hockey. However, handling and reaching for the ball is not allowed. The caman was originally made of ash or hickory cut from a tree with a natural bend, but nowadays modern sticks are made from strips of wood glued together. The shortage of high quality wood in some areas of the country led to experimentation with various other materials such as aluminum but players have always reverted back to the natural product.

The Ball is a similar size to a tennis ball. The interior is cork and worsted, with an outer cover of leather or a similar approved material. Originally blocks of wood or pieces of cork were used instead of the modern ball until the rules were formally accepted about 100 years ago and the cork ball became the standard.

Shinty is still a truly amateur sport, although the level of skill and athletic ability demands great things of the players. Some players travel huge distances to play and represent the club in competitions. The best teams and players play in the national premier league and there are different grades of the game from school teams to international games.

A Knights Shield

A knight's shield is not a game; however, a knight does need his shield in order to play his game. I found this rather interesting about the development of a knights shield.

The Medieval Shields designs will be diversified about the middle of the 12th Century, when the triangular shield was introduced. The new form was obtained by reducing the arched top of the kite to an almost straight line. This variety of Medieval Shields was also bowed or flat. And, though the earliest examples were as tall as the kite-shields of the 11th Century, the triangular target soon became much reduced in its height.
The round shield is of more rare appearance. It appears that it was in frequent use among the foot troops.
The kite and triangular shields were provided with straps for attachment to the arm and for suspension round the neck.
Once we enter the 13th Century, the ordinary Medieval Shields designs were based on the triangular shield. Notably, the dimensions of the triangular shield of this century are decreasing as the century advanced. It was also bowed or flat.
Other formats of the period were the kite-shaped, the heart-shaped, the round, and the quadrangular. The boss is still retained in some of the shields of this century. The materials of the shields were "wood, leather, and painting".


The 14th Century is maybe the century of the most sophisticated Medieval Shields designs. The shields of this century offer diversity of form, material and ornament. The principal forms are the triangular, the kite-shaped, heart-shaped, the circular, and the notched. The triangular shield can be flat or bowed. The usual materials were wood, steel, and leather, the latter frequently embossed, and exhibiting the heralding bearings of the knight.
The kite-shield is of rare occurrence, as well as the heart-shaped one. The curved shield appears in the second half of the century, sometimes notched, sometimes plain. The round shield is of two kinds: that born on the arm, and that held at arm’s length. The enarmes, or straps by which the shield was attached to the arm, were placed either horizontally or vertically. The shield was suspended round the neck by a strap.

Quarter Staff

The quarterstaff was closely identified with sport and civilian self-defense, as a weapon of expedience used by travelers or in formal duels. By the early 1700s the weapon was commonly employed in public prizefights, with the winner receiving both gate-money and the proceeds of wagering. The famed English stage gladiator James Figg promoted the art, along with backswording and pugilism, in bouts at Southwark Fair, and after his retirement from the stage in 1735 he taught it to young aristocrats at his own School of Arms in London's Oxford Street.

There do not appear to be any records of recreational quarterstaff-play between 1748 and 1870, probably because during this period armed prize fighting was virtually replaced by the new sport of boxing. Quarter staffing was militarily obsolete and does not appear to have been a popular rural pastime, so it is possible that the art effectively became extinct.

The traditional English staff was a sturdy weapon of oak or similar hardwood, difficult to maneuver with any regard for a sparring partner's safety. It's important to remember that Figg and his contemporaries were professional fighters, willing to risk injury in un-armored, full-contact bouts with weapons (although it was suspected at the time that some professionals fixed their fights, in the manner of modern pro-wrestlers.) The danger of fencing with oak staves may have dissuaded amateurs from taking up the art recreationally, in contrast to the gladiators who fought to earn their living.
Bamboo was introduced into England around 1827. Bamboo poles were light enough that players could strike to the body at full speed and risk only a welt or bruise, and a slender eight-foot length was flexible enough to absorb impact without splitting. British cavalrymen employed bamboo training weapons in lance maneuvers, following the example of Indian soldiers they encountered during the "Raj" period, beginning in 1858, and bamboo quarter staves are recommended in all of the surviving Victorian-era manuals.

As Britain entered the Industrial Age, there arose a relatively affluent urban middle-class with time to pursue sports and other diversions. Supply meets demand, and the first sporting equipment companies were established, leading to a rapid evolution in sporting equipment design and manufacture.
Even armed with lightweight bamboo weapons, the knees and shins, groin, hands, temples, throat, and eyes were still vulnerable to serious, even if accidental, injury. By 1870, however, amateur quarterstaff fencers could choose from a diverse range of protective equipment designed for other sports.

Tragically, many young English athletes gave up their lives in the trenches of the First World War, and the generation that might otherwise have perpetuated the new sport of quarterstaff fencing was all but lost. Many other Victorian-era combat arts and sports were similarly afflicted, some experiencing a brief revival in the 1920s (such as quarter staffing as practiced by the Boy Scouts) before finally succumbing during the Great Depression and then World War Two. Similarly, the homogenizing effect of the international Olympic movement caused many obscure sports to fade from memory through lack of publicity and funding. It is only in comparatively recent years that these activities have been researched and, in some cases, brought tentatively back to life.

Skittles

Skittles or Nine Pins has long been played in the Inns of England. In general, players take turns to throw wooden balls down a lane at the end of which are several wooden skittles in an attempt to knock them all over. There are a number of skittle games across England and there have been many more in the past. In Germany, in the 3rd or 4th century monks played a game with a kegel, which was a club, carried for self-defense. In the game, the kegel represented a sin or temptation and the monks would throw stones at it until they knocked it over.
There are two 14th century manuscripts which show a game called club Kayles and which depict a skittles game in which one skittle is bigger, differently shaped, and in most cases positioned so as to be the most difficult to knock over. The throwers, in the pictures, are about to launch a long club-like object at the skittles underarm. The large skittle is presumably a king pin as featured in some of the modern versions of skittles. The fact that the thrower is not using a ball is not at all unusual - the Skittles cousins, Aunt Sally, and various games played on a court in Northern Europe still uses a baton shaped stick to chuck at the doll and many modern skittles games throw a object called a "cheese" instead of a ball. A cheese is any "lump" which is used to throw at the skittles and shapes can vary from barrel shaped to cheese shaped. There is no doubt that Skittles has been one of the most popular sports in England since at least medieval times. Many old pictures and books mention it. A study of old pictures of the Thames Frost fairs shows that Nine Pins was consistently one of the entertainments.

Medieval Games of Chance

The Medieval Games of chance were always popular, although they were forbidden both by ecclesiastical and royal authority. New laws were continually being enacted against them, especially against those in which dice were used, though with little avail. It appears more likely that dice were first forbidden by the Church, and then by civil authorities, on account of the fearful oaths uttered by those players who had a run of bad luck. It was very common for people to ruin themselves at this game, and, as a proof, the poems of troubadours are full of imprecations against the fatal chance of dice.

The games of cards like Triomphe, Piquet, Trente-et-un were much in fashion in France, and as much forbidden as dice. However, they were played in taverns and even at the court. Loaded dice and false cards were not uncommon, as many were cheating for a living.

On the opposite side were the games requiring skill and calculation. Generally known as Tables, they comprised all the games played on a board, particularly chess, draughts, and backgammon.

In France, it was Charles V who first thought of giving a more serious and useful character to the Medieval Games, and who, in a celebrated edict forbidding the games of chance, encouraged the establishment of companies of archers and bowmen. These companies, to which was subsequently added that of arquebusiers, still exists, especially in the French Northern provinces.