Tudor Sports

Tudor Sports

Cockfighting was a big sport in Tudor England. They would place two

cocks in a pit and watch them fight to the death. Bear baiting was

another sport that was enjoyed. Dogs and bears would fight it out

until one or the other was dead. It was quite a one sided sport

because the bear would be chained and would have to face not one dog

but a pack of them.

One sport that you might no well was football and it was very popular

indeed. Of course the game wasn't played as we know it today but was

much more rough. Games would encourage the whole town or village to

get involved to the point that many men missed their warfare practice!

This bothered Henry VIII very much, so he simply banned it.

Sport and pastimes in Tudor England tended to reflect the likes and

dislikes of the king or queen who reigned at this time. Henry VIII had

a great love for certain sports, especially hunting, while his

daughter, Elizabeth, liked pastimes which we would find very cruel

such as bear-baiting and bear-gardens. However, not everyone was

allowed to participate in sport.

In Tudor England, the government heavily controlled sport. The

ordinary citizen rarely had a chance to take part in sport as the

government considered it more important that they were fit enough to

work. Most of their waking hours involved work of some sort so time

for sport was unusual. In the early years of the reign of Henry VIII a

law was passed in 1512 that banned the ordinary person from a whole

range of games such as real tennis, as favored by Henry VIII, cards,

dice, bowls and skittles. It was only at Christmas that rules were

slightly relaxed in celebration of a religious holiday.

Football had been a popular sport for a number of years. It was very

different in Tudor England when compared to the game today. There was

no limit to the number of people on each side and the goalposts were