Medieval football

Medieval football is a name for many informal football games played in Europe during the Middle Ages. These games, also called folk football, mob football, or Shrovetide football, were the ancestors of modern codes of football. Compared to today’s football, these old games were very chaotic and had few rules.

These games became popular in England, especially around Shrovetide, the time before Lent. They might have started with the Romans, who played ball games like harpastum, but we do not have much proof. One old story from the ninth century tells of boys playing with a ball in Southern England or Wales. By the 12th century, a game called La Soule or Choule was played in northern France, where players used their hands, feet, and sticks to move a ball.

These old football games were played in towns and villages with many players on each side. They would all crowd together, trying to move an inflated pig's bladder to markers at each end of the town. The games had few rules, as long as they did not lead to trouble. These games decreased in the 19th century when a law called the Highway Act 1835 stopped people from playing football on public roads. Even so, some of these games still exist today in places like Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands, Workington in Cumbria, Ashbourne in Derbyshire, and Atherstone, Warwickshire.

History

The earliest records of ball games in Europe are from the 700s. An English historian named Bede wrote about children playing with balls. By the 800s, there were records of boys playing ball games in Wales.

In the 1100s, there are stories of ball games in England during festivals. One story from about 1174 to 1183 tells how young people in London played ball games during Shrove Tuesday. In the 1200s, there are mentions of kicking in ball games in England.

By the 1300s, ball games were played by university students, and there were tries to stop these games. In the 1400s, talks about football happen more often, with ideas of games involving kicking. In the 1500s, there are more details about football games, with rules and how they were played. Football kept changing over the years, with different rules and traditions in many places.

Surviving medieval ball games

England

• Alnwick in Northumberland has the Scoring the Hales game, where the Duke of Northumberland drops a ball from Alnwick Castle to start the fun.
• Ashbourne in Derbyshire plays Royal Shrovetide Football.
• Atherstone Ball Game in Warwickshire is played every year on Shrove Tuesday along an old Roman road. This game has been going on for over 800 years, since the time of King John.
• Corfe Castle in Dorset holds The Shrove Tuesday Football Ceremony of the Purbeck Marblers.
• In Haxey, Lincolnshire, there's the Haxey Hood played on Epiphany. It uses a special leather tube instead of a ball, and players try to get it to one of four village pubs.
• Hurling the Silver Ball happens at St Columb Major in Cornwall, with matches between the town and the country on Shrove Tuesday. A gentler version for children is played at St Ives on Feast Monday in February.
• Bottle-kicking in Hallaton, Leicestershire, is played on Easter Monday and has similarities to old ball games.
• The Sedgefield Ball Game takes place in County Durham on Shrove Tuesday.
• Workington in Cumbria has three Uppies and Downies matches around Easter. Teams try to throw the ball to different goals over a mile apart.

Scotland

In Scotland, the Ba' game ("Ball Game") is played in several places:

• Duns, Berwickshire
• Hobkirk, Scottish borders. Handba' is played the Monday before or after Shrove Tuesday.
• Jedburgh, Roxburghshire
• Scone, Perthshire
• Kirkwall, Orkney

Europe

• La Soule in Normandy and Brittany, France.
• Lelo burti, a Georgian game similar to rugby.
• Knattleikr, an Icelandic revival of an ancient Viking game
• Calcio Fiorentino – a modern revival of Renaissance football from 16th-century Florence, played in Italy

Outside Europe

• Cuju, China
• Kemari, Japan.
• Kī-o-rahi, a Māori game.
• Marn grook, an Australian Aboriginal ball game.
• Yubi lakpi, Manipur, India.
• Mesoamerican ballgame, an ancient, Pre-Columbian American game.

Extinct medieval ball games

In the United Kingdom, many towns had fun ball games during the Middle Ages. For example, Chester-le-Street in County Durham had a game played between two groups until 1932. Derby had big gatherings where people from different parts of town played football, but the game was stopped in 1846.

Dorking in Surrey had a game where people tried to keep the ball in their area. In East Anglia, Camp ball was a popular sport in the 15th century. Other places like Kingston upon Thames, Twickenham, Bushey, and Hampton Wick had traditions of kicking a ball around.

In Wales, a game called Cnapan was once popular in places like Llanwenog and Pembrokeshire. Ireland had a game known as Caid. These games were enjoyed by many people long ago.

Pre-medieval games

Carved stone balls have been found in Scotland, northern England, and north eastern Ireland. These balls often had spirals and rings carved on them. Places like Maughanby Circle and Newgrange were built to track the sun, especially around the winter solstice. We don’t know for sure, but these stone balls may have been important to the people who made them. They might have been used in ceremonies or festivals.

Later, in Ancient Greece, a game called Episkyros was played. In Ancient Rome, there was a game known as Follis, and in the Roman Empire, a game called Harpastum existed. These games might be connected to the ball games played in festivals long ago.