Medieval Sports

Sports (or sports) involves various types of athletic activity that, though based on a particular sport or physical activity, aim to utilize, increase or refine physical power and abilities while also providing entertainment for participants, and occasionally, spectators. Sports can be of different types, with numerous sub-categories under each major classification, including ice hockey, basketball, softball, tennis, golf and football. Some sports also include gymnastics, fencing, badminton and table tennis.

The Renaissance period brought about a new flowering of interests in sports, with the rise of philosophies advocating physical education, and new fields of study arising in parallel. One of the most significant of these was the so-called “sports science” which focused on the study of sports and the application of scientific principles towards sports-related activities. Another important development during this time was the Renaissance conception of what is known today as the Renaissance Sports Camp which sought to combine learning about sports with an experience of actual sports participation in order to produce and reinforce learning and physical prowess.

Among the most popular and widespread sports during the Renaissance period were hunting, wrestling, horsemanship, archery, wrestling, and fencing. Another important development of this period was the appearance of the “arts and crafts.” These arts and crafts, which included music, painting, architecture, engineering, writing and history were designed to enhance and support physical activities and promote aesthetic values. Sports developed as an important part of the “arts and crafts” as sports events evolved from being merely competitive, to becoming more competitive as time progressed. It therefore became necessary for sports to have an authority or “ring master” who could control the rules and regulation of sports events.