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Recreation in the Renaissance

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<strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

Attitudes towards Leisure and Pastimes <strong>in</strong><br />

European Culture, c. 1425–1675<br />

Alessandro Arcangeli


<strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong>


Also by Alessandro Arcangeli<br />

DAVIDE O SALOMÈ Il dibattito europeo sulla danza nella prima età moderna


<strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

Attitudes towards Leisure and Pastimes <strong>in</strong><br />

European Culture, c. 1425–1675<br />

Alessandro Arcangeli<br />

Lecturer <strong>in</strong> Early Modern History<br />

Department of History, Arts and Geography<br />

University of Verona


© Alessandro Arcangeli 2003<br />

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this<br />

publication may be made without written permission.<br />

No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or<br />

transmitted save with written permission or <strong>in</strong> accordance with <strong>the</strong><br />

provisions of <strong>the</strong> Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under <strong>the</strong><br />

terms of any licence permitt<strong>in</strong>g limited copy<strong>in</strong>g issued by <strong>the</strong> Copyright<br />

Licens<strong>in</strong>g Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP.<br />

Any person who does any unauthorised act <strong>in</strong> relation to this publication<br />

may be liable to crim<strong>in</strong>al prosecution and civil claims for damages.<br />

The author has asserted his right to be identified as <strong>the</strong> author of this<br />

work <strong>in</strong> accordance with <strong>the</strong> Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.<br />

First published 2003 by<br />

PALGRAVE MACMILLAN<br />

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A catalogue record for this book is available from <strong>the</strong> British Library.<br />

Library of Congress Catalog<strong>in</strong>g-<strong>in</strong>-Publication Data<br />

Arcangeli, Alessandro.<br />

<strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> : attitudes towards leisure and<br />

pastimes <strong>in</strong> European culture c. 1425–1675 / Alessandro Arcangeli<br />

p. cm. – (Early modern history)<br />

Includes bibliographical references and <strong>in</strong>dex.<br />

ISBN 0–333–98453–6 (cloth)<br />

1. Leisure – Europe – History. 2. <strong>Recreation</strong> – Europe – History.<br />

3. <strong>Renaissance</strong>. I. Title. II. Early modern history (Palgrave Macmillan<br />

(Firm))<br />

GV73.A73 2003<br />

791¢.094–dc21<br />

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12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03<br />

Pr<strong>in</strong>ted and bound <strong>in</strong> Great Brita<strong>in</strong> by<br />

Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham and Eastbourne<br />

2003054870


Contents<br />

List of Figures<br />

Preface<br />

vii<br />

viii<br />

1 Introduction 1<br />

Games and leisure between history and social <strong>the</strong>ory 4<br />

2 The Need for <strong>Recreation</strong> 10<br />

Paradise lost 10<br />

A sa<strong>in</strong>t, an archer and his bow (story of an exemplum) 12<br />

A right to be idle 14<br />

3 The Medical Discourse 18<br />

Motion and rest 18<br />

Ancient and modern forms of exercise 23<br />

‘The manner of govern<strong>in</strong>g health’ 32<br />

Amor et alea 36<br />

4 The Moral Discourse 46<br />

Reason versus Joy 47<br />

A virtue to remember 48<br />

A view from Paris 52<br />

Games without a chance 55<br />

The ethics of <strong>the</strong> audience 61<br />

Juego(s) 65<br />

A time for play 68<br />

5 Games and Law 73<br />

Ius commune 74<br />

De ludo 76<br />

Panem et circenses 81<br />

The regulation of extravagance 85<br />

6 Varieties of Pastimes 89<br />

Leisure and social hierarchy 89<br />

Plaisirs des dames 93<br />

Children’s games 100<br />

Medieval and <strong>Renaissance</strong> taxonomies 108<br />

v


vi<br />

Contents<br />

7 Conclusion 116<br />

Appendix: <strong>the</strong> European Vocabulary of <strong>Recreation</strong> 128<br />

Notes 133<br />

Bibliography 157<br />

Index 173


List of Figures<br />

3.1 ‘Cantus’, from Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbiblio<strong>the</strong>k,<br />

MS series nova 2396, fol. 34. Photo: Bildarchiv, ÖNB Wien 24<br />

3.2 ‘Oscellae vel petaurum’, from H. Mercurialis, De arte<br />

gymnastica libri sex, 4th edn (Venice, 1601), p. 164 26<br />

3.3 ‘Scho<strong>in</strong>obates, funaboli’, from Mercurialis, De arte<br />

gymnastica, p. 148 27<br />

3.4 Engraved frontispiece of P. Justus, De alea libri duo<br />

(Amsterdam: L. Elzevirium, 1642). Cambridge University<br />

Library, Kkk.230. By permission of <strong>the</strong> Syndics of<br />

Cambridge University Library 44<br />

4.1 Frontispiece of Bernard<strong>in</strong>o da Siena, La petite dyablerie dont<br />

Lucifer est le chef et les membres sont tous les ioueurs <strong>in</strong>iques<br />

et pecheurs reprouves, <strong>in</strong>titule Leglise des mauvais (Paris:<br />

<strong>the</strong> widow of J. Trepperel and J. Jeannot, 1520). London,<br />

British Library, C.53.h.9.1. By permission of <strong>the</strong> British<br />

Library 57<br />

6.1 La tenture de la Vie Seigneuriale: La Promenade. Tapestry,<br />

early sixteenth-century. Paris, Musée du Moyen-Age –<br />

Cluny. Photo: RMN–Franck Raux 99<br />

6.2 Pieter Bruegel <strong>the</strong> Elder, Children’s Games. Oil on<br />

panel, 118 ¥ 161cm., 1560. Vienna, Kunsthistorisches<br />

Museum 102–3<br />

6.3 ‘Le Brelan’, from J. Stella, Les jeux et plaisirs de l’enfance,<br />

engraved by C. Bouzonnet-Stella (Paris: Stella, 1667;<br />

repr. Geneva and Paris: Slatk<strong>in</strong>e, 1981), fol. 31 105<br />

vii


Preface<br />

This work spr<strong>in</strong>gs from a previous book of m<strong>in</strong>e, which was concerned<br />

with cultural attitudes towards dance <strong>in</strong> a variety of texts – ethical,<br />

medical and ethnographical – from late medieval and early modern<br />

Europe. When, about ten years ago, I started to look at neighbour<strong>in</strong>g<br />

topics, <strong>in</strong> order to better understand <strong>the</strong> cultural framework with<strong>in</strong><br />

which my sources conceived and <strong>in</strong>terpreted dance, play and leisure<br />

appeared to be <strong>the</strong> most frequent associates (ra<strong>the</strong>r than, say, religion<br />

and ritual, or music and <strong>the</strong>atre). While I was mov<strong>in</strong>g my first steps <strong>in</strong><br />

this direction, a thought-provok<strong>in</strong>g contribution by Peter Burke on ‘The<br />

<strong>in</strong>vention of leisure <strong>in</strong> early modern Europe’ was published both with<strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> proceed<strong>in</strong>gs of an <strong>in</strong>ternational conference of economic history and<br />

as an article for Past and Present. Consequently, although <strong>the</strong> orig<strong>in</strong>s<br />

of this book are rooted <strong>in</strong> my own it<strong>in</strong>erary of research, it can also be<br />

read as a development of <strong>the</strong> agenda set by Burke (<strong>the</strong> reader of us<br />

both will notice that I am <strong>in</strong>debted to many of his hypo<strong>the</strong>ses and<br />

recommendations).<br />

Work on <strong>the</strong> project became more systematic thanks to a Fellowship<br />

at Villa I Tatti, <strong>the</strong> Harvard University Center for Italian <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

Studies (Florence, 1998/99), and a Research Fellowship from my faculty<br />

at <strong>the</strong> University of Verona (1999–2001). With <strong>the</strong> former I concentrated<br />

on Italian material, with <strong>the</strong> latter I extended <strong>the</strong> work via a series<br />

of European comparisons. The title of my Florent<strong>in</strong>e project, ‘Studies <strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> historical anthropology of leisure’, should be taken as a caveat for<br />

<strong>the</strong> reader of <strong>the</strong> present volume: <strong>in</strong> a m<strong>in</strong>e of potentially unlimited<br />

sources, I can only hope to have considered an <strong>in</strong>telligent selection. I<br />

would also like to thank <strong>the</strong> Harvard University Center at Villa I Tatti<br />

for subsequently award<strong>in</strong>g me a Lila Wallace–Reader’s Digest Special<br />

Project Grant (2001/02), which helped me <strong>in</strong> complet<strong>in</strong>g my research<br />

and collect<strong>in</strong>g material for this book.<br />

Over <strong>the</strong> past few years, I presented <strong>the</strong> general outlook and/or specific<br />

aspects of my work-<strong>in</strong>-progress <strong>in</strong> research sem<strong>in</strong>ars and conferences<br />

at <strong>the</strong> Universities of Rotterdam, Verona, Geneva and Cambridge<br />

(Emmanuel College).<br />

Dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> process of writ<strong>in</strong>g and publish<strong>in</strong>g with Palgrave<br />

Macmillan I have <strong>in</strong>curred many debts, which I wish to thankfully<br />

acknowledge here. The editors of <strong>the</strong> present series, Rab Houston and<br />

viii


Preface<br />

ix<br />

Ed Muir, took an early <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> this project and trusted me from <strong>the</strong><br />

time when <strong>the</strong>re was yet little to read. Ed Muir read <strong>the</strong> whole manuscript<br />

at different stages and provided me with helpful advice and constructive<br />

criticism, as did Peter Burke. Among <strong>the</strong> editorial staff, Luciana<br />

O’Flaherty and John M. Smith have played an important role <strong>in</strong> turn<strong>in</strong>g<br />

a project <strong>in</strong>to an actual book.<br />

I dedicate this book to my wife Marion, who for many years has had<br />

to put up with <strong>the</strong> blurr<strong>in</strong>g between my own leisure and work time.<br />

Cambridge and Verona<br />

Note<br />

Every effort has been made to contact <strong>the</strong> copyright-holders, but if any<br />

have been <strong>in</strong>advertently overlooked, <strong>the</strong> publishers will be pleased to<br />

make <strong>the</strong> necessary arrangements at <strong>the</strong> first opportunity.


This page <strong>in</strong>tentionally left blank


1<br />

Introduction<br />

The overall hypo<strong>the</strong>sis that holds this book toge<strong>the</strong>r is <strong>the</strong> idea that<br />

dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries a dist<strong>in</strong>ctive<br />

leisure culture was elaborated <strong>in</strong> Europe, which presents obvious connections<br />

with precedent and subsequent developments, but is none<strong>the</strong>less<br />

dist<strong>in</strong>guishable from both. Chronology does not easily allow for<br />

clear cuts, and <strong>the</strong> variety of phenomena <strong>in</strong>volved each have <strong>the</strong>ir own<br />

tim<strong>in</strong>g. Never<strong>the</strong>less <strong>the</strong>re is a significant synchronicity <strong>in</strong> a number of<br />

fields, from <strong>the</strong> attention that moralists, jurists and physicians paid to<br />

<strong>the</strong> world of leisure activities to <strong>the</strong> development of a specific vocabulary<br />

and <strong>the</strong> multiplication of <strong>the</strong> visual representation of <strong>the</strong> subject.<br />

To <strong>in</strong>troduce a book on recreation <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong>, <strong>the</strong> first question<br />

that requires an answer has to be: is <strong>the</strong> topic, recreation, def<strong>in</strong>ed<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> language of <strong>the</strong> sources or <strong>in</strong> modern terms Or, to borrow <strong>the</strong><br />

vocabulary that <strong>the</strong> social sciences have adopted from l<strong>in</strong>guistics, is it<br />

taken <strong>in</strong> an emic or etic perspective 1 The first option concentrates on<br />

mental structures, that is, attempts, with all <strong>the</strong> difficulties implicit <strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> task, to <strong>in</strong>fer from <strong>the</strong> sources what people thought (<strong>in</strong> this case,<br />

what <strong>the</strong>y took to be ‘recreation’). The second starts from <strong>the</strong> vocabulary<br />

and world-view of <strong>the</strong> observer, ra<strong>the</strong>r than of <strong>the</strong> people observed.<br />

This does not necessarily mean that it implies an anachronism (it will<br />

do so only if <strong>the</strong> modern scholar ignores, ei<strong>the</strong>r unconsciously or deliberately,<br />

<strong>the</strong> historical differences <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> mean<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong> relevant vocabulary).<br />

It may simply mean that clarity of <strong>the</strong> def<strong>in</strong>ition of <strong>the</strong> object<br />

of enquiry is established <strong>in</strong> order to better observe how people of past<br />

(or from contemporary, culturally different) civilizations behaved,<br />

which of <strong>the</strong> social practices that we regard as relevant for our purpose<br />

were <strong>in</strong> use, and <strong>in</strong> what manner.<br />

1


2 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

I believe that to some extent both <strong>the</strong> perspectives have to be present,<br />

particularly if one is exam<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g a period that witnessed a transformation<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> mean<strong>in</strong>g of key words and <strong>the</strong> emergence of new ones.<br />

Nei<strong>the</strong>r viewpo<strong>in</strong>t would be entirely satisfactory or allow us to give full<br />

account of such changes, by ei<strong>the</strong>r exclud<strong>in</strong>g objects that o<strong>the</strong>r categories<br />

would consider relevant, or vice versa <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g o<strong>the</strong>rs from a<br />

different respect irrelevant. However, my orientation is predom<strong>in</strong>antly<br />

<strong>in</strong> favour of <strong>the</strong> emic pole of <strong>the</strong> dichotomy, which could also be<br />

labelled as <strong>the</strong> viewpo<strong>in</strong>t from <strong>in</strong>side, for a variety of reasons. What<br />

people thought was recreation, what <strong>the</strong>y thought <strong>the</strong>y were do<strong>in</strong>g<br />

when <strong>the</strong>y took some, is <strong>the</strong> most accurate description of that which<br />

my research aims to establish. A modern, clear-cut def<strong>in</strong>ition of that<br />

which we regard as <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> and excluded from <strong>the</strong> category of ‘recreation’<br />

would have helped <strong>in</strong> search<strong>in</strong>g for given patterns of behaviour<br />

among <strong>the</strong> people of <strong>the</strong> past. But a social history of pastimes is a wide<br />

rang<strong>in</strong>g subject, it has been attempted with unsatisfactory results (superficial,<br />

anecdotal), it would be hard to achieve on a large geographical<br />

and chronological scale, and it goes beyond <strong>the</strong> means and <strong>the</strong> purposes<br />

of <strong>the</strong> present writer. What <strong>the</strong> reader will f<strong>in</strong>d here, <strong>in</strong>stead, is a cultural<br />

history of what past civilizations meant by and thought about<br />

recreation, with undoubted, <strong>in</strong>deed necessary, connections with actual<br />

practices, but none<strong>the</strong>less focused on l<strong>in</strong>guistic and mental structures.<br />

Hav<strong>in</strong>g said so, we will soon take <strong>in</strong>to serious consideration modern<br />

scholarship on leisure and recreation, s<strong>in</strong>ce awareness of historiographic<br />

f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs and debates will help <strong>in</strong> sett<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> scene of <strong>the</strong> book. By<br />

entitl<strong>in</strong>g his recent <strong>in</strong>novative study Leisure and (ra<strong>the</strong>r than ‘<strong>in</strong>’)<br />

Ancient Rome, J.P. Toner has conv<strong>in</strong>c<strong>in</strong>gly stressed how deeply reconsideration<br />

of <strong>the</strong> past and of <strong>the</strong> present categories reciprocally <strong>in</strong>teract<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> writ<strong>in</strong>g of history. 2<br />

As for <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r ‘R’ word <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> title, <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong>, its use <strong>in</strong> this<br />

context is predom<strong>in</strong>antly that of a generic <strong>in</strong>dicator of <strong>the</strong> chronological<br />

and geographical sett<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong> study: late medieval and early<br />

modern Europe. While <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> as a cultural phenomenon is not<br />

as such at <strong>the</strong> centre of my analysis on this occasion, it will play a role<br />

too. This is <strong>in</strong>evitable, if one considers that leisure activities also<br />

appeared <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> found<strong>in</strong>g text of <strong>the</strong> very historiographic notion of <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>Renaissance</strong>, Jacob Burckhardt’s essay of 1860, where <strong>the</strong> subject of one<br />

of <strong>the</strong> ma<strong>in</strong> sections is ‘Society and festivals’. 3 While <strong>the</strong> book focuses<br />

on <strong>the</strong> period given <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> subtitle (c. 1425–1675), a number of excursions<br />

on earlier material have proved necessary <strong>in</strong> order to establish traditions<br />

on which later authors rested and which <strong>the</strong>y elaborated (while


Introduction 3<br />

post-1700 texts are predom<strong>in</strong>antly present <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> form of secondary<br />

sources – although a neat dist<strong>in</strong>ction between what constitutes primary,<br />

and what secondary, material is not always necessary, or possible).<br />

I should probably state from <strong>the</strong> beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g that I do not regard<br />

gambl<strong>in</strong>g as a central issue <strong>in</strong> my <strong>in</strong>quiry. This is worth mention<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

s<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>in</strong> this orientation I depart from a significant number of writers,<br />

both early and late modern (that is, some of my sources as well as many<br />

recent scholars). The European vocabulary of play (see, for <strong>in</strong>stance, <strong>the</strong><br />

Lat<strong>in</strong> ludus, French jeu, Italian gioco, Spanish juego) does <strong>in</strong>clude gambl<strong>in</strong>g<br />

as one of its characteristic mean<strong>in</strong>gs, and gambl<strong>in</strong>g has often been<br />

associated with <strong>the</strong> play<strong>in</strong>g of games. However, gambl<strong>in</strong>g per se can be<br />

recreational only <strong>in</strong> a loose sense of <strong>the</strong> word. Firstly, because if <strong>the</strong><br />

reason of an activity is <strong>the</strong> (expected) ga<strong>in</strong>, that means that it is performed<br />

for reasons o<strong>the</strong>r than relaxation and amusement. <strong>Recreation</strong><br />

does not consist <strong>in</strong> a given set of thoughts, speech acts and gestures; it<br />

is ra<strong>the</strong>r def<strong>in</strong>ed by <strong>the</strong> spirit or reason why someone performs <strong>the</strong>m.<br />

The latter dist<strong>in</strong>ction br<strong>in</strong>gs with it a second po<strong>in</strong>t: if, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> pursuit of<br />

ga<strong>in</strong>, someone devotes so much time and energy to gambl<strong>in</strong>g that it<br />

becomes <strong>the</strong>ir ma<strong>in</strong> occupation, this mere fact raises serious doubts<br />

about <strong>the</strong> possibility of properly regard<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>m as play<strong>in</strong>g (I may sound<br />

here worry<strong>in</strong>gly similar to early modern moralists, but I th<strong>in</strong>k <strong>the</strong>y had<br />

a po<strong>in</strong>t). The case of ‘leisure classes’, whose members by def<strong>in</strong>ition do<br />

not need to work, is, from this respect, problematic; but nobody would<br />

claim that a professional footballer, when play<strong>in</strong>g accord<strong>in</strong>g to a contract,<br />

is just hav<strong>in</strong>g a bit of fun. 4 Hav<strong>in</strong>g said so, I must acknowledge<br />

not only that a significant share of <strong>the</strong> historiography of play has predom<strong>in</strong>antly<br />

dealt with gambl<strong>in</strong>g, but also that for many early modern<br />

writers <strong>the</strong> f<strong>in</strong>ancial implications of play were <strong>the</strong> ma<strong>in</strong> reason for<br />

discuss<strong>in</strong>g it. Therefore I shall briefly consider this element wherever<br />

it appears and is relevant, not least s<strong>in</strong>ce my preference for <strong>the</strong> emic<br />

approach, or viewpo<strong>in</strong>t from <strong>in</strong>side, obliges me to do so.<br />

O<strong>the</strong>r topics and material will also have limited consideration here,<br />

s<strong>in</strong>ce any serious attempt to study <strong>the</strong>m would require (and does obta<strong>in</strong><br />

from o<strong>the</strong>r scholars) more than cursory attention. Among <strong>the</strong>se I should<br />

mention imag<strong>in</strong>ative literature (as a source), <strong>the</strong> practice of read<strong>in</strong>g (as<br />

a leisurely occupation), <strong>the</strong> specific worlds of music and of <strong>the</strong> arts,<br />

ritual (festivals, carnival, misrule, rough music/charivari, ritual battles –<br />

a historiographic issue <strong>in</strong> its own right, despite <strong>the</strong> fact that <strong>in</strong>dividuals<br />

and groups would surely have engaged <strong>in</strong> most of <strong>the</strong>se practices for<br />

fun).<br />

As <strong>the</strong> preced<strong>in</strong>g observations will have sufficiently <strong>in</strong>dicated, <strong>the</strong> aim


4 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

of this book is not a reconstruction of <strong>the</strong> pastimes that were <strong>in</strong> use <strong>in</strong><br />

Europe a few hundred years ago. I am aware that some familiarity with<br />

<strong>the</strong> historical vocabulary of leisure is necessary <strong>in</strong> order to understand<br />

<strong>the</strong> mean<strong>in</strong>g of texts. However, nowadays <strong>the</strong>re is no shortage of people<br />

research<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> details of actual historical practices, with <strong>the</strong> aim<br />

of allow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>m to be brought back to life – not least <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>terests<br />

of <strong>the</strong> European tourist <strong>in</strong>dustry, <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly keen to attract visitors<br />

with <strong>the</strong> display of scenes from everyday life of <strong>the</strong> past: from a<br />

medieval parade, to a <strong>Renaissance</strong> banquet or a baroque dance. Without<br />

enter<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to cheap psycho-sociology, it can be easy to imag<strong>in</strong>e that for<br />

common people who – <strong>in</strong> today’s Italian cities and villages – so frequently<br />

dress up <strong>in</strong> costume, be<strong>in</strong>g a pr<strong>in</strong>ce or a duchess at weekends<br />

may offer an emotional substitute to <strong>the</strong> discontent of ord<strong>in</strong>ary life. 5<br />

Also, <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>vention of such traditions is less of a superficial phenomenon<br />

than it might appear at first glance, s<strong>in</strong>ce it seems to play a significant<br />

part <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> personal and collective identities of <strong>the</strong> people<br />

<strong>in</strong>volved. But, to go back to <strong>the</strong> po<strong>in</strong>t, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> rest of this book we will<br />

be concerned with what past societies thought <strong>the</strong>y were do<strong>in</strong>g when<br />

<strong>the</strong>y spent part of <strong>the</strong>ir time <strong>in</strong> recreation, ra<strong>the</strong>r than with what <strong>the</strong>y<br />

actually did and how.<br />

The quest for ‘reasons’ beh<strong>in</strong>d <strong>the</strong> behaviour of past (or, for that<br />

matter, present) actors is clearly problematic. A good deal of scholars<br />

understandably regard such a quest as outside <strong>the</strong>ir territory of enquiry,<br />

as it can lead dangerously to make assumptions about people’s motives<br />

that by def<strong>in</strong>ition cannot be verified. However, as I have just stated,<br />

<strong>the</strong>re is not a s<strong>in</strong>gle pattern of human action that constitutes per se, by<br />

its physical description, ‘recreation’: only a social context and a cultural<br />

assignment of mean<strong>in</strong>g can make it perceived as such. Therefore, no<br />

study of <strong>the</strong> history of our phenomenon can avoid some consideration<br />

at least of <strong>the</strong> sets of motives and purposes that were alleged by contemporary<br />

practitioners and observers.<br />

Games and leisure between history and social <strong>the</strong>ory<br />

Before mov<strong>in</strong>g our clocks back to <strong>the</strong> time of my source material, let us<br />

briefly exam<strong>in</strong>e modern classifications of <strong>the</strong> spectrum of recreation,<br />

s<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong>y will not only provide us with a first set of <strong>in</strong>ternal dist<strong>in</strong>ctions,<br />

but also help to def<strong>in</strong>e <strong>the</strong> external limits of <strong>the</strong> object of my<br />

analysis. Systematic enquiry <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> full anthropological mean<strong>in</strong>g of<br />

play is usually acknowledged to have started with Johan Huiz<strong>in</strong>ga’s<br />

work, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> 1930s. The Dutch cultural historian – who also drew <strong>the</strong>


Introduction 5<br />

reader’s attention to aspects of everyday life that are relevant to our<br />

topic <strong>in</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r ground-break<strong>in</strong>g volumes of his, such as The Wan<strong>in</strong>g of<br />

<strong>the</strong> Middle Ages – deserves this special mention particularly on <strong>the</strong><br />

grounds of <strong>the</strong> book he specifically devoted to <strong>the</strong> subject of play, Homo<br />

Ludens. 6 By punn<strong>in</strong>g with <strong>the</strong> scientific name for <strong>the</strong> human species,<br />

Huiz<strong>in</strong>ga was seriously advocat<strong>in</strong>g a reconsideration of <strong>the</strong> role and<br />

comparative importance of play <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> human condition. While <strong>the</strong><br />

author had expressed curiosity for <strong>the</strong> topic as early as <strong>in</strong> his doctoral<br />

dissertation (1897), <strong>the</strong> first draft of Homo Ludens was his oration<br />

as Chancellor of <strong>the</strong> University of Leiden <strong>in</strong> 1933 (to <strong>the</strong> twentiethcentury<br />

m<strong>in</strong>d, a year that br<strong>in</strong>gs everyth<strong>in</strong>g to memory but play).<br />

When Huiz<strong>in</strong>ga presented <strong>the</strong> topic at subsequent conferences, both <strong>in</strong><br />

London and <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> German-speak<strong>in</strong>g world, he repeatedly had to fight<br />

<strong>the</strong> tendency of his hosts to entitle his subject as ‘<strong>the</strong> play element<br />

<strong>in</strong> culture’. In his word<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>in</strong>stead, his enquiry concerned <strong>the</strong> play<br />

element of culture. The difference may seem subtle. For Huiz<strong>in</strong>ga,<br />

however, it meant that he was not merely pick<strong>in</strong>g play as one element<br />

of culture among and beside o<strong>the</strong>rs; ra<strong>the</strong>r, he was <strong>in</strong>vestigat<strong>in</strong>g to what<br />

extent <strong>the</strong> whole spectrum of our culture may ultimately derive from<br />

an ancestral human impetus to play. His attitude, <strong>the</strong>refore, is only to<br />

an extent that of a historian. One section of <strong>the</strong> book does <strong>in</strong>deed<br />

present a diachronical overview of European culture from antiquity<br />

onwards; but for <strong>the</strong> rest of its pages, Homo Ludens resembles a philosophical<br />

<strong>in</strong>vestigation on human nature – a perspective from which<br />

o<strong>the</strong>r Cont<strong>in</strong>ental th<strong>in</strong>kers of <strong>the</strong> twentieth century considered <strong>the</strong><br />

world of play (Hans Georg Gadamer, Eugen F<strong>in</strong>k). 7 More precisely, as<br />

has been shown by his critics, <strong>the</strong> author’s deep religious concerns<br />

turned him <strong>in</strong>to a passionate critic of his time. Thus <strong>the</strong> book, by pay<strong>in</strong>g<br />

attention to a ‘spiritual’ aspect of human life, is meant as an attack<br />

aga<strong>in</strong>st materialism; its f<strong>in</strong>al appeal to God, as <strong>the</strong> only way out of <strong>the</strong><br />

opposition between play and ‘<strong>in</strong> earnest’, also clearly belongs <strong>in</strong> such a<br />

moral and cultural battle. 8 In that respect Huiz<strong>in</strong>ga’s work can be perceived<br />

as dated: historians of subsequent generations have usually preferred<br />

to refra<strong>in</strong> both from a similar level of generalization, and from<br />

<strong>the</strong> ideologically burdened expression of <strong>the</strong>ir prognosis of <strong>the</strong> evils that<br />

affect humank<strong>in</strong>d and prescription of <strong>the</strong> means to cure <strong>the</strong>m.<br />

Huiz<strong>in</strong>ga’s most refresh<strong>in</strong>g contribution was his ability to br<strong>in</strong>g<br />

toge<strong>the</strong>r a series of aspects of human life that do not immediately<br />

display connections with one ano<strong>the</strong>r, and recognize a ‘play element’<br />

<strong>in</strong> such fields as law, war, poetry, art and so on. This can be seen at <strong>the</strong><br />

same time as a po<strong>in</strong>t of strength and a weakness of his book. Twenty


6 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

years later, Roger Caillois found that Huiz<strong>in</strong>ga’s notion of play was at<br />

<strong>the</strong> same time too broad and too narrow. It was too broad because it<br />

did not <strong>in</strong>troduce a clear dist<strong>in</strong>ction between play and o<strong>the</strong>r spheres of<br />

human activity. It was too narrow because it concentrated only on<br />

<strong>the</strong> element of competition, while accord<strong>in</strong>g to Caillois’s <strong>in</strong>fluential categorization<br />

<strong>the</strong>re are three more different factors (and subsequent<br />

families) of play, namely chance, mimesis and vertigo. Caillois comb<strong>in</strong>ed<br />

<strong>the</strong>se four categories with o<strong>the</strong>r elements – for <strong>in</strong>stance, <strong>in</strong> one<br />

table, with <strong>the</strong> cont<strong>in</strong>uum that goes from improvisation (paidia) to a<br />

rule (ludus), purely chosen for <strong>the</strong> pleasure that one may derive from<br />

fac<strong>in</strong>g self-imposed difficulties. The result is an articulated general<br />

<strong>the</strong>ory of games that has been welcomed by many scholars. 9 His <strong>the</strong>ory<br />

allows Caillois to propose both a sociology of play and a more ambitious<br />

sociological approach to human behaviour that uses <strong>the</strong> categories<br />

of play to identify general characteristics of human behaviour.<br />

In <strong>the</strong> 1960s, Jacques Ehrmann provided a comb<strong>in</strong>ed philosophical<br />

critique of <strong>the</strong> relation between play and culture as stated by both<br />

Huiz<strong>in</strong>ga and Caillois, as well as by <strong>the</strong> l<strong>in</strong>guist Émile Benveniste. He<br />

showed how <strong>the</strong>se <strong>in</strong>terpretations are based on a series of oppositions<br />

– between play and serious ‘ord<strong>in</strong>ary life’, play and <strong>the</strong> sacred, play and<br />

work – all of which take for granted a dist<strong>in</strong>ction between what is real<br />

and what is imag<strong>in</strong>ary; such dist<strong>in</strong>ction, <strong>in</strong>stead, should be put <strong>in</strong>to<br />

question, if we really want to understand more about <strong>the</strong> nature of play.<br />

On <strong>the</strong> whole, play appears as a luxury, an <strong>in</strong>essential adornment: life<br />

would substantially be <strong>the</strong> same without it. More specifically, play is set<br />

by those authors <strong>in</strong> a (metaphysically) separate sphere, its relation with<br />

‘<strong>the</strong> real’ be<strong>in</strong>g that of an ideal tam<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> potentially destructive tendencies<br />

of human be<strong>in</strong>gs. Ehrmann also denounces <strong>the</strong> circularity and<br />

contradiction of a position that at <strong>the</strong> same time sees play as a civiliz<strong>in</strong>g<br />

force and <strong>the</strong>n f<strong>in</strong>ds modern society as becom<strong>in</strong>g progressively more<br />

‘serious’. Play is assimilated to a remote stage of history where it pervaded<br />

<strong>the</strong> whole of human culture; to a type of mentality which is<br />

‘<strong>in</strong>fantile, animal, savage, visionary, as opposed to an adult, “civilized”,<br />

reasonable mentality’; to a type of behaviour and a form of awareness<br />

that are illogical – all of which traits have left us <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> course of <strong>the</strong><br />

process of rationalization. Although <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>orists reviewed by Ehrmann<br />

tended to dist<strong>in</strong>guish play from <strong>the</strong> sacred, and locate <strong>the</strong> former <strong>in</strong> a<br />

grey area between <strong>the</strong> sacred and <strong>the</strong> real, it is also clear that Caillois<br />

and o<strong>the</strong>rs l<strong>in</strong>ked <strong>the</strong> fate of play to that of <strong>the</strong> sacred: <strong>the</strong>y are both<br />

seen as <strong>the</strong> victims of <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g secularization. As a literary critic,<br />

Ehrmann advocated a deconstruction of this series of oppositions,


Introduction 7<br />

which could exploit <strong>the</strong> power of play to escape constra<strong>in</strong>ts and def<strong>in</strong>itions;<br />

and thus a reconsideration of critical methods that apprehended<br />

play and reality toge<strong>the</strong>r. 10<br />

In <strong>the</strong>ir Quest for Excitement, Norbert Elias and Eric Dunn<strong>in</strong>g – who at<br />

Leicester pioneered <strong>the</strong> sociological study of sport – provided a stimulat<strong>in</strong>g<br />

classification of spare-time activities via two subsequent lists. A<br />

prelim<strong>in</strong>ary classification – which dates from a conference paper delivered<br />

<strong>in</strong> 1967 – <strong>in</strong>cluded private work and family management, rest,<br />

cater<strong>in</strong>g for biological needs, sociability, and <strong>the</strong> class of mimetic or<br />

play activities. The ma<strong>in</strong> head<strong>in</strong>gs of <strong>the</strong> later, more comprehensive<br />

‘spare-time spectrum’ are ‘spare-time rout<strong>in</strong>es’, ‘<strong>in</strong>termediary spare-time<br />

activities ma<strong>in</strong>ly serv<strong>in</strong>g recurrent needs for orientation and/or<br />

self-fulfilment and self-expansion’, and lastly ‘leisure activities’. The<br />

<strong>in</strong>termediary group <strong>in</strong>cludes, for <strong>in</strong>stance, voluntary work, private<br />

study, news read<strong>in</strong>g or listen<strong>in</strong>g, and religious activities. Leisure activities<br />

are, <strong>in</strong> turn, divided <strong>in</strong>to ‘purely or ma<strong>in</strong>ly sociable activities’,<br />

‘“mimetic” or play activities’, and ‘miscellaneous less highly specialized<br />

leisure activities, largely of a pleasurable de-rout<strong>in</strong>iz<strong>in</strong>g character and<br />

often multi-functional’, such as holiday travell<strong>in</strong>g or eat<strong>in</strong>g out. It may<br />

prove quite difficult to use such broad categories directly as historical<br />

research tools. However, <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>oretical reflection provided by <strong>the</strong> two<br />

sociologists can help <strong>in</strong> identify<strong>in</strong>g and <strong>in</strong>terpret<strong>in</strong>g a variety of topics<br />

that, needless to say, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> past have been considered separately and/or<br />

reorganized <strong>in</strong>to different groups (consequently, one has to look for<br />

traces of <strong>the</strong>m <strong>in</strong> various types of source and discipl<strong>in</strong>ary contexts).<br />

One of Elias and Dunn<strong>in</strong>g’s primary purposes was to dist<strong>in</strong>guish<br />

between <strong>the</strong> more specific field of leisure activities and <strong>the</strong> broader range<br />

of spare time, and by do<strong>in</strong>g so to criticize <strong>the</strong> commonplace simplistic<br />

opposition between leisure and work: when people do not work, <strong>the</strong>y<br />

engage <strong>in</strong> numerous o<strong>the</strong>r activities; <strong>the</strong> function of leisure needs<br />

<strong>the</strong>refore more specific <strong>in</strong>vestigation. Elias and Dunn<strong>in</strong>g’s answer is to<br />

explore <strong>the</strong> particular sort of excitement that seems to be experienced<br />

<strong>in</strong> many of <strong>the</strong>se activities; <strong>the</strong> result is an analysis that is significantly<br />

elaborated <strong>in</strong> a dialogue with Aristotle’s <strong>the</strong>ory of <strong>the</strong>atrical catharsis.<br />

Although <strong>the</strong> relevant passages of his Poetics have proved challeng<strong>in</strong>g<br />

to <strong>in</strong>terpreters and historically produced a variety of different read<strong>in</strong>gs,<br />

Aristotle’s well-known reflection on <strong>the</strong> experience of assist<strong>in</strong>g at <strong>the</strong><br />

performance of a Greek tragedy could be summarized as follows. Music<br />

and drama have <strong>the</strong> power of affect<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> audience, by caus<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />

psychic equivalent to a purgation of <strong>the</strong> body: <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>atrical imitation<br />

of events causes a tension, which however is controlled and successfully


8 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

resolved by <strong>the</strong> competent use of artistic techniques. Elias and Dunn<strong>in</strong>g<br />

f<strong>in</strong>d someth<strong>in</strong>g similar occurs <strong>in</strong> leisure activities. They do not simply<br />

‘relax’. On <strong>the</strong> contrary, people seem to prefer activities that cause some<br />

tension. They also sit down, watch television and do little else; however,<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> classification proposed by <strong>the</strong> two sociologists, this use of spare<br />

time belongs to mere rest, not to <strong>the</strong> specific class of mimetic or play<br />

activities. (A sociologist who commented on a survey on spare time <strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> United States <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> 1950s, S. de Grazia, found most of <strong>the</strong> activities<br />

which people performed outside work as not leisurely, and subsequently<br />

contested <strong>the</strong> dom<strong>in</strong>ant assumption that fewer hours spent at<br />

<strong>the</strong> workplace automatically mean or ensure more leisure.) The difference<br />

from ‘real life’ is that this particular sort of tension provokes<br />

some pleasure, and usually is successfully managed (although it could<br />

go astray and lead to unsatisfactory results for a variety of reasons). Elias<br />

and Dunn<strong>in</strong>g’s case studies are taken from <strong>the</strong> history of fox-hunt<strong>in</strong>g<br />

and of football (<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> latter’s medieval and early modern<br />

ancestor). 11<br />

By sett<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> rise of modern sports with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> context of a historical<br />

sociology of Western civilization, to a certa<strong>in</strong> extent Norbert Elias<br />

and Eric Dunn<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>in</strong> spite of <strong>the</strong>ir methodological awareness and subtle<br />

analysis, have proceeded on similar l<strong>in</strong>es as <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>orists criticized by<br />

Ehrmann: <strong>the</strong>y could <strong>the</strong>refore be subjected to <strong>the</strong> same range of objections<br />

(<strong>in</strong>appropriate separation between play and o<strong>the</strong>r social experiences,<br />

ambiguous civiliz<strong>in</strong>g role of play <strong>in</strong> history). Some subsequent<br />

scholarship has aimed at correct<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>se limits. A methodological leitmotiv<br />

of Elias’s was ‘figurational’ sociology, that is, <strong>the</strong> idea that <strong>in</strong>dividual<br />

and society would be better understood if studied as a whole,<br />

without a primacy of ei<strong>the</strong>r element, as a web of <strong>in</strong>dependent people<br />

bonded toge<strong>the</strong>r <strong>in</strong> different ways. This approach is one of <strong>the</strong> cultural<br />

<strong>in</strong>fluences that shaped <strong>the</strong> research style of ano<strong>the</strong>r German scholar,<br />

Henn<strong>in</strong>g Eichberg, a man whose political orientation (first towards <strong>the</strong><br />

far right, <strong>the</strong>n to <strong>the</strong> new left and green movement) and discipl<strong>in</strong>ary<br />

cross<strong>in</strong>g have not helped to ensure him an academic career <strong>in</strong> his own<br />

country. Back <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> 1970s, some earlier work of Eichberg’s had<br />

fed <strong>the</strong> ma<strong>in</strong>stream English-speak<strong>in</strong>g history of sport (or ra<strong>the</strong>r, a few<br />

lead<strong>in</strong>g historians who were acqua<strong>in</strong>ted with his writ<strong>in</strong>g, namely Allen<br />

Guttmann and Richard Mandell) with fresh ideas. Out of those parallel<br />

research it<strong>in</strong>eraries came a reconstruction of <strong>the</strong> modern emergence of<br />

sport as <strong>the</strong> result of a shift from ritual to record, where <strong>the</strong> stress on<br />

achievement was l<strong>in</strong>ked with comparable developments <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> newly<br />

born <strong>in</strong>dustrial society. Subsequently Eichberg detached himself from


this view, and worked at a critique of achievement sports, <strong>in</strong> which an<br />

anthropological approach, <strong>the</strong> consideration of <strong>the</strong> different role played<br />

by sport <strong>in</strong> non-Western societies and thus <strong>the</strong> idea that <strong>the</strong> Olympic<br />

way was only one of many possible human experiences <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> field,<br />

became prom<strong>in</strong>ent. Eichberg’s work is better understood if we consider<br />

a wider group of German-speak<strong>in</strong>g researchers (for <strong>in</strong>stance, Rudolph<br />

zur Lippe and August Nitschke), who dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> past few decades have<br />

experimented with <strong>in</strong>novative forms of cultural history of <strong>the</strong> body,<br />

which are still little known abroad. As a historical tool, it has highlighted<br />

<strong>the</strong> vary<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong> human experience of space (as with <strong>the</strong><br />

control of <strong>the</strong> ground <strong>in</strong> dance) with particular efficacy. On <strong>the</strong> whole,<br />

Eichberg’s critique aims at propos<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> establishment of a different<br />

experience of human behaviour and relationship – <strong>in</strong> a way, both someth<strong>in</strong>g<br />

more and someth<strong>in</strong>g less, certa<strong>in</strong>ly someth<strong>in</strong>g different than<br />

scholarship as it is usually understood. Never<strong>the</strong>less (or perhaps, thanks<br />

to this unconventional approach), it can be duly regarded as a wholesome<br />

correction to <strong>the</strong> excesses of a l<strong>in</strong>ear conception of history, <strong>in</strong><br />

which h<strong>in</strong>dsight tends to orient <strong>the</strong> view and to make historical trends<br />

appear positive and necessary; and may help us develop<strong>in</strong>g a less biased<br />

gaze at <strong>the</strong> festive culture of <strong>the</strong> past. 12 Introduction 9


2<br />

The Need for <strong>Recreation</strong><br />

In December 1646 – when <strong>the</strong> Puritan revolution was bent on elim<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

toge<strong>the</strong>r with traditional holy days, any occasion for fun –<br />

London apprentices presented a petition to Parliament for ‘lawful recreations<br />

for <strong>the</strong> needful refreshments of <strong>the</strong>ir spirits, without which life<br />

itself is unpleasant and an <strong>in</strong>tolerable burden’. 1 The language <strong>the</strong>y<br />

adopted connects <strong>the</strong>ir perception of <strong>the</strong>ir own life and needs with a<br />

system of thought that had wide implications and a long cultural tradition.<br />

If Europeans had long been used to see <strong>the</strong>ir pastimes from different<br />

perspectives, all <strong>the</strong> latter found a common ground <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> general<br />

acknowledgement of a human need for recreation. This topos will form<br />

<strong>the</strong> subject of <strong>the</strong> present chapter.<br />

Paradise lost<br />

In <strong>the</strong> open<strong>in</strong>g passage of his Traité des jeux et divertissemens (1686), <strong>the</strong><br />

Jansenist <strong>the</strong>ologian Jean Baptiste Thiers offers <strong>the</strong> reader <strong>the</strong> follow<strong>in</strong>g<br />

moral archaeology of play:<br />

Man would not have needed ei<strong>the</strong>r play or amusements, had he<br />

rema<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> blessed state of <strong>in</strong>nocence <strong>in</strong> which God had created<br />

him. In fact, although, accord<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> Holy Scripture, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Garden<br />

of Eden it was his duty to work, his work would have been pleasant<br />

for him, far from be<strong>in</strong>g a pa<strong>in</strong>; he would have made it a pleasure for<br />

himself, ra<strong>the</strong>r than becom<strong>in</strong>g tired because of it, as August<strong>in</strong>e puts<br />

it [. . .]. Consequently, he would not have needed to relax ei<strong>the</strong>r his<br />

spirit or his body. Therefore, to be accurate, play and amusements<br />

have become necessary for us because of s<strong>in</strong>. 2<br />

10


The Need for <strong>Recreation</strong> 11<br />

The Garden of Eden sets <strong>the</strong> scene for a mythical orig<strong>in</strong> of humank<strong>in</strong>d,<br />

where <strong>the</strong> notion of work and pleasure blur, tiredness is absent and rest<br />

unnecessary. In this utopian world, <strong>the</strong>re would be no need for recreation.<br />

If we take it that Adam, l’homme <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> story, is <strong>the</strong> only <strong>in</strong>habitant<br />

of this world, he would also have no partner to play with. It took<br />

two to s<strong>in</strong>. Work as a pa<strong>in</strong>ful and tir<strong>in</strong>g activity began with <strong>the</strong> Fall,<br />

and <strong>the</strong> need to <strong>in</strong>terrupt it periodically and restore strength came<br />

with it.<br />

This passage shows resemblance with o<strong>the</strong>r familiar narratives. Alongside<br />

<strong>the</strong> land-of-Cockaigne utopia of a life without work (‘<strong>the</strong> more you<br />

sleep, <strong>the</strong> more you earn’, goes <strong>the</strong> medieval fabliau that represents <strong>the</strong><br />

earliest documentation of this tradition) 3 stands a social <strong>the</strong>ory such as<br />

that represented by Karl Marx. His critique of alienated labour rested on<br />

<strong>the</strong> assumption that outside given historical constra<strong>in</strong>ts human activity<br />

would be creative and satisfactory (with<strong>in</strong> his philosophy of history,<br />

a condition to be found <strong>in</strong> both prehistoric and forthcom<strong>in</strong>g communist<br />

society). In <strong>the</strong> context of Marxist discourse, social division of<br />

labour is <strong>the</strong> Fall that separated work from pleasure. Marx’s own son<strong>in</strong>-law,<br />

Paul Lafargue, wrote Le droit à la paresse (The Right To Be Idle),<br />

<strong>the</strong> most famous treatise on <strong>the</strong> subject. 4 Twentieth-century critical<br />

<strong>the</strong>ory, represented at its best by <strong>the</strong> Frankfurt School, adapted <strong>the</strong><br />

scheme to <strong>the</strong> postmodern and post-<strong>in</strong>dustrial society, where<strong>in</strong> technological<br />

progress has created <strong>the</strong> possibility of drastically reduc<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />

amount of time and energy that is <strong>in</strong>vested <strong>in</strong> work. Eventually work<br />

may turn <strong>in</strong>to play, free and creative activity. 5<br />

Thiers had been preceded, a year before, by ano<strong>the</strong>r French moralist,<br />

Jean Fra<strong>in</strong> du Tremblay (1641–1724). In fact, <strong>the</strong> latter may well have<br />

suggested <strong>the</strong> topic to <strong>the</strong> former, given <strong>the</strong> fact that <strong>the</strong>y also share <strong>the</strong><br />

same August<strong>in</strong>ian citation. Towards <strong>the</strong> open<strong>in</strong>g of Fra<strong>in</strong> du Tremblay’s<br />

book, written <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> form of a dialogue (on which we will say more<br />

below, Chapter 6), one <strong>in</strong>terlocutor asks <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r whe<strong>the</strong>r man would<br />

have to recreate himself at all (‘ne se seroit-il po<strong>in</strong>t diverti’), had he<br />

not s<strong>in</strong>ned. ‘Recreate’, ra<strong>the</strong>r than ‘amuse’ or ‘enjoy <strong>the</strong>mselves’, is <strong>the</strong><br />

only possible translation for se divertir here, s<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong> question is not<br />

about hav<strong>in</strong>g fun or not, but ra<strong>the</strong>r – as we have seen <strong>in</strong> Thiers – deriv<strong>in</strong>g<br />

pleasure from one’s ord<strong>in</strong>ary occupation, ra<strong>the</strong>r than hav<strong>in</strong>g to cast<br />

some special one for <strong>the</strong> purpose. Consistently, <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>terlocutor replies:<br />

‘I th<strong>in</strong>k he would not have recreated himself, because he would have<br />

never tired himself, and his life would have been a cont<strong>in</strong>uous succession<br />

of pleasures. He would always have made pleasure of his duty.’ 6<br />

After <strong>the</strong> quotation from August<strong>in</strong>e, <strong>the</strong> po<strong>in</strong>t is re<strong>in</strong>forced by return-


12 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> example of garden<strong>in</strong>g, as an activity which some enjoy<br />

regardless of <strong>the</strong> physical energies it consumes: ‘In that condition, man<br />

would <strong>the</strong>refore have worked <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> same way <strong>in</strong> which we see some<br />

people work <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir gardens, without perceiv<strong>in</strong>g any tiredness, because<br />

it br<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>the</strong>m much pleasure and s<strong>in</strong>ce, not be<strong>in</strong>g obliged as mercenaries<br />

to work for <strong>the</strong>ir subsistence, <strong>the</strong>y always quit work before gett<strong>in</strong>g<br />

tired.’ 7 The simile, thus, is only appropriate as long as <strong>the</strong> gardener is a<br />

man free of obligations and burdens, an issue which, <strong>in</strong> any post-Edenic<br />

society, raises questions of social hierarchy (more on that will be said<br />

below). If <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>se passages from Fra<strong>in</strong> du Tremblay Adam has not been<br />

mentioned by name, we encounter him later <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> book, at <strong>the</strong> open<strong>in</strong>g<br />

of <strong>the</strong> eighth conversation. This is, however, Adam after <strong>the</strong> Fall, a different<br />

scene which by contrast confirms <strong>the</strong> earlier statements: ‘I do not<br />

doubt that Adam had some recreation, however rigorous his penance<br />

might have been. S<strong>in</strong>ce he became subject to illness as soon as he<br />

became a s<strong>in</strong>ner, <strong>in</strong> fact, he also fell <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> necessity of relax<strong>in</strong>g his<br />

spirit and his body, <strong>in</strong> order to rega<strong>in</strong> new forces and resume work.’ 8<br />

<strong>Recreation</strong> has here started its functional existence as a pause between<br />

unattractive obligations.<br />

In spite of <strong>the</strong> orthodox flavour of its references to <strong>the</strong> Bible and <strong>the</strong><br />

Church Fa<strong>the</strong>rs, Fra<strong>in</strong> du Tremblay and Thiers’s scheme is on <strong>the</strong> whole<br />

unusual with<strong>in</strong> its own literary genre. The conventional moral assessment<br />

of pastimes gives <strong>the</strong>m firm roots <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> laws of God and nature,<br />

ra<strong>the</strong>r than represent<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>m as <strong>the</strong> side-effect of a loss of <strong>in</strong>nocence<br />

and a dramatic turn <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> story of humank<strong>in</strong>d.<br />

A sa<strong>in</strong>t, an archer and his bow (story of an exemplum)<br />

The need for recreation was expressed and re<strong>in</strong>forced by a tradition of<br />

proverbs and similes, whereby ei<strong>the</strong>r o<strong>the</strong>r liv<strong>in</strong>g creatures or human<br />

artefacts proved <strong>the</strong> po<strong>in</strong>t, by display<strong>in</strong>g a comparable necessity for a<br />

periodic break from <strong>the</strong>ir ord<strong>in</strong>ary occupations or uses. Even moralists<br />

who had no <strong>in</strong>tention of be<strong>in</strong>g soft on current recreational customs<br />

were obliged to start <strong>the</strong>ir discussion of <strong>the</strong> topic by acknowledg<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />

validity of this general rule. This is <strong>the</strong> case with <strong>the</strong> Apulian writer<br />

Cesare Rao, who <strong>in</strong> 1587 published a not lenient Invective aga<strong>in</strong>st players.<br />

‘Without any recreation or pastime’, he writes, ‘life is like a long road<br />

without any hostel.’ And he adds two more images: ‘Unless <strong>the</strong>y are<br />

occasionally eased, bows tend to lose <strong>the</strong>ir strength, and eventually<br />

break. If fields did not periodically rest, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> end <strong>the</strong>y will become<br />

bare.’ 9


The Need for <strong>Recreation</strong> 13<br />

The parallel with agriculture occurred <strong>in</strong> Seneca, and via <strong>the</strong> authority<br />

of <strong>the</strong> Lat<strong>in</strong> writer had a wide circulation <strong>in</strong> humanist culture. The<br />

simile of <strong>the</strong> bow had a long cultural history as a component of a short<br />

narrative, rooted <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> early Christian tradition of <strong>the</strong> apoph<strong>the</strong>gms<br />

(say<strong>in</strong>gs) of <strong>the</strong> Fa<strong>the</strong>rs of <strong>the</strong> Desert, and transmitted <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> form of an<br />

exemplum (<strong>the</strong> type of moralized tale that preachers used to make a<br />

sermon livelier and more efficacious). In his Collationes <strong>the</strong> monk<br />

John Cassian (who lived c. AD 400) tells a story from <strong>the</strong> life of John <strong>the</strong><br />

Evangelist. The sa<strong>in</strong>t was hold<strong>in</strong>g and strok<strong>in</strong>g a partridge, when a<br />

huntsman arrived. The latter was surprised to f<strong>in</strong>d a holy man of great<br />

reputation abas<strong>in</strong>g himself <strong>in</strong> such a humble pastime, and asked<br />

him <strong>the</strong> reason why he was do<strong>in</strong>g it. The sa<strong>in</strong>t asked him: ‘What<br />

are you hold<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> your hands’. ‘A bow’, <strong>the</strong> archer replied. ‘Why’<br />

<strong>the</strong> Evangelist cont<strong>in</strong>ued ‘do you not always keep it <strong>in</strong> tension’.<br />

‘O<strong>the</strong>rwise’ he answered, ‘it would weaken and lose its vigour; and,<br />

should I need to hit a wild beast, it would not be able to shoot an arrow<br />

with sufficient energy, s<strong>in</strong>ce it would have lost its strength due to <strong>the</strong><br />

excessively prolonged state of tension.’ ‘Likewise’, John observed, ‘do<br />

not let my soul’s little relaxation irritate you; because not even <strong>the</strong> spirit<br />

could comply with virtue, unless it periodically eases and relaxes from<br />

its tension.’ A very similar apoph<strong>the</strong>gm is conta<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Vitae Patrum,<br />

<strong>the</strong> early collection of narratives on <strong>the</strong> lives of <strong>the</strong> Church Fa<strong>the</strong>rs. This<br />

time Anthony of Egypt (fourth–fifth century AD, a contemporary of John<br />

Cassian) is <strong>the</strong> protagonist. As an old man – <strong>the</strong> story goes – <strong>the</strong> patriarch<br />

of Christian monasticism is surprised by an archer while he is<br />

refresh<strong>in</strong>g himself via conversation with fellow monks. Thus, <strong>in</strong> this<br />

case, <strong>the</strong> behaviour that causes some unease and calls for justification<br />

is relaxation from <strong>the</strong> hermit’s rule of life. The abbot asks <strong>the</strong> disappo<strong>in</strong>ted<br />

archer to bend his bow, and <strong>the</strong>n to do it aga<strong>in</strong> several times,<br />

until <strong>the</strong> archer worries that it could break. At this po<strong>in</strong>t <strong>the</strong> sa<strong>in</strong>t can<br />

draw <strong>the</strong> parallel between <strong>the</strong> weapon and human occupations, and<br />

teach his <strong>in</strong>terlocutor a lesson on <strong>the</strong> need for recreation. 10<br />

Both versions of <strong>the</strong> story had a medieval tradition – for <strong>in</strong>stance,<br />

Jacob of Vorag<strong>in</strong>e’s Legenda aurea (thirteenth century) conta<strong>in</strong>s both.<br />

They appeared with a variety of different details, sometimes hybrids<br />

between <strong>the</strong> two orig<strong>in</strong>al tales, and were employed with<strong>in</strong> sermons. In<br />

<strong>the</strong> latter use <strong>the</strong> exemplum did not necessarily play <strong>the</strong> rhetorical function<br />

of support<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> case for moderate recreation. In a fourteenthcentury<br />

sermon by Giordano of Pisa, <strong>the</strong> story is reported not by <strong>the</strong><br />

preacher himself, but by an imag<strong>in</strong>ary <strong>in</strong>terlocutor of his, someone who<br />

is engaged <strong>in</strong> justify<strong>in</strong>g ‘dances, filthy and mundane games, and o<strong>the</strong>r


14 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

secular vanities’. To him <strong>the</strong> preacher objects that <strong>the</strong> excuse has no<br />

effect <strong>in</strong> support<strong>in</strong>g those delights that are s<strong>in</strong>ful. In this case <strong>the</strong><br />

ancient apoph<strong>the</strong>gm is thus put to use as a piece of evidence <strong>in</strong> favour<br />

of <strong>the</strong> tolerance of play, and <strong>the</strong>n refused to be acknowledged as valid<br />

– a fictional, didactic, though still significant exchange of op<strong>in</strong>ions<br />

between defendants and detractors of pastimes. 11<br />

However, <strong>the</strong>ologians who throughout <strong>the</strong> centuries assessed <strong>the</strong> propriety<br />

of pastimes, from Thomas Aqu<strong>in</strong>as to François de Sales, tended<br />

to reproduce <strong>the</strong> early Christian example without similar limitations,<br />

and to give it a prom<strong>in</strong>ent role with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> strategies of <strong>the</strong>ir discourse.<br />

In <strong>the</strong> end, <strong>the</strong> tale’s moral is <strong>the</strong> praise of moderate recreation. An<br />

orientation towards <strong>the</strong> same direction was deeply rooted <strong>in</strong> Western<br />

culture. 12<br />

A right to be idle<br />

Play has ambiguous relations with idleness. On <strong>the</strong> one hand, workaholic<br />

moralists and religious zealots alike tend to regard most pastimes<br />

as time wasted which should be better employed, <strong>the</strong> result of a human<br />

<strong>in</strong>cl<strong>in</strong>ation to do noth<strong>in</strong>g at all. It is aga<strong>in</strong>st <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>fluence of such a<br />

work ethic on <strong>in</strong>dustrial workers that Lafargue addressed his Le droit à<br />

la paresse. On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, a concern for <strong>the</strong> moral and physical risks<br />

deriv<strong>in</strong>g from <strong>in</strong>activity br<strong>in</strong>gs o<strong>the</strong>r writers to recommend some forms<br />

of recreation as a cure, a prescription aga<strong>in</strong>st idleness. The alternative<br />

is strik<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> medic<strong>in</strong>e, where different human activities occupy people’s<br />

bodies and m<strong>in</strong>ds to different degrees, and it is ma<strong>in</strong>ly on <strong>the</strong> basis of<br />

such dist<strong>in</strong>ctions that some recreations may qualify as rest, o<strong>the</strong>rs as<br />

exercise: two opposite patterns of behaviour, with obviously diverg<strong>in</strong>g<br />

effects on human health.<br />

Notwithstand<strong>in</strong>g Elias and Dunn<strong>in</strong>g’s op<strong>in</strong>ion that mere rest is not<br />

proper leisure (see <strong>the</strong> Introduction above), <strong>the</strong> opposition between<br />

otium and negotium – and <strong>the</strong> partially overlapp<strong>in</strong>g contrast between vita<br />

activa and vita contemplativa – were for a long time an <strong>in</strong>fluential factor<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> cultural evaluation of recreation. In spite of <strong>the</strong> comparative<br />

appreciation frequently enjoyed by literary otia, one should always<br />

remember that <strong>the</strong> predom<strong>in</strong>ant connotations of otium, from Classical<br />

Antiquity throughout <strong>the</strong> Christian Middle Ages, were strongly negative<br />

– a story to which Brian Vickers has returned <strong>in</strong> recent years.<br />

Its orig<strong>in</strong>al opposite was officium (duty), and a frequent context <strong>the</strong><br />

unwanted idleness to which an army was conf<strong>in</strong>ed over <strong>the</strong> w<strong>in</strong>ter<br />

months. Roman leaders were so concerned for <strong>the</strong> potential corrupt<strong>in</strong>g


The Need for <strong>Recreation</strong> 15<br />

effect of ease, that <strong>the</strong>y tended to keep <strong>the</strong> soldiers always occupied by<br />

fortification and road-build<strong>in</strong>g. Idleness was associated with shade (vs<br />

light, a condition <strong>in</strong>vit<strong>in</strong>g action), and effem<strong>in</strong>acy (as if leisure was after<br />

all for women, work for men – <strong>the</strong> ubiquitous cross-cultural comparison<br />

with <strong>the</strong> y<strong>in</strong>/yang dichotomy comes <strong>in</strong>evitably to one’s m<strong>in</strong>d). It<br />

had a tendency to nest <strong>in</strong> particular sites: but ra<strong>the</strong>r than th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g of<br />

<strong>the</strong> pastoral scene, early Roman moralists, who associated <strong>the</strong> countryside<br />

with labour, were concerned with idle urban life. If lovers were considered<br />

to be <strong>in</strong> that condition, it was because <strong>the</strong>ir spiritual mood had<br />

paralysed <strong>the</strong>m: like melancholy, <strong>in</strong> spite of its wealth of cultural significance,<br />

love was after all a pathology. The predom<strong>in</strong>antly bad reputation<br />

of otium carried on through <strong>the</strong> centuries: <strong>in</strong> order to be made<br />

acceptable, leisure needed to be qualified as ‘active’ or ‘fruitful’, and thus<br />

dist<strong>in</strong>guished from mere idleness. Christian moralists simply confirmed<br />

this Classical orientation. A study of late medieval Spanish manuals<br />

for confessors confirms <strong>the</strong> same strongly negative connotations for<br />

otium. 13 Occasionally otium could obta<strong>in</strong> good marks, though ma<strong>in</strong>ly by<br />

default: when a preacher <strong>in</strong> Milan Ca<strong>the</strong>dral <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> mid-sixteenth<br />

century wanted to discourage his audience from play by list<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />

moral evils it could br<strong>in</strong>g, he offered <strong>the</strong>m <strong>the</strong> alternative of engag<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>in</strong> ‘santo ocio’. 14<br />

With<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Christian section of <strong>the</strong> cultural history of otium, a specific<br />

topos of medieval thought which contributed to shape attitudes<br />

towards idleness among European learned élites is <strong>the</strong> s<strong>in</strong> of sloth<br />

(acedia). It belonged to (some versions of) <strong>the</strong> list of capital vices and,<br />

of that list, is <strong>the</strong> element subject to <strong>the</strong> most complex history. It first<br />

emerged <strong>in</strong> late Antiquity <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> experience of Oriental monasticism,<br />

where <strong>the</strong> Desert Fa<strong>the</strong>rs def<strong>in</strong>ed it as a state of m<strong>in</strong>d that assaulted a<br />

hermit at midday, provoked a disgust for his cell, made him anxious<br />

and restless, thus underm<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g his ability to concentrate <strong>in</strong> read<strong>in</strong>g and<br />

prayer. In <strong>the</strong> West, with <strong>the</strong> shift to coenobitic monasticism (houses<br />

and common life, ra<strong>the</strong>r than <strong>in</strong>dividual asceticism), <strong>the</strong> vice turned<br />

from mental and <strong>in</strong>dividual <strong>in</strong>to a predom<strong>in</strong>antly physical transgression<br />

of social duties: it became a sort of sleep<strong>in</strong>ess and laz<strong>in</strong>ess that<br />

could only be avoided by keep<strong>in</strong>g oneself always occupied, <strong>in</strong> prayer<br />

and work. Dur<strong>in</strong>g its millennial life, acedia was l<strong>in</strong>ked, sometimes identified,<br />

with tristitia (sadness, sorrow), a feel<strong>in</strong>g to which a particular disposition<br />

of <strong>the</strong> body could be seen to contribute. When, with <strong>the</strong> end<br />

of <strong>the</strong> Middle Ages, <strong>the</strong> old vice of sloth disappeared form <strong>the</strong> scene of<br />

Christian moral <strong>the</strong>ology, it merged with melancholy, a temperament<br />

which medical <strong>the</strong>ory anchored to a specific humoral (im)balance. 15


16 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

With<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> monastic tradition, pastimes related to acedia <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

ambivalent way we have envisaged for idleness <strong>in</strong> general. S<strong>in</strong>ce it could<br />

be accepted that this psychological condition may have a partial physiological<br />

root, <strong>the</strong> Paris bishop and philosopher William of Auvergne<br />

(c. 1180–1249) justified cur<strong>in</strong>g it via some forms of recreation, among<br />

which he mentioned listen<strong>in</strong>g to music. Outside <strong>the</strong> monastery,<br />

however, sloth came to be ma<strong>in</strong>ly identified with idleness and <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>cl<strong>in</strong>ation<br />

of <strong>the</strong> faithful not to do anyth<strong>in</strong>g useful or good; Rabanus<br />

Maurus (d. 856), <strong>the</strong>refore, lists hunt<strong>in</strong>g, play<strong>in</strong>g dice, to conceive a<br />

passion for futile stories and games all as manifestations of it. Dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>the</strong> latter part of <strong>the</strong> Middle Ages, <strong>the</strong> s<strong>in</strong> of <strong>the</strong> faithful (ra<strong>the</strong>r than of<br />

clerics) is <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly <strong>in</strong>terpreted as a neglect of religious duties: from<br />

this respect, danc<strong>in</strong>g, games, <strong>the</strong>atre and hunt<strong>in</strong>g feature among <strong>the</strong><br />

most common breaches of Sunday observance. 16 In an early modern<br />

society <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly <strong>in</strong>tolerant of <strong>the</strong> misuse of time, <strong>the</strong> association<br />

between idleness and play (‘la ociosidad y los juegos’, as an earlyseventeenth-century<br />

cleric from Seville put it) was go<strong>in</strong>g to come<br />

frequently under fire (see also below, Chapter 4). 17<br />

The <strong>Renaissance</strong> heir of monastic acedia, melancholy, found its<br />

Homer <strong>in</strong> Robert Burton (1577–1640). In <strong>the</strong> structure of his Anatomy<br />

of Melancholy, physical exercise and <strong>the</strong> emotions, play and <strong>the</strong> arts<br />

<strong>in</strong>tervene at different levels, from <strong>the</strong> causes of <strong>the</strong> medical condition<br />

he exam<strong>in</strong>es to its manifestation and means of cure, thus tightly <strong>in</strong>terweav<strong>in</strong>g<br />

leisure with <strong>the</strong> very identity of <strong>the</strong> melancholic. With<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

first partition (1.2.2.6), <strong>the</strong> identification of idleness as a cause of <strong>the</strong><br />

disease takes <strong>the</strong> form of a moral critique of <strong>the</strong> ‘leisure classes’ and <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

chief occupations: ‘And this is <strong>the</strong> true cause that so many great men,<br />

Ladies, and Gentlewomen, labour of this disease <strong>in</strong> country and citty,<br />

for idlenesse is an appendix to nobility, <strong>the</strong>y count it a disgrace to<br />

worke, and spend all <strong>the</strong>ir daies <strong>in</strong> sports, recreations, and pastimes, and<br />

will <strong>the</strong>refore take no pa<strong>in</strong>es; be of no vocation: <strong>the</strong>y feed liberally, fare<br />

well, want exercise, action, employment, (for to work, I say, <strong>the</strong>y may<br />

not abide) and company to <strong>the</strong>ir desires.’ 18 Fur<strong>the</strong>r on (1.2.3.13), <strong>the</strong><br />

reader comes across a reference to beggars; however, ra<strong>the</strong>r than belong<strong>in</strong>g<br />

to <strong>the</strong> loiter<strong>in</strong>g poor by birth, <strong>the</strong>y are recognized as often belong<strong>in</strong>g<br />

to <strong>the</strong> category of <strong>the</strong> impoverished rich, who wasted <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

flourish<strong>in</strong>g estates ‘through immoderate lust, gam<strong>in</strong>g, pleasure and riot’.<br />

Burton qualifies <strong>the</strong>m as ‘sensuall Epicures and brutish prodigalls’,<br />

equates <strong>the</strong>m to <strong>the</strong> prodigal son of <strong>the</strong> Gospel, and observes that ‘<strong>the</strong><br />

ord<strong>in</strong>ary rocks upon which such men doe imp<strong>in</strong>ge and precipitate<br />

<strong>the</strong>mselves, are Cards, Dice, Hawks, and Hounds’. If, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> order of this


The Need for <strong>Recreation</strong> 17<br />

discourse, <strong>the</strong> critique of <strong>the</strong> passion for gambl<strong>in</strong>g and its obvious f<strong>in</strong>ancial<br />

consequences can be taken for granted, <strong>the</strong> author’s <strong>in</strong>sistence on<br />

<strong>the</strong> exaggerated love for hunt<strong>in</strong>g as a common problem of <strong>the</strong> European<br />

aristocracy is worth record<strong>in</strong>g. Its presentation is enriched by a<br />

series of historical examples; one of <strong>the</strong> targets of criticism is ‘Leo<br />

decimus, that hunt<strong>in</strong>g Pope’ (Giovanni de’ Medici, Pope 1513–21, <strong>the</strong><br />

Pope who excommunicated Mart<strong>in</strong> Lu<strong>the</strong>r), who would spend months<br />

hawk<strong>in</strong>g and hunt<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> his country villa at Ostia, neglect<strong>in</strong>g all his<br />

duties. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, ‘some men are consumed by mad fantasticall<br />

build<strong>in</strong>gs, by mak<strong>in</strong>g Galleries, Cloisters, Terraces, Walkes, Orchards,<br />

Gardens, Pooles, Rillets, Bowers, and such places of pleasure’. Both <strong>the</strong><br />

passions for hunt<strong>in</strong>g and for leisure architecture are commented on as<br />

appropriate to some great men, unsuitable to o<strong>the</strong>rs; <strong>the</strong> fault, <strong>in</strong> this<br />

case, would seem to derive from <strong>the</strong> lack of understand<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong> occupations<br />

which are befitt<strong>in</strong>g an <strong>in</strong>dividual and his status. The list of<br />

immoderate pleasures people <strong>in</strong>dulge <strong>in</strong> is completed by (excessive love<br />

for) ‘W<strong>in</strong>e and women’. 19 When deal<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> second partition, with<br />

<strong>the</strong> cure of melancholy, Burton also surveys ‘exercise rectified of body<br />

and m<strong>in</strong>de’, <strong>in</strong> terms that we will revisit towards <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> next<br />

chapter.<br />

The medical discourse on play, however, covered a much wider territory<br />

than <strong>the</strong> specific case of <strong>the</strong> melancholic. The next chapter will aim<br />

to <strong>in</strong>troduce this specific cultural perspective, under which <strong>the</strong> social<br />

practices of recreation were understood by contemporaries; moreover,<br />

that will also provide <strong>the</strong> grounds for present<strong>in</strong>g Burton’s <strong>the</strong>rapeutics<br />

<strong>in</strong> its appropriate context.


3<br />

The Medical Discourse<br />

It has already been suggested <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> previous chapter that medic<strong>in</strong>e provided<br />

<strong>the</strong> grounds for some of <strong>the</strong> most common justifications for<br />

leisure and recreation. Strictly speak<strong>in</strong>g, it could be observed that leisure<br />

activities do not appear <strong>in</strong> medical literature for <strong>the</strong>ir recreational<br />

purpose; ra<strong>the</strong>r, for <strong>the</strong> functional role acknowledged to <strong>the</strong>m <strong>in</strong> a<br />

system of beliefs and practices concern<strong>in</strong>g human health. Never<strong>the</strong>less,<br />

<strong>the</strong> proximity and overlapp<strong>in</strong>g between <strong>the</strong> recreational and <strong>the</strong><br />

medical discourses is undeniable, and makes a consideration of both<br />

perspectives compulsory, if we want to adequately represent <strong>the</strong> predom<strong>in</strong>ant<br />

cultural attitudes towards leisure. The time has come to<br />

develop <strong>the</strong> po<strong>in</strong>t and briefly <strong>in</strong>troduce those elements of Western<br />

medical thought which were more directly relevant to <strong>the</strong> discussion of<br />

our topic. 1<br />

Motion and rest<br />

Throughout <strong>the</strong> early modern period, notwithstand<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> epistemological<br />

changes associated with <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> and <strong>the</strong> Scientific Revolution,<br />

humoral <strong>the</strong>ory still provided by and large <strong>the</strong> predom<strong>in</strong>ant<br />

medical paradigm. Based on <strong>the</strong> corpus of Hippocratic writ<strong>in</strong>gs and<br />

on its late-antique development <strong>in</strong> Galen (second century AD), it had<br />

reached <strong>the</strong> medieval West ma<strong>in</strong>ly through <strong>the</strong> mediation and <strong>in</strong>terpretation<br />

provided by Arabic science. A protagonist <strong>in</strong> a rich tradition<br />

of translations, digests and commentaries was Hunayn ibn Ishaq<br />

(Johannitius), a n<strong>in</strong>th-century Christian from Iraq, who searched <strong>the</strong><br />

Byzant<strong>in</strong>e empire for Galenic treatises with a spirit that rem<strong>in</strong>ds us of a<br />

fifteenth-century humanist hunt<strong>in</strong>g for classical texts ‘imprisoned’ <strong>in</strong><br />

monastic libraries. His Medical Questions and Answers, a student textbook,<br />

18


The Medical Discourse 19<br />

was available <strong>in</strong> Lat<strong>in</strong> translation by 1100; and, as an <strong>in</strong>troduction (<strong>in</strong><br />

Greek, Isagoge) to Galen’s The Art of Medic<strong>in</strong>e, it became <strong>the</strong> first section<br />

of <strong>the</strong> Articella, <strong>the</strong> standard medieval medical textbook anthology. 2<br />

The general tenets of humoral <strong>the</strong>ory are well known. Human health<br />

was believed to depend on <strong>the</strong> equilibrium between four bodily fluids<br />

(blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile or melancholy). This list was<br />

related to a series of o<strong>the</strong>r factors, which showed <strong>the</strong> strict connections<br />

l<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> human be<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> cosmos: <strong>the</strong> four elements (air, fire,<br />

earth and water), <strong>the</strong> primary qualities (hot vs cold, dry vs wet), <strong>the</strong> four<br />

seasons, and <strong>the</strong> ages of man. As well as suggest<strong>in</strong>g avoidance of excess<br />

or deficiency of each of <strong>the</strong>se factors, <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>ory was meant to expla<strong>in</strong><br />

variations between <strong>in</strong>dividuals, which could be <strong>in</strong>terpreted as idiosyncratic<br />

balances, or humoral mixtures (‘temperaments’ or complexions).<br />

It should be stressed that <strong>in</strong> early modern Europe this belief system was<br />

shared by learned and popular medic<strong>in</strong>e alike; its pr<strong>in</strong>ciples, astrological<br />

connections and dietetic implications enjoyed widespread diffusion<br />

via such media as proverbs and almanacs, as <strong>the</strong> popularity of <strong>the</strong> verse<br />

Salernitan Rule of Health easily demonstrates. When <strong>Renaissance</strong> humanism<br />

became available <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> European marketplace of ideas, it provided<br />

deeper cultural mean<strong>in</strong>g to concepts of balance and harmony, both<br />

with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>dividual and between man and cosmos, <strong>in</strong> all those aspects<br />

of traditional medical thought <strong>in</strong> which notions of equilibrium were<br />

central.<br />

In Johannitius’s adaptation of Galen’s thought and vocabulary, <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong>oretical part of medic<strong>in</strong>e was concerned with three groups of factors<br />

which affected human health: <strong>the</strong> naturals, <strong>the</strong> ‘nonnaturals’ and <strong>the</strong><br />

contranaturals. To <strong>the</strong> first list belonged those th<strong>in</strong>gs which constitute<br />

<strong>the</strong> body; to <strong>the</strong> last disease, its causes and consequences. The most<br />

common series of nonnaturals comprised: 1. air; 2. food and dr<strong>in</strong>k; 3.<br />

motion and rest; 4. sleep and wak<strong>in</strong>g; 5. repletion and evacuation; 6.<br />

<strong>the</strong> accidents of <strong>the</strong> soul. It should be clear that <strong>the</strong> category was problematic.<br />

Certa<strong>in</strong>ly ‘nonnatural’ did not mean aga<strong>in</strong>st nature; it was<br />

ra<strong>the</strong>r a middle ground, whose elements could ei<strong>the</strong>r benefit or harm<br />

human health. It goes without say<strong>in</strong>g that such occasions were unavoidable,<br />

<strong>the</strong>ir use <strong>in</strong> no way optional: one cannot live without breath<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

eat<strong>in</strong>g or sleep<strong>in</strong>g. The correct use of <strong>the</strong> nonnaturals was <strong>the</strong>refore one<br />

of <strong>the</strong> subjects of practical, as well as <strong>the</strong>oretical medic<strong>in</strong>e. It consisted<br />

<strong>in</strong> a regimen of health. 3 Preventive medic<strong>in</strong>e (<strong>in</strong> Greek, hygiene) was<br />

regarded as an essential part of medic<strong>in</strong>e; <strong>the</strong> idea that, concern<strong>in</strong>g<br />

healthy bodies, it does not belong to medic<strong>in</strong>e at all, played only a marg<strong>in</strong>al<br />

role <strong>in</strong> early modern developments. 4


20 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

The two nonnaturals which are more relevant to our enquiry are<br />

‘motion and rest’ and <strong>the</strong> accidents of <strong>the</strong> soul. The former was often<br />

referred to as ‘exercise and rest’: it <strong>the</strong>refore <strong>in</strong>cluded a medical assessment<br />

of <strong>the</strong> value of some sports as an <strong>in</strong>tegral part. The latter, which<br />

implies a philosophical doctr<strong>in</strong>e of <strong>the</strong> psyche, had citizenship with<strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> medical discourse because passions were seen as <strong>in</strong>fluenc<strong>in</strong>g human<br />

health. O<strong>the</strong>r nonnaturals (air, food and dr<strong>in</strong>k) were external factors,<br />

orig<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g from <strong>the</strong> environment; similarly, emotions were regarded as<br />

movements of <strong>the</strong> soul affect<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> equilibrium of <strong>the</strong> human body<br />

(though moral philosophers tended to see <strong>the</strong> relation <strong>in</strong> reverse). S<strong>in</strong>ce<br />

a variety of human activities, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g pastimes, could cause joy or<br />

sorrow, <strong>the</strong>ir consideration was significant for <strong>the</strong> physician. We have<br />

already encountered some of its implications when we considered <strong>the</strong><br />

case of melancholy (Chapter 2).<br />

The fact that <strong>the</strong> opposites ‘motion and rest’ were conceptualized<br />

toge<strong>the</strong>r as occasions affect<strong>in</strong>g health – as was <strong>the</strong> case for o<strong>the</strong>r nonnaturals<br />

(sleep and wak<strong>in</strong>g, repletion and evacuation) – meant that an<br />

<strong>in</strong>dividual was supposed to achieve a balanced comb<strong>in</strong>ation, by mak<strong>in</strong>g<br />

alternative use of <strong>the</strong>m. A significant number of forms of recreation<br />

could f<strong>in</strong>d place <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> medical discussion of <strong>the</strong> topic, regardless of <strong>the</strong><br />

fact that <strong>the</strong>y may require vary<strong>in</strong>g levels of physical effort. In fact, s<strong>in</strong>ce<br />

<strong>the</strong> nonnatural <strong>in</strong> question also <strong>in</strong>cluded rest, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> same chapters it<br />

was relevant to discuss restful pastimes with equal propriety as athletic<br />

ones, with <strong>the</strong> obvious caveat that each group may prove appropriate<br />

to different categories of people, or to <strong>the</strong> same people <strong>in</strong> different circumstances.<br />

Consideration of <strong>the</strong> vary<strong>in</strong>g conditions was crucial, and<br />

had an established tradition go<strong>in</strong>g back to <strong>the</strong> Greeks. In order to assess<br />

<strong>the</strong> implications of physical exercise on <strong>the</strong> health of its practitioners,<br />

a medical writer considered <strong>the</strong> general characteristics of <strong>the</strong> person<br />

<strong>in</strong>volved, such as gender, age, profession and <strong>in</strong>dividual complexion;<br />

<strong>the</strong> amount of required physical effort; <strong>the</strong> time of day and season when<br />

exercise was practised, as well as <strong>the</strong> environment <strong>in</strong> which it took place.<br />

In general, <strong>the</strong> recognized benefits of exercise <strong>in</strong>cluded an <strong>in</strong>crease<br />

<strong>in</strong> body heat, <strong>the</strong> limber<strong>in</strong>g up of muscles, <strong>the</strong> open<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong> pores,<br />

and improvements <strong>in</strong> transpiration and <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> expulsion of harmful<br />

substances.<br />

What activities qualified as exercise It was dist<strong>in</strong>guished from o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

k<strong>in</strong>ds of body movements because it was vigorous (thus provok<strong>in</strong>g<br />

deeper and/or quicker breath<strong>in</strong>g than normal) and it was undertaken<br />

consciously, its purpose be<strong>in</strong>g health. Subsequently, no k<strong>in</strong>d of physical<br />

work could be correctly labelled as exercise: exercise was by def<strong>in</strong>i-


The Medical Discourse 21<br />

tion leisure, despite <strong>the</strong> fact that very similar gestures may be <strong>in</strong>volved<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> two human activities. This def<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g delimitation of <strong>the</strong> mean<strong>in</strong>g<br />

of exercise may help <strong>in</strong> understand<strong>in</strong>g why <strong>the</strong> discussion of sports and<br />

pastimes was not only common <strong>in</strong> medical literature on <strong>the</strong> preservation<br />

of health, but also often constituted <strong>the</strong> ma<strong>in</strong> subject of its ‘motion<br />

and rest’ section.<br />

With<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> context of an <strong>in</strong>tegrated health regime which concentrated<br />

on food (most regimens of health essentially consist of an<br />

annotated list of foodstuffs), physicians discussed exercise ma<strong>in</strong>ly by<br />

assess<strong>in</strong>g its relation to nutrition. Physical effort should not disturb<br />

digestion: it had <strong>the</strong>refore to be made before – or considerably after –<br />

mealtimes. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, moderation was recommended: both excessive<br />

effort and prolonged <strong>in</strong>activity were regarded as harmful to <strong>the</strong> human<br />

body. It was considered more beneficial to exercise <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> open air, ra<strong>the</strong>r<br />

than <strong>in</strong> an enclosed environment; and to do so when <strong>the</strong> wea<strong>the</strong>r<br />

was clement (both as an <strong>in</strong>dication of <strong>the</strong> appropriate time of day and<br />

of <strong>the</strong> most convenient times of year). Writers of hygiene classified<br />

exercise with respect to medically significant categories, such as <strong>the</strong><br />

speed and <strong>in</strong>tensity of movement <strong>in</strong>volved. With regard to speed, a<br />

seventeenth-century treatise published <strong>in</strong> Germany mentioned dance<br />

and ball games as examples of quickness, walk<strong>in</strong>g and fish<strong>in</strong>g for<br />

slowness. 5 In his frequently repr<strong>in</strong>ted Castel of Hel<strong>the</strong> (c. 1536), <strong>the</strong><br />

humanist and diplomat Thomas Elyot also gave <strong>the</strong> ‘daunsynge of galyardes’<br />

and ‘foteball playe’ as examples of ‘vehement exercise’: <strong>in</strong> both<br />

cases <strong>the</strong> properties of force and speed, elsewhere separated, were<br />

united. 6 There were some exercises <strong>in</strong> which <strong>the</strong> body achieved activity<br />

under its own momentum, and o<strong>the</strong>rs <strong>in</strong> which <strong>the</strong> body was ei<strong>the</strong>r<br />

moved or carried. Sw<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g or travell<strong>in</strong>g by means of transport – as<br />

occurs <strong>in</strong> a cradle, a coach or a boat – featured as borderl<strong>in</strong>e cases,<br />

but were ord<strong>in</strong>arily judged as moderate, passive exercise (‘agitation’),<br />

befitt<strong>in</strong>g women, children and <strong>the</strong> elderly.<br />

As well as to different genders and age groups, <strong>the</strong>re were some sorts<br />

of exercise that were more appropriate to particular classes of people<br />

accord<strong>in</strong>g to vary<strong>in</strong>g temperaments and o<strong>the</strong>r conditions; o<strong>the</strong>rs were<br />

commended for <strong>the</strong>ir benefit to a specific part of <strong>the</strong> body (for <strong>in</strong>stance,<br />

danc<strong>in</strong>g and runn<strong>in</strong>g for <strong>the</strong>ir benefit to <strong>the</strong> feet). 7 The observation that<br />

different parts of <strong>the</strong> body are <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> each sort of exercise formed<br />

<strong>the</strong> background for an evaluation of specific pastimes. It was not rare<br />

for medical writers to express <strong>the</strong>ir personal orientations as to which<br />

type of sports and pastimes were commendable or not; <strong>the</strong> choice could<br />

<strong>in</strong>clude <strong>the</strong> recommendation of one particular activity as <strong>the</strong> most


22 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

beneficial. The opportunity to suggest his own view seems almost too<br />

tempt<strong>in</strong>g for a physician to resist. The story of <strong>the</strong> nom<strong>in</strong>ation of <strong>the</strong><br />

best exercise goes back to Galen, who, as well as a general treatise On<br />

<strong>the</strong> Preservation of Health, wrote a shorter tract on Exercise with <strong>the</strong> Small<br />

Ball. 8 In <strong>the</strong> latter (an unidentified game of ancient gymnastics) <strong>the</strong><br />

Greek physician found that <strong>the</strong> whole body was <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> a balanced<br />

way, a strong reason for preferr<strong>in</strong>g it aga<strong>in</strong>st o<strong>the</strong>r practices, which<br />

could have an uneven developmental impact. When fifteenth- and<br />

sixteenth-century physicians followed <strong>the</strong>ir ancient model by mention<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>the</strong> same sport, <strong>the</strong>y could also <strong>in</strong>terpret it as, or substitute it<br />

with, a modern practice. In <strong>the</strong> first pr<strong>in</strong>ted book entirely dedicated to<br />

<strong>the</strong> medical topic of physical exercise – Christoval Mendez’s Libro del<br />

exercicio corporal, published <strong>in</strong> Seville <strong>in</strong> 1553 – <strong>the</strong> description of <strong>the</strong><br />

game of pelota, which <strong>the</strong> author regarded as <strong>the</strong> best, took up as many<br />

as four chapters. 9 Similarly, accord<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> English physician and<br />

schoolmaster Thomas Cogan (1545–1607), Galen commends ‘<strong>the</strong> play<br />

with <strong>the</strong> little ball, which we call tenise’. 10 A Portuguese professor of<br />

medic<strong>in</strong>e active <strong>in</strong> Italy, Rodrigo da Fonseca, recognized <strong>the</strong> appropriate<br />

equivalent to <strong>the</strong> ancient model <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> street game played with<br />

paddles (mestole or lacchette), ra<strong>the</strong>r than <strong>the</strong> palla alla corda played<br />

<strong>in</strong>doors. He also added <strong>the</strong> pallamaglio, hunt<strong>in</strong>g with <strong>the</strong> crossbow and<br />

<strong>the</strong> danc<strong>in</strong>g of galliards as fur<strong>the</strong>r forms of exercise that <strong>in</strong>volved a<br />

similar balance between <strong>the</strong> different parts of <strong>the</strong> body. 11<br />

O<strong>the</strong>r writers had <strong>the</strong>ir own preferences. In a treatise on <strong>the</strong> preservation<br />

of health <strong>in</strong>tended to serve for <strong>the</strong> use of his own children,<br />

He<strong>in</strong>rich Ranzow (1526–98), a governor of Schleswig-Holste<strong>in</strong>, displayed<br />

his aristocratic taste by stat<strong>in</strong>g that he personally opted for<br />

hunt<strong>in</strong>g: not only does it exercise <strong>the</strong> whole body symmetrically; it also<br />

gives remarkable pleasure to <strong>the</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d. To this effect a wide number of<br />

elements of this loisir contribute: from exposure to <strong>the</strong> extreme temperatures<br />

of <strong>the</strong> open air to horse-rid<strong>in</strong>g; from physical and mental<br />

effort to <strong>the</strong> strategic skills <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> hunt, which are comparable<br />

to those of a military manoeuvre. Even <strong>the</strong> bark<strong>in</strong>g and howl<strong>in</strong>g of<br />

hounds is recorded as an exercise for <strong>the</strong> huntsman’s hear<strong>in</strong>g, while follow<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>the</strong> animal keeps his sight <strong>in</strong> good form. 12 Edmond Holl<strong>in</strong>g<br />

(1554–1612), an English Catholic physician who taught <strong>in</strong> Bavaria, gave<br />

his preference to <strong>the</strong> country walk: <strong>the</strong> mounta<strong>in</strong>s of sou<strong>the</strong>rn Germany<br />

oblige you to walk up and down, and by do<strong>in</strong>g so you keep a variety of<br />

different muscles exercised. As for your back and arms, <strong>the</strong>y will also be<br />

fit, as long as you periodically bend down to pick a flower. Holl<strong>in</strong>g’s


The Medical Discourse 23<br />

book addressed a specific social group: <strong>the</strong> literate – Lat. studiosi (an<br />

aspect of his work on which more will be said below). 13<br />

Ancient and modern forms of exercise<br />

If we now abandon <strong>the</strong> specific quest for <strong>the</strong> best sport of all, it is worth<br />

notic<strong>in</strong>g that Holl<strong>in</strong>g’s walk<strong>in</strong>g, Fonseca’s danc<strong>in</strong>g and Ranzow’s<br />

hunt<strong>in</strong>g had long been physicians’ examples for appropriate exercise.<br />

For example, an <strong>in</strong>fluential medieval medical text which <strong>in</strong>cluded<br />

consideration of a selection of pastimes was <strong>the</strong> Taqwim al-Sihha, an<br />

Arabic work by Ibn Butlan, an eleventh-century Christian physician<br />

from Baghdad. The book consisted <strong>in</strong> a series of synoptic tables, which<br />

provided <strong>the</strong> reader with an accessible assessment of <strong>the</strong> health<br />

implications of a variety of dietary choices. While foodstuffs are its<br />

ma<strong>in</strong> subject, <strong>the</strong> environment and what would now be called lifestyle<br />

provide <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g additional material for some of <strong>the</strong> tables. For each<br />

topic, <strong>the</strong> text provides a def<strong>in</strong>ition of its nature, benefits, damages,<br />

remedies, and suitability to particular temperaments, age groups,<br />

seasons and regions. 14<br />

A number of codices of <strong>the</strong> Tacu<strong>in</strong>i (or Theatrum) sanitatis were<br />

illum<strong>in</strong>ated by fifteenth-century Italian workshops. They conta<strong>in</strong> an<br />

abridged version of Ibn Butlan’s text, which, along with foodstuffs,<br />

could be found assess<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> hygienic implications of hunt<strong>in</strong>g on <strong>the</strong><br />

ground, moderate play with a ball, wrestl<strong>in</strong>g, rest, horse-rid<strong>in</strong>g, motion,<br />

light exercise, s<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g, and danc<strong>in</strong>g and music-mak<strong>in</strong>g. Their images are<br />

simple – <strong>in</strong> one of <strong>the</strong> manuscripts held at <strong>the</strong> Österreichische Nationalbiblio<strong>the</strong>k<br />

<strong>in</strong> Vienna, <strong>the</strong>y are left as colourless, sketched l<strong>in</strong>e draw<strong>in</strong>gs<br />

(Figure 3.1). But it may well be true that it is exactly by <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

portrayal of only that which is essential that <strong>the</strong>y are an effective means<br />

of communication and best fulfil <strong>the</strong>ir purpose. Both men and women<br />

appear represented <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>m, accord<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> gender dest<strong>in</strong>ation which<br />

is regarded as appropriate to each form of exercise.<br />

In spite of a series of modern adaptations, <strong>the</strong> sixteenth- and early<br />

seventeenth-century literature I have been quot<strong>in</strong>g was firmly rooted <strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> classical tradition, to <strong>the</strong> extent that it often borrowed examples<br />

that were quite old-fashioned. Ranzow was aware of <strong>the</strong> lesson of<br />

Xenophon, and quotes directly from his treatise on hunt<strong>in</strong>g. A specific<br />

ancient flavour transpires from examples referr<strong>in</strong>g to gymnastics.<br />

Among <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> literate, humanism had stimulated detailed<br />

<strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> all aspects of life at <strong>the</strong> time of classical antiquity, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g


24 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

Figure 3.1 S<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g as an exercise, from a Tacu<strong>in</strong>um sanitatis compiled <strong>in</strong><br />

Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Italy, c. 1500. The accompany<strong>in</strong>g text warns <strong>the</strong> reader that it will free<br />

you from diseases, yet can produce addiction to its delights.<br />

games and gymnastics. In parallel with <strong>Renaissance</strong> antiquarianism,<br />

sixteenth-century medical humanism thus exhibited a detailed <strong>in</strong>terest<br />

<strong>in</strong> classical gymnastics, to <strong>the</strong> extent that <strong>the</strong> earliest modern literature<br />

on physical exercise barely referred to contemporary practice. This is<br />

true of <strong>the</strong> protagonist of this revival, Girolamo Mercuriale (1530–1606),<br />

a professor of medic<strong>in</strong>e at Padua, Bologna and Pisa. His six books De<br />

arte gymnastica, first published <strong>in</strong> 1569, claimed to be based on <strong>the</strong> writ<strong>in</strong>gs<br />

of over a hundred ancient authors; <strong>the</strong>y quickly became a work of<br />

reference on <strong>the</strong> subject and had a wide European circulation for more<br />

than a century. In one of his few references to modern amusements,<br />

Mercuriale criticized <strong>the</strong> effects that contemporary dances had on<br />

health, although only because <strong>the</strong>y were performed at <strong>in</strong>appropriate<br />

times (after meals and at night, when people should really be<br />

sleep<strong>in</strong>g). 15


The Medical Discourse 25<br />

From its second edition, <strong>the</strong> product of <strong>the</strong> publish<strong>in</strong>g firm Giunta of<br />

Venice <strong>in</strong> 1573, Mercuriale’s text was <strong>in</strong>tegrated by illustrations designed<br />

by <strong>the</strong> Neapolitan antiquarian Pirro Ligorio. Gender roles are no less<br />

evident here, if we compare <strong>the</strong> light exercise of a young woman on <strong>the</strong><br />

sw<strong>in</strong>g with <strong>the</strong> muscular figures of some male bodies (Figures 3.2 and<br />

3.3). As we mentioned before, sw<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g was classified <strong>in</strong> medical literature<br />

as passive exercise befitt<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> human be<strong>in</strong>gs of most delicate<br />

complexions. The fact that <strong>the</strong> sw<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g scene is a girls-only bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />

(<strong>the</strong> two helpers hold<strong>in</strong>g chords be<strong>in</strong>g women as well) may be partly<br />

due to <strong>the</strong> artist’s <strong>in</strong>tention to reproduce a classical custom accord<strong>in</strong>g<br />

to <strong>the</strong> manner <strong>in</strong> which it was historically practised; whatever <strong>the</strong> case,<br />

it adds here an aura of purity that would be spoiled by sexual promiscuity.<br />

Ligorio was also responsible for <strong>the</strong> iconography of one of <strong>the</strong><br />

most specific cycles of games represented <strong>in</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> art, which presents<br />

some po<strong>in</strong>ts of contact with <strong>the</strong> visual representation of athletics<br />

<strong>in</strong> Mercuriale’s book. 16 The cycle is found <strong>in</strong> Este Castle, <strong>the</strong> pr<strong>in</strong>cipal<br />

residence of <strong>the</strong> rul<strong>in</strong>g family <strong>in</strong> Ferrara. Duke Alfonso II (ruled<br />

1559–97), <strong>the</strong> son of Renée of France, had had a remarkable education,<br />

both literary and chivalric; on <strong>the</strong> eve of <strong>in</strong>herit<strong>in</strong>g his title, he was<br />

joust<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> Henry II of France’s team on <strong>the</strong> occasion <strong>in</strong> which <strong>the</strong> k<strong>in</strong>g<br />

was <strong>the</strong> victim of a fatal accident. 17 The rooms known as <strong>the</strong> ‘Apartment<br />

of <strong>the</strong> Mirror’ (Appartamento dello Specchio) were renewed after a serious<br />

earthquake had hit <strong>the</strong> city <strong>in</strong> 1570. The apartment <strong>in</strong>cludes a ‘Salone<br />

dei giuochi’ and a ‘Saletta dei giuochi’; <strong>the</strong> vaulted ceil<strong>in</strong>gs of both<br />

rooms were frescoed by Leonardo da Brescia, Sabastiano Filippi (il Bastian<strong>in</strong>o)<br />

and Ludovico Settevecchi, and represent a generous selection<br />

of games – <strong>the</strong> Saletta ra<strong>the</strong>r concentrat<strong>in</strong>g on children’s play. The sports<br />

and pastimes portrayed <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>dividual panels of <strong>the</strong> Salone are swimm<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

<strong>the</strong> sw<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>the</strong> trigonal (a game of skill with balls), <strong>the</strong> quadriga<br />

race, <strong>the</strong> pyrrhic (ancient martial dance), throw<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> discus, <strong>the</strong> game<br />

of hoop and t<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>nabulae, <strong>the</strong> ball game with armlet, <strong>the</strong> wrestl<strong>in</strong>g<br />

match, weightlift<strong>in</strong>g and <strong>the</strong> pancratium (a mixture of wrestl<strong>in</strong>g and<br />

box<strong>in</strong>g). With <strong>the</strong> exception of <strong>the</strong> fem<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>e connotation of sw<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

<strong>the</strong> ceil<strong>in</strong>g is dom<strong>in</strong>ated by a display of male bodies, usually naked, <strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> fashion of ancient gymnastics. In <strong>the</strong> Saletta, around a central representation<br />

of <strong>the</strong> Four Seasons (who are hold<strong>in</strong>g hands <strong>in</strong> a circle), we<br />

f<strong>in</strong>d <strong>the</strong> cestus (box<strong>in</strong>g), <strong>the</strong> game of w<strong>in</strong>esk<strong>in</strong>s, <strong>the</strong> gladiatorial contest,<br />

<strong>the</strong> telesia (armed danc<strong>in</strong>g exercise), <strong>the</strong> game of skittles, sp<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />

top, <strong>the</strong> sl<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>the</strong> wrestl<strong>in</strong>g match, fish<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>the</strong> game with ball and<br />

hoop, that with racquet, and r<strong>in</strong>g-a-roses, toge<strong>the</strong>r with music and<br />

poetry (school of read<strong>in</strong>g and writ<strong>in</strong>g). Allegories of human life domi-


26 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

Figure 3.2 Ligorio’s representation of young ladies sw<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g, from Mercurialis’s<br />

De arte gymnastica.


The Medical Discourse 27<br />

Figure 3.3<br />

Rope jumpers and dancers, from Mercurialis.


28 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

nate <strong>the</strong> iconographic programme of a fur<strong>the</strong>r, connected room<br />

(‘Camera dell’aurora’).<br />

While <strong>the</strong> choice of games from <strong>the</strong> classical past testifies for <strong>the</strong><br />

passion for Antiquity characteristic of <strong>Renaissance</strong> taste, <strong>the</strong> Ferrarese<br />

environment seems to have developed a special <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> world of<br />

play, documented by a variety of clues such as <strong>the</strong> play element <strong>in</strong><br />

Guar<strong>in</strong>o da Verona’s educational programme, or <strong>the</strong> juristic work of Ugo<br />

Trotti. One should also take <strong>in</strong>to account that it is once more <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

Ferrara of Alfonso II that we will f<strong>in</strong>d Torquato Tasso tak<strong>in</strong>g a more than<br />

cursory <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>terpretation of play (see below, Chapter 6). The<br />

apartment, on <strong>the</strong> top floor of <strong>the</strong> Castle, was reached through an<br />

impressive stairway, and was also meant to receive honoured guests,<br />

one of its first visitors be<strong>in</strong>g K<strong>in</strong>g Henry III of France and Poland, who<br />

was <strong>in</strong> Ferrara <strong>in</strong> July 1574 when <strong>the</strong> decoration was still not entirely<br />

complete.<br />

Recent research on <strong>the</strong> iconographic plan for <strong>the</strong> whole apartment<br />

has revealed a much higher degree of consistency than previously<br />

acknowledged, a conclusion that makes <strong>the</strong> choice of <strong>the</strong> play topic for<br />

<strong>the</strong> frescoes all <strong>the</strong> more <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g. It seems that, after <strong>the</strong> earthquake,<br />

<strong>the</strong> decoration of <strong>the</strong> apartment was meant to display and embody a<br />

complex project of renewal, where play and a specific <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

philosophy of time, with human life <strong>in</strong>terpreted <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> light of a cosmic<br />

cycle, kept central ground. It is now clear that what is represented <strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> Saletta is <strong>the</strong> range of activities that were typical of an ancient school<br />

(gymnasium, or ludus), with its characteristic pursuit of a harmonic<br />

balance between body and m<strong>in</strong>d. It has been noticed that some of <strong>the</strong><br />

scenes that would look more problematic for an educational purpose,<br />

such as <strong>the</strong> gladiatorial contest, are not <strong>in</strong> fact depict<strong>in</strong>g a real fight, but<br />

ra<strong>the</strong>r a mock one performed as a form of exercise, or a dance mim<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>the</strong> contest (<strong>the</strong> musicians play<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> a corner be<strong>in</strong>g common <strong>in</strong> treatises<br />

of education as a specific requirement for that form of tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g).<br />

The presence <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> panels of <strong>the</strong> figure of <strong>the</strong> tutor supervis<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />

exercise also confirms that we are look<strong>in</strong>g at scenes from a school. O<strong>the</strong>r<br />

children’s games represented <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> same room – sp<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g-top and skittles<br />

– had a philosophical, neo-Platonic tradition of allegorical mean<strong>in</strong>g.<br />

The traditional ludi, which are depicted on <strong>the</strong> ceil<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong> Salone,<br />

express <strong>the</strong> Duke’s passion for athletics more directly. Although <strong>the</strong><br />

figures appear mannerist ra<strong>the</strong>r than neo-classical <strong>in</strong> style, <strong>the</strong>y are<br />

filtered through a humanist antiquarianism, which Ligorio had also <strong>the</strong><br />

opportunity to nourish by actually observ<strong>in</strong>g contemporary archaeological<br />

excavations (at <strong>the</strong> Villa Adriana at Tivoli). In <strong>the</strong> overall


The Medical Discourse 29<br />

iconographic programme, <strong>the</strong>y may express <strong>the</strong> wish to celebrate, with<br />

public rejoic<strong>in</strong>g and display, <strong>the</strong> successful re<strong>in</strong>statement of order and<br />

harmony after a cataclysm. With<strong>in</strong> a few years, however, <strong>the</strong> hope for<br />

a new age for <strong>the</strong> Este dynasty was to be frustrated: Alfonso did not<br />

manage to fa<strong>the</strong>r a legitimate heir, and – while <strong>the</strong> family ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>ed<br />

<strong>the</strong> rule of Modena – <strong>the</strong> Papal State took over Ferrara <strong>in</strong> 1598. The<br />

Castle frescoes rema<strong>in</strong> thus as <strong>the</strong> document of a cultural dream at <strong>the</strong><br />

wan<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong> Italian <strong>Renaissance</strong>. 18<br />

As <strong>the</strong> reference to Guar<strong>in</strong>o will suggest, as well as a revival of ancient<br />

gymnastics, <strong>Renaissance</strong> humanism was responsible for a renewal of <strong>the</strong><br />

classical tradition of education (as represented by Plutarch’s treatise On<br />

<strong>the</strong> Education of Children). In this context play and physical education<br />

had a very significant role. 19 This is particularly true <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> case of<br />

Richard Mulcaster (1530–1611), Headmaster of Merchants Taylor<br />

School <strong>in</strong> Elizabethan London, <strong>the</strong> author of Positions, Wher<strong>in</strong> Those<br />

Primitive Circumstances Be Exam<strong>in</strong>ed, Which Are Necessarie for <strong>the</strong> Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />

up of Children, Ei<strong>the</strong>r for Skill <strong>in</strong> Their Booke, Or Heal<strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong> Their Bodie.<br />

A third of <strong>the</strong> book deals with physical exercise, <strong>the</strong> diversity of which<br />

is explored <strong>in</strong> a series of specific chapters. 20 Mulcaster’s deep <strong>in</strong>terest<br />

constitutes a strik<strong>in</strong>g precedent of <strong>the</strong> role played by English public<br />

schools <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>vention of modern sport.<br />

Antiquarianism and humanist education were not <strong>the</strong> whole story,<br />

however, and <strong>the</strong> century spann<strong>in</strong>g from <strong>the</strong> mid-sixteenth to <strong>the</strong> midseventeenth<br />

saw a rise of medical texts from which reference to modern<br />

practice was not want<strong>in</strong>g. Not surpris<strong>in</strong>gly, given <strong>the</strong> importance of a<br />

variety of forms of dance <strong>in</strong> contemporary society, a number of French<br />

writers pay particular attention to that pastime. In a commentary on<br />

dietetics based on <strong>the</strong> list of <strong>the</strong> nonnaturals and published <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

1550s, Jérôme de Monteux mentions danc<strong>in</strong>g first <strong>in</strong> a list of <strong>the</strong> exercises<br />

which are beneficial to specific parts of <strong>the</strong> body (<strong>in</strong> this case,<br />

toge<strong>the</strong>r with walk<strong>in</strong>g and runn<strong>in</strong>g, to <strong>the</strong> legs: ‘le marcher, le courir,<br />

et la dance exercent fort les jambes’); later, more extensively, while comment<strong>in</strong>g<br />

on a passage from Plato. The Greek philosopher had recommended<br />

two forms of exercise as <strong>the</strong> most appropriate for <strong>the</strong> literate<br />

(a narrower audience on which <strong>the</strong>re will be more to say later): wrestl<strong>in</strong>g<br />

and danc<strong>in</strong>g. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to Monteux, <strong>the</strong>y both have <strong>the</strong> positive benefit<br />

of attract<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> blood and spirits towards <strong>the</strong> surface of <strong>the</strong> body, after<br />

<strong>in</strong>tensive <strong>in</strong>tellectual effort had driven <strong>the</strong>m deep <strong>in</strong>side. Aga<strong>in</strong>st Plato,


30 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

however, he f<strong>in</strong>ds wrestl<strong>in</strong>g not to be a sufficiently decorous activity.<br />

In contrast, dances are useful, because <strong>the</strong>y do not only delight <strong>the</strong><br />

spirit, but also make <strong>the</strong> body more agile and strong. Follow<strong>in</strong>g Galen,<br />

Monteux subsequently <strong>in</strong>vestigates which of <strong>the</strong> exercises is most efficacious.<br />

His recommendation is for that which gives one <strong>the</strong> opportunity<br />

to deploy differ<strong>in</strong>g levels of effort, from <strong>the</strong> smallest to <strong>the</strong> most<br />

vigorous movements, as is <strong>the</strong> case with hunt<strong>in</strong>g and danc<strong>in</strong>g. In favour<br />

of dance he rem<strong>in</strong>ds <strong>the</strong> reader that it was practised by ancient Indian<br />

priests; fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, ‘do we not read, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> second book of K<strong>in</strong>gs, how<br />

<strong>the</strong> good and regal prophet David danced and jumped <strong>in</strong> honour of<br />

<strong>the</strong> great liv<strong>in</strong>g God’ In <strong>the</strong> light of its contents and register, it is not<br />

mean<strong>in</strong>gless that Monteux, a graduate of Montpellier who practised as<br />

a physician and a surgeon <strong>in</strong> Lyons, published his work both <strong>in</strong> Lat<strong>in</strong><br />

and <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> vernacular. 21<br />

Bil<strong>in</strong>gualism is aga<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> choice made, fifty years later, by Joseph<br />

Duchesne (Quercetanus, c. 1544–1609), whose treatise on hygiene was<br />

published <strong>in</strong> Lat<strong>in</strong> and French versions by one and <strong>the</strong> same pr<strong>in</strong>ter<br />

and dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> same year. With<strong>in</strong> his chapter on exercise and rest, an<br />

unusual prom<strong>in</strong>ence is given to a survey of its vary<strong>in</strong>g forms. From<br />

ancient gymnastics, Duchesne derives a pr<strong>in</strong>cipal list of five sports and<br />

pastimes which he discusses with reference to modern practice:<br />

runn<strong>in</strong>g, wrestl<strong>in</strong>g, box<strong>in</strong>g, danc<strong>in</strong>g and throw<strong>in</strong>g. S<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong> author was<br />

a French Calv<strong>in</strong>ist who belonged to <strong>the</strong> medical entourage of K<strong>in</strong>g<br />

Henry IV, and at that time his co-religionists were conduct<strong>in</strong>g a pr<strong>in</strong>ted<br />

assault on dance and o<strong>the</strong>r profane pastimes, he must have felt <strong>the</strong> need<br />

to justify his approval for <strong>the</strong>m. He drew a parallel between ancient<br />

and modern dance genres, as could be found <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Bible and had<br />

been approved and practised by k<strong>in</strong>gs and philosophers alike. Then he<br />

resorted to <strong>the</strong> argument from <strong>the</strong> respectable social grounds of this<br />

activity: ‘Today still, when we choose to let our boys and girls learn that<br />

art, it is a custom here to do so particularly for <strong>the</strong> purpose of grant<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>the</strong>m elegant manners and a well-balanced configuration of <strong>the</strong> body.<br />

There is a great difference between those who have and those who have<br />

not been taught it; between those who have and those who have<br />

not learned it well.’ Duchesne cannot avoid mention<strong>in</strong>g classical and<br />

Christian censorship of danc<strong>in</strong>g. But he argues that ancient writers only<br />

criticized immoral dances, whereas his praise perta<strong>in</strong>ed to <strong>the</strong> lawful<br />

k<strong>in</strong>d, which is useful and necessary ‘both to preserve health, and to<br />

acquire good manners’. To <strong>the</strong> ma<strong>in</strong> series of forms of exercise <strong>the</strong><br />

author adds a few more, from horse-rid<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> jeu de paume, from<br />

hunt<strong>in</strong>g to swimm<strong>in</strong>g. He concludes his discussion by dist<strong>in</strong>guish<strong>in</strong>g


The Medical Discourse 31<br />

among different forms of exercise of vary<strong>in</strong>g energetic character, recommend<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>the</strong>m to different categories of people, and analys<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />

best conditions under which <strong>the</strong>y should be practised. 22<br />

Ano<strong>the</strong>r half century later, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> late 1660s, two more significant<br />

treatises are published by French physicians <strong>in</strong> two subsequent years,<br />

this time splitt<strong>in</strong>g from each o<strong>the</strong>r <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir l<strong>in</strong>guistic choice: <strong>the</strong> former<br />

is pr<strong>in</strong>ted only <strong>in</strong> Lat<strong>in</strong>, <strong>the</strong> latter only <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> vernacular. The Lat<strong>in</strong> text<br />

bears, as a subtitle, <strong>the</strong> fairly standard phrase ‘de sanitate tuenda, et vita<br />

producenda’, <strong>in</strong> which an extremely popular <strong>the</strong>me <strong>in</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

culture, <strong>the</strong> quest for a long life, is significantly juxtaposed to that of<br />

<strong>the</strong> preservation of health. Dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> previous century, <strong>the</strong> Venetian<br />

aristocrat Alvise Cornaro had published a blockbuster guide to a long<br />

life, based on a proto-macrobiotic diet and allegedly drawn from his<br />

own experience (although <strong>the</strong> author lied about his own age). 23 The<br />

work of Pierre Gontier from Rouen, it still adopts as headl<strong>in</strong>es <strong>the</strong><br />

antiquarian categories of medical gymnastics: saltatoria, or <strong>the</strong> art of<br />

jump<strong>in</strong>g (<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g danc<strong>in</strong>g); palestrica exercitatio, or exercise <strong>in</strong> gymnasium;<br />

ambulatio, or walk<strong>in</strong>g for fitness. Never<strong>the</strong>less, <strong>in</strong>side <strong>the</strong> old<br />

framework, <strong>the</strong> content does not rema<strong>in</strong> unchanged, and a significant<br />

number of references to modern pastimes are added. He mentions such<br />

specific French dances (Gallorum saltationes) as pavanes, gaillardes,<br />

courantes, bourrées, and voltes; and provides some generally encourag<strong>in</strong>g<br />

accounts of <strong>the</strong>ir effect on human life. Gontier is also unusually explicit<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>troduc<strong>in</strong>g a class dist<strong>in</strong>ction between those musical <strong>in</strong>struments<br />

which are suited to accompany<strong>in</strong>g ‘rustic’ danc<strong>in</strong>g (viols and w<strong>in</strong>d<br />

<strong>in</strong>struments) and those appropriate for aristocratic and ref<strong>in</strong>ed people<br />

(viol<strong>in</strong>s and plucked <strong>in</strong>struments). In <strong>the</strong> medical judgement of contemporary<br />

dance forms, <strong>the</strong> French physician s<strong>in</strong>gles out <strong>the</strong> volta for<br />

strong criticism – an evaluation which is significantly <strong>in</strong> l<strong>in</strong>e with moral<br />

concerns about that ancestor of <strong>the</strong> waltz: it puts <strong>the</strong> body <strong>in</strong>to too<br />

violent agitation; and, by whirl<strong>in</strong>g many times and too quickly, provokes<br />

vertigo. 24<br />

Gontier’s text also accommodates some French vocabulary when he<br />

lists and describes a series of modern ball games (balle, ballon, jeu de<br />

paume, longue paume, raquette, battoir, prendre à la volée). He also refers<br />

to dice and card games, though only to blame <strong>the</strong>m for not exercis<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>the</strong> body at all; whereas about trictrac (backgammon) he acknowledges,<br />

at least, that it keeps sight and memory well occupied. A quite different<br />

play<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>strument, <strong>the</strong> catapult, obliges Gontier to mention <strong>the</strong><br />

recent French civil revolts (<strong>the</strong> Frondes); as for <strong>the</strong> ritual fights dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />

which <strong>the</strong> Parisians commonly used it, he observes that – ra<strong>the</strong>r than


32 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

preserv<strong>in</strong>g people’s health – it frequently causes serious wounds and,<br />

occasionally, deaths. 25<br />

The nearly simultaneous book written <strong>in</strong> French is, to my knowledge,<br />

<strong>the</strong> most programmatic and systematic early modern medical evaluation<br />

of physical exercise.<br />

‘The manner of govern<strong>in</strong>g health’<br />

Its author, Michel Bicaise, was professor of medic<strong>in</strong>e at Aix-en-Provence.<br />

La manière de régler la santé (The manner of govern<strong>in</strong>g health) had<br />

its subject matter distributed <strong>in</strong>to three books. The first is concerned<br />

with ‘those th<strong>in</strong>gs that surround us’, <strong>the</strong> second with ‘those which<br />

we receive’ or assume, <strong>the</strong> third with jeux, exercices, or <strong>the</strong> gymnastique<br />

moderne. The matter is, <strong>the</strong>refore, <strong>the</strong> traditional nonnaturals. What is<br />

unusual is that we have a treatise of hygiene which is entirely dedicated<br />

to <strong>the</strong>m, and which gives pre-em<strong>in</strong>ence to exercise among <strong>the</strong>m. In<br />

his first book, Bicaise declares to have specifically selected topics that<br />

have been neglected by his predecessors, and offers <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g sections<br />

on cloth<strong>in</strong>g. The same <strong>in</strong>tention to complement exist<strong>in</strong>g literature is<br />

expressed <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> second book, where <strong>the</strong> recent habit of smok<strong>in</strong>g<br />

tobacco is covered. If we remember <strong>the</strong> predom<strong>in</strong>ance of nutrition that<br />

was common <strong>in</strong> regimens of health, Bicaise’s second book appears<br />

comparatively brief on <strong>the</strong> matter. His explicit favourite is <strong>the</strong> third<br />

book, whose subject is also qualified as ‘games’, as if that was an <strong>in</strong>terchangeable<br />

name for all that category of healthy activities: from this<br />

l<strong>in</strong>guistic choice we can already appreciate <strong>the</strong> importance Bicaise gave<br />

to <strong>the</strong> play element.<br />

The book dealt with a wide range of human activities. The author<br />

self-consciously stated that, while sixteenth-century scholars had only<br />

focused on ancient types of exercise, it was time to turn to, and exam<strong>in</strong>e,<br />

<strong>the</strong>ir modern equivalent (hence ‘la gymnastique moderne’ announced<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> frontispiece). Bicaise starts with a chapter on exercise <strong>in</strong> general,<br />

followed by reflections on exercise for children: here he scrut<strong>in</strong>izes <strong>the</strong><br />

pros and cons of <strong>the</strong> sp<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g-top, snowballs, <strong>the</strong> catapult and o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

throw<strong>in</strong>g games. Next comes a detailed discussion of <strong>the</strong> paume (tennis)<br />

and mail (croquet). Accord<strong>in</strong>g to Bicaise, <strong>the</strong> former requires too sudden<br />

and quick runn<strong>in</strong>g forward, result<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> excessive sweat<strong>in</strong>g and fatigue;<br />

it is particularly harmful after a meal, when it would agitate your<br />

humours like a tempest at sea. The latter (croquet) demands a huge<br />

effort from one’s arm, which causes chest pa<strong>in</strong>s and expla<strong>in</strong>s why<br />

players often cry out dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>ir games.


The Medical Discourse 33<br />

After a survey of a series of means of transport, and <strong>the</strong>ir effect on<br />

<strong>the</strong> human body, a specific chapter is on <strong>the</strong> subject du jeu. From its<br />

very beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>the</strong> author stresses parallels and <strong>in</strong>teractions between<br />

medical and moral discourse. Play br<strong>in</strong>gs with it pleasure, which is perceived<br />

as harmless but open to abuse. Morals, act<strong>in</strong>g as a spiritual medic<strong>in</strong>e,<br />

have <strong>the</strong>refore <strong>in</strong>troduced laws and <strong>in</strong>structions to regulate<br />

players’ behaviour; medic<strong>in</strong>e proper has followed <strong>the</strong> same path, and<br />

fixed its own rules. These are enumerated <strong>in</strong> a list of n<strong>in</strong>e articles, consist<strong>in</strong>g<br />

of situations to be avoided, and of miscellaneous observations<br />

on <strong>the</strong> relationship between play and health. One should avoid: (i)<br />

play<strong>in</strong>g games that are too serious or (ii) games only determ<strong>in</strong>ed by luck<br />

(<strong>the</strong> sudden changes of mood <strong>the</strong>y br<strong>in</strong>g with <strong>the</strong>m tend to upset <strong>the</strong><br />

humoral balance), as well as (iii) contention (it triggers one’s bile), (iv)<br />

subsequent disappo<strong>in</strong>tment, and (v) war simulations. Subsequent<br />

remarks <strong>in</strong>clude <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>dication that (vi) ‘from play you can tell <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>cl<strong>in</strong>ation<br />

and temperament of <strong>the</strong> players’ (and that everyone should<br />

choose <strong>the</strong> most appropriate to his or her constitution); that (vii) ‘<strong>the</strong><br />

force of imag<strong>in</strong>ation is <strong>the</strong> cause of <strong>the</strong> excesses we f<strong>in</strong>d <strong>in</strong> play’; (viii)<br />

that ‘one feels stunned and heavy after play<strong>in</strong>g’; and last, accord<strong>in</strong>g to<br />

astrology, (ix) ‘Venus, Mars and Saturn are <strong>the</strong> masters of play’. On <strong>the</strong><br />

whole, <strong>the</strong> reader is given <strong>the</strong> impression that <strong>the</strong> moral concern,<br />

expressed by Bicaise at <strong>the</strong> beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong>se pages, had firmly oriented<br />

his scrut<strong>in</strong>y and led him to discover ra<strong>the</strong>r les maux than les biens of<br />

play and games.<br />

In <strong>the</strong> follow<strong>in</strong>g chapters he discusses a broad series of specific<br />

amusements and physical activities: dance, military exercises, hunt<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

comedy, music, laughter, walks, and horse-rid<strong>in</strong>g. After <strong>the</strong> concern<br />

expressed about play and games, an enthusiastic assessment of dance<br />

br<strong>in</strong>gs a sudden change of mood, while rem<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g us of <strong>the</strong> emergence<br />

of <strong>the</strong> importance of dance <strong>in</strong> French society, which was already visible<br />

<strong>in</strong> Duchesne. Danc<strong>in</strong>g loosens <strong>the</strong> whole body, be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> best preparation<br />

for gymnastics; makes you moderately th<strong>in</strong>; and helps transpiration,<br />

which is particularly useful for <strong>the</strong> health of women. Above all,<br />

while o<strong>the</strong>r sorts of exercise only employ one limb, <strong>the</strong> whole body participates<br />

<strong>in</strong> dance, whose harmonious movements favour a salutary<br />

equilibrium. With his last remark Bicaise has jo<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>the</strong> game of choos<strong>in</strong>g<br />

which exercise is best for you. While his preference for dance orig<strong>in</strong>ated<br />

outside medical literature, it even antedated Galen’s ‘small ball’:<br />

it had <strong>in</strong> fact been advanced by an age<strong>in</strong>g Socrates <strong>in</strong> a well-known<br />

passage from Xenophon’s Banquet. 26<br />

Once he has listed <strong>the</strong> range of physical benefits, Bicaise moves to


34 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

discuss <strong>the</strong> relationship between dance and music and its implications<br />

for health, and does so with a wealth of detail which was extremely<br />

unusual for a treatise on hygiene. First he <strong>in</strong>troduces <strong>the</strong> classical topos<br />

of <strong>the</strong> effects upon <strong>the</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d of music and poetry (which stand here for<br />

<strong>the</strong> melodies and texts of dance tunes):<br />

music and sound make <strong>the</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d dance by mak<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> spirits dance,<br />

that is to say by putt<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>m <strong>in</strong>to a harmonic motion, rhythm and<br />

sw<strong>in</strong>g (bransle); poetry immediately impresses it <strong>in</strong> this way, until it<br />

ravishes [<strong>the</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d] and lets it be moved to enthusiasm; and dance<br />

is an effect of <strong>the</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d’s movements, by which it moves and sw<strong>in</strong>gs<br />

<strong>the</strong> body <strong>in</strong> accordance with all that <strong>the</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d receives from musical<br />

sounds, poetry and songs. 27<br />

Thus, accord<strong>in</strong>g to contemporary physiology, music moves <strong>the</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d,<br />

and <strong>the</strong> latter <strong>in</strong> turn determ<strong>in</strong>es bodily motions. Significantly, Bicaise<br />

here employs <strong>the</strong> word ‘dance’ even before gett<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> level of bodily<br />

movement: he uses it as <strong>the</strong> most appropriate metaphor for describ<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>the</strong> commotion of <strong>the</strong> spirits. Beh<strong>in</strong>d <strong>the</strong>se expressions is a rich stock<br />

of neo-Platonic beliefs on <strong>the</strong> effects of music and on its <strong>the</strong>rapeutic<br />

power. 28<br />

Bicaise proceeds by establish<strong>in</strong>g a direct correlation between <strong>the</strong> characteristics<br />

of <strong>the</strong> sounds and of <strong>the</strong> movements which derive from <strong>the</strong>m,<br />

add<strong>in</strong>g that specific k<strong>in</strong>ds of music and dance are most appropriate to<br />

particular temperaments:<br />

Melody leads us to dance <strong>in</strong> a certa<strong>in</strong> manner accord<strong>in</strong>g to its<br />

measure and its different sounds. Thus, for <strong>in</strong>stance, high-pitched<br />

sounds make us jump and <strong>in</strong>spire a very quick dance, while lowpitched<br />

and slow sounds do <strong>the</strong> opposite; as <strong>the</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d, follow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />

same paths, thus communicates <strong>the</strong>m to our body, which imitates<br />

<strong>the</strong> source of <strong>the</strong>ir movement with marvellous reflexion. That is why,<br />

as high-pitched sounds awake melancholics, while low-pitched ones<br />

moderate <strong>the</strong> impetuosity and ardour of <strong>the</strong> bilious [. . .], so dances<br />

deriv<strong>in</strong>g from those sounds have <strong>the</strong> same effects, and consequently<br />

have to be proportioned, or ra<strong>the</strong>r regulated accord<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> k<strong>in</strong>d<br />

of temperament. The same can be said of differences <strong>in</strong> sex and age;<br />

and one can f<strong>in</strong>d <strong>the</strong> reason why some people like some dances,<br />

while some prefer o<strong>the</strong>rs. 29<br />

After borrow<strong>in</strong>g from <strong>the</strong> late-antique writer Lucian <strong>the</strong> motif of ballet<br />

as poetics of imitation, Bicaise br<strong>in</strong>gs his chapter to an end by recom-


The Medical Discourse 35<br />

mend<strong>in</strong>g to keep a correct upright gait, <strong>in</strong> dance and <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

exercises alike. Danc<strong>in</strong>g masters warmly suggest it too, he rem<strong>in</strong>ds <strong>the</strong><br />

reader. Such posture, with its symmetry, ensures results on both aes<strong>the</strong>tic<br />

and hygienic grounds, by regularly balanc<strong>in</strong>g our movements <strong>in</strong><br />

that vertical equilibrium which dist<strong>in</strong>guishes human be<strong>in</strong>gs from o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

animals, and puts <strong>the</strong>m <strong>in</strong> agreement with <strong>the</strong> order of <strong>the</strong> universe,<br />

itself vertically oriented. Conversely, all exercises which compel <strong>the</strong><br />

body to adopt bend<strong>in</strong>g positions will alter its shape, and shorten life.<br />

From this respect, medical thought could also observe and recommend<br />

specific dances as suitable for particular bodies, and take <strong>in</strong>to account<br />

differences based on age and gender, or <strong>in</strong> social and professional background,<br />

or else <strong>in</strong> an <strong>in</strong>dividual’s temperament. Bicaise <strong>in</strong>deed blamed<br />

disordered and violent danc<strong>in</strong>g, as that practised by town and country<br />

folk, which is totally harmful, because it disharmoniously shakes <strong>the</strong><br />

body up. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, it is arranged without skill or measure, and <strong>the</strong>refore<br />

bears no relations to lyrics and music. That is why, to stir up <strong>the</strong><br />

spirits of people and put <strong>in</strong>to motion those massive, hard and muscular<br />

bodies, which all week grew numb by cont<strong>in</strong>uous application to<br />

manual labour<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>the</strong>re is a need to awaken <strong>the</strong>m by resort<strong>in</strong>g to extraord<strong>in</strong>ary<br />

means. In <strong>the</strong> subsequent chapter on songs, <strong>in</strong>struments and<br />

music, <strong>the</strong> author specified that which was needed to move those coarse<br />

spirits and bodies, who were <strong>in</strong>sensitive to sweet and enchant<strong>in</strong>g music:<br />

it was high-pitched notes, noisy sounds, and ridiculous and irregular<br />

songs. 30<br />

Among <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r activities, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> follow<strong>in</strong>g chapters Bicaise judges<br />

military exercises and hunt<strong>in</strong>g to be utterly unsuitable for <strong>in</strong>dividuals<br />

of particular temperaments; comedy is exam<strong>in</strong>ed for its remarkable<br />

effect on spectators; s<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g and play<strong>in</strong>g musical <strong>in</strong>struments (which he<br />

acknowledges as curative, as well as preservative) are considered from<br />

<strong>the</strong> po<strong>in</strong>ts of view of both <strong>the</strong> performer and <strong>the</strong> audience. Laughter<br />

can be helpful <strong>in</strong> moderation, dangerous and even deadly <strong>in</strong> excess.<br />

Walks are classified accord<strong>in</strong>g to a remarkable number of characteristics,<br />

<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>ir spatial pattern. Circular movement is s<strong>in</strong>gled out as<br />

be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> best, <strong>in</strong> an explanation that bears witness to <strong>the</strong> longue durée<br />

of astrological medic<strong>in</strong>e (a significant component of Bicaise’s Weltanschauung<br />

from <strong>the</strong> first chapter of his treatise, ‘Des astres’), as will be<br />

clear from <strong>the</strong> open<strong>in</strong>g sentence:<br />

Circular promenades are more befitt<strong>in</strong>g to us than l<strong>in</strong>ear, not only<br />

because <strong>the</strong>y are <strong>in</strong> harmony (proportionnées) with that circulation<br />

of <strong>the</strong> blood and with <strong>the</strong> three circles of fire which Hippocrates


36 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

has identified <strong>in</strong> our body; but also because our spirit is heavenly,<br />

<strong>the</strong> only way it can move is by roll<strong>in</strong>g, and, be<strong>in</strong>g connected<br />

(proportionné) with <strong>the</strong> element of which <strong>the</strong> stars are made, it must<br />

imitate <strong>the</strong>ir route and do <strong>in</strong> our limbs as <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>telligences do <strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> sky. 31<br />

As for where to go, <strong>the</strong> ideal place should be well equipped with s<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g<br />

birds, flow<strong>in</strong>g streams, trees and flowers. Although, on <strong>the</strong> whole,<br />

Bicaise’s book may look almost unique <strong>in</strong> its focus on exercise and<br />

somehow idiosyncratic <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> op<strong>in</strong>ions it expresses, it offers a selection<br />

of topics that is highly representative of <strong>the</strong> cultural and social orientations<br />

predom<strong>in</strong>ant at <strong>the</strong> time.<br />

Amor et alea<br />

If from France we move north to <strong>the</strong> sou<strong>the</strong>rn Low Countries, one year<br />

after Bicaise yet ano<strong>the</strong>r treatise on <strong>the</strong> preservation of <strong>the</strong> health of<br />

<strong>the</strong> literate (Lat. togati) sees its way through <strong>the</strong> press. The author of<br />

<strong>the</strong> 1670 publication was Vopiscus Fortunatus Plemp of Amsterdam<br />

(1601–71), a professor of medic<strong>in</strong>e at Leuven. While obviously everyone<br />

recommended exercise as an antidote to <strong>the</strong> drawbacks of a sedentary<br />

life, Plemp pays more attention than average to list<strong>in</strong>g and<br />

describ<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> different types of exercise. They <strong>in</strong>clude some professionally<br />

orientated activities, such as practis<strong>in</strong>g speech (pronunciatio);<br />

but also walk<strong>in</strong>g, ball games (with reference to <strong>the</strong> Italian game of pallamaglio),<br />

danc<strong>in</strong>g, be<strong>in</strong>g transported <strong>in</strong> various ways, throw<strong>in</strong>g sports,<br />

and end with <strong>the</strong> game of bowl<strong>in</strong>g a hoop (Lat. circilasia; ‘very popular<br />

among us Ne<strong>the</strong>rlanders, and it is called reepen, by <strong>the</strong> Dutch hoepen’). 32<br />

Similar practices were also referred to a couple of years earlier by <strong>the</strong><br />

German physician Valent<strong>in</strong> He<strong>in</strong>rich Vogler (1622–77), professor of<br />

medic<strong>in</strong>e at Frankfurt an der Oder, although <strong>in</strong> a context where antiquarian<br />

references were still predom<strong>in</strong>ant. Vogler was sometimes more<br />

explicit <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>dicat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> negative effects produced by play<strong>in</strong>g, as <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

case of games consist<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> hitt<strong>in</strong>g a ball towards a target (‘lusus metatorius<br />

noster’), <strong>in</strong> which <strong>the</strong> parts of <strong>the</strong> human body are unevenly<br />

engaged, and people tend to tire both <strong>the</strong>ir arms and <strong>the</strong>ir backs to<br />

excess. 33 As Gontier (and Holl<strong>in</strong>g), Vogler also attacked as unhealthy <strong>the</strong><br />

volta, <strong>the</strong> quick <strong>Renaissance</strong> dance that raised both <strong>the</strong> bodies of women<br />

and <strong>the</strong> eyebrows of moralists. 34<br />

The century-and-a-half which we roughly surveyed – from midsixteenth<br />

to late seventeenth – sees <strong>the</strong> most characteristic develop-


The Medical Discourse 37<br />

ments of early modern hygienic literature. From that po<strong>in</strong>t <strong>the</strong> humoral<br />

creed undergoes a progressive crisis, com<strong>in</strong>g under attack from different<br />

medical paradigms. However, changes are not sudden and one can f<strong>in</strong>d<br />

similar health manuals and recommendations repeated for generations.<br />

In <strong>the</strong> mid-eighteenth century, a generally positive medical advice on<br />

sports and physical exercise was still present <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> articles of Diderot<br />

and D’Alembert’s Encyclopédie, although coverage of contemporary<br />

practice is limited to <strong>the</strong> ‘jeux d’addresse et de force’ (games of skill<br />

and force) most common among <strong>the</strong> French urban male élite: bowl<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

skittles (jeu de quilles), croquet, billiards and tennis. By comparison,<br />

<strong>the</strong> antiquarian material is much richer, although not unproblematic:<br />

preference is given to Greek athletics ra<strong>the</strong>r than to Roman games of<br />

<strong>the</strong> circus, and some particular sports are criticized for <strong>the</strong>ir brutality.<br />

The entry on ‘Hygiene’, a contribution by <strong>the</strong> physician Louis de<br />

Jaucourt, re<strong>in</strong>forces <strong>the</strong> traditional belief <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> benefits of regular<br />

exercise. 35<br />

While <strong>the</strong> majority of <strong>the</strong> hygienic literature dealt with <strong>the</strong> health of<br />

a generic <strong>in</strong>dividual, some of <strong>the</strong> books we have considered provided<br />

medical advice for a specific social group. The most frequently considered<br />

is that of <strong>the</strong> literate, a class which had <strong>the</strong> advantage of <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>the</strong> writers of medical treatises <strong>the</strong>mselves, and thus was <strong>in</strong>evitably<br />

favoured by <strong>the</strong>m. The genre of treatises on <strong>the</strong> health of that particular<br />

category of people had a tradition established at <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong><br />

fifteenth century by <strong>the</strong> neo-Platonic philosopher Marsilio Fic<strong>in</strong>o, and<br />

Monteux traced it expressly back to Plato. 36 With<strong>in</strong> this group we have<br />

found <strong>the</strong> treatises published by Holl<strong>in</strong>g and Plemp. Holl<strong>in</strong>g excluded<br />

athletic and military exercises as unsuitable practices for <strong>the</strong> literate. The<br />

attention for <strong>the</strong> environment which he displayed <strong>in</strong> his preference for<br />

<strong>the</strong> country walk also oriented his discussion of <strong>the</strong> subject of dance.<br />

While <strong>the</strong> latter was <strong>in</strong>cluded among <strong>the</strong> acceptable forms of exercise,<br />

its outcome – as that of any o<strong>the</strong>r exercise – was to be beneficial<br />

or harmful accord<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> place where it was practised: green,<br />

shaded and quiet venues were much to be preferred aga<strong>in</strong>st closed or<br />

sunny, dusty and crowded ones (very similar concerns will dom<strong>in</strong>ate<br />

n<strong>in</strong>eteenth-century literature on public hygiene). 37<br />

Holl<strong>in</strong>g’s objections aga<strong>in</strong>st athletics offer us <strong>the</strong> opportunity to consider<br />

both <strong>the</strong> fact that different categories of people could be recommended<br />

different practices, but also that different medical writers might<br />

offer diverg<strong>in</strong>g, even conflict<strong>in</strong>g advice. So far we have encountered <strong>the</strong><br />

hygienic system as rooted <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> humoral paradigm. However, it should<br />

be added on one hand that a very similar approach was shared by physi-


38 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

cians who stood outside <strong>the</strong> Galenic orthodoxy, such as Duchesne, who<br />

was a Paracelsian; while on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, that Galen’s authority<br />

on <strong>the</strong> matter did not go unchallenged throughout <strong>the</strong> period. The<br />

sixteenth-century Italian polymath Girolamo Cardano (1501–76) offers,<br />

<strong>in</strong> his books De sanitate tuenda a fairly uncommon but authoritative<br />

example of criticism directed aga<strong>in</strong>st Galen. He openly criticized <strong>the</strong><br />

ancient Greek authority, accus<strong>in</strong>g him of propos<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>tensive athletic<br />

exercise, appropriate more to a soldier’s than to a civilian’s requirements.<br />

Consequently, Cardano confirmed that physical exercise favours<br />

human health, but he denied that it helps <strong>in</strong> prolong<strong>in</strong>g life. One has<br />

to understand – says Cardano – that vigorous physical condition and<br />

long life are two <strong>in</strong>compatible goals: if you are strong you will be <strong>in</strong><br />

excellent health, but will exhaust your resources more quickly; if, on<br />

<strong>the</strong> contrary, long life is what you desire (and that, as we have seen,<br />

was a very popular topic <strong>in</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> culture), you will have to aim<br />

for a lower standard of physical vigour. 38 Although Cardano and his<br />

followers were mak<strong>in</strong>g a po<strong>in</strong>t aga<strong>in</strong>st Galen, <strong>the</strong>y did never<strong>the</strong>less<br />

share with him some fundamental op<strong>in</strong>ions. Criticiz<strong>in</strong>g excessive<br />

body-build<strong>in</strong>g and propos<strong>in</strong>g, ra<strong>the</strong>r, a mean model between muscular<br />

strength and weakness was not a novelty <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> field of medical literature.<br />

Galen himself had constructed <strong>the</strong> type of harmoniously developed<br />

body by referr<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> body of <strong>the</strong> athlete or gladiator as a<br />

negative example: accord<strong>in</strong>g to Western medical tradition, a healthy<br />

body should not look like that of a modern bodybuilder’s. 39<br />

The literature on <strong>the</strong> preservation of health was a very important<br />

component of <strong>the</strong> cultural scenario and of <strong>the</strong> scientific knowledge<br />

and practice of its age. It differs from modern preventive medic<strong>in</strong>e<br />

particularly <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> fact that today’s prophylaxis provides a set of<br />

rules which aim to avoid particular diseases, while early hygiene was<br />

supposed to keep <strong>the</strong> human body <strong>in</strong> a general balance that would<br />

have prevented <strong>the</strong> development of any health problem. The literature<br />

on <strong>the</strong> subject came <strong>in</strong> a variety of genres, from <strong>the</strong> strictly professional<br />

and academic to those address<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> general public, and various<br />

levels of literacy (from <strong>the</strong> learned book to <strong>the</strong> almanac). Generally<br />

speak<strong>in</strong>g, it conta<strong>in</strong>ed a strong self-help element: by follow<strong>in</strong>g reliable<br />

health advice you were expected to stay well without <strong>the</strong> need to<br />

resort to <strong>the</strong> help of a doctor. A confirmation of <strong>the</strong> importance of<br />

this relevance to a wider audience can be found <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> fact that a significant<br />

number of authors of representative texts <strong>in</strong> this tradition –<br />

among <strong>the</strong>m Elyot, Cornaro and Ranzow – were laymen ra<strong>the</strong>r than<br />

physicians.


The Medical Discourse 39<br />

So far we have explored <strong>the</strong> role played by physical exercise as a<br />

component of preventive medic<strong>in</strong>e. Its role with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>rapeutics was<br />

much less prom<strong>in</strong>ent, although Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy (which<br />

we <strong>in</strong>troduced above, Chapter 2) offers a good example of humoral<br />

balances and medical conditions for which music and play could be<br />

regarded as effective curative strategies. ‘Exercise Rectified of Body and<br />

M<strong>in</strong>de’ appears with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> author’s exposition of <strong>the</strong> cure of melancholy.<br />

In <strong>the</strong> style of <strong>the</strong> whole volume, a good deal of <strong>the</strong> substantial<br />

chapter (membrum 2.2.4) is descriptive, anecdotal and antiquarian;<br />

none<strong>the</strong>less, it provides an <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g example of <strong>Renaissance</strong> writ<strong>in</strong>g<br />

on <strong>the</strong> topic, and evidence of <strong>the</strong> longue durée of <strong>the</strong> humoral paradigm.<br />

Rectification is required here because <strong>in</strong>convenience had previously<br />

been caused to <strong>the</strong> melancholic ‘on <strong>the</strong> one side by immoderate and<br />

unseasonable exercise, too much solitar<strong>in</strong>esse and idlenesse on <strong>the</strong><br />

o<strong>the</strong>r’. The antidote will consist of ‘a moderate and seasonable use of<br />

it’. Initial proof for <strong>the</strong> statement that ‘we should ever be <strong>in</strong> action’<br />

comes from cosmology: heavens, stars, air and water are always <strong>in</strong><br />

motion. 40 Here Burton summarizes his previous grievance aga<strong>in</strong>st <strong>the</strong><br />

idleness of nobility, this time def<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g it as a European problem, <strong>in</strong> contrast<br />

with <strong>the</strong> patterns of behaviour characteristic of o<strong>the</strong>r cultures:<br />

‘They knowe not how to spend <strong>the</strong>ir times (disports excepted, which<br />

are all <strong>the</strong>ir bus<strong>in</strong>esse) what to doe or o<strong>the</strong>rwise how to bestow <strong>the</strong>mselves:<br />

like our moderne Frenchmen, that had ra<strong>the</strong>r loose a pound of<br />

blood <strong>in</strong> a s<strong>in</strong>gle combate, <strong>the</strong>n a drop of sweat <strong>in</strong> any honest labour.’ 41<br />

Burton refers to <strong>the</strong> exhortations to correct <strong>the</strong>se errors that come from<br />

div<strong>in</strong>es (among <strong>the</strong>m, <strong>the</strong> Puritan William Perk<strong>in</strong>s), physicians and<br />

politicians. Thus far, our sett<strong>in</strong>g could be that of a work ideology censor<strong>in</strong>g<br />

all pastimes. The author’s discourse is naturally more articulated,<br />

and conta<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong>dications for an appropriate use of exercise. Consistently<br />

with <strong>the</strong> nature of his book, he cites some details of medical advice,<br />

while not pass<strong>in</strong>g over <strong>in</strong> silence <strong>the</strong> fact that different physicians have<br />

provided contradictory rules. ‘Of <strong>the</strong>se labours, exercises, and recreations,<br />

which are likewise <strong>in</strong>cluded, some properly belong to <strong>the</strong> body,<br />

some to <strong>the</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d, some more easy, some hard, some with delight, some<br />

without, some with<strong>in</strong> doores, some naturall, some are artificiall.’ 42 The<br />

series is opened by Galen’s ball game. In <strong>the</strong> subsequent section on<br />

hunt<strong>in</strong>g and fish<strong>in</strong>g, if it was not for some generic advice on moderation,<br />

<strong>the</strong> reader tends to miss <strong>the</strong> reason why <strong>the</strong>y have become curative,<br />

after appear<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> previous partition as symptoms of <strong>the</strong><br />

disease. ‘Many o<strong>the</strong>r sports and recreations <strong>the</strong>re be, much <strong>in</strong> use, as<br />

R<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g, bowl<strong>in</strong>g, shoot<strong>in</strong>g [. . .]. But <strong>the</strong> most pleasant of all outward


40 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

pastimes, is that of Areteus, deambulatio per amoena loca, to make a petty<br />

progresse, a merry journy now and <strong>the</strong>n with some good companions,<br />

to visit friends, see citties, castles, townes.’ 43 Burton’s eulogy of <strong>the</strong> walk<br />

deploys a variety of cultural references and historical contexts, from <strong>the</strong><br />

medieval monastery of Bernard of Clairvaux to ‘<strong>the</strong> Pr<strong>in</strong>ces garden at<br />

Ferrara’ as described <strong>in</strong> Schottus’s popular It<strong>in</strong>erary to Italy. It is significant<br />

to f<strong>in</strong>d here explicit reference to a traveller’s guide, s<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong><br />

follow<strong>in</strong>g recommended sett<strong>in</strong>gs cluster toge<strong>the</strong>r <strong>in</strong> what looks like<br />

an early piece of travel journalism, attract<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> reader’s attention to<br />

a selection of <strong>Renaissance</strong> top tourist attractions: ‘<strong>the</strong> sight of such a<br />

Palace as that of Escuriall <strong>in</strong> Spa<strong>in</strong>e, or to that which <strong>the</strong> Moores built at<br />

Granada, Fountenblewe <strong>in</strong> France, <strong>the</strong> Turkes gardens <strong>in</strong> his Seraglio, [. . .]<br />

<strong>the</strong> Popes Belvedere <strong>in</strong> Rome [. . .]; or those famous gardens of <strong>the</strong> Lord<br />

Chantelou <strong>in</strong> France [. . .]; or many of our Noblemens gardens at home.<br />

To take a boat <strong>in</strong> a pleasant even<strong>in</strong>g, and with musicke to row upon <strong>the</strong><br />

waters [. . .]; or <strong>in</strong> a Gundilo through <strong>the</strong> grand Canale <strong>in</strong> Venice, to see<br />

those goodly Palaces, must needs refresh and give content to a melancholy<br />

dull spirit.’ 44 Here <strong>the</strong> problems deriv<strong>in</strong>g from <strong>the</strong> specific<br />

humoral balance of <strong>the</strong> melancholic govern a selection which is not<br />

solely about walk<strong>in</strong>g, but <strong>in</strong>cludes a variety of recommended sensorial<br />

experiences that are expected to play a curative role: pleasant odours<br />

and dr<strong>in</strong>ks, <strong>the</strong> sight of lavishly decorated and furnished <strong>in</strong>teriors, and<br />

so on. The importance of vision, <strong>the</strong> positive impact of an amazement<br />

on <strong>the</strong> beholder, br<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>the</strong> author to <strong>in</strong>troduce <strong>the</strong> subject of spectacles,<br />

from all sorts of pageants to <strong>the</strong> re-enactment of historical battles.<br />

Burton cont<strong>in</strong>ues with a list of recreations specific to ei<strong>the</strong>r country or<br />

town: ‘May-games, Feasts, Wakes, and merry meet<strong>in</strong>gs’ on <strong>the</strong> one side;<br />

on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r, ‘walks, Cloysters, Tarraces, Groves, Theatres, Pageants,<br />

Games, and severall recreations’. 45 He also cites keep<strong>in</strong>g animals for<br />

pleasure, and dist<strong>in</strong>guishes between pastimes appropriate to different<br />

seasons. He adds: ‘Some mens whole delight is, to take Tobacco, and<br />

dr<strong>in</strong>ke all day long <strong>in</strong> a Taverne or Ale-house, to discourse, s<strong>in</strong>g, jest,<br />

roare, talke of a Cock and Bull over a pot, etc.’ – a subject which gives<br />

way to a conventional critique of gambl<strong>in</strong>g, for which <strong>the</strong> physician<br />

makes use of some of <strong>the</strong> Calv<strong>in</strong>ist literature we will consider <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

next chapter (Daneau, Souter). 46 Burton’s survey cont<strong>in</strong>ues: ‘Chesse-play,<br />

is a good and witty exercise of <strong>the</strong> m<strong>in</strong>de, for some k<strong>in</strong>de of men’;<br />

‘Danc<strong>in</strong>g, S<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g, Mask<strong>in</strong>g, Mumm<strong>in</strong>g, Stage plaies, howsoever <strong>the</strong>y bee<br />

heavily censured by some severe Catoes, yet if opportunely and soberly<br />

used, may justly be approved.’ 47 The description of appropriate occupations<br />

reaches a climax when Burton observes: ‘But amongst those


The Medical Discourse 41<br />

exercises, or recreations of <strong>the</strong> m<strong>in</strong>de with<strong>in</strong> doores, <strong>the</strong>re is none so<br />

generall, so aptly to be applyed to all sorts of men, so fit and proper to<br />

expell Idleness and Melancholy, as that of Study’ – a topic which he f<strong>in</strong>ds<br />

particularly congenial and which occupies him for several pages. 48<br />

Towards <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> chapter it is revealed to <strong>the</strong> reader that reference<br />

to ‘all sorts of men’ was not generic, and <strong>the</strong> matter is heavily gendered:<br />

study is only recommended to male subjects, while a woman has<br />

her own occupations ‘for she eats not <strong>the</strong> bread of idlenesse’ (Proverbs,<br />

31: 27); we will return to <strong>the</strong>m later (Chapter 6).<br />

As <strong>the</strong> case of Burton should have widely proved, physical exercise<br />

does not exhaust <strong>the</strong> relevance of play to human health. There are<br />

various forms of play which are marg<strong>in</strong>ally, if at all, physical. This does<br />

not mean that <strong>the</strong>y could not be regarded as helpful for physical wellbe<strong>in</strong>g.<br />

After all, emotions were one of <strong>the</strong> nonnaturals, and <strong>the</strong>ir balance<br />

had to be taken <strong>in</strong>to consideration. Thus medical literature also valued<br />

spiritual recreation, as hav<strong>in</strong>g a positive effect on one’s health. Both <strong>the</strong><br />

Italian physician Bartolomeo Traffichetti <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> sixteenth century and<br />

<strong>the</strong> English Everard Maynwar<strong>in</strong>g (1628–99) dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> seventeenth,<br />

wrote <strong>in</strong> similar terms that ‘that which is most delightful, will probably<br />

prove most beneficial’. 49 This, once more, is evident <strong>in</strong> Burton, where<br />

<strong>the</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d appears as rectified by mirth, and music as a significant<br />

remedy for it (2.2.6.3–4). 50<br />

A particular case is offered by <strong>the</strong> medical assessment of gambl<strong>in</strong>g.<br />

Play<strong>in</strong>g cards or dice could not be justifiable as a form of exercise; moreover,<br />

<strong>the</strong> emotional stress that accompanied <strong>the</strong> bett<strong>in</strong>g and <strong>the</strong> positive<br />

or negative outcome of <strong>the</strong> game could hardly be seen as beneficial.<br />

While h<strong>in</strong>ts of its dangers for human health are found <strong>in</strong> a variety of<br />

sources, a systematic medical enquiry on <strong>the</strong> harmful passion for gambl<strong>in</strong>g<br />

(ludendi <strong>in</strong> pecuniam cupiditas) is produced <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> mid-sixteenth<br />

century by <strong>the</strong> Ne<strong>the</strong>rlandish physician Paschier Joostens. Hav<strong>in</strong>g travelled<br />

for many years throughout Spa<strong>in</strong> and Italy, <strong>the</strong> author found <strong>the</strong><br />

Spaniards to be naturally ‘hot’ and particularly <strong>in</strong>cl<strong>in</strong>ed to gambl<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

contrary to his fellow-countrymen; to <strong>the</strong> extent that he declares to<br />

have found Spanish villages where no food or dr<strong>in</strong>k was available for<br />

sale, while cards were ubiquitous. As a background to such remarks, it<br />

may be worth remember<strong>in</strong>g that, from Antiquity to <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong>,<br />

humoral <strong>the</strong>ory comb<strong>in</strong>ed with a determ<strong>in</strong>istic doctr<strong>in</strong>e that believed<br />

<strong>in</strong> an environmental <strong>in</strong>fluence on people’s complexions and health. A<br />

chief purpose of <strong>the</strong> volume is to def<strong>in</strong>e gambl<strong>in</strong>g and identify <strong>the</strong><br />

orig<strong>in</strong> of <strong>the</strong> passion for it. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> author – who claims that<br />

<strong>the</strong> topic has been undeservedly neglected until his date – ‘sex and gam-


42 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

bl<strong>in</strong>g are life’s two ma<strong>in</strong> evils’ (amor et alea duo vitae praecipua mala); but<br />

<strong>the</strong> latter is more harmful than <strong>the</strong> former. In his def<strong>in</strong>ition, gambl<strong>in</strong>g<br />

is an unbridled desire to play and bet, spr<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g from a vivid and<br />

credulous hope for ga<strong>in</strong>. 51 Joostens also fully develops <strong>the</strong> topic of <strong>the</strong><br />

antisocial implications of an activity <strong>in</strong> which ga<strong>in</strong> is possible solely as<br />

long as someone else loses: consequently, if everyone behaved <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

same way, society would crumble – an argument m<strong>in</strong>dful of medieval<br />

ethical economics, which also br<strong>in</strong>gs to m<strong>in</strong>d Immanuel Kant’s argument<br />

aga<strong>in</strong>st borrow<strong>in</strong>g money, if you know you are not likely to be<br />

<strong>in</strong> a condition to restitute it. 52 In <strong>the</strong> second part of his book, <strong>the</strong> author<br />

proposed a strategy for cur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> gambl<strong>in</strong>g passion, based on<br />

<strong>the</strong> consideration of passions as nonnaturals. It relies on <strong>the</strong> effects of<br />

knowledge and reason, start<strong>in</strong>g with <strong>the</strong> very knowledge which <strong>the</strong><br />

patient can develop of his own condition; and regards cogitation as able<br />

to move (Lat. compellere) <strong>the</strong> passions of <strong>the</strong> soul. The <strong>the</strong>me is so closely<br />

associated with <strong>the</strong> self-control traditionally preached by late-antique<br />

philosophy, and by its <strong>Renaissance</strong> revivalists, that <strong>the</strong> physician can<br />

here directly <strong>in</strong>dicate stoicism (Stoicorum severissima discipl<strong>in</strong>a) as one of<br />

his recommended cur<strong>in</strong>g strategies. In <strong>the</strong> clos<strong>in</strong>g pages, a poetic image<br />

is <strong>in</strong>troduced <strong>in</strong> order to leave <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> readers’ m<strong>in</strong>ds a clearer image of<br />

<strong>the</strong> alternative options one has to choose: for <strong>the</strong> purpose, Joostens<br />

retells <strong>the</strong> story of Dido and Aeneas. The Trojan hero was enthralled by<br />

passion for his lover, but he paid attention to div<strong>in</strong>e warn<strong>in</strong>g (Mercury),<br />

re-established self-control and ga<strong>in</strong>ed safety. The queen, <strong>in</strong>stead, only<br />

followed lust, thus los<strong>in</strong>g both sanity and life. If <strong>the</strong> tale is little gambl<strong>in</strong>g-specific,<br />

it stresses <strong>the</strong> relationship between play and love, and<br />

offers <strong>the</strong> modern reader a significant sample of <strong>the</strong> humanist culture<br />

of <strong>the</strong> writer and of his readers (who knew <strong>the</strong>ir Vergil).<br />

Joosten’s <strong>the</strong>rapy may not have found many followers, or else not<br />

have proved very successful: a few generations later <strong>the</strong> disease had not<br />

yet been eradicated, and his treatise was repr<strong>in</strong>ted at least twice over<br />

<strong>the</strong> follow<strong>in</strong>g sixty years. A 1617 edition was published, on <strong>the</strong> behalf<br />

of a Frankfurt bookseller, with a dedication, from Leiden, to ano<strong>the</strong>r<br />

Dutch physician, an <strong>in</strong>dication of a cont<strong>in</strong>u<strong>in</strong>g popularity of <strong>the</strong> text<br />

with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> medical profession; Johann von Münster, a Westphalian<br />

Calv<strong>in</strong>ist aristocrat who was also <strong>the</strong> author of a remarkably lengthy<br />

treatise aga<strong>in</strong>st dance, added an extensive appendix to it, where he collected<br />

op<strong>in</strong>ions aga<strong>in</strong>st gambl<strong>in</strong>g from twenty-seven different authorities,<br />

from third-century (pseudo-)Cyprian to <strong>the</strong> Reformation laws of<br />

Nuremberg and Geneva. 53<br />

A fur<strong>the</strong>r edition was published <strong>in</strong> Amsterdam <strong>in</strong> 1642, its particu-


The Medical Discourse 43<br />

larly small size suggest<strong>in</strong>g use as a pocket book. In an engraved frontispiece<br />

(Figure 3.4) three men are sitt<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> open at a long table,<br />

fully engaged <strong>in</strong> gambl<strong>in</strong>g. They are play<strong>in</strong>g with three dice, and all<br />

have heaps of co<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong> front of <strong>the</strong>m. A woman is watch<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>m from<br />

a w<strong>in</strong>dow closely beh<strong>in</strong>d. She is fully part of <strong>the</strong> scene, one hand po<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g<br />

at one of <strong>the</strong> players. Were <strong>the</strong>y play<strong>in</strong>g cards, one could suspect<br />

she was signall<strong>in</strong>g a partner, reveal<strong>in</strong>g what someone had <strong>in</strong> hand. In<br />

fact, <strong>the</strong> group may only recently have stopped play<strong>in</strong>g cards, s<strong>in</strong>ce a<br />

pack of <strong>the</strong>m has been dropped, and lies scattered untidily on <strong>the</strong> steps<br />

below <strong>the</strong> table. A monkey has picked some cards up and jo<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong>, a<br />

visual reflection on human nature, presumably suggestive that play<br />

requires and develops less than human passions and skills. In <strong>the</strong> background,<br />

with<strong>in</strong> a walled city which is consistent with <strong>the</strong> appearance<br />

of <strong>the</strong> sou<strong>the</strong>rn countries visited dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> author’s travels, two pairs<br />

of men are fight<strong>in</strong>g with fists and swords, perhaps to show <strong>the</strong> reader<br />

<strong>the</strong> challenges and contests that may derive from disagreements generated<br />

at <strong>the</strong> gambl<strong>in</strong>g table. 54<br />

Joostens’s critique of <strong>the</strong> passion for gambl<strong>in</strong>g rem<strong>in</strong>ds us of <strong>the</strong> proximity<br />

between <strong>the</strong> medical and <strong>the</strong> ethical discourse <strong>in</strong> approach<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>the</strong> world of play. The generally encourag<strong>in</strong>g medical assessment of<br />

current pastimes could not go unnoticed by moralists, who usually had<br />

to agree both that some form of recreation was necessary, and that a<br />

certa<strong>in</strong> number of contemporary customs were physically appropriate<br />

to provide it. However, as we have seen throughout this chapter, experts<br />

provid<strong>in</strong>g advice on both medical and moral grounds could have someth<strong>in</strong>g<br />

to say about <strong>the</strong> suitability of specific practices ei<strong>the</strong>r to particular<br />

human groups, or altoge<strong>the</strong>r to <strong>the</strong>ir alleged beneficial purpose. The<br />

conceptual framework of a necessary balance between motion and rest<br />

played an important role here, although it did so <strong>in</strong> more than one way.<br />

On one side, some social practices could be criticized for not provid<strong>in</strong>g<br />

vigorous enough activity, particularly for social groups whose sedentary<br />

lifestyle was most <strong>in</strong> need of amendment. The fact that <strong>the</strong> ma<strong>in</strong> justification<br />

of loisirs was functional, as recreations needed to enable ei<strong>the</strong>r<br />

one’s body or one’s m<strong>in</strong>d to be fitter for subsequent serious occupations,<br />

could be taken strictly, and work as a criterion for grant<strong>in</strong>g or reject<strong>in</strong>g<br />

moral or legal approval to <strong>in</strong>dividual pastimes. Thus, it suggests to <strong>the</strong><br />

late-seventeenth-century Catholic <strong>the</strong>ologian Jean Baptiste Thiers <strong>the</strong><br />

unusual step of condemn<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> game of chess, which fails to exercise<br />

<strong>the</strong> body and tires <strong>the</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d excessively. 55 On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r side, those<br />

pastimes that could be perceived as physically too tir<strong>in</strong>g also failed<br />

to deliver an <strong>in</strong>tended benefit, that of rest from ord<strong>in</strong>ary duties. This is


44 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

Figure 3.4 The passion for gambl<strong>in</strong>g: <strong>the</strong> physician’s view. From <strong>the</strong> Elzevir<br />

edition of Justus’s De alea.


The Medical Discourse 45<br />

one of <strong>the</strong> grounds on which William Prynne, <strong>the</strong> arch-enemy of early<br />

Stuart drama, based his uncompromis<strong>in</strong>g rejection of folk danc<strong>in</strong>g (see<br />

fur<strong>the</strong>r below, Chapter 6).<br />

It is now <strong>the</strong> turn to address more directly <strong>the</strong> moral issues which<br />

<strong>Renaissance</strong> culture attached to its recreational practices.


4<br />

The Moral Discourse<br />

In François de Sales’s Introduction to a Devout Life <strong>the</strong> exemplum of John<br />

<strong>the</strong> Evangelist (‘It is sometimes necessary to ease our spirit . . .’) opens<br />

a series of three chapters, respectively dedicated to an exam<strong>in</strong>ation ‘Of<br />

honest and commendable pastimes and recreations’, ‘Of daunc<strong>in</strong>g and<br />

some o<strong>the</strong>r passetimes which are lawfull, but dangerous withall’, and of<br />

‘The times to sport and dance’. 1 In one of its open<strong>in</strong>g statements, <strong>the</strong><br />

Bishop of Geneva observes that<br />

To take <strong>the</strong> ayre, to walke, and talk merrily and lov<strong>in</strong>gly toge<strong>the</strong>r, to<br />

play on <strong>the</strong> lute, and o<strong>the</strong>r such <strong>in</strong>struments, to s<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> musick, to<br />

goe a hunt<strong>in</strong>g, are recreations so honest, that to use <strong>the</strong>m well, <strong>the</strong>re<br />

needs but ord<strong>in</strong>arie prudence, which giveth every th<strong>in</strong>g due order,<br />

place, season, and measure.<br />

A subsequent list <strong>in</strong>cludes ‘those games <strong>in</strong> which <strong>the</strong> ga<strong>in</strong>e gotten by<br />

<strong>the</strong>m serveth for a price and recompence of nimblenes of <strong>the</strong> bodie or<br />

<strong>in</strong>dustrie of <strong>the</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d’ (‘tennis, baloone, stoole bale, chesse, tables,<br />

runn<strong>in</strong>g at <strong>the</strong> r<strong>in</strong>ge’). Here, aga<strong>in</strong>, only excess is to be avoided (it would<br />

wear <strong>the</strong> body and dull <strong>the</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d). François de Sales’s ethics of moderation<br />

allows him to acknowledge that ‘without pleasure <strong>the</strong>re can be no<br />

recreation’. His subtle advice is conf<strong>in</strong>ed to suggestions that, as well as<br />

limit<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> amount of time you set aside for it, ‘thou shouldst not so<br />

place thy hart upon <strong>the</strong>se passetimes, as to be allways desirous of <strong>the</strong>m,<br />

and not to be content without of <strong>the</strong>m’.<br />

With <strong>the</strong>ir comb<strong>in</strong>ation of an acknowledgement of human nature<br />

and of a moral concern for <strong>the</strong> dangers aris<strong>in</strong>g from social life, <strong>the</strong>se<br />

recommendations may offer one of <strong>the</strong> most representative examples<br />

of early modern attitudes and prescriptions <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> matter of recreation.<br />

46


The Moral Discourse 47<br />

However, <strong>the</strong> area was by no means one of unanimously held tenets,<br />

and had certa<strong>in</strong>ly witnessed positions of stricter ethical disapproval of<br />

<strong>the</strong> world of play.<br />

Reason versus Joy<br />

Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch, 1304–74) was <strong>in</strong>ternationally known as<br />

a moral philosopher, as well as a poet and a humanist. His Remedies<br />

aga<strong>in</strong>st Both K<strong>in</strong>ds of Fortune had an enormous circulation, <strong>in</strong> manuscripts<br />

and subsequently as pr<strong>in</strong>ted books, <strong>in</strong> its orig<strong>in</strong>al Lat<strong>in</strong> and <strong>in</strong> a<br />

wealth of vernacular translations. The title of <strong>the</strong> sixteenth-century<br />

English translation, Physicke aga<strong>in</strong>st Fortune, may itself give an <strong>in</strong>dication<br />

of how close such remedies could come to <strong>the</strong> language of medic<strong>in</strong>e<br />

(even though Petrarch himself was <strong>the</strong> author of some Invectives<br />

aga<strong>in</strong>st a Physician). In <strong>the</strong> fashion of late ancient Greek and Roman philosophy,<br />

where wisdom used to be described as a pharmakon preservative<br />

from <strong>the</strong> troubles of everyday life, <strong>the</strong> Tuscan writer warned <strong>the</strong><br />

reader of this work aga<strong>in</strong>st <strong>the</strong> detrimental effects that both success and<br />

failure have on <strong>the</strong> stability of <strong>the</strong> human soul. The first book deals with<br />

remedies aga<strong>in</strong>st good fortune and, for <strong>the</strong> section that is relevant to<br />

our enquiry, is written as a dialogue between Joy (gaudium) and Reason<br />

(ratio). This series of chapters spr<strong>in</strong>gs from a discussion of <strong>the</strong> implications<br />

of a prosperous life. In this context, rest from labour is considered<br />

after <strong>the</strong> consideration of banquets and dress, and followed by <strong>the</strong> topics<br />

of pleasant smells and sweet music, dance, gambl<strong>in</strong>g (with dice and<br />

tables), watch<strong>in</strong>g a multiplicity of performances, horse-rid<strong>in</strong>g and<br />

hunt<strong>in</strong>g. Until this po<strong>in</strong>t <strong>the</strong> list of pastimes owes a significant debt to<br />

<strong>the</strong> medical tradition, thus fur<strong>the</strong>r suggest<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> closeness that existed<br />

between <strong>the</strong> dom<strong>in</strong>ant discourses on <strong>the</strong> body and those on <strong>the</strong> soul;<br />

it subsequently gives way to a concern for <strong>the</strong> display of prosperity that<br />

is no longer related to recreation (availability of servants, magnificence<br />

of houses and castles, and so on). Joy, who takes no notice of its <strong>in</strong>terlocutor’s<br />

objections, displays a naïve approval for all that which seems<br />

pleasant: ‘I lye idly <strong>in</strong> my bed chamber’, ‘I enjoy a long, and un<strong>in</strong>terrupted<br />

sleepe’, ‘I delyght <strong>in</strong> daunc<strong>in</strong>g’, ‘I have played and won’, ‘I take<br />

delyght <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> pastyme of jesters’, ‘I am very will<strong>in</strong>g to see playes’.<br />

Reason attempts to underm<strong>in</strong>e <strong>the</strong> emotion’s certa<strong>in</strong>ties. In its speeches<br />

<strong>the</strong> reader can easily identify <strong>the</strong> author’s standpo<strong>in</strong>t – though one<br />

should never underestimate <strong>the</strong> restrictions imposed by a literary genre,<br />

which require that one writes <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> prescribed style, ra<strong>the</strong>r than<br />

express<strong>in</strong>g personal feel<strong>in</strong>gs. Reason’s speeches present clear aff<strong>in</strong>ity


48 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

with <strong>the</strong> monastic tradition of contempt for <strong>the</strong> world (contemptus<br />

mundi), <strong>the</strong> subject of a treatise by Pope Innocent III and of extensive<br />

pastoral literature. 2 Petrarch’s references, however, are predom<strong>in</strong>antly<br />

classical, his moral position is stoic, and his chapters form an anthology<br />

of <strong>in</strong>structive examples from Antiquity. Reason is objectionable <strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> extreme, even on apparently <strong>in</strong>nocent topics (from Dialogue I, 31<br />

– Joy: ‘I take pleasure <strong>in</strong> a nimble horse’; Reason: ‘A most fierce and<br />

unquiet beast, which sleepeth not, and is never satisfied’). It warns<br />

aga<strong>in</strong>st dangers of different nature, to your m<strong>in</strong>d, your body or your<br />

goods (what you may w<strong>in</strong> at gambl<strong>in</strong>g, you will subsequently certa<strong>in</strong>ly<br />

lose). When it seems unreasonable to condemn an activity altoge<strong>the</strong>r,<br />

dist<strong>in</strong>ctions are made <strong>in</strong> order to praise moderate use, blame excess,<br />

while never conced<strong>in</strong>g too much to <strong>the</strong> opposition: thus ‘<strong>the</strong>re are two<br />

k<strong>in</strong>des of quietnesse: one is busie, whiche even <strong>in</strong> very rest is do<strong>in</strong>g<br />

somewhat, and busie about honest affayres, and this is very sweete; <strong>the</strong><br />

o<strong>the</strong>r is slouthful and idle, and given only to sluggyshnes’ (Dialogue I,<br />

21); and ‘it is profitable somtime’ to ride a horse, provided that you<br />

choose a good one. The humanist concentration <strong>in</strong> ancient sources<br />

leaves little room for references to contemporary practices: thus<br />

Petrarch’s discourse on <strong>the</strong>atre seems to bear <strong>the</strong> classical scene <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d,<br />

and <strong>the</strong> case of watch<strong>in</strong>g wrestl<strong>in</strong>g matches does not po<strong>in</strong>t clearly to<br />

any medieval use (although Joy claims to ‘exercise wrestlyng’ personally);<br />

of hunt<strong>in</strong>g it is mentioned that passion for it passed from <strong>the</strong><br />

Romans to <strong>the</strong> French, only to warn Italians not to follow <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

example. 3<br />

One-hundred-and-fifty years later, hunt<strong>in</strong>g still offered <strong>the</strong> scope for<br />

moral criticism of recreational violence <strong>in</strong> Erasmus’s Praise of Folly<br />

(1511). As Keith Thomas has shown, later <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> early modern period<br />

this moral critique was l<strong>in</strong>ked with <strong>the</strong> emergence of a new sensibility<br />

towards animals and <strong>the</strong> natural world, a development which encouraged<br />

<strong>the</strong> group of critics of sports <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g cruelty towards or between<br />

animals to <strong>in</strong>crease. 4<br />

A virtue to remember<br />

On <strong>the</strong> subject of hunt<strong>in</strong>g, a four-chapter section is <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> Pedro<br />

Covarrubias’s Remedio de jugadores – an early sixteenth-century treatise<br />

of moral <strong>the</strong>ology to which we will return later <strong>in</strong> this chapter. The<br />

author <strong>in</strong>troduces <strong>the</strong> subject by us<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> term ‘hunt<strong>in</strong>g’ (Spanish caça)<br />

<strong>in</strong> a broader than usual sense. There are four genres of hunt<strong>in</strong>g, he<br />

writes. The first, not dissimilar <strong>in</strong> its forms from <strong>the</strong> hunt<strong>in</strong>g of fierce


The Moral Discourse 49<br />

animals, is <strong>the</strong> one adopted by human be<strong>in</strong>gs for kill<strong>in</strong>g and captur<strong>in</strong>g<br />

one ano<strong>the</strong>r. This variety is typically exemplified by <strong>the</strong> way Saracens<br />

murder and enslave Christians, who should ra<strong>the</strong>r be more consistent<br />

<strong>in</strong> tak<strong>in</strong>g up <strong>the</strong>ir arms and hunt<strong>in</strong>g down <strong>the</strong> unfaithful <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir turn.<br />

A second sort of hunt<strong>in</strong>g is that by which buffoons and flatterers ‘hunt’<br />

for <strong>the</strong> favour of patrons. Hunt<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> a more literal sense is <strong>the</strong> subject<br />

of <strong>the</strong> last two subdivisions. The third, <strong>the</strong> hunt<strong>in</strong>g of wild, fierce<br />

animals, is morally disputable for <strong>the</strong> reason than it puts human life <strong>in</strong><br />

danger. For <strong>the</strong> same reason canon law forbade tournaments; but<br />

hunt<strong>in</strong>g is even less justifiable than tournaments on <strong>the</strong> grounds of its<br />

value as a form of military tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g. The fourth avoids this danger, and<br />

is <strong>the</strong>refore normally lawful for lay people. It is def<strong>in</strong>ed by <strong>the</strong> characteristics<br />

of be<strong>in</strong>g performed ‘merrily, with agitation, hounds and <strong>the</strong><br />

noise of voices’. The selection of characteristics is certa<strong>in</strong>ly idiosyncratic,<br />

but somehow representative of some aspects of contemporary culture<br />

and developments <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> art of hunt<strong>in</strong>g. The explicit mention<strong>in</strong>g of<br />

‘hounds’, for <strong>in</strong>stance, rem<strong>in</strong>ds us how a physical exercise was not supposed<br />

to prove excessively energetic; <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> social practice of hunt<strong>in</strong>g<br />

throughout <strong>the</strong> early modern period, one can see <strong>the</strong> progressive<br />

dim<strong>in</strong>ution of <strong>the</strong> human role, while dogs became protagonists of <strong>the</strong><br />

chase. (In so far as <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>direct participation of hunters implies a limited<br />

use of force and weapons, Norbert Elias has l<strong>in</strong>ked this development <strong>in</strong><br />

fox-hunt<strong>in</strong>g to a central feature of <strong>the</strong> civiliz<strong>in</strong>g process: <strong>the</strong> appropriation<br />

of control of <strong>the</strong> means of violence by <strong>the</strong> state.) The author cont<strong>in</strong>ues<br />

by list<strong>in</strong>g standard conditions under which this practice would<br />

be tolerated. Not dur<strong>in</strong>g a period devoted to penitence, such as Lent;<br />

not dur<strong>in</strong>g a religious service; acceptable o<strong>the</strong>rwise on Sundays, provided<br />

that it is undertaken only as a pastime and not for profit, and it<br />

does not occupy too large a portion of <strong>the</strong> day. Fish<strong>in</strong>g is preferable (<strong>the</strong><br />

Holy Scripture shows good examples of fishermen, not of huntsmen).<br />

The Spanish div<strong>in</strong>e writes a specific <strong>in</strong>vective aga<strong>in</strong>st <strong>the</strong> ‘vanity of<br />

those, who take great care (con gran estudio) <strong>in</strong> devot<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>mselves to<br />

hunt<strong>in</strong>g’, where, quot<strong>in</strong>g Petrarch, he s<strong>in</strong>gles out <strong>the</strong> oddities of <strong>the</strong><br />

passion for falconry. S<strong>in</strong>ce canon law has a specific <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> behaviour<br />

of clerics, Covarrubias pays particular attention to <strong>the</strong> condition<br />

under which members of <strong>the</strong> clergy could be allowed to hunt – exceptionally<br />

so, s<strong>in</strong>ce it would normally be forbidden for <strong>the</strong>m. Although<br />

<strong>the</strong> modern reader may not f<strong>in</strong>d <strong>the</strong> rules about <strong>the</strong> clergy tremendously<br />

<strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g per se, <strong>the</strong> circumstances that are considered as aggravat<strong>in</strong>g<br />

or excus<strong>in</strong>g are more relevant to us because <strong>the</strong>y cast light on <strong>the</strong> conditions<br />

under which hunt<strong>in</strong>g – as well as o<strong>the</strong>r leisure activities – could


50 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

acquire positive or negative connotations <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> eyes of Christian moralists.<br />

Among <strong>the</strong> conditions that could allow clerics to hunt we f<strong>in</strong>d <strong>the</strong><br />

purpose (mere recreation), and illness (hunt<strong>in</strong>g as an exercise for recover<strong>in</strong>g<br />

health). The most peculiar is <strong>the</strong> recommendation to avoid <strong>the</strong><br />

noise and resort to loops (traps), nets, and crossbows. The raison d’être<br />

of this rule is, explicitly, <strong>the</strong> fact that, by keep<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> hunt<strong>in</strong>g cleric <strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> hide, it avoids scandal. What is peculiar about it is <strong>the</strong> fact that it<br />

co<strong>in</strong>cides with <strong>the</strong> forms of hunt<strong>in</strong>g that were practised by poachers –<br />

and for <strong>the</strong> very same reasons, that is because <strong>the</strong>y could be done<br />

without attract<strong>in</strong>g attention. That <strong>the</strong>se two social categories <strong>in</strong><br />

sixteenth-century Europe could be s<strong>in</strong>gled out for shar<strong>in</strong>g ways (and<br />

times) of <strong>the</strong>ir presence <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> woods is an <strong>in</strong>trigu<strong>in</strong>g hypo<strong>the</strong>sis. 5<br />

Early modern treatises on hunt<strong>in</strong>g expressly <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>the</strong> requirement<br />

to be ‘master of one’s own time’: if one is seriously committed, one<br />

needs to be free from o<strong>the</strong>r obligations; 6 and <strong>the</strong> example could be<br />

extended to many o<strong>the</strong>r aristocratic leisure activities. This recalls <strong>the</strong><br />

issue of ‘be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> control of one’s own time’ as it occurs <strong>in</strong> Aristotle’s<br />

Politics. In Aristotle, moral and political philosophy is <strong>in</strong>deed <strong>in</strong>tr<strong>in</strong>sically<br />

l<strong>in</strong>ked to <strong>the</strong> existence of a leisured class. I am obviously borrow<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>the</strong> latter term from Thorste<strong>in</strong> Veblen, although one should be<br />

aware of <strong>the</strong> ideological and chronological connotations with which it<br />

was charged <strong>in</strong> his The Theory of <strong>the</strong> Leisure Class (1899), which <strong>in</strong>cluded<br />

evolutionary aspects and a nostalgia for <strong>the</strong> pre-monetary economy. 7<br />

But <strong>the</strong>re is no doubt of <strong>the</strong> presence of a similar social component <strong>in</strong><br />

Aristotle and classical thought altoge<strong>the</strong>r: ‘free activities’ are possible,<br />

<strong>in</strong>deed conceivable solely as long as someone else is charged with <strong>the</strong><br />

‘unfree’ bus<strong>in</strong>ess of provid<strong>in</strong>g food and shelter. To <strong>the</strong> extent that, while<br />

we moderns def<strong>in</strong>e free time as residual after work, <strong>the</strong> Greek ‘free time’<br />

(scholé) was a primary term, and <strong>the</strong> need for work was def<strong>in</strong>ed as lack<br />

of it (ascholia). The contrast between <strong>the</strong> Greek scholé and <strong>the</strong> Lat<strong>in</strong><br />

otium is patent, <strong>in</strong> spite of <strong>the</strong> fact that <strong>the</strong> terms are often given as synonyms.<br />

It is partly rooted <strong>in</strong> a contrast between Greek and Roman cultures<br />

generally, of which <strong>the</strong> Roman eulogists of action versus leisure or<br />

meditation were well aware. Plato and Aristotle shared <strong>the</strong> idea of <strong>the</strong><br />

philosopher as a man of leisure, devoted to <strong>the</strong> ‘contemplative life’ of<br />

academia, also politically engaged, but surely not burdened with any<br />

work<strong>in</strong>g duty. 8<br />

Aristotle provides a good start<strong>in</strong>g po<strong>in</strong>t to set <strong>the</strong> scene for <strong>the</strong><br />

Western tradition of moral evaluation of leisure activities. His Nicomachean<br />

Ethics <strong>in</strong>cluded a brief discussion of <strong>the</strong> virtue of eutrapelia, a<br />

term which described <strong>the</strong> art of moderately amus<strong>in</strong>g oneself and one’s


The Moral Discourse 51<br />

<strong>in</strong>terlocutors <strong>in</strong> civilized <strong>in</strong>tercourse, by keep<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> mean between<br />

excessive laughter and excessive seriousness. The philosopher caricatured<br />

both <strong>the</strong>se extremes as lack<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> civility. To our reflection, it is<br />

remarkable that not only <strong>the</strong> lack of gravitas of a buffoon, but also <strong>the</strong><br />

tedious seriousness of a bore were classified as anti-social. Aristotle’s<br />

term for <strong>the</strong> latter, àgrios, meant ‘rustic’, an appropriate rural counterpart<br />

to <strong>the</strong> ‘urbanity’ of <strong>the</strong> eutràpelos – a connotation that gets lost <strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> standard English translation as ‘<strong>the</strong> boor’. In <strong>the</strong> early modern<br />

period, <strong>the</strong> translation of <strong>the</strong> Greek terms could offer <strong>the</strong> opportunity<br />

for cultural adaptations. For <strong>in</strong>stance, <strong>the</strong> uncivilized neighbours<br />

selected <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> mid-sixteenth century by <strong>the</strong> Spanish friar Francisco de<br />

Alcocer <strong>in</strong>clude ‘mounta<strong>in</strong>eers’ (‘Ya los tales [el Philosopho] los llama<br />

duros, agrestes y montes<strong>in</strong>os’). 9 Although a twentieth-century scholar<br />

deservedly labelled eutrapelia ‘a forgotten virtue’, this was not <strong>the</strong> case<br />

dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong>, when <strong>the</strong> notion proved quite <strong>in</strong>fluential. 10<br />

S<strong>in</strong>ce Aristotle’s Ethics formed <strong>the</strong> basis of <strong>the</strong> teach<strong>in</strong>g of moral philosophy<br />

<strong>in</strong> European universities from <strong>the</strong> twelfth century onwards, <strong>the</strong><br />

pr<strong>in</strong>cipal structure of that teach<strong>in</strong>g, that is <strong>the</strong> lecturer’s commentary<br />

to <strong>the</strong> classical authoritative text, provides us with a well-documented<br />

source for <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>tellectual history of moral ideas and attitudes. Commentators<br />

chiefly developed this category – sometimes <strong>in</strong> specific dissertations<br />

– with reference to <strong>the</strong> skills that were required for achiev<strong>in</strong>g<br />

pleasant conversation. 11 Apart from specialists, a wider range of educated<br />

people were familiar with <strong>the</strong> term, which also occurs <strong>in</strong> a few<br />

<strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g sixteenth-century literary contexts.<br />

‘Eutrapelus’ was <strong>the</strong> nickname of one of Cicero’s correspondents, who<br />

was <strong>the</strong> addressee of two of his Epistolae familiares and was also mentioned<br />

<strong>in</strong> one of Horace’s letters. As a name of a fictional character it<br />

was used by Martial. Erasmus made Eutrapelus a character <strong>in</strong> two of his<br />

Colloquia (‘Puerpera’ and ‘Convivium fabulosum’), who works as <strong>the</strong><br />

author’s porte-parole. After those <strong>in</strong>fluential precedents, Eutrapel is <strong>the</strong><br />

name given to <strong>the</strong> picaresque protagonist of two collections of short<br />

stories by <strong>the</strong> French conteur Noël du Fail, Les baliverneries d’Eutrapel<br />

(1548) and Contes et Discours d’Eutrapel (1585). 12 In all <strong>the</strong>se contexts,<br />

<strong>the</strong> Greek noun serves to mark an <strong>in</strong>dividual whose dist<strong>in</strong>ctive characteristics<br />

are good humour and an ability to enterta<strong>in</strong>. Also Cristóbal de<br />

Villalón, a Spanish humanist who was a contemporary of Du Fail, discussed<br />

<strong>the</strong> Aristotelean topic and term <strong>in</strong> his El scholástico, a dialogue<br />

on <strong>the</strong> education of <strong>the</strong> ideal university student, dedicated to <strong>the</strong> future<br />

Philip II. In ano<strong>the</strong>r work attributed to <strong>the</strong> same Villalón, El crótalon,<br />

<strong>the</strong> elaborate pseudonym used by <strong>the</strong> author is ‘Christóforo Gnophoso,


52 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

natural de la ínsula Eutrapelia, una de las ínsulas Fortunadas’. If <strong>the</strong> classical<br />

term had this literary fortune, it may be less surpris<strong>in</strong>g to f<strong>in</strong>d it<br />

<strong>in</strong> more technical literature. For <strong>in</strong>stance, it appears <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> ludus entry<br />

of a fourteenth-century dictionary of civil and ecclesiastical law (<strong>the</strong><br />

work of Alberico da Rosate); and <strong>the</strong> summa for confessors assembled at<br />

<strong>the</strong> beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong> sixteenth century by <strong>the</strong> Dom<strong>in</strong>ican Giovanni<br />

Cagnazzo sets a special place for eutrapelia <strong>in</strong> its alphabetical arrangement<br />

of <strong>the</strong> matter. 13 With<strong>in</strong> a seventeenth-century Spanish controversy<br />

on <strong>the</strong> morality of <strong>the</strong>atre, <strong>the</strong> notion could prove so crucial as to function<br />

as <strong>the</strong> title of one of <strong>the</strong> publications. 14 Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, <strong>the</strong> Aristotelean<br />

virtue could be seen not solely as justify<strong>in</strong>g, but even requir<strong>in</strong>g<br />

some recreation from human be<strong>in</strong>gs, as <strong>the</strong> polemic rejection of such<br />

argument by an Italian moralist seems to suggest. 15<br />

A view from Paris<br />

Christian literature, particularly s<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong> eleventh-century rediscovery<br />

of <strong>the</strong> corpus of Aristotle’s work (and after <strong>the</strong> contributions of commentators<br />

of <strong>the</strong> stature of Thomas Aqu<strong>in</strong>as), <strong>in</strong>herited his idea of <strong>the</strong><br />

essential moral neutrality of <strong>the</strong> world of play, although it could season<br />

<strong>the</strong> dish with so many caveats as to make it totally unrecognizable. The<br />

reproposition of <strong>the</strong> Aristotelean praise of moderate play encountered<br />

a certa<strong>in</strong> amount of resistance. In <strong>the</strong> exposition of <strong>the</strong> Nicomachean<br />

Ethics written <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> first half of <strong>the</strong> fourteenth century by Walter Burley<br />

(c. 1275–1345), fellow of Merton College and tutor to Edward III, we<br />

read that some critics denied that play could be an exercise field for<br />

virtue, s<strong>in</strong>ce it is childish and not difficult (virtues <strong>in</strong> fact require effort).<br />

Burley, however, rejected <strong>the</strong> objection, by recurr<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> bow argument<br />

(<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> form of a simile) and – <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> footsteps of Aqu<strong>in</strong>as – allow<strong>in</strong>g<br />

for a moderate remuneration for <strong>the</strong> work of <strong>the</strong>atrical performers<br />

(histriones). 16<br />

The thirteenth-century Parisian faculty of <strong>the</strong>ology produced <strong>the</strong><br />

most <strong>in</strong>fluential texts. As well as <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> form of commentaries on<br />

Aristotle, <strong>the</strong>y were written <strong>in</strong> response to a passage on a Lat<strong>in</strong> work On<br />

True and False Penitence (De vera et falsa poenitentia), which circulated<br />

from <strong>the</strong> late eleventh century with <strong>the</strong> false attribution to August<strong>in</strong>e.<br />

The phrase <strong>in</strong> question required <strong>the</strong> penitent, <strong>in</strong> order to obta<strong>in</strong> full<br />

pardon, to absta<strong>in</strong> from amusements and profane performances (‘a<br />

ludis, a spectaculis saeculi’). Dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> follow<strong>in</strong>g century, <strong>the</strong> text was<br />

<strong>in</strong>cluded both <strong>in</strong> Gratian’s Decretum and <strong>in</strong> Peter Lombard’s Sentences.<br />

Via <strong>the</strong>se two fundamental compilations it was available for commen-


The Moral Discourse 53<br />

tary, on one hand, to canonists, on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r, to <strong>the</strong>ologians, whose<br />

university <strong>in</strong>struction was based on <strong>the</strong> Sententiae. 17<br />

Early <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> topic is testified <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> late 1220s by <strong>the</strong> first<br />

Dom<strong>in</strong>ican friar to become a master of <strong>the</strong>ology at Paris, Rolando of<br />

Cremona, whose Summa <strong>in</strong>cludes a chapter ‘de ludo’, <strong>in</strong> which <strong>the</strong> problems<br />

concern<strong>in</strong>g professional performers (histriones et ioculatores) hold<br />

<strong>the</strong> stage. 18 When his fellow Dom<strong>in</strong>ican Albert <strong>the</strong> Great (c. 1200–80)<br />

encountered <strong>the</strong> pseudo-August<strong>in</strong>ian passage <strong>in</strong> his commentaries on<br />

Peter Lombard, he fully developed a scholastic question de ludis, <strong>in</strong><br />

which he discusses whe<strong>the</strong>r and/or which of <strong>the</strong>m constitute a mortal<br />

s<strong>in</strong>. Here, dance is his primary concern and tolerance <strong>the</strong> predom<strong>in</strong>ant<br />

attitude. Albert’s pupil Aqu<strong>in</strong>as (1225–74) supported and propagated <strong>the</strong><br />

Aristotelean approach to play. He dealt with <strong>the</strong> subject <strong>in</strong> a variety of<br />

texts. The most detailed and specific is a question from his Summa <strong>the</strong>ologica<br />

(II/II, 168) on good manners (‘modesty <strong>in</strong> our outward bodily<br />

actions’). The subject is developed <strong>in</strong>to four po<strong>in</strong>ts: ‘1. whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>re<br />

can be virtue or vice <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>se acts we do seriously; 2. whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>re can<br />

be virtue <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>se acts we do <strong>in</strong> play; 3. of <strong>the</strong> s<strong>in</strong> of play<strong>in</strong>g too much;<br />

4. and of that of play<strong>in</strong>g too little.’ In answer<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> second po<strong>in</strong>t<br />

accord<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> dialectic, dramatized rhetoric of scholasticism, Aqu<strong>in</strong>as<br />

starts with <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>sis that denies any possible virtue <strong>in</strong> play<strong>in</strong>g. He subsequently<br />

overturns it and confirms <strong>the</strong> opportunity of appropriate rest<br />

for both body and soul. Aristotle’s authority and <strong>the</strong> example of John<br />

<strong>the</strong> Evangelist feature among <strong>the</strong> pieces of evidence he employs to<br />

support his standpo<strong>in</strong>t. In <strong>the</strong> last two po<strong>in</strong>ts of his question, Aqu<strong>in</strong>as<br />

keeps allegiance to <strong>the</strong> Aristotelean mean, and rejects both sorts of<br />

excess. 19<br />

Similar attitudes can be found <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> first Franciscan counterpart<br />

of <strong>the</strong> Dom<strong>in</strong>ican masters, <strong>the</strong> Englishman Alexander of Hales<br />

(1185–1245), who dealt with <strong>the</strong> same issue <strong>in</strong> a quaestio ‘On laughter<br />

and enterta<strong>in</strong>ment’ (de risu et ioculatione) of his own Summa. His answer<br />

equates laughter with dance, and concludes with a dist<strong>in</strong>ction between<br />

different sorts of laughter: some positive, some negative. The same<br />

applies to dance and play (‘de saltatione et ludo’). One type of it derives<br />

from a dissolute disposition of <strong>the</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d (ex mentis lascivia), and cannot<br />

br<strong>in</strong>g anyth<strong>in</strong>g o<strong>the</strong>r than s<strong>in</strong>. Ano<strong>the</strong>r derives from a spiritual mirth<br />

of <strong>the</strong> soul, and can produce worthy deeds (Alexander’s example is <strong>the</strong><br />

oft-quoted dance of David before <strong>the</strong> Ark). Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, sometimes<br />

people can play <strong>in</strong> order to restore <strong>the</strong>ir tempers (ad naturae recreationem),<br />

and that will benefit <strong>the</strong>ir characters; or else, for <strong>the</strong> sake of<br />

exercise, and physical strength (ars), which can be morally <strong>in</strong>different.


54 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

In total, a far from prohibitionist evaluation. The same Franciscan<br />

master returned to <strong>the</strong> topic later <strong>in</strong> his treatise, when discuss<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />

moral implications of watch<strong>in</strong>g, ra<strong>the</strong>r than participat<strong>in</strong>g, play and<br />

games. He dist<strong>in</strong>guished between two modes of watch<strong>in</strong>g (duplex est<br />

<strong>in</strong>spectio). One is casual and pass<strong>in</strong>g (<strong>in</strong> transitu), does not aim at s<strong>in</strong>ful<br />

pleasures and will never constitute a serious fault. The o<strong>the</strong>r, on <strong>the</strong><br />

contrary, is deliberate and persistent (<strong>in</strong>spectio studiosa), and can <strong>in</strong>duce<br />

to mortal s<strong>in</strong>, particularly if one stops and watches a comic performance<br />

(ioculatio histrionica) or a danc<strong>in</strong>g display made by lewd women (ioculatio<br />

chorealis mulierum lascivarum). 20<br />

Subsequent <strong>the</strong>ological literature built on <strong>the</strong>se foundations, and<br />

developed a detailed discussion of <strong>the</strong> circumstances (of specific games,<br />

persons, times, places, manners and reasons) which could turn play<strong>in</strong>g<br />

and danc<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to a s<strong>in</strong>. This is <strong>the</strong> case <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> extensive body of<br />

literature that sprang from <strong>the</strong> canon by which <strong>the</strong> Fourth Lateran<br />

Council of 1215 prescribed annual confession for all <strong>the</strong> faithful. Dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>the</strong> follow<strong>in</strong>g centuries, a vast range of books, of a variety of different<br />

types, were produced for <strong>the</strong> advice of ei<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> confessors or <strong>the</strong> penitents;<br />

and <strong>the</strong>y could <strong>in</strong>clude detailed discussion of <strong>the</strong> circumstances<br />

that concerned dance and ludus. By <strong>the</strong> time of <strong>the</strong> Reformation, this<br />

corpus had noticeably grown and new publications, now circulat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />

pr<strong>in</strong>t, had become fairly repetitive, apart from <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>evitable quarrels<br />

between <strong>in</strong>dividual compilers (or compet<strong>in</strong>g religious orders).<br />

The most <strong>in</strong>fluential pre-Reformation summae for confessors usually<br />

comprised entries on play and games (ludus et iocus), and dance (chorea),<br />

both generally assessed as neutral per se, though seasoned with a number<br />

of caveats. Not atypically, <strong>the</strong> Dom<strong>in</strong>ican Silvestro da Prierio, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

ludus entry of his Summa Sylvestr<strong>in</strong>a (1515) – a confessional compilation<br />

that enjoyed a wide circulation – could go as far as repeat<strong>in</strong>g, on <strong>the</strong><br />

grounds of Aqu<strong>in</strong>as, that play <strong>in</strong> general was not only lawful, but also<br />

virtuous; ten years later, Card<strong>in</strong>al Cajetan (see below) could even call<br />

play<strong>in</strong>g for recreation ‘holy’ (licitus et sanctus). On <strong>the</strong> eve of <strong>the</strong> Reformation,<br />

<strong>the</strong> summae showed a tendency to be lenient, to justify and<br />

condone behaviour more often than stigmatize it. Contemporaries were<br />

aware of this orientation: Protestant reformers denounced it as typical<br />

of Catholic low moral standards, while Counter-Reformation <strong>the</strong>ologians<br />

felt embarrassed about it, and produced, <strong>in</strong> some cases at least,<br />

more b<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g guidance for <strong>the</strong> faithful. Among <strong>the</strong> practices one f<strong>in</strong>ds<br />

condemned <strong>in</strong> this literature is recreational mask<strong>in</strong>g, a transgression<br />

that appears aggravated if a lay person dresses up as a monk or a nun. 21<br />

As late as 1686, at <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> period here under consideration,


The Moral Discourse 55<br />

medieval Scholasticism could still offer <strong>the</strong> conceptual framework and<br />

basis for <strong>the</strong> organization of a lengthy treatise of Catholic moral <strong>the</strong>ology,<br />

<strong>the</strong> Traité des jeux et divertissemens published <strong>in</strong> Paris by Jean<br />

Baptiste Thiers (1636–1703). The author, a <strong>the</strong>ologian who is perhaps<br />

better known for his treatise aga<strong>in</strong>st superstitions and popular beliefs,<br />

<strong>in</strong>troduces, on <strong>the</strong> l<strong>in</strong>es of <strong>the</strong> Lat<strong>in</strong> opposition between ludus and iocus,<br />

a first general dist<strong>in</strong>ction between jokes (jeux de paroles et les railleries)<br />

and play or games (action). While <strong>the</strong> former group is discussed <strong>in</strong> a<br />

brief section, <strong>the</strong> latter takes most of <strong>the</strong> book. Its assessment is based<br />

on a quotation from Aqu<strong>in</strong>as (<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> style of medieval and modern<br />

sermons, whose structure tended to follow a list of topics based on a<br />

biblical verse). In order to ‘make play and games legal’, Aqu<strong>in</strong>as required<br />

three conditions: i) that people avoided dishonourable behaviour and<br />

actions that would harm <strong>the</strong>ir neighbour; ii) that <strong>in</strong> recreations one<br />

never abandoned gravity (<strong>the</strong> brief section where problems relat<strong>in</strong>g to<br />

particular social groups are addressed); iii) that a standard set of appropriate<br />

circumstances were respected, <strong>in</strong> relation to recreation itself (<strong>the</strong><br />

section conta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> traditional classification <strong>in</strong>to games of chance,<br />

those of skill and those that are mixed, to which I will return <strong>in</strong> Chapter<br />

6), people who practise it, time, place, and its general compatibility with<br />

modesty, justice and consciousness. Each of <strong>the</strong> above topics is discussed<br />

<strong>in</strong> a number of chapters. 22<br />

Games without a chance<br />

Theologians were much less tolerant towards gambl<strong>in</strong>g. Play<strong>in</strong>g with<br />

dice and (when <strong>the</strong>y <strong>in</strong>vaded Western Europe, at <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> Middle<br />

Ages) cards was so typical a folk pastime as to often absorb all (or most)<br />

of an author’s thoughts when referr<strong>in</strong>g to ludus (or its vernacular<br />

equivalents). The tavern is <strong>the</strong> most characteristic site of <strong>the</strong> crime,<br />

blasphemy and drunkenness its usual companions: it is not surpris<strong>in</strong>g<br />

to f<strong>in</strong>d that <strong>the</strong> mo<strong>the</strong>r of all sermons aga<strong>in</strong>st gambl<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>the</strong> work of<br />

Bernard<strong>in</strong>o da Siena (1380–1444), <strong>in</strong>terprets such a rite as a devilish<br />

counter-Mass.<br />

The author, arguably <strong>the</strong> most popular preacher of his century, was<br />

actively engaged <strong>in</strong> tour<strong>in</strong>g around Italian cities <strong>in</strong> a moraliz<strong>in</strong>g campaign,<br />

of which gambl<strong>in</strong>g was one of <strong>the</strong> characteristic targets. The<br />

sermon is a gem of medieval religious oratory, which exploits to <strong>the</strong> full<br />

its dramatic skills. The <strong>in</strong>ventor of ludus is Lucifer who, <strong>in</strong> order to<br />

compete with <strong>the</strong> Church founded by Christ to save human souls, rallies<br />

all devils and sets play as his counter-organization aim<strong>in</strong>g at <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g


56 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> number of <strong>the</strong> damned. The devilish <strong>in</strong>stitution has its clergy (<strong>the</strong><br />

organizers of gambl<strong>in</strong>g), its service and Book of Common Prayer<br />

(<strong>the</strong> players’ jargon). The logic of opposition and <strong>in</strong>version was deeply<br />

rooted <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> early modern period, and had a well-known manifestation<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>terpretation of witchcraft as an anti-Christian ritual<br />

system. In a typical style which served mnemonic functions, most<br />

of Bernard<strong>in</strong>o’s text is arranged <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> form of lengthy lists (of <strong>the</strong><br />

evils of play and human types who take part <strong>in</strong> it). The sermon must<br />

have enjoyed some popularity over <strong>the</strong> follow<strong>in</strong>g few generations of<br />

preachers, if we consider that <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> early 1520s it was <strong>the</strong> object of<br />

French and English adaptations. They appeared toge<strong>the</strong>r with o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

pastoral material as anonymous <strong>in</strong>dependent pamphlets, and exploit <strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> title <strong>the</strong> parallel between <strong>the</strong> two churches. In <strong>the</strong> frontispiece of<br />

<strong>the</strong> French booklet, La petite dyablerie, a woodcut represented a soul<br />

who is shown a player/gambler be<strong>in</strong>g dragged by devils <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> mouth<br />

of hell (Figure 4.1). The English pr<strong>in</strong>t, The Chirche of <strong>the</strong> Evyll, still<br />

appeared with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> gigantic list of references given <strong>in</strong> William Prynne’s<br />

Histrio-Mastix (1633). 23<br />

Games of chance also attracted <strong>the</strong> attention of jurists, s<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong> legal<br />

statute of <strong>the</strong> payments and debts contracted <strong>in</strong> play<strong>in</strong>g was far from<br />

clear (see below, Chapter 5). From <strong>the</strong> moral po<strong>in</strong>t of view, <strong>the</strong>y could<br />

receive little justification. As well as be<strong>in</strong>g useless from <strong>the</strong> standpo<strong>in</strong>t<br />

of <strong>the</strong> traditional justification for recreation (of body and m<strong>in</strong>d) and<br />

dangerous for <strong>the</strong> manner and <strong>the</strong> environment <strong>in</strong> which <strong>the</strong>y were<br />

played and for <strong>the</strong>ir f<strong>in</strong>ancial consequences (disastrous losses – easy<br />

w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>gs), <strong>the</strong>y implied a play with fortune which defied <strong>the</strong> div<strong>in</strong>e<br />

government over <strong>the</strong> future and people’s dest<strong>in</strong>y.<br />

A significant amount of sources, both Catholic and Protestant, primarily<br />

discuss dice and card play<strong>in</strong>g. Born <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> open<strong>in</strong>g year of <strong>the</strong><br />

Council of Trent, Angelo Rocca (1545–1620), an August<strong>in</strong>ian friar, was<br />

also a bishop and <strong>the</strong> founder of <strong>the</strong> (still operat<strong>in</strong>g) Angelica Library<br />

<strong>in</strong> Rome. He is <strong>the</strong> author of a book referred to <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> imprimatur as a<br />

‘Treatise on forbidden games of chance’ (Tractatus de vetito alearum ludo)<br />

– although <strong>the</strong> qualify<strong>in</strong>g adjective is dropped <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> title-page – and as<br />

written <strong>in</strong> both Lat<strong>in</strong> and Italian (<strong>the</strong> two versions were published <strong>in</strong><br />

1616 and 1617 respectively). The Italian frontispiece cont<strong>in</strong>ues: ‘[A treatise<br />

for <strong>the</strong> salvation of souls and <strong>the</strong> preservation of goods and money<br />

aga<strong>in</strong>st card and dice games,] which are forbidden by <strong>the</strong> very holy<br />

councils, by canon and civil laws not only among Christians, but also<br />

among <strong>the</strong> gentiles or pagan, for <strong>the</strong> many s<strong>in</strong>s and really horrendous<br />

cases that orig<strong>in</strong>ate from such abom<strong>in</strong>able games. F<strong>in</strong>ally, for recreation


The Moral Discourse 57<br />

Figure 4.1 A look at <strong>the</strong> s<strong>in</strong>ner (<strong>the</strong> gambler) and his retribution, from a safe<br />

distance. From <strong>the</strong> French adaptation of a sermon by Bernard<strong>in</strong>o da Siena.


58 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

of <strong>the</strong> soul and to avoid idleness, an <strong>in</strong>genious and honest game is proposed,<br />

which is lawful for any sort of people.’ While <strong>the</strong> work concentrates<br />

on card and dice games, <strong>the</strong> alternative <strong>the</strong> author promises <strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> frontispiece is, typically, chess. 24<br />

In <strong>the</strong> middle of <strong>the</strong> century a work of <strong>the</strong> same genre was published<br />

by Giovanni Domenigo Ottonelli (1583–1670). The author, a Jesuit professor<br />

of literature, also compiled a lengthy work on <strong>the</strong> moralization<br />

of <strong>the</strong>atre. 25 The text alternates twenty-six ‘conclusions’ with as many<br />

‘cases’. The former are rationally argued <strong>the</strong>ses of moral <strong>the</strong>ology; <strong>the</strong><br />

latter exempla totally <strong>in</strong>dist<strong>in</strong>guishable from <strong>the</strong> medieval tradition. In<br />

fact, <strong>the</strong>y borrow heavily from medieval collections of moralized horror<br />

narratives – tales of what could happen to you if you play, with a few<br />

more recent additions. In <strong>the</strong> tales, players tend to appear enraged (conclusion<br />

7: ‘sometimes play<strong>in</strong>g drives people <strong>in</strong>to fits of madness’): <strong>the</strong>y<br />

regularly swear, <strong>the</strong>y often assault o<strong>the</strong>r people, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>ir <strong>in</strong>nocent<br />

relatives. (In a similar series of tales collected, before Ottonelli, by<br />

Rocca, <strong>the</strong>y also <strong>in</strong>sist <strong>in</strong> disfigur<strong>in</strong>g sacred images, a s<strong>in</strong> significantly à<br />

la mode <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> aftermath of Protestant iconoclastic campaigns.) Consequently,<br />

for div<strong>in</strong>e retribution, <strong>the</strong> death rate is impressive. The oldfashioned<br />

flavour of <strong>the</strong> text does not automatically require from <strong>the</strong><br />

author to be a precise moralist who denies <strong>the</strong> faithful any chance for<br />

relaxation. On <strong>the</strong> contrary, Ottonelli allows, at least <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ory, both<br />

play<strong>in</strong>g for w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g and play<strong>in</strong>g for fun (‘il giuoco esercitato per spasso’)<br />

as per se non-s<strong>in</strong>ful. 26<br />

In <strong>the</strong> Protestant field, Rocca and Ottonelli had been preceded by<br />

Lambert Daneau, who, toge<strong>the</strong>r with a treatise on Christian friendship,<br />

published <strong>in</strong> 1579 a second treatise, whose summary (from <strong>the</strong> subsequent<br />

English translation) will provide a fairly good <strong>in</strong>dication of its<br />

contents:<br />

A DISCOURSE OF GAMING, AND SPECIALLY OF DYCEPLAY<br />

Chapter 1. Whe<strong>the</strong>r it bee lawfull at all for a Christian man or woman to play<br />

and use recreation of <strong>the</strong>ir m<strong>in</strong>de<br />

2. Whe<strong>the</strong>r it be lawfull for a man to play for money: and <strong>the</strong> same be<strong>in</strong>g<br />

wonne, to keepe to his owne use<br />

3. Of Games, Playes and publique Exercises: and of <strong>the</strong> Rewardes <strong>the</strong>reunto<br />

assigned by <strong>the</strong> Common Wealth<br />

4. Of <strong>the</strong>m, that bestowe <strong>the</strong>ir W<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>gs ga<strong>in</strong>ed by play, upon a Banquet, or<br />

good cheare for <strong>the</strong> Whole Companie<br />

5. What k<strong>in</strong>de of Games and Playes bee lawfull, and what be forbidden and<br />

unlawfull


The Moral Discourse 59<br />

6. What <strong>the</strong> mean<strong>in</strong>g of this Worde Alea properly is: and What Games and<br />

Playes are conta<strong>in</strong>ed and comprehended under <strong>the</strong> name <strong>the</strong>reof<br />

7. Dyc<strong>in</strong>g and Card<strong>in</strong>g reproved and condemned even by <strong>the</strong> Hea<strong>the</strong>n and<br />

Infidelles that knewe not God<br />

8. That <strong>the</strong> auncient fa<strong>the</strong>rs of <strong>the</strong> Church have ever misliked and written<br />

aga<strong>in</strong>st Dyceplay<br />

9. That Dyceplay is directly condemned and reproved by manifest texts of<br />

<strong>the</strong> sacred Scriptures<br />

10. The answer to <strong>the</strong>ir obiections, that stoutly [defend] and stiffely ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>e<br />

this k<strong>in</strong>de of Play<br />

Daneau was an <strong>in</strong>fluential <strong>the</strong>ologian <strong>in</strong> Calv<strong>in</strong>ist Geneva. In <strong>the</strong><br />

same year, 1579, he also wrote a Traité des danses, which he published<br />

anonymously as <strong>the</strong> official (precise) position of <strong>the</strong> French Reformed<br />

Churches on <strong>the</strong> matter. In <strong>the</strong> early 1580s he was at work <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Ne<strong>the</strong>rlands,<br />

to help establish<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> discipl<strong>in</strong>e of <strong>the</strong> Reformed Churches;<br />

when, dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> follow<strong>in</strong>g decade, <strong>the</strong> Walloon m<strong>in</strong>ister Jean Taff<strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> Elder, <strong>in</strong> his treatise on <strong>the</strong> amendment of life, discussed dance and<br />

play <strong>in</strong> two adjo<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g chapters, what he did was to summarize Daneau’s<br />

works and to recommend <strong>the</strong>m to his audience as fur<strong>the</strong>r read<strong>in</strong>g. 27<br />

Ano<strong>the</strong>r Protestant publication on <strong>the</strong> subject was Daniel Souter’s<br />

Palamedes, which was pr<strong>in</strong>ted <strong>in</strong> Leiden <strong>in</strong> 1622. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to a tradition,<br />

dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> siege of Troy <strong>the</strong> Greek warrior Palamedes <strong>in</strong>vented dice<br />

and board games, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g chess. Souter’s first book is antiquarian,<br />

provid<strong>in</strong>g a description of <strong>in</strong>dividual board games and games of chance.<br />

His (shorter) second book is an overview of <strong>the</strong> moral evaluation and<br />

legal restrictions on games of chance, from Antiquity to modern times.<br />

As well as <strong>the</strong> wide diffusion of this practice at all times, it <strong>in</strong>forms <strong>the</strong><br />

reader of a moral concern that was already present among ancient<br />

pagans, and re<strong>in</strong>forced by Christianity. In <strong>the</strong> last book a wider range<br />

of leisure activities is considered, and ‘honest exercises’ (honesta exercitia)<br />

allowed. Their discussion is still based on a variety of sources (from<br />

Homer, to Roman law and modern examples), and considers both physical<br />

(for <strong>in</strong>stance, ball) and o<strong>the</strong>r (such as card) games. The exam<strong>in</strong>ation<br />

of some of <strong>the</strong>m br<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>the</strong> author to <strong>the</strong>ir condemnation. Some<br />

are clearly live popular practices, for which <strong>the</strong> author also provides<br />

vernacular names (ma<strong>in</strong>ly Dutch, though <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> Italian morra,<br />

<strong>the</strong> game of guess<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> total number of f<strong>in</strong>gers at <strong>the</strong> same moment<br />

as <strong>the</strong>y are flicked out by <strong>the</strong> two players). The survey cont<strong>in</strong>ues with<br />

chess, archery, pastimes on ice, and music (as a recreation specially<br />

suited for <strong>in</strong>tellectuals). In spite of Souter’s Calv<strong>in</strong>ism and moral


60 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

concern, an antiquarian <strong>in</strong>terest is predom<strong>in</strong>ant <strong>in</strong> his work, to <strong>the</strong><br />

extent that even his second book reads better as a historian’s collection<br />

of source material ra<strong>the</strong>r than as a controversialist’s argumentation of<br />

his po<strong>in</strong>t. Given <strong>the</strong> character of Souter’s work, it is perfectly understandable<br />

why Elzevir, a protagonist <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> history of <strong>the</strong> early modern<br />

pr<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g press, choose to publish it toge<strong>the</strong>r with an even more specifically<br />

antiquarian study of Olympics and similar Greek games by <strong>the</strong><br />

Dutch humanist Johannes van Meurs (Meursius). By deal<strong>in</strong>g with <strong>the</strong><br />

physical sort of exercises from which modern sports have evolved,<br />

Meursius’ and Souter’s texts complement each o<strong>the</strong>r ra<strong>the</strong>r well<br />

(although <strong>the</strong>re is some overlap with Souter’s third book). Four years<br />

earlier, Meursius had published a similar historical dictionary of ancient<br />

dances. 28<br />

Many o<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>ologians of all nationalities and denom<strong>in</strong>ations could<br />

be added to this list. 29 Not all Reformed div<strong>in</strong>es, however, were ‘puritan’<br />

<strong>in</strong> matters of recreation. For <strong>in</strong>stance, Pietro Martire Vermigli – an <strong>in</strong>fluential<br />

Tuscan émigré <strong>in</strong> England dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> reign of Edward VI, where<br />

he was known as Peter Martyr – wrote lengthy annotations (loci<br />

communes) on two passages from <strong>the</strong> Bible referr<strong>in</strong>g to dance and play,<br />

which could pass as precise moral <strong>the</strong>ology only by forc<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>m to say<br />

that which <strong>the</strong>y do not (this was <strong>in</strong>deed <strong>the</strong> dest<strong>in</strong>y of his commonplace<br />

on dance, which was also published <strong>in</strong> Elizabethan London <strong>in</strong> a<br />

separate posthumous edition, preceded by a preface twice as long as <strong>the</strong><br />

text). Peter’s comments on dance were partly antiquarian, and displayed<br />

<strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>tention to draw a moral l<strong>in</strong>e between good dances from ancient<br />

Israel and bad ones from modern Europe. More relevant here is discussion<br />

‘de ludis’. This starts with <strong>the</strong> acknowledgement that ‘some of <strong>the</strong><br />

Fa<strong>the</strong>rs seeme to mislike all k<strong>in</strong>d of plaies’. The author, however, draws<br />

a number of dist<strong>in</strong>ctions between different sorts of games, by also referr<strong>in</strong>g<br />

to <strong>the</strong> matter as it was assessed by Roman law (see below, Chapter<br />

5). By <strong>the</strong> end of his analysis Peter is ready to go back to <strong>the</strong> Church<br />

Fa<strong>the</strong>rs and deny sound biblical grounds for <strong>the</strong>ir generalized condemnation<br />

of amusements. He goes as far as to allow someone ‘sicke or<br />

weake’ to play at games of chance, provided that he does not bet on<br />

<strong>the</strong>m, s<strong>in</strong>ce – he states – legal prohibitions of gambl<strong>in</strong>g are specifically<br />

targeted to avoid <strong>the</strong> waste of goods. The scriptural occasion for <strong>the</strong><br />

commonplace was <strong>the</strong> episode of Samson’s riddle (Judges 14), which<br />

qualifies as ludus. Peter f<strong>in</strong>ds it ‘honest and seemelie’; however, s<strong>in</strong>ce<br />

‘had it a deadlie end’ (<strong>the</strong> massacre of thirty Philist<strong>in</strong>es, by which<br />

Samson obta<strong>in</strong>s <strong>the</strong> clo<strong>the</strong>s he needed <strong>in</strong> order to pay his bett<strong>in</strong>g debt),


The Moral Discourse 61<br />

o<strong>the</strong>r honest exercises besides plays and games may prove more appropriate<br />

for Christians. 30<br />

The ethics of <strong>the</strong> audience<br />

Among <strong>the</strong> leisure activities which pose different moral problems to <strong>the</strong><br />

people tak<strong>in</strong>g vary<strong>in</strong>g roles <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>m, <strong>the</strong> whole world of <strong>the</strong> perform<strong>in</strong>g<br />

arts should be <strong>in</strong>cluded. It is obvious that perform<strong>in</strong>g and watch<strong>in</strong>g<br />

(or listen<strong>in</strong>g) bear quite different implications. One should add that<br />

perform<strong>in</strong>g is a leisure activity only <strong>in</strong> so far as someone is not professional<br />

(nor, conversely, is drama-, ballet- or concertgo<strong>in</strong>g leisure for<br />

a <strong>the</strong>atre, dance or music critic – although this would have been an<br />

anachronistic profession <strong>in</strong> early modern Europe, at least until <strong>the</strong><br />

eighteenth-century diffusion of literary magaz<strong>in</strong>es). Notwithstand<strong>in</strong>g<br />

such dist<strong>in</strong>ctions, a moral consideration of <strong>the</strong>se human activities tends<br />

to consider <strong>the</strong>m as a whole and, while perhaps comment<strong>in</strong>g on <strong>the</strong><br />

nuances implied by <strong>the</strong> various roles, is also likely to offer a coherent<br />

overall judgement.<br />

The specific moral perspective from which medieval and early modern<br />

writers could consider this field varied; <strong>the</strong>refore <strong>the</strong> framework and<br />

occasion of discussions is per se worth register<strong>in</strong>g and analys<strong>in</strong>g. At <strong>the</strong><br />

dawn of <strong>the</strong> Christian Middle Ages, <strong>in</strong> August<strong>in</strong>e’s Confessions (VI, 8),<br />

we f<strong>in</strong>d <strong>the</strong> story of Alypius, who hated gladiatorial contests. Dragged<br />

to <strong>the</strong> arena by some friends, he kept his eyes closed, but opened <strong>the</strong>m<br />

when attracted by <strong>the</strong> sound of <strong>the</strong> excited crowd. Naturally, from <strong>the</strong>n<br />

on he became addicted to this bloody enterta<strong>in</strong>ment. Curiosity compelled<br />

him to open his eyes. Both August<strong>in</strong>e and (three hundred years<br />

later) Bede regarded <strong>the</strong> curiosity that lures people to <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>atre as an<br />

effect of <strong>the</strong> ‘lust of <strong>the</strong> eyes’ (concupiscentia oculorum). 31 In <strong>the</strong> thirteenth<br />

century, reference to those passages of August<strong>in</strong>e and Bede provided<br />

<strong>the</strong> grounds for Aqu<strong>in</strong>as’s treatment of <strong>the</strong> moral implications of<br />

<strong>the</strong>atrego<strong>in</strong>g. The relevant question of his Summa <strong>the</strong>ologica (II/II, 167)<br />

discusses curiositas, <strong>the</strong> vice opposite to studiositas. In <strong>the</strong> tradition<br />

of Christian doctr<strong>in</strong>e, <strong>the</strong> latter is one of <strong>the</strong> forms of <strong>the</strong> virtue of<br />

modesty. We are <strong>the</strong>refore, here, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> religious world of b<strong>in</strong>ary oppositions<br />

(where one path needs to be followed, <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r avoided), ra<strong>the</strong>r<br />

than <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> ternary system of Aristotelian ethics (where virtue stands <strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> golden mean between two opposite vices).<br />

Aqu<strong>in</strong>as divides <strong>the</strong> topic <strong>in</strong>to two articles, one concern<strong>in</strong>g curiosity<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> field of <strong>in</strong>tellectual knowledge, <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r <strong>in</strong> that of sensory


62 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

knowledge. To <strong>the</strong> sensory field belongs <strong>the</strong> more specific doubt: is <strong>the</strong>re<br />

a form of curiosity <strong>in</strong> watch<strong>in</strong>g plays and games As for <strong>the</strong> questions<br />

we encountered earlier, and <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> whole tradition of medieval scholasticism<br />

– which <strong>in</strong> its turn may be read as a dramatic genre 32 – <strong>the</strong> first<br />

answer should be read as that of a fictional <strong>in</strong>terlocutor, but is eventually<br />

rejected by <strong>the</strong> author. In our case, <strong>the</strong> first answer is lenient: it<br />

approves of watch<strong>in</strong>g performances, by deny<strong>in</strong>g that it is a manifestation<br />

of curiosity. Aqu<strong>in</strong>as’s own answer is more problematic: worry<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

as moralists of all times do, about sex and violence, he does not<br />

condemn attendance as s<strong>in</strong>ful per se, but warns aga<strong>in</strong>st <strong>the</strong> risk that<br />

improper subject matter of <strong>the</strong>atrical representations may <strong>in</strong>cl<strong>in</strong>e <strong>the</strong><br />

spectator to behave accord<strong>in</strong>gly. 33<br />

In mid-fifteenth-century Florence, Archbishop Anton<strong>in</strong>us still<br />

adopted <strong>the</strong> same mental framework. His <strong>the</strong>ological discussion of <strong>the</strong><br />

s<strong>in</strong> of curiositas – <strong>the</strong> first of twelve degrees of pride – <strong>in</strong>cludes a dist<strong>in</strong>ction<br />

between genres of performances of vary<strong>in</strong>g quality. Passion<br />

plays and o<strong>the</strong>r religious drama are lawful per se, though care must be<br />

taken to avoid <strong>in</strong>appropriate elements. If <strong>the</strong> subject of drama is secular,<br />

Anton<strong>in</strong>us dist<strong>in</strong>guishes three fur<strong>the</strong>r categories; for each of <strong>the</strong>m, <strong>the</strong><br />

potential s<strong>in</strong>fulness of performance and attendance is <strong>the</strong> object of separate<br />

exam<strong>in</strong>ation. They consist of:<br />

1. Spectacles forbidden by law, where <strong>the</strong>re is a probable danger to life,<br />

or serious <strong>in</strong>jury (tournaments, duels) – performance of <strong>the</strong>se is<br />

always a mortal s<strong>in</strong>.<br />

2. Spectacles not expressly forbidden by law, but which <strong>in</strong>clude many<br />

obscene representations – both performance and deliberate attendance<br />

are mortal s<strong>in</strong>s.<br />

3. Va<strong>in</strong> and amus<strong>in</strong>g spectacles (masquerades; also watch<strong>in</strong>g danc<strong>in</strong>g<br />

and athletic games) – not a mortal s<strong>in</strong>, provided that <strong>the</strong>y do not<br />

mock religion. Half a century later this articulated classification was<br />

<strong>in</strong>serted <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> ludus entry of a fellow Dom<strong>in</strong>ican, <strong>the</strong> already mentioned<br />

Silvestro da Prierio. With <strong>the</strong> specific concern for <strong>the</strong> danger<br />

to life, moral judgement was based on <strong>the</strong> probability of death;<br />

an issue which had made August<strong>in</strong>e condemn <strong>the</strong> attendance<br />

at hunt<strong>in</strong>g scenes, while ano<strong>the</strong>r Dom<strong>in</strong>ican compiler, Giovanni<br />

Cagnazzo (Summa Tabiena, 1517), applied it to rope danc<strong>in</strong>g (‘qui<br />

gradiuntur per cordas <strong>in</strong> sublimi’). 34<br />

The f<strong>in</strong>al years of pre-Reformation Catholicism are dom<strong>in</strong>ated by <strong>the</strong><br />

work of Card<strong>in</strong>al Cajetan (Tommaso De Vio, 1469–1534), Dom<strong>in</strong>ican


<strong>the</strong>ologian and General of his order. Supported by <strong>the</strong> author’s philosophical<br />

culture, <strong>the</strong> ludere entry of his popular Summula de peccatis<br />

(1525) benefits from clear arrangements of <strong>the</strong> subject. Play can be a s<strong>in</strong><br />

ei<strong>the</strong>r because of its own characteristics or on <strong>the</strong> grounds of <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>appropriate<br />

circumstances of its performance. The general trend is fairly<br />

liberal, and <strong>the</strong> condemnation of that which is dangerous is cautious,<br />

allow<strong>in</strong>g those moderate armed games that were usual to military tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />

and which could be classified as physical exercise. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore,<br />

while judg<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> behaviour of performers (histriones), caution is ma<strong>in</strong>ly<br />

recommended over <strong>the</strong> subject of <strong>the</strong> performance (materia); but even<br />

<strong>in</strong> evaluat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> latter one should exercise moderation, s<strong>in</strong>ce what is<br />

done or said playfully (iocose) may not deserve too harsh reprimand.<br />

Over <strong>the</strong> previous fifteen years, Cajetan had been engaged <strong>in</strong> his monumental<br />

commentary on Aqu<strong>in</strong>as, a different, learned genre of work <strong>in</strong><br />

which one can aga<strong>in</strong> f<strong>in</strong>d traces of his systematic attempt to understand<br />

and accept, ra<strong>the</strong>r than ignore or reject, <strong>the</strong> variety of human behaviour.<br />

When discuss<strong>in</strong>g attendance at <strong>the</strong>atrical performances, <strong>the</strong> dist<strong>in</strong>ction<br />

is once more clearly made between <strong>the</strong> subject (res presentatae)<br />

and <strong>the</strong> spectacle itself (representatio ipsa). Of <strong>the</strong> latter, he is clear <strong>in</strong><br />

stat<strong>in</strong>g that it is not a s<strong>in</strong> at all. On <strong>the</strong> contrary, quot<strong>in</strong>g Aristotle, he<br />

rem<strong>in</strong>ds <strong>the</strong> reader that representation ‘naturally delights <strong>the</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d’<br />

(naturaliter animum delectat). 35<br />

The discussion of <strong>the</strong> relevant passage of <strong>the</strong> Nicomachean Ethics<br />

with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> supervision of a <strong>the</strong>sis offered also a seventeenth-century<br />

Dutch commentator, <strong>the</strong> Amsterdam academic Adriaan Heereboord, <strong>the</strong><br />

opportunity to propose a classification of <strong>the</strong> different genres of pastimes.<br />

While it may be less <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g here to follow his judgement on<br />

which activities are liberal vs illiberal, which mean<strong>in</strong>gful vs mean<strong>in</strong>gless,<br />

his general way of referr<strong>in</strong>g to his object is worth mention<strong>in</strong>g. Follow<strong>in</strong>g<br />

Aristotle, Heereboord dist<strong>in</strong>guishes between acts and speech,<br />

with pleasantness <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> two fields consist<strong>in</strong>g, respectively, of ludi and<br />

ioci. He is more aware than o<strong>the</strong>r authors of <strong>the</strong> need to look at both<br />

sides of each of <strong>the</strong>se activities, that is performance and audience. His<br />

purpose is, from a moral standpo<strong>in</strong>t, <strong>the</strong> need to ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> a golden<br />

mean on all four result<strong>in</strong>g fronts. Although he does not give many<br />

examples, <strong>the</strong> partition itself is worth cit<strong>in</strong>g. It comprises two active<br />

roles (dicere iocos, facere ludos), and two passive ones (spectare ludos,<br />

audire iocos). In his complete awareness of <strong>the</strong> audience side of <strong>the</strong> moral<br />

problem this later philosopher may testify to <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> and<br />

baroque developments <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>atrical arts, which some of his predecessors<br />

had not had <strong>the</strong> opportunity to witness. 36 The Moral Discourse 63


64 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

Although, among <strong>the</strong> mean<strong>in</strong>gs of ludus/jeu/play, I do not regard<br />

<strong>the</strong> specifically <strong>the</strong>atrical as <strong>the</strong> ma<strong>in</strong> direct object of this book, it<br />

will appear evident from my examples that <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> medieval and early<br />

modern usage this was hardly dist<strong>in</strong>guishable from <strong>the</strong> more general<br />

l<strong>in</strong>guistic value of ‘pastime’ and ‘enterta<strong>in</strong>ment’. One implication of <strong>the</strong><br />

family relations between <strong>the</strong>se fields of human activity is particularly<br />

relevant to my topic here s<strong>in</strong>ce it formed <strong>the</strong> grounds for a category<br />

under which <strong>the</strong>y were jo<strong>in</strong>tly grouped by several medieval authors. Its<br />

name was <strong>the</strong>atrica. As Glend<strong>in</strong>g Olson put it, ‘<strong>the</strong> idea of <strong>the</strong>atrics, a<br />

science of enterta<strong>in</strong>ments (scientia ludorum), appears first and fully<br />

developed <strong>in</strong> Hugh of St Victor’s Didascalicon, written <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> late<br />

1120s’. 37 The term def<strong>in</strong>es one of <strong>the</strong> seven mechanical arts, a list that<br />

mirrors that of <strong>the</strong> liberal ones – <strong>the</strong> rema<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g six be<strong>in</strong>g fabric mak<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

armaments, commerce, agriculture, hunt<strong>in</strong>g and medic<strong>in</strong>e. Altoge<strong>the</strong>r,<br />

<strong>the</strong> mechanical is one of four k<strong>in</strong>ds of human knowledge, toge<strong>the</strong>r with<br />

<strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>oretical, <strong>the</strong> practical and <strong>the</strong> logical. Theatrica represents, <strong>the</strong>refore,<br />

a family of works of human labour. Although critics have related<br />

its appearance to <strong>the</strong> emergence of medieval liturgical drama, Hugh<br />

himself speaks of it <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> past tense, as if he was provid<strong>in</strong>g a comprehensive<br />

list of trades, where a class of activities that had not survived<br />

beyond late Antiquity could be accommodated. Its <strong>in</strong>clusion is itself<br />

a proof of some degree of tolerance. Theatres lend <strong>the</strong>ir name to <strong>the</strong><br />

category by metonymy, as a part to <strong>the</strong> whole: Hugh specifies that<br />

<strong>the</strong>y were not an exclusive place for ancient enterta<strong>in</strong>ments, which<br />

could be held elsewhere. Dance, music-mak<strong>in</strong>g, athletic contests and<br />

dice-play<strong>in</strong>g are mentioned as well as drama. The rationale of <strong>the</strong> whole<br />

category is medical, with <strong>the</strong> physiology of emotions justify<strong>in</strong>g those<br />

activities both for performers and for <strong>the</strong>ir audience.<br />

At <strong>the</strong> opposite end of <strong>the</strong> spectrum of tolerance we f<strong>in</strong>d <strong>the</strong><br />

thirteenth-century Dom<strong>in</strong>ican (and subsequently Archbishop of<br />

Canterbury) Robert Kilwardby, who regarded <strong>the</strong> whole world of <strong>the</strong>atre<br />

as morally unfit to constitute an acceptable field of human trade, and<br />

reta<strong>in</strong>ed only some forms of musical practice, by classify<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>m under<br />

medic<strong>in</strong>e. From <strong>the</strong> ‘anti-<strong>the</strong>atrical prejudice’ a specific and well-known<br />

campaign aga<strong>in</strong>st <strong>the</strong> world of <strong>the</strong> perform<strong>in</strong>g arts developed <strong>in</strong><br />

sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe across <strong>the</strong> confessional<br />

barriers, with recourse both to <strong>the</strong> pr<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g press and to attempts<br />

to <strong>in</strong>troduce express regulations and prohibitions by law (see below,<br />

Chapter 5).<br />

In seventeenth-century France, <strong>the</strong>atre- and operago<strong>in</strong>g developed as<br />

leisure practices of high significance, thus attract<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> concentrated


The Moral Discourse 65<br />

attention of moralists. While drama <strong>the</strong>orists consistently referred to<br />

<strong>the</strong>atre as moral <strong>in</strong>struction, as well as enterta<strong>in</strong>ment, rigorous religious<br />

censors often went as far as wholesale condemnation of <strong>the</strong> entire <strong>the</strong>atrical<br />

experience as morally corrupt<strong>in</strong>g. In <strong>the</strong>ir eyes, drama was even<br />

worse than gambl<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>the</strong> former be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>compatible with Christian life<br />

per se, ra<strong>the</strong>r than under specific conditions. 38<br />

Juego(s)<br />

The last po<strong>in</strong>t may offer <strong>the</strong> opportunity to say more about national<br />

and regional variations. It goes without say<strong>in</strong>g that, although a<br />

European discourse on recreation was <strong>in</strong> place dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> period under<br />

exam<strong>in</strong>ation, travell<strong>in</strong>g across <strong>the</strong> Cont<strong>in</strong>ent would allow <strong>the</strong> visitor to<br />

f<strong>in</strong>d not merely a vary<strong>in</strong>g vocabulary, but also a series of <strong>in</strong>dependent,<br />

albeit related, traditions. The cases of some Italian and English pastimes<br />

are discussed elsewhere <strong>in</strong> this book.<br />

An area which witnessed a particularly significant development, both<br />

<strong>in</strong> social and cultural terms, is <strong>the</strong> Iberian pen<strong>in</strong>sula; and its importance<br />

is not simply due to <strong>the</strong> dom<strong>in</strong>ant role of <strong>the</strong> Spanish K<strong>in</strong>gdom(s)<br />

<strong>in</strong> contemporary politics. Religious <strong>the</strong>atre had a lively tradition <strong>the</strong>re,<br />

and posed moral <strong>the</strong>ologians problems of its own. The most strik<strong>in</strong>g<br />

national custom <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> field of enterta<strong>in</strong>ment, however, was undoubtedly<br />

bullfight<strong>in</strong>g. In response to such specific issues, as well as <strong>in</strong><br />

obedience to a general strength of sixteenth- and early-seventeenthcentury<br />

Iberian Catholic <strong>the</strong>ology, a significant number of specific treatises<br />

on <strong>the</strong> subject of play and games were composed and published <strong>in</strong><br />

that part of Europe dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> period. 39 Also, one of <strong>the</strong> vehicles which<br />

gave prom<strong>in</strong>ence to <strong>the</strong> Iberian literature on <strong>the</strong> subject is <strong>the</strong> very<br />

important role played by Spanish and Portuguese <strong>the</strong>ologians on <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>in</strong>ternational scene of Counter-Reformation literature. Manuals for<br />

confessors and penitents such as those by Mart<strong>in</strong> Azpilcueta, and many<br />

o<strong>the</strong>rs, went through an enormous number of pr<strong>in</strong>ted editions, both <strong>in</strong><br />

Lat<strong>in</strong> and vernacular versions, and made <strong>the</strong>ir views well-known <strong>in</strong><br />

o<strong>the</strong>r countries on <strong>the</strong> same side of <strong>the</strong> confessional divide, like France<br />

and Italy.<br />

Three treatises, written at a distance of roughly half a century from<br />

one ano<strong>the</strong>r by members of different religious orders, may offer a significant<br />

sample of <strong>the</strong> specific attention paid to <strong>the</strong> topic by sixteenthcentury<br />

Spanish Catholicism. We have already encountered Pedro<br />

Covarrubias (d. 1530), <strong>the</strong> author of <strong>the</strong> treatise whose Iberian flavour,<br />

while discuss<strong>in</strong>g hunt<strong>in</strong>g, was evident <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> preoccupation for exhort-


66 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

<strong>in</strong>g Christian knights to a Crusade aga<strong>in</strong>st <strong>the</strong> Muslim. Covarrubias,<br />

from Burgos, was an em<strong>in</strong>ent Dom<strong>in</strong>ican preacher.<br />

The treatise could claim some historical priority <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> genre, and is<br />

divided <strong>in</strong>to three parts. The first discusses juegos from a general po<strong>in</strong>t<br />

of view, classifies <strong>the</strong>m and analyses <strong>the</strong> lawful sorts; <strong>the</strong> second deals<br />

specifically with forbidden games; <strong>the</strong> third with restitution of <strong>the</strong> gamblers’<br />

ga<strong>in</strong>. After <strong>the</strong> statement of <strong>the</strong> human need for recreation, <strong>the</strong><br />

first section conta<strong>in</strong>s one of <strong>the</strong> classic expositions of a series of three<br />

sorts of juegos (It. giuochi) – namely spiritual, human, demonic (see<br />

below, Chapter 6). This <strong>in</strong>cludes discussion of specific leisure activities<br />

such as chess, danc<strong>in</strong>g, jok<strong>in</strong>g, wear<strong>in</strong>g masks and – as we have seen –<br />

hunt<strong>in</strong>g. Religious drama receives an obvious approval, although <strong>the</strong><br />

author blames <strong>the</strong> way <strong>in</strong> which it is currently performed, by unworthy<br />

people and with some blurr<strong>in</strong>g with profane forms of popular enterta<strong>in</strong>ment.<br />

Bullfights are condemned by Covarrubias on <strong>the</strong> grounds of<br />

<strong>the</strong>ir danger. However, he explicitly refuses <strong>the</strong> argument on <strong>the</strong> side of<br />

bulls as God’s creatures, s<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong> Creator has trusted <strong>the</strong> animal world<br />

<strong>in</strong> our hands, and we are allowed to use <strong>the</strong>m to our pleasure; and would<br />

f<strong>in</strong>d acceptable a corrida made less dangerous by blunt<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> animal’s<br />

horns. Here aga<strong>in</strong>, <strong>the</strong> author also considers <strong>the</strong> ethical problems concern<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>the</strong> audience of such pastimes; and he shows awareness that <strong>the</strong><br />

human danger <strong>in</strong> bloody sports is precisely part of <strong>the</strong>ir attraction, as<br />

it was for <strong>the</strong> Roman ludi, a psychological impulse that can only f<strong>in</strong>d<br />

reprimand <strong>in</strong> Christian ethics. 40<br />

Forty years after Covarrubias, a Tratado del juego was published by<br />

Francisco de Alcocer (also spelled Alcoçer or Alcozer). The author was<br />

an Observant Franciscan (<strong>the</strong> stricter rule that, follow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> path<br />

of Bernard<strong>in</strong>o da Siena, developed <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> fifteenth century with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

family of <strong>the</strong> grey friars). 41 In <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>itial chapters Alcocer discusses<br />

<strong>the</strong> general issues: division of <strong>the</strong> matter and its overall assessment. The<br />

tone shows close resemblance to medieval pastoral literature, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g<br />

such arguments as <strong>the</strong> fact that players or gamblers (los jugadores)<br />

transgress all div<strong>in</strong>e commandments. His classification (chapter 5,<br />

‘Delas diversas maneras que ay de juegos’) is a variation on <strong>the</strong><br />

div<strong>in</strong>e/demonic/human tripartition (see below, Chapter 6). They are,<br />

respectively, def<strong>in</strong>ed as ‘devotional and holy’ and enterta<strong>in</strong>ments<br />

‘where base and <strong>in</strong>decent matter is represented, which stirs up lust’. As<br />

for <strong>the</strong> third group, it conta<strong>in</strong>s pastimes that are chosen for pleasure<br />

and as recreation, sometimes also for exercis<strong>in</strong>g one’s strength. These<br />

are what people normally call juegos, as if <strong>the</strong>y were <strong>the</strong> proper<br />

ones, <strong>in</strong> a stricter sense. The folk (los vulgares) are given as specifically


The Moral Discourse 67<br />

responsible for this usage; <strong>in</strong> contrast, ‘doctors’ are mentioned when<br />

<strong>in</strong>troduc<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> fur<strong>the</strong>r, traditional dist<strong>in</strong>ction between games of skill<br />

and of chance, plus <strong>the</strong> comb<strong>in</strong>ation of <strong>the</strong> two. 42<br />

In chapter 6 (‘That by natural and div<strong>in</strong>e law no sort of play is bad<br />

or forbidden, and what reasons may some people hold to condemn<br />

amusements’ 43 ) <strong>the</strong> author provides a standard acknowledgement of <strong>the</strong><br />

moral neutrality of play per se, and supports his statement with an <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

though <strong>in</strong>consistent, list of causes. What makes it <strong>in</strong>consistent<br />

is <strong>the</strong> fact that <strong>the</strong> list beg<strong>in</strong>s as a series of reasons for which people<br />

may play. The first three are highly representative: recreation, pleasure,<br />

ga<strong>in</strong>. They are also meant as conditions to be <strong>in</strong>vestigated, <strong>in</strong> order to<br />

establish whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>ir presence turns play <strong>in</strong>to a s<strong>in</strong>. Alcocer is far from<br />

strict, s<strong>in</strong>ce, characteristically, he denies that play<strong>in</strong>g for pleasure or ga<strong>in</strong><br />

provides sufficient grounds for <strong>the</strong> label of ‘mortal s<strong>in</strong>’. Subsequently,<br />

<strong>the</strong> same list cont<strong>in</strong>ues with fur<strong>the</strong>r circumstances that, at least accord<strong>in</strong>g<br />

to some authors, cause play to be a mortal s<strong>in</strong>; such circumstances,<br />

though, do not belong any longer to <strong>the</strong> reasons for which some people<br />

may (choose to) play.<br />

A wide section of <strong>the</strong> work is devoted to <strong>the</strong> economic implications<br />

of games of chance: whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> ga<strong>in</strong> is legitimate and restitution<br />

due (<strong>the</strong> author does so with unusually detailed attention to <strong>the</strong> problems<br />

aris<strong>in</strong>g from specific games). The Iberian flavour of <strong>the</strong> text<br />

fully emerges with a f<strong>in</strong>al series of chapters which discuss fur<strong>the</strong>r<br />

amusements, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g bullfight<strong>in</strong>g. Given <strong>the</strong>ir character of performances,<br />

moral implications are also specifically drawn for categories<br />

of people o<strong>the</strong>r than <strong>the</strong> direct participants (both spectators and<br />

those <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> support<strong>in</strong>g activities, which allow <strong>the</strong> games to take<br />

place).<br />

Fifty years later ano<strong>the</strong>r treatise appeared, a Tratado contra los juegos<br />

públicos, <strong>the</strong> work of Juan de Mariana (1563–1623 or 1624), a Jesuit. The<br />

term ‘public games’ def<strong>in</strong>es a partly different sphere from <strong>the</strong> world of<br />

juego or ludus: it is <strong>the</strong> realm of <strong>the</strong>atrical performances (espectáculos).<br />

The topic of this treatise, <strong>the</strong>refore, is related to that of <strong>the</strong> early<br />

Christian critique of <strong>the</strong>atre (Tertullian, pseudo-Cyprian) and of contemporary<br />

tracts by evangelical Protestants aga<strong>in</strong>st Elizabethan and<br />

Stuart drama. Consequently, <strong>the</strong> choice of issues is <strong>the</strong>atrical, <strong>in</strong> a fairly<br />

wide sense: from <strong>the</strong>atres as build<strong>in</strong>gs and <strong>the</strong> reasons for <strong>the</strong> spectator’s<br />

pleasure, to <strong>the</strong>atrical music and dance and <strong>the</strong> prohibition for<br />

women to perform <strong>in</strong> comedies. In <strong>the</strong> Spanish tradition, a clos<strong>in</strong>g<br />

section of chapters discusses bullfights (‘si es lícito correr toros’), giv<strong>in</strong>g<br />

details of three papal decrees on <strong>the</strong> subject; Mariana goes back to a


68 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

stricter moral reproof of such spectacles, and openly rejects <strong>the</strong> argument<br />

that <strong>the</strong>y help to keep <strong>the</strong> folk orderly and satisfied. 44<br />

A time for play<br />

In Chapter 2 we have <strong>in</strong>troduced <strong>the</strong> universal acknowledgement that<br />

<strong>the</strong>re is a human need for sett<strong>in</strong>g some time apart from ord<strong>in</strong>ary occupations.<br />

We must now briefly go back to <strong>the</strong> question of time, s<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong><br />

appropriate way to manage this resource (or, to put it <strong>in</strong> medieval and<br />

<strong>Renaissance</strong> terms, godly gift) is at <strong>the</strong> core of Christian reflection on<br />

recreation. This discourse is not Christian <strong>in</strong> a particularly exclusive<br />

way, s<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>in</strong> classical literature early modern moralists could f<strong>in</strong>d a<br />

wealth of passages which <strong>the</strong>y felt close to <strong>the</strong>ir sensitivity. Alcocer<br />

quotes Seneca’s warn<strong>in</strong>gs aga<strong>in</strong>st <strong>the</strong> waste of time, and so do many<br />

o<strong>the</strong>r contemporary writers. 45 Never<strong>the</strong>less, <strong>the</strong>re was a peculiar religious<br />

flavour <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> concern for <strong>the</strong> improper use of a benefit that was<br />

felt to belong directly to God and his <strong>in</strong>scrutable will.<br />

The English Reformation developed this topic with particular consistency.<br />

46 Two authors – one before, one after <strong>the</strong> troubles of <strong>the</strong> Civil<br />

War – represent this discourse at its best. With its one thousand pages,<br />

William Prynne’s Histrio-Mastix is <strong>the</strong> most systematic attack on <strong>the</strong><br />

early Stuart stage, with frequent reference to <strong>the</strong> dimensions that<br />

<strong>the</strong>atrego<strong>in</strong>g has taken <strong>in</strong> London. When, among <strong>the</strong> various aspects of<br />

<strong>the</strong>atre, he discusses dance, <strong>the</strong> author feels <strong>the</strong> need to answer one of<br />

<strong>the</strong> most common objections to contemporary anti-dance literature: <strong>the</strong><br />

fact that a well-known verse <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Book of Ecclesiastes (3: 4) sets ‘a time<br />

to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance’.<br />

After dismiss<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> possibility that <strong>the</strong> Scripture is referr<strong>in</strong>g to any<br />

physical movement, or anyway to anyth<strong>in</strong>g o<strong>the</strong>r than a religious, nonpromiscuous<br />

danc<strong>in</strong>g, Prynne’s reply tackles <strong>the</strong> issue of time. The time<br />

that needs to be devoted to our religious duties surely cannot be spent<br />

<strong>in</strong> danc<strong>in</strong>g. The same applies to o<strong>the</strong>r vocations. One cannot dance<br />

<strong>in</strong>stead of work<strong>in</strong>g – but also, as we discussed <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> previous chapter,<br />

too vigorous a pastime is no suitable recreation outside work<strong>in</strong>g hours:<br />

‘They that worke hard all day, had more need to rest, <strong>the</strong>n dance, all<br />

night. And yet how many are <strong>the</strong>re, who after an hard iourny or a toylsome<br />

dayes worke, will take more pa<strong>in</strong>es at night <strong>in</strong> danc<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong>y<br />

did <strong>in</strong> labour<strong>in</strong>g all <strong>the</strong> day time & because <strong>the</strong>y are quite tyred out<br />

with work<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>the</strong>y will yet tire <strong>the</strong>mselves once aga<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> danc<strong>in</strong>g;<br />

and so disable <strong>the</strong>mselves <strong>the</strong> more for <strong>the</strong> workes and duties of <strong>the</strong><br />

ensu<strong>in</strong>g day; whereas every recreation should helpe, not h<strong>in</strong>der men <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir


The Moral Discourse 69<br />

call<strong>in</strong>gs.’ 47 As for those loyterers who can f<strong>in</strong>d but little or no time at all<br />

for work, <strong>in</strong> Prynne’s op<strong>in</strong>ion <strong>the</strong>y have no right to any of <strong>the</strong> activities<br />

set out <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Bible: both <strong>the</strong>ir dances and <strong>the</strong>ir justifications are<br />

out of season.<br />

Outside <strong>the</strong> dance chapter, ‘<strong>the</strong> prodigall mispence of much precious<br />

time’ appears as <strong>the</strong> first of ‘severall pernicious effects, and dangerous<br />

fruits’, which issue from <strong>the</strong>atrical performances. Prynne details <strong>the</strong> different<br />

ways <strong>in</strong> which precious time is wasted on both side of <strong>the</strong>atrical<br />

production and attendance, without omitt<strong>in</strong>g to mention <strong>the</strong> time<br />

employed <strong>in</strong> rehearsals, <strong>the</strong> build<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong>atres or, on <strong>the</strong> public’s side,<br />

dress<strong>in</strong>g up to go out, or read<strong>in</strong>g drama, ra<strong>the</strong>r than devout literature.<br />

The imagery employed as a rhetorical device <strong>in</strong> this section depicts such<br />

waste as <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>ft of a treasure, or a life-devour<strong>in</strong>g cancer. 48 Fur<strong>the</strong>r on,<br />

when discuss<strong>in</strong>g ‘sloth and idlenesse’ as ano<strong>the</strong>r pernicious effect, go<strong>in</strong>g<br />

to playhouses returns as <strong>the</strong> obvious dest<strong>in</strong>ation of <strong>the</strong> idle who do not<br />

know what to do with <strong>the</strong>ir afternoons. Here Prynne puns on <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

misuse of time by accus<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>m of play<strong>in</strong>g it away. 49<br />

Forty years later, Richard Baxter’s A Christian Directory (1673) gives<br />

firmer <strong>the</strong>ological grounds to similar moral concerns. A chapter of its<br />

first part (‘Christian Ethicks’) provides ‘directions for redeem<strong>in</strong>g or well<br />

improv<strong>in</strong>g time’. The argument is constructed through tell<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>itial<br />

def<strong>in</strong>itions: ‘Time <strong>in</strong> its most common acception is taken generally for<br />

all that space of this present life which is our opportunity for all <strong>the</strong><br />

works of life, and <strong>the</strong> measure of <strong>the</strong>m. Time is often taken more strictly,<br />

for some special opportunity which is fitted to a special work, which we<br />

call <strong>the</strong> season or <strong>the</strong> fittest time. In both <strong>the</strong>se senses time must be<br />

redeemed.’ 50 The first of <strong>the</strong> special seasons proposed on <strong>the</strong> follow<strong>in</strong>g<br />

page of <strong>the</strong> Directory is youth; and <strong>the</strong> sense of all this <strong>the</strong>ological reflection<br />

over <strong>the</strong> fittest time to be devoted to religious duty is that this<br />

should not be residual time from o<strong>the</strong>r occupations, but ra<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> best<br />

of our times, when moral and physical vigour can ensure that our pious<br />

acts are most effective.<br />

Baxter cont<strong>in</strong>ues: ‘To redeem time is to see that we cast none of it away<br />

<strong>in</strong> va<strong>in</strong>, but use every m<strong>in</strong>ute of it as a most precious th<strong>in</strong>g, and spend<br />

it wholly <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> way of duty.’ ‘To redeem it, is not to call back time past,<br />

nor to stop time <strong>in</strong> its hasty passage, nor to procure a long life on earth:<br />

but to save it, as it passeth, from be<strong>in</strong>g devoured and lost, by sluggishness<br />

and s<strong>in</strong>.’ 51 With<strong>in</strong> ‘directions practical for redeem<strong>in</strong>g time’, <strong>the</strong><br />

author discusses ‘<strong>the</strong> thieves or time-wasters to be watchfully avoided’.<br />

These range from <strong>the</strong> most general and obvious (sloth, excessive sleep),<br />

to a list of more specific activities, where we f<strong>in</strong>d ‘<strong>in</strong>ord<strong>in</strong>ate adorn<strong>in</strong>g


70 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

of <strong>the</strong> body’, excessive pomp and ceremonial, banquets, idle talk, va<strong>in</strong><br />

company, pastimes, needless and <strong>in</strong>ord<strong>in</strong>ate games, excessive mundane<br />

concerns, useless and ungoverned thoughts. It is not, however, simply<br />

a question of identify<strong>in</strong>g a series of va<strong>in</strong> acts – besides, an <strong>in</strong>ventory<br />

one could never hope to be complete. It is not <strong>the</strong> material gesture, but<br />

ra<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> attitude by which we do anyth<strong>in</strong>g, that is chiefly responsible<br />

for <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>appropriate use of time: ‘But <strong>the</strong> master-thief that robs men<br />

of <strong>the</strong>ir time, is an unsanctified, ungodly heart. For this loseth time<br />

whatever men are do<strong>in</strong>g.’ 52 Baxter proceeds with fur<strong>the</strong>r exam<strong>in</strong>ation<br />

of specific categories of people, dist<strong>in</strong>guished on <strong>the</strong> basis of <strong>the</strong>ir age<br />

group or occupations (<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g servants, who are not masters of <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

own time). While <strong>the</strong>y differ for hav<strong>in</strong>g smaller or larger amounts of<br />

time at <strong>the</strong>ir disposal, <strong>the</strong> message does not vary: time is a gift specifically<br />

given to us for Christian work – it is impious for anyone to shirk<br />

<strong>the</strong>ir duty.<br />

Baxter concludes <strong>the</strong> ethical part of his work with ‘directions for <strong>the</strong><br />

government of <strong>the</strong> body’, which <strong>in</strong>clude some directions about sports<br />

and recreations. Def<strong>in</strong>itions are, once more, crucial. Not every form of<br />

exercise is sport, but that solely which is particularly delightful. One can<br />

also delight <strong>in</strong> eat<strong>in</strong>g or dr<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g, or else <strong>in</strong> pious actions. That which<br />

dist<strong>in</strong>guishes sport is that fantasie is <strong>the</strong> specific human faculty that is<br />

delighted by it. Some recreations are lawful and <strong>in</strong>deed necessary. Here<br />

aga<strong>in</strong>, what matters is <strong>the</strong> end for which <strong>the</strong>y are performed. As Prynne,<br />

Baxter condemns pastimes that become a ma<strong>in</strong> occupation (‘by men<br />

that live not <strong>in</strong> any constant honest labour, but make a very trade of<br />

<strong>the</strong>ir recreations, and use <strong>the</strong>m as <strong>the</strong> chief bus<strong>in</strong>ess of <strong>the</strong> day’). Cards,<br />

dice and <strong>the</strong>atre are explicit targets of his criticism. To direct <strong>the</strong> more<br />

sober, Baxter suggests that, when recreation is needed for <strong>the</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d, it<br />

can be found <strong>in</strong> books and friends. For <strong>the</strong> body, it can be found <strong>in</strong> a<br />

walk: if solitary, it simultaneously allows meditation; if <strong>in</strong> company,<br />

conversation. The explicit sense of his recommendations is to mix bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />

with pleasure. 53<br />

It could be objected here that <strong>the</strong> religious perception of time was<br />

part of <strong>the</strong> medieval state of m<strong>in</strong>d and <strong>the</strong> authors I have selected were<br />

old-fashioned, while <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> is known to have secularized that<br />

notion, <strong>in</strong> synchronicity with more accurate forms of register<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />

pass<strong>in</strong>g of time, and <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g economic concerns for its value as a<br />

resource. In a classic article first published <strong>in</strong> 1960, Jacques Le Goff<br />

opposed ‘Merchant’s time and <strong>the</strong> Church’s time <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Middle Ages’;<br />

four years later, <strong>the</strong> same historian closed his authoritative sketch of<br />

medieval Western civilization with a famous quotation from Leon


The Moral Discourse 71<br />

Battista Alberti’s Libri della famiglia, <strong>in</strong> which time is referred to as a<br />

human be<strong>in</strong>g’s most precious possession, more <strong>the</strong>ir own than <strong>the</strong><br />

body itself. 54 It is <strong>the</strong>refore quite clear that <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> sav<strong>in</strong>g<br />

time and <strong>the</strong> concern for its waste had a long tradition. None<strong>the</strong>less,<br />

my impression rema<strong>in</strong>s that it would prove simplistic to use this historical<br />

precedent to destitute post-Reformation developments of any<br />

peculiarity and orig<strong>in</strong>ality. Max Weber’s <strong>the</strong>sis of a Protestant birth of<br />

modernity – as disputable as it still rema<strong>in</strong>s – should at least work as a<br />

warn<strong>in</strong>g aga<strong>in</strong>st a too mechanical representation of <strong>the</strong> opposition<br />

between religious and secular attitudes towards time. When Weber<br />

wanted to show a seventeenth-century perception of time that he found<br />

<strong>in</strong> tune with modern economic concerns, he quoted no o<strong>the</strong>r author<br />

than Richard Baxter. 55<br />

This is not to say that religious concern over <strong>the</strong> appropriate use<br />

of time ord<strong>in</strong>arily brought people to reject <strong>the</strong> most common forms<br />

of recreation – an assumption which would contrast with evidence<br />

we have encountered throughout this book. Ra<strong>the</strong>r, <strong>the</strong> po<strong>in</strong>t was to<br />

rem<strong>in</strong>d us how much <strong>the</strong> very notion of recreation and amusement<br />

troubled some radical <strong>Renaissance</strong> and early modern div<strong>in</strong>es, who may<br />

not represent a median view, but offer us never<strong>the</strong>less privileged access<br />

to a mode of thought that was characteristic of <strong>the</strong>ir time. The issue<br />

br<strong>in</strong>gs us back to Petrarch’s contempt of joy. That <strong>the</strong> time <strong>in</strong>appropriate<br />

for rejoic<strong>in</strong>g was <strong>the</strong> time of all our lives, that <strong>the</strong> world was a vale<br />

of tears, Christ had never laughed and his example should be followed,<br />

is a litany that had wide currency <strong>in</strong> a world troubled by <strong>in</strong>stability and<br />

tragedies, natural and man-made alike. In counterpo<strong>in</strong>t with <strong>the</strong> learned<br />

condescension with human behaviour, which is exemplified by <strong>the</strong><br />

Aristotelian discourse on urbanity, one should never forget that a quite<br />

different tune was always sung <strong>in</strong> medieval and early modern times:<br />

that of pastoral literature (as I said earlier, a world of b<strong>in</strong>ary oppositions)<br />

that demonized <strong>the</strong> flesh and <strong>the</strong> world.<br />

From this perspective, a tradition that went back to Pope Gregory <strong>the</strong><br />

Great (590–604) listed ‘<strong>in</strong>ane rejoic<strong>in</strong>g’ (<strong>in</strong>epta laetitia) among <strong>the</strong> vices<br />

connected with gluttony (its ‘daughters’, filiae gulae). It was seen as<br />

<strong>the</strong> result of excessive eat<strong>in</strong>g and dr<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g, and <strong>in</strong>cluded danc<strong>in</strong>g<br />

among its manifestations. The topos enjoyed a literary fortune, and<br />

could be found virtually unchanged one thousand years after its first<br />

formulation. 56<br />

In contrast to this negative view, <strong>Renaissance</strong> philosophy brought<br />

dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> fifteenth century, with such works as Lorenzo Valla’s De<br />

voluptate (1431), a comparative re-appreciation of pleasure. However,


72 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

this did not produce ei<strong>the</strong>r a general shift <strong>in</strong> religious attitudes or a significant<br />

process of secularization, and <strong>the</strong> Christian psychomachia<br />

between stricter and looser moral attitudes always rema<strong>in</strong>ed an openended<br />

drama.<br />

The situation did not significantly change with <strong>the</strong> Reformation,<br />

when confessional pluralism certa<strong>in</strong>ly added variables that could affect<br />

<strong>the</strong> spiritual orientation of <strong>in</strong>dividuals and communities, but – if we<br />

ignore caricatures and polemic stereotypes – without any s<strong>in</strong>gle sect as<br />

such jo<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g ei<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> party of <strong>the</strong> merrymakers or that of <strong>the</strong> killjoy.<br />

On both <strong>the</strong> general issues about play, pleasure and <strong>the</strong> body and some<br />

specific social practices, one can f<strong>in</strong>d countless examples of rigid and<br />

tolerant orientations <strong>in</strong> both <strong>the</strong> fields of Roman Catholicism and of<br />

<strong>in</strong>ternational Calv<strong>in</strong>ism. It is well known that Catholic <strong>the</strong>ologians<br />

could diverge dramatically on <strong>the</strong> matter, and <strong>in</strong>deed engaged <strong>in</strong> numerous<br />

polemics with one ano<strong>the</strong>r, with seventeenth-century Jesuits often<br />

represent<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> lenient party. Should <strong>the</strong> readers f<strong>in</strong>d more surpris<strong>in</strong>g<br />

my view of <strong>the</strong> reformed movement as similarly ambivalent, and expect<br />

it to be all militant on <strong>the</strong> ‘puritan’ side, I would po<strong>in</strong>t to <strong>the</strong>m <strong>the</strong><br />

moderate assessment of recreation by such lead<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>ologians as<br />

Mart<strong>in</strong> Bucer and Peter Martyr; or <strong>the</strong> Aristotelian flavour and<br />

vocabulary of a series of dissertations from late-seventeenth-century<br />

Lausanne, written by students com<strong>in</strong>g ma<strong>in</strong>ly from <strong>the</strong> Vaud region and<br />

supervised by David Constant, where specific questions give a moderate<br />

judgement of dance and <strong>the</strong>atre. The only Christian confession<br />

which marks a significant exception to <strong>the</strong> above rule is <strong>the</strong> Lu<strong>the</strong>ran:<br />

although, as its competitors, it comprised pastors and div<strong>in</strong>es with a<br />

variety of <strong>in</strong>dividual orientations, it showed a predom<strong>in</strong>ant <strong>in</strong>cl<strong>in</strong>ation<br />

towards <strong>the</strong> tolerance of popular pastimes, sometimes specifically<br />

<strong>in</strong>tended as a rebuttal of <strong>the</strong> Reformed ‘puritanism’. This is exactly what<br />

<strong>the</strong> prom<strong>in</strong>ent Lu<strong>the</strong>ran <strong>the</strong>ologian Balthasar Meisner did <strong>in</strong> pr<strong>in</strong>t <strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> matter of dance and <strong>the</strong>atre a century after <strong>the</strong> Reformation and<br />

from its very birthplace, <strong>the</strong> University of Wittenberg; a similar tolerance<br />

characterized <strong>the</strong> German Reformation – it did so <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> eyes of<br />

its contemporaries – on <strong>the</strong> sensitive issue of games of chance. 57


5<br />

Games and Law<br />

Huiz<strong>in</strong>ga’s Homo Ludens <strong>in</strong>cludes a chapter on ‘play and law’. 1 The difference<br />

<strong>in</strong> content between his chapter and <strong>the</strong> one which follows here<br />

may help to cast light on <strong>the</strong> different perspective I am adopt<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

whole of <strong>the</strong> present book. Huiz<strong>in</strong>ga deals with <strong>the</strong> roots of <strong>the</strong> European<br />

juristic tradition. There <strong>the</strong> Dutch cultural historian looks for clues<br />

of aspects of <strong>the</strong> legal practice that may derive from an orig<strong>in</strong>al playful<br />

dimension of human behaviour. The quest is heavily reliant on <strong>the</strong><br />

author’s def<strong>in</strong>ition of that which is considered to be essential <strong>in</strong> play.<br />

S<strong>in</strong>ce, for Huiz<strong>in</strong>ga, competition and chance are two basic <strong>in</strong>gredients<br />

of play, <strong>the</strong>ir presence <strong>in</strong> law appears to him as a sign of <strong>the</strong> playful<br />

roots of culture <strong>in</strong> this field. From this perspective he exam<strong>in</strong>es <strong>the</strong><br />

similarities between <strong>the</strong> separate place and rules govern<strong>in</strong>g games and<br />

<strong>the</strong> ritual attached to trials and <strong>the</strong> implement<strong>in</strong>g of law; <strong>the</strong> element<br />

of competition at <strong>the</strong> heart of any litigation, and <strong>the</strong> ancient tradition<br />

of allow<strong>in</strong>g chance (<strong>the</strong> gods) to decide who is right; <strong>the</strong> contended<br />

object of a litigation as <strong>the</strong> prize for <strong>the</strong> w<strong>in</strong>ner. While all this matter<br />

is fasc<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g, it should be patent that it belongs to an anthropological<br />

<strong>in</strong>vestigation on <strong>the</strong> mean<strong>in</strong>g of legal practice that goes well beyond<br />

our purpose here. Simply, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> follow<strong>in</strong>g pages <strong>the</strong> treatment of recreational<br />

activities by law and lawmen will be under exam<strong>in</strong>ation: once<br />

more, someth<strong>in</strong>g less, but also someth<strong>in</strong>g more (concrete, specific) than<br />

<strong>the</strong> adventure undertaken by <strong>the</strong> reader of Homo Ludens.<br />

One of <strong>the</strong> ways <strong>in</strong> which accepted moral viewpo<strong>in</strong>ts could affect<br />

everyday life most effectively was by orientat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> writ<strong>in</strong>g and implementation<br />

of legislation. In fact, morals and law were not entirely dist<strong>in</strong>guishable<br />

<strong>in</strong> early modern mentality and social practice. Both <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

moral and <strong>the</strong> legal discourse, full attention was paid to <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>terplay<br />

between games and money; needless to say, <strong>the</strong> very same activities<br />

73


74 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

could be <strong>the</strong> object of both moral reprobation and legal prosecution.<br />

The legal side of <strong>the</strong> story adds valuable <strong>in</strong>formation to any attempt at<br />

a chronology, though, s<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong> grounds for its treatment of games are<br />

laid down <strong>in</strong> no less ancient or authoritative text than <strong>the</strong> sixth-century<br />

collection of <strong>the</strong> Corpus iuris civilis.<br />

Ius commune<br />

It may be worth a rem<strong>in</strong>der here that Western Europe shared a common<br />

legal tradition, which is known as ius commune, and was based on <strong>the</strong><br />

legacy of Roman law as recorded <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Corpus iuris civilis, on feudal law,<br />

and on canonic compilations, beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g with Gratian’s Decretum <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

twelfth century. This manifold tradition meant that, to some extent at<br />

least <strong>in</strong>dependently from local legislation, jurists from different countries<br />

referred to a common set of authoritative texts, and could take <strong>in</strong>to<br />

consideration each o<strong>the</strong>r’s judgements on specific matters. The system<br />

underwent a first major crisis dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> course of <strong>the</strong> sixteenth century,<br />

chiefly due to <strong>the</strong> shift that made k<strong>in</strong>gdoms and cities become <strong>the</strong> predom<strong>in</strong>ant<br />

sources of legislation. Its f<strong>in</strong>al collapse as a common ground<br />

for European juristic thought was brought by <strong>the</strong> codification policy of<br />

<strong>the</strong> Napoleonic era. 2<br />

Both <strong>the</strong> Digest and Just<strong>in</strong>ian’s Code <strong>in</strong>cluded laws on gambl<strong>in</strong>g<br />

(under <strong>the</strong> titles De aleatoribus and De aleae lusu et aleatoribus, respectively);<br />

and a paragraph of a Novella issued by Just<strong>in</strong>ian <strong>in</strong> AD 546<br />

forbade clerics to play board games or even watch o<strong>the</strong>r people play<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

while parallel prohibitions for clerics were <strong>in</strong>cluded with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> standard<br />

canonic compilations. Medieval glossators and commentators on both<br />

civil and canon law <strong>in</strong>terpreted <strong>the</strong>se norms; <strong>the</strong>y offered jurists <strong>the</strong><br />

opportunity to assess a wide range of social practices, which could fit<br />

<strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> broad category of <strong>the</strong> Lat<strong>in</strong> term ludus. In fact, two of <strong>the</strong> laws<br />

from <strong>the</strong> Digest allowed bett<strong>in</strong>g (sponsio, or ‘<strong>in</strong> pecuniam ludere’) on <strong>the</strong><br />

result of sport contests, a practice that must have represented some k<strong>in</strong>d<br />

of prize for <strong>the</strong> w<strong>in</strong>ner; <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> long term, this circumstance brought<br />

about <strong>the</strong> standard dist<strong>in</strong>ction between games of chance and games of<br />

skill. Also, one of <strong>the</strong>se laws (Digest 11.5.2) specified that bett<strong>in</strong>g was<br />

forbidden unless it concerned ‘javel<strong>in</strong> throw<strong>in</strong>g, shot putt<strong>in</strong>g, runn<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

jump<strong>in</strong>g or danc<strong>in</strong>g (saliendo), wrestl<strong>in</strong>g, or box<strong>in</strong>g’ – a list which<br />

offered commentators <strong>the</strong> opportunity for discuss<strong>in</strong>g specific sports and<br />

pastimes. Any attempt at a translation of <strong>the</strong> items <strong>in</strong> this list requires,<br />

however, a cultural adaptation: <strong>the</strong> first task medieval scholars had to<br />

face was <strong>the</strong>refore to <strong>in</strong>terpret <strong>the</strong> six named activities, by translat<strong>in</strong>g


Games and Law 75<br />

<strong>the</strong>m from Byzant<strong>in</strong>e Lat<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>to practices current <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir own time. The<br />

first canonist who produced such an updated version of <strong>the</strong> series of<br />

lawful sports was Henry of Susa, card<strong>in</strong>al Hostiensis (c. 1200–71), who<br />

compiled his Summa dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> 1250s. He identified <strong>the</strong>m as tipcat,<br />

target practice, bowl<strong>in</strong>g and joust<strong>in</strong>g; and he added that clerics were<br />

allowed to practise some of <strong>the</strong>m, provided that <strong>the</strong>y only did so among<br />

<strong>the</strong>mselves, not m<strong>in</strong>gl<strong>in</strong>g with <strong>the</strong> lay folk. 3<br />

A condition posed by <strong>the</strong> same Roman law for that series of sports,<br />

<strong>in</strong> order to be lawful, was that <strong>the</strong>y should be practised causa virtutis,<br />

a clause which could be taken to mean ei<strong>the</strong>r a generic ‘for virtuous<br />

purposes’, or ra<strong>the</strong>r ‘to promote and test military value’, as <strong>the</strong><br />

classical Lat<strong>in</strong> virtus more specifically tended to <strong>in</strong>dicate. Consequently,<br />

medieval and <strong>Renaissance</strong> commentators developed <strong>the</strong> argument<br />

that physical exercise which streng<strong>the</strong>ns <strong>the</strong> body could generally be<br />

approved. Follow<strong>in</strong>g Digest 11.5.2, <strong>the</strong>ir approval tended to extend to<br />

bett<strong>in</strong>g and prizes, as well as on <strong>the</strong> actual practice of those sports. The<br />

moral and legal status of tournaments, however, was to be troubled. The<br />

Church regarded <strong>the</strong>m as suspect both for <strong>the</strong>ir violence and because a<br />

prize, ra<strong>the</strong>r than <strong>the</strong> mere display of military value, seemed to be <strong>the</strong><br />

ma<strong>in</strong> force attract<strong>in</strong>g knights to fight <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>m. On <strong>the</strong>se grounds a ma<strong>in</strong><br />

thirteenth-century component of <strong>the</strong> subsequent Corpus of Canon Law,<br />

<strong>the</strong> Decretals compiled by <strong>the</strong> Catalan Dom<strong>in</strong>ican Raymund of Peñafort<br />

at Pope Gregory IX’s commission, <strong>in</strong>cluded an <strong>in</strong>fluential prohibition<br />

of tournaments. Banquets were a fur<strong>the</strong>r context which Roman law<br />

allowed as adequate justification for hold<strong>in</strong>g games legally (Digest<br />

11.5.4). A recreational justification could also be <strong>in</strong>terpreted as allow<strong>in</strong>g<br />

play<strong>in</strong>g for <strong>the</strong> amusement of people <strong>in</strong> particularly miserable conditions,<br />

such as illness.<br />

Games of chance and consequent economic obligations were by and<br />

large <strong>the</strong> ma<strong>in</strong> preoccupation of this juristic literature: had <strong>the</strong> w<strong>in</strong>ner<br />

<strong>the</strong> right to demand payment of <strong>the</strong> stake Or, conversely, if he obta<strong>in</strong>ed<br />

it, should he give it back as illicit ga<strong>in</strong> Medieval canon law and moral<br />

<strong>the</strong>ology had produced a special category, turpe lucrum (‘shameful ga<strong>in</strong>’),<br />

a dustb<strong>in</strong> where <strong>in</strong>come from a variety of morally suspect activities<br />

could be thrown: from prostitution to simony, from <strong>the</strong>atrical enterta<strong>in</strong>ment<br />

to gambl<strong>in</strong>g. To some extent at least, <strong>the</strong>y tended to require<br />

a restitution of illicit profit, or its devolution to charity. However, <strong>the</strong><br />

negative light <strong>in</strong> which such practices were seen did not automatically<br />

mean that <strong>the</strong>ir <strong>in</strong>come as such was regarded as illegal. For <strong>in</strong>stance,<br />

<strong>the</strong> art of <strong>the</strong> jongleurs fitted <strong>in</strong>to this scheme, and some medieval<br />

writers discussed whe<strong>the</strong>r or not it was acceptable to pay for <strong>the</strong>ir per-


76 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

formances. 4 A number of solutions of <strong>the</strong> moral and legal problems<br />

aris<strong>in</strong>g from <strong>the</strong> world of play were devised: <strong>in</strong> a typical compromise,<br />

<strong>the</strong> thirteenth-century Franciscan Richard of Middleton (Ricardus de<br />

Mediavilla) dist<strong>in</strong>guished between those which were condemned by<br />

both civil and ecclesiastical law, and those prohibited under ecclesiastical<br />

law only. Gambl<strong>in</strong>g fell <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> former category, and for that reason<br />

both play<strong>in</strong>g and <strong>the</strong> w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>gs were illegal; tournaments and o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

activities fell <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> latter, and <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir case it was <strong>the</strong> play<strong>in</strong>g that was<br />

unlawful, not <strong>the</strong> w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g. The urban development of <strong>the</strong> later Middle<br />

Ages, however, saw some soften<strong>in</strong>g of previous bans; <strong>in</strong> an <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly<br />

sophisticated monetary economy, gambl<strong>in</strong>g could be considered under<br />

certa<strong>in</strong> conditions as a form of contract. To a balanced evaluation of <strong>the</strong><br />

whole world of play contributed <strong>the</strong> contemporary, parallel (ra<strong>the</strong>r,<br />

overlapp<strong>in</strong>g and <strong>in</strong>tertw<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g) development of scholastic commentaries<br />

on Aristotelian Ethics by Paris masters, which we encountered <strong>in</strong><br />

Chapter 4. From this tradition a series of juristic tracts on play and<br />

games, ma<strong>in</strong>ly concerned with <strong>the</strong> f<strong>in</strong>ancial consequences of gambl<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

developed <strong>in</strong> mid-fifteenth-century Italy. As <strong>the</strong> dom<strong>in</strong>ion of canon law<br />

ord<strong>in</strong>arily covered a variety of economic issues, <strong>the</strong> matter could also<br />

be discussed by canonists.<br />

De ludo<br />

A manuscript treatise De ludo was written <strong>in</strong> 1456 by Ugo Trotti, a<br />

canonist at <strong>the</strong> University of Ferrara, <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>stitution to which his text<br />

is dedicated. The proximity between canon law and <strong>the</strong>ology is clearly<br />

perceivable <strong>in</strong> both some topics and some procedures adopted <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

author’s argumentation. In <strong>the</strong> open<strong>in</strong>g section, <strong>in</strong> order to discuss<br />

those forms of recreation with which one engages for rest<strong>in</strong>g and giv<strong>in</strong>g<br />

refreshment to one’s tired m<strong>in</strong>d (‘cuius f<strong>in</strong>is est quies animi et mentis<br />

fatigatae refocillatio’), Trotti starts with biblical quotations which praise<br />

sadness and weep<strong>in</strong>g ra<strong>the</strong>r than happ<strong>in</strong>ess and laugh<strong>in</strong>g. However, by<br />

follow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> technique of Scholasticism, he quickly objects that <strong>the</strong>re<br />

is no legal prohibition of such forms of recreation; and refers <strong>the</strong> reader<br />

to Aqu<strong>in</strong>as’ question 168 on ‘modesty <strong>in</strong> our outward bodily actions’<br />

(see above, Chapter 4), supported by classical authorities (Seneca,<br />

Cicero) and examples (‘Socrates was not ashamed of play<strong>in</strong>g with children’),<br />

all confirm<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> same moderate orientation. The general rule<br />

is subsequently adapted to fit specific circumstances which may require<br />

a different judgement. The latter <strong>in</strong>clude <strong>in</strong>appropriate places (not <strong>in</strong> a<br />

church), times (as those <strong>in</strong> which penitence is prescribed), or people


Games and Law 77<br />

(clerics). There is also a consideration for <strong>the</strong> overall amount of time<br />

which is spent <strong>in</strong> relax<strong>in</strong>g pastimes. This needs to be short ‘<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> same<br />

way <strong>in</strong> which <strong>the</strong> sp<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g top only lasts for a short time, little food<br />

is sufficient for life, and little salt for food’. Fur<strong>the</strong>r recommendations<br />

are added from Aristotle and Aqu<strong>in</strong>as, <strong>in</strong> order to promote <strong>the</strong> keep<strong>in</strong>g<br />

of one’s gravitas. Some specific activities are now exam<strong>in</strong>ed. Chess<br />

<strong>in</strong>evitably take some space <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> discussion; <strong>the</strong>y are also allowed to<br />

clerics, with some provisos (for <strong>in</strong>stance, not for ga<strong>in</strong>, though this limitation<br />

could be extended to any player). While this discussion casts<br />

an <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g light on <strong>the</strong> cultural background of a fifteenth-century<br />

Italian canonist, it conta<strong>in</strong>s little thus far <strong>in</strong> strictly speak<strong>in</strong>g legal terms<br />

(apart from references to legislation on specific games or circumstances<br />

of <strong>the</strong>ir implementation). 5<br />

When Trotti moves to physical games, which people play to exercise<br />

<strong>the</strong>ir strength, his discussion follows <strong>the</strong> series of sports listed <strong>in</strong> Digest<br />

11.5.2. Each activity receives some <strong>in</strong>dividual attention, with reference<br />

to juristic assessment of some of <strong>the</strong>ir characteristics. This offers also <strong>the</strong><br />

opportunity to refer to specific local customs, as happens when <strong>the</strong><br />

author criticizes a runn<strong>in</strong>g race for women, which was traditionally<br />

implemented on <strong>the</strong> festival of sa<strong>in</strong>t George, <strong>the</strong> patron sa<strong>in</strong>t of Ferrara;<br />

<strong>in</strong> his op<strong>in</strong>ion, <strong>the</strong> participants <strong>in</strong>evitably <strong>in</strong>cur <strong>in</strong> s<strong>in</strong> (peccatum). The<br />

Lat<strong>in</strong> proximity and ambiguity between ‘jump<strong>in</strong>g’ and ‘danc<strong>in</strong>g’ (saltus,<br />

saltatio), is exploited to <strong>in</strong>troduce discussion of <strong>the</strong> highly disputed topic<br />

of dance. Trotti’s tone is one of moral concern. To <strong>the</strong> extent that, even<br />

when quot<strong>in</strong>g a <strong>the</strong>ologian who had offered a fairly liberal assessment<br />

of <strong>the</strong> subject, such as Albert <strong>the</strong> Great (see above, Chapter 4), <strong>the</strong> Ferrarese<br />

canonist po<strong>in</strong>ts <strong>the</strong> reader’s attention to his authority’s caveats<br />

and provisos, ra<strong>the</strong>r than general statements. Thus, when Albert specified<br />

that dance is not acceptable if performed for <strong>the</strong> sake of provok<strong>in</strong>g<br />

lust, Trotti appeals to those young women who adorn <strong>the</strong>mselves so<br />

much when <strong>the</strong>y go <strong>in</strong> public, to reconsider <strong>the</strong>ir dangerous behaviour.<br />

Fur<strong>the</strong>r warn<strong>in</strong>gs concern all negative circumstances, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g miss<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>the</strong> holy service for a dance. The subsequent sport, wrestl<strong>in</strong>g, leads <strong>the</strong><br />

canonist to <strong>the</strong> unleisurely topic of war, which <strong>in</strong>cludes such specific<br />

issues as whe<strong>the</strong>r or not a cleric is allowed to take arms <strong>in</strong> defence (for<br />

<strong>in</strong>stance, if enemies appear while he is adm<strong>in</strong>ister<strong>in</strong>g baptism). Hence<br />

<strong>the</strong> discussion moves to duell<strong>in</strong>g and tournaments, two customs which<br />

certa<strong>in</strong>ly are more easily identifiable as aristocratic pastimes. However,<br />

after weigh<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> oppos<strong>in</strong>g arguments, Trotti supports <strong>the</strong> Church’s<br />

prohibition of social practices that are rejected as violent and uncharitable.<br />

The fact that tournaments are staged before a public encourages


78 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> author to pose a fur<strong>the</strong>r, more general question on <strong>the</strong> lawfulness<br />

of public games and performances (‘spectacula [. . .] que publice fiunt’),<br />

though he quickly resolves it by recurr<strong>in</strong>g to Aqu<strong>in</strong>as’ question 167 concern<strong>in</strong>g<br />

curiositas (see above, Chapter 4), and its moderate warn<strong>in</strong>g about<br />

<strong>the</strong> actual content of representations. Wear<strong>in</strong>g masks and disguises, and<br />

women’s adornment, are subsequent objects of moral admonition,<br />

<strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>gly still with<strong>in</strong> an <strong>in</strong>quiry on recreational activities. 6<br />

The rema<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g bulk of <strong>the</strong> treatise (30 folios out of 50) engages <strong>in</strong> a<br />

thorough discussion of gambl<strong>in</strong>g and legal obligations deriv<strong>in</strong>g from it,<br />

<strong>in</strong> terms that would not be possible to analyse here <strong>in</strong> any detail.<br />

However, on <strong>the</strong> whole, <strong>in</strong> spite of <strong>the</strong> f<strong>in</strong>al <strong>in</strong>sistence on <strong>the</strong> topic of<br />

gambl<strong>in</strong>g (which is shared by his contemporaries), Trotti’s manuscript<br />

offers a wide-rang<strong>in</strong>g assessment of <strong>the</strong> world of leisure which had little<br />

precedent <strong>in</strong> Western juristic literature.<br />

A fur<strong>the</strong>r fifteenth-century treatise which only circulated <strong>in</strong> manuscript<br />

form was <strong>the</strong> work of ano<strong>the</strong>r jurist, Ambrogio da Vignate, who<br />

also approves of chess and condemns games of chance. Beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g as a<br />

commentary to <strong>the</strong> prohibitions concern<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> clergy, it stands on <strong>the</strong><br />

borderl<strong>in</strong>e between law and ethics, mov<strong>in</strong>g backward and forward from<br />

<strong>the</strong> language of crime to that of s<strong>in</strong>. The range of his survey is noticeable,<br />

and <strong>in</strong>vites comparison with Trotti, as well as with <strong>the</strong> Iberian<br />

canonists and <strong>the</strong>ologians of <strong>the</strong> follow<strong>in</strong>g century. This is <strong>the</strong> type of<br />

literature that better testifies to <strong>the</strong> rich and complex mean<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong><br />

term ludus. The author’s coverage <strong>in</strong>cludes a thorough discussion of<br />

such topics as duel, tournament and a variety of forms of spectacle. In<br />

his orientation, <strong>the</strong> presence or absence of a pious Christian use of <strong>the</strong><br />

social practice under scrut<strong>in</strong>y plays a paramount role: predictably, he<br />

approves of religious drama and church music, while he has little to say<br />

<strong>in</strong> favour of dance music or masks. 7<br />

Some o<strong>the</strong>r treatises written by jurists from o<strong>the</strong>r Italian urban<br />

centres, all of which were university lecturers, had also a pr<strong>in</strong>ted circulation.<br />

This was <strong>the</strong> case with Giovanni Battista Caccialupi <strong>in</strong> Siena (<strong>the</strong><br />

pupil of Mariano Sozz<strong>in</strong>i <strong>the</strong> Elder, who also had discussed <strong>the</strong> matter),<br />

Paride Del Pozzo <strong>in</strong> Naples and Stefano Costa <strong>in</strong> Pavia. Their three works<br />

De ludo could be read toge<strong>the</strong>r as a <strong>the</strong>matic section <strong>in</strong> two sixteenthcentury<br />

anthologies of studies of Roman law. 8<br />

Stefano Costa’s treatise had been published <strong>in</strong>dependently <strong>in</strong> 1478,<br />

thus constitut<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> first known pr<strong>in</strong>ted publication on <strong>the</strong> subject. He<br />

too was a canonist, and started his work with a discussion of which<br />

forms of celebration of Christmas festivities are to be allowed (not <strong>the</strong><br />

exchange of gifts on New Year’s Day). After a general assessment of <strong>the</strong>


Games and Law 79<br />

world of play, which <strong>in</strong>cludes an analysis of a variety of <strong>the</strong>atrical performances<br />

(apparently, <strong>the</strong>re were many histriones <strong>in</strong> France), <strong>the</strong> author<br />

concentrates as usual on <strong>the</strong> problems of <strong>the</strong> restitution of w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>gs<br />

and <strong>the</strong> validity of transactions made <strong>in</strong> play. Costa’s conceptual categories<br />

and ideological orientations testify to <strong>the</strong> overlapp<strong>in</strong>g between<br />

canon law and moral <strong>the</strong>ology (see his assertion: ‘play/gambl<strong>in</strong>g is born<br />

out of gluttony’ – ludus est gulae filius). 9<br />

Sozz<strong>in</strong>i commented on a section of Pope Gregory IX’s Decretals concern<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>the</strong> moral conduct of clerics, which <strong>in</strong>cluded usury and public<br />

gambl<strong>in</strong>g as impediments that would forbid anyone from enter<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />

clergy. Dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> first half of <strong>the</strong> fourteenth century a Breton jurist,<br />

Henri Bohic, had commented on <strong>the</strong> same passage, <strong>in</strong> an <strong>in</strong>fluential text<br />

that later went through <strong>the</strong> pr<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g press. Sozz<strong>in</strong>i’s commentary does<br />

not limit itself to <strong>the</strong> case of clerics, but exploits <strong>the</strong> opportunity to<br />

discuss <strong>the</strong> wider subject of play, with economic implications occupy<strong>in</strong>g<br />

central stage. The f<strong>in</strong>al statement of his text concludes that<br />

gambl<strong>in</strong>g (ludus) has to be avoided ‘as a detestable, dangerous, wicked<br />

and foul deed, corrupt<strong>in</strong>g us both <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>terior of our soul and <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

body’. 10 In 1467, Sozz<strong>in</strong>i’s pupil Caccialupi followed his master’s suit <strong>in</strong><br />

tak<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> opportunity from <strong>the</strong> same canon to develop a general discussion<br />

of what is ludus, what are its species, <strong>in</strong> what cases (and to which<br />

categories of people) play<strong>in</strong>g is allowed, and when it is permitted to<br />

bet. 11<br />

The same issues occupy Del Pozzo (1413–93), a doctor <strong>in</strong> both civil<br />

and canon law. From his authorities, <strong>the</strong> Neapolitan jurist derives on<br />

<strong>the</strong> one hand <strong>the</strong> general tolerance of play, which goes as far as regard<strong>in</strong>g<br />

as per se lawful even such public games as those traditionally played<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Roman popular quarter of Testaccio (throughout <strong>the</strong> fourteenth<br />

and fifteenth century, a site where, on <strong>the</strong> occasion of feasts, military<br />

games and pantomimes were performed), where fatal casualties were all<br />

but exceptional; on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, a persistent negative tone and set<br />

of warn<strong>in</strong>gs, by which players are labelled as pagans, and play is particularly<br />

forbidden to scholars. As grounds for a prohibition of such an<br />

apparently harmless play as chess for <strong>in</strong>tellectuals, <strong>the</strong> reason is given<br />

that <strong>the</strong>y become <strong>in</strong>toxicated with it (‘quia <strong>in</strong>ebriantur <strong>in</strong> ludo’). 12<br />

Toge<strong>the</strong>r with Costa, Del Pozzo and Caccialupi, a fourth treatise De<br />

sortibus (On chance), <strong>the</strong> work of <strong>the</strong> Bolognese jurist Troilo Malvezzi,<br />

was <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> same anthologies of Roman law. As <strong>the</strong> title suggests,<br />

while similar to <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs <strong>in</strong> discuss<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> legal implications of<br />

games of chance, it also dealt with fortune <strong>in</strong> general and <strong>the</strong> prediction<br />

of <strong>the</strong> future. 13 The <strong>the</strong>ological implications of <strong>the</strong> issue should be


80 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

clear, and are often spelled out <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> early modern literature: by play<strong>in</strong>g<br />

with chance and future, <strong>the</strong> gambler crossed a dangerous threshold,<br />

which was charged with all <strong>the</strong> heavy weight of div<strong>in</strong>e predest<strong>in</strong>ation<br />

and precognition of events versus human ignorance and limited<br />

freedom of action. From this perspective, gambl<strong>in</strong>g was related to o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

human activities which promised ga<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> case of a particular future<br />

course of events, such as <strong>in</strong>surance (itself a form of gambl<strong>in</strong>g on <strong>the</strong><br />

outcome of trade, ra<strong>the</strong>r than dice or card-play<strong>in</strong>g).<br />

Economic issues are once more <strong>the</strong> core preoccupations <strong>in</strong> On<br />

Commutative Justice, <strong>the</strong> work of João Sobr<strong>in</strong>ho (d. 1486), head of <strong>the</strong><br />

Portuguese Prov<strong>in</strong>ce of <strong>the</strong> Carmelite friars. With<strong>in</strong> a treatise concerned<br />

with such f<strong>in</strong>ancial problems as currency exchanges, <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>ologian<br />

devotes a section to gambl<strong>in</strong>g (de ludo alearum). He dist<strong>in</strong>guishes<br />

between lawful and unlawful games under two criteria. If a game is<br />

solely or partly determ<strong>in</strong>ed by chance, by this mere reason it is unlawful,<br />

s<strong>in</strong>ce it does not rely on human resources, and – experience says –<br />

br<strong>in</strong>gs many troubles to society. Also, any play<strong>in</strong>g which <strong>in</strong>volves a<br />

transfer of property (even if <strong>the</strong> game is of skill) is by def<strong>in</strong>ition illegal:<br />

play has to be primarily chosen for fun and for skilful exercise – beyond<br />

<strong>the</strong>se ends it is not acceptable. Sobr<strong>in</strong>ho <strong>the</strong>refore only approves of such<br />

games as military exercises with lances, on one side, skilful <strong>in</strong>tellectual<br />

play, on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r (as long as <strong>the</strong>y do not fall <strong>in</strong> ei<strong>the</strong>r of <strong>the</strong> two exclusions<br />

– chance or ga<strong>in</strong>). 14<br />

The Iberian pen<strong>in</strong>sula, where <strong>the</strong> topic of juego was attract<strong>in</strong>g special<br />

attention <strong>in</strong> a perspective <strong>in</strong> which law and moral <strong>the</strong>ology blended<br />

toge<strong>the</strong>r (see also above, Chapter 4), saw fur<strong>the</strong>r developments dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>the</strong> seventeenth century. Pedro Pantoja de Aiala, a jurist from Toledo,<br />

is <strong>the</strong> author of an extensive commentary on <strong>the</strong> title ‘De aleatoribus’<br />

(On gamblers) of Digest 11.5, written <strong>in</strong> 1621 and subsequently pr<strong>in</strong>ted<br />

with<strong>in</strong> a collection of writ<strong>in</strong>gs of Roman law. 15<br />

In 1651 a legal divertissement (Schediasma) On Gamblers was held <strong>in</strong><br />

Jena by <strong>the</strong> professor <strong>in</strong> civil and canon law Johannes Thomas. Follow<strong>in</strong>g<br />

what was by <strong>the</strong>n a standard arrangement (see below, Chapter<br />

6), <strong>the</strong> author divided games <strong>in</strong>to three categories: games of skill, of<br />

chance, and mixed. He classified as lawful those games that were already<br />

listed <strong>in</strong> Just<strong>in</strong>ian’s Code, and added to <strong>the</strong> list such common social practices<br />

as tournaments or chess and draughts. He was aware that tournaments<br />

had been so severely condemned by medieval canon law, that<br />

even a knight who was killed <strong>in</strong> a contest, and not only <strong>the</strong> one responsible<br />

for his death, could be regarded as punishable; however, Thomas<br />

distanced himself from such harsh criticism aga<strong>in</strong>st <strong>the</strong> respectable


Games and Law 81<br />

custom of pr<strong>in</strong>ces and of <strong>the</strong>ir entourage, and welcomed <strong>the</strong> subsequent<br />

soften<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong> Church’s reproof. His position <strong>in</strong> matter of board games<br />

was similar: while precise moralists could condemn <strong>the</strong>m as a complete<br />

waste of time, he found that <strong>the</strong>y could be acceptable as long as players<br />

were not exaggerat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> devot<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>ir time to <strong>the</strong>m. The work ended<br />

by sett<strong>in</strong>g punishment for both gamblers and those who admit <strong>the</strong>m <strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong>ir houses (susceptores). 16<br />

The treatment of play <strong>in</strong> Roman law must have been sufficiently<br />

known – at least among <strong>the</strong> learned élites – as to allow Peter Martyr<br />

to adopt it as a source and a guide for his perspective <strong>in</strong> analys<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>the</strong> matter <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> context of a <strong>the</strong>ological commentary (see above,<br />

Chapter 4).<br />

Panem et circenses<br />

However, attention to <strong>the</strong> legal implications of play should not necessarily<br />

br<strong>in</strong>g to m<strong>in</strong>d prohibitions, as if <strong>the</strong> story of <strong>the</strong> relationship<br />

between human play and power was only one of repression. The development<br />

of gambl<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> late medieval Europe, for <strong>in</strong>stance, saw <strong>the</strong><br />

emergence of a phenomenon which <strong>the</strong> Italian medievalist Gherardo<br />

Ortalli has proposed to call ‘<strong>the</strong> gambler state’. From <strong>the</strong> twelfth–<br />

thirteenth century onwards, gambl<strong>in</strong>g gradually rega<strong>in</strong>ed social importance,<br />

and a discipl<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g process took place: on one hand public<br />

authorities became more tolerant towards a number of games, established<br />

regulations and granted gambl<strong>in</strong>g contracts; on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand,<br />

such creation of legal spaces was accompanied by <strong>the</strong> multiplication of<br />

prohibitions of illegal gambl<strong>in</strong>g. It is <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> light of such practical developments<br />

that <strong>the</strong> history of legal writ<strong>in</strong>g on <strong>the</strong> subject needs to be<br />

viewed. The tradition of juristic attention to <strong>the</strong> subject of ludus was<br />

matched by a particular attention paid by late medieval Italian city<br />

states to regulat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> world of play, with a wealth of local norms concern<strong>in</strong>g<br />

gambl<strong>in</strong>g and some connected popular pastimes. This corpus<br />

of statutes and bans has been <strong>the</strong> subject of scholarly enquiry for over<br />

a century, and is still undergo<strong>in</strong>g comparative assessment. It appears to<br />

show an articulated, ra<strong>the</strong>r than monolithic, policy by local authorities,<br />

who <strong>in</strong>tervened at different times on different pastimes accord<strong>in</strong>g to<br />

vary<strong>in</strong>g agendas: from <strong>the</strong> defence of public morality to that of <strong>the</strong> economic<br />

<strong>in</strong>tegrity of family, from <strong>the</strong> prosecution of particular patterns<br />

of behaviour to that of specific categories of people (typically, <strong>the</strong> professional<br />

gambler, to be punished more severely than <strong>the</strong> occasional<br />

player). 17


82 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

As for Brita<strong>in</strong>, James VI and I’s Book of Sports (1618) clearly shows how<br />

<strong>the</strong> legal discourse on amusements did not always produce prohibitions<br />

and repression: a whole range of ‘lawfull games’ could be given considerable<br />

importance as means to promote social cohesion. The norm<br />

<strong>in</strong>troduced a multi-step classification of Sunday pastimes from <strong>the</strong> po<strong>in</strong>t<br />

of view of <strong>the</strong>ir acceptability. At one end of <strong>the</strong> spectrum we f<strong>in</strong>d those<br />

sports which are licit, provided that <strong>the</strong>y ‘be had <strong>in</strong> due and convenient<br />

time, without impediment or neglect of div<strong>in</strong>e Service’ (danc<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

archery, leap<strong>in</strong>g, vault<strong>in</strong>g, but also May poles and May games, ales and<br />

morris danc<strong>in</strong>g). At <strong>the</strong> opposite end, one example is given of unconditioned<br />

prohibition (bowl<strong>in</strong>g). In between, some games are forbidden<br />

on Sundays only (bear- and bull-bait<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>in</strong>terludes). 18 The royal disposition<br />

obta<strong>in</strong>ed Robert Burton’s approval: ‘for my part, I will subscribe<br />

to <strong>the</strong> K<strong>in</strong>gs Declaration, and was ever of that m<strong>in</strong>d, those May-games,<br />

wakes, and Whitson-ales, etc., if <strong>the</strong>y be not at unseasonable houres,<br />

may justly be permitted. Let <strong>the</strong>m freely feast, s<strong>in</strong>g and dance, have<br />

<strong>the</strong>ir poppet playes, hobby-horses, tabers, croudes, bag-pipes, etc. play<br />

at ball, and barley-breakes, and what sports and recreations <strong>the</strong>y like<br />

best [. . .]; better doe so than worse, as without question o<strong>the</strong>rwise (such<br />

is <strong>the</strong> corruption of mans nature) many of <strong>the</strong>m will doe.’ 19 As K<strong>in</strong>g of<br />

Scotland, James VI had already <strong>the</strong>oretically subscribed, <strong>in</strong> his Basilicon<br />

Doron, to <strong>the</strong> political conviction that honest pastimes are a good practice<br />

for <strong>the</strong> people, particularly with <strong>the</strong> purpose of streng<strong>the</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

reciprocal friendship. 20<br />

A well-known Lat<strong>in</strong> phrase – which I have borrowed as <strong>the</strong> title<br />

for this section – summarized all that was needed <strong>in</strong> order to keep<br />

<strong>the</strong> Roman plebs quiet and satisfied as ‘bread and circuses’, food and<br />

popular enterta<strong>in</strong>ments. 21 The ‘argument for <strong>the</strong> Roman circus’ can be<br />

found <strong>in</strong> a variety of early modern sources. Card<strong>in</strong>al Cajetan, <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>ologian<br />

and prom<strong>in</strong>ent Dom<strong>in</strong>ican whom we have already encountered<br />

for his assessment of play, also warned Catholic confessors that forbidd<strong>in</strong>g<br />

peasants from <strong>the</strong>ir traditional Sunday danc<strong>in</strong>g would abandon<br />

<strong>the</strong>m to idleness and political unrest. 22 It goes without say<strong>in</strong>g that <strong>the</strong><br />

relation between play and state covers a wider range of motifs, from <strong>the</strong><br />

military tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong> nobility and <strong>the</strong> populace to <strong>the</strong> use of spectacles<br />

as means of propaganda, all of which can be traced <strong>in</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

political <strong>the</strong>ory and practice. The case of <strong>the</strong> Venetian ‘war of <strong>the</strong> fists’<br />

shows a rul<strong>in</strong>g élite – and one particularly effective <strong>in</strong> controll<strong>in</strong>g threats<br />

to <strong>the</strong> public order – only mildly attempt<strong>in</strong>g to suppress (with a series<br />

of decrees, dat<strong>in</strong>g from <strong>the</strong> early sixteenth to <strong>the</strong> mid-seventeenth<br />

century, but with limited law-enforcement) a violent popular amuse-


Games and Law 83<br />

ment that could be justified as a public display of Venetian male fight<strong>in</strong>g<br />

power; but which also found fans and protectors among <strong>the</strong> élite;<br />

and, by be<strong>in</strong>g silently permitted, helped to keep <strong>the</strong> tax-pay<strong>in</strong>g populace<br />

happy. 23<br />

A key element that Cajetan’s advice to confessors and <strong>the</strong> Book of<br />

Sports have <strong>in</strong> common is <strong>the</strong> fact that <strong>the</strong>y both concern Sunday<br />

pastimes. From <strong>the</strong> early councils of <strong>the</strong> Church, Christian <strong>the</strong>ology<br />

and canon law had expressed a fairly consistent set of prohibitions,<br />

aim<strong>in</strong>g at ‘keep<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> Sabbath holy’ by forbidd<strong>in</strong>g both work and<br />

pastimes on <strong>the</strong> Lord’s Day. The controversies that accompanied <strong>the</strong><br />

story of <strong>the</strong> issues of <strong>the</strong> Stuart declaration testify to <strong>the</strong> diffusion of<br />

Sabbatarianism <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> English reformed Church; <strong>in</strong> fact, <strong>the</strong> very conception<br />

of <strong>the</strong> declaration does so, s<strong>in</strong>ce it was <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> first place a<br />

response to stricter Protestant rules, from which <strong>the</strong> k<strong>in</strong>g decided to distance<br />

himself.<br />

Sabbatarianism was not <strong>the</strong> monopoly of evangelical Protestantism.<br />

Carlo Bascapè – a significant figure <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> implementation of <strong>the</strong><br />

Counter-Reformation <strong>in</strong> Italy <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> decades follow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> Council of<br />

Trent – was an active militant of <strong>the</strong> ‘Sabbatarian International’ at precisely<br />

<strong>the</strong> time when some Elizabethan reformers launched <strong>the</strong>ir editorial<br />

attack aga<strong>in</strong>st <strong>the</strong> abuse of <strong>the</strong> Lord’s Day. First, as one of <strong>the</strong> key<br />

collaborators of <strong>the</strong> Archbishop of Milan Carlo Borromeo, later himself<br />

as Bishop of Novara, Bascapè was a campaigner aga<strong>in</strong>st danc<strong>in</strong>g and<br />

<strong>the</strong>atre on Sundays, an issue on which <strong>in</strong> 1580 he unsuccessfully tried<br />

to obta<strong>in</strong> papal approval towards a general prohibition. 24<br />

S<strong>in</strong>ce Sabbatarianism is a doctr<strong>in</strong>e concern<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> appropriate use of<br />

Sunday (or whatever day is regarded as <strong>the</strong> right one for ceremonial<br />

purposes), it may be objected that it is not relevant to our topic here:<br />

it only concerns recreation (or any o<strong>the</strong>r social practice) as long as <strong>the</strong>y<br />

are performed on that (<strong>in</strong>appropriate) day, without requir<strong>in</strong>g any objection<br />

aga<strong>in</strong>st those human activities per se. Although this should be valid<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ory and is stated not <strong>in</strong>frequently <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> sources, <strong>the</strong> predom<strong>in</strong>ant<br />

attitude among Sabbatarians is an overall condemnation of secular<br />

pastimes; and <strong>the</strong> suggestion to move Sunday revels to weekdays usually<br />

a mere provocation, which would prove unworkable <strong>in</strong> practice. The<br />

latter argument is not unworthy of consideration: if rest and recreation<br />

belong <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> work cycle – some div<strong>in</strong>es state – space for <strong>the</strong>m needs to<br />

be found with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> work<strong>in</strong>g week; <strong>the</strong> Lord’s day is set out for a completely<br />

different purpose. If this could <strong>the</strong>ologically make sense, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

real world, which was undergo<strong>in</strong>g a process of secularization, it would<br />

have appeared senseless to try to cast leisure time for <strong>the</strong> labour<strong>in</strong>g


84 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

population out of work<strong>in</strong>g days and hours. To put it <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> words of<br />

<strong>the</strong> Stuart Book of Sports, ‘when shal <strong>the</strong> common people have leave to<br />

exercise, if not upon <strong>the</strong> Sundayes and Holydayes, see<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>y must<br />

apply <strong>the</strong>ir labour, and w<strong>in</strong>ne <strong>the</strong>ir liv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> all work<strong>in</strong>g dayes’ 25<br />

After all, local practice, both <strong>in</strong> terms of social customs and of differ<strong>in</strong>g<br />

legal systems, had significant weight <strong>in</strong> determ<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g cultural attitudes.<br />

<strong>Renaissance</strong> writers were aware of this. Let us consider <strong>the</strong> case<br />

of Lambert Daneau, <strong>the</strong> Calv<strong>in</strong>ist <strong>the</strong>ologian who wrote <strong>the</strong> Traité des<br />

danses, wherewith <strong>the</strong> official condemnation of danc<strong>in</strong>g by <strong>the</strong> French<br />

Reformed Churches was expressed. As we saw <strong>in</strong> Chapter 4, he is also<br />

responsible for a Tractatus de ludo aleae, which, as <strong>the</strong> title suggests, concentrates<br />

on games of chance. When he promises his reader to <strong>in</strong>dicate<br />

what k<strong>in</strong>ds of games are allowed he proceeds by elim<strong>in</strong>ation, and produces<br />

a list of <strong>the</strong> reasons for condemn<strong>in</strong>g pastimes: those that do not<br />

fall <strong>in</strong> any prohibited category will be permitted. In its own way, this<br />

list of criteria represents a form of classification, provided that we<br />

remember that one <strong>in</strong>dividual game could be simultaneously forbidden<br />

for more than one reason. In fact, <strong>the</strong> by now familiar category of games<br />

of chance appears as one of his three criteria. However, what I wanted<br />

to highlight is that it is preceded by a different norm, that is <strong>the</strong> prohibition<br />

of all pastimes that are illegal under any specific territorial rule.<br />

That is to say: Daneau is aware of cultural and political variation, and<br />

allows for every authority to set its own prohibitions. 26 This criterion is<br />

less obvious than it may seem, and offers an <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g example of <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>in</strong>tersection between <strong>the</strong>ology and law. A <strong>the</strong>ological tract could be<br />

expected to fix its own rules, ra<strong>the</strong>r than acknowledge <strong>the</strong> exist<strong>in</strong>g ones.<br />

In its own way, to beg<strong>in</strong> a list of prohibitions by say<strong>in</strong>g that all that<br />

which is illegal is unchristian is a way of acknowledg<strong>in</strong>g that we are <strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> territory of res adiaphorae, and everyth<strong>in</strong>g depends on circumstances,<br />

first of all geographical. Daneau was far from be<strong>in</strong>g isolated: a<br />

generation before him, an already mentioned sermon del giuoco, which<br />

was preached <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Duomo of Milan and adopted a scholastic method<br />

<strong>in</strong> its assessment of <strong>the</strong> value of human behaviour, <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>the</strong> mere<br />

fact of be<strong>in</strong>g forbidden by law as one of <strong>the</strong> circumstances <strong>in</strong> which<br />

play<strong>in</strong>g would become evil, even if it was per se good and was performed<br />

for good reasons. 27 The same logic, and submission to political authority,<br />

governs <strong>the</strong> approval that Alcocer offers of bullfights, a practice<br />

which cannot be reproved on <strong>the</strong> grounds that it is expressly allowed<br />

by <strong>the</strong> Spanish monarchs. 28<br />

After all, <strong>the</strong> more or less direct political mean<strong>in</strong>gs of public festivals<br />

are an important factor one should never forget, at <strong>the</strong> heart of <strong>the</strong> rela-


Games and Law 85<br />

tionship between art and power. By exam<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g a variety of festivals<br />

rang<strong>in</strong>g from tournaments, triumphs and royal entries, to <strong>in</strong>termezzi,<br />

ballets, masques and o<strong>the</strong>r enterta<strong>in</strong>ments, Roy Strong has shown<br />

how a medieval tradition of pageantry, which was centred on religious<br />

symbolism, gave way to a <strong>Renaissance</strong> one, which dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> sixteenth<br />

century became <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly political; and how a <strong>Renaissance</strong> symbolism,<br />

<strong>in</strong> which an aspiration towards political order was dom<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />

language of representations, was progressively replaced, dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> first<br />

half of <strong>the</strong> seventeenth century, by <strong>the</strong> expression of <strong>the</strong> actual fulfilment<br />

of that order. 29<br />

The regulation of extravagance<br />

Particular leisure activities had <strong>the</strong>ir own legal traditions due to specific<br />

characteristics and circumstances. We have found frequent reference to<br />

danc<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>the</strong> primary target of censorship and regulation by religious<br />

and political authorities <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> reform<strong>in</strong>g popular culture; <strong>the</strong><br />

plethora of decrees on <strong>the</strong> matter has been <strong>the</strong> subject of a specific study<br />

cover<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> German-speak<strong>in</strong>g world. 30 Attention from juristic literature,<br />

however, was scarce, if we exclude <strong>the</strong> cursory mention by <strong>the</strong><br />

writers de ludo, or specific concerns as <strong>the</strong> Sabbatarian projects of<br />

Bascapè and his Calv<strong>in</strong>ist counterparts. The only early modern dissertation<br />

on dance from <strong>the</strong> legal po<strong>in</strong>t of view I am aware of (De eo quod<br />

iustum est circa saltationes, ‘Of that which is just <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> matter of dances’)<br />

was defended <strong>in</strong> Wittenberg as late as 1730. Its provenance says it all<br />

about its orientation, s<strong>in</strong>ce (as we mentioned at <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> previous<br />

chapter), <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> confessional geography of post-Reformation<br />

Europe, <strong>the</strong> Lu<strong>the</strong>ran Church was <strong>the</strong> most systematically tolerant on<br />

<strong>the</strong>se matters. The text offers repeated evidence that we have turned <strong>the</strong><br />

page from <strong>the</strong> anti-dance prejudice of earlier Christian writ<strong>in</strong>g: danc<strong>in</strong>g<br />

is not prohibited by natural, div<strong>in</strong>e, or civil law; clergymen are allowed<br />

to dance, s<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong> old canonic prohibitions are no longer valid for<br />

evangelic pastors; <strong>the</strong> patristic and monastic motif of dance as a<br />

devilish <strong>in</strong>vention is rejected as most absurd. The author of <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>sis<br />

(Johann Daniel Kettner, who <strong>the</strong>reby acquired his doctorate <strong>in</strong> both<br />

civil and canon law) also approved of sexually promiscuous dance: ‘if<br />

men are allowed to talk, banquet, and play with women, why should<br />

<strong>the</strong>y not dance’; and he goes as far as suggest<strong>in</strong>g that <strong>the</strong> Church<br />

Fa<strong>the</strong>rs’ zeal aga<strong>in</strong>st this practice derived from a more general hatred<br />

for women. The only human group which <strong>the</strong> dissertation s<strong>in</strong>gles out<br />

as unsuited to dance is that of <strong>the</strong> mentally ill (furiosi, dementes), who


86 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

should ‘avoid both expos<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>mselves to laughter, and damag<strong>in</strong>g<br />

o<strong>the</strong>r people’. 31<br />

Duell<strong>in</strong>g and hunt<strong>in</strong>g are two o<strong>the</strong>r customs which we found briefly<br />

assessed <strong>in</strong> Trotti’s De ludo. Duell<strong>in</strong>g could hardly be def<strong>in</strong>ed as a sport<br />

(or ra<strong>the</strong>r, as just a sport), given its role <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> culture of <strong>the</strong> European<br />

nobility, where it belonged to a highly codified set of behavioural<br />

rules govern<strong>in</strong>g status and public recognition. However, <strong>the</strong> frequency<br />

of its practice and its family relationship with fenc<strong>in</strong>g may suggest its<br />

mention <strong>in</strong> pass<strong>in</strong>g here, particularly if we consider that it was practised<br />

outside <strong>the</strong> aristocrats’ ‘office hours’ (that is, <strong>the</strong>ir actual engagement<br />

<strong>in</strong> warfare). In Burton, we have found a pass<strong>in</strong>g critique of its excessive<br />

diffusion (‘our modern Frenchmen, that had ra<strong>the</strong>r lose a pound of<br />

blood <strong>in</strong> a s<strong>in</strong>gle combat’). The Church traditionally condemned it,<br />

<strong>in</strong> terms that resemble its battle aga<strong>in</strong>st violent sports and spectacles<br />

(like <strong>the</strong> aforementioned tournaments). 32<br />

Status games were possibly even more at play <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> legislation about<br />

hunt<strong>in</strong>g. Obviously, this was not orig<strong>in</strong>ally an activity reserved to a specific<br />

social group; but dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> Middle Ages European aristocracy had<br />

made sure that rights to specific practices became <strong>the</strong>ir own monopoly.<br />

This process had its climax dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> fifteenth and sixteenth century,<br />

and <strong>the</strong> subsequent monopoly rema<strong>in</strong>ed substantially unchallenged<br />

until <strong>the</strong> French Revolution. Generally speak<strong>in</strong>g, pr<strong>in</strong>ces and nobility<br />

became <strong>the</strong> only social figures allowed to hunt; and, although <strong>the</strong> cross<strong>in</strong>g<br />

of farmland and devastation of crops could be discouraged and regulated<br />

by law, at <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> day it was perceived (by <strong>the</strong> hunt<strong>in</strong>g<br />

lobby) as an <strong>in</strong>evitable side-effect. However, peasants’ protest and<br />

poachers’ defiance of privileges and prohibitions are established facts of<br />

social history throughout <strong>the</strong> period: well-known protesters <strong>in</strong>clude <strong>the</strong><br />

peasants of <strong>the</strong> German revolt of 1524–25 and <strong>the</strong> compilers of some<br />

of <strong>the</strong> 1789 cahiers de doléances; among <strong>the</strong> poachers, we f<strong>in</strong>d <strong>the</strong> Blacks<br />

studied by Edward Thompson. 33<br />

The French case offers a particularly complex situation, s<strong>in</strong>ce, on one<br />

hand, <strong>the</strong> country was split along a north–south divide, with Germanic<br />

law govern<strong>in</strong>g on one side, Roman law on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong><br />

latter, game was nobody’s property and what really mattered were rights<br />

of property: <strong>the</strong>refore, although solely <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ory, nobody was allowed<br />

to trespass property borders dur<strong>in</strong>g a chase. On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, fur<strong>the</strong>r<br />

complication derived to French jurisdiction from feudal law, under<br />

which more than one person could claim rights of hunt<strong>in</strong>g over <strong>the</strong><br />

same land. With <strong>the</strong> social extension of hunt<strong>in</strong>g rights vary<strong>in</strong>g from<br />

time to time (were landowners of plebeian orig<strong>in</strong> go<strong>in</strong>g to be <strong>in</strong>cluded


Games and Law 87<br />

among <strong>the</strong> hunt<strong>in</strong>g lobby), a royal ord<strong>in</strong>ance of 1669 made it clear<br />

that, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> homeland of absolute monarchy, <strong>the</strong> k<strong>in</strong>g’s own hunt<strong>in</strong>g<br />

rights had a priority over those of his noble subjects: <strong>the</strong> exist<strong>in</strong>g system<br />

of f<strong>in</strong>es and punishment protect<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> monarch’s wildlife and potential<br />

game was extended and made more severe. The situation rema<strong>in</strong>ed<br />

substantially unchanged for over a century, until 1789 came to mark a<br />

clear-cut end of <strong>the</strong> ‘ancien hunt<strong>in</strong>g régime’, through <strong>the</strong> decree which<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> night of 4 August abolished all <strong>the</strong> feudal privileges enjoyed by<br />

<strong>the</strong> aristocracy. 34<br />

Hunt<strong>in</strong>g brought legislation on a number of specific issues; some of<br />

<strong>the</strong>se were recalled <strong>in</strong> Covarrubias’s section on <strong>the</strong> subject, given <strong>the</strong><br />

fact that <strong>the</strong> dom<strong>in</strong>ion of his treatise, as of o<strong>the</strong>rs, lies at <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>tersection<br />

between moral <strong>the</strong>ology and law. Anyone can hunt bears, wolves,<br />

wild boars and deer, both <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir own land, or <strong>in</strong> commons or even <strong>in</strong><br />

someone else’s; and <strong>the</strong> prey is <strong>the</strong>irs by natural law, as re<strong>in</strong>forced by<br />

Roman law. The rule came with some limitations, and <strong>the</strong> canonist discusses<br />

how to proceed <strong>in</strong> cases of disputation. One of his questions<br />

rem<strong>in</strong>ds us of a timeless social issue we have just cursorily mentioned:<br />

<strong>the</strong> damage produced by (aristocratic) hunters while cross<strong>in</strong>g fields,<br />

v<strong>in</strong>eyards and o<strong>the</strong>r fruit orchards <strong>in</strong> time of harvest, as well as <strong>the</strong><br />

poultry slaughtered by <strong>the</strong>ir hounds. Covarrubias sentenced that <strong>the</strong><br />

offenders are obliged to repay <strong>the</strong> offended farmers. 35<br />

Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, a number of recreational activities came under fire on<br />

<strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>itiative of different authorities, under <strong>the</strong> set of <strong>in</strong>itiatives collectively<br />

known as sumptuary law. A brief consideration of <strong>the</strong> matter can<br />

be appropriate here. It is self-evident that <strong>the</strong> territory covered by that<br />

tradition of legislation deals with topics per se not belong<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong><br />

world of recreation, such as social hierarchy and <strong>the</strong> control of public<br />

display, or protectionism and <strong>the</strong> avoidance of expensive imports.<br />

However, it also <strong>in</strong>volved a regulation of popular culture that directly<br />

<strong>in</strong>tervened <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> field of amusements. And its general role of control<br />

of conspicuous consumption is relevant to our discourse too, s<strong>in</strong>ce<br />

many élite leisure activities <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>the</strong> purchase, collection and public<br />

display of expensive goods. At <strong>the</strong> heart of legislation was a moral<br />

anxiety, a critique of <strong>the</strong> l<strong>in</strong>k that connects consumption to pleasure.<br />

The methodologically <strong>in</strong>novative and thought-provok<strong>in</strong>g study by<br />

Alan Hunt has managed to make sense of a whole tradition, ra<strong>the</strong>r<br />

neglected by scholars as an archaic residual of feudalism and made difficult<br />

to <strong>in</strong>terpret by <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>evitable local variations on <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>me. The<br />

historical pattern that emerges from this comparative research suggests<br />

<strong>in</strong>itial regulations concerned with funerals (both <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> ancient city-


88 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

states and <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> cities), followed by a wider focus on all<br />

<strong>the</strong> rites of passage (births and marriages, as well as deaths). Then came<br />

a control of conspicuous consumption, particularly concerned with<br />

dress, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> form of both a critique of extravagance and a re<strong>in</strong>forcement<br />

of hierarchic dress codes. Protectionist dress regulation, specifically<br />

target<strong>in</strong>g foreign products, characterized a f<strong>in</strong>al stage. By that time<br />

a discourse of political economy had become predom<strong>in</strong>ant <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> field.<br />

What is more relevant for us is <strong>the</strong> logic of <strong>the</strong> previous phases. They<br />

<strong>in</strong>volved, first, ‘<strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>ological discourses surround<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> s<strong>in</strong> of luxury,<br />

as a species of <strong>the</strong> major s<strong>in</strong> of pride’. Subsequently, luxury rema<strong>in</strong>ed<br />

<strong>the</strong> target, though of a secularized, <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly economic critique.<br />

‘Extravagance was conceived of as <strong>the</strong> wast<strong>in</strong>g of resources that could<br />

be more usefully and ga<strong>in</strong>fully employed: <strong>the</strong> expenditure of both<br />

<strong>in</strong>come and time were <strong>the</strong> targets of <strong>the</strong> critique of extravagance.’ 36<br />

In this context, <strong>the</strong> comb<strong>in</strong>ed critique of luxury and idleness was <strong>the</strong><br />

philosophy beh<strong>in</strong>d <strong>the</strong> law-enforced moral regulation of popular culture<br />

that was pursued on <strong>the</strong> borders of modernity. A series of sixteenthcentury<br />

English statutes attempts to ban a list of unlawful games, which<br />

predom<strong>in</strong>antly fall with<strong>in</strong> two categories: ball games selected because<br />

of <strong>the</strong>ir unrul<strong>in</strong>ess; and dice and o<strong>the</strong>r games significant as opportunities<br />

for gambl<strong>in</strong>g and dr<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g. The discipl<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g project of early Tudor<br />

England comprised <strong>the</strong> attempt to substitute those games with archery,<br />

as a compulsory edify<strong>in</strong>g enterta<strong>in</strong>ment with obvious benefits for <strong>the</strong><br />

safety of <strong>the</strong> k<strong>in</strong>gdom. If <strong>the</strong> concern with archery began to fade from<br />

<strong>the</strong> middle of <strong>the</strong> sixteenth century, <strong>the</strong> same cannot be said for <strong>the</strong><br />

general governmental concern over <strong>the</strong> matter. Similar policies were<br />

adopted by rul<strong>in</strong>g élites throughout Europe, as is particularly evident <strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> cities whose legislation was oriented by <strong>the</strong> Reformation. 37


6<br />

Varieties of Pastimes<br />

Who did, or was expected to, take part <strong>in</strong> what genre of recreation<br />

It goes without say<strong>in</strong>g that, <strong>in</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> culture and society, such<br />

dist<strong>in</strong>ctions as those based on social status, gender and age mattered<br />

significantly.<br />

Leisure and social hierarchy<br />

Differentiation based on status has already emerged <strong>in</strong> some of <strong>the</strong><br />

material we have so far exam<strong>in</strong>ed. In both Gontier and Bicaise (see<br />

above, Chapter 3), for <strong>in</strong>stance, we found a clear opposition between<br />

<strong>the</strong> characteristics of élite versus folk music; whereas <strong>the</strong> Dutch<br />

Calv<strong>in</strong>ist Daniel Souter especially recommended music to <strong>the</strong> literate.<br />

Dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> late medieval and early modern period, horsemanship and<br />

hunt<strong>in</strong>g were clearly regarded and reta<strong>in</strong>ed as status symbols for <strong>the</strong><br />

nobility – a tenet that <strong>in</strong>forms contemporary literature of moral and<br />

political advice. 1 On a different level <strong>the</strong>re were popular festivals, from<br />

which members of <strong>the</strong> aristocracy were under <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g pressure to<br />

withdraw; unless, like Castiglione’s courtier (Cortegiano, II, 11), <strong>the</strong>y<br />

jo<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> wear<strong>in</strong>g a disguise (‘onlesse he were <strong>in</strong> a maske’). Mask<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> latter case, formally stripped <strong>the</strong> members of <strong>the</strong> élite of <strong>the</strong>ir hierarchical<br />

status (‘br<strong>in</strong>geth with it a certa<strong>in</strong>e libertie and lycence’), and<br />

thus enabled <strong>the</strong>m to m<strong>in</strong>gle with <strong>the</strong> crowd, without any loss of<br />

dignity. 2 The tradition of medical writ<strong>in</strong>g on <strong>the</strong> health of <strong>the</strong> literate<br />

offered fur<strong>the</strong>r advice along <strong>the</strong> same l<strong>in</strong>es. When Plemp (see above,<br />

Chapter 3) listed, among o<strong>the</strong>rs, <strong>the</strong> game of bowl<strong>in</strong>g a hoop, he commented:<br />

‘You may observe that it is not decent for <strong>in</strong>tellectuals to play<br />

this game. That is correct, if <strong>the</strong>y bowl those hoops along <strong>in</strong> town<br />

squares, as our children do. It would not deserve blame, on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

hand, if <strong>the</strong>y do it <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir own houses or <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> country.’ 3<br />

89


90 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

It would be hazardous and <strong>in</strong>appropriate here to generalize and try<br />

to estimate <strong>the</strong> extent to which such cultural prescriptions were actually<br />

observed. It is worth mention<strong>in</strong>g, though, that some forms of recreation<br />

were regarded not simply as <strong>the</strong> monopoly of a privileged group,<br />

who could use <strong>the</strong>m for purposes of display, but ra<strong>the</strong>r as <strong>the</strong> very rites<br />

of passage via which membership of an élite was secured. In Ancien<br />

Régime France, this was <strong>the</strong> case for hunt<strong>in</strong>g, a practice charged with<br />

<strong>the</strong> educational function of offer<strong>in</strong>g a young aristocrat <strong>the</strong> occasion to<br />

prove his worth, his right to belong to his social group. 4<br />

Jacob Burckhardt regarded <strong>the</strong> civilization of <strong>the</strong> Italian <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

as a society <strong>in</strong> which men of different status could have some jo<strong>in</strong>t social<br />

<strong>in</strong>tercourse, as long as <strong>the</strong>y shared some common ground, such as<br />

similar patterns of education. It goes without say<strong>in</strong>g that <strong>the</strong> rich and<br />

powerful and <strong>the</strong> educated are never exactly overlapp<strong>in</strong>g groups, and<br />

<strong>the</strong> learned but comparatively poor (from Roman slaves to medieval<br />

clergy, to say noth<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong> modern scholar) are never hard to f<strong>in</strong>d.<br />

Burckhardt’s assertion refers <strong>in</strong> particular to such social practices as<br />

conversation. In his op<strong>in</strong>ion, this ‘equalization of classes’ marked a<br />

new development <strong>in</strong> European history, <strong>in</strong> contrast to <strong>the</strong> reality of <strong>the</strong><br />

Middle Ages, and was documented, among o<strong>the</strong>r pieces of evidence, by<br />

<strong>the</strong> emergence of <strong>the</strong>oretical criticism of noble birth. 5<br />

It is difficult to share such a view, and twentieth-century scholarship<br />

has, if anyth<strong>in</strong>g, po<strong>in</strong>ted <strong>the</strong> attention at historical trends of social differentiation,<br />

ra<strong>the</strong>r than equalization. Pre-modern Europe constituted,<br />

from some respects at least, a ‘one-class society’ <strong>in</strong> which differences<br />

of power, status and wealth were surely not absent, but <strong>the</strong>y did not<br />

stop people from shar<strong>in</strong>g a sense of identity as a community, a set of<br />

values and some traditional customs, best represented by festivals and<br />

<strong>the</strong> devotion to patron sa<strong>in</strong>ts. Dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> sixteenth and seventeenth<br />

century a process of gradual withdrawal of <strong>the</strong> élite from such practices<br />

has been identified, orig<strong>in</strong>ally by Peter Burke <strong>in</strong> his analysis of popular<br />

culture and of <strong>the</strong> specific case of Venetian Carnival. 6 Fur<strong>the</strong>r research<br />

seems to have confirmed <strong>the</strong> pattern and <strong>the</strong> heuristic value of <strong>the</strong><br />

Idealtype of a ‘triumph of Lent’.<br />

A form of popular enterta<strong>in</strong>ment particularly rooted <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> customs<br />

of Italian late medieval and early modern cities was that of mock battles<br />

(battagliole), fought with fists, sticks or stones ma<strong>in</strong>ly by groups of young<br />

males. The case of <strong>the</strong> Venetian ‘war of <strong>the</strong> fists’ has been <strong>the</strong> object of<br />

<strong>the</strong> most accurate analysis, Robert Davis’s study of a rich manuscript<br />

documentation. It confirms <strong>the</strong> complexity of a phenomenon, which<br />

its scholar <strong>in</strong>terprets as a sign of a strong factionalism, <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r side of


Varieties of Pastimes 91<br />

<strong>the</strong> official image of Venice. S<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong> participation <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> battles as<br />

combatants or spectators was tightly l<strong>in</strong>ked with neighbourhood identities,<br />

and battles could easily escalate and turn <strong>in</strong>to full-scale riots, <strong>the</strong><br />

custom could only to some extent be classifiable alongside harmless<br />

amusements. On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, it was ord<strong>in</strong>arily <strong>in</strong>tended by its protagonists<br />

as a form of recreation – <strong>in</strong> fact, it was commonly referred to<br />

as <strong>the</strong> most popular among Venetians – and usually held on Sundays;<br />

battles were at least to some extent staged, sometimes <strong>in</strong> agreement with<br />

<strong>the</strong> Republic’s authorities and as a display to a pr<strong>in</strong>cely visitor; patricians<br />

were actively <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> tak<strong>in</strong>g sides, support<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>ir faction and<br />

bett<strong>in</strong>g on <strong>the</strong> results. All <strong>the</strong>se elements strongly suggest that <strong>the</strong>se<br />

social customs should be regarded, at least from some respects, as a form<br />

of popular recreation. The fact that Davis repeatedly refers to <strong>the</strong> subject<br />

of his book as a ‘cult’ could fur<strong>the</strong>r alert us to <strong>the</strong> multi-faceted nature<br />

of that tradition; but <strong>the</strong>re aga<strong>in</strong>, we normally speak <strong>in</strong> similar terms of<br />

modern soccer, without ceas<strong>in</strong>g to consider it, after all, a sport and<br />

leisurely enterta<strong>in</strong>ment. Everyth<strong>in</strong>g considered, it could hardly be<br />

omitted from our overview.<br />

The Venetian ‘war’ reached its climax dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> seventeenth century,<br />

only to vanish dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> follow<strong>in</strong>g: <strong>the</strong> last large-scale bridge battle<br />

was fought <strong>in</strong> 1705. Throughout <strong>the</strong> period, <strong>the</strong> custom underwent<br />

some degree of a ‘civiliz<strong>in</strong>g process’, first by mov<strong>in</strong>g from <strong>the</strong> most<br />

dangerous po<strong>in</strong>ted sticks to fists, <strong>the</strong>n by progressively isolat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />

most violent elements and <strong>the</strong> tendency to lead to armed vendettas. 7<br />

As well as prohibitionist legislation, it provoked discussion among<br />

moralists, with at least a full-length pr<strong>in</strong>ted volume devoted <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

mid-seventeenth century by a Genoese Dom<strong>in</strong>ican to censure <strong>the</strong><br />

popular tradition of battagliole. 8<br />

That <strong>the</strong> élite were by def<strong>in</strong>ition a ‘leisure class’ appears evident from<br />

some typical contemporary literature. John Florio (1553–1625), <strong>the</strong> son<br />

of an Italian Protestant émigré <strong>in</strong> Elizabethan and Jacobean London and<br />

a protagonist of Anglo-Italian l<strong>in</strong>guistic and cultural exchanges of his<br />

period, gives us a brilliant example <strong>in</strong> his Second Fruits. The volume<br />

offers <strong>the</strong> English speaker one hundred pages of Italian conversation,<br />

with translation provided on <strong>the</strong> opposite pages (a collection of six<br />

thousand Italian proverbs, <strong>in</strong> alphabetic order, follows as an appendix).<br />

The text is written as a dialogue between a group of gentlemen who<br />

spend a whole day toge<strong>the</strong>r, thus offer<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> reader <strong>the</strong> opportunity to<br />

encounter a vocabulary that covers useful topics of everyday life, from<br />

‘ris<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> morn<strong>in</strong>g’ and ‘th<strong>in</strong>gs belong<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> chamber and to<br />

aparell’ to ‘go<strong>in</strong>g to bed, and many th<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>the</strong>reto belong<strong>in</strong>g’ (a Renais-


92 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

sance equivalent to today’s guides to order ‘un cappucc<strong>in</strong>o, per favore’<br />

or Zimmer reservieren). The topics covered <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> conversation between<br />

friends and acqua<strong>in</strong>tances start with describ<strong>in</strong>g ‘a sett at tenis’, move<br />

on to ‘<strong>the</strong> maner of salut<strong>in</strong>g and visit<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> sick, and of rid<strong>in</strong>g, with<br />

al that belongeth to a horse’. At lunch it is time for ‘many pleasaunt<br />

discourses concern<strong>in</strong>g meat and repast’, followed by play, both as a<br />

subject of conversation and as actually played by <strong>the</strong> dialogue’s personae<br />

( primero, tables and chess). For <strong>the</strong> rest of <strong>the</strong> day <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>terlocutors<br />

are occupied with a variety of matters, from ‘precepts for a traveiler’<br />

and ‘arms and <strong>the</strong> art of fenc<strong>in</strong>g’, to ‘<strong>the</strong> court and courtiers of this day’,<br />

love, women and ‘<strong>the</strong> beautiful partes that a woman ought to have to<br />

be accounted faire <strong>in</strong> all perfection’. The text is rich <strong>in</strong> typical leisure<br />

vocabulary (‘pleasaunt enterta<strong>in</strong>ments’, ‘many pleasaunt and delightsome<br />

jestes’, ‘pleasantly discourse’). As with Robert Burton’s nobility,<br />

what is noticeable by its absence from <strong>the</strong> table of contents – apart from<br />

a pass<strong>in</strong>g reference to ‘many o<strong>the</strong>r th<strong>in</strong>gs, as buy<strong>in</strong>g and sell<strong>in</strong>g’ – is<br />

any mention of work and o<strong>the</strong>r duties. 9<br />

Of many recreational activities, it should be clearly stated that <strong>the</strong>y<br />

were leisure only for pr<strong>in</strong>ces and aristocrats, while people of a lesser<br />

status may have been <strong>in</strong>volved as a form of obligation and as assistants<br />

to <strong>the</strong>ir superior, ra<strong>the</strong>r than as players. Take <strong>the</strong> example of hunt<strong>in</strong>g.<br />

Its practice also required <strong>the</strong> participation of a fairly large staff employed<br />

for <strong>the</strong> purpose – <strong>the</strong>refore work<strong>in</strong>g, ra<strong>the</strong>r than engag<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> a pastime.<br />

The most dist<strong>in</strong>guished sixteenth-century Italian treatise on hunt<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

Domenico Boccamazza’s Trattato della caccia, was <strong>the</strong> work of a professional,<br />

a papal chief gamekeeper. 10 Contemporaries were well aware of<br />

such division of labour. Treatises also showed concern for <strong>in</strong>sert<strong>in</strong>g<br />

hunt<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to a general programme of education of <strong>the</strong> young aristocrat,<br />

where <strong>the</strong> passion for this sport should not be allowed to become too<br />

predom<strong>in</strong>ant. Hunt<strong>in</strong>g acquired a variety of mean<strong>in</strong>gs and purposes,<br />

such as those of social display, physical exercise and military tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g.<br />

In Book XIV of Machiavelli’s The Pr<strong>in</strong>ce – only to mention a classic<br />

occurrence – hunt<strong>in</strong>g is recommended <strong>in</strong> time of peace as <strong>the</strong> best way<br />

to prepare for war, chiefly because of <strong>the</strong> knowledge of territory one<br />

acquires through it. But <strong>the</strong>se additional values were not <strong>in</strong> contrast<br />

with <strong>the</strong> fundamental nature of hunt<strong>in</strong>g as a favourite aristocratic<br />

source of solace (it was, <strong>in</strong>stead, practically irrelevant as a source of food<br />

– or ra<strong>the</strong>r: those people who found it valuable for that purpose were<br />

officially banned).<br />

Dance makes ano<strong>the</strong>r compulsory example of a pastime whose<br />

connotations <strong>in</strong> terms of social hierarchy were unmistakable. In


Varieties of Pastimes 93<br />

<strong>Renaissance</strong> Nuremberg <strong>the</strong> social mean<strong>in</strong>gs attached to danc<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> an<br />

economically thriv<strong>in</strong>g urban centre are particularly evident. On <strong>the</strong> one<br />

hand, concerns over moral regulation and <strong>the</strong> reform of popular culture<br />

brought <strong>the</strong> city government, between <strong>the</strong> fifteenth and <strong>the</strong> early<br />

sixteenth century, to issue a number of ord<strong>in</strong>ances, where ‘immodest<br />

and novel dances’ and particular patterns of gesture (‘not take by<br />

<strong>the</strong> neck or embrace one ano<strong>the</strong>r’) were <strong>the</strong> target; soon after <strong>the</strong><br />

Reformation, fur<strong>the</strong>r legislation was <strong>in</strong>troduced specifically to ban artisans,<br />

apprentices and servants from danc<strong>in</strong>g outside <strong>the</strong> last three days<br />

of Carnival. On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, <strong>the</strong> rul<strong>in</strong>g élite – who admired contemporary<br />

Italian dance and were competent enough to be able to copy<br />

and import choreographic notes from it – could regard <strong>the</strong>ir social<br />

danc<strong>in</strong>g habits as mean<strong>in</strong>gful <strong>in</strong> def<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>mselves as a social group;<br />

a 1521 Tanzstatut restricted eligibility <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> City Council only to<br />

members of those families who were allowed access to <strong>the</strong> City Hall<br />

(Rathaus) on <strong>the</strong> occasion of danc<strong>in</strong>g parties. 11<br />

Plaisirs des dames<br />

Left at <strong>the</strong> marg<strong>in</strong> of early modern academia, women were none<strong>the</strong>less<br />

(if not for that very reason) protagonists <strong>in</strong> some aspects and developments<br />

of <strong>the</strong> contemporary art of conversation, with particular reference<br />

to <strong>the</strong> experience of <strong>the</strong> seventeenth-century French salon. 12 The<br />

series of plaisirs des dames selected <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> mid-seventeenth-century for<br />

his moral advice by François de Grenaille is a very <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>dicator<br />

of gender connotations as <strong>the</strong>y were perceived at his time, and forms a<br />

significant counterpart to <strong>the</strong> contemporary literature on <strong>the</strong> honnête<br />

homme. The work of a French moralist who also paraphrased Petrarch’s<br />

Remedies, this book was dedicated to Henrietta Maria of France, Queen<br />

of England. It comprises seven separate treatises: ‘Le bouquet’, ‘Le cours’,<br />

‘Le miroir’, ‘La promenade’, ‘La collation’, ‘Le concert’, ‘Le bal’. A<br />

High German (hochdeutsch) translation adapts <strong>the</strong> topic to <strong>the</strong> culture<br />

and expectations of its audience by add<strong>in</strong>g three chapters on dress<br />

(Bekleidung), beauty (Schönheit) and nobility (Ehestand). 13<br />

Each treatise follows <strong>the</strong> same pattern. In <strong>the</strong> fashion of medieval<br />

Scholasticism, where demonstration of <strong>the</strong> opponent’s argument was<br />

closely followed by a writer’s counter-demonstration, <strong>the</strong> texts appear<br />

at first to strongly approve of <strong>the</strong> seven ‘pleasures’. They recur to <strong>the</strong><br />

rhetoric of gallant society, and discuss such egg-and-chicken questions<br />

as ‘si c’est le se<strong>in</strong> des dames qui orne le bouquet, où si c’est le bouquet<br />

qui orne le se<strong>in</strong> des dames’. At a turn<strong>in</strong>g po<strong>in</strong>t, however, <strong>the</strong> reverse is


94 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

stated and proved, and <strong>the</strong> previous arguments all rejected. M<strong>in</strong>dful of<br />

Petrarch, Grenaille reveals <strong>the</strong> dark side of beauty and worldly happ<strong>in</strong>ess,<br />

by show<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>ir vanity and futility. He po<strong>in</strong>ts at specific morally<br />

disputable traits of mundane success, such as <strong>the</strong> fact that one’s fortune<br />

depends on someone else’s misfortune (and vice versa).<br />

The section on dance presents a particularly <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g decl<strong>in</strong>ation<br />

of <strong>the</strong> dichotomy between nature and artifice – a <strong>the</strong>me that can be<br />

found throughout <strong>the</strong> book. In <strong>the</strong> first half of <strong>the</strong> treatise, when<br />

Grenaille pretends to write <strong>in</strong> praise of dance, he observes that solely<br />

God is immobile, all animals move, but human be<strong>in</strong>gs can do so <strong>in</strong> a<br />

particular manner: ‘Man only can move with art, while <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

animals can only move out of necessity, by <strong>in</strong>st<strong>in</strong>ct.’ A few pages later,<br />

<strong>the</strong> reader can already presage <strong>the</strong> author’s real mood, s<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong> feigned<br />

praise goes as far as s<strong>in</strong>gl<strong>in</strong>g out dance as <strong>the</strong> demeanour where at most<br />

one can see ‘precision of movements’, ‘calculated gait’, ‘more reflection<br />

than steps’. Now, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> moral literature of <strong>the</strong> late medieval and<br />

Reformation period this vocabulary signified unmistakably a writer’s or<br />

speaker’s contempt for <strong>the</strong> unnatural, sophisticated aspects of dance<br />

movements (‘count<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> steps’, and so forth). This is precisely what<br />

Grenaille does when he changes his tone (or mask), and turns to an<br />

<strong>in</strong>vective aga<strong>in</strong>st danc<strong>in</strong>g. Here, <strong>the</strong> comparison with <strong>the</strong> animal<br />

world is turned upside down: ‘Animals go different places; but <strong>in</strong>st<strong>in</strong>ct,<br />

ra<strong>the</strong>r than whim [caprice], and need, not extravagance, are what take<br />

<strong>the</strong>m <strong>the</strong>re.’ If we compare <strong>the</strong> two parts of this self-contradict<strong>in</strong>g<br />

monologue, <strong>the</strong> attributes of animal movement are left unchanged:<br />

<strong>the</strong>y are dom<strong>in</strong>ated by <strong>in</strong>st<strong>in</strong>ct and necessity. Their judgement,<br />

however, changes dramatically, accord<strong>in</strong>g to those acquired by <strong>the</strong><br />

danc<strong>in</strong>g human body: first praised as art, <strong>the</strong> latter is f<strong>in</strong>ally blamed as<br />

pure artifice. 14<br />

It is not difficult to imag<strong>in</strong>e that <strong>the</strong> author’s audience – his dames –<br />

would have been prepared to listen to or read such moral reprimands,<br />

perhaps even <strong>the</strong>oretically approve of <strong>the</strong>m, and <strong>the</strong>n cont<strong>in</strong>ue with<br />

<strong>the</strong>ir lifestyle without putt<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>m <strong>in</strong>to practice. To an extent, this is<br />

part of <strong>the</strong> game: literature of moral advice is a genre with its own rules,<br />

it can be appreciated for be<strong>in</strong>g elegantly written, one has also <strong>the</strong> social<br />

duty to listen to it periodically, but <strong>the</strong>re is no obligation to implement<br />

it literally. Even so, it would be simplistic to downgrade such works as<br />

Petrarch’s and Grenaille’s as purely literary exercises: with <strong>the</strong>ir choice<br />

of topics and style of argumentation, <strong>the</strong>y do vehicle some moral<br />

concern that must have been shared with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> élite culture of <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

time.


Varieties of Pastimes 95<br />

In general, gender and <strong>the</strong> forms of recreation which were conceived<br />

as specifically appropriate for men or women, or those <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g people<br />

of ei<strong>the</strong>r sex participat<strong>in</strong>g (separately or toge<strong>the</strong>r), is, after social hierarchy,<br />

ano<strong>the</strong>r decisive factor to be considered. Traditional gender roles<br />

were re<strong>in</strong>forced by clearly dist<strong>in</strong>guished practices <strong>in</strong> leisure as well as<br />

work, and a wealth of advice books made sure that such cultural identities<br />

were observed and transmitted from one generation to <strong>the</strong> next.<br />

Burton’s prescriptions for melancholic women <strong>in</strong>clude ‘curious Needleworkes,<br />

Cut-workes, sp<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g, bone-lace, and many pretty devises of<br />

<strong>the</strong>ir owne mak<strong>in</strong>g, to adorne <strong>the</strong>ir houses, Cushions, Carpets, Chaires,<br />

Stooles, confections, conserves, distillations, etc. which <strong>the</strong>y shew to<br />

strangers’. Ra<strong>the</strong>r than a prescription, it is a descriptive list of what<br />

women actually do (<strong>the</strong> open<strong>in</strong>g clause, <strong>in</strong> fact, reads ‘Now for women<br />

<strong>in</strong>steed of laborious studies, <strong>the</strong>y have . . .’). Never<strong>the</strong>less, <strong>the</strong> observation<br />

of actual practices serves here <strong>the</strong> scope of <strong>the</strong>rapeutic advice. The<br />

physician’s analysis of women’s occupations cont<strong>in</strong>ues with a kaleidoscope<br />

of details, which add fur<strong>the</strong>r typical components to <strong>the</strong> gender<br />

cliché, and, border<strong>in</strong>g on caricature, seem to describe a cultural world<br />

totally o<strong>the</strong>r than <strong>the</strong> male observer’s: ‘This <strong>the</strong>y have to busie <strong>the</strong>mselves<br />

about, houshold offices, etc. neate gardens full of exotick, versicoloure,<br />

diversly varied, sweet smell<strong>in</strong>g flowres, and plants <strong>in</strong> all k<strong>in</strong>des,<br />

which <strong>the</strong>y are most ambitious to get, curious to preserve and keepe,<br />

proud to possesse, and much many times bragge of. Their merry meet<strong>in</strong>gs<br />

and frequent visitations, mutuall <strong>in</strong>vitations <strong>in</strong> good townes, I voluntary<br />

omit, which are so much <strong>in</strong> use, gossipp<strong>in</strong>g among <strong>the</strong> meaner<br />

sort, etc. old folkes have <strong>the</strong>ir beades.’ Burton goes as far as suggest<strong>in</strong>g<br />

h<strong>in</strong>ts of a religious anthropology: ‘to say so many Paternosters, Avemaries,<br />

Creedes’ – though his own religious consciousness requires him to add<br />

‘if it were not prophane and superstitious’. 15<br />

We found <strong>the</strong> same gender differentiation confirmed and re<strong>in</strong>forced<br />

both <strong>in</strong> medical literature and <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> visual imagery of Pirro Ligorio (see<br />

above, Chapter 3). Physical strength and military tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g are among<br />

<strong>the</strong> most obvious components and objectives of male leisure culture,<br />

grace and household competence those generally attached to women.<br />

When <strong>the</strong> physician Joseph Duchesne (see once more Chapter 3) discussed<br />

hunt<strong>in</strong>g, he quoted a say<strong>in</strong>g accord<strong>in</strong>g to which, while hunt<strong>in</strong>g<br />

is <strong>the</strong> most appropriate exercise for men, dance is <strong>the</strong> equivalent for<br />

women. Men would deny <strong>the</strong>mselves any o<strong>the</strong>r pleasure (Lat. voluptas,<br />

Fr. volupté), but not that which <strong>the</strong>y experience <strong>in</strong> hunt<strong>in</strong>g. The simile<br />

is truncated: its implicit completion is that dance, proverbially, is <strong>the</strong><br />

one pleasure which women would never renounce. 16


96 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

The choice is highly representative of dom<strong>in</strong>ant gender connotations.<br />

This does not mean that dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> and baroque period<br />

dance was <strong>the</strong> monopoly of women. After all, <strong>the</strong> meet<strong>in</strong>g of young<br />

men and women toge<strong>the</strong>r was (almost) <strong>the</strong> whole raison d’être of <strong>the</strong><br />

ubiquitous danc<strong>in</strong>g parties. Nei<strong>the</strong>r was it regarded as <strong>in</strong>appropriate for<br />

a man to be a skilled dancer – <strong>in</strong> fact, <strong>the</strong>re are many examples of <strong>the</strong><br />

high esteem <strong>in</strong> which such competence was held. The suspicion towards<br />

a male dancer as an effem<strong>in</strong>ate figure who transgresses his socially<br />

expected behaviour is ma<strong>in</strong>ly a Victorian development. 17 Never<strong>the</strong>less,<br />

it was anticipated by such literature as <strong>the</strong> anti-<strong>the</strong>atrical pamphlets produced<br />

by English Protestantism, where <strong>the</strong> gender ambiguity of <strong>the</strong><br />

dancer plays a role as an argumentative weapon, as epitomized <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

all-time champion William Prynne. In fact, <strong>in</strong> his Histrio-Mastix (1633)<br />

one can f<strong>in</strong>d clear traces of <strong>the</strong> persistent early modern anxiety about<br />

<strong>the</strong> gender ambiguity of actors, which, as Laura Lev<strong>in</strong>e has suggested,<br />

may have ultimately derived from <strong>the</strong> doubt whe<strong>the</strong>r each <strong>in</strong>dividual<br />

really belongs to a given gender by nature, or else male and female are<br />

just roles everyone could impersonate and <strong>in</strong>terchange. 18<br />

Circumstantial evidence of predom<strong>in</strong>ant gender connotations is<br />

countless. In medieval preachers’ exempla, <strong>the</strong> woman who s<strong>in</strong>gs and<br />

guides <strong>the</strong> carole (choreatrix, choreas ducens) was <strong>the</strong> protagonist of many<br />

stories of punishment or repentance; when fifteenth-century canonists<br />

discussed dance with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> literature de ludo, <strong>the</strong>ir pr<strong>in</strong>cipal topic<br />

could be women’s adornment; and <strong>in</strong> contemporary Italian courts,<br />

danc<strong>in</strong>g parties were often referred to as feste de donne. 19 Orchestra, <strong>the</strong><br />

Elizabethan ‘poem on danc<strong>in</strong>g’ by John Davies, stresses women’s<br />

excellence <strong>in</strong> danc<strong>in</strong>g by various means, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g an adaptation of <strong>the</strong><br />

myth of Tiresias. As we are told <strong>in</strong> Ovid’s Metamorphoses (III, 316–38),<br />

<strong>the</strong> Theban seer experienced both male and female sexual pleasure, and<br />

found <strong>the</strong> latter n<strong>in</strong>e times stronger than <strong>the</strong> former. In Davies’ text<br />

Ant<strong>in</strong>ous, <strong>the</strong> suitor who courts Penelope by recourse to a praise of<br />

dance rich <strong>in</strong> neo-Platonic allegories, recounts that Tiresias danced both<br />

parts; and it was <strong>the</strong> woman’s role that pleased him <strong>the</strong> most. 20<br />

<strong>Renaissance</strong> dance did not foresee a separate repertoire of gesture for<br />

men and women. However, <strong>the</strong> perform<strong>in</strong>g modes of steps were clearly<br />

gendered. Anchored <strong>in</strong> a long tradition of gendered postures and movements,<br />

we can f<strong>in</strong>d clear <strong>in</strong>structions as those stated <strong>in</strong> Thomas Elyot’s<br />

Governour (1531): ‘And <strong>the</strong> mev<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong> man wolde be more vehement,<br />

of <strong>the</strong> woman more delicate, and with lasse advaunc<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong><br />

body, signifienge <strong>the</strong> courage and strength that oughte to be <strong>in</strong> a man,<br />

and <strong>the</strong> pleasant sobrenesse that shulde be <strong>in</strong> a woman.’ 21 Italian dance


Varieties of Pastimes 97<br />

writers were explicit <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir attention for <strong>the</strong> role of women, from <strong>the</strong><br />

mid-fifteenth-century Guglielmo Ebreo who devoted a chapter to <strong>the</strong>m<br />

(‘capitulum regulare mulierum’), to <strong>the</strong> late-sixteenth-century Fabrizio<br />

Caroso who, with a total gender transformation of <strong>the</strong> title of his own<br />

book from a first to a second edition, turned Il ballar<strong>in</strong>o <strong>in</strong>to Nobiltà<br />

di dame, while pay<strong>in</strong>g detailed attention to details of attire, posture<br />

and etiquette. 22 Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, gender connotations acquired a new<br />

prom<strong>in</strong>ence <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> European social practice of dance for <strong>the</strong> very fact<br />

that it is from <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> that danc<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> couples fully replaced<br />

circles and cha<strong>in</strong>s. The <strong>in</strong>terrelation between <strong>the</strong> two danc<strong>in</strong>g partners<br />

becomes dom<strong>in</strong>ant; and a whole vocabulary of gesture is elaborated,<br />

by which ritualized courtship is both actually enacted and mimetically<br />

represented: <strong>the</strong> bow, <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>spection (turn<strong>in</strong>g around each o<strong>the</strong>r), <strong>the</strong><br />

confrontation (battle between sexes), <strong>the</strong> chase. 23 In <strong>the</strong> end, from<br />

<strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> onwards, dance becomes so much an <strong>in</strong>tegral part of<br />

<strong>the</strong> social tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g of young women, from posture to general etiquette,<br />

that, at <strong>the</strong> élite level, it would be impossible to th<strong>in</strong>k of <strong>the</strong>ir gender<br />

identity <strong>in</strong> early modern Europe without that art. 24 All this considered,<br />

it is frankly odd to read François de Sales’s pages on dance <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

seventeenth-century English version, s<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong> translator chose to<br />

change <strong>the</strong> gender of <strong>the</strong> author’s <strong>in</strong>terlocutor (by turn<strong>in</strong>g Philothée<br />

<strong>in</strong>to Philo<strong>the</strong>us), and <strong>the</strong>refore failed to reta<strong>in</strong> all <strong>the</strong> specific connotations<br />

of a passage where<strong>in</strong> a male spiritual director is address<strong>in</strong>g a female<br />

devotee on a heavily gendered issue.<br />

Back <strong>in</strong> Castiglione’s Libro del Cortegiano, women did not fully participate<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> parlour game, although <strong>the</strong> modern reader should not<br />

be too quick <strong>in</strong> dismiss<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>ir position <strong>in</strong> that context as unimportant.<br />

The issue of gender, however, was a central one <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> subject<br />

matter of <strong>the</strong> dialogue, <strong>in</strong> which <strong>the</strong> entire third book (or even<strong>in</strong>g) was<br />

devoted to women. The discussion <strong>in</strong>cluded explicit reference to <strong>the</strong><br />

recreational activities which are <strong>the</strong> most appropriate to each sex.<br />

Unsurpris<strong>in</strong>gly, dance and music dom<strong>in</strong>ate here too, though with subtle<br />

<strong>in</strong>structions on modes of performance (to be adopted or avoided), ra<strong>the</strong>r<br />

than mere statement of <strong>the</strong>ir obvious suitability. As <strong>the</strong> persona of<br />

Giuliano de’ Medici put it,<br />

S<strong>in</strong>s I may facion this woman after my m<strong>in</strong>de, I will not onelye have<br />

her not to practise <strong>the</strong>se manlie exercises so sturdie and boisterous,<br />

but also even those that are meete for a woman, I will have her to<br />

do <strong>the</strong>m with heedefulnesse and with <strong>the</strong> soft mildenesse that we<br />

have said is comelie for her. And <strong>the</strong>refore <strong>in</strong> daunsynge I would not


98 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

see her use to swift and violent trickes, nor yet <strong>in</strong> s<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>ge or play<strong>in</strong>ge<br />

upon <strong>in</strong>strumentes those harde and often divisions that declare more<br />

counn<strong>in</strong>ge <strong>the</strong>n sweetenesse. Likewise <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>strumentes of musike<br />

which she useth (<strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>e op<strong>in</strong>ion) ought to be fitt for this pourpose.<br />

Imag<strong>in</strong> with your selfe what an unsightly matter it were to see a<br />

woman play upon a tabour or drumm, or blowe <strong>in</strong> a flute or trompet,<br />

or anye like <strong>in</strong>strumente: and this bicause <strong>the</strong> boisterousnesse of<br />

<strong>the</strong>m doeth both cover and take away that sweete mildenes which<br />

setteth so furth everie deede that a woman doeth. Therfore whan she<br />

commeth do daunse, or to show any k<strong>in</strong>de of musike, she ought to<br />

be brought to it with suffr<strong>in</strong>ge her selfe somewhat to be prayed, and<br />

with a certe<strong>in</strong> bashfulnes, that may declare <strong>the</strong> noble shamefastnes<br />

that is contrarye to head<strong>in</strong>esse, 25<br />

a comment that leads <strong>the</strong> speaker to discuss issues of beauty and apparel.<br />

As for hunt<strong>in</strong>g (that is, Duchesne’s counterpart of dance), its predom<strong>in</strong>antly<br />

male connotations could not be denied. Whe<strong>the</strong>r practised<br />

alone or <strong>in</strong> company, <strong>the</strong> pastime offered – as o<strong>the</strong>r leisure activities –<br />

<strong>the</strong> opportunity for <strong>the</strong> development of specific forms of sociability: a<br />

circle of friends, <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> exchange of gifts and enjoy<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> pleasure<br />

of each o<strong>the</strong>r’s company. In Ancient Greece, <strong>the</strong>se social customs<br />

were charged with homoeroticism, hunt<strong>in</strong>g be<strong>in</strong>g conceived as part of<br />

<strong>the</strong> educational programme of <strong>the</strong> young citizen, as well as work<strong>in</strong>g as<br />

a metaphor for <strong>the</strong> love chase. By <strong>the</strong> early modern period, <strong>the</strong> heterosexual<br />

model has taken over: women may be allowed to participate,<br />

though usually as mere spectators; men exploit <strong>the</strong> occasion as an<br />

opportunity for sexual display, a strong component of <strong>the</strong> whole activity<br />

which governs both <strong>the</strong>ir careful choice of impressive cloth<strong>in</strong>g and<br />

<strong>the</strong> self-conscious display of bravery. It has been suggested that women’s<br />

actual <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> watch<strong>in</strong>g men hunt<strong>in</strong>g fell dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> period, <strong>in</strong> significant<br />

synchrony with <strong>the</strong> diffusion of a more dist<strong>in</strong>ctive female space<br />

and activity as <strong>the</strong> (just mentioned) salon and <strong>the</strong> art of conversation;<br />

early <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> seventeenth century, <strong>the</strong> K<strong>in</strong>g of France Louis XIII was<br />

regarded as bor<strong>in</strong>g by females who frequented his court because he<br />

could not talk of anyth<strong>in</strong>g else but hunt<strong>in</strong>g. 26<br />

Iconographic evidence confirms <strong>the</strong> clear gender connotations of a<br />

variety of pastimes. Tapestry constitutes a characteristic medium, or<br />

type of material artefact, of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> period. It has been def<strong>in</strong>ed<br />

as ‘an art form <strong>in</strong> which patrons, merchants, artists and craftsmen each<br />

played a key role’; accord<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> same scholar, its iconographic contents<br />

reveal <strong>the</strong> mentalities of <strong>the</strong> nobility and <strong>the</strong> high bourgeoisie. 27


Varieties of Pastimes 99<br />

Figure 6.1 Walk<strong>in</strong>g as an aristocratic form of leisure (sixteenth-century tapestry<br />

from <strong>the</strong> sou<strong>the</strong>rn Ne<strong>the</strong>rlands).<br />

From <strong>the</strong> manufactur<strong>in</strong>g areas of nor<strong>the</strong>rn France and <strong>the</strong> sou<strong>the</strong>rn<br />

Ne<strong>the</strong>rlands, serial production went on side by side with artistic creation.<br />

A series of tapestries held at <strong>the</strong> Musée National du Moyen-Age,<br />

at <strong>the</strong> Hôtel de Cluny <strong>in</strong> Paris, offers a good example of <strong>the</strong> former. The<br />

title under which <strong>the</strong> set is known is La tenture de la vie seigneuriale. It<br />

comprises pieces on <strong>the</strong> promenade, <strong>the</strong> bath, read<strong>in</strong>g, gallant scenes,<br />

embroidery, and <strong>the</strong> departure for hunt<strong>in</strong>g (Figure 6.1). While tapestries<br />

were on o<strong>the</strong>r occasions employed to record specific, historical events<br />

(as with <strong>the</strong> case of <strong>the</strong> festivals held <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> second half of <strong>the</strong> sixteenth<br />

century at <strong>the</strong> courts of K<strong>in</strong>g Charles IX and Henry III), La tenture de la<br />

vie seigneuriale offers an example of representation of generic action. The<br />

atmosphere is idyllic and <strong>the</strong> activities <strong>in</strong> which <strong>the</strong> nobility is represented<br />

as engaged seem to suggest an unproblematic, leisurely way of<br />

life. Gender roles are neatly def<strong>in</strong>ed, both <strong>in</strong> gender-specific activities<br />

(hunt<strong>in</strong>g, embroidery) and <strong>in</strong> those <strong>in</strong>to which men and women<br />

participate toge<strong>the</strong>r: it is a woman who takes a bath, apparently undisturbed<br />

by <strong>the</strong> presence of some male servants (among <strong>the</strong>m is <strong>the</strong>


100 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

musician <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> background); whereas read<strong>in</strong>g is an action represented<br />

as performed by a man to a woman, who is sp<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g (could she read<br />

What else does <strong>the</strong> picture suggest about <strong>the</strong>ir relationship). 28 That this<br />

iconographic tradition also evidently represents a socially exclusive<br />

milieu is even more evident <strong>in</strong> a cycle of Months, frescoed at <strong>the</strong> beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g<br />

of <strong>the</strong> fifteenth century on commission of a pr<strong>in</strong>ce bishop of Trent<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Castello del Buonconsiglio, where <strong>the</strong> aristocratic pastimes are<br />

performed aga<strong>in</strong>st a background of peasants’ labours. 29<br />

If gender roles were mirrored and, more significantly, re<strong>in</strong>forced<br />

through gendered forms of recreation, this did not entirely stop people<br />

from play<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> games with which <strong>the</strong>y were not socially expected to<br />

engage. Never<strong>the</strong>less, <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>vasion of each o<strong>the</strong>r’s role would not have<br />

gone unnoticed, and was likely to become <strong>the</strong> target of moral critique<br />

and/or satire. In Erasmus’ dialogue on ‘Knuckelbones, or <strong>the</strong> game of<br />

tali’ one of <strong>the</strong> (male) <strong>in</strong>terlocutors, after notic<strong>in</strong>g that <strong>the</strong> gambl<strong>in</strong>g<br />

game <strong>in</strong> question is also practised by women, adds that it is go<strong>in</strong>g out<br />

of fashion, ‘scorned even by girls today; <strong>the</strong>y take up dice, cards, and<br />

o<strong>the</strong>r mascul<strong>in</strong>e amusements <strong>in</strong>stead’. 30<br />

Children’s games<br />

As a masterpiece <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> literary genre of Lat<strong>in</strong> dialogues, written and<br />

widely adopted as a school text, Erasmus’s Colloquies help attract<strong>in</strong>g our<br />

attention to a third factor. Age is ano<strong>the</strong>r obviously relevant variable,<br />

with youth play<strong>in</strong>g an important, although not exclusive, part <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

world of pastimes, and moralists and physicians alike warn<strong>in</strong>g adults<br />

and <strong>the</strong> elderly aga<strong>in</strong>st activities <strong>in</strong>appropriate to <strong>the</strong>ir status, if not<br />

openly counterproductive to <strong>the</strong>ir well-be<strong>in</strong>g. Children’s games are constantly<br />

one of <strong>the</strong> elements that contribute to <strong>the</strong> picture; however, <strong>the</strong>y<br />

do not constitute a very frequent subject of moral reflection, s<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong><br />

protagonist of ethics is by def<strong>in</strong>ition <strong>the</strong> fully developed and responsible<br />

human be<strong>in</strong>g. Maturity needs to be socially promoted and achieved:<br />

education is <strong>the</strong>refore a key ground for <strong>the</strong> transmission of accepted<br />

values, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g recreational habits.<br />

The humanist ideal of education marked a milestone <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> perception<br />

and practice of play with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> European pedagogic tradition.<br />

Grounded <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> classical model of a balance between mental and<br />

physical development, physical exercise was regarded as a necessary<br />

formative step, as well as a required recreation needed for relief from<br />

prolonged periods of study. In Leon Battista Alberti’s Libri della famiglia<br />

(written <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> 1430s), Lionardo, <strong>the</strong> protagonist patriarch, specifies that<br />

he does not want children to be ‘always locked up with books’. Their


Varieties of Pastimes 101<br />

games, though, have to be appropriate, and not simply <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> sense that<br />

<strong>the</strong>y need to avoid anyth<strong>in</strong>g morally reprehensible. Follow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />

model set <strong>in</strong> Classical Antiquity, young, robust men need to exercise<br />

<strong>the</strong>ir body and each of <strong>the</strong>ir limbs. Sitt<strong>in</strong>g-down games like chess are<br />

good for elderly people affected by <strong>the</strong> gout. ‘Let girls sit and grow lazy.’<br />

Horse-rid<strong>in</strong>g, archery, fenc<strong>in</strong>g, swimm<strong>in</strong>g and ball games are appropriate<br />

for boys; later <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir lives, <strong>the</strong>y would regret not hav<strong>in</strong>g learned<br />

those skills. 31<br />

In Mulcaster’s aforementioned Positions (see above, Chapter 3), physical<br />

education played a paramount role. As well as discuss<strong>in</strong>g general<br />

rules concern<strong>in</strong>g exercise, and <strong>the</strong> exercise of <strong>the</strong> voice (Of lowd speak<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

Of loude s<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g, Of loude and soft read<strong>in</strong>g, Of much talk<strong>in</strong>g and<br />

silence, Of laugh<strong>in</strong>g and weep<strong>in</strong>g, Of hold<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> breath), <strong>the</strong> book<br />

devotes a significant series of chapters to specific sports (Of dauns<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

Of wrastl<strong>in</strong>g, Of fens<strong>in</strong>g, Of <strong>the</strong> top and scourge, Of walk<strong>in</strong>g, Of<br />

runn<strong>in</strong>g, Of leap<strong>in</strong>g, Of swimm<strong>in</strong>g, Of rid<strong>in</strong>g, Of hunt<strong>in</strong>g, Of shoot<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

Of <strong>the</strong> ball). The text offers thus a virtually unprecedented panorama<br />

of games which were regarded as appropriate for Tudor children,<br />

although it appears somehow bookish: <strong>the</strong> selection does not seem to<br />

be particularly targeted at young persons, and <strong>the</strong> humanist reliance on<br />

classical sources and models is still overwhelm<strong>in</strong>g. 32 The ‘Saletta dei<br />

giuochi’ <strong>in</strong> Ferrara (see above, Chapter 3) offers <strong>the</strong> visual representation<br />

of a similar selection of children’s games, strongly oriented by a<br />

humanist programme and a set of allegorical mean<strong>in</strong>gs. It reproduces<br />

<strong>the</strong> range of activities that were typical of an ancient school (gymnasium,<br />

or ludus), with its characteristic pursuit of a harmonic balance<br />

between body and m<strong>in</strong>d. It has been noticed that some of <strong>the</strong> scenes<br />

that would appear more problematic for an educational purpose, such<br />

as <strong>the</strong> gladiatorial contest, do not <strong>in</strong> fact depict a real fight, but ra<strong>the</strong>r<br />

a mock one performed as a form of exercise, or a dance mim<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />

contest (<strong>the</strong> musicians play<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> a corner be<strong>in</strong>g common <strong>in</strong> treatises<br />

of education as a specific requirement for that form of tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g). The<br />

presence <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> panels of <strong>the</strong> figure of <strong>the</strong> tutor supervis<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> exercise<br />

also confirms that we are look<strong>in</strong>g at scenes from a school. O<strong>the</strong>r children’s<br />

games represented <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> same room – sp<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g-top and skittles<br />

– had a philosophical, neo-Platonic tradition of allegorical mean<strong>in</strong>g. 33<br />

There is a whole dist<strong>in</strong>ctive Flemish and Dutch tradition of represent<strong>in</strong>g<br />

children’s games systematically <strong>in</strong> pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>gs and pr<strong>in</strong>ts, ei<strong>the</strong>r<br />

<strong>in</strong> a series of separate images or <strong>in</strong> an anthology of different games displayed<br />

as simultaneous, <strong>the</strong> latter fashion represented at its best by<br />

Pieter Bruegel <strong>the</strong> Elder’s well-known Children’s Games (1560) (Figure<br />

6.2). As with Ferrara, as <strong>the</strong> case of Bruegel clearly shows, <strong>the</strong> visual


102 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

Figure 6.2 Pieter Bruegel <strong>the</strong> Elder’s Children’s Games, <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> pictorial<br />

encyclopedia of play, and a source of imitations.


Varieties of Pastimes 103


104 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

repertory of games (or that of Ne<strong>the</strong>rlandish proverbs) was not merely<br />

<strong>the</strong> result of a passion for collect<strong>in</strong>g and catalogu<strong>in</strong>g. Images are often<br />

moraliz<strong>in</strong>g, and art (and culture) historians have devoted great attention<br />

to suggest <strong>in</strong>terpretations of hidden messages. Simon Schama has<br />

effectively po<strong>in</strong>ted out <strong>the</strong> ambiguity of <strong>the</strong>se representations, where<br />

<strong>the</strong> child’s playfulness may ei<strong>the</strong>r symbolize <strong>in</strong>nocence versus corruption,<br />

or else sill<strong>in</strong>ess versus gravity (if not both at <strong>the</strong> same time). 34<br />

The identification of Bruegel’s <strong>in</strong>dividual scenes, as well as <strong>the</strong> overall<br />

mean<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong>ir visual catalogue, is itself not uncontroversial: some<br />

scholars have seen children ur<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g and play<strong>in</strong>g with faeces, where<br />

o<strong>the</strong>rs have managed not to; also, <strong>in</strong> l<strong>in</strong>e with one of Schama’s po<strong>in</strong>ts,<br />

it has been suggested that <strong>the</strong> pa<strong>in</strong>ter here has aimed at show<strong>in</strong>g how<br />

children are always <strong>in</strong>nocent and k<strong>in</strong>d, while adults do not care for anyth<strong>in</strong>g<br />

but war and violence. 35<br />

It is probably appropriate to see a similar ambiguity <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> set of Les<br />

jeux et plaisirs de l’enfance (1667), designed by Jacques Stella, ‘premier<br />

pe<strong>in</strong>tre du roi’ who was resident at <strong>the</strong> Louvre under <strong>the</strong> young Louis<br />

XIV, and engraved by his niece Claud<strong>in</strong>e Bouzonnet-Stella, <strong>in</strong> spite of<br />

<strong>the</strong> attraction betrayed by some of its subjects. With collections like<br />

this – whose iconographic models are <strong>in</strong>herited from <strong>the</strong> tradition of<br />

<strong>the</strong> depiction of putti – <strong>the</strong> artists’ renewed attention for <strong>the</strong> world of<br />

children at play brought forth <strong>the</strong> publication of specific illustrated<br />

volumes. Stella’s plates have been described as hav<strong>in</strong>g children also as<br />

<strong>the</strong>ir <strong>in</strong>tended public, although <strong>the</strong> statement would benefit from some<br />

support<strong>in</strong>g evidence (Figure 6.3). 36<br />

The literature of moral advice specifically addressed <strong>the</strong> question<br />

whe<strong>the</strong>r or not children and adults should play toge<strong>the</strong>r. Typical <strong>in</strong><br />

its orientation is <strong>the</strong> suggestion, by <strong>the</strong> Apulian Rao, that this should<br />

be avoided among strangers, while it is acceptable with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> family<br />

circle. 37<br />

Recent historiography of childhood has been dom<strong>in</strong>ated by <strong>the</strong> suggestion,<br />

effectively made by French historian Philippe Ariès (1914–84),<br />

that recognition of <strong>the</strong> child as a type of human be<strong>in</strong>g with specific<br />

identity and needs and even parental love were significantly recent<br />

developments. Virtually no historian would nowadays share this view.<br />

Ariès’s remarks <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> matter of <strong>the</strong> history of games and toys, perhaps,<br />

were less controversial, and have survived <strong>the</strong> eclipse of his ma<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>sis.<br />

They <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>dication that, by 1600, <strong>the</strong> production and use<br />

of toys for <strong>the</strong> under-fives had become fairly specialized (but not<br />

strongly gendered, if a child k<strong>in</strong>g could play with a doll). Children<br />

beyond that age limit jo<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> recreational activities of <strong>the</strong> adults,


Varieties of Pastimes 105<br />

Figure 6.3 ‘Three of a k<strong>in</strong>d’, from Stella’s Les jeux et plaisirs de l’enfance. While<br />

<strong>the</strong> child on <strong>the</strong> right plays at bowl<strong>in</strong>g a hoop, a game very common throughout<br />

Europe and particularly favoured by Ne<strong>the</strong>rlandish writers, <strong>the</strong> group on <strong>the</strong><br />

left is engaged <strong>in</strong> a card game. Mock<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> adults’ concern for <strong>the</strong> w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>gs,<br />

<strong>the</strong> poetic comment states that <strong>the</strong>y jo<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>the</strong> game <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> hope of ga<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g, but<br />

will end up los<strong>in</strong>g.<br />

while reta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g some group-specific identity and customs such as youth<br />

confraternities and festivals. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, a process of gradual adult<br />

detachment from some games tended to leave <strong>the</strong>m as a residual<br />

monopoly of children, at <strong>the</strong> same time at which <strong>the</strong> élite abandoned<br />

similar pastimes <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> hands of <strong>the</strong> folk. 38<br />

For o<strong>the</strong>r researchers too, <strong>the</strong> perspective of <strong>the</strong> history of toys seems<br />

to po<strong>in</strong>t to <strong>the</strong> seventeenth century as a new age: <strong>the</strong> idea of a formative<br />

role of children’s play moved a step forward with <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>ories on<br />

education of Comenius and Locke. 39 Towards <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> period<br />

here under consideration, J.H. Plumb suggested a specific role of John<br />

Locke’s Some Thoughts Concern<strong>in</strong>g Education (1693) as a turn<strong>in</strong>g-po<strong>in</strong>t,<br />

after which <strong>the</strong> education of children became <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly social ra<strong>the</strong>r


106 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

than religious. Eighteenth-century England would have witnessed a new<br />

parental attention to children, which has counterparts both <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

growth of educational facilities and <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> first appearance of toy<br />

shops. 40 A reflection of <strong>the</strong> peculiarity of <strong>the</strong> English case could already<br />

be perceived from <strong>the</strong> fact that Locke’s French translator was not aware<br />

of his author’s dist<strong>in</strong>ction between commercial toys and <strong>the</strong> broader<br />

family of play-th<strong>in</strong>gs, or at least had no way of reta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g it <strong>in</strong> his own<br />

language. 41<br />

These social and cultural developments did not, however, elim<strong>in</strong>ate<br />

<strong>the</strong> moral concern over <strong>the</strong> world of children’s play. While literature on<br />

play and games rarely has this human group as its primary subject, we<br />

f<strong>in</strong>d a relative exception <strong>in</strong> a lengthy book published <strong>in</strong> 1685, Fra<strong>in</strong> du<br />

Tremblay’s Conversations morales sur les jeux et les divertissemens, which<br />

we encountered <strong>in</strong> Chapter 2 for its claim that <strong>the</strong> need to play derives<br />

from s<strong>in</strong>. It is written <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> form of a dialogue between two male <strong>in</strong>terlocutors<br />

(Théophile, Eugène); both because of <strong>the</strong> length of <strong>the</strong> text and<br />

<strong>in</strong> observance of a literary topos, <strong>the</strong> conversations are imag<strong>in</strong>ed as<br />

tak<strong>in</strong>g place over n<strong>in</strong>e different, subsequent days. At Eugène’s request,<br />

Théophile <strong>in</strong>structs him <strong>in</strong> matters of precise moral <strong>the</strong>ology, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> rigorous<br />

style which, with<strong>in</strong> seventeenth-century French Catholicism, was<br />

particularly, though not exclusively, typical of <strong>the</strong> Jansenist movement.<br />

The conversations are imag<strong>in</strong>ed as <strong>the</strong> follow-up of previous discussion<br />

on <strong>the</strong> education of children. This is <strong>the</strong> reason why (or ra<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong><br />

rhetorical device by which), although a general assessment of <strong>the</strong><br />

subject of play is regarded as necessary, <strong>the</strong> specific context of discourse<br />

is children’s games, <strong>the</strong> explicit subject of <strong>the</strong> last conversation. The<br />

position of <strong>the</strong> ma<strong>in</strong> speaker is particularly radical, sometimes provok<strong>in</strong>g<br />

his <strong>in</strong>terlocutor’s surprise. Ideally he would not allow any recreation<br />

whatsoever for ei<strong>the</strong>r adults or children, and he exploits prohibitions<br />

by both civil and ecclesiastical law for his own purposes. A dom<strong>in</strong>ant<br />

preoccupation of <strong>the</strong> author’s porte-parole is work or duty, and <strong>the</strong><br />

obligation not to distract oneself from it. 42<br />

As for <strong>the</strong> range of pastimes which were practised and acknowledged<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> culture and society we have surveyed, <strong>the</strong> exempla of John <strong>the</strong><br />

Evangelist’s attention for a pet, or of Anthony’s conversation with<br />

fellow monks, show how little structure or equipment one needs for<br />

obta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g some solace. A wide range of human activities could be<br />

considered as appropriate for <strong>the</strong> scope, and descriptive books have


attempted to compile comprehensive lists of <strong>the</strong>m. 43 From <strong>the</strong> whole<br />

series one should not forget to mention sex, although, strictly speak<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

people were not normally considered to have sex ma<strong>in</strong>ly for recreational<br />

purpose, outside <strong>the</strong> carnivalesque world of <strong>the</strong> land of Cockaigne and<br />

similar marg<strong>in</strong>al (imag<strong>in</strong>ary or real) experiences. Cockaigne’s ma<strong>in</strong><br />

feature, that is, <strong>the</strong> never-end<strong>in</strong>g provision of food and dr<strong>in</strong>k, should<br />

also rem<strong>in</strong>d us of <strong>the</strong> importance of <strong>the</strong> recreational value that could<br />

be attached to eat<strong>in</strong>g and dr<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g, particularly <strong>in</strong> such central places<br />

of European sociability as banquets and alehouses. 44<br />

The above references to Castiglione and Burckhardt may rem<strong>in</strong>d us<br />

of a very characteristic experience <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> sociability of <strong>the</strong> nobility and<br />

urban middle classes of <strong>the</strong> Italian <strong>Renaissance</strong>: <strong>the</strong> parlour game, one<br />

of <strong>the</strong> most specific values of <strong>the</strong> word ‘gi(u)oco’, core activity of literary<br />

academies. It was <strong>the</strong> very game which <strong>the</strong> personae <strong>in</strong> The Book of<br />

<strong>the</strong> Courtier played, and <strong>the</strong> subject of a series of specific sixteenthcentury<br />

publications, from those which exposed a list of society games<br />

(R<strong>in</strong>ghieri, Bargagli) to those which concentrated on <strong>the</strong> art of conversation<br />

itself (Castiglione, Guazzo). The last two categories of texts clearly<br />

<strong>in</strong>fluenced each o<strong>the</strong>r and overlapped: for <strong>in</strong>stance, <strong>the</strong> personae <strong>in</strong><br />

both Castiglione’s and Guazzo’s dialogues, as well as be<strong>in</strong>g engaged <strong>in</strong><br />

recreational conversations, also devote significant attention to games as<br />

a subject matter. The model was directly imitated <strong>in</strong> seventeenthcentury<br />

France; and a historiographic tradition that is at least a hundred<br />

years old has identified this experience as formative for Italian and European<br />

modern culture and identity. 45 This literature could aim at particular<br />

social groups, whose specific forms of sociability it was meant to<br />

represent: R<strong>in</strong>ghieri is explicit about <strong>the</strong> dom<strong>in</strong>ant role of women<br />

<strong>in</strong> parlour games; while one of <strong>the</strong> French adaptations, Charles Sorel’s<br />

La maison des jeux (1642), def<strong>in</strong>es <strong>the</strong> jeux de conversation as a gamepreserve<br />

of <strong>the</strong> social élite, as opposed to jeux d’exercice and jeux de<br />

hasard, <strong>in</strong> which everyone can participate. 46<br />

The fact that most of <strong>the</strong> second book of <strong>the</strong> Courtier (<strong>the</strong> part that<br />

<strong>the</strong> modern reader usually skips) is dedicated to practical jokes should<br />

rem<strong>in</strong>d us <strong>the</strong> social importance of <strong>the</strong> skill of play<strong>in</strong>g with words,<br />

which was at <strong>the</strong> heart of both <strong>the</strong> Aristotelian notion of playfulness<br />

and of <strong>the</strong> European vocabulary of recreation. An entire publication,<br />

<strong>the</strong> exceptional record<strong>in</strong>g of a specific game as it was played dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />

carnival of 1566 <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> salotto of Beatrice Gambara <strong>in</strong> Brescia – <strong>the</strong><br />

Giuoco piacevole of Ascanio de’ Mori – describes a parlour game based<br />

on <strong>the</strong> search of a series of connect<strong>in</strong>g-words start<strong>in</strong>g with a given <strong>in</strong>itial<br />

letter. 47 Varieties of Pastimes 107


108 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

Ra<strong>the</strong>r than pil<strong>in</strong>g up <strong>in</strong>dividual social practices, though, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

rema<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g part of this chapter we will look at <strong>the</strong> way <strong>in</strong> which <strong>the</strong>y<br />

were <strong>in</strong>terpreted and arranged. Dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> period, <strong>the</strong>re was<br />

never such a th<strong>in</strong>g as a universally shared paradigm, a s<strong>in</strong>gle <strong>in</strong>tellectual<br />

or ideological scheme aga<strong>in</strong>st which pastimes were conceived, organized<br />

and valued. The next section will <strong>in</strong>troduce a series of different<br />

sets of categories, each with its own chronology and discipl<strong>in</strong>ary roots,<br />

but all simultaneously present, overlapp<strong>in</strong>g and partly compet<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />

shap<strong>in</strong>g people’s ideas on <strong>the</strong> matter.<br />

Medieval and <strong>Renaissance</strong> taxonomies<br />

In 1580 Samuel Bird, a pastor at Ipswich, published A friendlie communication<br />

or Dialogue betweene Paule and Demas, where<strong>in</strong> is disputed how we<br />

are to use <strong>the</strong> pleasures of this life – a tract representative of Elizabethan<br />

Puritanism. It shows obvious relation to contemporary literature<br />

aga<strong>in</strong>st <strong>the</strong>atre and <strong>the</strong> break<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong> observation of <strong>the</strong> Sabbath<br />

(which could fill a bibliography on its own), but deals more specifically<br />

than o<strong>the</strong>r pamphlets with topics with which I am concerned <strong>in</strong> this<br />

book. The open<strong>in</strong>g passage offers <strong>the</strong> author’s own classification of <strong>the</strong><br />

world of pleasures. ‘The pleasures of this life maie verie well bee divided<br />

<strong>in</strong>to such as are common to all men, as meate, dr<strong>in</strong>ke, and such like;<br />

or else <strong>in</strong>to such as are used but of some men, of this k<strong>in</strong>d are games,<br />

for all men you knowe, are not gamesters.’ The former category –<br />

which is discussed <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> first chapter of <strong>the</strong> dialogue – is fairly<br />

unproblematic, s<strong>in</strong>ce it ma<strong>in</strong>ly consists <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> right use of nature,<br />

God’s gift to mank<strong>in</strong>d. The latter is def<strong>in</strong>ed as <strong>the</strong> sort of exercise which<br />

is taken to delight (as opposed to cont<strong>in</strong>uous exercise for profit, that is,<br />

a man’s call<strong>in</strong>g, ‘labour of <strong>the</strong> m<strong>in</strong>de’ or ‘travell of <strong>the</strong> bodie’). Games<br />

are fur<strong>the</strong>r dist<strong>in</strong>guished ‘<strong>in</strong>to such, <strong>the</strong> chiefe sport whereof consisteth<br />

<strong>in</strong> look<strong>in</strong>g on, of which k<strong>in</strong>de, are hunt<strong>in</strong>g, hawk<strong>in</strong>g, stage plaies, and<br />

such like. And <strong>in</strong>to such where<strong>in</strong> men are <strong>the</strong> chiefe dooers, of which<br />

k<strong>in</strong>de are dauns<strong>in</strong>g, dic<strong>in</strong>g, tenes<strong>in</strong>g, and such like.’ 48 While <strong>the</strong> dist<strong>in</strong>ction<br />

is rem<strong>in</strong>iscent of <strong>the</strong> role of such a category as <strong>the</strong>atrics (see<br />

above, Chapter 4), some of its nuances are not obvious and are worth<br />

register<strong>in</strong>g (significantly, hunt<strong>in</strong>g appears to have been redef<strong>in</strong>ed as a<br />

spectator sport).<br />

<strong>Renaissance</strong> writers were well aware of <strong>the</strong> problems concern<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />

nature of leisure activities and <strong>the</strong>ir classification. Some of <strong>the</strong> categories<br />

that feature <strong>in</strong> Caillois’s modern taxonomy can be easily traced <strong>in</strong><br />

sixteenth-century texts. Torquato Tasso’s Il Gonzaga secondo overo del


Varieties of Pastimes 109<br />

Table 6.1 Classification of pleasures accord<strong>in</strong>g to S. Bird (1580)<br />

common to<br />

all men<br />

pleasuresused but of<br />

some men<br />

= exercise<br />

<br />

dailie<br />

games (delight)<br />

labour<br />

(profite)<br />

look<strong>in</strong>g<br />

doo<strong>in</strong>g<br />

labour of <strong>the</strong> m<strong>in</strong>de<br />

traveil of <strong>the</strong> body<br />

giuoco (first published with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> first part of his Rime <strong>in</strong> 1581) offers<br />

a good example of <strong>the</strong> genre. Given <strong>the</strong> playful atmosphere of this<br />

(and many a) <strong>Renaissance</strong> dialogue, it would be appropriate to consider<br />

it as a metal<strong>in</strong>guistic reflection on leisure. Typically, <strong>the</strong> scene takes<br />

place <strong>in</strong> Carnival. The party comprises two gentlemen and a lady. The<br />

gender composition is respectful of <strong>the</strong> style of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> art of<br />

courtly conversation, where <strong>the</strong> encounter between representatives of<br />

<strong>the</strong> two sexes is one of <strong>the</strong> ma<strong>in</strong> po<strong>in</strong>ts. However, <strong>the</strong> woman plays<br />

<strong>the</strong> role of a negotiator and arbiter of <strong>the</strong> contest, ra<strong>the</strong>r than that of a<br />

proper participant (once more, noth<strong>in</strong>g new under <strong>the</strong> sun: one just<br />

needs to remember Castiglione’s Libro del Cortegiano, as seen above).<br />

From <strong>the</strong> outset, she <strong>in</strong>troduces <strong>the</strong> topic as one she would like to hear<br />

from a male expert address<strong>in</strong>g Ferrarese pr<strong>in</strong>cesses. The gender imbalance<br />

is, thus, clear; never<strong>the</strong>less <strong>the</strong> presence, participation and <strong>in</strong>terest<br />

of an aristocratic lady <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> matter suggests that both <strong>the</strong> leisurely<br />

conversation and its topic are appropriate for a mixed ga<strong>the</strong>r<strong>in</strong>g of<br />

people.<br />

Tasso’s personae appear <strong>the</strong>mselves aware that <strong>the</strong> subject is open to<br />

debate (presumably, precisely that which makes it attractive). The range<br />

of leisure activities that are mentioned is wide, and testifies to <strong>the</strong><br />

complex spectrum of mean<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong> Italian term gi(u)oco. Fashionable<br />

reference to Olympics and o<strong>the</strong>r classical games also occur. What<br />

attracts proper discussion, however, are a few def<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g elements of play:<br />

what it is (‘che cosa è giuoco’), what sort and element of it pleases<br />

most, and why. A key component which forms <strong>the</strong> core of <strong>the</strong> first<br />

attempt to a def<strong>in</strong>ition is contest (contesa, Caillois’s competition); s<strong>in</strong>ce<br />

simple reference to this factor would create confusion between play and<br />

war (and our <strong>Renaissance</strong> courtiers do not share Huiz<strong>in</strong>ga’s vision of a<br />

play element <strong>in</strong> war), playful contest is def<strong>in</strong>ed as hav<strong>in</strong>g peaceful purposes.<br />

Not all leisure activities fit so easily with<strong>in</strong> such a class, though;<br />

<strong>the</strong> category of imitation (Caillois’s mimesis) is <strong>the</strong>refore added. The two


110 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

male <strong>in</strong>terlocutors have differ<strong>in</strong>g views on <strong>the</strong> relation between <strong>the</strong> two<br />

classes – whe<strong>the</strong>r one is a subgroup of <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r (and which way round),<br />

or how else <strong>the</strong>y overlap. In <strong>the</strong> end <strong>the</strong>y agree that nei<strong>the</strong>r category is<br />

sufficient on its own. When deal<strong>in</strong>g with <strong>the</strong> nature of delight <strong>in</strong> play,<br />

<strong>the</strong> author shows awareness of a number of psychological factors that<br />

play a significant role <strong>in</strong> different games. Victory is certa<strong>in</strong>ly sought <strong>in</strong><br />

contests. However, what really matters is <strong>the</strong> way <strong>in</strong> which it is ga<strong>in</strong>ed<br />

(it makes all <strong>the</strong> difference to obta<strong>in</strong> it by skill or mere fortune); and<br />

<strong>the</strong> tension caused by <strong>the</strong> uncerta<strong>in</strong>ty of <strong>the</strong> result – for both participants<br />

and audience – makes <strong>the</strong> game itself, ra<strong>the</strong>r than its outcome,<br />

central. While everyone concentrates on <strong>the</strong>se issues time passes, and<br />

so <strong>the</strong> ma<strong>in</strong>, enterta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g purpose of play is achieved: Tasso’s party have<br />

successfully managed to kill <strong>the</strong>ir own time <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> dispute (while Tasso<br />

may hope he has done <strong>the</strong> same with his reader). 49<br />

In <strong>the</strong>ir diversity and variation through time, systems of classification<br />

may offer reveal<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>sights <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> elements which different authors<br />

identified as key factors <strong>in</strong> this range of human activities. To classify<br />

under one or ano<strong>the</strong>r criterion means to regard it, for whatever reason,<br />

as significant; and <strong>the</strong> hierarchical status of different criteria, that is,<br />

whe<strong>the</strong>r it appears earlier or later <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> ramification, will also be relevant.<br />

50 The three predom<strong>in</strong>ant discipl<strong>in</strong>es of medieval and early modern<br />

university curricula – <strong>the</strong>ology, law and to a lesser extent medic<strong>in</strong>e –<br />

will provide <strong>the</strong> core of my examples.<br />

With<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> medical discourse, classification could be proposed on <strong>the</strong><br />

basis of <strong>the</strong> type and amount of effort required, with consideration for<br />

<strong>the</strong> consequently different effects on <strong>the</strong> human body. For <strong>in</strong>stance,<br />

Girolamo Cardano dist<strong>in</strong>guished between types of exercise: heavy vs<br />

light, quick vs slow, cont<strong>in</strong>uous vs <strong>in</strong>termittent; to each of <strong>the</strong>se<br />

oppositions he applied a scale of three levels: exercitatio magna,<br />

parva and mediocris. 51 The more straightforward how-to-do literature,<br />

which forms ano<strong>the</strong>r significant group of early modern writ<strong>in</strong>g on<br />

leisure, could of course <strong>in</strong>clude differentiation of games based on practical<br />

factors. Antonio Sca<strong>in</strong>o’s treatise, for <strong>in</strong>stance, dist<strong>in</strong>guishes<br />

between games with a solid vs an <strong>in</strong>flated ball, with <strong>the</strong> open hand vs<br />

clenched fist, with <strong>the</strong> fist hold<strong>in</strong>g or not hold<strong>in</strong>g an <strong>in</strong>strument, open<br />

or with a cord. 52<br />

Theatrica is <strong>the</strong> category – directly derived from Hugh of St Victor<br />

(see above, Chapter 4) – under which ludi are exam<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> one of <strong>the</strong><br />

earliest sources I will consider, <strong>the</strong> encyclopedic work compiled by<br />

<strong>the</strong> Franciscan friar John of Wales, who studied <strong>the</strong>ology at Oxford <strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> 1250s and subsequently taught <strong>in</strong> Oxford and Paris. The book is a


Varieties of Pastimes 111<br />

compilation of miscellaneous material for <strong>the</strong> use of preachers. Its ma<strong>in</strong><br />

part (de constitutione reipublice) adopts <strong>the</strong> metaphor of <strong>the</strong> body politic,<br />

and consistently concludes with a section on workers, <strong>the</strong> commonwealth<br />

equivalent of feet (de <strong>in</strong>formatione populi laborantis qui est ad<br />

modum pedum). One hundred and fifty years later, John of Wales is <strong>the</strong><br />

reference source for ano<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>ologian whose biographical data are not<br />

known, Alexander Carpenter. As one can surmise from his title, Destructorum<br />

viciorum, <strong>the</strong> structure of his book is <strong>the</strong> list of <strong>the</strong> seven deadly<br />

s<strong>in</strong>s (or, to be more accurate, capital vices). S<strong>in</strong>ce his rationale is different,<br />

one should not try to make too much sense of <strong>the</strong> different context<br />

<strong>in</strong> which he sets his analysis of <strong>the</strong> world of ludus. It is tempt<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

however, to notice that <strong>the</strong> material which his predecessor had catalogued<br />

under a ra<strong>the</strong>r neutral work head<strong>in</strong>g, is now subsumed <strong>in</strong>to a<br />

broader moral category, <strong>the</strong> s<strong>in</strong> of avaricia – a choice that speaks for<br />

itself. What has happened between <strong>the</strong> two texts is not a break<strong>in</strong>g up<br />

of <strong>the</strong> family of ludi, for which those that are connected to gambl<strong>in</strong>g<br />

are put <strong>in</strong> one pigeon-hole, o<strong>the</strong>rs <strong>in</strong> ano<strong>the</strong>r. Although <strong>the</strong>ir <strong>in</strong>ternal<br />

classification may deserve closer exam<strong>in</strong>ation, it is immediately noticeable<br />

that <strong>the</strong> same miscellaneous group of human activities is still<br />

grouped toge<strong>the</strong>r; simply, <strong>the</strong> lure for <strong>the</strong> potential ga<strong>in</strong> deriv<strong>in</strong>g from<br />

gambl<strong>in</strong>g has now been <strong>in</strong>terpreted as its most characteristic cause and<br />

dom<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g aspect, with <strong>the</strong> rema<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g factors relegated to <strong>the</strong> role of<br />

subcategories. 53<br />

Introduced by jurists, <strong>the</strong> chief dist<strong>in</strong>ction that classifies games<br />

accord<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> predom<strong>in</strong>ant role played by ei<strong>the</strong>r chance or skill, or<br />

else (as a third possible head<strong>in</strong>g) a comb<strong>in</strong>ation of <strong>the</strong> two, ga<strong>in</strong>ed<br />

extraord<strong>in</strong>ary popularity among moralists and has rema<strong>in</strong>ed to this<br />

date commonplace. The three groups could be referred to as (ludi) artificiales,<br />

fortuiti and mixti. 54 Towards <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> seventeenth century,<br />

this was still an organiz<strong>in</strong>g criterion of Thiers’s Traité des jeux et des<br />

divertissemens (‘il y a de trois sortes de jeux; les premiers de hazard, les<br />

secondes d’adresse, et les derniers, de hazard et d’adresse tout ensemble’).<br />

55 Chess – a traditionally aristocratic pastime, with its strong l<strong>in</strong>ks<br />

to military tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g and chivalric values – usually exemplified (and<br />

could often exhaust) <strong>the</strong> list of games of skill. The o<strong>the</strong>r two groups<br />

were morally more problematic, and were jo<strong>in</strong>tly labelled as ‘games of<br />

chance’ (alearum ludi). However, while card and dice games were<br />

believed to be determ<strong>in</strong>ed solely by fortune, backgammon and similar<br />

board games tended to be classified <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> mixed group, s<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong>y<br />

<strong>in</strong>volve both <strong>the</strong> throw<strong>in</strong>g of dice and <strong>the</strong> rational choice of a successful<br />

strategy.


112 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

The classification of <strong>the</strong> subject adopted <strong>in</strong> Trotti’s treatise De ludo (see<br />

above, Chapter 5) is more consistently functional than that of o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

authors; that is, organized accord<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> purpose for which different<br />

categories of pastimes are practised. His partition is threefold: first, for<br />

relaxation of <strong>the</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d (ludi ‘qui <strong>in</strong>venti sunt ad quietem animi’);<br />

second, <strong>in</strong> order to exercise and streng<strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong> body (‘qui tendunt ad<br />

virtutem exercendam idest corporis fortitud<strong>in</strong>em’); third, for ga<strong>in</strong> (‘qui<br />

proditi sunt ob causam lucri et quorum f<strong>in</strong>is solet esse cupiditas’). 56<br />

While keep<strong>in</strong>g a special category for gambl<strong>in</strong>g, this taxonomy also<br />

<strong>in</strong>corporates and fully exploits <strong>the</strong> dist<strong>in</strong>ction between <strong>in</strong>tellectual<br />

pastimes (rest) and sports and games <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g physical exercise. S<strong>in</strong>ce<br />

<strong>the</strong> treatise was never published, <strong>the</strong>re is no clear evidence of its reception<br />

and fur<strong>the</strong>r development. However, toge<strong>the</strong>r with o<strong>the</strong>r comparable<br />

hybrids, it represents <strong>in</strong> itself one of <strong>the</strong> significant attempts by<br />

which contemporary <strong>the</strong>orists tried to make sense of <strong>the</strong> world of<br />

leisure. Jeux de repos and jeux d’exercice are also two of <strong>the</strong> categories<br />

adopted two hundred years later by Charles Sorel, although his o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

criteria of classifications are less consistent, and <strong>in</strong>clude such elements<br />

as <strong>the</strong> age group. 57<br />

If we go back to <strong>the</strong> typology proposed by John of Wales and<br />

Alexander Carpenter – which until now I have only commented on for<br />

its general disposition with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir books, ra<strong>the</strong>r than for its <strong>in</strong>ternal<br />

dist<strong>in</strong>ctions – we f<strong>in</strong>d a not very dissimilar attempt at categoriz<strong>in</strong>g<br />

accord<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> impulses that drive people to play. While <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>ological<br />

discourse dom<strong>in</strong>ates <strong>the</strong> vocabulary and value system, one can<br />

see that <strong>the</strong> authors are familiar with <strong>the</strong> different sorts of ludi, and only<br />

by <strong>in</strong>troduc<strong>in</strong>g a series of <strong>in</strong>ternal dist<strong>in</strong>ctions can one make clear to<br />

which human activities <strong>the</strong>y are actually referr<strong>in</strong>g (as well as why <strong>the</strong>y<br />

may deserve different judgement).<br />

Table 6.2 The typology proposed by John of Wales<br />

and Alexander Carpenter<br />

1. ludus perverse illusionis<br />

2. lascive vanitatis<br />

3. <strong>in</strong>discrete actionis<br />

4. socialis honestatis


Varieties of Pastimes 113<br />

The ‘perverse illusion’ that constitutes <strong>the</strong>ir first headl<strong>in</strong>e is that practised<br />

by jongleurs and comedians (ioculatores and histriones); but also with<br />

dice (taxilli) and o<strong>the</strong>r games of chance – presumably, a reference to<br />

tricks and cheat<strong>in</strong>g common <strong>in</strong> gambl<strong>in</strong>g. Dance and <strong>the</strong>atre fill <strong>the</strong><br />

second group, under <strong>the</strong> sign of lust. ‘Indiscrete action’ is <strong>the</strong> rationale<br />

of <strong>the</strong> family of athletic contests, from which trouble tends to arise.<br />

The fact that <strong>the</strong> last, more positive group <strong>in</strong>cludes, as usual, chess<br />

offers Carpenter <strong>the</strong> opportunity to summarize <strong>the</strong> Libellus super ludus<br />

scachorum by <strong>the</strong> Dom<strong>in</strong>ican Jacopo da Cessole, a text dat<strong>in</strong>g from<br />

about 1300 and subsequently tremendously popular for centuries,<br />

where each piece of <strong>the</strong> game was given an equivalent <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> social hierarchy<br />

and an allegorical <strong>in</strong>terpretation.<br />

The spiritual vs temporal divide is discussed by a late-fifteenth-century<br />

Franciscan preacher, <strong>the</strong> Milanese Michele Carcano. It overlaps with a<br />

threefold dist<strong>in</strong>ction that was quite popular dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> fifteenth and<br />

early sixteenth century, that between div<strong>in</strong>e, human and diabolic ludus.<br />

The overlapp<strong>in</strong>g between <strong>the</strong> two systems is uneven. While spiritual<br />

recreation is always praiseworthy, ‘temporal’ is a more neutral category,<br />

which comprises some practices that are commendable, o<strong>the</strong>rs morally<br />

<strong>in</strong>different, o<strong>the</strong>rs contemptible. The <strong>in</strong>different group would <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ory<br />

accommodate dances, <strong>the</strong> ma<strong>in</strong> subject of <strong>the</strong> sermon, although <strong>the</strong><br />

amount and gravity of <strong>the</strong> preacher’s warn<strong>in</strong>gs tend to obscure <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>in</strong>herited tolerant evaluation.<br />

The threefold dist<strong>in</strong>ction which I have just mentioned could be found<br />

<strong>in</strong> a variety of religious texts: <strong>in</strong> three parallel columns below I have<br />

reproduced substantially similar expressions that appeared <strong>in</strong> different<br />

sources, all of which were published <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> second half of <strong>the</strong> fifteenth<br />

century: a summa of moral <strong>the</strong>ology, that of Anton<strong>in</strong>us, <strong>the</strong> already<br />

mentioned Dom<strong>in</strong>ican Archbishop of Florence; one of <strong>the</strong> most popular<br />

compilations for confessors, that of <strong>the</strong> Franciscan Angelo da Chivasso;<br />

and Carcano’s own sermon.<br />

Table 6.3<br />

The devil–man–god scheme: three examples<br />

ANTONINUS ANGELUS M. CARCANO<br />

1. ex magna devotione ludus spiritualis & div<strong>in</strong>us laudabiles<br />

2. ex humana recreatione ludus humanus <strong>in</strong>differentes<br />

3. ex diabolica suggestione ludus diabolicus vituperabiles


114 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

Anton<strong>in</strong>us’s example of devotion is David danc<strong>in</strong>g before <strong>the</strong> Ark. His<br />

middle ground is occupied by ludi aimed at amus<strong>in</strong>g oneself and one’s<br />

neighbours. These <strong>in</strong>clude physical exercise and children’s games. His<br />

‘diabolic’ category comprises <strong>in</strong>decent spectacles and violent sports<br />

where <strong>the</strong> participants’ life is at risk, as well as games of chance. In <strong>the</strong><br />

sixteenth century, <strong>the</strong> same classification still structured <strong>the</strong> contents of<br />

one of <strong>the</strong> most specific publications, Pedro Covarrubias’s Remedio de<br />

jugadores (‘juego espiritual, humano y diabolico’ or ‘<strong>in</strong>fernal’). Covarrubias’s<br />

‘spiritual’ headl<strong>in</strong>e is not purely metaphoric, s<strong>in</strong>ce it <strong>in</strong>cludes – as<br />

many similar sources did – <strong>the</strong> stag<strong>in</strong>g of episodes extracted from sacred<br />

history. His ‘human’ group comprises forms of both <strong>in</strong>tellectual and<br />

physical recreation. As a variation on <strong>the</strong> scheme orig<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g from <strong>the</strong><br />

legal tradition, Covarrubias adds games of chance as a fur<strong>the</strong>r subdivision<br />

with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> ‘diabolic’ family of games. S<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong> context does<br />

not allow for <strong>the</strong> positive category of skill to appear, <strong>the</strong> first element<br />

of this adapted series is made up by <strong>the</strong> form of play that consists <strong>in</strong><br />

scorn<strong>in</strong>g God or one’s neighbour; <strong>the</strong> latter is considered acceptable<br />

only if done without <strong>in</strong>sult or sign of contempt, only as a pastime, with<br />

<strong>the</strong> object of solicit<strong>in</strong>g laughter. 58<br />

To conclude: between <strong>the</strong> later Middle Ages and <strong>the</strong> early modern<br />

period, <strong>the</strong> evaluation and classification of pastimes was manifold. A<br />

number of criteria were at a writer’s disposal, <strong>the</strong>ir discipl<strong>in</strong>ary background<br />

rang<strong>in</strong>g from law and <strong>the</strong>ology, to medic<strong>in</strong>e and <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>ternal logic<br />

of <strong>the</strong> activities <strong>in</strong> question. Some different criteria were operat<strong>in</strong>g at <strong>the</strong><br />

same time, and to choose between <strong>the</strong>m could to a certa<strong>in</strong> extent be a<br />

matter of taste and literary style. Most taxonomies were openly moraliz<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

<strong>the</strong>ir different pigeon-holes decid<strong>in</strong>g on <strong>the</strong> moral value of <strong>the</strong> practices<br />

<strong>the</strong>y conta<strong>in</strong>ed. The devil-man-God scheme enjoyed a significant<br />

but perhaps comparatively short-lived fortune, dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> transitional<br />

period from medieval to post-Reformation Christianity, after which <strong>the</strong><br />

power of <strong>the</strong> devil imagery was considerably reduced. From <strong>the</strong> po<strong>in</strong>t of<br />

view of <strong>the</strong> moral judgement of leisure activities, this scheme used <strong>the</strong><br />

positive pole as <strong>the</strong> repository for sa<strong>in</strong>tly acts, unatta<strong>in</strong>able by normal<br />

human be<strong>in</strong>gs, or else for enterta<strong>in</strong>ments that could openly and effectively<br />

convey a religious message; at <strong>the</strong> negative end all those activities<br />

could be stored, for which no allowance was made <strong>in</strong> Christian society;<br />

<strong>the</strong> middle ground was <strong>the</strong> real territory for detailed moral analysis. Here<br />

<strong>the</strong> Aristotelian acceptance of moderate recreation, toge<strong>the</strong>r with <strong>the</strong><br />

long-lived apoph<strong>the</strong>gm of <strong>the</strong> sa<strong>in</strong>t and <strong>the</strong> archer, formed <strong>the</strong> basis for<br />

a general tolerance of a range of loisirs, which however a number of provisos<br />

could mitigate to a higher or lower degree.


Varieties of Pastimes 115<br />

The dist<strong>in</strong>ction between games of chance and games of skill has<br />

proved more durable. At a first glance it may look somewhat spurious,<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> way it selects a s<strong>in</strong>gle criterion, not necessarily particularly relevant<br />

<strong>in</strong> def<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g that which is more characteristic of one pastime or<br />

ano<strong>the</strong>r. On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, it stresses <strong>the</strong> desire for ga<strong>in</strong>, which<br />

undoubtedly plays an important role <strong>in</strong> caus<strong>in</strong>g some people’s addiction<br />

to certa<strong>in</strong> games. The root of this taxonomy was <strong>in</strong> Roman law. It<br />

subsequently grew <strong>in</strong> both <strong>the</strong> orchards of <strong>the</strong> moral and <strong>the</strong> legal discourse.<br />

The fact that it satisfies some popular need for a psychology of<br />

<strong>the</strong> drive to play may be one of <strong>the</strong> reasons for its duration. Among <strong>the</strong><br />

last<strong>in</strong>g effects of this scheme one could <strong>in</strong>clude <strong>the</strong> fact that chance is<br />

still one of <strong>the</strong> four categories <strong>in</strong> Caillois’s classification of play.


7<br />

Conclusion<br />

Fra<strong>in</strong> du Tremblay’s Conversations morales sur les jeux et les divertissemens<br />

(see above, Chapters 2 and 6) were pr<strong>in</strong>ted <strong>in</strong> December 1684. By <strong>the</strong><br />

time <strong>the</strong>y circulated, at <strong>the</strong> beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong> next year, Pierre Bayle<br />

(1647–1706), a Huguenot émigré <strong>in</strong> Rotterdam, where he was teach<strong>in</strong>g<br />

philosophy and history, had been publish<strong>in</strong>g for ten month his highly<br />

<strong>in</strong>fluential literary and philosophical review, <strong>the</strong> Nouvelles de la<br />

République des Lettres, pr<strong>in</strong>ted anonymously <strong>in</strong> Amsterdam. As stated <strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> first issue, <strong>the</strong> purpose of <strong>the</strong> periodical was to widen <strong>the</strong> public for<br />

and <strong>the</strong> range of books covered by <strong>the</strong> network of critical reviews already<br />

<strong>in</strong> circulation; thus, it does not come as a surprise to f<strong>in</strong>d a notice on<br />

Fra<strong>in</strong> du Tremblay’s volume <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Nouvelles for January 1685, <strong>in</strong> spite<br />

of <strong>the</strong> limited orig<strong>in</strong>ality or literary value of <strong>the</strong> work under review.<br />

From <strong>the</strong> beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of his enterprise, Bayle had planned two pr<strong>in</strong>cipal<br />

models of entries: a brief notice, for <strong>the</strong> reader who has little time to<br />

spare and would simply like to be <strong>in</strong>formed of <strong>the</strong> existence of a new<br />

book; a fuller review, for those who are <strong>in</strong>terested to know more. The<br />

first mention of <strong>the</strong> Conversations morales falls <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> former category,<br />

though <strong>the</strong> reviewer promised to return to <strong>the</strong> volume <strong>in</strong> future. The<br />

syn<strong>the</strong>sis does not keep very far from pure caricature (‘La plus grand<br />

source de la corruption, est que nous voulons trop nous divertir’). Bayle<br />

predicted that preach<strong>in</strong>g on <strong>the</strong> subject would not have any effect on<br />

<strong>the</strong> public and, punn<strong>in</strong>g on such lack of spiritual ‘profit’, wished booksellers<br />

to have a more substantial commercial one by sell<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> book.<br />

Later dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> same year, he kept his word and, with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> August<br />

issue, after comment<strong>in</strong>g on ano<strong>the</strong>r piece of devotional literature<br />

(<strong>the</strong> best-sell<strong>in</strong>g literary genre, accord<strong>in</strong>g to its sarcastic reviewer), he<br />

provided a fuller description and made fur<strong>the</strong>r po<strong>in</strong>ts on Fra<strong>in</strong> du<br />

Tremblay. A formal homage to <strong>the</strong> thoroughness of <strong>the</strong> author’s<br />

116


Conclusion 117<br />

argumentation is only an excuse to confirm that <strong>the</strong> disease he would<br />

like to eradicate is too deeply rooted, and his efforts va<strong>in</strong>. The ‘corruption’<br />

from <strong>the</strong> earlier summary is recalled here to play an ironic role: if<br />

readers <strong>in</strong>fected by it will not be able to improve, <strong>the</strong>y will all <strong>the</strong> same<br />

f<strong>in</strong>d read<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> book très-agréable. 1<br />

Two years later, <strong>the</strong> first 20 pages of <strong>the</strong> Nouvelles for January 1687<br />

were entirely occupied by a long review of Thiers’s Traité des jeux et divertissemens.<br />

The new book surpasses its predecessor, and Bayle exploits it<br />

as an <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g source of <strong>in</strong>formation and historical anecdotes. This<br />

circumstance does not place <strong>the</strong> reviewer much closer to <strong>the</strong> spirit of<br />

<strong>the</strong> author. He po<strong>in</strong>ts to <strong>the</strong> contradictions with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Catholic view,<br />

by wonder<strong>in</strong>g how Thiers managed to get published, consider<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />

number of faults he recognizes with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> clergy. The tale of <strong>the</strong> genesis<br />

of recreation out of s<strong>in</strong> (see above, Chapter 2) comes under especially<br />

fierce attack: <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> reviewer’s op<strong>in</strong>ion, if one wants to expla<strong>in</strong> how<br />

humans develop this need, one should ra<strong>the</strong>r recur to <strong>the</strong> mechanistic<br />

explanation of nature that has become available after Robert Boyle’s<br />

foundation of chemistry. 2<br />

Though <strong>in</strong> his own way Bayle was show<strong>in</strong>g some respect for his adversaries<br />

by acknowledg<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>ir erudition, his mental distance from <strong>the</strong>m<br />

could hardly have been greater. They were not go<strong>in</strong>g to be <strong>the</strong> last oldfashioned<br />

moralists, nor was he <strong>the</strong>ir first sceptical critic. Never<strong>the</strong>less,<br />

<strong>the</strong>se pass<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>terventions on <strong>the</strong> subject by <strong>the</strong> porte-parole of <strong>the</strong><br />

‘crisis of <strong>the</strong> European consciousness’ seem a mean<strong>in</strong>gful po<strong>in</strong>t for us<br />

to stop, and register a change of predom<strong>in</strong>ant cultural attitudes of wider<br />

momentum. 3<br />

Over <strong>the</strong> past few decades, social historians have dealt with <strong>the</strong> subject<br />

of recreation from a variety of perspectives, a prom<strong>in</strong>ent role be<strong>in</strong>g<br />

played by <strong>the</strong> reformation of manners and social discipl<strong>in</strong>e that could<br />

be seen as <strong>the</strong> effect of <strong>in</strong>creased control exercised by both political and<br />

religious <strong>in</strong>stitutions over <strong>the</strong> early modern European population. So far<br />

work has been carried forward more frequently at local level (although<br />

for significant communities, such as Calv<strong>in</strong>ist Geneva or Amsterdam), 4<br />

ra<strong>the</strong>r than for large geographic areas. Moreover, <strong>in</strong> a good number of<br />

researches a Freudo-Marxist historiographic category of repression has<br />

predom<strong>in</strong>ated, 5 while a Foucauldian model of discipl<strong>in</strong>e, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>in</strong>trojection of norms and self-regulation, would probably allow a<br />

deeper understand<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong> historical trend. Thus, for <strong>in</strong>stance, histo-


118 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

rians often use <strong>the</strong> language of ‘resistance’ (of popular culture, to its<br />

suppression); but <strong>the</strong> model runs <strong>the</strong> risk of tak<strong>in</strong>g for granted an image<br />

of <strong>the</strong> people which overestimates <strong>the</strong>ir degree of <strong>in</strong>dependence, unity<br />

and plann<strong>in</strong>g. Such conflicts as <strong>the</strong> English Sabbatarian campaign were<br />

not simply oppos<strong>in</strong>g neat counterparts <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> fields of government (<strong>the</strong><br />

people versus <strong>the</strong> rulers, both at local and national level) or religion<br />

(Catholic or Arm<strong>in</strong>ian versus evangelical Protestant): <strong>the</strong> request for law<br />

and order and <strong>the</strong> suppression of abuse has been shown to have come<br />

specifically from <strong>the</strong> middl<strong>in</strong>g sort, who pressured magistrates to <strong>in</strong>tervene.<br />

6 Notwithstand<strong>in</strong>g all <strong>the</strong>se caveats, we cannot leave <strong>the</strong> subject<br />

without an attempt to outl<strong>in</strong>e <strong>the</strong> scenery aga<strong>in</strong>st which <strong>the</strong> action told<br />

thus far took place; s<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong> comparison underestimates <strong>the</strong> level of<br />

<strong>in</strong>teraction that always exists between ideas and <strong>the</strong> social practice of<br />

recreation, <strong>the</strong> stage metaphor is not entirely adequate (unless one<br />

th<strong>in</strong>ks of a k<strong>in</strong>d of <strong>the</strong>atre that actively <strong>in</strong>teracts with <strong>the</strong> audience). It<br />

is precisely <strong>the</strong> relationship between ideas and practice that needs now<br />

to be addressed. Without pretend<strong>in</strong>g to jump to social history <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

f<strong>in</strong>al pages of a book which has explored <strong>the</strong> cultural side of <strong>the</strong> story,<br />

one cannot avoid ask<strong>in</strong>g whe<strong>the</strong>r perceptions of recreation reflected<br />

trends <strong>in</strong> social customs, or significantly <strong>in</strong>fluenced <strong>the</strong>m, or <strong>in</strong> what<br />

o<strong>the</strong>r way <strong>in</strong>teracted with <strong>the</strong>m.<br />

A general sketch of <strong>the</strong> social history of pastimes <strong>in</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

Europe is far from both <strong>the</strong> expertise of <strong>the</strong> present writer and <strong>the</strong><br />

current state of historical knowledge; however, a glance at some recent<br />

research will offer a useful start<strong>in</strong>g-po<strong>in</strong>t. The twenty-third <strong>in</strong>ternational<br />

colloquium of humanist studies, held <strong>in</strong> Tours <strong>in</strong> 1980, was devoted to<br />

an analysis of ‘Play and games <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong>’ (Les jeux à la <strong>Renaissance</strong>).<br />

In his conclusions to <strong>the</strong> rich two-week conference, its editor<br />

Jean-Claude Margol<strong>in</strong> outl<strong>in</strong>ed an evolution throughout <strong>the</strong> period<br />

under exam<strong>in</strong>ation (sixteenth and seventeenth centuries), which witnessed<br />

a movement from relative spontaneity towards codification,<br />

technical and social regulation, <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g professionalization and commercialization<br />

of a range of leisure activities – an evolution which had<br />

emerged from a variety of contributions, and more explicitly <strong>in</strong> Peter<br />

Burke’s paper on <strong>the</strong> Venetian Carnival. 7<br />

Over <strong>the</strong> subsequent two decades <strong>the</strong> field of study made significant<br />

progress, some valuable research be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> output of fur<strong>the</strong>r work from<br />

<strong>the</strong> contributors to <strong>the</strong> Tours conference. Michel Manson has recently<br />

published a history of toys over <strong>the</strong> longue durée; Jean-Pierre Étienvre<br />

has developed a dist<strong>in</strong>ctive specialization <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> field of juego <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

Spanish Golden Age, when cards and <strong>the</strong> world of players acquired a


Conclusion 119<br />

specific jargon, a dedicated literature and a rich set of symbolic mean<strong>in</strong>gs.<br />

8 Jean-Michel Mehl’s Les jeux au royaume de France du XIII e au début<br />

du XVI e siècle (1990) has searched for play references through a variety<br />

of sources, with particular attention for <strong>the</strong> lettres de rémission, <strong>the</strong> acts<br />

by which <strong>the</strong> k<strong>in</strong>gs of France (and hierarchically high feudal lords), at<br />

<strong>the</strong> request of a condemned person or of his or her relatives, could grant<br />

<strong>the</strong>m pardon. The potentially <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g part of <strong>the</strong> documents is <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

reference to <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>cident for which people were sentenced <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> first<br />

place. 9<br />

Across <strong>the</strong> Channel, ano<strong>the</strong>r book has exploited consistent archival<br />

sources of a different k<strong>in</strong>d <strong>in</strong> an imag<strong>in</strong>ative way, and thus provided us<br />

with a wealth of <strong>in</strong>formation relevant to our topic. Ronald Hutton’s The<br />

Rise and Fall of Merry England (1994) proposed, as stated <strong>in</strong> its subtitle,<br />

a study of ‘The Ritual Year, 1400–1700’, part of a multi-volume <strong>in</strong>quiry<br />

on related subjects undertaken by <strong>the</strong> author. 10 Although Hutton makes<br />

use of a variety of sources, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g some court cases, a good deal of<br />

his work is based on extensive analysis of churchwarden’s accounts. A<br />

particular merit of <strong>the</strong>se sources is that <strong>the</strong>y not only register prohibitions,<br />

but also allow us to census ceremonies that were actually performed.<br />

It should be clear that <strong>the</strong> overlapp<strong>in</strong>g between Hutton’s subject<br />

matter and m<strong>in</strong>e (or that of Mehl’s book) is only partial. While we both<br />

consider festive recreations, he also <strong>in</strong>cludes <strong>in</strong> his survey forms of<br />

festive ritual that would not be accountable as recreation, while I<br />

exam<strong>in</strong>e recreations that do not take place on festive days. Never<strong>the</strong>less,<br />

<strong>the</strong> common ground is highly significant, particularly s<strong>in</strong>ce it was<br />

<strong>the</strong> field of important early modern developments. We have already discussed<br />

<strong>the</strong> issues relat<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> Stuart Book of Sports <strong>in</strong> earlier chapters.<br />

The general trend Hutton derives from his detailed analysis is a set of<br />

historical variations <strong>in</strong> local and national ceremonial practices that<br />

depended more on religious and political developments than on social<br />

and economic ones; <strong>the</strong> overall picture also shows a gradual eclipse of<br />

a number of popular enterta<strong>in</strong>ments (although sometimes <strong>the</strong>ir disappearance<br />

from <strong>the</strong> record may only mean that <strong>the</strong>y were no longer used<br />

for parish fund-rais<strong>in</strong>g, ra<strong>the</strong>r than that <strong>the</strong>y were no longer held).<br />

A fur<strong>the</strong>r national scene, and once more a different genre of source<br />

material and subsequent perspective, is represented by <strong>the</strong> aforementioned<br />

tradition of statutes of Italian cities. As we commented above<br />

(Chapter 5), <strong>the</strong> particular attention paid by late medieval Italian local<br />

authorities to regulat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> world of play signals a shift <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> predom<strong>in</strong>ant<br />

attitudes towards gambl<strong>in</strong>g and some connected popular pastimes,<br />

with a wealth of local norms for which this corpus may represent


120 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

a unique European case. A historiographical tradition condescend<strong>in</strong>g<br />

towards popular culture, human vices and <strong>the</strong>ir impermeability to any<br />

attempt to govern <strong>the</strong>m has repeatedly portrayed reform<strong>in</strong>g projects as<br />

bound to fail. However, it has been suggested that <strong>the</strong> comparative tolerance<br />

of play and gambl<strong>in</strong>g by local authorities that emerges <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

Italian case is less <strong>the</strong> result of a failure to control popular pastimes, and<br />

more an example of <strong>in</strong>telligent <strong>in</strong>tervention, careful to dist<strong>in</strong>guish<br />

between patterns of behaviour that are harmful to <strong>the</strong> coherence of<br />

society and o<strong>the</strong>rs that are not, practices that can be realistically and<br />

helpfully conf<strong>in</strong>ed or abolished and o<strong>the</strong>rs that it would be impossible<br />

or useless to repress. 11<br />

After Tours, subsequent relevant <strong>in</strong>ternational conferences were held,<br />

among o<strong>the</strong>r venues, <strong>in</strong> Chambéry (‘Jeux, sports et divertissements au<br />

Moyen Age et à l’age classique’, 1991), Pienza (‘Passare il tempo’, 1991),<br />

Prato (‘Il tempo libero: economia e società, secc. XIII–XVIII’, 1994),<br />

Bonn (‘Play, Civilization, Social Transitions’, 1994) and Rotterdam<br />

(‘Games and Play <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries’, 1998). 12<br />

Part of <strong>the</strong> preparatory work that allowed such academic ga<strong>the</strong>r<strong>in</strong>gs was<br />

<strong>the</strong> result of <strong>the</strong> efforts of specialized <strong>in</strong>stitutions, which started work<br />

on <strong>the</strong> topic and provided both stimuli and appropriate publish<strong>in</strong>g facilities<br />

for research <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> field. This was particularly <strong>the</strong> case for <strong>the</strong> Institut<br />

für Spielforschung und Spielpädagogik established <strong>in</strong> 1991 at <strong>the</strong><br />

Mozarteum <strong>in</strong> Salzburg and for <strong>the</strong> Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche<br />

of Treviso, two <strong>in</strong>stitutions which also publish yearly periodicals entirely<br />

dedicated to <strong>the</strong> history and culture of play and games (Homo Ludens<br />

and Ludica, respectively).<br />

What can be said on a wider perspective As we briefly mentioned<br />

(Introduction, above), a received op<strong>in</strong>ion, partly based on <strong>the</strong> Victorian<br />

genesis of modern sports, l<strong>in</strong>ks <strong>the</strong> historical emergence of that which<br />

today we regard as leisure to <strong>the</strong> fundamental economic changes<br />

brought by <strong>the</strong> eighteenth and n<strong>in</strong>eteenth centuries. The grounds and<br />

implications of this <strong>the</strong>sis are, on <strong>the</strong> one hand, that a neat dist<strong>in</strong>ction<br />

between work and non-work is ultimately <strong>the</strong> outcome of <strong>the</strong> modern<br />

factory system; on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, that it is precisely with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> socioeconomic<br />

framework of <strong>the</strong> past 150 years that a modern model of vacations,<br />

and a whole range of recreational activities <strong>in</strong>tended to fill <strong>the</strong>m,<br />

has properly developed. 13 The story of spectator sports, and its triumph<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> neo-Olympic movement, fits <strong>the</strong> pattern particularly well, and<br />

fills most of <strong>the</strong> current literature on <strong>the</strong> subject.<br />

The <strong>the</strong>sis of a n<strong>in</strong>eteenth-century birth of modern leisure was supported<br />

<strong>in</strong> 1990 by Brian Vickers’s detailed essay on <strong>the</strong> Classical and


Conclusion 121<br />

<strong>Renaissance</strong> notion of otium. In his op<strong>in</strong>ion, until that time <strong>the</strong> predom<strong>in</strong>antly<br />

negative connotations of leisure made it culturally and<br />

socially acceptable only if it was occupied by literary activity or if it represented<br />

a short break. The notion that leisure and work could share <strong>the</strong><br />

same respectability and that <strong>the</strong> former was worth seek<strong>in</strong>g for its own<br />

sake would emerge only after <strong>the</strong> Industrial Revolution. 14<br />

Aga<strong>in</strong>st this historiographical orthodoxy, Peter Burke, <strong>in</strong> an article<br />

published <strong>in</strong> 1995, p<strong>in</strong>po<strong>in</strong>ted precisely <strong>the</strong> early modern period as <strong>the</strong><br />

scene of an ‘<strong>in</strong>vention of leisure’. Dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> period from <strong>the</strong> thirteenth<br />

to <strong>the</strong> eighteenth century, he registered a progressive shift, for <strong>the</strong> whole<br />

spectrum of leisure activities, towards a more positive consideration.<br />

Two years later <strong>the</strong> same periodical – Past and Present – hosted a response<br />

to Burke by ano<strong>the</strong>r historian, J.-Ll. Marfany, toge<strong>the</strong>r with Burke’s reply<br />

to his critic. On one hand Marfany aimed at deny<strong>in</strong>g leisure <strong>the</strong> status<br />

of possible historical enquiry altoge<strong>the</strong>r, by show<strong>in</strong>g how some pastimes<br />

are timeless; on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand (apparently without notic<strong>in</strong>g a contradiction<br />

between his two po<strong>in</strong>ts) he contested Burke’s revised chronology<br />

of <strong>the</strong> evolution <strong>in</strong> attitudes towards leisure, and supported <strong>the</strong><br />

ma<strong>in</strong>stream attribution of a decisive role to <strong>the</strong> birth of <strong>in</strong>dustrial capitalism.<br />

In a way, <strong>the</strong> very choice of <strong>the</strong> subject for this book implies on<br />

<strong>the</strong> part of <strong>the</strong> present writer a clear choice for one of <strong>the</strong> two sides <strong>in</strong><br />

that debate. To discuss <strong>the</strong> topic or recreation <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> as a<br />

relevant historical issue requires, for a start, that <strong>the</strong> matter is regarded<br />

as historically variable, not purely determ<strong>in</strong>ed by nature; fur<strong>the</strong>rmore,<br />

that <strong>the</strong> chosen period is taken to be <strong>the</strong> moment of a significant development<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> phenomenon under <strong>in</strong>vestigation.<br />

The source material considered and <strong>the</strong> analyses conta<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

present book seem to have confirmed <strong>the</strong> heuristic efficacy of this<br />

hypo<strong>the</strong>sis, thus substantiat<strong>in</strong>g what could o<strong>the</strong>rwise appear simply as<br />

a scholarly prejudice, an <strong>in</strong>terpretative option available among o<strong>the</strong>rs.<br />

Dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> fifteenth century <strong>the</strong> scholastic notion of ludus acquired new<br />

prom<strong>in</strong>ence <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> related fields of canon law and pastoral literature. A<br />

tradition of specific sermons was established, which <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> course of <strong>the</strong><br />

sixteenth century evolved <strong>in</strong>to a genre of dedicated treatises. The<br />

<strong>in</strong>creased attention was l<strong>in</strong>ked to a degree of revaluation of <strong>the</strong> relevant<br />

field of human activities, toge<strong>the</strong>r with a strong <strong>in</strong>cl<strong>in</strong>ation to classify,<br />

dist<strong>in</strong>guish and assess different forms of recreation <strong>in</strong> different terms.<br />

The quality and quantity of this literature allow us to regard it as <strong>in</strong>troduc<strong>in</strong>g<br />

a type of discourse, a way of look<strong>in</strong>g at human behaviour, that<br />

was not available to <strong>the</strong> medieval mental tool-kit. By <strong>the</strong> mid-sixteenth<br />

century, <strong>the</strong> new consideration for leisure activities – firmly rooted <strong>in</strong> a


122 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

humanist ideal of education, <strong>in</strong> which a reappraisal of <strong>the</strong> value of play<br />

had a significant role – had also attracted systematic attention on <strong>the</strong><br />

part of physicians.<br />

The amount of publications that had gone through <strong>the</strong> pr<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g press<br />

by <strong>the</strong> mid-eighteenth century was sufficient to offer <strong>the</strong> scope for <strong>the</strong><br />

compilation of <strong>the</strong> first subject bibliography, He<strong>in</strong>rich Jonathan<br />

Clodius’s Biblio<strong>the</strong>ca lusoria (1761). Its entries and <strong>the</strong>ir diachronic distribution<br />

of date of publication contribute to make sense of both <strong>the</strong><br />

chronological limits that have been adopted for <strong>the</strong> subtitle of this<br />

book. On <strong>the</strong> one hand, <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>vention of <strong>the</strong> pr<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g press offers a powerful<br />

trampol<strong>in</strong>e for <strong>the</strong> circulation of writ<strong>in</strong>g on a topic that had its<br />

own reasons for attract<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g attention, but is given by <strong>the</strong> new<br />

medium <strong>the</strong> chance of reach<strong>in</strong>g a much wider public than it would have<br />

done o<strong>the</strong>rwise. On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, <strong>the</strong> fact that a substantial amount<br />

of entries are filled by material published over <strong>the</strong> last fifty years seems<br />

to suggest not solely a better memory for most recent items, or a growth<br />

<strong>in</strong> general publish<strong>in</strong>g, but ra<strong>the</strong>r a more specific new level of attention<br />

for <strong>the</strong> subject that characterized <strong>the</strong> early eighteenth century; this produced<br />

a variety of different approaches, which would be better understood<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> context of <strong>the</strong> developments of <strong>the</strong> contemporary<br />

commercial society and of <strong>the</strong> culture of <strong>the</strong> Enlightenment, ra<strong>the</strong>r than<br />

as a mere prosecution of <strong>the</strong> tradition from which <strong>the</strong>y undoubtedly<br />

derive. 15<br />

Throughout <strong>the</strong> period, <strong>the</strong> aforementioned cultural attitudes were<br />

matched by a rich and vary<strong>in</strong>g vocabulary (see Appendix, below) and by<br />

<strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>creased attention that was paid to leisure activities <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> visual<br />

arts. Here too some chronological milestones can help <strong>in</strong> identify<strong>in</strong>g significant<br />

cultural trends. In a visual tradition such as that of European<br />

medieval and <strong>Renaissance</strong> art, where religious subjects played such a predom<strong>in</strong>ant<br />

role, <strong>the</strong> representation of a profane topic like play is not <strong>the</strong><br />

most common. To <strong>the</strong> era immediately preced<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> one here under<br />

<strong>in</strong>vestigation belongs a tradition of manuscript books, where marg<strong>in</strong>al<br />

draw<strong>in</strong>gs, not necessarily related to <strong>the</strong> written text, could represent a<br />

selection of pastimes. One of <strong>the</strong> best known and more often reproduced<br />

is <strong>the</strong> series drawn at <strong>the</strong> bottom of <strong>the</strong> pages of a fourteenth-century<br />

English manuscript preserved at <strong>the</strong> British Library (Royal 10 E. iv), conta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>the</strong> Smithfield Decretals, where whipp<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> top, n<strong>in</strong>ep<strong>in</strong>s, ball<br />

and o<strong>the</strong>r throw<strong>in</strong>g games are depicted. Both <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> style of <strong>the</strong> (male)<br />

figures and <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> choice of games, <strong>the</strong> set has an archaic look clearly<br />

reflect<strong>in</strong>g its age and predat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> development of<br />

European social life and pictorial conventions. The games appear mixed


Conclusion 123<br />

with images of archery and o<strong>the</strong>r military exercises, thus <strong>in</strong>dicat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />

particular body culture and functional context with<strong>in</strong> which most<br />

medieval physical tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g would ord<strong>in</strong>arily be conceived.<br />

From <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> fourteenth century, Western religious pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g<br />

started sett<strong>in</strong>g a play<strong>in</strong>g and gambl<strong>in</strong>g scene with<strong>in</strong> representations of<br />

<strong>the</strong> Crucifixion – a visual <strong>in</strong>terpretation of <strong>the</strong> narrative, <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> all<br />

four Gospels, of <strong>the</strong> soldiers decid<strong>in</strong>g who was to have Christ’s tunic by<br />

cast<strong>in</strong>g lots. At <strong>the</strong> 1440s – that is to say, <strong>in</strong> a significant synchronism<br />

with developments <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> writ<strong>in</strong>g of play-related literature – a turn<strong>in</strong>gpo<strong>in</strong>t<br />

can be traced: a cycle of frescoes <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Villa Borromeo <strong>in</strong> Milan<br />

portrays danc<strong>in</strong>g, ball and card games; <strong>the</strong> example has been commented<br />

on as one of <strong>the</strong> emergence of an autonomous recreation<br />

scene. 16 By 1500 <strong>the</strong>se developments had brought both <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g<br />

availability of play objects (as exemplified by sets of cards or snakesand-ladders<br />

boards) and of serially produced artefacts display<strong>in</strong>g leisure<br />

as a subject, such as <strong>the</strong> tapestries at <strong>the</strong> Hôtel de Cluny (see above,<br />

Chapter 6, and Figure 6.1). The new pictorial attention for <strong>the</strong> subject<br />

can be seen as reach<strong>in</strong>g full maturity dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> century that starts with<br />

Bruegel’s K<strong>in</strong>derspiele (1560, Figure 6.2) and <strong>the</strong> Ferrara frescoes, and<br />

spans until <strong>the</strong> engrav<strong>in</strong>gs of Jacques Stella (1667, Figure 6.3). The social<br />

and cultural context has noticeably changed by <strong>the</strong> time <strong>in</strong> which <strong>the</strong><br />

Florent<strong>in</strong>e artist Giuseppe Zocchi (1711–67), <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> early 1750s, pa<strong>in</strong>ts<br />

a series of Giochi (six oil-pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>gs on canvas, now at <strong>the</strong> Museum of<br />

<strong>the</strong> Opificio delle Pietre Dure <strong>in</strong> Florence, models for <strong>in</strong>laid stone works<br />

to be carried out for <strong>the</strong> Habsburg court <strong>in</strong> Vienna): The Sw<strong>in</strong>g, Badm<strong>in</strong>ton,<br />

The Ball Game, Bow-shoot<strong>in</strong>g, Billiards, Real Tennis. The pictures<br />

set <strong>the</strong> scenes <strong>in</strong> well-def<strong>in</strong>ed architectural and landscape surround<strong>in</strong>gs,<br />

which <strong>in</strong>clude <strong>the</strong> ru<strong>in</strong>s of classical build<strong>in</strong>gs. All <strong>the</strong> games are presented<br />

as performed by a small group of people <strong>in</strong> eighteenth-century<br />

cloth<strong>in</strong>g, while o<strong>the</strong>rs watch <strong>the</strong>m. It is easy to identify <strong>the</strong> social background<br />

of <strong>the</strong> characters as aristocratic. From <strong>the</strong> po<strong>in</strong>t of view of<br />

gender, <strong>the</strong> ga<strong>the</strong>r<strong>in</strong>gs are characteristically promiscuous. There rema<strong>in</strong><br />

some activities which are performed by young men (ball game, billiards,<br />

real tennis) or women (sw<strong>in</strong>g) only. O<strong>the</strong>rs, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g bow-shoot<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

are, however, mixed. And <strong>the</strong>re is always at least a member of <strong>the</strong> opposite<br />

sex (sometimes <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> form of a couple) among <strong>the</strong> spectators. It<br />

looks as if <strong>the</strong> whole range of activities serves precisely <strong>the</strong> purpose of<br />

offer<strong>in</strong>g young men and women <strong>the</strong> opportunity to meet socially,<br />

display <strong>the</strong>mselves and observe one ano<strong>the</strong>r. It is noticeable how far we<br />

have gone from <strong>the</strong> overwhelm<strong>in</strong>gly male body culture of Duke Alfonso<br />

and its cultural mean<strong>in</strong>gs.


124 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

The evolution also <strong>in</strong>fluenced moral and religious attitudes, if we consider<br />

that towards <strong>the</strong> beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of our period, dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> sixteenth<br />

century, a process of ‘Christianization’ of play has been recognized as<br />

substitut<strong>in</strong>g predom<strong>in</strong>ant condemnation, with <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>troduction of<br />

games and sport<strong>in</strong>g activities <strong>in</strong> educational curricula, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g those<br />

of Jesuit and o<strong>the</strong>r Catholic colleges. 17 As we have seen throughout this<br />

book, for <strong>the</strong> whole of <strong>the</strong> period here under consideration, a shared<br />

cultural framework oriented people’s <strong>in</strong>terpretation of <strong>the</strong> world of<br />

leisure: it was <strong>the</strong> notion of recreation, a co<strong>in</strong> with <strong>the</strong> head of Aristotle<br />

and his tolerance and appreciation of moderate play on one side, <strong>the</strong><br />

tail of <strong>the</strong> medical notion of exercise on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r. This common mental<br />

structure did not automatically impose a given value system. Although<br />

it offered grounds for justification of a whole sphere of human activity,<br />

<strong>the</strong> extent of its application could be subject to <strong>in</strong>dividual nuances. The<br />

very reasons which <strong>the</strong>oretically justify amusements could be seen as<br />

feeble or miss<strong>in</strong>g for particular pastimes, or <strong>in</strong> specific circumstances.<br />

<strong>Renaissance</strong> writers, thus, shared a language of leisure, but adopted a<br />

wide range of positive and negative judgements on <strong>the</strong> matter.<br />

By <strong>the</strong> beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong> eighteenth century <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g commercialization<br />

of leisure, toge<strong>the</strong>r with <strong>the</strong> professionalization of some<br />

activities and <strong>the</strong> beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of an emergence of modern sports had<br />

created a new scenario. Surely, cultural history is a land that hosts slow<br />

developments, and <strong>the</strong> early eighteenth-century literature of medical<br />

assessment or moral reproof of leisure would almost be <strong>in</strong>dist<strong>in</strong>guishable<br />

from its analogues of a generation earlier. None<strong>the</strong>less, <strong>the</strong> circulation<br />

of old-fashioned texts does not contradict <strong>the</strong> fact that <strong>the</strong> most<br />

dist<strong>in</strong>ctive developments <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> social customs of <strong>the</strong> new century are<br />

to be found elsewhere: best-sell<strong>in</strong>g novels, literary magaz<strong>in</strong>es, coffee<br />

houses, pleasure gardens – just to mention a few characteristic genres.<br />

The <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g commercialization of leisure activities was one of <strong>the</strong><br />

characteristic marks of <strong>the</strong> birth of a consumer society (which preceded<br />

<strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>dustrial one). 18<br />

The implications of <strong>the</strong>se developments are widespread and important.<br />

The history of manners and of that which is regarded as <strong>the</strong><br />

European ‘civiliz<strong>in</strong>g process’ has much to acquire from a better understand<strong>in</strong>g<br />

of social customs which required <strong>the</strong> sett<strong>in</strong>g of shared rules<br />

and a ritualized conduct, and produced forms of control of <strong>the</strong> competition<br />

between <strong>in</strong>dividuals and/or communities. In l<strong>in</strong>e with sociological<br />

grand <strong>the</strong>ories of modernization, historians have spoken of a gradual<br />

decl<strong>in</strong>e of ritual, or else of a migration of ritual and of its survival <strong>in</strong><br />

different corners of social life. 19 This means that by <strong>the</strong> time of <strong>the</strong>


Conclusion 125<br />

European Enlightenment, <strong>in</strong> spite of <strong>the</strong> persistence of specific habits<br />

and fashions, <strong>the</strong> cultural system of <strong>Renaissance</strong> gioco had gone. It had<br />

not simply vanished, though: its sem<strong>in</strong>al heritage should be traced <strong>in</strong><br />

different areas of human practice, whose new starts were rem<strong>in</strong>iscent of<br />

<strong>the</strong> social experience of <strong>the</strong> past centuries. For <strong>in</strong>stance, <strong>the</strong> new age<br />

witnessed an unprecedented style of vacations; however, its connection<br />

with <strong>the</strong> centuries-old discourse on <strong>the</strong> need of recreation, or with <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>Renaissance</strong> practice of villeggiatura, should not be underestimated. 20 To<br />

give ano<strong>the</strong>r example, <strong>the</strong> political thought of Jean-Jacques Rousseau<br />

and <strong>the</strong> French Revolution <strong>in</strong>augurated a dist<strong>in</strong>ctive role of festivals as<br />

a forge of collective identities of nationhood and citizenship; was this<br />

development totally unrelated to <strong>the</strong> tradition of <strong>the</strong> early modern<br />

popular festival, or to <strong>the</strong> ‘seriousness’ of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> <strong>the</strong>ory and<br />

practice of play<br />

Periodization should never aim at determ<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g precise turn<strong>in</strong>g-po<strong>in</strong>ts<br />

that hardly ever took place as such. As Alan Hunt’s study of sumptuary<br />

law has suggested, such trends as <strong>the</strong> reform of popular culture or <strong>the</strong><br />

‘civiliz<strong>in</strong>g process’ were ever-present projects along <strong>the</strong> path that<br />

brought forth modernity, ra<strong>the</strong>r than specific steps of it. 21 Also, research<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> field certa<strong>in</strong>ly needs to go fur<strong>the</strong>r <strong>in</strong> order to produce a reliable<br />

chronology. Ra<strong>the</strong>r than a wholly synchronic event, <strong>the</strong> birth of<br />

modern leisure should be seen as a process that happened at different<br />

levels, with variations depend<strong>in</strong>g on many historical circumstances, but<br />

also specifically pert<strong>in</strong>ent to particular practices. One cannot deny <strong>the</strong><br />

revolution of sport that took place <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> n<strong>in</strong>eteenth and twentieth<br />

century. Historians of <strong>the</strong> book speak, after <strong>the</strong> dramatic changes <strong>in</strong>troduced<br />

by <strong>the</strong> pr<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g press, of a revolution <strong>in</strong> read<strong>in</strong>g, which seems to<br />

have taken place dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> eighteenth century. The same century saw<br />

a clear rise <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> popularity of spas which, without deny<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> importance<br />

of earlier forms of travell<strong>in</strong>g or of more recent developments <strong>in</strong><br />

mass holidays, should allow it to be identified as a crucial phase <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

genesis of modern tourism. On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, <strong>the</strong>atre, music and ballet<br />

for a pay<strong>in</strong>g public had already acquired importance dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> course<br />

of <strong>the</strong> seventeenth century. In <strong>the</strong> background, one should keep <strong>the</strong><br />

general picture of an <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g phenomenon of conspicuous consumption<br />

– <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g both <strong>in</strong> its quantity and with respect of <strong>the</strong> wider<br />

strata of society <strong>in</strong>volved – which Peter Burke, on <strong>the</strong> model of <strong>the</strong><br />

anthropologists’ potlach, has recognized both <strong>in</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> Italy and,<br />

on a wider scale, <strong>in</strong> significantly parallel developments between Europe,<br />

Ch<strong>in</strong>a and Japan. 22 On <strong>the</strong> whole, as differentiated as <strong>the</strong> picture<br />

becomes, it seems difficult to claim that noth<strong>in</strong>g important <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>


126 <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

reorganization of <strong>the</strong> world of leisure was happen<strong>in</strong>g before <strong>the</strong> Industrial<br />

Revolution.<br />

In <strong>the</strong> new developments of <strong>Renaissance</strong> social customs, what<br />

rema<strong>in</strong>ed different, distant from <strong>the</strong> leisured life as we conceive it<br />

today The notion and experience of gioco <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Italian <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

court and élite circles has been commented on as a noticeable historical<br />

phenomenon for <strong>the</strong> lack of a number of contrapositions, which are<br />

now usual but were not applicable at <strong>the</strong> time: <strong>in</strong>dividual versus <strong>in</strong>stitutions,<br />

public versus private, real versus fantastic, freedom versus constra<strong>in</strong>t,<br />

spontaneity versus performance, pleasure versus duty, <strong>in</strong>deed<br />

work versus leisure. 23 If this was <strong>the</strong> case, somewhere dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> early<br />

modern period all <strong>the</strong>se oppositions must have emerged more clearly,<br />

and have transformed <strong>the</strong> social practice of recreation accord<strong>in</strong>gly.<br />

<strong>Renaissance</strong> writers were aware of <strong>the</strong> complex status of play, and could<br />

alternatively emphasize its dist<strong>in</strong>ction from, or its fusion with, everyday<br />

life. As an example of <strong>the</strong> former, <strong>the</strong> dedicatory letter of Sorel’s<br />

Maison des jeux stated that jeu and fe<strong>in</strong>te are one and <strong>the</strong> same th<strong>in</strong>g.<br />

Conversely, while explor<strong>in</strong>g possible def<strong>in</strong>itions of giuoco, one of <strong>the</strong><br />

personae <strong>in</strong> Tasso’s dialogue acknowledges that, to some extent, it comprises<br />

<strong>the</strong> whole of human life. 24 The latter suggestion acquires a particular<br />

flavour <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> period from which it is uttered. Indeed, an<br />

<strong>in</strong>fluential idea expressed by Johan Huiz<strong>in</strong>ga implies that ‘<strong>the</strong> whole<br />

mental attitude of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> was one of play’. However, <strong>the</strong> Dutch<br />

historian – almost sound<strong>in</strong>g as if he was reply<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> advance to his<br />

critics – did not <strong>in</strong>tend, by this statement, to attach <strong>the</strong> character of<br />

<strong>Renaissance</strong> culture solely to one side of any specific b<strong>in</strong>ary opposition,<br />

s<strong>in</strong>ce he also specified that ‘play does not exclude seriousness’. 25<br />

Let us try to focus on <strong>the</strong> social and cultural framework of <strong>the</strong> spaces<br />

<strong>in</strong> which <strong>the</strong>se practices took place. <strong>Renaissance</strong> iconography shows a<br />

dist<strong>in</strong>ctive preference for represent<strong>in</strong>g scenes of play (as well as of love,<br />

music and dance) <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> open – typically <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> garden, <strong>the</strong> ideal sett<strong>in</strong>g<br />

for delights (locus amoenus). The po<strong>in</strong>t was to physically separate aristocratic<br />

leisure from common life. 26 Throughout <strong>the</strong> period, <strong>the</strong> development<br />

of <strong>the</strong> social forms of recreation produced an <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g number<br />

of specialized covered and/or enclosed spaces, from courts for ball games<br />

to <strong>the</strong>atres, from libraries to salons and academies for polite conversation<br />

and parlour games. 27 Naturally some of <strong>the</strong>se places had a history<br />

which predated <strong>the</strong> fifteenth century, but it is difficult to deny <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

growth and differentiation dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> span of time considered here,<br />

while open and socially promiscuous ga<strong>the</strong>r<strong>in</strong>gs were los<strong>in</strong>g momentum.<br />

From <strong>the</strong> contemporary literature on recreation, <strong>the</strong> family is an


<strong>in</strong>stitution ord<strong>in</strong>arily absent, with <strong>the</strong> exception of some tracts on<br />

manners and education. However, both religious and socio-economic<br />

pressures must have given it <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g importance as a context for<br />

human sociability.<br />

Parallel considerations would deserve <strong>the</strong> issue of ‘free time’. It was<br />

obviously a time highly def<strong>in</strong>ed by social constra<strong>in</strong>ts, from work obligations<br />

to religious duties, and thus differentiated along <strong>the</strong> vary<strong>in</strong>g steps<br />

of <strong>the</strong> social ladder and maps of <strong>the</strong> European cultural atlas. Surely religion<br />

still marked it <strong>in</strong> a highly significant way, not only because <strong>the</strong><br />

Church’s time survived beside <strong>the</strong> merchant’s, but also due to <strong>the</strong> strik<strong>in</strong>g<br />

effects that <strong>the</strong> sixteenth-century renewal of Western Christianity<br />

had on <strong>the</strong> issue. The medieval feast, with its characteristic mixture<br />

of sacred and profane, and its social promiscuity, decl<strong>in</strong>ed and left<br />

room for more specialized activities; while <strong>the</strong> Protestant attack on <strong>the</strong><br />

Catholic ritual year suddenly transformed a calendar that previous generations<br />

had perceived as fixed, and redef<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>the</strong> distribution <strong>in</strong> time<br />

of <strong>the</strong> Christians’ different call<strong>in</strong>gs. And yet this is an age for which<br />

it is tempt<strong>in</strong>g to reta<strong>in</strong> Huiz<strong>in</strong>ga’s generaliz<strong>in</strong>g def<strong>in</strong>ition, not only<br />

because <strong>the</strong> European nobility would not want to soil <strong>the</strong>ir hands with<br />

any work and def<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>the</strong>ir <strong>in</strong>dividual and group identity through a<br />

series of leisure activities; but also <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> sense that <strong>the</strong> logic or spirit of<br />

those pastimes – <strong>the</strong> rules of <strong>the</strong> games, <strong>the</strong> form of human <strong>in</strong>teraction<br />

<strong>the</strong>y tended to favour – enjoyed a high cultural esteem and tended to<br />

<strong>in</strong>fluence people’s behaviour even outside play time and play spaces.<br />

This at least is <strong>the</strong> impression strongly conveyed by <strong>the</strong> normative<br />

literature, such as treatises on manners.<br />

To some extent, one could reverse Vickers’ case for leisure as hav<strong>in</strong>g<br />

only recently acquired its dignity. Surely, modern, commercialized<br />

leisure is a hugely grow<strong>in</strong>g bus<strong>in</strong>ess and has allowed a great number of<br />

people to enjoy forms of pleasure <strong>the</strong>y would not have experienced <strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> past. At <strong>the</strong> same time, though, <strong>the</strong> very change of paradigm that<br />

regrouped and re<strong>in</strong>terpreted pastimes <strong>in</strong> our own way has marked a loss<br />

of deeper cultural mean<strong>in</strong>gs: all that we do now outside work tends<br />

almost for this simple reason to appear additional, optional, residual –<br />

not what life is really about. 28 Conclusion 127


Appendix: <strong>the</strong> European<br />

Vocabulary of <strong>Recreation</strong><br />

While elsewhere <strong>in</strong> his oeuvre Johan Huiz<strong>in</strong>ga showed full awareness of <strong>the</strong> subjective<br />

element <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> use of historical categories and of cultural variations <strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> mean<strong>in</strong>g of words, when writ<strong>in</strong>g Homo Ludens he openly adopted a belief <strong>in</strong><br />

a given essence of th<strong>in</strong>gs, to <strong>the</strong> extent that he not only opened <strong>the</strong> book with<br />

a def<strong>in</strong>ition of play, but also criticized languages which had not managed to<br />

express it all <strong>in</strong> one word. 1 While we owe him a debt for attract<strong>in</strong>g our attention<br />

to <strong>the</strong> vocabulary of play <strong>in</strong> different languages, we cannot share his essentialism:<br />

on <strong>the</strong> contrary, <strong>the</strong> cultural variations of words and mean<strong>in</strong>gs are not solely<br />

<strong>the</strong> only reality we are confronted with, but also an excit<strong>in</strong>g arena where variations<br />

through time and exchanges between languages take place. Historians<br />

know very well, and have brilliantly shown on a variety of occasions, how words<br />

do not passively or neutrally reproduce <strong>the</strong> world to which <strong>the</strong>y refer, but ra<strong>the</strong>r<br />

positively contribute to shape its understand<strong>in</strong>g by human communities. 2 For<br />

<strong>the</strong> European culture of <strong>the</strong> past, a rich vocabulary was available to refer to recreation.<br />

Apart from <strong>the</strong> specific terms and technical jargon of <strong>in</strong>dividual games, a<br />

number of general words germ<strong>in</strong>ated from one ano<strong>the</strong>r across <strong>the</strong> different l<strong>in</strong>guistic<br />

dom<strong>in</strong>ions. Their etymology, range and variations of mean<strong>in</strong>g form an<br />

<strong>in</strong>tegral part of <strong>the</strong> cultural history of <strong>Renaissance</strong> leisure, s<strong>in</strong>ce words determ<strong>in</strong>e<br />

people’s experience as much as <strong>the</strong>y are <strong>in</strong>fluenced by it. 3<br />

Ludus 4 was <strong>the</strong> basic Lat<strong>in</strong> word for play, from Antiquity to medieval and modern<br />

usages of Lat<strong>in</strong>. S<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong> early history of <strong>the</strong> language, <strong>the</strong> semantic dom<strong>in</strong>ion<br />

of <strong>the</strong> noun and <strong>the</strong> verb (ludo) was impressively wide, rang<strong>in</strong>g from <strong>in</strong>dicat<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>the</strong> public games of <strong>the</strong> circus (particularly <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> plural) to ‘performances’<br />

<strong>in</strong> general (and, for <strong>the</strong> verb, ‘represent<strong>in</strong>g’, ‘pretend<strong>in</strong>g’); from game-play<strong>in</strong>g<br />

(<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g that of children and animals) to danc<strong>in</strong>g; from ‘learn<strong>in</strong>g’, ‘exercise’<br />

or ‘school’ to <strong>the</strong> sexual act. Among <strong>the</strong> etymologic parallels of <strong>the</strong> Lat<strong>in</strong> root,<br />

researchers have found <strong>the</strong> Gothic lita (representation, fiction) and <strong>the</strong> Albanian<br />

verbal forms loz- and luani (to play, to dance or jump). 5 The Italian scholar<br />

Giovanni Semerano, who worked for years on <strong>the</strong> academic fr<strong>in</strong>ge to deconstruct<br />

<strong>the</strong> myth of <strong>the</strong> Indo-European and demonstrate a Semitic and Mesopotamian<br />

orig<strong>in</strong> of European languages, stressed <strong>the</strong> family relation with <strong>the</strong> Akkadian ulsu<br />

(pleasure, lust), ullusu (to amuse, to cause to rejoice), elesu (to rejoice) – <strong>the</strong> reduction<br />

of s to d be<strong>in</strong>g a normal l<strong>in</strong>guistic phenomenon. 6<br />

The thick overlapp<strong>in</strong>g of levels of mean<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> history of this word played<br />

no small role <strong>in</strong> determ<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g its social and cultural reception and evolution<br />

through time. For <strong>in</strong>stance, writ<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> Lat<strong>in</strong> about play had <strong>the</strong> tendency of<br />

imply<strong>in</strong>g, to some extent at least, reference to drama and gambl<strong>in</strong>g (two k<strong>in</strong>ds<br />

of ludus conceptually fairly easy to dist<strong>in</strong>guish from <strong>the</strong> wider notion of play):<br />

we have found such implications <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> treatment of <strong>the</strong> subject by moral <strong>the</strong>ologians.<br />

The eclipse of <strong>the</strong> key term of classical and medieval Lat<strong>in</strong>, which all<br />

128


Appendix: <strong>the</strong> European Vocabulary of <strong>Recreation</strong> 129<br />

Romance languages solely reta<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> its adjective form, must account as <strong>the</strong><br />

most remarkable early modern l<strong>in</strong>guistic development <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> field. It is surpris<strong>in</strong>g<br />

how similar ranges of mean<strong>in</strong>g were reta<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> vernacular terms deriv<strong>in</strong>g<br />

from at least three totally different roots: gioco/jeux, play, and Spiel (remarkably,<br />

<strong>the</strong> same three roots also share <strong>the</strong> musical sense of play). Still, <strong>the</strong> mix of denotations<br />

and connotations would never be <strong>the</strong> same aga<strong>in</strong>; when look<strong>in</strong>g<br />

at seventeenth-century material, we always need to bear <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d that <strong>the</strong> l<strong>in</strong>guistic<br />

medium contributes to a significant extent to def<strong>in</strong>e <strong>the</strong> topic and <strong>the</strong><br />

message.<br />

An alternative Lat<strong>in</strong> noun for <strong>the</strong> act of play<strong>in</strong>g was lusus, derived from <strong>the</strong><br />

same verb ludo. 7 It partly shared some of <strong>the</strong> connotations of ludus (literary game,<br />

sexual play<strong>in</strong>g), and partly developed a specific dom<strong>in</strong>ion, which varied through<br />

time (as <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> case of reference to private, ra<strong>the</strong>r than public, games). ‘De luso’<br />

(1522), one of Erasmus’s Colloquies, sees boys play<strong>in</strong>g at tennis, shot-putt<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

send<strong>in</strong>g a ball through an iron r<strong>in</strong>g, and jump<strong>in</strong>g. 8<br />

The Lat<strong>in</strong> term from which Romance languages developed <strong>the</strong>ir new, comprehensive<br />

key word, iocus, 9 was often found comb<strong>in</strong>ed with ludus. Its specific<br />

reference (preserved by <strong>the</strong> English ‘joke’) was to verbal play, thus giv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />

phrase ‘ludus et iocus’ <strong>the</strong> comprehensive <strong>in</strong>clusion of deeds and words. While<br />

shar<strong>in</strong>g with ludus a general connection with activities whose aim is amusement,<br />

iocus has a much narrower range of applications, and seems to refer to acts<br />

whose specific purpose is to provoke laughter (<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g derisory comments). 10<br />

Romance languages developed it, and, by <strong>the</strong> sixteenth century, <strong>the</strong> Italian<br />

gi(u)oco had reached an impressive range of mean<strong>in</strong>gs. It denoted a pleasant exercise,<br />

a competition between <strong>in</strong>dividuals or teams, a game or match, a hand at<br />

cards, a battle, play objects and places, a feast, a joke, someth<strong>in</strong>g of little importance,<br />

or else a sexual act. It could refer to gesture requir<strong>in</strong>g unusual strength<br />

and dexterity, as for jugglers before a public; to this mean<strong>in</strong>g is l<strong>in</strong>ked <strong>the</strong> sense<br />

of ‘ability test’, but also of ‘trick’. Gioco di mano already <strong>in</strong>dicated a violent, rough<br />

act. Particularly <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> plural, giochi was commonly used with specific reference<br />

to <strong>the</strong> ancient tradition of public games. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, Pietro Aret<strong>in</strong>o <strong>in</strong>augurated<br />

a use of <strong>the</strong> word for <strong>in</strong>dicat<strong>in</strong>g an ‘opportunity, advantage’.<br />

The Spanish juego is attested from <strong>the</strong> mid-twelfth century, toge<strong>the</strong>r with <strong>the</strong><br />

verb jugar (jogar with an o both <strong>in</strong> twelfth-to-fourteenth-century Castilian and <strong>in</strong><br />

Catalan). Old Provençal joguet (thirteenth century), followed by Spanish juguete<br />

(fourteenth century), also derive from this root <strong>the</strong> term for ‘toy’ (<strong>the</strong> modern<br />

Italian giocattolo be<strong>in</strong>g only a later addition to <strong>the</strong> same group, whereas Tuscan<br />

uses balocco).<br />

A development of this family of words which played an important role <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

medieval forms of enterta<strong>in</strong>ment and <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> history of <strong>the</strong>ir reception is <strong>the</strong> Lat<strong>in</strong><br />

verb ioculari, ‘to jest’, with its derivatives (jongleur, to juggle).<br />

While often connect<strong>in</strong>g this root with laughter, some comparisons with similar<br />

occurrences <strong>in</strong> parallel European languages <strong>in</strong>sist on <strong>the</strong> verbal element by connect<strong>in</strong>g<br />

it with formulaic pray<strong>in</strong>g. The religious component is attested <strong>in</strong> ancient<br />

Italian languages, and would have undergone subsequent secularization, shift<strong>in</strong>g<br />

from ‘ritual phrase’ to ‘rhyme with comic effects’. 11 Semerano has proposed<br />

a richer spectrum of mean<strong>in</strong>gs. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to his reconstruction, <strong>the</strong> family of<br />

terms, as opposed to ‘be<strong>in</strong>g serious’, would have orig<strong>in</strong>ally referred to ‘be foolish’,<br />

a mean<strong>in</strong>g witnessed by <strong>the</strong> Hebrew jaqa (to be alienated, to remove oneself).


130 Appendix: <strong>the</strong> European Vocabulary of <strong>Recreation</strong><br />

It would have been crossed with similar words like <strong>the</strong> Akkadian hiaqu (to mix<br />

w<strong>in</strong>e) and <strong>the</strong> Hebrew hagag, hoggi (to keep a festival, to dance), and hag (feast),<br />

with parallels such as <strong>the</strong> Lithuanian jukas (pleasantness) and juktis (to laugh). 12<br />

Early modern French displays frequent reference to ‘jeux et divertissements’.<br />

If this usage f<strong>in</strong>ds some explanation <strong>in</strong> a general fashion for re<strong>in</strong>forc<strong>in</strong>g repetition<br />

and hendiadys (with parallels like ‘le bal et la danse’, though <strong>the</strong> latter had<br />

a close Lat<strong>in</strong> equivalent <strong>in</strong> ‘choreae et saltationes’), some more specific, semantic<br />

reasons for <strong>the</strong> double nam<strong>in</strong>g could be easily found. Jeu had replaced to a<br />

significant extent <strong>the</strong> comprehensiveness of ludus. However, as ludus needed to<br />

be tw<strong>in</strong>ned with iocus <strong>in</strong> order to <strong>in</strong>clude <strong>the</strong> field of play<strong>in</strong>g with words, jeu had<br />

<strong>the</strong> tendency to be associated with a substantial but limited range of games; divertissement<br />

(see below) could widen its dom<strong>in</strong>ion by consider<strong>in</strong>g less structured<br />

play, and <strong>the</strong> amusement which can derive from <strong>the</strong> arts and a variety of o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

leisure activities.<br />

The relationship between <strong>the</strong> two key English terms has been described as<br />

follows: game 13 ‘identifies <strong>the</strong> concept, its development as schema and system,<br />

place, and set of rules’; play 14 ‘dist<strong>in</strong>guishes action, time, <strong>the</strong> moment of<br />

participation, <strong>the</strong> identity of <strong>the</strong> player <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> ludic performance’. 15 The most<br />

strik<strong>in</strong>g difference between English and Romance languages is <strong>the</strong> lack of a<br />

comprehensive English parallel of ei<strong>the</strong>r ludus or jeu/gioco/juego (‘joke’ be<strong>in</strong>g no<br />

match for <strong>the</strong>ir range of mean<strong>in</strong>gs). It is well known how this poses serious problems<br />

<strong>in</strong> translation from one l<strong>in</strong>guistic dom<strong>in</strong>ion to <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r, with <strong>the</strong> hendiadys<br />

‘play and games’ usually required <strong>in</strong> order to give a rough equivalent. The<br />

difficulty <strong>in</strong>cludes <strong>the</strong> lack of a parallel English adjective, ‘ludic’ be<strong>in</strong>g a poor relative<br />

to which non-English speakers resort <strong>in</strong> desperation. Apart from this major<br />

discrepancy, <strong>the</strong> English language follows most of <strong>the</strong> Romance vocabulary, thus<br />

show<strong>in</strong>g that it developed its term<strong>in</strong>ology of recreation <strong>in</strong> close relation with<br />

French and Italian trends.<br />

The opposite is true with German, whose vocabulary, although it shows<br />

parallel constructions, is based on an almost entirely different set of roots. The<br />

etymology of <strong>the</strong> key term here, Spiel, 16 is unclear, but <strong>the</strong> earlier usage of both<br />

<strong>the</strong> noun and <strong>the</strong> correspond<strong>in</strong>g verb is significantly presumed to have applied<br />

<strong>the</strong>m to ‘dance, lively movement’, and subsequently have expanded to ‘amusement,<br />

pastime’.<br />

The literal mean<strong>in</strong>g of recreation, 17 ‘to create aga<strong>in</strong>’, has obvious parallels (see,<br />

for <strong>in</strong>stance, re-formatio). It denotes recover<strong>in</strong>g normal operat<strong>in</strong>g conditions after<br />

tiredness or disease (<strong>the</strong> latter be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> case <strong>in</strong> one of <strong>the</strong> direct mean<strong>in</strong>gs of<br />

<strong>the</strong> German parallel Erholung). In that sense, its value is close to that of a wider<br />

family of terms referr<strong>in</strong>g to refreshment, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> specific type that derives<br />

from dr<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g (cf. German Erquickung, Labung).<br />

Divertissement/divertimento 18 is ma<strong>in</strong>ly a seventeenth- and eighteenth-century<br />

development, by which a variety of pastimes (<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g society enterta<strong>in</strong>ments<br />

and children’s games) are referred to with respect to <strong>the</strong>ir role as distractions<br />

from everyday cares and occupations. The dist<strong>in</strong>ctively negative connotations<br />

of <strong>the</strong> ‘diversion’ <strong>in</strong> question, which is best known from its role <strong>in</strong> Pascal’s<br />

Pensées, can be found <strong>in</strong> a wider circle of contemporary rigorous moralists, but<br />

it should not be taken as a ma<strong>in</strong>stream use of <strong>the</strong> word. 19 The specifically musical<br />

sense of a light and easy <strong>in</strong>strumental piece also appeared towards <strong>the</strong> end of<br />

our period.


Appendix: <strong>the</strong> European Vocabulary of <strong>Recreation</strong> 131<br />

As with <strong>the</strong> preced<strong>in</strong>g case, word formation of disport/sport 20 signals diversion<br />

(see ‘deportation’ and related vocabulary). Diporto is attested <strong>in</strong> thirteenthcentury<br />

Italian poetry. Needless to say, s<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong> British <strong>in</strong>vention of modern<br />

sport <strong>the</strong> word has been directly borrowed <strong>in</strong> every o<strong>the</strong>r language – but this<br />

phenomenon lies beyond our chronological boundary.<br />

The French noun passe-temps is documented from <strong>the</strong> early fifteenth century,<br />

<strong>the</strong> Spanish pasatiempo towards 1490, <strong>the</strong> Italian equivalent widely used <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

follow<strong>in</strong>g century. 21 The term anchors <strong>the</strong> range of leisure activities to which it<br />

is applicable to <strong>the</strong> task of kill<strong>in</strong>g time, often with <strong>the</strong> implication of avoid<strong>in</strong>g<br />

boredom. The latter purpose has such deep cultural roots and so wide a historical<br />

range of occurences, that <strong>the</strong> claim by a recent scholar that boredom is an<br />

eighteenth-century English <strong>in</strong>vention cannot be taken seriously. 22<br />

The French entretenement 23 is attested <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> fifteenth century. Among its<br />

mean<strong>in</strong>gs, we f<strong>in</strong>d prom<strong>in</strong>ent that of pleasant conversation. The same is true of<br />

sixteenth-century Italian (where a secondary value of court<strong>in</strong>g is also present).<br />

Intrattenimento also stays for pastime, amusement, its spectrum of mean<strong>in</strong>gs<br />

rang<strong>in</strong>g from a <strong>the</strong>atrical performance to a party.<br />

The French reflexive/medium <strong>in</strong>transitive verb s’amuser is documented from<br />

<strong>the</strong> twelfth century, <strong>the</strong> noun from <strong>the</strong> fifteenth. 24 It derives from muser, literally<br />

‘to keep one’s muzzle <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> air’, consequently ‘to waste one’s own time’. It<br />

has s<strong>in</strong>ce developed to refer to play and a variety of pleasant occupations.<br />

While <strong>the</strong> general mean<strong>in</strong>g of pleasure 25 (and of a few more terms) covers a<br />

much wider realm than <strong>the</strong> present research, <strong>in</strong> its l<strong>in</strong>guistic varieties <strong>the</strong> noun<br />

could also be used for <strong>in</strong>dicat<strong>in</strong>g specific occasions or means of caus<strong>in</strong>g pleasure.<br />

The Lat<strong>in</strong> root from which delight 26 derives generated a group of verbs (lacio,<br />

lacto, delicio) which denote seduction, allurement, deception. Semerano l<strong>in</strong>ks it<br />

to an Akkadian and semitic verb (lqh) which means ‘to seize, to capture’. Deliciae<br />

are amusements full of pleasure, delights; delicatus is he who lives <strong>in</strong> delights,<br />

‘gracious, delicate’. Vernacular developments reta<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> double reference to<br />

‘pleasure, delights’ and those activities which produce <strong>the</strong>m (I will return to<br />

this dichotomy below), with a wide range of applications, from games and<br />

spectacles, to more <strong>in</strong>formal conversations and a carefree life. The pleasant<br />

emotion could refer to satisfaction derived from each of <strong>the</strong> human senses, from<br />

<strong>the</strong> commodities that make life comfortable, or from <strong>the</strong> relief from toils and<br />

worries. It also <strong>in</strong>dicated <strong>the</strong> joy provoked by true knowledge, <strong>in</strong> both <strong>the</strong> senses<br />

it acquires <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> religious experience (a leitmotiv of ascetic and mystic language)<br />

or <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> arts and sciences (a usage which occurs <strong>in</strong> Leonardo da V<strong>in</strong>ci). Here we<br />

encounter aga<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> value of ‘<strong>in</strong>tensive, mutual love relationship’, with <strong>the</strong><br />

added Christian nuance (with no lesser witness than Dante) of sensual satisfaction<br />

perceived as s<strong>in</strong>, vice and guilt. 27<br />

The term solace is related to consolation, one of <strong>the</strong> mean<strong>in</strong>gs it had <strong>in</strong><br />

sixteenth-century French. 28 More specifically than o<strong>the</strong>r equivalent terms, it<br />

<strong>in</strong>dicates <strong>the</strong> reliev<strong>in</strong>g effect that pleasure can have on <strong>the</strong> human m<strong>in</strong>d. It could<br />

be used both comb<strong>in</strong>ed with pleasure or joy, or as <strong>the</strong>ir equivalent, and also (like<br />

pleasure) refer to <strong>the</strong> act that produced such a state of m<strong>in</strong>d. The activity could<br />

also lend <strong>the</strong> name to a place dedicated to its implementation. 29<br />

Spasso/Spaß 30 is an occasional carefree, light-hearted occupation, and its pleasant<br />

effect on <strong>the</strong> human psyche. ‘Fun’ is also <strong>the</strong> ma<strong>in</strong> mean<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> German (as<br />

well as ‘joke, jest, antic’). In late medieval Italian ‘andare a spasso’ had already


132 Appendix: <strong>the</strong> European Vocabulary of <strong>Recreation</strong><br />

acquired <strong>the</strong> mean<strong>in</strong>g that it still reta<strong>in</strong>s, that is, idle, recreational walk<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />

pleasant environment (ei<strong>the</strong>r for its natural or cultural features, or else for <strong>the</strong><br />

social opportunities it offers of meet<strong>in</strong>g o<strong>the</strong>r people). In more than one of<br />

its nuances (<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>evitable sexual ones) <strong>the</strong> term was targeted by<br />

sixteenth-century moralists of <strong>the</strong> type of Carlo Borromeo <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir <strong>in</strong>vectives<br />

aga<strong>in</strong>st mundane pleasures.<br />

Ano<strong>the</strong>r Italian noun, svago, 31 is one of <strong>the</strong> terms which express play as a distraction<br />

from ord<strong>in</strong>ary occupations. It stresses <strong>the</strong> non-functional purpose of <strong>the</strong><br />

leisure activity <strong>in</strong> question (not for study or work). It refers both to <strong>the</strong> effect<br />

(rest) and to <strong>the</strong> specific means of obta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g it (various pastimes).<br />

As for leisure, <strong>the</strong> Lat<strong>in</strong> verb licere had a calque <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> OF verb loisir (attested<br />

from <strong>the</strong> second half of <strong>the</strong> tenth century). 32 Around 1100 <strong>the</strong> noun had entered<br />

<strong>in</strong>to usage, with <strong>the</strong> mean<strong>in</strong>g of ‘possibility (of do<strong>in</strong>g someth<strong>in</strong>g)’. By <strong>the</strong> midtwelfth<br />

century, it could also mean ‘time required to do someth<strong>in</strong>g (without constra<strong>in</strong>ts)’.<br />

In Froissart’s chronicles, at <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> fourteenth century, it had<br />

acquired <strong>the</strong> value of ‘free time allow<strong>in</strong>g one to do whatever one likes’. In 1740<br />

<strong>the</strong> Académie Française recorded a poetic usage of <strong>the</strong> plural loisirs, <strong>in</strong> terms that<br />

have subsequently entered ord<strong>in</strong>ary language.<br />

It should be noticed that <strong>the</strong> verbs connected to a significant group of <strong>the</strong><br />

above nouns (recreation, divertissement, enterta<strong>in</strong>ment, amusement, pleasure,<br />

delight) can be transitive, that is, refer to <strong>the</strong> action by which someone recreates,<br />

enterta<strong>in</strong>s, amuses, pleases, delights someone else. The performer/<br />

audience dichotomy is <strong>the</strong>re present as a clear possibility, although it is not necessarily<br />

implied. O<strong>the</strong>r terms do not offer this opportunity, and one can only<br />

play, sport etc. by oneself, or <strong>in</strong> company with o<strong>the</strong>rs, but not passively. From<br />

this respect, a third category could be seen <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> terms that pr<strong>in</strong>cipally describe<br />

<strong>the</strong> effect of an activity on its actor or recipient, such as pleasure, delight and<br />

solace (although, as we have seen, <strong>the</strong>y were also used with direct reference to<br />

<strong>the</strong> activities which provoked <strong>the</strong> aforesaid feel<strong>in</strong>gs or states of m<strong>in</strong>d). This<br />

variety of perspectives (action, passion and pleasure) should be kept <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d<br />

when consider<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> uses of <strong>the</strong> vocabulary <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> contexts of specific discourses,<br />

where one or <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r perspective may be predom<strong>in</strong>ant, or <strong>the</strong>y may<br />

all overlap, and <strong>the</strong> reader of early modern literature may notice <strong>the</strong> lack of a<br />

neat dist<strong>in</strong>ction about which particular perspective is be<strong>in</strong>g considered.


Notes<br />

1 Introduction<br />

1. See <strong>the</strong> literature cited by F. G. Naerebout, Attractive Performances. Ancient<br />

Greek Dance: Three Prelim<strong>in</strong>ary Studies (Amsterdam: Gieben, 1997), pp. 155–7;<br />

also, J. P. Toner, Leisure and Ancient Rome (Cambridge: Polity, 1995).<br />

2. Toner, Leisure and Ancient Rome, especially pp. 6–10.<br />

3. J. Burckhardt, The Civilization of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> <strong>in</strong> Italy, trans. by S.G.C.<br />

Middlemore, rev. by I. Gordon (New York and Toronto: New American<br />

Library, 1960), part V.<br />

4. This does not exclude that, toge<strong>the</strong>r with <strong>the</strong> fun element, a more complex<br />

mixture of mean<strong>in</strong>gs may be <strong>in</strong>volved while perform<strong>in</strong>g any given activity.<br />

In fact, this was almost always <strong>the</strong> case with <strong>Renaissance</strong> culture (I will return<br />

to this subject <strong>in</strong> my Conclusion). An <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g discussion of <strong>the</strong>se issues<br />

is available <strong>in</strong> S. de Grazia, Of Time, Work and Leisure (New York: Twentieth<br />

Century Fund, 1962); <strong>in</strong> spite of be<strong>in</strong>g essentially a sociological study of<br />

twentieth-century America, it conta<strong>in</strong>s valuable historical <strong>in</strong>sights, even if<br />

<strong>the</strong> author’s perspective is openly élitist.<br />

5. The phenomenon is not exclusively Italian, though: go around Brita<strong>in</strong> at<br />

weekends and you will meet (<strong>in</strong> village fairs and on similar occasions) a<br />

variety of people ‘from <strong>the</strong> past’, from neolithic farmers to Vik<strong>in</strong>g warriors.<br />

6. J. Huiz<strong>in</strong>ga, The Wan<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong> Middle Ages, trans. by F. Hopman<br />

(Harmondsworth: Pengu<strong>in</strong>, 1965); Homo Ludens, trans. by R.F.C. Hull<br />

(London: Routledge, 1949; repr. 1998).<br />

7. Excerpts of Oase des Glücks (1957) are available as E. F<strong>in</strong>k, ‘The oasis of happ<strong>in</strong>ess:<br />

Toward an ontology of play’, trans. by U. and T. Sa<strong>in</strong>e, Yale French<br />

Studies, 41 (1968) 19–30.<br />

8. E. H. Gombrich, ‘Huiz<strong>in</strong>ga’s Homo ludens’, <strong>in</strong> Johan Huiz<strong>in</strong>ga, 1872–1972, ed.<br />

by W. R. H. Koops, and o<strong>the</strong>rs (The Hague: Nijhoff, 1973), pp. 133–54 (with<br />

reference to essays by Pieter Geyl and Rosalie Colie).<br />

9. R. Caillois, Les jeux et les hommes: le masque et le vertige (Paris: Gallimard,<br />

1958; rev. edn, 1967); Man, Play and Games, trans. by M. Barash (London:<br />

Thames and Hudson, 1962). Cf. M. Rogers, ‘Caillois’ classification of games’,<br />

Leisure Studies, 1 (1982) 225–31. As well as <strong>in</strong> this volume and <strong>in</strong> a number<br />

of articles, <strong>the</strong> French social <strong>the</strong>orist also expressed his <strong>in</strong>terpretation of play<br />

<strong>in</strong> R. Caillois (ed.), Jeux et sports, ‘Encyclopédie de la Pléiade’ 23 (Paris:<br />

Gallimard, 1967).<br />

10. J. Ehrmann, ‘Homo ludens revisited’, trans. by C. and P. Lewis, Yale French<br />

Studies, 41 (1968) 31–57. Cf. É. Benveniste, ‘Le jeu comme structure’, Deucalion,<br />

1947, n. 2, pp. 159–67 (for whom <strong>the</strong> dist<strong>in</strong>ction between play and<br />

<strong>the</strong> real is parallel to that between <strong>the</strong> sacred and <strong>the</strong> profane); R. Caillois,<br />

‘Jeu et sacré’, <strong>in</strong> his L’homme et le sacré, enlarged edn (Paris: Gallimard, 1950),<br />

pp. 208–24. Huiz<strong>in</strong>ga did recognize <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>stances of play <strong>in</strong> modern<br />

society, but he dismissed <strong>the</strong>m as expressions of vulgar and irrational<br />

133


134 Notes<br />

childishness. Contrary to Ehrmann’s position, <strong>the</strong>re are philosophers who<br />

are conv<strong>in</strong>ced that play and reality should be kept separated for <strong>the</strong> benefit<br />

of humank<strong>in</strong>d: cf. J.-J. Wunenburger, La fête, le jeu et le sacré (Paris: Delarge,<br />

1977).<br />

11. N. Elias and E. Dunn<strong>in</strong>g, Quest for Excitement: Sport and Leisure <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Civiliz<strong>in</strong>g<br />

Process (Oxford: Blackwell, 1986); cf. E. Dunn<strong>in</strong>g and C. Rojek (eds), Sport<br />

and Leisure <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Civiliz<strong>in</strong>g Process: Critique and Counter-Critique (Bas<strong>in</strong>gstoke:<br />

Macmillan Press – now Palgrave Macmillan, 1992). De Grazia, Of Time, Work<br />

and Leisure.<br />

12. H. Eichberg, Der Weg des Sports <strong>in</strong> die <strong>in</strong>dustrielle Zivilisation (Baden-Baden,<br />

1973); ‘Geometrie als barocke Verhaltensnorm’, Zeitschrift für historische<br />

Forschung, IV (1977) 17–50; Leistung, Spannung, Geschw<strong>in</strong>digkeit. Sport und<br />

Tanz im gesellschaftlichen Wandel des 18./19. Jahrhunderts (Stuttgart, 1978);<br />

‘Sport, Play and Body Culture <strong>in</strong> Trialectical Perspective’, Ludica, 3 (1997)<br />

179–85; Body Cultures: Essays on Sport, Space and Identity, ed. by J. Bale and<br />

C. Philo (London: Routledge, 1998). Cf. S. Brownell, ‘Th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g dangerously:<br />

<strong>the</strong> person and his ideas’, <strong>in</strong> Eichberg, Body Cultures, pp. 22–44; A.<br />

Guttmann, From Ritual to Record: The Nature of Modern Sports (New York:<br />

Columbia University Press, 1978); R. D. Mandell, Sport: A Cultural History<br />

(New York: Columbia University Press, 1984); R. Zur Lippe, Naturbeherrschung<br />

am Menschen (Frankfurt am Ma<strong>in</strong>: Suhrkamp, 1974); A. Nitschke, Bewegungen<br />

<strong>in</strong> Mittelalter und <strong>Renaissance</strong>: Kämpfe, Spiele, Tänze, Zeremoniell und<br />

Umgangsformen (Düsseldorf: Schwann, 1987) and Körper <strong>in</strong> Bewegung: Gesten,<br />

Tänze und Räume im Wandel der Geschichte (Stuttgart: Kreuz, 1989); K.<br />

Schre<strong>in</strong>er and N. Schnitzler (eds), Gepe<strong>in</strong>gt, begehrt vergessen: Symbolik und<br />

Sozialbezug des Körpes im späten Mittelalter und im den frühen Neuzeit (Munich:<br />

F<strong>in</strong>k, 1992).<br />

2 The Need for <strong>Recreation</strong><br />

1. R. Hutton, The Rise and Fall of Merry England: The Ritual Year, 1400–1700<br />

(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994), p. 211.<br />

2. J. B. Thiers, Traité des jeux et des divertissemens (Paris: Dezallier, 1686), preface:<br />

‘L’homme n’auroit po<strong>in</strong>t eu beso<strong>in</strong> de jeux ni de divertissemens, s’il se fut<br />

conservé dans le bien heureux état d’<strong>in</strong>nocence où Dieu l’avait crée. Car<br />

quoiqu’il eût été de son devoir de travailler dans le Paradis terrestre, selon<br />

que l’Écriture Sa<strong>in</strong>te le remarque [Gen. 2, 15], son travail lui eût été agréable,<br />

bien lo<strong>in</strong> de luy être pénible; il s’en fut fait un plaisir, dans la pensée de sa<strong>in</strong>t<br />

August<strong>in</strong>, bien lo<strong>in</strong> de s’en trouver fatigué: ‘Non enim erat laboris afflictio,<br />

sed exhilaratio voluntatis’; et par consequent il n’auroit po<strong>in</strong>t été obligé de<br />

donner du relâche à son esprit ni à son corps. A<strong>in</strong>si, à vrai dire, les jeux et<br />

les divertissemens nous sont devenus necessaires par le peché’. On this<br />

source see below, Chapter 4.<br />

3. H. Franco Jr, Cocanha: a história de un país imag<strong>in</strong>ário (São Paulo: Companhia<br />

de Letras, 1998).<br />

4. P. Lafargue, The Right To Be Lazy, and O<strong>the</strong>r Studies, trans. by C.H. Kerr<br />

(Chicago: C.H. Kerr & Co., 1907).<br />

5. H. Marcuse, Eros and Civilization (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1956).


Notes 135<br />

6. J. Fra<strong>in</strong> du Tremblay, Conversations morales sur les jeux et les divertissemens<br />

(Paris: André Pralard, 1685), p. 17: ‘Je croy qu’il ne se seroit po<strong>in</strong>t diverti,<br />

parce qu’il ne se seroit jamais fatigué, et que sa vie auroit été une suite cont<strong>in</strong>uelle<br />

de plaisirs. Il auroit toûjours fait son plaisirs de son devoir.’ Though<br />

<strong>the</strong> frontispiece is anonymous, <strong>the</strong> author signs <strong>the</strong> epistle to Henry Arnauld,<br />

Bishop of Angers.<br />

7. Fra<strong>in</strong> du Tremblay, Conversations morales, pp. 18–19: ‘L’homme dans cet état<br />

auroit donc travaillé, comme on voit certa<strong>in</strong>es personnes travailler dans leurs<br />

jard<strong>in</strong>s, sans sentir aucune fatigue, parce qu’ils travaillent avec beaucoup de<br />

plaisir, et que n’étant pas obliger de travailler comme des mercenaires pour<br />

le soûtien de leur vie, ils quittent toûjours le travail avant la fatigue.’<br />

8. Fra<strong>in</strong> du Tremblay, Conversations morales, p. 265: ‘Je ne doute po<strong>in</strong>t même<br />

que qu’Adam ne se soit diverti, quelque rigoureuse qu’ait été sa penitence;<br />

puis qu’étant devenu sujet aux <strong>in</strong>firmitez aussitôt qu’il dev<strong>in</strong>t pecheur, il<br />

tomba aussi dans la necessité de se relâcher l’esprit et le corps, af<strong>in</strong> de prendre<br />

de nouvelles forces pour retourner au travail.’<br />

9. C. Rao, ‘Invettiva contra i giuocatori’, <strong>in</strong> his Invettive, orationi et discorsi<br />

(Venice: D. Zenaro, 1587), fols 21v-97 (91v). I owe this and o<strong>the</strong>r valuable<br />

references to <strong>the</strong> bibliographic research conducted by G. Zannoni, ‘Libri di<br />

giochi e passatempi nel C<strong>in</strong>quecento’, unpublished <strong>the</strong>sis (University of<br />

Bologna, 1988/89). Zannoni’s organization of <strong>the</strong> material is <strong>in</strong>spired by <strong>the</strong><br />

treatment of play <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> late sixteenth-century encyclopedic compilations of<br />

Tommaso Garzoni (1549–89).<br />

10. On <strong>the</strong> tale and its medieval tradition, see G. Olson, Literature as <strong>Recreation</strong><br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Later Middle Ages (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1982), pp. 91–3.<br />

11. Iacopo da Varazze, Legenda aurea, ed. by G. P. Maggioni (Florence: SISMEL-<br />

Edizioni del Galluzzo, 1998), p. 94; Giordano da Pisa, ‘Esempi’, <strong>in</strong> G. Varan<strong>in</strong>i<br />

and G. Baldassarri (eds), Racconti esemplari di predicatori del Due e Trecento, 3<br />

vols (Rome: Salerno, 1993), II, pp. 227–8.<br />

12. St. Thomas Aqu<strong>in</strong>as, Summa Theologiae, Lat<strong>in</strong> text and English trans.,<br />

vol. 44, ed. by T. Gilby (London: Blackfriars, 1972), pp. 216–17; Francis [of]<br />

Sales, An Introduction to a Devoute Life, trans. by I. Y. (J. Heigham, 1613; repr.<br />

London, 1961), I, pp. 428–9. Fur<strong>the</strong>r archery metaphors can be found <strong>in</strong><br />

Dante: cf. Olson, Literature as <strong>Recreation</strong>, pp. 90–1. For <strong>the</strong> bent bow as a<br />

metaphor applied to <strong>the</strong> efforts of learn<strong>in</strong>g: M. M. Mulchahey, ‘First <strong>the</strong> Bow<br />

Is Bent <strong>in</strong> Study . . .’: Dom<strong>in</strong>ican Education before 1350 (Toronto: Pontifical<br />

Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1998).<br />

13. J.-M. André, L’otium dans la vie morale et <strong>in</strong>tellectuelle roma<strong>in</strong>e des orig<strong>in</strong>es à<br />

l’époque augustéenne (Paris: Presses universitaires de France, 1966); B. Vickers,<br />

‘Leisure and idleness <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong>: <strong>the</strong> ambivalence of otium’, <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

Studies, 4 (1990) 1–37, 107–54; J. Sánchez Herrero, ‘El ocio durante la<br />

baja edad media hispana a través de los libros de confesión’, <strong>in</strong> Espai i temps<br />

d’oci a la història (Palma, 1993), pp. 497–509. Vickers’s idea of a n<strong>in</strong>eteenthcentury<br />

shift <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> evaluation of leisure will be discussed <strong>in</strong> my Conclusion.<br />

Cf. also B. Vickers (ed.), Arbeit, Musse, Meditation: Studies <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Vita activa and<br />

Vita contemplativa (1985; 2nd rev. edn, Zurich: Verlag der Fachvere<strong>in</strong>e;<br />

Stuttgart: Teubner, 1991).<br />

14. G. P. Cardello, ‘Predica fatta nel Duomo di Milano [. . .] l’anno 1563. Ove si<br />

parla del giuoco, et si narra la sua <strong>in</strong>stitutione, et s’è lecito a’ Christiani’,


136 Notes<br />

<strong>in</strong> T. Porcacchi (ed.), Prima parte delle prediche di diversi illustri <strong>the</strong>ologi et<br />

catholici predicatori della parola di Dio (Venice: G. de’ Cavalli, 1566), pp.<br />

479–507 (507).<br />

15. M.W. Bloomfield, The Seven Deadly S<strong>in</strong>s (East Lans<strong>in</strong>g: Michigan State College<br />

Press, 1952; repr. Michigan State University Press, 1967), passim, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g<br />

numerous references to animals culturally associated with <strong>the</strong> vice; S.<br />

Wenzel, The S<strong>in</strong> of Sloth: Acedia <strong>in</strong> Medieval Thought and Literature (Chapel<br />

Hill: University of North Carol<strong>in</strong>a Press, 1967); C. Casagrande and S.<br />

Vecchio, I sette vizi capitali. Storia dei peccati nel Medioevo (Tur<strong>in</strong>: E<strong>in</strong>audi,<br />

2000), pp. 78–95.<br />

16. Casagrande and Vecchio, I sette vizi capitali, pp. 87, 90, 93.<br />

17. F. de Luque Faxardo, Fiel desengaño contra la ociosidad, y los juegos (1603), ed.<br />

by M. de Riquer, 2 vols (Madrid: Real Academia Española, 1955).<br />

18. R. Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, ed. by T. C. Faulkner and o<strong>the</strong>rs, with<br />

commentary by J.B. Bamborough and M. Dodsworth, 6 vols (Oxford:<br />

Clarendon, 1989–2000), I (1989), pp. 238–45 (240); cf. R. Klibansky, E.<br />

Panofsky and F. Saxl, Saturn and Melancholy (London: Nelson, 1964).<br />

19. Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy, I (1989), pp. 288–93.<br />

3 The Medical Discourse<br />

1. A. Arcangeli, ‘Play and health <strong>in</strong> medical literature’, De zeventiende eeuw, 15<br />

(1999) 3–11, and ‘Dance and health: <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> physicians’ view’,<br />

Dance Research, 18.1 (2000) 3–30, are anticipations of <strong>the</strong> content of this<br />

chapter.<br />

2. R. Porter, The Greatest Benefit to Mank<strong>in</strong>d: A Medical History of Humanity from<br />

Antiquity to <strong>the</strong> Present (London: HarperColl<strong>in</strong>s, 1997), pp. 95, 107.<br />

3. G. Olson, Literature as <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Later Middle Ages (Ithaca, NY: Cornell<br />

University Press, 1982), pp. 39–89; R. Palmer, ‘Health, hygiene and longevity<br />

<strong>in</strong> medieval and <strong>Renaissance</strong> Europe’, <strong>in</strong> Y. Kawakita, and o<strong>the</strong>rs (eds), History<br />

of Hygiene (Tokyo: Ishiyaku Euro America, 1991), pp. 75–98; A. Wear, ‘The<br />

history of personal hygiene’, <strong>in</strong> W. F. Bynum and R. Porter (eds), Companion<br />

Encyclopedia of <strong>the</strong> History of Medic<strong>in</strong>e (London: Routledge, 1993), II, pp.<br />

1283–308; P. Gil Sotres, ‘The regimens of health’, <strong>in</strong> M. D. Grmek (ed.),<br />

Western Medical Thought from Antiquity to <strong>the</strong> Middle Ages, trans. by A. Shugaar<br />

(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997), pp. 291–318; H. Mikkeli,<br />

Hygiene <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Early Modern Medical Tradition (Hels<strong>in</strong>ki: F<strong>in</strong>nish Academy<br />

of Science and Letters, 1999); A. Wear, Knowledge and Practice <strong>in</strong> English<br />

Medic<strong>in</strong>e, 1550–1680 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), pp.<br />

154–209.<br />

4. On <strong>the</strong> German physician Petrus Lauremberg, see Mikkeli, Hygiene, pp.<br />

101–8.<br />

5. J. Matthaeus, Speculum sanitatis (Herborn, 1620), pp. 138–9.<br />

6. T. Elyot, Castell of Hel<strong>the</strong> (London: T. Ber<strong>the</strong>letus, 1539), fol. 50v.<br />

7. H. Montuus, De activa medic<strong>in</strong>ae scientia commentarii duo (Lyons: J.<br />

Tornaesius, 1557), p. 130; Matthaeus, Speculum sanitatis, p. 143.<br />

8. A Translation of Galen’s Hygiene (De sanitate tuenda), by R.M. Green<br />

(Spr<strong>in</strong>gfield, IL: Thomas, 1951); Galen, ‘The exercise with <strong>the</strong> small ball’, <strong>in</strong>


Notes 137<br />

his Selected Works, trans. by P.N. S<strong>in</strong>ger (Oxford: Oxford University Press,<br />

1997), pp. 299–304.<br />

9. C. Mendez, Libro del exercicio corporal ([Seville], 1553), fols F8–G5; Book of<br />

Bodily Exercise (Baltimore, MD, 1960), pp. 111–13.<br />

10. T. Cogan, The Haven of Health (London: H. Middleton for W. Norton, 1584),<br />

p. 3 (ano<strong>the</strong>r frequently repr<strong>in</strong>ted work).<br />

11. R. a Fonseca, De tuenda valetud<strong>in</strong>e et producenda vita liber (Florence, 1602), p.<br />

15; Del conservare la sanità, trans. by P. Manc<strong>in</strong>i (Florence, 1603), p. 17. The<br />

vernacular play term<strong>in</strong>ology occurs already <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> orig<strong>in</strong>al Lat<strong>in</strong> text.<br />

12. H. Rantzovius, De conservanda valetud<strong>in</strong>e liber, ed. by D. S. Holsatus (Frankfurt,<br />

1604), pp. 37–9.<br />

13. E. Hollyngus, De salubri studiosorum victu (Ingolstadt: A. Angermarius, 1602),<br />

pp. 85–6.<br />

14. I cited sources and literature <strong>in</strong> my ‘Dance and health’, note 11. The book<br />

had a wide circulation <strong>in</strong> both <strong>the</strong> East and <strong>the</strong> West, where it had been<br />

translated <strong>in</strong>to Lat<strong>in</strong> by <strong>the</strong> second half of <strong>the</strong> thirteenth century.<br />

15. H. Mercurialis, De arte gymnastica libri sex, 4th edn (Venice, 1601; repr. with<br />

It. trans. by I. Galante, [Tur<strong>in</strong>], 1960), p. 239; J. Ulmann, De la gymnastique<br />

aux sports moderns (Paris, 1965), pp. 97–109; P. C. McIntosh, ‘Hieronymus<br />

Mercurialis’ De arte gymnastica: classification and dogma <strong>in</strong> physical education<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> sixteenth century’, The British Journal of Sports History, 1 (1984)<br />

73–84; V. Nutton, ‘Les exercices de la santé: Hieronymus Mercurialis et la<br />

gymnastique médicale’, <strong>in</strong> J. Céard, M.-M. Fonta<strong>in</strong>e and J.-C. Margol<strong>in</strong> (eds),<br />

Le corps à la <strong>Renaissance</strong> (Paris, 1990), pp. 295–308.<br />

16. G. Vagenheim, ‘Le dess<strong>in</strong> de L’essercitio gladiatorio de Pirro Logorio et le De<br />

arte gymnastica de Girolamo Mercuriale. De la recherche antiquarie à la propagande<br />

de la Contre-Réforme: l’exemple du corps au combat’, Ludica, 3<br />

(1997) 91–100.<br />

17. R. Quazza, ‘Alfonso II d’Este, duca di Ferrara’, <strong>in</strong> Dizionario biografico degli<br />

italiani, 2 (Rome, 1960), pp. 337–41.<br />

18. L. Caporossi, ‘Il programma iconografico di Ligorio nel Castello Estense di<br />

Ferrara: gioco e tempo nell’ “Appartamento dello Specchio”’, forthcom<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>in</strong> Ludica, 8 (2002); M. de Gandillac, ‘Symbolismes ludiques chez Nicolas de<br />

Cues (De la toupie et du jeu de la sagesse)’, <strong>in</strong> P. Ariès and J.-C. Margol<strong>in</strong><br />

(eds), Les jeux à la <strong>Renaissance</strong>. Actes du XXIII e Colloque <strong>in</strong>ternational d’études<br />

humanistes (Paris: Vr<strong>in</strong>, 1982), pp. 345–65.<br />

19. Plutarch, The Education of Children (De liberis educandis), <strong>in</strong> Plutarch’s Moralia<br />

<strong>in</strong> Sixteen Volumes, I, with an English translation by F. C. Babbitt (Loeb<br />

Classical Library, London: He<strong>in</strong>emann; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University<br />

Press, 1969), pp. 37–41; E.B. English, ‘Physical Education Pr<strong>in</strong>ciples of<br />

Selected Italian Humanists of <strong>the</strong> Quattrocento and C<strong>in</strong>quecento: Exposition<br />

and Comparison with Modern Pr<strong>in</strong>ciples’, unpublished diss. (Buffalo:<br />

State University of New York, 1978).<br />

20. R. Mulcaster, Positions Concern<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g up of Children (1581), ed. by<br />

W. Barker (Toronto: Toronto University Press, 1994); cf. Nutton, ‘Les exercices<br />

de la santé’, pp. 307–8.<br />

21. H. de Monteux, Conservation de santé et prolongation de vie, 2nd French translation<br />

(Paris: S. Calvar<strong>in</strong>, 1572), fols 122, 125–6 (I quote from fols 122 and<br />

126). In <strong>the</strong> advertis<strong>in</strong>g jargon that was typical of frontispieces, <strong>the</strong> volume


138 Notes<br />

is described <strong>in</strong> a colourful way as also target<strong>in</strong>g a non-specialist public (‘livre<br />

fort utile et necessaire non seulement aux medec<strong>in</strong>s, mais aussi à toute personne<br />

qui veult avoir la santé corporelle, sans laquelle ceste vie est sans<br />

fruit’).<br />

22. I. Quercetanus, Diaeteticon polyhistoricon (Paris: C. Morellus, 1606), fols<br />

144–9v; J. Du Chesne, Le pourtraict de la santé (Paris: C. Morellus, 1606), pp.<br />

290–334. The latter part of <strong>the</strong> longer quotation develops a po<strong>in</strong>t first made<br />

by Plato, Laws, 653c–4b; cf. K. Ioannides, Le philosophe et le musicien dans<br />

l’oeuvre de Platon (Nicosia: Centre de Recherche de Kykkos, 1990), pp. 145–60.<br />

23. A. Cornaro, Scritti sulla vita sobria, Elogio & Lettere, ed. by M. Mitani (Venice:<br />

Corbo & Fiore, 1983). On <strong>the</strong> humanistic topos of long life: H. E. Sigerist,<br />

Landmarks <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> History of Hygiene (London: Oxford University Press, 1956),<br />

pp. 36–46; Mikkeli, Hygiene, pp. 86–92.<br />

24. On <strong>the</strong> volta and <strong>the</strong> cultural history of <strong>the</strong> waltz, see R. Hess, La valse: révolution<br />

du couple en Europe (Paris: Métailié, 1989).<br />

25. P. Gontier, Exercitationes hygiasticae, sive de sanitate tuenda, et vita producenda,<br />

libri XVIII (Lyons: A. Jullieron, 1668), pp. 471–96.<br />

26. Xénophon, Banquet. Apologie de Socrate, ed. by F. Ollier (Paris, 1961), p. 45<br />

(hence also <strong>in</strong> Diogenes Laertius’s Lives of <strong>the</strong> Philosophers). Both <strong>the</strong> options<br />

for dance and ball games as <strong>the</strong> best exercise were quoted by M. Cagnatus,<br />

De sanitate tuenda libri duo (Padua: F. Bolzetta, 1605), fol. 138.<br />

27. Bicais, La manière de regler la santé par ce qui nous environne, par ce que nous<br />

recevons, et par les exercices, ou par la gymnastique moderne (Aix: Charles David,<br />

1669), p. 283.<br />

28. The most obvious reference is to Marsilio Fic<strong>in</strong>o, whose path was followed<br />

by subsequent generations of philosophers and physicians. Groundbreak<strong>in</strong>g<br />

work on Fic<strong>in</strong>o’s philosophy of music and on its medical/anthropological<br />

implications is collected <strong>in</strong> D. P. Walker, Music, Spirit and Language <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>Renaissance</strong>, ed. by P. Gouk (London: Variorum Repr<strong>in</strong>ts, 1985).<br />

29. Bicais, La manière de regler la santé, pp. 284–5.<br />

30. Ibid., pp. 286, 305–6.<br />

31. Ibid., p. 323.<br />

32. V. P. Plempius, De togatorum valetud<strong>in</strong>e tuenda commentatio (Brussels, 1670),<br />

p. 297.<br />

33. V. H. Voglerus, Diaeteticorum commentariorum liber unus (Helmstedt, 1667),<br />

p. 227.<br />

34. Gontier, Exercitationes hygiasticae; Voglerus, Diaeteticorum commentariorum.<br />

35. J. H. Overfield, ‘Sports and Physical Exercise <strong>in</strong> Diderot’s Encyclopédie’, North<br />

American Society for Sport History. Proceed<strong>in</strong>gs (1996) 7–11.<br />

36. M. Fic<strong>in</strong>o, Three Books on Life, ed. by C. V. Kaske and J. R. Clarke (B<strong>in</strong>ghamton,<br />

NY, 1989). On <strong>the</strong> genre see W. F. Kümmel, ‘Der Homo litteratus und<br />

die Kunst, gesund zu leben’, <strong>in</strong> R. Schmitz and G. Keil (eds), Humanismus<br />

und Mediz<strong>in</strong> (We<strong>in</strong>heim: Acta Humaniora, 1984), pp. 67–85; on health advice<br />

literature for specific professions and social groups until 1700: A. Arcangeli,<br />

‘Mestieri e professioni nella letteratura medica (secoli XV–XVII)’, <strong>in</strong> M.<br />

Meriggi and A. Pastore (eds), Le regole dei mestieri e delle professioni, secoli<br />

XV–XIX (Milan: Angeli, 2000), pp. 256–67.<br />

37. E. Hollyngus, De salubri studiosorum victu (Ingolstadt: A. Angermarius, 1602).<br />

A similar list of exercises recommended for <strong>the</strong> literate, which once aga<strong>in</strong>


Notes 139<br />

<strong>in</strong>cluded dance, had been proposed by <strong>the</strong> Flemish physician Jakob van den<br />

Bossche: I. Sylvius, De studiosorum, et eorum qui corporis exercitationibus addicti<br />

non sunt, tuenda valetud<strong>in</strong>e, libri duo (Douai, 1574), fols 25v–26.<br />

38. H. Cardanus, Opus novum cunctis de sanitate tuenda, ac vita producenda (Rome:<br />

F. Zanettus, 1580), pp. 54–70.<br />

39. On <strong>the</strong> topic see M. Zerb<strong>in</strong>i, ‘Alle fonti del dop<strong>in</strong>g’, unpublished <strong>the</strong>sis<br />

(Rome: Università ‘La Sapienza’, 1995–96).<br />

40. R. Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, ed. by T. C. Faulkner and o<strong>the</strong>rs, with<br />

commentary by J. B. Bamborough and M. Dodsworth (Oxford: Clarendon,<br />

1989–2000), II, pp. 67–96 (quotations from p. 67).<br />

41. Ibid., p. 68.<br />

42. Ibid., p. 69.<br />

43. Ibid., p. 72.<br />

44. Ibid., p. 73.<br />

45. Ibid., pp. 76–7.<br />

46. Ibid., p. 80.<br />

47. Ibid., pp. 81–2.<br />

48. Ibid., p. 84.<br />

49. E. Maynwar<strong>in</strong>ge, Vita sana et longa: <strong>the</strong> Preservation of Health, and Prolongation<br />

of Life (London, 1669), p. 86; see B. Traffichetti, L’arte di conservare la<br />

sanità (Pesaro, 1565), fol. 110, where a technical explanation is given: ‘one<br />

has chiefly to care, that <strong>the</strong> sort of exercise he practises pleases him and<br />

makes him happy, if he really wants that motion to be an exercise for<br />

himself, not an unpleasant effort; because happ<strong>in</strong>ess opens up one’s spirits,<br />

and expands heat to all <strong>the</strong> parts [of <strong>the</strong> body]’ (perché l’alegrezza è dilattatione<br />

dei spirti, ed espansione del calore a tutte le parti).<br />

50. Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy, II, pp. 112–24.<br />

51. P. Justus, Alea sive de curanda ludendi <strong>in</strong> pecuniam cupiditate libri duo (Basel:<br />

Ioannes Opor<strong>in</strong>us, 1561), quot. from p. 17; cf. p. 30: ‘Est igitur alea, effrenata<br />

quaedam ludendi <strong>in</strong> pecuniam cupiditas, animosa credulaque spe lucri<br />

flagrans’. In <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>troductory pages of his treatise (p. 29), Joostens claims to<br />

have written it at <strong>the</strong> request of some friends, who wanted to recover from<br />

<strong>the</strong>ir addiction to gambl<strong>in</strong>g – undoubtedly a paratextual convention, though<br />

no less <strong>in</strong>dicative of contemporary cultural orientations and moral hesitations<br />

on <strong>the</strong> matter. Justus’s book was repeatedly cited <strong>in</strong> Thiers’s already<br />

mentioned Traité des jeux et divertissemens (1686).<br />

52. I. Kant, Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten (1785), trans. as Groundwork of<br />

<strong>the</strong> Metaphysics of Morals, trans. and ed. by M. Gregor, with an <strong>in</strong>troduction<br />

by C. M. Korsgaard (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998).<br />

53. Justus, Alea (repr. Neustadt an der We<strong>in</strong>strasse: H. Starckius for J. C. Unckelius,<br />

1617). Cf. Johann von Münster, E<strong>in</strong> gottselicher Tractat von dem<br />

ungottselichen Tantz [A godly treatise on <strong>the</strong> ungodly dance] (Hanaw: W.<br />

Antonius, 1602); A. Arcangeli, Davide o Salomè Il dibattito europeo sulla danza<br />

nella prima età moderna (Treviso: Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche; Rome:<br />

Viella, 2000), pp. 57–58, 172–4.<br />

54. Justus, De alea libri duo (repr. Amsterdam: L. Elzevirium, 1642).<br />

55. J. B. Thiers, Traité des jeux et divertissemens, qui peuvent être permis, ou qui<br />

doivent être défendus aux chrêtiens selon les règles de l’Église et le sentiment des<br />

Pères (Paris: Anto<strong>in</strong>e Dezallier, 1686), p. 353.


140 Notes<br />

4 The Moral Discourse<br />

1. Francis [of] Sales, An Introduction to a Devoute Life, trans. by I. Y. (J. Heigham,<br />

1613; repr. London, 1961), I, pp. 428–37.<br />

2. Innocentius III, De contemptu mundi, <strong>in</strong> J. P. Migne (ed.), Patrologiae cursus<br />

completus: Series Lat<strong>in</strong>a (221 vols, Paris, 1844–64), vol. 217, cols 701–46;<br />

R. Bultot, La doctr<strong>in</strong>e du mépris du monde, en Occident, de S. Ambroise à<br />

Innocent III, vol. 4 (Louva<strong>in</strong>: Nauwelaerts, 1963–64); J. Delumeau, S<strong>in</strong> and<br />

Fear: The Emergence of a Western Guilt Culture, 13th–18th Centuries, trans. by<br />

E. Nicholson (New York: St Mart<strong>in</strong>’s Press, 1990).<br />

3. Petrarch, Physicke aga<strong>in</strong>st fortune, trans. by T. Twyne (London, 1579; facsimile<br />

repr., Delmar, NY, 1980), fols 27–45. The Lat<strong>in</strong> text (De remediis utriusque<br />

fortunae) is still want<strong>in</strong>g a critical edition (an undertak<strong>in</strong>g at which Nicholas<br />

Mann has been announced to be work<strong>in</strong>g).<br />

4. Cf. P. Galloni, Storia e cultura della caccia (Rome and Bari: Laterza, 2000),<br />

p. 160; K. Thomas, Man and <strong>the</strong> Natural World (London: Pengu<strong>in</strong>, 1983),<br />

Chapter 4.<br />

5. P. Covarrubias, Remedio de jugadores (Burgos: Alonso de Melgar, 1519), fols<br />

XXXv–XXXVI; cf. Rimedio de’ giuocatori, Italian trans. by A. Ulloa (Venice: V.<br />

Valgrisi, 1561), pp. 62–74. Cf. N. Elias and E. Dunn<strong>in</strong>g, Quest for Excitement:<br />

Sport and Leisure <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Civiliz<strong>in</strong>g Process (Oxford: Blackwell, 1986).<br />

6. P. Salvadori, La chasse sous l’Ancien Régime (Paris: Fayard, 1996), p. 134.<br />

7. See C. Rojek, ‘Veblen, leisure and human need’, Leisure Studies, 14 (1995)<br />

73–86.<br />

8. J. L. Stocks, ‘Schole’, Classical Quarterly, XXX (1936) 177–87; E. Mikkola,<br />

‘Schole bei Aristoteles’, Arctos, n.s. 2 (1958) 68–87; S. de Grazia, Of Time, Work<br />

and Leisure (New York: Twentieth Century Fund, 1962), pp. 9–19. Hannah<br />

Arendt’s comments on scholé as ‘“abstention from” all activities connected<br />

with mere be<strong>in</strong>g alive’ – The Human Condition (Chicago: University of<br />

Chicago Press, 1958; repr. 1998), p. 131 – f<strong>in</strong>d <strong>the</strong>ir raison d’être with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

logic of her book and do not contradict <strong>the</strong> general consensus about <strong>the</strong><br />

primary nature of <strong>the</strong> Greek concept.<br />

9. Francisco de Alcocer, Tratado del juego (Salamanca: Andrea de Portonariis,<br />

1559, colophon 1558), p. 3.<br />

10. H. Rahner, Man at Play (New York, 1972), pp. 91–105.<br />

11. In addition to general commentaries on <strong>the</strong> Ethics, early modern specific<br />

publications <strong>in</strong>clude: R. Goclenius (praeses) and G. Dreudius (respondens),<br />

Postremae disputationis e quarto libro Ethicorum Aristotelis, <strong>the</strong>ses aphoristicae,<br />

de urbanitate et verecundia (Marburg: P. Egenolphus, 1589); H. ab Otten,<br />

‘Disputationum practicarum vigesima-octava, De Urbanitate’ (1647), <strong>in</strong> A.<br />

Heereboord (author & praeses), Collegium Ethicum, <strong>in</strong> quo tota philosophia<br />

moralis aliquot disputationibus . . . explicatur (Leiden: B. and E. Elsevir, 1648),<br />

pp. 209–18; S. Constant (respondens), ‘Disputatio undecima, De Comitate et<br />

Urbanitate’, <strong>in</strong> D. Constant, Systema ethico <strong>the</strong>ologicum vig<strong>in</strong>ti qu<strong>in</strong>que disputationibus<br />

(Lausanne, 1695).<br />

12. G. Mil<strong>in</strong>, [Noël du Fail.] Les baliverneries d’Eutrapel. Edition critique (doctoral<br />

diss., Université de Rennes, 1969, published 1970), pp. LXXVII–LXXVIII (also<br />

on classical precedents). I owe <strong>the</strong> reference to Du Fail to <strong>the</strong> k<strong>in</strong>dness of<br />

Peter Burke.


Notes 141<br />

13. Albericus de Roxiate, Alfabetum iuris civilis primum. Et alfabetum iuris canonici<br />

secundum (Bologna, 1481), sig. A7; Ioannes Tabiensis, Summae Tabienae,<br />

quae Summa summarum merito appellatur, pars prima [-secunda] (Venice, 1572);<br />

cf. P. Michaud-Quant<strong>in</strong>, Sommes de casuistique et manuels de confession<br />

(Louva<strong>in</strong>: Nauwelaerts, 1962), p. 104. For <strong>the</strong> occurrence of eutrapelia with<strong>in</strong><br />

seventeenth-century French moral debates on drama, see H. Phillips, The<br />

Theatre and Its Critics <strong>in</strong> Seventeenth-Century France (New York: Oxford University<br />

Press, 1980), pp. 167–70.<br />

14. [P. Fomperosa y Qu<strong>in</strong>tana], Eutrapelia. Medio, que deben tener los juegos, divertimientos,<br />

y comedias, para que no aya en ellas pecado, y puedan exercitarse licita,<br />

y honestamente (Valencia: B. Macè, 1683).<br />

15. P. Corazzari, L’empietà condannata negli abusi de’ spettacoli, e giuochi publici<br />

(Bologna: G. B. Ferroni, 1661), p. 18.<br />

16. Expositio Gualteri Burlei super decem libros Ethicorum Aristotelis (Venice: A.<br />

Torresani, 1500), fols 73v–74v.<br />

17. For detailed references to <strong>the</strong> material that follows, see A. Arcangeli, Davide<br />

o Salomé Il dibattito europea sulla danza nella prima età moderna (Treviso:<br />

Fondazione Benetton; Rome: Viella, 2000) pp. 81–8, 224–7. Cf. also C. Page,<br />

The Owl and <strong>the</strong> Night<strong>in</strong>gale: Musical Life and Ideas <strong>in</strong> France, 1100–1300<br />

(London: Dent, 1989), pp. 129–33.<br />

18. Paris, Bibliothèque Mazar<strong>in</strong>e, MS lat. 795, fol. 64v; Florence, Biblioteca<br />

Nazionale Centrale, Conventi soppressi da ord<strong>in</strong>are, MS Vallombrosa 27,<br />

striscia 316, fols 50v–51. On Rolando: M. M. Mulchahey, ‘First <strong>the</strong> Bow Is Bent<br />

<strong>in</strong> Study . . .’: Dom<strong>in</strong>ican Education before 1350 (Toronto: Pontifical Institute<br />

of Mediaeval Studies, 1998), pp. 60–7.<br />

19. St Thomas Aqu<strong>in</strong>as, Summa Theologiae, Lat<strong>in</strong> text and English trans., vol. 44,<br />

ed. by T. Gilby (London: Blackfriars, 1972), pp. 210–27. On Aristotle and<br />

Aqu<strong>in</strong>as, see also G. Olson, Literature as <strong>Recreation</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Later Middle Ages<br />

(Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1982), pp. 94–9.<br />

20. Reference is still made to Arcangeli, Davide o Salomé, pp. 86–7, and Page,<br />

The Owl and <strong>the</strong> Night<strong>in</strong>gale, p. 132.<br />

21. For a more detailed analysis of this material, see A. Arcangeli, ‘The confessor<br />

and <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>atre’, <strong>in</strong> F. Massip (ed.), Formes teatrals de la tradició<br />

medieval. Actes del VII Colloqui de la ‘Societé Internationale pour l’Étude du<br />

Théatre Médiéval’ (Barcelona: Institut del Teatre, 1996), pp. 19–25.<br />

22. J. B. Thiers, Traité des jeux et divertissemens, qui peuvent être permis, ou qui<br />

doivent être défendus aux chrêtiens selon les règles de l’Église et le sentiment des<br />

Pères (Paris: A. Dezallier, 1686); R. Sauzet, ‘Aux orig<strong>in</strong>es du refus des jeux et<br />

divertissements dans la pastorale catholique moderne’, <strong>in</strong> P. Ariès and J.-C.<br />

Margol<strong>in</strong> (eds), Les jeux à la <strong>Renaissance</strong>. Actes du XXIII e Colloque <strong>in</strong>ternational<br />

d’études humanistes (Paris: Vr<strong>in</strong>, 1982), pp. 649–58; C. Biquard, ‘La lutte de<br />

l’Église contre les fêtes paiennes, les jeux et les divertissements aux XVI et<br />

XVII siècles’, unpublished diss. (Paris: EHESS, 1986). Cf. J. B. Thiers, Traité<br />

des superstitions selon l’Écriture sa<strong>in</strong>te, les décrets de conciles et les sentiments des<br />

sa<strong>in</strong>ts Pères et des théologiens (Paris: A. Dezallier, 1679); J.-M. Goulemot,<br />

‘Démons, merveilles et philosophie à l’Âge classique’, Annales. Économies,<br />

Sociétés, Civilisations, 35 (1980) 1223–50; W. Monter, Ritual, Myth and Magic<br />

<strong>in</strong> Early Modern Europe (Brighton: Harvester, 1983), pp. 121–4. For a discussion<br />

of <strong>the</strong> same three conditions set by Aqu<strong>in</strong>as by a contemporary


142 Notes<br />

apologist of drama, Thomas Caffaro, see Phillips, The Theatre and Its Critics,<br />

pp. 159–61 (followed by <strong>the</strong> reactions from his opponents, pp. 161–7).<br />

23. Bernard<strong>in</strong>o da Siena, sermon 42, ‘De alearum ludo’, from his De Christiana<br />

religione (1427), ed. <strong>in</strong> his Opera omnia, II (Florence, 1950), pp. 20–34; La<br />

petite dyablerie dont Lucifer est le chef et les membres sont tous les ioueurs <strong>in</strong>iques<br />

et pecheurs reprouves, <strong>in</strong>titule Leglise des mauvais (Paris: <strong>the</strong> widow of J. Trepperel<br />

and J. Jeannot, 1520); The chirche of <strong>the</strong> evyll men and women, whereof<br />

Lulyfer is <strong>the</strong> heed, and <strong>the</strong> membres is all <strong>the</strong> players dissolute and s<strong>in</strong>ners<br />

reproved, trans. by H. Watson (London: W. de Worde, 1522). Cf. W. Prynne,<br />

Histrio-Mastix. The players scourge, or, Actors tragedie (London: for M. Sparke,<br />

1633; repr. New York and London, 1974). On Bernard<strong>in</strong>o’s moraliz<strong>in</strong>g campaigns:<br />

A. Rizzi, Ludus/ludere. Giocare <strong>in</strong> Italia alla f<strong>in</strong>e del medio evo (Treviso:<br />

Fondazione Benetton; Rome: Viella, 1995). On <strong>the</strong> logic of opposition and<br />

<strong>in</strong>version typical of <strong>the</strong> belief system of early modern witchcraft, S. Clark,<br />

Th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g with Demons (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997). A copy of a<br />

pr<strong>in</strong>t of La petite dyablerie held by <strong>the</strong> Bibliothèque Nationale de France – MS<br />

Rothschild-6 (3 bis, 39) – has a different woodcut, reproduc<strong>in</strong>g Moses and<br />

<strong>the</strong> devil Belial (I wish to thank Elizabeth McGrath for her k<strong>in</strong>d help <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

identification of <strong>the</strong> subject).<br />

24. A. Rocca, Commentarius contra ludum alearum (Rome, 1616); Trattato per la<br />

salute dell’anime e per la conservatione della robba e del denaro contra i giuochi<br />

delle carte e dadi (Rome: Guglielmo Facciotto, 1617): ‘prohibiti da’ sacrosanti<br />

concilii, dalle legi canoniche e civili non solamente da’ christiani, ma anco<br />

da’ gentili o pagani, per li molti peccati e casi horrendissimi che nascono da’<br />

detti abom<strong>in</strong>evoli giuochi. F<strong>in</strong>almente per la ricreatione dell’animo, e per<br />

fuggir l’otio, si propone un giuoco <strong>in</strong>gegnoso et onesto e lecito a qual si<br />

voglia persona’.<br />

25. Cf. F. Taviani, La commedia dell’arte e la società barocca: la fasc<strong>in</strong>azione del teatro<br />

(Rome: Bulzoni, 1969; repr. 1991), with extracts from sources.<br />

26. G. D. Ottonelli, Parenesi prima a’ giucatori di carte o di dadi (Florence: Landi,<br />

1659): ‘Il giuoco fa dare alle volte <strong>in</strong> eccessi di pazzia’ (p. 22); next quotation<br />

from conclusion 22 (p. 91).<br />

27. L. Danaeus, Tractatus de ludo aleae, <strong>in</strong> his Tractatus duo: primus De amicitia<br />

Christiana; secundus De ludo aleae (Geneva: E. Vignon, 1579), pp. 39–65; A<br />

treatise touch<strong>in</strong>g dyceplay and prophane gam<strong>in</strong>g. Where<strong>in</strong>, as godly recreations<br />

and moderate disportes bee Christianly allowed and learnedly defended: so all<br />

va<strong>in</strong>e, ydle, unlawfull, offensive and prophane exercises bee sharply reproved and<br />

flatly condemned, trans. by T. Newton, published aga<strong>in</strong> toge<strong>the</strong>r with his True<br />

and Christian Friendshippe (London: A. Veale, 1586). Cf. O. Fatio, Nihil pulchrius<br />

ord<strong>in</strong>e. Contribution à l’étude de l’établissement de la discipl<strong>in</strong>e ecclésiastique<br />

aux Pays-Bas ou Lambert Daneau aux Pays-Bas, 1581–1583 (Leiden: Brill,<br />

1971); J. Taff<strong>in</strong>, The amendment of life (London, 1595), pp. 228–55. With<strong>in</strong> a<br />

few years, Taff<strong>in</strong>’s treatise also appeared <strong>in</strong> French and German. A French<br />

version of Daneau’s treatise was published first, on <strong>the</strong> same year as <strong>the</strong> Lat<strong>in</strong><br />

text, with<strong>in</strong> a revised edition of his work on witchcraft – Deux traitez nouveaux,<br />

très-utiles pour ce temps: le premier touchant les sorciers [. . .] le second contient<br />

une breve remonstrance sur les jeux de cartes et de dez ([Gien]: Jacques<br />

Baumet, 1579) – subsequently <strong>in</strong> at least one separate pr<strong>in</strong>t ([s.l.]: P. Prunier,<br />

1591).


Notes 143<br />

28. D. Souter, Palamedes sive De tabula lusoria, alea et variis ludis libri tres (Leiden:<br />

Elzevir, 1622 and 1625; preceded by Ioannes Meursius, Graecia ludibunda sive<br />

De ludis Graecorum liber s<strong>in</strong>gularis). Cf. Ioannes Meursius, Orchestra sive De<br />

saltationibus veterum (Leiden, 1618). In his preface to <strong>the</strong> reader of Graecia<br />

ludibunda (unfol.), <strong>the</strong> author mentions his dance book and refers to his two<br />

volumes as a jo<strong>in</strong>t project, which aims at a comprehensive exploration of<br />

Greek pastimes (oblectamenta).<br />

29. On Lenaert Leys (Leonardus Lessius): T. van Houdt, ‘Spelen om geld’, De<br />

zeventiende eeuw, 15.1 (1999) 61–73. On English and Dutch Protestant <strong>the</strong>ologians<br />

(Voetius, Taff<strong>in</strong>, Gataker, Perk<strong>in</strong>s and Ames): L. F. Groenendijk,<br />

‘Kansspelen <strong>in</strong> het ethische discours van gereformeerde <strong>the</strong>ologen <strong>in</strong> de<br />

Noordelijke Nederlanden’, De zeventiende eeuw, 15.1 (1999) 74–85.<br />

30. Peter Martyr, The Common Places, trans. by A. Marten (London, 1583), pp.<br />

503–5 (‘Of danses’), 524–8 (‘Of plaies or pastimes’); A briefe treatise, concern<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>the</strong> use and abuse of daunc<strong>in</strong>g, trans. by I. K. (London: J. Jugge, [1580]).<br />

While <strong>the</strong> orig<strong>in</strong> of both of <strong>the</strong>se texts was a Lat<strong>in</strong> commentary on <strong>the</strong> Book<br />

of Judges (first published <strong>in</strong> Zurich <strong>in</strong> 1561), <strong>the</strong> editor of <strong>the</strong> collection of<br />

Peter Martyr’s commonplaces gave <strong>the</strong>m systematic arrangement, and by so<br />

do<strong>in</strong>g oriented <strong>the</strong> reader’s approach to <strong>the</strong>m. Dance was put under <strong>the</strong><br />

seventh commandment, as related to sexual promiscuity and transgression;<br />

play under <strong>the</strong> eighth, thus equat<strong>in</strong>g it with gambl<strong>in</strong>g and <strong>the</strong>ft.<br />

31. August<strong>in</strong>e, De vera religione, 38; Bede, Expositio <strong>in</strong> Primam Epistolam S. Joannis.<br />

32. S. D’Agata D’Ottavi, ‘The quaestiones disputatae: an aspect of medieval<br />

<strong>the</strong>atre’, European Medieval Drama, I (1997) 101–8.<br />

33. Aqu<strong>in</strong>as, Summa Theologiae, vol. 44, pp. 200–9.<br />

34. St Anton<strong>in</strong>us, Summa <strong>the</strong>ologica, ed. by P. Baller<strong>in</strong>i (Verona, 1740; repr. Graz,<br />

1959), vol. 2, cols 491–4. Cf. Arcangeli, ‘The confessor and <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>atre’.<br />

35. Caietanus, Summula (Venice: D. Nicol<strong>in</strong>us, 1584), s.v. ‘histrionum peccata’,<br />

‘ludere’, ‘spectacula’; his commentary is <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> St Thomas Aqu<strong>in</strong>as,<br />

Opera omnia, Leon<strong>in</strong>a edn, vol. X (Rome, 1899), pp. 345–8. Cf. Arcangeli,<br />

‘The confessor and <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>atre’, pp. 24–5.<br />

36. Otten, ‘De Urbanitate’.<br />

37. Olson, Literature as <strong>Recreation</strong>, p. 64. Cf. W. Tatarkiewicz, ‘Theatrica, <strong>the</strong><br />

science of enterta<strong>in</strong>ment from <strong>the</strong> XIIth to <strong>the</strong> XVIIth century’, Journal of<br />

<strong>the</strong> History of Ideas, XXVI (1965) 263–72; P. Vall<strong>in</strong>, ‘Mechanica et Philosophia<br />

selon Hugues de Sa<strong>in</strong>t-Victor’, Revue d’Histoire de la Spiritualité, 49 (1973)<br />

257–88; C. Casagrande and S. Vecchio, ‘Clercs et jongleurs dans la société<br />

médiévale (XII e et XIII e siècles)’, Annales. Economies, Sociétés, Civilisations, 34<br />

(1979) 913–28.<br />

38. Phillips, The Theatre and Its Critics.<br />

39. J.A. Gonzalez Alcantud, Tractatus ludorum: una antropológica del juego<br />

(Barcelona: Anthropos, 1993).<br />

40. P. de Covarrubias, Remedio de jugadores (Burgos: A. de Melgar, 1519); Rimedio<br />

de’ giuocatori, Italian trans. by A. Ulloa (Venice: V. Valgrisi, 1561). Cf.<br />

Gonzalez Alcantud, Tractatus ludorum, pp. 115–20. On bullfight<strong>in</strong>g, see A.<br />

Mol<strong>in</strong>ié-Bertrand, J.-P. Duviols and A. Guillaume-Alonso (eds), Des taureaux<br />

et des hommes. Tauromachie et société dans le monde ibérique et ibéro-américa<strong>in</strong>.<br />

Actes du colloque <strong>in</strong>ternational (Paris: Presses de l’Université de Paris-Sorbonne,<br />

1999); for an anthropological enquiry on <strong>the</strong> ritual, with comparisons with


144 Notes<br />

o<strong>the</strong>r Mediterranean cultures, Á. Álvarez de Miranda, Ritos y juegos del toro<br />

(Madrid: Biblioteca Nueva, 1998).<br />

41. Alcocer, Tratado del juego; <strong>the</strong> text runs for 350 pages. Cf. Gonzalez Alcantud,<br />

Tractatus ludorum, pp. 120–3.<br />

42. ‘La tercera manera de juegos es, de aquellos que se hazen para tomar un poco<br />

de plazer y passatiempo, y a las vezes juntamente para exercitar las fuerças.<br />

Y estos son los que los vulgares llaman propriamente juegos, y se dividen<br />

segun los dotores en tres maneras de juegos’ (Alcocer, Tratado del juego,<br />

p. 27).<br />

43. ‘Que de derecho natural y div<strong>in</strong>o n<strong>in</strong>gun juego ay prohibido ni malo; y de<br />

los motivos y causas que algunos pueden tener para condenar los juegos’<br />

(Alcocer, Tratado del juego, pp. 28–36).<br />

44. Juan de Mariana, Tratado contra los juegos públicos (1609; edn Madrid, 1950).<br />

Cf. A. Garcia Barrio, Intolerancia de poder y protesta popular en el Siglo de Oro.<br />

Los debates sobre la licitud moral del teatro (Malaga: Universidad de Málaga,<br />

1978), pp. 34–7; Gonzalez Alcantud, Tractatus ludorum, pp. 106–9.<br />

45. Alcocer, Tratado del juego, especially p. 17.<br />

46. A first draft of this section was given <strong>in</strong> A. Arcangeli, ‘Tempo dissipato e<br />

tempo redento’, Annali dell’Istituto storico italo-germanico <strong>in</strong> Trento, 17 (1991)<br />

121–34.<br />

47. Prynne, Histrio-Mastix, pp. 254–6 (quotation from p. 255).<br />

48. Ibid., pp. 302–10.<br />

49. Ibid., pp. 501–8.<br />

50. R. Baxter, A Christian Directory: or, A Summ of Practical Theologie, and Cases of<br />

Conscience (London: R. White and N. Simmons, 1673), pp. 274–93 (quotation<br />

from p. 274).<br />

51. Ibid., p. 275.<br />

52. Ibid., p. 275.<br />

53. Ibid., pp. 460–5. See also J. K. Rühl, ‘Religion and amusements <strong>in</strong> sixteenthand<br />

seventeenth-century England: “Time might be better bestowed, and<br />

besides wee see s<strong>in</strong> acted”’, British Journal of Sports History, 1.2 (1984) 125–65.<br />

54. J. Le Goff, ‘Merchant’s time and <strong>the</strong> Church’s time <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Middle Ages’, <strong>in</strong><br />

his Time, Work and Culture <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Middle Ages, trans. by A. Goldhammer<br />

(Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1980), pp. 29–42;<br />

Medieval Civiization, 400–1500, trans. by J. Barrow (Oxford: Blackwell, 1988).<br />

For Alberti: L. B. Alberti, The Family <strong>in</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> Florence, trans. by R. N.<br />

Watk<strong>in</strong>s (Columbia: University of South Carol<strong>in</strong>a Press, 1969). An <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g<br />

test of Le Goff’s po<strong>in</strong>t on <strong>the</strong> opposition between <strong>the</strong> merchant and <strong>the</strong><br />

Church is offered by A. Murray, ‘Time and money’, <strong>in</strong> M. Rub<strong>in</strong> (ed.), The<br />

Work of Jacques Le Goff and <strong>the</strong> Challenges of Medieval History (Woodbridge:<br />

Boydell Press, 1997), pp. 1–25.<br />

55. M. Weber, The Protestant Ethic and <strong>the</strong> Spirit of Capitalism, trans. by T. Parsons<br />

(New York: Scribner’s, 1930, repr. 1958).<br />

56. A. Arcangeli, ‘Dance under trial: <strong>the</strong> moral debate 1200–1600’, Dance<br />

Research, 12.2 (1994) 127–55 (129); Davide o Salomé, esp. pp. 220–2.<br />

57. Arcangeli, Davide o Salomé (on Bucer and Peter Martyr, pp. 136–7; on<br />

Lu<strong>the</strong>ranism, pp. 175–87). For Constant, see: Constant, ‘De Comitate et<br />

Urbanitate’; H. Vuilleumier, Histoire de l’Église réformée du Pays de Vaud<br />

sous le régime bernois, vol. II (Lausanne, 1929). For Meisner: B. Meisnerus,


Notes 145<br />

Philosophia sobria, vol. I (Giessen, 1615), pp. 375–82; developed by his<br />

student Matthias Butschky <strong>in</strong> a <strong>the</strong>sis, which belonged <strong>in</strong> a series of<br />

anti-Calv<strong>in</strong>ist controversy: Disputatio duodecima de choreis et comoediis<br />

(Wittenberg: I. Gormannus, 1620).<br />

5 Games and Law<br />

1. J. Huiz<strong>in</strong>ga, Homo Ludens, trans. by R.F.C. Hull (London: Routledge, 1949;<br />

repr. 1998), pp. 76–88.<br />

2. For updated <strong>in</strong>troductions see: R.C. van Caenegem, An Historical Introduction<br />

to Private Law, trans. by D.E.L. Johnston (Cambridge: Cambridge<br />

University Press, 1992); M. Bellomo, The Common Legal Past of Europe,<br />

1000–1800, trans. by L. G. Cochrane (Wash<strong>in</strong>gton: Catholic University of<br />

America Press, 1995); A. M. Hespanha, Panorama histórico da cultura jurídica<br />

europeia, 2nd edn (Lisbon: Publicações Europa-América, 1999).<br />

3. Digest 11.5.1–4, <strong>in</strong> Corpus iuris civilis, I: Institutiones. Digesta, ed. by P. Krüger<br />

and T. Mommsen, 21st edn (Frankfurt a. M., 1970), pp. 185–6; Code<br />

3.43.1–2, <strong>in</strong> Corpus iuris civilis, II: Codex Iust<strong>in</strong>ianus, ed. and rev. by P. Krüger,<br />

15th edn (Frankfurt a. M., 1970), pp. 147–8; see also <strong>the</strong> paragraph Novels<br />

123.10.1, <strong>in</strong> Corpus iuris civilis, III: Novellae, ed. by R. Schöll and G. Kroll, 9th<br />

edn (Frankfurt a. M., 1968), pp. 602–3. Cf. L. Zdekauer, Il gioco d’azzardo nel<br />

medoevo italiano (Florence: Salimbeni, 1993 – a repr<strong>in</strong>t of collected articles<br />

first published <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> 1880s and 1890s); U. Gualazz<strong>in</strong>i, Premesse storiche al<br />

diritto sportivo (Milan: Giuffrè, 1965); R. Ferroglio, ‘Ricerche sul gioco e sulla<br />

scommessa f<strong>in</strong>o al secolo XIII’, Rivista di storia del diritto italiano, LXXI (1998)<br />

273–387; G. Ceccarelli, ‘Gioco tra economia e teologia’, Ludica, 7 (2001)<br />

46–60; M. Vallerani, ‘Ludus e giustizia: rapporti e <strong>in</strong>terferenze tra sistemi di<br />

valori e reazioni giudiziarie’, Ludica, 7 (2001) 61–75.<br />

4. C. Casagrande and S. Vecchio, ‘Clercs et jongleurs dans la société médiévale<br />

(XII e et XIII e siècles)’, Annales. Economies, Sociétés, Civilisations, 34 (1979)<br />

913–28.<br />

5. Tractatus de multiplici ludo editus per clarissimum utriusque iuris doc. do. Ugonem<br />

Trottum; Ferrara, Biblioteca Comunale Ariostea, MS I.185, fols 1–27 (quotations<br />

from fols 1v, 2, 2v). Cf. Rome, Vatican Library, MS Chis. J.IV.100 (a<br />

copy dated 1466); Cambridge, MA, Harvard University, Houghton Library,<br />

MS Lat. 194; Parma, Biblioteca Palat<strong>in</strong>a, fondo parmense, MS misc. XV.85,<br />

fols 80v–118v.<br />

6. Ferrara, Biblioteca Comunale Ariostea, MS I.185 (quotation from fol. 9v).<br />

7. Stuttgart, Württembergische Landesbiblio<strong>the</strong>k, MS HB.VI.2, fols 54–73. A<br />

much shorter text is conta<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> Leiden, Biblio<strong>the</strong>k der Universiteit, MS<br />

d’Abla<strong>in</strong>g 28, fols 54–55v.<br />

8. Tractatus universi iuris, IV (Lyons, 1549); Tractatus universi iuris, VII (Venice:<br />

F. Zilettus, 1584).<br />

9. S. Costa, De ludo (Pavia: F. de Sancto Petro, 1478; repr. 1489); also repr. as<br />

‘De ludo et ioco’, <strong>in</strong> Tractatus universi iuris, Lyons edn, IV, fols 189–196v. Cf.<br />

Gualazz<strong>in</strong>i, Premesse storiche al diritto sportivo, pp. 268–81.<br />

10. M. Soc<strong>in</strong>us, Nova et utilissima commentaria super secunda parte libri qu<strong>in</strong>ti Decretalium<br />

(Parma, 1574), fols 73v–79v. Cf. H. Boich, In qu<strong>in</strong>que Decretalium


146 Notes<br />

libros commentaria, 2 vols (Venice: apud haeredem Hieronymi Scoti, 1576),<br />

I, 375 (which conta<strong>in</strong>s a commentary on Gregory IX’s decretals on <strong>the</strong> moral<br />

conduct of clerics). Bohic was also one of Costa’s ma<strong>in</strong> sources.<br />

11. I. B. Cacialup[us], ‘De ludo et aleae lusu’, <strong>in</strong> Tractatus universi iuris, Lyons<br />

edn, IV, fols 201v–207, cf. Gualazz<strong>in</strong>i, Premesse storiche, pp. 266–8.<br />

12. Paris de Pu<strong>the</strong>o, Tractatus aureus <strong>in</strong> materia ludi editus (Tolouse: I. Fabri, 1520);<br />

repr. as Paris a Puteo, ‘De ludo et aleatoribus’, <strong>in</strong> Tractatus universi iuris, Lyons<br />

edn, IV, fols 197–201.<br />

13. T. Malvetius, ‘De sortibus’, <strong>in</strong> Tractatus universi iuris, Lyons edn, IV, fols<br />

207v–211v.<br />

14. I. Consobr<strong>in</strong>us, De iustitia commutativa (Paris, 1483 and subsequent edns);<br />

repr., with a translation by R. Machado, <strong>in</strong> M. A. Amzalak, Frei João Sobr<strong>in</strong>ho<br />

e as doutr<strong>in</strong>as económicas da Idade-Média (Lisbon, 1945).<br />

15. P. Pantoja de Aiala, ‘Commentaria <strong>in</strong> tit[ulos] D[ecreti] et C[odicis] de<br />

aleatoribus’, <strong>in</strong> Thesaurus Juris Romani, ed. by E. Otto (Leiden and Utrecht,<br />

1725–35), IV, cols 907–1152.<br />

16. J. Thomas, Schediasma iuridicum de aleatoribus – Von Würffel-Spielern, <strong>in</strong> Acad.<br />

Jen. MDCLI habitum, 2nd edn (1723).<br />

17. Zdekauer, Il gioco d’azzardo; G. Ortalli (ed.), Gioco e giustizia nell’Italia di<br />

Comune (Treviso: Fondazione Benetton; Rome: Viella, 1993); A. Rizzi,<br />

Ludus/ludere. Giocare <strong>in</strong> Italia alla f<strong>in</strong>e del medio evo (Treviso: Fondazione<br />

Benetton; Rome: Viella, 1995); I. Taddei, ‘Gioco d’azzardo, ribaldi e baratteria<br />

nelle città della Toscana tardo-medievale’, Quaderni storici, 92 (1996)<br />

335–62; Vallerani, ‘Ludus e giustizia’. Forthcom<strong>in</strong>g through <strong>the</strong> same publishers<br />

(Benetton and Viella) is <strong>the</strong> edition of a substantial collection of laws<br />

concern<strong>in</strong>g play and games issued by late medieval Italian communes: A.<br />

Rizzi (ed.), Statuta et banna de ludo. Repertorio di leggi sul gioco nell’Italia di<br />

Comune (secoli XIII–XVI). Cf. also G. Ortalli, ‘Tempo libero e medio evo: tra<br />

pulsioni ludiche e schemi culturali’, <strong>in</strong> S. Cavaciocchi (ed.), Il tempo libero.<br />

Economia e società (Loisirs, leisure, tiempo libre, Freizeit). Secc. XIII–XVIII (Prato:<br />

Istituto <strong>in</strong>ternazionale di storia economica ‘F. Dat<strong>in</strong>i’, 1995), pp. 31–54; ‘The<br />

orig<strong>in</strong>s of <strong>the</strong> gambler-state. Licences and excises for gam<strong>in</strong>g activities <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

XIII and XIV centuries (and <strong>the</strong> case of Vicenza)’, Ludica, 3 (1997) 108–31;<br />

‘Lo stato e il giocatore: lunga storia di un rapporto difficile’, <strong>in</strong> G. Imbucci<br />

(ed.), Il gioco pubblico <strong>in</strong> Italia: storia, cultura e mercato (Venice: Marsilio, 1999),<br />

pp. 33–43.<br />

18. M<strong>in</strong>or Prose Works of K<strong>in</strong>g James VI and I, ed. by J. Craigie and A. Law<br />

(Ed<strong>in</strong>burgh: Scottish Text Society, 1982), pp. 101–9, 217–41; on <strong>the</strong> controversy<br />

cf. R. Hutton, The Rise and Fall of Merry England: The Ritual Year,<br />

1400–1700 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994), pp. 196–8, with bibliographical<br />

references.<br />

19. R. Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, ed. by T. C. Faulkner and o<strong>the</strong>rs, with<br />

commentary by J. B. Bamborough and M. Dodsworth (Oxford: Clarendon,<br />

1989–2000), II, p. 82.<br />

20. The Basilicon Doron of K<strong>in</strong>g James VI, ed. by J. Craigie, vol. I (Ed<strong>in</strong>burgh and<br />

London: Scottish Text Society, 1944), pp. 93–4.<br />

21. A brief discussion of <strong>the</strong> issue <strong>in</strong> J. P. Toner, Leisure and Ancient Rome (Cambridge:<br />

Polity, 1995), pp. 125–6. In a variant which <strong>the</strong> Spanish royal<br />

favourite Valenzuela adopted <strong>in</strong> 1674, <strong>the</strong> Lat<strong>in</strong> motto comprised ‘bread,


Notes 147<br />

bulls and work’ (pan, toros y trabajo); cf. P. Burke, Popular Culture <strong>in</strong> Early<br />

Modern Europe (1978; revised repr. Aldershot: Scolar, 1994), p. 200.<br />

22. Caietanus, Summula (Venice: apud Dom<strong>in</strong>icum Nicol<strong>in</strong>um, 1584), pp. 44–5.<br />

23. R. C. Davis, The War of <strong>the</strong> Fists: Popular Culture and Public Violence <strong>in</strong> Late<br />

<strong>Renaissance</strong> Venice (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994).<br />

24. A. Arcangeli, ‘L’opuscolo contro la danza attribuito a Carlo Borromeo’,<br />

Quadrivium, n.s. 1.1 (1990) 35–76.<br />

25. M<strong>in</strong>or Prose Works of K<strong>in</strong>g James VI and I, p. 105.<br />

26. L. Danaeus, Tractatus de ludo aleae, <strong>in</strong> his Tractatus duo (Geneva: E. Vignon,<br />

1579), pp. 39–65; A treatise touch<strong>in</strong>g dyceplay and prophane gam<strong>in</strong>g, trans. by<br />

T. Newton (London: A. Veale, 1586).<br />

27. G. P. Cardello, ‘Predica fatta nel Duomo di Milano [. . .] l’anno 1563. Ove si<br />

parla del giuoco, et si narra la sua <strong>in</strong>stitutione, et s’è lecito a’ Christiani’, <strong>in</strong><br />

T. Porcacchi (ed.), Prima parte delle prediche di diversi illustri <strong>the</strong>ologi et catholici<br />

predicatori della parola di Dio (Venice: G. de’ Cavalli, 1566), p. 496.<br />

28. F. de Alcocer, Tratado del juego (Salamanca: Andrea de Portonariis, 1558–59),<br />

pp. 294–301.<br />

29. R. Strong, Art and Power: <strong>Renaissance</strong> Festivals, 1450–1650 (Berkeley and Los<br />

Angeles: University of California Press, 1984). See also Spectaculum Europaeum:<br />

Theatre and Spectacle <strong>in</strong> Europe/Histoire du spectacle en Europe (1580–<br />

1750), ed. by P. Béhar and H. Watanabe O’Kelly (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz,<br />

1999), and <strong>the</strong> connected ongo<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>ternational research project ‘Europa<br />

triumphans’.<br />

30. M. Panzer, Tanz und Recht (Frankfurt a. M., 1938).<br />

31. G. K. Bast<strong>in</strong>eller (praeses), I. D. Kettnerus (autor et respondens), De eo quod<br />

iustum est circa saltationes (Wittenberg, 1730), quotations from pp. 41, 10.<br />

Cf. A. Arcangeli, Davide o Salomé Il dibattito europea sulla danza nella prima<br />

età moderna (Treviso: Fondazione Benetton; Rome: Viella, 2000), pp. 185–7;<br />

‘Dance and law’, <strong>in</strong> B. Ravelhofer (ed.), Terpsichore 1450–1900: International<br />

Dance Conference, Ghent, Belgium, 11–18 April 2000. Proceed<strong>in</strong>gs (Ghent: Institute<br />

for Historical Dance Practice, 2000), pp. 51–64.<br />

32. V. G. Kiernan, The Duel <strong>in</strong> European History: Honour and <strong>the</strong> Reign of Aristocracy<br />

(Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1986). For national<br />

perspectives: F. R. Bryson, The Sixteenth-Century Italian Duel: A Study <strong>in</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

Social History (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1938); F. Erspamer,<br />

La biblioteca di don Ferrante: duello e onore nella cultura del C<strong>in</strong>quecento (Rome:<br />

Bulzoni, 1982); F. Billacois, Le duel dans la société française des XVIe–XVIIe<br />

siècles: essai de psychosociologie historique (Paris: École des Hautes Études en<br />

Sciences Sociales, 1986); C. Chauchadis, La loi du duel: le code du po<strong>in</strong>t d’honneur<br />

dans l’Espagne des XVIe–XVIIIe siècles (Toulouse: Presses universitaires du<br />

Mirail, 1997); M. Peltonen, The Duel <strong>in</strong> Early Modern England: Civility, Politeness,<br />

and Honour (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002).<br />

33. The Radical Reformation, ed. and trans. by M. G. Baylor (Cambridge: Cambridge<br />

University Press, 1991), pp. 116–17 (anonymous To <strong>the</strong> Assembly of<br />

<strong>the</strong> Common Peasantry, May 1525) and 235 (The Twelve Articles of <strong>the</strong> Upper<br />

Swabian Peasants, February–March 1525); P. Salvadori, La chasse sous l’Ancien<br />

Régime (Paris: Fayard, 1996), doléances at pp. 382–3; P. Galloni, Storia e cultura<br />

della caccia (Rome and Bari: Laterza, 2000); E. P. Thompson, Whigs and<br />

Hunters: The Orig<strong>in</strong> of <strong>the</strong> Black Act (London: Allen Lane, 1975).


148 Notes<br />

34. Salvadori, La chasse, pp. 15–36.<br />

35. P. Covarrubias, Remedio de jugadores (Burgos: Alonso de Melgar, 1519),<br />

fols XXXv–XXXV; Rimedio de’ giuocatori, Italian trans. by A. Ulloa (Venice:<br />

V<strong>in</strong>cenzo Valgrisi, 1561), pp. 69–71.<br />

36. A. Hunt, Governance of <strong>the</strong> Consum<strong>in</strong>g Passions: A History of Sumptuary Law<br />

(Bas<strong>in</strong>gstoke: Macmillan Press – now Palgrave Macmillan, 1996); quotations<br />

from p. 393.<br />

37. Ibid., pp. 273–85.<br />

6 Varieties of Pastimes<br />

1. See for <strong>in</strong>stance <strong>the</strong> works by Plat<strong>in</strong>a (1470) and Giuniano Maio (1492) <strong>in</strong> J.<br />

Kraye (ed.), Cambridge Translations of <strong>Renaissance</strong> Philosophical Texts, vol. II:<br />

Political Philosophy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), pp.<br />

102–3, 112.<br />

2. B. Castiglione, The Book of <strong>the</strong> Courtier, trans. by T. Hoby, ed. by V. Cox<br />

(London: Dent, 1994), pp. 112–13; cf. W. A. Rebhorn, Courtly Performances:<br />

Mask<strong>in</strong>g and Festivities <strong>in</strong> Castiglione’s Book of Courtier (Detroit: Wayne State<br />

University Press, 1978).<br />

3. V. P. Plempius, De togatorum valetud<strong>in</strong>e tuenda commentatio (Brussels, 1670),<br />

p. 297.<br />

4. P. Salvadori, La chasse sous l’Ancien Régime (Paris: Fayard, 1996).<br />

5. J. Burckhardt, The Civilization of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> <strong>in</strong> Italy, trans. by S.G.C.<br />

Middlemore, rev. by I. Gordon (New York and Toronto: New American<br />

Library, 1960), part V.<br />

6. P. Burke, Popular Culture <strong>in</strong> Early Modern Europe (1978; revised repr<strong>in</strong>t,<br />

Aldershot: Scolar Press, 1994); ‘Le carnaval de Venise: Esquisse pour une<br />

histoire de longue durée’, <strong>in</strong> P. Ariès and J.-C. Margol<strong>in</strong> (eds), Les jeux à la<br />

<strong>Renaissance</strong>. Actes du XXIII e Colloque <strong>in</strong>ternational d’études humanistes (Paris:<br />

Vr<strong>in</strong>, 1982), pp. 55–63.<br />

7. W. Heywood, Palio and Ponte (1904; repr. New York: Hacker, 1969); R. C.<br />

Davis, The War of <strong>the</strong> Fists: Popular Culture and Public Violence <strong>in</strong> Late <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

Venice (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994); A. A. Settia, ‘La<br />

“battaglia”: un gioco violento fra permissività e <strong>in</strong>terdizione’, <strong>in</strong> G. Ortalli<br />

(ed.), Gioco e giustizia nell’Italia di Comune (Treviso: Fondazione Benetton;<br />

Rome: Viella, 1993), pp. 121–32.<br />

8. P. Corazzari, L’empietà condannata negli abusi de’ spettacoli, e giuochi publici<br />

(Bologna: G. B. Ferroni, 1661).<br />

9. Florio’s Second Frutes. To Which is Annexed his Garden of <strong>Recreation</strong> (London:<br />

for T. Woodcock, 1591; repr. Amsterdam: Theatrum Orbis Terrarum; New<br />

York: Da Capo Press, 1969); F. A. Yates, John Florio: The Life of an Italian <strong>in</strong><br />

Shakespeare’s London (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1934).<br />

10. D. Boccamazza, Trattato della caccia, <strong>in</strong> G. Innamorati (ed.), Arte della caccia.<br />

Testi di falconeria, uccellagione e altre cacce (Milan: Il Polifilo, 1965), I, pp.<br />

291–512.<br />

11. For <strong>the</strong> legislation bann<strong>in</strong>g folk danc<strong>in</strong>g, cf. K. R. Greenfield, Sumptuary Law<br />

<strong>in</strong> Nürnberg: A Study <strong>in</strong> Paternal Government (Baltimore: Johns Hopk<strong>in</strong>s Press,<br />

1918), pp. 93–4; A. Hunt, Governance of <strong>the</strong> Consum<strong>in</strong>g Passions: A History of


Notes 149<br />

Sumptuary Law (Bas<strong>in</strong>gstoke: Macmillan Press – now Palgrave Macmillan,<br />

1996), pp. 283–4. For <strong>the</strong> familiarity of Nürnberg patricians with Italian court<br />

dance, see <strong>the</strong> example of Johannes Cochläus <strong>in</strong> I. Wetzel, ‘“Hie <strong>in</strong>nen s<strong>in</strong>dt<br />

geschrieben die wellschen tenntz”: le otto danze italiane nel manoscritto di<br />

Norimberga’, <strong>in</strong> M. Padovan (ed.), Guglielmo Ebreo da Pesaro e la danza nelle<br />

corti italiane del XV secolo (Pisa: Pac<strong>in</strong>i, 1990), pp. 321–43. On <strong>the</strong> 1521 Tanzstatut,<br />

G. Hirschmann, Das Nürnberger Patriziat, <strong>in</strong> H. Rössler (ed.), Deutsches<br />

Patriziat (Darmstadt: C. A. Starke, 1965), pp. 257–66 (265–6).<br />

12. P. Burke, The Art of Conversation (Cambridge: Polity, 1993); B. Craveri, La<br />

civiltà della conversazione (Milan: Adelphi, 2001).<br />

13. F. de Grenaille, Les plaisirs des dames (Paris, 1641 and 1643); Frauenzimmer<br />

Belustigung (Nuremberg: M. Endter, 1657). Cf. F. Petrarque, Le sage resolu<br />

contre la bonne et mauvaise fortune, trans. by F. de Grenaille (Bruxelles: F.<br />

Foppens, 1660).<br />

14. Grenaille, Les plaisirs des dames, pp. 308, 310, 322. Cf. A. Arcangeli, ‘Dance<br />

under trial: <strong>the</strong> moral debate 1200–1600’, Dance Research, XII.2 (1994)<br />

127–55; Davide o Salomé (Treviso: Fondazione Benetton; Rome: Viella,<br />

2000), pp. 240–6.<br />

15. R. Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, ed. by T. C. Faulkner and o<strong>the</strong>rs, with<br />

commentary by J. B. Bamborough and M. Dodsworth (Oxford: Clarendon,<br />

1989–2000), II, p. 95.<br />

16. I. Quercetanus, Diaeteticon polyhistoricon (Paris: C. Morellus, 1606), fol. 155;<br />

cf. J. Du Chesne, Le portraict de la santé (Paris: C. Morellus, 1606), p. 321.<br />

17. Cf. F. Rust, Dance <strong>in</strong> Society (London: Routledge & K. Paul, 1969).<br />

18. L. Lev<strong>in</strong>e, Men <strong>in</strong> Women’s Cloth<strong>in</strong>g (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,<br />

1994); cf. W. Prynne, Histrio-Mastix. The players scourge, or, Actors tragedie<br />

(London, 1633; repr. New York and London, 1974), especially pp. 167–73,<br />

168–216, 237–9, 273–90.<br />

19. See respectively: A. Arcangeli, ‘Dance and punishment’, Dance Research, X.2<br />

(1992) 30–42; Stuttgart, Württembergische Landesbiblio<strong>the</strong>k, MS HB.VI.2,<br />

fols 65v–67; A. Pontremoli and P. La Rocca, Il ballare lombardo (Milan: Vita<br />

e Pensiero, 1987), p. 176.<br />

20. J. Davies, Complete Poems, ed. by A. B. Grosart (London, 1876), I, p. 193. On<br />

<strong>the</strong> text, E. M. W. Tillyard, The Elizabethan World Picture (London, 1943; repr.<br />

Harmondsworth: Pengu<strong>in</strong>, 1963), pp. 123–9; S. Thesiger, ‘The Orchestra of Sir<br />

John Davies and <strong>the</strong> image of <strong>the</strong> dance’, Journal of <strong>the</strong> Warburg and Courtauld<br />

Institutes, XXXVI (1973) 277–304; S. Howard, The Politics of Courtly<br />

Danc<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> Early Modern England (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press,<br />

1998), pp. 87–104. On <strong>the</strong> myth, L. Brisson, Le my<strong>the</strong> de Tirésias (Leiden:<br />

Brill, 1976).<br />

21. A Critical Edition of Sir Thomas Elyot’s The Boke Named <strong>the</strong> Governour, ed.<br />

by D. W. Rude (New York: Garland, 1992), p. 93. On dance <strong>in</strong> Elyot, cf. J. M.<br />

Major, ‘The moralization of <strong>the</strong> dance <strong>in</strong> Elyot’s Governour’, Studies <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>Renaissance</strong>, V (1958) 27–36; Howard, The Politics of Courtly Danc<strong>in</strong>g, pp.<br />

29–35.<br />

22. Guglielmo Ebreo of Pesaro, De Pratica seu Arte Tripudii. On <strong>the</strong> Practice or Art<br />

of Danc<strong>in</strong>g, ed. by B. Sparti (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993); F. Caroso,<br />

Il ballar<strong>in</strong>o (Venice, 1581; repr. New York: Broude, 1967); Nobiltà di dame,<br />

libro altra volta chiamato Il ballar<strong>in</strong>o (Venice, 1600; repr. Bologna: Forni, 1970);


150 Notes<br />

Courtly Dance of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong>: A New Translation and Edition of <strong>the</strong> Nobiltà<br />

di Dame (1600), ed. by J. Sutton, 2nd edn (New York: Dover, 1995).<br />

23. J. R. Nevile, ‘The courtly dance manuscripts from fifteenth-century Italy’,<br />

unpublished diss. (Sydney: University of New South Wales, 1992), pp. 181–9.<br />

24. On <strong>the</strong> subject, see also M. Nordera, ‘La donna <strong>in</strong> ballo. Danza e genere nella<br />

prima età moderna’, unpublished diss. (Florence: European University Institute,<br />

2001). Burton listed ‘to see Ladies dance’ among <strong>the</strong> leisure occupations<br />

of <strong>the</strong> Duke of Burgundy Philip <strong>the</strong> Good (Anatomy of Melancholy, II,<br />

p. 83).<br />

25. Castiglione, Book of <strong>the</strong> Courtier, p. 218. At <strong>the</strong> request of Elizabeth Brooks,<br />

<strong>the</strong> Marquise of Northampton, Hoby first specifically translated <strong>the</strong> third<br />

book (1551). Cf. V. Cox, ‘Seen but not heard: <strong>the</strong> role of women speakers <strong>in</strong><br />

C<strong>in</strong>quecento literary dialogue’, <strong>in</strong> L. Panizza (ed.), Women <strong>in</strong> Italian <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

Culture and Society (Oxford: European Humanities Research Centre,<br />

2000), pp. 385–400.<br />

26. P. Salvadori, La chasse sous l’Ancien Régime (Paris: Fayard, 1996); P. Galloni,<br />

Storia e cultura della caccia (Rome and Bari: Laterza, 2000).<br />

27. F. Joubert, La tapisserie (Turnhout: Brepols, 1993), pp. 7, 56.<br />

28. Joubert, La tapisserie, pp. 52–3. Cf. F. Yates, The Valois Tapestries (London:<br />

Warburg Institute, 1959).<br />

29. Cf. C. Barletta, ‘Iconografia del gioco nel Quattrocento’, <strong>in</strong> Passare il tempo:<br />

la letteratura del gioco e dell’<strong>in</strong>trattenimento dal XII al XVI secolo (Rome: Salerno,<br />

1993), pp. 239–50.<br />

30. Erasmus, Colloquies, ed. by C. R. Thompson, <strong>in</strong> Collected Works of Erasmus,<br />

vol. 40 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997), p. 894.<br />

31. L. B. Alberti, Libri della famiglia, book I; cf. The Family <strong>in</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> Florence,<br />

trans. by R. N. Watk<strong>in</strong>s (Columbia: University of South Carol<strong>in</strong>a Press, 1969),<br />

quot. from p. 83.<br />

32. R. Mulcaster, Positions Concern<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g up of Children (1581), ed. by W.<br />

Barker (Toronto: Toronto University Press, 1994).<br />

33. L. Caporossi, ‘Il programma iconografico di Ligorio nel Castello Estense di<br />

Ferrara: gioco e tempo nell’ “Appartamento dello Specchio”’, forthcom<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>in</strong> Ludica, 8.<br />

34. S. Schama, The Embarrassment of Riches (London: Coll<strong>in</strong>s, 1987), pp. 497–<br />

516. See also P. Ariès, Centuries of Childhood, trans. by R. Baldick (New York:<br />

V<strong>in</strong>tage Books, 1962), pp. 60–97; M. F. Durant<strong>in</strong>i, The Child <strong>in</strong> Seventeenth-<br />

Century Dutch Pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g (Epp<strong>in</strong>g: Bowker, 1983).<br />

35. J. Hills, Das K<strong>in</strong>derspielbild von Pieter Bruegel d. Ä. (1560): e<strong>in</strong>e volkskundliche<br />

Untersuchung (Vienna, 1957; 2nd edn: Österreichisches Museum für Volkskunde,<br />

1998); J.-P. Vanden Branden, ‘Les jeux d’enfants de Pierre Bruegel’,<br />

<strong>in</strong> P. Ariès and J.-C. Margol<strong>in</strong> (eds), Les jeux à la <strong>Renaissance</strong>. Actes du XXIII e<br />

Colloque International d’Études Humanistes, Tours, juillet 1980 (Paris: Vr<strong>in</strong>,<br />

1982), pp. 499–524 (p. 515 both on <strong>in</strong>nocence and le pipi, <strong>in</strong> polemic with<br />

Hills).<br />

36. J. Stella, Les jeux et plaisirs de l’enfance, engraved by C. Bouzonnet-Stella (Paris:<br />

Stella, 1667; repr. Geneva and Paris: Slatk<strong>in</strong>e, 1981); cf. M. Manson, Jouets<br />

de toujours: de l’Antiquité à la Révolution (Paris: Fayard, 2001), p. 166.<br />

37. C. Rao, ‘Invettiva contra i giuocatori’, <strong>in</strong> his Invettive, orationi et discorsi<br />

(Venice: D. Zenaro, 1587), fol. 94v – where noble examples from <strong>the</strong> Medici<br />

family are brought to illustrate <strong>the</strong> po<strong>in</strong>t.


Notes 151<br />

38. Ariès, Centuries of Childhood. For an example of critique of his ma<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>sis:<br />

S. Shahar, Childhood <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Middle Ages (London and New York: Routledge,<br />

1990). On <strong>the</strong> history of toys, see now Manson, Jouets de toujours.<br />

39. Manson, Jouets de toujours, pp. 137–54.<br />

40. J. H. Plumb, ‘The new world of children <strong>in</strong> eighteenth-century England’, <strong>in</strong><br />

N. McKendrick and o<strong>the</strong>rs (eds), The Birth of a Consumer Society (London:<br />

Europa, 1982), pp. 286–315.<br />

41. Manson, Jouets de toujours, p. 142.<br />

42. J. Fra<strong>in</strong> du Tremblay, Conversations morales sur les jeux et les divertissemens<br />

(Paris: André Pralard, 1685). The same author’s subsequent Nouveaux Essais<br />

de morale (Paris: D. Hortemels, 1691) conta<strong>in</strong>ed uncompromis<strong>in</strong>g condemnation<br />

of contemporary drama; cf. H. Phillips, The Theatre and Its Critics <strong>in</strong><br />

Seventeenth-Century France (New York: Oxford University Press, 1980), passim.<br />

43. J. Verdon, Les loisirs en France au Moyen Âge (Paris: Tallandier, 1980); J. M.<br />

Carter, Medieval Games: Sports and <strong>Recreation</strong>s <strong>in</strong> Feudal Society (New York:<br />

Greenwood, 1992).<br />

44. On <strong>the</strong> latter: P. Clark, The English Alehouse: A Social History 1200–1830<br />

(Harlow: Longman, 1983).<br />

45. T. F. Crane, Italian Social Customs of <strong>the</strong> Sixteenth Century, and Their Influence<br />

on <strong>the</strong> Literatures of Europe (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1920). The<br />

sources cited above are: I. R<strong>in</strong>ghieri, Cento giuochi liberali, et d’<strong>in</strong>gegno (Bologna:<br />

A. Giaccarelli, 1551); G. Bargagli, Dialogo de’ giuochi che nelle vegghie sanesi si<br />

usano di fare, ed. by P. D’Incalci Erm<strong>in</strong>i (Siena: Accademia senese degli<br />

<strong>in</strong>tronati, 1982); Castiglione, The Book of <strong>the</strong> Courtier; S. Guazzo, La civil<br />

conversazione, ed. by A. Quondam, 2 vols (Modena: Pan<strong>in</strong>i, 1993). Cf. <strong>the</strong> contributions<br />

by V. Marchetti, F. Lecercle and R. Bruscagli <strong>in</strong> Ariès and Margol<strong>in</strong>,<br />

Les jeux à la <strong>Renaissance</strong>, pp. 163–212; those by L. Riccò and R. Lencioni Novelli<br />

(among <strong>the</strong> many relevant) <strong>in</strong> Passare il tempo, pp. 373–98, 691–706.<br />

46. C. Sorel, La maison des jeux, rev. edn (1657); repr. ed. by D.-A. Gajda (Geneva:<br />

Slatk<strong>in</strong>e, 1977).<br />

47. A. de’ Mori, Giuoco piacevole, ed. by M. G. Sanjust (Rome: Bulzoni, 1988);<br />

M. G. Sanjust, ‘Il “gioco giocato” di Ascanio de’ Mori da Ceno’, <strong>in</strong> Passare il<br />

tempo, pp. 769–76. The book was orig<strong>in</strong>ally published <strong>in</strong> 1575, and underwent<br />

revised repr<strong>in</strong>ts <strong>in</strong> 1580 and 1590.<br />

48. S. Byrd, A friendlie communication or Dialogue betweene Paule and Demas,<br />

where<strong>in</strong> is disputed how we are to use <strong>the</strong> pleasures of this life (London: T. Heast<br />

for J. Harrison <strong>the</strong> younger, 1580); quotations from <strong>in</strong>itial unfol., 19v.<br />

49. T. Tasso, Il Gonzaga secondo overo del giuoco, <strong>in</strong> his Dialoghi, ed. by E.<br />

Raimondi (Florence: Sansoni, 1958), pp. 449–97. Tasso provides <strong>the</strong> def<strong>in</strong>ition<br />

and start<strong>in</strong>g po<strong>in</strong>t for <strong>the</strong> assessment of play <strong>in</strong> T. Garzoni, La piazza<br />

universale di tutte le profesioni del mondo, ed. by P. Cherchi and B. Coll<strong>in</strong>a<br />

(Tur<strong>in</strong>: E<strong>in</strong>audi, 1996), Discorso LXIX, pp. 903–10.<br />

50. On <strong>the</strong> importance of this issue, see P. Burke, A Social History of Knowledge:<br />

From Gutenberg to Diderot (Cambridge: Polity, 2000), pp. 81–115.<br />

51. H. Cardanus, Opus novum cunctis de sanitate tuenda, ac vita producenda (Rome:<br />

F. Zanettus, 1580), pp. 54–70.<br />

52. A. Sca<strong>in</strong>o, Trattato del giuoco della palla (Venice, 1555).<br />

53. Ioannes Gallensis, Communiloqium sive Summa collationum (Strasbourg:<br />

Jordanns de Quedl<strong>in</strong>burg, 1489; repr. Wakefield: S. R., 1964); A. Anglus<br />

(Carpentarius), Destructorum viciorum (1480 seqq.).


152 Notes<br />

54. H. I. Clodius, Primae l<strong>in</strong>eae biblio<strong>the</strong>cae lusoriae: sive, Notitia scriptorum de<br />

ludis, praecipue domesticis ac privatis, ord<strong>in</strong>e alphabetico digesta (Leipzig: I. C.<br />

Langenhemius, 1761; repr. Leipzig: Zentralantiquariat der Deutschen<br />

Demokratischen Republik, 1971), p. 18.<br />

55. J. B. Thiers, Traité des jeux et des divertissemens (Paris: A. Dezallier, 1686).<br />

56. Ferrara, Biblioteca Comunale Ariostea, MS I.185, fol. 1v.<br />

57. Sorel, La maison des jeux. On <strong>the</strong> latter po<strong>in</strong>t, <strong>the</strong> author dist<strong>in</strong>guished<br />

between jeux d’enfans, of lesser value, and jeux meslez, not <strong>in</strong>appropriate to<br />

young people and adults (pp. 204–).<br />

58. P. Covarrubias, Remedio de jugadores (Burgos: Alonso de Melgar, 1519), especially<br />

Part I, Chap. 2 and Part II, Chap. 1.<br />

7 Conclusion<br />

1. Nouvelles de la République des Lettres, 1685, pp. 110–11, 930–1 (repr. Geneva:<br />

Slatk<strong>in</strong>e, 1966, vol. I, pp. 317, 523).<br />

2. Nouvelles de la République des Lettres, 1687, pp. 1–20 (repr. vol. II, pp. 380–5);<br />

p. 1 (380): ‘Il n’est pas beso<strong>in</strong> de prouver une verité si evidente, et qui est<br />

apparemment fondée sur le mechanisme que M. Boyle a substitué si heureusement<br />

au mot vague de Nature. Si l’on vouloit prouver quelque chose<br />

touchant la necessité de se divertir, ce seroit à l’explication de ce mechanisme<br />

qu’il vaudroit mieux apliquer ses so<strong>in</strong>s.’<br />

3. P. Hazard, La crise de la conscience européenne, 1689–1715 (Paris: Boiv<strong>in</strong>, 1935),<br />

I, pp. 131–54.<br />

4. On <strong>the</strong> latter, see H. Roodenburg, Onder censuur (Hilversum: Verloren, 1990),<br />

with danc<strong>in</strong>g and play<strong>in</strong>g music for <strong>the</strong> dance among <strong>the</strong> forms of<br />

behaviour repeatedly censored by <strong>the</strong> local consistory between 1578 and<br />

1700.<br />

5. See, for examples: R. Muchembled, Popular Culture and Elite Culture <strong>in</strong> France,<br />

1400–1750, trans. by L. Cochrane (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University<br />

Press, 1985); C. Biquard, ‘La lutte de l’Église contre les fêtes paiennes, les<br />

jeux et les divertissements aux XVI et XVII siècles’, unpublished diss. (Paris:<br />

École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, 1986). Also, J. Hargreaves, Sport,<br />

Power and Culture: A Social and Historical Analysis of Popular Sports <strong>in</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong><br />

(Cambridge: Polity, 1986), whose second chapter is entitled ‘The Repression<br />

and Reform of Popular Sport<strong>in</strong>g Forms’ (pp. 16–37).<br />

6. S. H<strong>in</strong>dle, The State and Social Change <strong>in</strong> Early Modern England, c.1550–1640<br />

(Bas<strong>in</strong>gstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2000), pp. 188–201.<br />

7. P. Ariès and J.-C. Margol<strong>in</strong> (eds), Les jeux à la <strong>Renaissance</strong>. Actes du XXIII e<br />

Colloque <strong>in</strong>ternational d’études humanistes (Paris: Vr<strong>in</strong>, 1982), pp. 661–90 for<br />

Margol<strong>in</strong>’s ‘Rapport de Synthèse’.<br />

8. M. Manson, Jouets de toujours: de l’Antiquité à la Révolution (Paris: Fayard,<br />

2001). J.-P. Étienvre, Figures du jeu: études lexico-sémantiques sur le jeu de cartes<br />

en Espagne, XVIe–XVIIIe siècle (Madrid: Casa de Velázquez, 1987); Márgenes<br />

literarios del juego: una poética del naipe, siglos XVI–XVIII (London: Tamesis,<br />

1990).<br />

9. J.-M. Mehl, Les jeux au royaume de France du XIII e au début du XVI e siècle (Paris:<br />

Fayard, 1990).


Notes 153<br />

10. R. Hutton, The Rise and Fall of Merry England: The Ritual Year, 1400–1700<br />

(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994); followed by The Stations of <strong>the</strong> Sun:<br />

A History of <strong>the</strong> Ritual Year <strong>in</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong> (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996),<br />

a general history of calendar customs.<br />

11. M. Vallerani, ‘Ludus e giustizia: rapporti e <strong>in</strong>terferenze tra sistemi di valori e<br />

reazioni giudiziarie’, Ludica, 7 (2001) 61–75.<br />

12. Jeux, sports et divertissements au Moyen Age et à l’age classique. Actes di 116 e<br />

congrès national des sociétés savantes (Paris: Editions du CTHS, 1993); Passare<br />

il tempo: la letteratura del gioco e dell’<strong>in</strong>trattenimento dal XII al XVI secolo (Rome:<br />

Salerno, 1993); S. Cavaciocchi (ed.), Il tempo libero: economia e società (loisirs,<br />

leisure, tiempo libre, Freizeit), secc. XIII–XVIII (Prato: Istituto Internazionale di<br />

Storia Economica ‘F. Dat<strong>in</strong>i’; Florence: Le Monnier, 1995); Bonn proceed<strong>in</strong>gs<br />

<strong>in</strong> Ludica, 1 (1995) 51–200; a selection of Rotterdam papers <strong>in</strong> De zeventiende<br />

eeuw, 15.1 (1999).<br />

13. For an updated assessment, see A. Corb<strong>in</strong> (ed.), L’avènement des loisirs,<br />

1850–1960 (Paris: Aubier, 1995; repr. Flammarion, 2001); Italian edn<br />

L’<strong>in</strong>venzione del tempo libero (Rome and Bari: Laterza, 1996).<br />

14. B. Vickers, ‘Leisure and idleness <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong>: <strong>the</strong> ambivalence of<br />

otium’, <strong>Renaissance</strong> Studies, 4 (1990) 153–4.<br />

15. H. I. Clodius, Primae l<strong>in</strong>eae biblio<strong>the</strong>cae lusoriae: sive, Notitia scriptorum<br />

de ludis, praecipue domesticis ac privatis, ord<strong>in</strong>e alphabetico digesta (Leipzig:<br />

I. C. Langenhemius, 1761; repr. Leipzig: Zentralantiquariat der Deutschen<br />

Demokratischen Republik, 1971). An accurate measur<strong>in</strong>g of entries by date<br />

of publication is made difficult by <strong>the</strong> fact that several publication details<br />

are miss<strong>in</strong>g.<br />

16. C. Barletta, ‘Iconografia del gioco nel Quattrocento’, <strong>in</strong> Passare il tempo,<br />

pp. 239–50; J.-M. Lhôte, Histoire des jeux de société: géométries du désir (Paris:<br />

Flammarion, 1994), p. 246. Cf. also S. Francioni, ‘Iconografia del gioco nel<br />

C<strong>in</strong>quecento’, <strong>in</strong> Passare il tempo, pp. 251–68.<br />

17. A. Rizzi, ‘Gioco, discipl<strong>in</strong>amento, predicazione’, Ludica, 7 (2001) 79–96.<br />

18. J. H. Plumb, ‘The commercialization of leisure’, <strong>in</strong> N. McKendrick and o<strong>the</strong>rs<br />

(eds), The Birth of a Consumer Society (London: Europa, 1982), pp. 265–85;<br />

J. Brewer and R. Porter (eds), Consumption and <strong>the</strong> World of Goods (London<br />

and New York: Routledge, 1993); A. Berm<strong>in</strong>gham and J. Brewer (eds), The<br />

Consumption of Culture, 1600–1800: Image, Object, Text (London and New<br />

York: Routledge, 1995); J. Brewer, The Pleasures of <strong>the</strong> Imag<strong>in</strong>ation: English<br />

Culture <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Eighteenth Century (London: HarperColl<strong>in</strong>s, 1997); R. Porter,<br />

Enlightenment: Brita<strong>in</strong> and <strong>the</strong> Creation of <strong>the</strong> Modern World (London: Pengu<strong>in</strong>,<br />

2000), pp. 258–75.<br />

19. P. Burke, ‘The repudiation of ritual <strong>in</strong> early modern Europe’, <strong>in</strong> his The Historical<br />

Anthropology of Early Modern Italy: Essays on Perception and Communication<br />

(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987), pp. 223–38; E. Muir,<br />

Ritual <strong>in</strong> Early Modern Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997).<br />

20. D. R. Coff<strong>in</strong>, The Villa <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Life of <strong>Renaissance</strong> Rome (Pr<strong>in</strong>ceton: Pr<strong>in</strong>ceton<br />

University Press, 1979).<br />

21. A. Hunt, Governance of <strong>the</strong> Consum<strong>in</strong>g Passions: A History of Sumptuary Law<br />

(Bas<strong>in</strong>gstoke: Macmillan Press – now Palgrave Macmillan, 1996).<br />

22. P. Burke, ‘Conspicuous consumption <strong>in</strong> seventeenth-century Italy’, <strong>in</strong> his The<br />

Historical Anthropology of Early Modern Italy, pp. 132–49; Id., ‘Res et verba: con-


154 Notes<br />

spicuous consumption <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> modern world’, <strong>in</strong> Brewer and Porter (eds),<br />

Consumption and <strong>the</strong> World of Goods, pp. 148–61.<br />

23. The list and critical comment come from G. Guerzoni, ‘Play<strong>in</strong>g Great Games:<br />

The giuoco <strong>in</strong> Sixteenth-Century Italian Courts’, Italian History and Culture,<br />

I (1995) 43–63 (p. 43), which also conta<strong>in</strong>s a promis<strong>in</strong>g prediction of <strong>the</strong><br />

results one may expect from <strong>the</strong> development of this area of historical<br />

enquiry: ‘The analysis of <strong>the</strong> noble and courtly giuoco is crucial for <strong>the</strong> comprehension<br />

of several issues. It allows a very “serious” <strong>in</strong>vestigation of courtly<br />

society, provid<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g perspectives on alternative def<strong>in</strong>itions and<br />

mode of function<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>in</strong>ternal hierarchies, on ways of manag<strong>in</strong>g conflict,<br />

on mechanisms for express<strong>in</strong>g and defus<strong>in</strong>g aggression and competition, on<br />

<strong>the</strong> creation of neutral spaces devoted to <strong>in</strong>teraction among different social<br />

strata, on <strong>the</strong> behavioural codes imposed by <strong>the</strong> ceremony and etiquette of<br />

<strong>the</strong> period. Moreover, this study sheds light on facets of aristocratic customs<br />

that are often overlooked, for example, <strong>the</strong> relationship between money and<br />

<strong>the</strong> use of wealth, too often hastily dismissed as scandalous waste’ (p. 44).<br />

24. C. Sorel, La maison des jeux, rev. edn (Paris: A. de Sommaville, 1657); repr.<br />

ed. by D.-A. Gajda (Geneva: Slatk<strong>in</strong>e, 1977), unfol.; T. Tasso, Il Gonzaga<br />

secondo overo del giuoco, <strong>in</strong> his Dialoghi, ed. by E. Raimondi (Florence: Sansoni,<br />

1958), p. 463.<br />

25. Huiz<strong>in</strong>ga, J., Homo Ludens, trans. by R.F.C. Hull (London: Routledge, 1949;<br />

repr. 1998), p. 180.<br />

26. Barletta, ‘Iconografia del gioco’, pp. 244–5.<br />

27. On ball games, see H. Gillmeister, Tennis: A Cultural History (London:<br />

Leicester University Press, 1997).<br />

28. At least <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> modern, <strong>in</strong>dustrial society. It would seem reasonable to argue<br />

that <strong>the</strong> relationships between work and non-work have changed once more<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> post-modern, post-<strong>in</strong>dustrial society (for <strong>in</strong>stance with <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>ternet<br />

and <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g opportunities to work from home). However, as I mentioned<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Introduction, forty years ago Sebastian de Grazia – Of Time,<br />

Work and Leisure (New York: Twentieth Century Fund, 1962) – warn<strong>in</strong>gly<br />

argued that, beh<strong>in</strong>d <strong>the</strong> smoke produced by much talk and search for free<br />

time, a contemporary society was revealed <strong>in</strong> which, outside work, everyone<br />

is <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly burdened with <strong>the</strong> most unfree and unleisurely of tasks.<br />

Appendix<br />

1. E. H. Gombrich, ‘Huiz<strong>in</strong>ga’s Homo ludens’, <strong>in</strong> Johan Huiz<strong>in</strong>ga, 1872–1972, ed.<br />

by W.R.H. Koops, and o<strong>the</strong>rs (The Hague: Nijhoff, 1973), pp. 133–54<br />

(148–50).<br />

2. See for <strong>in</strong>stance S. Clark, Th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g with Demons (Oxford: Oxford University<br />

Press, 1997), especially pp. 3–4.<br />

3. What follows is a survey of <strong>the</strong> most relevant vocabulary. Consistently with<br />

<strong>the</strong> limits I have set <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>troduction, I have excluded such families as<br />

‘feast’, ‘(re)jouissance’ or ‘revel’, although <strong>the</strong>y present obvious connections.<br />

While ‘exercise’ may refer to exactly <strong>the</strong> same activities that are covered by<br />

part of <strong>the</strong> recreation vocabulary, its functional connotations <strong>in</strong>dicate that<br />

it is primarily performed for reasons o<strong>the</strong>r than mere leisure (see above,


Notes 155<br />

Chapter 3). In order to simplify <strong>the</strong> format and limit repetition: i. examples<br />

are limited to Lat<strong>in</strong>, Italian, French, (Spanish,) English and German – naturally<br />

o<strong>the</strong>r languages would enrich <strong>the</strong> picture; ii. only <strong>the</strong> nouns for <strong>the</strong><br />

activities (not nouns for <strong>the</strong> actors, adjectives, verbs) are given <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> endnotes<br />

– parallel l<strong>in</strong>guistic forms are given with<strong>in</strong> brackets [ ] for languages<br />

<strong>in</strong> which <strong>the</strong> relevant noun is not documented; iii. <strong>the</strong> (subsequently) predom<strong>in</strong>ant<br />

spell<strong>in</strong>g is given, alternative spell<strong>in</strong>gs are ignored. · Ò signals a term<br />

etymologically related, though not with <strong>the</strong> same mean<strong>in</strong>g. With<strong>in</strong> each<br />

group, <strong>the</strong> list is given as far as possible <strong>in</strong> chronological order of first appearance;<br />

<strong>the</strong> result<strong>in</strong>g series does not necessarily imply a derivation of each term<br />

from <strong>the</strong> one immediately preced<strong>in</strong>g it. Among <strong>the</strong> ma<strong>in</strong> reference works I<br />

have used are <strong>the</strong> follow<strong>in</strong>g: S. Battaglia, Grande dizionario della l<strong>in</strong>gua italiana<br />

(Tur<strong>in</strong>: UTET, 1961–); E. Huguet, Dictionnaire de la langue française du<br />

seizième siècle (Paris: Champion, 1925–); Trésor de la langue française, 16 vols<br />

(Paris: CNRS, 1971–94); Dictionnaire de l’Académie Française, 9th edn (Paris:<br />

Imprimerie nationale, 1986–).<br />

4. L ludus , [I ludico, F ludique], E ·ludicrousÒ.<br />

5. A. Nuti, Ludus e iocus. Percorsi di ludicità nella l<strong>in</strong>gua lat<strong>in</strong>a (Treviso:<br />

Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche; Rome: Viella, 1998).<br />

6. G. Semerano, Le orig<strong>in</strong>i della cultura europea, 2. Dizionari etimologici: basi semitiche<br />

delle l<strong>in</strong>gue <strong>in</strong>doeuropee (Florence: Olschki, 1994), ‘Dizionario lat<strong>in</strong>o’.<br />

7. Nuti, Ludus e iocus, pp. 133–55.<br />

8. Erasmus, Colloquies, ed. by C. R. Thompson, <strong>in</strong> Collected Works of Erasmus,<br />

vol. 39 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997), pp. 74–87.<br />

9. L iocus, I gi(u)oco, F jeu, E joke.<br />

10. Nuti, Ludus e iocus, p. 70.<br />

11. Ibid., pp. 209–12.<br />

12. Semerano, ‘Dizionario lat<strong>in</strong>o’.<br />

13. OE gamen (with parallel <strong>in</strong> Old Saxon, Old High German and Old Norse),<br />

game.<br />

14. [OE plegian, exercise], E play.<br />

15. G. Guerzoni, ‘Play<strong>in</strong>g Great Games: The giuoco <strong>in</strong> Sixteenth-Century Italian<br />

Courts’, Italian History and Culture, I (1995) 43–63 (I quote from p. 43).<br />

16. Dutch spel. Cf. P. Grebe (ed.), Der Große Duden, 7: Etymologie (Mannheim:<br />

Bibliographisches Institut, 1963).<br />

17. L recreatio, I ricreazione, F récréation, E recreation.<br />

18. [L divertere, to turn away], F divertissement, I divertimento.<br />

19. H. Phillips, The Theatre and Its Critics <strong>in</strong> Seventeenth-Century France (New York:<br />

Oxford University Press, 1980), pp. 151–73.<br />

20. ·L dis-portareÒ, OF de(s)port, I diporto, E disport/sport.<br />

21. F passe-temps, I passatempo, E pastime; cf. G Zeitvertreib.<br />

22. P. M. Spacks, Boredom: The Literary History of a State of M<strong>in</strong>d (Chicago: University<br />

of Chicago Press, 1995). Accord<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> author, only <strong>the</strong> eighteenthcentury<br />

English began to be bored of someth<strong>in</strong>g specific, ra<strong>the</strong>r than <strong>in</strong><br />

general; her evidence rema<strong>in</strong>s unconv<strong>in</strong>c<strong>in</strong>g.<br />

23. ·Rom. *<strong>in</strong>ter-(tenere, hold)Ò, I (<strong>in</strong>)trattenimento, F entretien, E enterta<strong>in</strong>ment;<br />

cf. G Unterhaltung.<br />

24. ·Med. L musum, muzzle, OF amuser, stareÒ, F/E amusement.<br />

25. [L placere], I piacere, F plaisir, E pleasure.


156 Notes<br />

26. [L delectare], OF delit (still <strong>in</strong> use <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> sixteenth century), I diletto, E<br />

delight.<br />

27. Semerano, ‘Dizionario lat<strong>in</strong>o’, s.v. lacio.<br />

28. L solatium, I sollazzo, OF so(u)las, E solace.<br />

29. For examples of its usage <strong>in</strong> late medieval Lat<strong>in</strong> and Italian to <strong>in</strong>dicate royal<br />

game-preserves, cf. H. Bresc, ‘La chasse en Sicile (XIIe–XVe siècles)’, <strong>in</strong> La<br />

chasse au Moyen âge. Actes du Colloque de Nice, 22–24 ju<strong>in</strong> 1979 (Nice: Les<br />

Belles Lettres, 1980), pp. 201–17.<br />

30. [Vulgar L expassare] I spasso, G Spaß.<br />

31. [L e(x)vagari] I svago (attested <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> XVI c.).<br />

32. [L licere, be allowed] F loisir, E leisure.


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Index<br />

The follow<strong>in</strong>g terms and notions, which are partially <strong>in</strong>terchangeable, appear<br />

very often throughout <strong>the</strong> book, and are <strong>the</strong>refore not recorded <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>dex,<br />

unless <strong>the</strong>re is specific reference to <strong>the</strong>m as words or <strong>the</strong>y are <strong>the</strong> object of<br />

particular analysis: ‘amusements’, ‘enterta<strong>in</strong>ment’, ‘games’, ‘leisure’, ‘pastimes’,<br />

‘play’, ‘recreation’, ‘sports’. Page numbers <strong>in</strong> italics refer to figures and tables;<br />

those <strong>in</strong> bold mark terms as <strong>the</strong>y are discussed <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> appendix. Please note that<br />

only a representative selection of such terms – not all <strong>the</strong>ir variant spell<strong>in</strong>gs and<br />

forms, or nuances of mean<strong>in</strong>g – have been recorded.<br />

Académie Française, 132<br />

academies, 107, 126<br />

accidents of <strong>the</strong> soul, see passions<br />

acedia, 15–16<br />

Adam, 11, 12<br />

adiaphora, 84<br />

adornment, 69–70, 77, 78, 96<br />

Aeneas, 42<br />

Alberico da Rosate, 52, 141<br />

Albert, <strong>the</strong> Great (Albertus Magnus),<br />

Sa<strong>in</strong>t, 53, 77<br />

Alberti, Leon Battista, Libri della<br />

famiglia, 71, 100–1, 144, 150<br />

Alcocer, Francisco de, Tratado del<br />

juego, 66–7, 84, 140, 144, 147<br />

alea, aleatores, 42, 44, 59, 74, 80, 111<br />

Alembert, Jean le Rond d’, 37<br />

ales, 82<br />

Alexander of Hales, 52–3<br />

Alfonso II of Este, Duke of Ferrara,<br />

25–9, 123<br />

allegory, <strong>in</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong><br />

pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g, 28<br />

philosophy, 101<br />

almanacs, 19, 38<br />

Álvarez de Miranda, Ángel, 144<br />

Ambrogio da Vignate, 78<br />

Ames, William, 143<br />

Amsterdam, 117<br />

amusements, 131, 132<br />

André, Jean-Marie, 135<br />

Angelo (Carletti) da Chivasso, 113<br />

animals<br />

associated with sloth, 136<br />

birds’ s<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g, 36<br />

created for <strong>the</strong> benefit of<br />

humank<strong>in</strong>d, 66<br />

movement compared to human, 94<br />

pets, 13, 40, 48, 106<br />

play, 43, 44, 128<br />

posture dist<strong>in</strong>guishes humans from,<br />

35<br />

sports <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g cruelty towards,<br />

48, 82; see also bullfight<strong>in</strong>g<br />

see also hunt<strong>in</strong>g<br />

Anthony of Egypt, Sa<strong>in</strong>t, 13, 106<br />

antiquarianism, <strong>Renaissance</strong>, 24, 28,<br />

31, 36, 37, 39, 48, 59, 60, 101<br />

Anton<strong>in</strong>us (Pierozzi), Sa<strong>in</strong>t,<br />

Archbishop of Florence, 62,<br />

113–14, 143<br />

Aqu<strong>in</strong>as, Thomas, Sa<strong>in</strong>t, 14, 52, 54,<br />

55, 77<br />

Summa <strong>the</strong>ologica, 53, 61–2, 76, 78,<br />

135, 141, 143<br />

Arcangeli, Alessandro, 136, 137, 138,<br />

139, 141, 143, 144, 147, 149<br />

archaeological excavations,<br />

<strong>Renaissance</strong>, 28<br />

archer and sa<strong>in</strong>t, see exemplum<br />

architecture, as leisure <strong>in</strong>terest, 16<br />

Arendt, Hannah, 140<br />

Aretaeus, of Cappadocia, 40<br />

Aret<strong>in</strong>o, Pietro, 129<br />

Ariès, Philippe, 104, 150, 151, 152<br />

Aristotle, 53, 61, 71, 72, 77, 114, 124<br />

Nicomachean Ethics, 50–1, 52, 63,<br />

76, 107, 140, 141<br />

173


174 Index<br />

Aristotle – cont<strong>in</strong>ued<br />

Poetics, 7–8, 63<br />

Politics, 50<br />

Arnauld, Henry, Bishop of Angers,<br />

135<br />

Articella, 19<br />

arts, 3, 5, 16<br />

liberal and mechanical, 64<br />

visual representation of leisure<br />

topics, 23, 25–9, 43, 56,<br />

98–100, 101–4, 122–3<br />

astrology, 19, 33, 35–6<br />

athletics, 25, 37, 62, 64, 113<br />

assessment by Cardano, 38<br />

runn<strong>in</strong>g, 29, 30, 46, 74, 101<br />

throw<strong>in</strong>g, 30, 32, 36, 74;<br />

shot-putt<strong>in</strong>g, 74, 129<br />

see also jump<strong>in</strong>g<br />

audience, 61–5, 67, 69, 132<br />

August<strong>in</strong>e, Sa<strong>in</strong>t, Bishop of Hippo,<br />

10, 11, 61, 134<br />

Confessions, 61<br />

pseudo-, De vera et falsa poenitentia,<br />

52<br />

avarice, 111<br />

Azpilcueta, Mart<strong>in</strong>, 65<br />

ballet, 34, 85, 125<br />

ball games, 22, 23, 25, 31, 36, 46, 82,<br />

88, 101, 110, 122, 123, 126, 129<br />

football, 8, 91<br />

see also jeu de paume; tennis<br />

Bargagli, Girolamo, 107, 151<br />

Barletta, Chiara, 150, 153, 154<br />

Bascapè, Carlo, 83, 85<br />

Bastian<strong>in</strong>o (Sebastiano Filippi), 25<br />

Bast<strong>in</strong>eller, Gebhardt Christian, 147<br />

baths, 99<br />

Battaglia, Salvatore, 155<br />

battles<br />

as mean<strong>in</strong>g of giochi, 129<br />

ritual (battagliole), 3, 82–3, 90–1<br />

Baxter, Richard, A Christian Directory,<br />

69–70, 71, 144<br />

Bayle, Pierre, 116–17<br />

Baylor, Michael G., 147<br />

beauty, 93, 94, 98<br />

Bede, Sa<strong>in</strong>t, 61, 143<br />

Béhar, Pierre, 147<br />

Belial, 142<br />

Bellomo, Manlio, 145<br />

Benetton see Fondazione Benetton<br />

Benveniste, Émile, 6, 133<br />

Berm<strong>in</strong>gham, Ann, 153<br />

Bernard, of Clairvaux, Sa<strong>in</strong>t, 40<br />

Bernard<strong>in</strong>o da Siena, Sa<strong>in</strong>t, 55–6, 57,<br />

66, 142<br />

bett<strong>in</strong>g, 60, 74, 75, 79, 91<br />

Bible, 12, 59, 68–9<br />

bibliography of play, 122<br />

Bicaise, Michel, La manière de régler la<br />

santé, 32–6, 89, 138<br />

Billacois, François, 147<br />

billiards, 37<br />

Biquard, Claire, 141, 152<br />

Bird, Samuel, A friendlie<br />

communication, 108, 109, 151<br />

blasphemy, companion of gambl<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

58<br />

Bloomfield, Morton W., 136<br />

board games, 59, 74, 81, 123<br />

backgammon, 31, 111<br />

chess, 40, 46, 59, 66, 77, 78, 80, 92;<br />

allegorical <strong>in</strong>terpretation, 113;<br />

chief example of games of skill,<br />

111, 113; disapproved of by<br />

Thiers and Del Pozzo, 43, 79;<br />

only good for <strong>the</strong> elderly and<br />

sick, 101<br />

draughts, 80<br />

tables, 46, 47, 92<br />

Boccamazza, Domenico, 92, 148<br />

body<br />

attitudes towards <strong>the</strong>, 72<br />

historiography of <strong>the</strong>, 9<br />

politic, metaphor, 111<br />

bodybuild<strong>in</strong>g, 38<br />

Bohic, Henri, 79, 145–6<br />

Book of Sports, early Stuart, 82, 83, 84,<br />

119<br />

books, see pr<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g press; read<strong>in</strong>g<br />

boredom, 131<br />

Borromeo, Carlo, 83, 132<br />

Bossche, Jakob van den, 139<br />

Bouzonnet-Stella, Claud<strong>in</strong>e, 104<br />

bowl<strong>in</strong>g, 37, 39, 75<br />

prohibited by early Stuarts, 82<br />

Boyle, Robert, 117, 152<br />

Bresc, Henri, 156<br />

Brewer, John, 153


Index 175<br />

Brisson, Luc, 149<br />

Brooks, Elizabeth, 150<br />

Brownell, Susan, 134<br />

Bruegel, Pieter <strong>the</strong> Elder, K<strong>in</strong>derspiele<br />

(Children’s Games), 101–4, 102–3,<br />

123<br />

Bruscagli, Riccardo, 151<br />

Bryson, Frederick R., 147<br />

Bucer, Mart<strong>in</strong>, 72, 144<br />

bullfight<strong>in</strong>g, 65, 66, 67–8<br />

allowed by Spanish monarchs, 84<br />

papal decrees on, 67<br />

Bultot, Robert, 140<br />

Burckhardt, Jacob, 2, 90, 107, 133,<br />

148<br />

Burke, Peter, viii, 90, 118, 121, 125,<br />

140, 147, 148, 149, 151, 153–4<br />

Burley, Walter, 52, 141<br />

Burton, Robert, Anatomy of<br />

Melancholy, 16–17, 39–41, 82, 86,<br />

95, 136, 139, 146, 149, 150<br />

Butschky, Matthias, 145<br />

Byzant<strong>in</strong>e empire, 18<br />

Caccialupi, Giovanni Battista, De<br />

ludo, 78, 79, 146<br />

Caenegem, Raoul Charles van, 145<br />

Caffaro, Thomas, 142<br />

Cagnati, Marsilio, 138<br />

Cagnazzo, Giovanni, 52, 62, 141<br />

Caillois, Roger, 6, 108, 109, 115,<br />

133<br />

Cajetan, card<strong>in</strong>al (Tommaso de Vio),<br />

54, 62–3, 82<br />

Summula de peccatis, 63, 143, 147<br />

Calv<strong>in</strong>ism see religion, Protestant<br />

Caporossi, Luisa, 137, 150<br />

Carcano, Michele, 113<br />

Cardano, Girolamo, De sanitate<br />

tuenda, 38, 110, 139, 151<br />

Cardello, G. P., 135, 147<br />

card games, 16, 31, 41, 43, 44, 55, 56,<br />

58, 59, 70, 100, 105, 111<br />

history, 55, 118–19, 123<br />

primero, 92<br />

carnival, 3, 90, 93, 107, 109, 118<br />

Caroso, Fabrizio, 97, 149<br />

Carpenter, Alexander (Alexander<br />

Anglus), Destructorum viciorum,<br />

111, 112–13, 151<br />

Carter, John Marshall, 151<br />

Casagrande, Carla, 136, 143, 145<br />

Cassian, John, Collationes, 13<br />

Castiglione, Baldassarre, Libro del<br />

Cortegiano (The Book of <strong>the</strong><br />

Courtier), 89, 97–8, 107, 109, 148,<br />

150, 151<br />

catharsis, 7–8<br />

Catholic Church see religion<br />

Cavaciocchi, Simonetta, 153<br />

Ceccarelli, Giovanni, 145<br />

chance as element of play, 6, 56, 73,<br />

79–80, 110, 115<br />

see also games of chance<br />

charivari, 3<br />

Charles Borromeo, Sa<strong>in</strong>t, card<strong>in</strong>al and<br />

Archbishop of Milan, see<br />

Borromeo<br />

Charles IX, K<strong>in</strong>g of France, 99<br />

Chauchadis, Claude, 147<br />

chess, see board games<br />

children, 25, 32, 100–6, 102–3, 105,<br />

114, 128<br />

Ch<strong>in</strong>a, 125<br />

Chirche of <strong>the</strong> Evyll Men and Women,<br />

The (Bernard<strong>in</strong>o da Siena), 56,<br />

142<br />

Christmas celebrations, canonic<br />

assessment, 78<br />

chronology, 1, 121–5<br />

Church Fa<strong>the</strong>rs, 12, 13, 59, 60, 85<br />

hatred for women, 85<br />

Cicero, Marcus Tullius, 51, 76<br />

circus, ancient games of <strong>the</strong>, 37, 66,<br />

128<br />

‘bread and’, 82–3<br />

civiliz<strong>in</strong>g process, 49, 91, 124, 125<br />

civil war, English (1642–48), 10<br />

Clark, Peter, 151<br />

Clark, Stuart, 142, 154<br />

clergy<br />

dress<strong>in</strong>g up as, 54<br />

and recreation, 49–50, 74, 75, 78,<br />

117; allowed to play chess, 77;<br />

gamblers cannot be orda<strong>in</strong>ed,<br />

79; Lu<strong>the</strong>ran, allowed to dance,<br />

85<br />

when allowed to take arms, 77<br />

Clodius, He<strong>in</strong>rich Jonathan,<br />

Biblio<strong>the</strong>ca lusoria, 122, 152, 153


176 Index<br />

clo<strong>the</strong>s, 47, 88, 91, 93, 97, 98<br />

relation to health, 32<br />

see also costume<br />

Cochläus, Johannes, 149<br />

Cockaigne, land of, 11, 107<br />

coffee houses, 124<br />

Coff<strong>in</strong>, David R., 153<br />

Cogan, Thomas, 22, 137<br />

comedy, see drama<br />

Comenius, Jan Amos, 105<br />

commercialization of leisure, 124<br />

competition, as element of play, 6,<br />

109<br />

complexions, see temperaments<br />

confession (penance), 54<br />

manuals, 65, 82, 83, 113<br />

confraternities, youth, 105<br />

consolation, as a mean<strong>in</strong>g of French<br />

solace, 131<br />

Constant, David, 72, 140, 144<br />

Constant, S., 140<br />

consumer society, early modern, 122,<br />

124<br />

consumption, conspicuous, 87, 88,<br />

125<br />

contemptus mundi, 48, 71<br />

conversation<br />

and eutrapelia, 51<br />

manuals, 91–2, 107<br />

as recreation, 13, 40, 46, 70, 85, 90,<br />

95, 98, 106, 109, 126<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> vocabulary of recreation,<br />

131<br />

Corazzari, Pietro, 141, 148<br />

Corb<strong>in</strong>, Ala<strong>in</strong>, 153<br />

Cornaro, Alvise, 31, 38, 138<br />

Corpus iuris civilis, 74<br />

Code, 74, 80, 145<br />

Digest, 74, 75, 77, 80, 145<br />

Novellae, 74, 145<br />

Corpus of Canon Law, 75<br />

Decretals, 75, 79<br />

Decretum, 52–3, 74<br />

Costa, Stefano, De ludo, 78–9, 145,<br />

146<br />

costume, dress<strong>in</strong>g up <strong>in</strong> historical, 4<br />

councils of <strong>the</strong> Church,<br />

Fourth Lateran, 54<br />

Trent, 83<br />

court<strong>in</strong>g, 99<br />

as a mean<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>in</strong>trattenimento, 131<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> dance, 97<br />

Covarrubias, Pedro, Remedio de<br />

jugadores, 48–50, 65–6, 87, 114,<br />

140, 143, 148, 152<br />

Cox, Virg<strong>in</strong>ia, 150<br />

Crane, Thomas Frederick, 151<br />

Craveri, Benedetta, 149<br />

croquet, 22, 32, 37<br />

Crucifixion, <strong>in</strong> medieval art, 123<br />

crusades, 66<br />

curiosity, 61, 62, 78<br />

Cyprian, Sa<strong>in</strong>t, Bishop of Carthage,<br />

pseudo-<br />

De aleatoribus, 42<br />

De spectaculis, 67<br />

D’Agata D’Ottavi, Stefania, 143<br />

dance, danc<strong>in</strong>g, 13, 16, 28, 42, 45,<br />

46, 47, 53, 54, 59, 60, 62, 64, 66,<br />

68, 71, 72, 84, 101, 108, 113,<br />

126, 152<br />

ancient Greek, 60<br />

carole, 96<br />

of galliards, 21, 22<br />

gender connotations, 93, 94, 95–8<br />

and law, 74, 77, 78, 82, 85–6<br />

morris, 82<br />

as physical exercise, 23, 24, 29–30,<br />

31, 33–4, 36, 40<br />

pyrrhic, 25<br />

religious, ancient Indian and<br />

biblical, 30, 68<br />

rope, 27, 62<br />

social connotations, 92–3<br />

<strong>the</strong>atrical, 67<br />

and <strong>the</strong> vocabulary of play, 128,<br />

130<br />

volta, 36<br />

waltz, 31<br />

see also ballet<br />

Daneau, Lambert<br />

Tractatus de ludo aleae (A Discourse<br />

of Gam<strong>in</strong>g), 40, 58–9, 84, 142,<br />

147<br />

Traité des danses, 59, 84<br />

Dante, 131, 135<br />

David, K<strong>in</strong>g of Israel, 53, 114


Index 177<br />

Davies, John, Orchestra, 96, 149<br />

Davis, Robert C., 90–1, 147, 148<br />

death<br />

as result of dangerous performances<br />

and popular ga<strong>the</strong>r<strong>in</strong>gs, 62, 79,<br />

80<br />

as retribution of s<strong>in</strong>, 58<br />

deception<br />

cheat<strong>in</strong>g, 113<br />

as a mean<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong> vocabulary of<br />

play, 128, 129, 131<br />

De Grazia, Sebastian, 8, 133, 134,<br />

140, 154<br />

delight, 41, 70, 110, 131, 132<br />

as <strong>the</strong> dist<strong>in</strong>ctive element of sport,<br />

70<br />

see also pleasure<br />

Del Pozzo, Paride, 78, 79, 146<br />

Delumeau, Jean, 140<br />

desire, 46<br />

devils, 56, 57<br />

<strong>in</strong>ventors of dance, 85<br />

see also Belial; Lucifer<br />

dialogue, <strong>Renaissance</strong>, 109<br />

dice games, 16, 31, 41, 43, 44, 47, 55,<br />

56, 58, 59, 64, 70, 88, 100, 108,<br />

111<br />

Diderot, Denis, 37<br />

Dido, 42<br />

Diogenes Laertius, 138<br />

discipl<strong>in</strong>e<br />

social, 81, 88, 117<br />

stoic, 42<br />

disport, 131<br />

divertimento, divertissement, se divertir,<br />

11, 55, 130, 132<br />

drama and <strong>the</strong>atrical performances,<br />

16, 40, 47, 52, 54, 61–5, 72, 75,<br />

78, 113, 125, 128, 131<br />

ancient Greek and Roman, 7–8, 48<br />

comedy: effect on spectators, 35;<br />

women banned from<br />

perform<strong>in</strong>g, 67<br />

early Stuart, 45, 68<br />

(actors) gender ambiguity, 96<br />

<strong>in</strong>terludes, <strong>in</strong>termezzi, 82, 85<br />

literature (read<strong>in</strong>g plays), 69<br />

masques and masquerades, 40, 62,<br />

85<br />

as means of propaganda, 82,<br />

84–5<br />

moraliz<strong>in</strong>g campaign aga<strong>in</strong>st, 64,<br />

67, 68–9, 70, 83, 96, 108<br />

pantomimes, 79<br />

puppet-plays, 82<br />

religious, medieval and<br />

<strong>Renaissance</strong>, 62, 64, 65, 66, 78,<br />

114<br />

see also histriones; <strong>the</strong>atres<br />

Dreud, Georg, 140<br />

dr<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g<br />

excessive, 71<br />

games an opportunity for, 88<br />

for pleasure, as recreation, 17, 40,<br />

70, 107, 108<br />

as refreshment, 130<br />

Duchesne, Joseph, 30–1, 33, 95, 98,<br />

138, 149<br />

duels, 39, 62, 77, 78, 86<br />

condemned by <strong>the</strong> Church, 86<br />

Du Fail, Noël, 51, 140<br />

Dunn<strong>in</strong>g, Eric, 7–8, 134, 140<br />

Durant<strong>in</strong>i, Mary Frances, 150<br />

Duviols, Jean-Paul, 143<br />

Eden, Garden of, 10–11<br />

education, see play<br />

Edward III, K<strong>in</strong>g of England, 52<br />

Edward VI, K<strong>in</strong>g of England, 60<br />

Ehrmann, Jacques, 6–7, 133, 134<br />

Eichberg, Henn<strong>in</strong>g, 8–9, 134<br />

Elias, Norbert, 7–8, 49, 134, 140<br />

Elyot, Thomas<br />

Boke Named <strong>the</strong> Governour, The, 96,<br />

149<br />

Castel of Hel<strong>the</strong>, 21, 38, 136<br />

Elzevirs, publishers, 44, 60<br />

embroidery and needlework, 95, 99<br />

emic vs etic dichotomy, 1–2, 3<br />

emotions, see passions<br />

Encyclopédie, 37<br />

England, 82, 83, 88, 96, 106, 118,<br />

119<br />

English, Eleanor B., 137<br />

Enlightenment, 122, 125<br />

enterta<strong>in</strong>ment, 64, 131, 132<br />

environment, <strong>in</strong>fluence on health,<br />

32, 37, 41


178 Index<br />

Erasmus, Desiderius<br />

Colloquies, 51, 100, 129, 150, 155<br />

Praise of Folly, 48<br />

Erspamer, Francesco, 147<br />

Este Castle, Ferrara, frescoes, 25–9,<br />

101, 123<br />

Este family, see Alfonso II<br />

Étienvre, Jean-Pierre, 118, 152<br />

etiquette, 97<br />

eutrapelia, 50–2<br />

also expressed as: playfulness, 107;<br />

pleasantness, 63; urbanity, 71<br />

excitement <strong>in</strong> leisure, 7–8<br />

exempla, 58, 96<br />

exemplum of sa<strong>in</strong>t and archer, 12–14,<br />

46, 106, 114<br />

exercise, physical, 14, 16, 17, 22,<br />

23–41, 53, 59, 63, 75, 77, 92,<br />

100, 108, 110, 112, 114, 124, 154<br />

‘passive’, 21, 25<br />

sport a species of, 70<br />

family, 100–1, 104, 126–7<br />

Fa<strong>the</strong>rs, of <strong>the</strong> Desert, 13, 15<br />

see also Church Fa<strong>the</strong>rs<br />

Fatio, Olivier, 142<br />

Ferrara<br />

cultural life, 28<br />

<strong>in</strong>corporation <strong>in</strong>to Papal States, 29<br />

earthquake of 1570, 25<br />

festive life, 77<br />

University, 76<br />

see also Este Castle<br />

Ferroglio, Renato, 145<br />

festivals, feasts, 3, 9, 40, 82, 84–5, 90,<br />

96, 99, 105, 119, 125, 127, 129,<br />

130, 154<br />

royal entries and triumphs, 85<br />

Fic<strong>in</strong>o, Marsilio, 37, 138<br />

fight<strong>in</strong>g, 43, 44<br />

see also battles, ritual<br />

F<strong>in</strong>k, Eugen, 5, 133<br />

fish<strong>in</strong>g, 39<br />

morally preferred to hunt<strong>in</strong>g, 49<br />

Florio, John, Second Fruits, 91–2, 148<br />

flowers, women’s love for, 93, 95<br />

Fomperosa y Qu<strong>in</strong>tana, Pedro, 141<br />

Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche,<br />

120<br />

Fonseca, Rodrigo da, 22, 23, 137<br />

food and eat<strong>in</strong>g<br />

banquets, 47, 58, 70, 75, 85, 107<br />

delight for, 70, 93, 108<br />

excessive, 72<br />

hunt<strong>in</strong>g not practised for, 92<br />

as nonnatural, 32<br />

(meals) relation to exercise, 32<br />

fortune, see chance<br />

Foucault, Michel, 117<br />

Fra<strong>in</strong> du Tremblay, Jean, Conversations<br />

morales, 11–12, 106, 116–17, 135,<br />

151<br />

France, 33, 37, 79, 86–7, 90, 99, 107,<br />

119<br />

Francioni, Stefania, 153<br />

Franco, Hilário Jr, 134<br />

François de Sales, Sa<strong>in</strong>t, Bishop of<br />

Geneva, Introduction to a Devout<br />

Life, 14, 46, 97, 135, 140<br />

Frankfurt School (Frankfurt Institute<br />

of Social Research), 11<br />

French Revolution, 86, 125<br />

abolition of feudal privileges, 87<br />

cahiers de doléances, 86<br />

Freud, Sigmund, 117<br />

friendship, Christian, 58<br />

see also sociability<br />

Froissart, Jean, Chronicles, 132<br />

fun, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> vocabulary of play, 131<br />

funerals, 87<br />

Gadamer, Hans Georg, 5<br />

Galen, 18, 38<br />

Art of Medic<strong>in</strong>e, 19<br />

Exercise with <strong>the</strong> Small Ball, 22, 30,<br />

33, 39, 136<br />

On <strong>the</strong> Preservation of Health, 22,<br />

136<br />

Galenism, see humoral <strong>the</strong>ory<br />

Galloni, Paolo, 140, 147<br />

Gambara, Beatrice, 107<br />

gambl<strong>in</strong>g, 3, 16–17, 40, 41–3, 44, 47,<br />

48, 55–60, 66, 67, 111, 112, 123,<br />

128<br />

drama compared to, 65<br />

legal assessment and regulation of,<br />

74–81, 88; historical<br />

development, 81, 119–20


Index 179<br />

games, 122, 130<br />

of chance vs skill, 33, 55–60, 67,<br />

72, 75, 78, 84, 111, 112, 113,<br />

114; history of <strong>the</strong> dist<strong>in</strong>ction,<br />

74, 115<br />

how-to-do literature, 110<br />

parlour, 97, 107, 126<br />

public, 78, 128; see also circus<br />

spiritual, human and demonic, 66,<br />

113–14<br />

see also ball games; board games;<br />

play and under <strong>in</strong>dividual games<br />

Gandillac, Maurice de, 137<br />

Garcia Barrio, Antonio, 144<br />

garden<strong>in</strong>g, 12<br />

a recreation for women, 95<br />

gardens, 16, 126<br />

pleasure, 124<br />

Garzoni, Tommaso, 135, 151<br />

Gataker, Thomas, 143<br />

gender aspects and connotations of<br />

leisure, 35<br />

promiscuous recreation, 99–100;<br />

conversation, 109; dance, 85,<br />

96<br />

recreation for men: French élite,<br />

37; games and military<br />

exercises, 95, 101, 122–3;<br />

gymnastics, 25; hunt<strong>in</strong>g, 95,<br />

98, 99, 101; study, 41<br />

transgression of conventions, 100<br />

women: 93–4; banned from<br />

perform<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> comedies, 67;<br />

dance especially suited or<br />

characteristic, 33, 54, 95, 96–8,<br />

99; dom<strong>in</strong>ant role <strong>in</strong> parlour<br />

games, 107; leisure is for, 15;<br />

runn<strong>in</strong>g on sa<strong>in</strong>t George<br />

festival <strong>in</strong> Ferrara, 77;<br />

sw<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g, 25<br />

ungendered play: toys, 104<br />

Geneva, 117<br />

laws aga<strong>in</strong>st gambl<strong>in</strong>g, 42<br />

Germany, 72, 85<br />

gesture, <strong>in</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> dance, 97<br />

see also movement; posture<br />

gifts, 98<br />

New Year, 78<br />

Gillmeister, He<strong>in</strong>er, 154<br />

Gil Sotres, Pedro, 136<br />

gioco, giuoco, 3, 66, 84, 107, 109, 125,<br />

126, 129<br />

Giordano of Pisa, 13–14, 135<br />

gladiators and gladatorial contests,<br />

28, 38, 61, 101<br />

glossators, 74<br />

gluttony (gula), 71, 79<br />

Goclenius, Rodolphus <strong>the</strong> Elder, 140<br />

Gombrich, Ernst Hans, 133, 154<br />

Gontier, Pierre, 31–2, 36, 89, 138<br />

Gonzalez Alcantud, José Antonio,<br />

143, 144<br />

gossip, 95<br />

Goulemot, Jean-Marie, 141<br />

grace, 95<br />

Gratian, 52–3, 74<br />

gravity, 77, 104<br />

Grazia, Sebastian de, see De Grazia<br />

Grebe, Paul, 155<br />

Greenfield, Kent R., 148<br />

Gregory I, <strong>the</strong> Great, Sa<strong>in</strong>t, pope, 71<br />

Gregory IX (Ugol<strong>in</strong>o, Count of<br />

Segni), pope, 75, 79, 146<br />

Grenaille, François de, Les plaisirs des<br />

dames, 93–4, 149<br />

Groenendijk, Leendert F., 143<br />

Gualazz<strong>in</strong>i, Ugo, 145, 146<br />

Guar<strong>in</strong>o da Verona, 28, 29<br />

Guazzo, Stefano, 107, 151<br />

Guerzoni, Guido, 154, 155<br />

Guglielmo Ebreo da Pesaro, 97, 149<br />

Guillaume-Alonso, Araceli, 143<br />

Guttmann, Allen, 8, 134<br />

gymnastics, 23, 24, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33<br />

Habsburgs, 28, 123<br />

Hargreaves, John, 152<br />

Hazard, Paul, 152<br />

health see illness; literate, advice for;<br />

medic<strong>in</strong>e<br />

Heereboord, Adriaan, 63, 140<br />

hell, mouth of, 56, 57<br />

Henrietta Maria, Queen of Charles I<br />

of England, 93<br />

Henry II, K<strong>in</strong>g of France, 25<br />

Henry III, K<strong>in</strong>g of France and Poland,<br />

28, 99<br />

Henry IV, K<strong>in</strong>g of France, 30


180 Index<br />

Hespanha, António Manuel, 145<br />

Hess, Rémi, 138<br />

Heywood, William, 148<br />

Hills, Jeannette, 150<br />

H<strong>in</strong>dle, Steve, 152<br />

Hippocrates, 35<br />

Hippocratic Corpus, 18<br />

Hirschmann, Gerhard, 149<br />

history<br />

conceptions of, 9, 11<br />

social and cultural, 2, 5, 9, 118<br />

histriones, 52, 53, 54, 63, 79, 113<br />

Hoby, Thomas, 150<br />

Holl<strong>in</strong>g, Edmond, 22–3, 36, 37, 137,<br />

138<br />

Homer, 59<br />

Homo Ludens (periodical), 120<br />

Horace, 51<br />

horse-rid<strong>in</strong>g<br />

as exercise, 30, 33, 47, 48<br />

gender connotations, 101<br />

<strong>in</strong> relation to hunt<strong>in</strong>g, 22<br />

social connotations, 89, 92<br />

Hostiensis (Henry of Susa), card<strong>in</strong>al,<br />

Summa, 75<br />

Houdt, Toon van, 143<br />

housekeep<strong>in</strong>g, 95<br />

Howard, Skiles, 149<br />

Hugh of St Victor, 64<br />

Huguet, Edmond, 155<br />

Huiz<strong>in</strong>ga, Johan, 4–6<br />

Homo Ludens, 5–6, 73, 109, 126,<br />

127, 133, 145, 154<br />

Wan<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong> Middle Ages, The, 4–5,<br />

133<br />

humanism, 13, 18, 19, 23, 29, 42,<br />

100, 122<br />

humoral <strong>the</strong>ory, 15, 18–19, 32, 33,<br />

37, 39, 41<br />

decl<strong>in</strong>e of, 37<br />

Hunt, Alan, 87–8, 125, 148, 153<br />

hunt<strong>in</strong>g, 16–17, 47, 48–50, 66, 86–7<br />

as allegory of human aggressiveness<br />

and servility, 49<br />

attendance as spectators, 108;<br />

condemned by August<strong>in</strong>e as<br />

dangerous, 62<br />

of bears, wolves, wild boars and<br />

deer, 87<br />

with birds of prey, 49, 108<br />

by clergymen, 49–50<br />

compared to martial arts, 22, 49<br />

with <strong>the</strong> crossbow, 22, 50<br />

evolution through time, 49, 86–7<br />

fox, 8, 49<br />

gender connotations, 95, 98<br />

with hounds, 16, 49, 87<br />

as a mechanical art, 64<br />

as a physical exercise, 23, 30, 35,<br />

39, 46, 92, 101<br />

poach<strong>in</strong>g, 50, 86<br />

social connotations, 89, 90, 92<br />

with traps, 50<br />

treatises on, early modern, 50, 92<br />

visual representation, 99<br />

Hutton, Ronald, 119, 134, 146, 153<br />

hygiene, 19–38<br />

Ibn Butlan, 23<br />

ice, pastimes on, 59<br />

iconoclasm, association with<br />

gambl<strong>in</strong>g, 58<br />

idleness, 14–16, 39, 47, 48, 69, 70,<br />

82, 88<br />

illness, as moral or legal justification<br />

for play<strong>in</strong>g and gambl<strong>in</strong>g, 60,<br />

75<br />

imag<strong>in</strong>ation or fantasy, faculty of <strong>the</strong><br />

m<strong>in</strong>d, 70<br />

imitation, 34, 109<br />

see also mimesis<br />

improvisation vs rule <strong>in</strong> play, 6, 126<br />

<strong>in</strong>dustrialization, 8, 11, 120, 121,<br />

124, 126<br />

<strong>in</strong>nocence, 104<br />

Innocent III (Lotario de’ Conti di<br />

Segni), pope, 48, 140<br />

Institut für Spielforschung und<br />

Spielpädagogik, 120<br />

<strong>in</strong>surance, related to gambl<strong>in</strong>g, 80<br />

<strong>in</strong>tellectuals, see literate<br />

Ioannides, Klitos, 138<br />

iocus, 55, 63, 129–30<br />

Italy, 76–9, 81, 90, 97, 107, 119–20,<br />

125<br />

ius commune, 74<br />

Jacob of Vorag<strong>in</strong>e, 13, 135<br />

Jacopo da Cessole, Libellus super ludus<br />

scachorum, 113


Index 181<br />

James VI, K<strong>in</strong>g of Scotland, and I, of<br />

England, 82, 146, 147<br />

Jansenism, 10, 106<br />

Japan, 125<br />

Jaucourt, Louis de, 37<br />

jesters, 47<br />

jeu, 3, 32, 33, 37, 55, 64, 107, 112,<br />

129<br />

jeu de paume, 30, 31, 32<br />

Johann, von Münster, 42, 139<br />

Johannitius (Hunayn ibn Ishaq), 18<br />

Isagoge, 18–19<br />

John, <strong>the</strong> Evangelist, Sa<strong>in</strong>t, 13, 46,<br />

106<br />

John, of Wales (Gallensis, Vallensis),<br />

110–11, 112–13, 151<br />

jokes, 55, 66, 107, 129, 130<br />

jongleurs, 75, 113<br />

Joostens, Paschier, De alea, 41–3, 44,<br />

139<br />

Joubert, Fabienne, 150<br />

joy, 20<br />

as <strong>in</strong>terlocutor <strong>in</strong> Petrarch’s De<br />

remediis, 47–8, 71<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> vocabulary of play, 128, 131<br />

juego, 3, 16, 65–8, 118, 129<br />

juggl<strong>in</strong>g, and <strong>the</strong> vocabulary of play,<br />

129<br />

jump<strong>in</strong>g<br />

as exercise, 31, 74, 82, 101<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> vocabulary of play, 128, 129<br />

Just<strong>in</strong>ian, Roman emperor, 74, 80<br />

see also Corpus iuris civilis<br />

Justus, Pascasius, see Joostens,<br />

Paschier<br />

Kant, Immanuel, 42, 139<br />

Kettner, Johann Daniel, 85–6, 147<br />

Kiernan, Victor G., 147<br />

Kilwardby, Robert, 64<br />

Klibansky, Raymond, 136<br />

knowledge<br />

and <strong>the</strong> control of passions, 42<br />

four k<strong>in</strong>ds of human, 64<br />

<strong>in</strong>tellectual and sensory, and<br />

curiosity, 61–2<br />

as source of delight, 131<br />

knucklebones, 100<br />

Kraye, Jill, 148<br />

Kümmel, Werner Friedrich, 138<br />

laetitia, <strong>in</strong>epta, 71<br />

Lafargue, Paul, Le droit à la paresse,<br />

11, 14, 134<br />

languages<br />

English, 130<br />

German, 130<br />

Lat<strong>in</strong>, 30, 31, 128–9<br />

Romance (French, Italian, Spanish),<br />

32, 128, 130<br />

teach<strong>in</strong>g of foreign, 91–2<br />

La Rocca, Patrizia, 149<br />

laughter<br />

<strong>in</strong> Ecclesiastes (3: 4), 68<br />

medical assessment, 35, 101<br />

moral assessment, 51, 53, 76, 114<br />

and <strong>the</strong> vocabulary of play, 129,<br />

130<br />

Lauremberg, Petrus, 136<br />

law, 5, 73–88, 121<br />

canon (ecclesiastical), 52–3, 74, 76,<br />

85; see also Corpus of Canon<br />

Law<br />

civil (Roman), 59, 60, 76, 81, 86,<br />

87, 115; publications of<br />

collected works, 78, 79, 80; see<br />

also Corpus iuris civilis<br />

div<strong>in</strong>e, 85<br />

feudal, 74, 86, 87<br />

Germanic, <strong>in</strong> Nor<strong>the</strong>rn France, 86<br />

literature de ludo, 76–81<br />

natural, 85, 87<br />

sumptuary, 87–8, 125<br />

learn<strong>in</strong>g, as exercise for <strong>the</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d, 40<br />

Lecercle, François, 151<br />

Le Goff, Jacques, 70, 144<br />

Leicester University, 7<br />

Leiden University, 5<br />

leisure, loisirs, 7, 50, 132<br />

and social hierarchy, 12, 17, 31, 35,<br />

39, 50, 86–8, 89–93, 98, 99,<br />

100, 107, 111, 127<br />

see also recreation<br />

leisure classes, 3, 16, 50, 91<br />

Lencioni Novelli, Roberta, 151<br />

Leo X (Giovanni de’ Medici), pope,<br />

17<br />

Leonardo da Brescia, 25<br />

Leonardo da V<strong>in</strong>ci, 131<br />

lettres de rémission, 118<br />

Lev<strong>in</strong>e, Laura, 96, 149


182 Index<br />

Leys (Lessius), Lenaert, 143<br />

Lhôte, Jean-Marie, 153<br />

libraries, 126<br />

life<br />

active vs contemplative, 14, 50<br />

amendment of, 59<br />

quest for long, 31, 38<br />

sedentary, 36, 43<br />

solitary, as unhealthy, 39<br />

urban and/or rural, 15, 16, 51<br />

Ligorio, Pirro, 25, 28, 95<br />

literary magaz<strong>in</strong>es, 61<br />

literate, advice for <strong>the</strong><br />

medical, 23, 29, 36, 37, 59<br />

moral and legal, 79, 89<br />

literature<br />

as leisure, 14, 121, 124<br />

as source, 3<br />

see also drama; poetry<br />

Locke, John, Some Thoughts<br />

Concern<strong>in</strong>g Education, 105, 106<br />

locus amoenus, 126<br />

London, 10, 68<br />

Louis XIII, K<strong>in</strong>g of France, 98<br />

Louis XIV, K<strong>in</strong>g of France, 104<br />

love, 15, 92, 126, 131<br />

hunt<strong>in</strong>g a metaphor for, 98<br />

compared to play, 42<br />

parental, 104<br />

see also court<strong>in</strong>g; sex<br />

Lucian, 34<br />

Lucifer, <strong>in</strong>ventor of ludus, 55<br />

lucrum, turpe, 75<br />

Ludica (periodical), 120<br />

ludus, ludere, 3, 6, 28, 41, 52, 54, 55,<br />

60, 62, 63, 64, 66, 74, 76, 78, 79,<br />

81, 85, 86, 96, 101, 110, 111,<br />

112, 121, 128–9<br />

Luque Faxardo, Francisco de, 136<br />

lusus, 74, 129<br />

Lu<strong>the</strong>r, Mart<strong>in</strong>, 17<br />

Lu<strong>the</strong>ranism, see religion, Protestant<br />

luxury, 88<br />

Machiavelli, Niccolò, The Pr<strong>in</strong>ce, 92<br />

madness<br />

consequence of play, 58<br />

mentally ill unsuited to dance,<br />

85–6<br />

maglio, see croquet<br />

Maio, Giuniano, 148<br />

Major, John M., 149<br />

Malvezzi, Troilo, De sortibus, 79, 146<br />

Mandell, Richard, 8, 134<br />

Mann, Nicholas, 140<br />

manners, 30, 124<br />

reformation of, 117<br />

Manson, Michel, 118, 150, 151, 152<br />

Marchetti, Valerio, 151<br />

Marcuse, Herbert, 134<br />

Marfany, Joan-Lluís, 121<br />

Margol<strong>in</strong>, Jean-Claude, 118, 152<br />

Mariana, Juan de, Tratado contra los<br />

juegos públicos, 67–8, 144<br />

Martial, 51<br />

martial arts, 33, 35, 37, 63, 75, 79,<br />

80, 82, 92<br />

archery, 59, 82, 101, 123; early<br />

Tudor promotion of, 88<br />

chess related to, 111<br />

fenc<strong>in</strong>g, 43, 44, 86, 92, 101<br />

joust<strong>in</strong>g, 75<br />

tournaments, 49, 62, 75, 76, 77, 78,<br />

80–1, 86<br />

Marx, Karl, 11, 117<br />

mask<strong>in</strong>g, 54, 66, 78<br />

suspension of social identity, 89<br />

Matthaeus, Johannes, 136<br />

May-games, 40, 82<br />

Maynwar<strong>in</strong>g, Everard, 41, 139<br />

McGrath, Elizabeth, 142<br />

McIntosh, Peter C., 137<br />

Medici family, 150<br />

medic<strong>in</strong>e, 14, 15, 18–45, 47, 110, 122<br />

ancient Greek, 20<br />

Arabic, 18<br />

curative (<strong>the</strong>rapeutics), 39–41, 50<br />

learned and popular, 19<br />

preventive (hygiene), 19–38<br />

Mehl, Jean-Michel, Les jeux au<br />

royaume de France, 119, 152<br />

Meisner, Balthasar, 72, 144–5<br />

melancholy, 15, 16–17, 20, 39–41<br />

Mendez, Christoval, Libro del exercicio<br />

corporal, 22, 137<br />

Mercuriale, Girolamo, De arte<br />

gymnastica, 24–5, 26, 27, 137<br />

Mercury (god), 42


Index 183<br />

Meursius (Johannes van Meurs), 60,<br />

143<br />

Michaud-Quant<strong>in</strong>, Pierre, 141<br />

Mikkeli, Heikki, 136, 138<br />

Mikkola, E<strong>in</strong>o, 140<br />

Mil<strong>in</strong>, Gaël, 140<br />

military games and exercises, see<br />

martial arts<br />

mimesis, as element of play, 6, 109<br />

mirrors, 93<br />

mirth, 41, 53<br />

misrule, 3<br />

modernization, 71<br />

modesty, 53, 55, 61, 76<br />

Mol<strong>in</strong>ié-Bertrand, Annie, 143<br />

monasticism, 13, 15–16, 85<br />

monetary economy, late medieval,<br />

76<br />

Monter, William, 141<br />

Monteux, Jérôme de, 29–30, 37, 136,<br />

137<br />

Months, 100<br />

moral assessment of recreation, 33,<br />

36, 43–5, 46–72, 73–4, 76, 77, 78,<br />

79, 80, 81, 87, 100, 104<br />

treatises, 55, 56–60, 65–8, 93–4,<br />

106, 114, 121<br />

Mori, Ascanio de’, Giuoco piacevole,<br />

107, 151<br />

morra, 59<br />

Moses, 142<br />

movement<br />

animal and human compared, 94<br />

gender stereotypes, 96<br />

(motion) <strong>in</strong> medical thought and<br />

practice, 19, 20, 43–5<br />

as mean<strong>in</strong>g of Spiel, 130<br />

Muchembled, Robert, 152<br />

Muir, Edward, 153<br />

Mulcaster, Richard, Positions, 29, 101,<br />

137, 150<br />

Mulchahey, M. Michèle, 135, 141<br />

Murray, A., 144<br />

music, 3, 16, 25, 34, 40, 47, 64, 89,<br />

125, 126<br />

concerts, 93<br />

and enthusiasm, 34<br />

<strong>in</strong>strumental (play<strong>in</strong>g), 31, 35, 46,<br />

82, 152; drums and w<strong>in</strong>d<br />

<strong>in</strong>struments unsuited to<br />

women, 97; (listen<strong>in</strong>g) 100<br />

opera, 64<br />

religious, 78<br />

suitable for <strong>in</strong>tellectuals, 59<br />

<strong>the</strong>atrical, 7, 67<br />

as <strong>the</strong>rapy, 34, 35, 40<br />

and <strong>the</strong> vocabulary of play, 129,<br />

130<br />

see also s<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g<br />

Naerebout, Frits Gerard, 133<br />

nature vs artifice, 94<br />

negotium, 14<br />

neo-Platonism, 34, 37, 96, 101<br />

Ne<strong>the</strong>rlands, 36, 59, 99, 101, 105<br />

Nevile, Jennifer, 150<br />

Nitschke, August, 9, 134<br />

nobility, 93<br />

nonnaturals (res non naturales), 19–20<br />

see also food; movement; passions;<br />

rest<br />

Nordera, Mar<strong>in</strong>a, 150<br />

Nouvelles de la République des Lettres,<br />

116–17, 152<br />

Nuremberg<br />

customs and regulations<br />

concern<strong>in</strong>g danc<strong>in</strong>g, 93<br />

laws aga<strong>in</strong>st gambl<strong>in</strong>g, 42<br />

Nuti, Andrea, 155<br />

Nutton, Vivian, 137<br />

Olson, Glend<strong>in</strong>g, 64, 135, 136, 141,<br />

143<br />

Olympic games<br />

ancient, 60, 109<br />

modern, 9, 120<br />

Ortalli, Gherardo, 81, 146<br />

Ostia, 17<br />

otium, 14, 15, 50, 121<br />

Otten, Hermannus ab, 140, 143<br />

Ottonelli, Giovanni Domenigo, 58,<br />

142<br />

Overfield, James H., 138<br />

Ovid, Metamorphoses, 96<br />

pagan, prohibitions of games, 56<br />

Page, Christopher, 141<br />

pageants, 40, 85


184 Index<br />

paidia, 6<br />

Palamedes, 59<br />

pallacorda, 22<br />

pallamaglio, see croquet<br />

Palmer, Richard, 136<br />

Panofsky, Erw<strong>in</strong>, 136<br />

Pantoja de Aiala, Pedro, 80, 146<br />

Panzer, Marianne, 147<br />

Papal States, 29<br />

Paracelsians, 38<br />

Paris University, 52–4<br />

parlour games, 97, 107, 126<br />

party (social ga<strong>the</strong>r<strong>in</strong>g), as a mean<strong>in</strong>g<br />

of <strong>in</strong>trattenimento, 131<br />

Pascal, Blaise, Pensées, 130<br />

passion plays, 62<br />

passions, and human health, 16, 19,<br />

20, 41–2, 64<br />

see also joy<br />

Past and Present, 121<br />

pastimes, 2, 64, 131<br />

paume, see jeu<br />

Peasants’ War, German (1524–25), 86<br />

pelota, 22<br />

Peltonen, Markku, 147<br />

Penelope, 96<br />

performance, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> vocabulary of<br />

play, 128, 131, 132<br />

perform<strong>in</strong>g arts, see audience; dance;<br />

drama; music<br />

Perk<strong>in</strong>s, William, 39, 143<br />

Peter Lombard, Sentences, 52–3<br />

Peter Martyr (Pietro Martire Vermigli),<br />

60–1, 72, 81, 143, 144<br />

Petite dyablerie dont Lucifer est le chef,<br />

La (Bernard<strong>in</strong>o da Siena), 56, 57,<br />

142<br />

Petrarca, Francesco, see Petrarch<br />

Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca)<br />

De remediis utriusque fortunae<br />

(Remedies aga<strong>in</strong>st Both K<strong>in</strong>ds of<br />

Fortune), 47–8, 49, 71, 93, 94,<br />

140, 149<br />

Invectivae contra medicum (Invectives<br />

aga<strong>in</strong>st a Physician), 47<br />

Philip II, K<strong>in</strong>g of Spa<strong>in</strong> and Portugal,<br />

51<br />

Philip <strong>the</strong> Good, Duke of Burgundy,<br />

150<br />

Philist<strong>in</strong>es, 60<br />

Phillips, Henry, 141, 142, 143, 151,<br />

155<br />

Philothée/Philo<strong>the</strong>us, 97<br />

physical education, see exercise;<br />

gymnastics; play <strong>in</strong>/and<br />

education<br />

Plat<strong>in</strong>a, 148<br />

Plato, 29, 37, 50, 138<br />

play, 5, 14, 64, 129, 130, 132<br />

historiography of, 118–20<br />

<strong>in</strong>/and education, 29, 92, 98,<br />

100–1, 105–6, 122, 124, 126<br />

and <strong>the</strong> sacred, 6, 133–4<br />

philosophical <strong>in</strong>terpretations, 5<br />

pleasure, plaisirs, 8, 10, 11, 12, 66, 67,<br />

72, 87, 93–4, 95, 108, 126, 131,<br />

132<br />

re-appreciation by Valla, 71<br />

see also delight<br />

pleasure gardens, 124<br />

Plemp, Vopiscus Fortunatus, 36, 37,<br />

89, 138, 148<br />

Plumb, J.H., 105–6, 151, 153<br />

Plutarch, On <strong>the</strong> Education of Children,<br />

29, 137<br />

poetry, 5, 25, 34<br />

Pontremoli, Alessandro, 149<br />

popular culture and enterta<strong>in</strong>ments,<br />

79, 82–3, 89, 118, 120, 125<br />

reform/regulation of, 85, 87, 88<br />

withrawal of élite from, 89, 90, 105<br />

Porter, Roy, 136, 153<br />

possibility, as orig<strong>in</strong>al mean<strong>in</strong>g of<br />

Old French losir, 132<br />

posture, 35, 96, 97<br />

potlach, 125<br />

pray<strong>in</strong>g<br />

as a mean<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong> vocabulary of<br />

play, 129<br />

as an occupation for women, 95<br />

pr<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g press, 122, 125<br />

prostitution, 75<br />

protectionism, 87, 88<br />

Protestantism see religion<br />

proverbs, 19, 91, 104<br />

Prynne, William, Histrio-Mastix, 45,<br />

56, 68–9, 96, 142, 144, 149<br />

Puritanism, 10, 39, 108


Index 185<br />

Quazza, Romolo, 137<br />

Quercetanus, see Duchesne, Joseph<br />

Rabanus Maurus, 16<br />

Rahner, Hugo, 140<br />

Ranzow, He<strong>in</strong>rich, 22, 23, 38, 137<br />

Rao, Cesare, Invective aga<strong>in</strong>st players,<br />

12, 104, 135, 150<br />

Raymond of Peñafort, Sa<strong>in</strong>t, 75<br />

read<strong>in</strong>g<br />

as exercise for <strong>the</strong> voice, 101<br />

as a form of recreation, 3, 7, 70, 99,<br />

100, 125<br />

reason, and <strong>the</strong> passions, 42, 47–8<br />

Rebhorn, Wayne A., 148<br />

recreation, 11, 12, 130, 132<br />

classifications, 6, 7–8, 63, 66,<br />

108–15<br />

def<strong>in</strong>itions, 1, 4<br />

human need, 10–14, 43, 52, 117,<br />

125<br />

moderate use, 13–14, 39–40, 46, 48,<br />

50–1, 114, 124<br />

motives, 3, 4, 18, 49, 50, 53, 66,<br />

67, 75, 112, 154<br />

spiritual, 41, 113, 114<br />

Reformation see religion<br />

refreshment, as a mean<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>the</strong><br />

vocabulary of recreation, 129<br />

regimen of health, or diet, 19, 21, 31,<br />

32<br />

religion, Christian, and recreation<br />

Catholic, 55, 56–8, 65, 66–8, 72,<br />

106<br />

pre-Reformation, 52–4, 55–6, 61–2,<br />

65–6, 112, 114<br />

Protestant, 30, 42, 58–61, 68–70,<br />

72, 84, 85, 88, 93, 96,<br />

117<br />

see also Jansenism; Puritanism;<br />

religious orders<br />

religious orders<br />

August<strong>in</strong>ians, 56<br />

Carmelites, 80<br />

Dom<strong>in</strong>icans, 53, 54, 62, 63, 64, 66,<br />

75, 82, 91, 113<br />

Franciscans, 53, 66, 76, 110, 113<br />

Jesuits, 58, 67, 124<br />

see also monasticism<br />

<strong>Renaissance</strong>, 2–3, 18, 19, 28, 29, 38,<br />

71, 126<br />

representatio, 63<br />

repression, 81, 82, 117<br />

rest, 8, 14, 83, 132<br />

as a nonnatural, 19, 20, 23, 30<br />

as scope of recreation, 12, 43–5, 68,<br />

76, 112<br />

two k<strong>in</strong>ds, accord<strong>in</strong>g to Petrarch,<br />

48<br />

Riccò, Laura, 151<br />

Richard of Middleton, 76<br />

riddles, 60<br />

r<strong>in</strong>g-a-roses, 25<br />

R<strong>in</strong>ghieri, Innocenzio, 107, 151<br />

ritual, 3, 8, 88, 119, 124, 127, 129<br />

rites of passage, 90<br />

see also battles, ritual and under<br />

o<strong>the</strong>r <strong>in</strong>dividual practices<br />

Rizzi, Alessandra, 142, 146, 153<br />

Rocca, Angelo, 56–8, 142<br />

Rogers, M., 133<br />

Rojek, Chris, 134, 140<br />

Rolando of Cremona, Summa, 53, 141<br />

Rome<br />

ancient, 14–15<br />

Testaccio games, 79<br />

Roodenburg, Herman, 152<br />

Rosate see Alberico<br />

rough music, 3<br />

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 125<br />

Rühl, J. K., 144<br />

Rust, Frances, 149<br />

Sabbatarianism and Sunday<br />

observance, 10, 16, 82, 83–4, 85,<br />

108, 118<br />

sa<strong>in</strong>t and archer, see exemplum<br />

sa<strong>in</strong>ts, see under <strong>in</strong>dividual names<br />

sa<strong>in</strong>ts, devotion to, 90<br />

Salernitan Rule for Health (Regimen<br />

sanitatis Salernitanum), 19<br />

salons, 93, 98, 107, 126<br />

saltatoria, 31<br />

Salvadori, Philippe, 140, 147, 148,<br />

150<br />

Samson, 60<br />

Sánchez Herrero, José, 135<br />

Sanjust, Maria Giovanna, 151


186 Index<br />

Sauzet, Robert, 141<br />

Saxl, Fritz, 136<br />

Sca<strong>in</strong>o, Antonio, 110, 151<br />

scandal, 50<br />

Schama, Simon, 104, 150<br />

Schnitzler, Norbert, 134<br />

scholasticism, 53, 55, 62, 76, 93<br />

scholé vs ascholia, 50<br />

school, as a mean<strong>in</strong>g of ludus, 28,<br />

101, 128<br />

schools, English public, 29<br />

Schottus, Franciscus, It<strong>in</strong>erary to Italy,<br />

40<br />

Schre<strong>in</strong>er, Klaus, 134<br />

Scientific Revolution, 18<br />

seduction, and <strong>the</strong> vocabulary of<br />

recreation, 131<br />

Semerano, Giovanni, 128, 155, 156<br />

Seneca, Lucius Annaeus <strong>the</strong> Younger,<br />

13, 68, 76<br />

senses, <strong>the</strong>, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> cure of<br />

melancholy, 40<br />

sermons, 13–14, 15, 55–6, 84, 96,<br />

113, 121<br />

servants, 70<br />

Settevecchi, Ludovico, 25<br />

Settia, Aldo A., 148<br />

sex<br />

as double mean<strong>in</strong>g of terms, 128,<br />

129, 132<br />

as evil, 41–2<br />

as recreation, 17, 107<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>atrical performances, 62,<br />

114<br />

see also love; prostitution<br />

Shahar, Shulamith, 151<br />

Silvestro (Mazzol<strong>in</strong>i) da Prierio,<br />

Summa Sylvestr<strong>in</strong>a, 54, 62<br />

similes and metaphors concern<strong>in</strong>g<br />

recreation, 12–13, 52, 77, 88, 135<br />

simony, 75<br />

s<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g, as exercise or recreation, 23,<br />

24, 40, 46, 82, 96, 98, 101<br />

s<strong>in</strong>s and vices, 14, 53–4, 56, 58, 62,<br />

63, 67, 77, 78, 111, 131<br />

as root of play, 10, 11<br />

sleep<br />

excessive (moral criticism), 69<br />

as recreation, 47<br />

sloth, 15–16, 48, 69<br />

smells, pleasant, 47<br />

Smithfield Decretals, 122<br />

smok<strong>in</strong>g tobacco, relation to health,<br />

32, 40<br />

snowballs, 32<br />

Sobr<strong>in</strong>ho, João, On Commutative<br />

Justice, 80, 146<br />

sociability, 7, 40, 51, 70, 82, 92, 95,<br />

98, 107, 124, 127, 132<br />

social <strong>the</strong>ory, 6–9, 11<br />

Socrates, 33, 76<br />

solace, 131, 132<br />

Sorel, Charles, La maison des jeux,<br />

107, 112, 126, 151, 152, 154<br />

Souter, Daniel, Palamedes, 40, 59–60,<br />

89, 143<br />

Sozz<strong>in</strong>i, Mariano <strong>the</strong> Elder, 78, 79,<br />

145<br />

space, human perception of, 9<br />

Spacks, Patricia Ann Meyer, 155<br />

Spa<strong>in</strong>, 15, 65–8, 80, 84, 118–19<br />

passion for gambl<strong>in</strong>g, 41<br />

spas, 125<br />

Spaß, spasso, 58, 131–2<br />

speech<br />

as exercise, 36, 101<br />

vs acts dichotomy, 63<br />

Spiel, 129, 130<br />

sp<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g, 95, 100<br />

spirits, <strong>in</strong> Galenic medic<strong>in</strong>e, 34, 36<br />

sports, 131, 132<br />

box<strong>in</strong>g, 25, 30, 74<br />

dist<strong>in</strong>guished from exercise <strong>in</strong><br />

general, 70<br />

emergence of modern, 8–9, 29, 124,<br />

125, 131<br />

historiography, 8, 120<br />

weightlift<strong>in</strong>g, 25<br />

wrestl<strong>in</strong>g, 23, 25, 29–30, 48, 74, 77,<br />

101<br />

Stella, Jacques, Les jeux et plaisirs de<br />

l’enfance, 104, 105, 123, 150<br />

Stocks, J. L., 140<br />

stoicism, 42, 48<br />

story tell<strong>in</strong>g, 16<br />

Strong, Roy, 85, 147<br />

Sunday observance, see<br />

Sabbatarianism


Index 187<br />

superstitions, 55, 95<br />

svago, 132<br />

swear<strong>in</strong>g, 58<br />

swimm<strong>in</strong>g, 25, 30, 101<br />

Sylvius, Jacobus, 139<br />

symbolism, <strong>in</strong> <strong>Renaissance</strong> festivals,<br />

85<br />

Tabiensis, Ioannes, see Cagnazzo<br />

Tacu<strong>in</strong>i sanitatis, 23, 24<br />

Taddei, Ilaria, 146<br />

Taff<strong>in</strong>, Jean <strong>the</strong> Elder, 59, 142, 143<br />

talk<strong>in</strong>g, see conversation; speech<br />

Tasso, Torquato, 28<br />

Il Gonzaga secondo, 108–10, 126,<br />

151, 154<br />

Tatarkiewicz, Wladislaw, 143<br />

taverns and alehouses, 40, 107<br />

as <strong>the</strong> temple of play, 55<br />

Taviani, Ferd<strong>in</strong>ando, 142<br />

temperaments, <strong>in</strong> humoral medic<strong>in</strong>e,<br />

19, 35, 41<br />

Ten Commandments, transgressed by<br />

players, 66<br />

tennis, 22, 37, 46, 92, 108, 123,<br />

129<br />

Tenture de la Vie Seigneuriale, La,<br />

99–100<br />

Tertullian, 67<br />

<strong>the</strong>atres, 64, 67, 69, 126<br />

<strong>the</strong>atrica, 64, 108, 110<br />

<strong>the</strong>ology, see religion; moral<br />

assessment of recreation<br />

Thesiger, Sarah, 149<br />

Thiers, Jean Baptiste, Traité des jeux et<br />

divertissemens, 10–11, 12, 43,<br />

54–5, 111, 117, 134, 139, 141,<br />

152<br />

Thomas, Aqu<strong>in</strong>as, Sa<strong>in</strong>t, see Aqu<strong>in</strong>as<br />

Thomas, Johannes, 80–1, 146<br />

Thomas, Keith, 48, 140<br />

Thompson, Edward Palmer, 86, 147<br />

Tillyard, Eustace Mandeville<br />

Wetenhall, 149<br />

time<br />

of day, of year, or of human life, as<br />

relevant to human activities,<br />

15, 20, 24, 49, 69, 76, 82; see<br />

also Sabbatarianism<br />

def<strong>in</strong>itions, conceptions and<br />

perceptions of, 28, 69, 70–1,<br />

127<br />

free, spare, see leisure; work<br />

kill<strong>in</strong>g, 110, 131<br />

<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> mean<strong>in</strong>g of Old French losir,<br />

132<br />

waste or misuse, 14, 16, 68–70, 71,<br />

88, 131<br />

tipcat, 75<br />

Tiresias, 96<br />

tobacco smok<strong>in</strong>g, relation to health,<br />

32, 40<br />

Toner, Jerry Peter, Leisure and Ancient<br />

Rome, 2, 133, 146<br />

tournaments, see martial arts<br />

toys and play-th<strong>in</strong>gs, 104, 106, 118,<br />

129<br />

catapults, 31, 32<br />

dolls, 104<br />

hobby-horses, 82<br />

hoops, 36, 89, 105<br />

skittles, 25, 37, 101<br />

sp<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g tops, 25, 32, 101<br />

sw<strong>in</strong>gs, 25, 26, 123<br />

toy shops, 106<br />

traditions, <strong>in</strong>vention of, 4<br />

Traffichetti, Bartolomeo, 41, 139<br />

tragedy, 7–8<br />

Traité des danses (Daneau), 59, 84<br />

travell<strong>in</strong>g for leisure, 7, 40, 92, 125<br />

Trent Castle, frescoes, 100<br />

tristitia, 15<br />

Trotti, Ugo, De ludo, 28, 76–8, 86,<br />

112, 145<br />

Ulmann, Jacques, 137<br />

universities, 51, 110<br />

see also under <strong>in</strong>dividual places<br />

USA, 8<br />

utopias, 11<br />

vacations, 120, 125<br />

Vagenheim, G<strong>in</strong>ette, 137<br />

Valenzuela, 146<br />

Valla, Lorenzo, 71<br />

Vallerani, Massimo, 145, 146, 153<br />

Vall<strong>in</strong>, Pierre, 143<br />

Vanden Branden, Jean-Pierre, 150


188 Index<br />

Veblen, Thorste<strong>in</strong>, The Theory of <strong>the</strong><br />

Leisure Class, 50<br />

Vecchio, Silvana, 136, 143, 145<br />

Venice<br />

carnival, 90, 118<br />

war of <strong>the</strong> fists, 82–3, 90–1<br />

Verdon, Jean, 151<br />

Vergil, 42<br />

Vermigli, Pietro Martire, see Peter<br />

Martyr<br />

vertigo, 31<br />

Vickers, Brian, 14, 120–1, 127, 135,<br />

153<br />

Vignate, Ambrogio da, 78<br />

Villa Adriana, Tivoli, 28<br />

Villa Borromeo, Milan, 123<br />

Villalón, Cristóbal de, 51–2<br />

villeggiatura, 17, 125<br />

virtus, 75<br />

violence, 104<br />

association with gambl<strong>in</strong>g, 58<br />

<strong>in</strong> sports and drama, 48, 62, 66, 75,<br />

77, 86, 91, 114<br />

vita activa and vita contemplativa, 14<br />

Vitae Patrum, 13<br />

vocabulary of recreation, European,<br />

107, 122, 128–32<br />

see also languages and under<br />

<strong>in</strong>dividual terms<br />

Voetius (Gijsbert Voet), 143<br />

Vogler, Valent<strong>in</strong> He<strong>in</strong>rich, 36, 138<br />

voluptas, 71, 95<br />

Vuilleumier, Henri, 144<br />

wakes, 40, 82<br />

Walker, Daniel Picker<strong>in</strong>g, 138<br />

walk<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

as exercise or recreation, 22, 29, 31,<br />

35–6, 40, 46, 93, 99, 101<br />

as a mean<strong>in</strong>g of ‘andare a spasso’,<br />

131–2<br />

solitary or <strong>in</strong> company, 70<br />

war, 5, 77, 92, 104, 109<br />

Watanabe O’Kelly, Helen, 147<br />

wealth (moral and legal implications),<br />

47, 70, 87–8<br />

Wear, Andrew, 136<br />

Weber, Max, <strong>the</strong>ory of<br />

modernization, 71, 144<br />

Wenzel, Siegfried, 136<br />

Wetzel, Ingrid, 149<br />

William of Auvergne, 16<br />

wisdom, see reason<br />

witchcraft, Christian <strong>in</strong>terpretation,<br />

56, 142<br />

Wittenberg University, 72, 85<br />

women, see gender<br />

work<br />

and pleasure, 10–12<br />

vs leisure/play/dance dichotomy, 6,<br />

7–8, 11, 15, 16, 68, 83–4, 92,<br />

100, 106, 108, 121, 126, 127,<br />

132<br />

Wunenburger, Jean-Jacques, 134<br />

Xenophon<br />

Banquet, 33, 138<br />

on hunt<strong>in</strong>g, 23<br />

Yates, Frances Amelia, 148, 150<br />

y<strong>in</strong> and yang, 15<br />

youth, 105<br />

Zannoni, Giuliana, 135<br />

Zdekauer, Ludovico, 145, 146<br />

Zerb<strong>in</strong>i, Maurizio, 139<br />

Zocchi, Giuseppe, Giochi, 123<br />

Zur Lippe, Rudolf, 9, 134

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