A Cultural History of Sport in the Age of Enlightenment by Rebekka von Mallinckrodt

Author:Rebekka von Mallinckrodt [Mallinckrodt, Rebekka von]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9781350283053
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2021-10-06T00:00:00+00:00

TOWARDS A REGULATION OF RECREATIONAL CONFLICT

Much has been written about the decline of violent exercise games, which was undeniable in the second modernity, in favor of parlor games and moderate physical activities accessible to women, such as pall-mall, billiards, battledore, promenades, and dancing. From the 1770s, these pastimes were supplemented by gymnastics prescribed by pre-hygienist doctors and pedagogues, especially those working in Switzerland and France—Théodore Tronchin was the first, followed by Samuel Auguste Tissot and his younger cousin Clément-Joseph Tissot, Jean-Charles Desessartz, Jean-André Venel, and Jean Verdier—as well as by philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, whose teachings spread all over Europe during the Age of Enlightenment. The publication of rule books such as Les Loix du Paille Maille in 1655 and Nouvelles règles pour le jeu de mail in 1722 accelerated in Italy, France, and Germany (Turcot 2016: 364; Lauthier 1722). Besides technical information specific to the game they presented, all of the books set out the rules of sporting etiquette to be followed, which echoed the lessons contained in the great treatises on civility by Antoine de Courtin and Jean-Baptiste de la Salle (Courtin 1671; Salle 1702); they celebrated the charms and nobility of the games, emphasizing their ancient foundations and therapeutic virtues (Turcot 2016: 364–5). The civil and religious authorities played an active role in this lengthy process of quelling and regulating traditional recreational sports. Fearing the accidents and unrest that could occur during these activities, the civil authorities also perceived them as a form of resistance to the affirmation of their power; on the other hand, the religious authorities who were wary of the vestiges of paganism conveyed by the ancient games saw in them the work of the devil. Some games and ways of playing were accused of disturbing the moral order commanded by God and the social order desired by the monarch. In France, from 1397, municipal ordinances issued by the police sought to restrict the time allotted to recreation on working days, for fear that craftsmen, laborers, winemakers, and tradesmen would set aside their work to distract themselves with jeu de paume, boules, skittles, cards, or dice (Delamare 1722: 456). From 1560 onwards, royal law regularly instructed the landlords of cabarets, taverns, and other drinking establishments to close their doors during mass and vespers, on Sundays and on holy days (Ordonnance [1560] 1611: 1024). Gradually, the games of goose pulling, wooden rods, boules, skittles, and kite-flying, which enthused young city dwellers in the modern era, were banned “from the streets and public squares” because they inconvenienced passers-by and shop owners, who often fell victim to a missed shot, a shove, or a quarrel between players (Fréminville 1758: 293). Although these exercise games were lawful by definition—unlike gambling and games of chance—the authorities sought to confine them to the private sphere as they disturbed the public peace. The civil and religious authorities took it upon themselves to promote a new model of masculine behavior, in which excesses of all kinds were eliminated. To distract young, single men

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