Daily Life in Elizabethan England (40 page)

Most Elizabethan games were less rules oriented and standardized than is true today. Rules were often minimal and might vary from one locality to the next. This was especially true of children’s games and folk games, less true of table games and games of the upper classes, which were more elaborate and formalized.

Violence was much more a part of Elizabethan pastimes than is true today: not only were martial sports highly popular, but games like football were much rougher than their modern counterparts, and a degree of violence was present even in parlor games like Hot Cockles. In general, Elizabethans—or Elizabethan men at least—were much more willing to run the risk of personal injury in play than is commonly true today, and society as a whole was more willing to countenance real violence as a form of entertainment.

Closely related to the penchant for personal risk was the prevalence of gambling, which pervaded Elizabethan culture. A wager might be laid on almost any game, and in many cases, betting was an integral part of the game itself. People developed a taste for gambling in childhood, playing for lacing-points, pins, cherry stones, or various sorts of counters. Even the government got in on the act, organizing several national lotteries as a means of raising funds.

The disorder, violence and gambling involved in many plebeian pastimes contributed to a swelling tide of disapproval in official circles. Disapproval was exacerbated by practical factors: for most people, free time was largely confined to Sundays and holy days, and the chief space available for public festivities was the parish church. Puritan-minded commenta-tors railed against ungodly conduct on the Sabbath or on church grounds, while secular authorities were concerned about the impact of boister-ous plebeian pastimes in a society that seemed increasingly turbulent and unpredictable. Feelings among the governing classes were mixed—

Elizabeth herself saw traditional entertainments as a means of fostering national unity and identity—but bit by bit, church and secular authorities were starting to curtail activities that seemed irreligious or riotous.

The results were mixed. Bishops and town authorities in many regions succeeded in withdrawing official support from traditional festivities, leading to a precipitous decline in activities like summer wakes and ales.

On the other hand, direct actions against popular pastimes, such as a series of laws passed in the 1580s to prohibit football, dicing, cards, and blood sports on Sundays, were intermittent and minimally effective.

The overall outcome was a shift in plebeian culture away from the public sector toward the private. Robin Hood folk-plays had been an integral part of parish festivals and were tied to their fate, and so they had become

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rare by 1600, but morris dancing survived, since it was privately supported by gathering money from spectators. Public May games declined, while private Christmas celebrations endured. Traditional entertainments still held their ground in the more remote parts of the country, but in London folk culture was rapidly being displaced by commercial entertainments like theater and penny-broadsides, pointing the way toward the popular culture of the modern world.

RULES FOR ELIZABETHAN GAMES

Almost no rules for games survive from the late 16th century, but there are quite a few from the late 17th century. As games tend to be conservative, these rules are probably quite close to their Elizabethan forms; most of the rules given below are interpretations of such sources.7

Physical Games

Barley Break

Barley Break is played by three mixed-sex couples, AB and EF at the ends of the field, and CD in the middle, called
Hell.
All three couples hold one another by the hands. To initiate play, AB shout “Barley!” and EF

respond “Break!” All three couples drop hands. AB and EF break, B and F running to meet each other, and A and E likewise. C and D try to catch any one of them.

If C and D can catch anyone before that person meets his or her new partner, those two must go in the middle next time. If both new pairs meet each other before any of them is caught, C and D remain in Hell. Both C

and D must catch their target before the new partner reaches them, or it does not count. The new pairs go to the ends of the field for the next round.

Another variation is to have just one person from each end run toward the opposite side, with the middle couple trying to catch that person before he or she reaches the players on the far side. This variation can be played with more than six people, with the one who just ran going to the end of the line at the far side.

The starting positions for Barley Break.

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Pattern for the ball covering. [Forgeng]

Stoolball

Equipment

—1 leather ball (see instructions below)

—1 stools or similar target

Stoolball is another running game in which both men and women participated. It may have been played in several versions; the version here is based on the earliest known description of the game.

The first step is to make a ball. Cut four pieces of leather (designated I, II, III, and IV) in the shape shown.

Right sides together, stitch abc on I to adc on II; do likewise with III and IV. You will now have two roughly hemispherical pieces. Right sides together, stitch III to I/II, with the two hemispheres at 90 degrees to each other (so that the point a on III matches with d on I, d on III matches with a on I and II, c on III matches with b on II). You will now have a single sphere, with one seam still open. Turn the sphere right side out.

Grab a bundle of fabric scraps (preferably wool, since it is springy). When squeezed, they should be about the size to stuff the sphere. Too many is better than too few.

Tie a piece of twine tightly around the scraps, and pass it around a few times in various directions, pulling tightly (you may want to wear gloves).

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Arrangement of teams for

Stoolball.

Check the fit. If the bundle is too big, pull a few pieces out, wrap tightly a few more times and try again. If it is significantly too small, you will have to untie the twine, add some more pieces, and try again. Once the fit is reasonably close, wrap the twine tightly many times about the fabric so that most of the surface is covered. Squeeze the stuffing into the cover, and stitch it shut. A well-made ball will actually bounce on a hard surface (this is essentially what tennis balls were like in the days before rubber).

To set up the game, a stool is laid on its side with the seat facing the playing field (any target of comparable size will do one alternative is a pair of stones marking the left and right boundaries). Ideally, the ground should slope slightly downward from the stool: the team standing at the stool is therefore up, and the other is down.

Toss a coin to determine which side is up first. That team stands at the stool, the other is down in the field.

The first player stands at the stool and
posts
the ball to the opposing team—tossing it up and hitting it like a volleyball.

If no one on the down team can catch the ball, they pick it up and throw it at the stool. If they hit the stool, the player who first posted the ball is out, and the next one comes up. If they miss, the player scores 2 points for the team and posts again.

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If the down team catch the initial posted ball, they post it back to the up team, who try to catch it. If no one can catch it, the player who first posted is out. If they catch it, they post it back again.

From here on, the teams post back and forth. If the down team is the first to miss the ball, they must throw at the stool, either hitting and making the initial player out, or missing, and that player scores 1 point and posts again. If the up team are the first to miss the ball, the player is out.

The up team continues until all players have posted, and the two teams change places. The first team to score 31 points is the winner.

Bowls/Quoits

Equipment

—2 hardwood balls for each player, about 3½” in diameter (each pair of balls should be color coded to distinguish them from other pairs)

—1
Mistress
(a stake that can be set upright in the ground) or 1
Jack
(a ball smaller than the others, preferably of a bright contrasting color) A point is designated as the casting spot and is indicated with some sort of mark, such as a piece of wood or metal called a
trig.
If using a Mistress, it is set up on the ground some distance away—the distance will depend on the players. Two Mistresses can be set up, each serving as the other’s casting spot; this will save walking back and forth. If using a Jack, the first player casts it out onto the ground. Each player in turn casts one ball, trying to get it as close to the Jack or Mistress as possible; then each in turn casts the second ball. The player whose ball is closest at the end scores 1 point, 2 points for the two closest balls. A ball touching the target counts double. Balls can be knocked about by other balls, and the Jack can be repositioned in this way. The first player to reach a certain number of points (generally 5 or 7) wins the game.

Quoits is played in the same manner, save that the bowls are replaced by quoits, large flat stones or pieces of metal. The Mistress in quoits is an iron stake or
hob
driven into the ground; the Jack is a smaller quoit.

Board and Dice Games

Fox and Geese

Equipment

—1 game board. This could be as small as 4” square or as big as you like. It can be made by carving a board, by drawing, painting, and so on.

—15
Geese.
These are small counters: they can be pegs (in which case the board needs to have holes at all the intersections), stones, or other small items.

—1
Fox.
This is a counter visibly larger than the Geese.