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Example research essay topic: Hand To Hand Middle Ages - 2,044 words

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Why Didn t They Just Play Nice? Sports in the Middle Ages were similar to the athletic competitions that are held today, with one major difference. These sports almost completely lacked any regard for the physical health or well-being of the competitors, whether they be the opposing team members or the animals set against each other in mortal combat. Examples of this stunning savagery are apparent in all forms of physical competition, from the bear-baiting and cock fighting to the astoundingly vicious game of football which sometimes pitted entire villages against one another. These graphic descriptions of the blood-thirsty athletic entertainment represent a stunning contrast from the athletic competitions which take place today. In modern sports, human life is held in the highest regard with new rules being added frequently in an attempt to further preserve the physical well-being of the competitors.

When one looks at these looks at these drastically different views on athletic competition, it is evident that somewhere along the line a change in the attitude of competitors took place. This attitude change was most likely a direct result of the change in the way that national conflicts were solved. As time progressed, the emphasis on hand to hand fighting diminished and so did the amount of violence in sports. This direct relationship proves that increased emphasis on the preservation of physical health, from sports in the Middle Ages as compared to modern sports, was a result of the decreased importance of hand to hand fighting and warfare. Common people in the Middle Ages did not have many of the modern conveniences that we have today, resulting in very little free time in which to entertain themselves.

Most of the time they spent dawn to dusk working in the fields simply trying to put food on the table. During the regular week their only free time was on Sundays after they had dutifully attended church. Most of the rest of their free time constituted of holidays such as Saint s Day, Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide (Edwards 40). On the other hand, while managing their large estates took a degree of hard work, the wealthy generally had much more free time during which to enjoy themselves. Certain sports such as tennis and hunting with hounds were almost exclusively reserved for the rich as they required expensive equipment to play. One of the best examples of how the importance of warfare influenced athletic competition is evident in the sport of archery.

Archery was a very popular sport during the Elizabethan time period and nearly every Englishman, from the lowliest commoner to the Queen herself, took part in this pastime. In fact, the English nation was required by law to practice archery and, although this rule was not commonly enforced, could be placed in jail if they did not spend enough time training (Singman 155). The large emphasis on archery quite obviously stemmed from the huge advantage that it gave the English when every citizen in the entire nation could be counted on to use the bow with better than average marksmanship during a war. Archery even stayed popular after the invention of the gun, mostly because the early gun models were inaccurate and took much longer to reload and fire. Today archery is still a popular sport.

Although decidedly less popular than it once was, archery is used exclusively for entertainment rather than warfare. This change is a result of the lack of importance put on archery by the government because archery is no longer useful for warfare. This goes to show how the method of fighting at the time dictated which sports and how they were played at the time. A second sport which was directly related to war and was also a common pass-time was the sport of fencing. Fencing originated in Italy (Singman 154) where they used thin blades called rapiers and attempted to thrust the sharp point into the opponent. While the Italian method was used commonly in England, many of the traditionalists used heavier English swords meant for slashing the opponent rather then poking him (Singman 154).

Other variations of the sport of fencing included using bucklers or small round shields, Targets or larger shields, one dagger and one rapier, or a rapier in each hand. Some of these duels used wooden or dulled swords, but others used the real thing and many participants were wounded or killed during these competitions. Fencing was not only useful in war where most of the fighting took place hand to hand, but was also applicable to daily life where fights often broke out in the streets during broad daylight and being able to defend yourself was necessary for survival. Although the sport of fencing is still an Olympic sport, it s widespread popularity among ordinary citizens has diminished. Today the sport of fencing has all but died out with little practical use, because modern conflicts usually involve guns and missiles against which a sword would be of little use. The influence of violence on this athletic competitions is evident when the declining popularity is compared to the declining application to war.

Another war related pastime that was a popular spectator sport as well as athletic event was jousting. In jousting two men on horses ride towards one another armed with lances and attempt to knock each other off their mounts. Huge tournaments with many knights took place, not only for the entertainment of the observers, but also for the practice of the knights who would use similar hand to hand techniques in the frequent wars that took place during this time (Encyclopedia Britannica). During these tournaments many knights were horribly injured or even killed when a lance was driven through their armor or they landed wrong after being knocked off their horse.

Now that the technology used in war has increased by such large measures this sport has become extinct. It is much too dangerous by today s standards and not of any practical use at all. A very violent game that originated in the country of England in the Elizabethan era was termed football. One observer of the game put it like this, For as concerning football playing, I protest unto you it may rather be called a friendly kind of fight, than a play or recreation; a bloody and murdering practice, than a fellow sport or pastime. (Wilson 38, Singman 156) In football the players would attempt to move the ball with their feet and scored points by having it cross the opposing team s goal line.

The only equipment needed for this game was an inflated ball constructed of a farm animal s bladder, and covered in a leather case. There were almost no rules in this game. Inflicting pain on the opposing team members by tripping, elbowing, and punching was quite common. Most of the competitors were male sometimes entire villages were pitted against one another (Singman 158). In these huge competitions the goal lines were sometimes miles apart. This was an especially dangerous sport with one observer putting it such, Sometimes their necks are broken, sometimes their backs, sometimes their legs, sometimes their arms, sometime one part thrust out of joint, and sometimes another.

Sometimes their noses gush out with blood, sometime their eyes start out, and sometimes hurt in one place, sometimes in another. (Wilson 38) Other forms of the game were considerable more violent. In England, this new version of football was called camp-ball. In Cornwall it was called hurling, and in whales it was termed chapman. In these alternative forms of the game a person could use any method needed, even horses, in an attempt to move the ball across the opponent s goal-line. The injuries were even more frequent and devastating in this variation of the original game of football.

The violent Elizabethan game of football was most likely the root of the modern game of soccer, although one could hardly tell by the lack of rules. The transformation from this veritable blood bath to the relatively tame sport of modern soccer was mostly likely caused by the change in our society s view of human life. As society became more civilized, human life was valued to a greater extent and a loss of life through a game was less likely to be simply accepted. Another cause of this increased value on human life can be traced back once again to the difference in the forms of fighting that took place in the Middle Ages. One of the less demanding outdoor games that was played during this time was the game of bowls. This game was played by casting balls at a target and seeing who could get the ball closest.

This relatively simple game was one of the most popular at the time and was a favorite of gamblers who would bet money on the results. In fact the game of bowls became so popular that there were public bowling alleys developed with very sophisticated courses and different shaped balls used to increase both the difficulty and in turn the enjoyment of the contest. A slightly more dangerous form of the game of bowls was called quoits and was played using a metal stake driven into the ground as the target. The players tossed stones or metal disks at the stake in an attempt to get them to land as close to the target as possible. Many people were hit by the balls when the competition became too heated (Singman 157). Quoits is proof that the people of the Middle Ages could take even the most tame of sports and turn it into a physically dangerous affair.

The frequent injuries and need for an element of danger can possibly linked to the common yet brutal method of hand to hand fighting which often caused a broken limb or permanent loss of a body part. The sport of cock fighting, while not an athletic competition, is another good illustration of the Elizabethans love for violence. The spectacle of two roosters with metal spikes on their ankles attempting to gore each other apparently thrilled the spectators to no end, illustrated by the sport s popularity. This following gruesome testimony by one onlooker describes the spectacle, The old cock, taking advantage of his [the young cock] large jollies hanging so low, took hold thereof, for raising himself to wound the young cock at every blow But after the sores of his jollies cut were healed, the young cock coming abroad again, the old cock presently upon him last the young cock finding his old hold of the young cock s jollies taken from human to run away as fast from the young cock. (Wilson 40) Even though cock fighting is a competition between two animals instead of humans, it is another example of how people during this time period enjoyed watching violent combative sporting events. It illustrates that the lack of regard for the sanctity of life went so far as the include the animals as well as people. One possible reason for the lack of sentimental feeling about the fate of the roosters is that the average spectator had seen much worse while fighting in the battle fields and to him or her this sport seemed rather tame.

The sport of cock fighting was later banned in America because the majority of the population saw it as vicious and cruel. A direct connection can be drawn from this ban to the invention of the gun and therefor the extinction of hand to hand combat. The sports and pastimes that many of the commoners and the wealthy enjoyed throughout the Middle Ages seem cruel and dangerous compared to today s standards. As society became more civilized and less violent, people began to regard human life as more precious and human safety as more important. Athletic contests began to reflect this change. Rather than a hand to and fight the death, sporting events became entertaining competition with enforced rules for the safety of the competitor.

Today athletes are revered and looked up to as role models by millions of children around the world. So the athletic world has made a full circle from dangerous and unruly to integral part of the culture of our world.


Free research essays on topics related to: popular sport, hand to hand, opposing team, human life, middle ages

Research essay sample on Hand To Hand Middle Ages

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