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Saturday, November 5, 2011

football in old england

At the time of the bloody  battles of Sluys (1340) and Crécy (1346), 
where the archers played their role and 15.000 Frenchmen were killed (in each!), no prisoners and where the fish -or the worms- could have learnt French, and that determined that Calais was taken in 1447 given control of the Channel- until 1557 (the first English colony)
competitions were ordered by Edward III to be held throughout the country.
 In a Close Roll, dated 1363, Edward orders the sheriff of Kent to 
"cause to be proclaimed that everyone in the shire, on festival days when he has holiday, shall learn and exercise himself in the art of archery, and use for his games bows and arrows, or crossbolts or bolts, forbidding all and single, on our orders, to meddle or toy in any way with these games of throwing stones, wood, or iron, playing handball, football, 'stickball,' or hockey, or cock-fighting, or any other games of this kind, which are worthless, under pain of imprisonment."37 


Interestingly, the only games (other than wrestling) played ...





 In 1363 Edward III, was obliged to issue a royal order forbidding many rural sports 
and enjoining the use of archery. His letter to the sheriff of Kent, dated 
June 1, 1363, ordered the sheriff to cause it to be proclaimed that:
on holidays every able-bodied man should use bows and arrows, oellets or bolts and practice the art of shooting "forbidding all and singular on pain of imprisonment to attend or meddle with hurling of stones, loggats or quoits, handball, football, club ball..., cock-fighting or other vain games of no value. The art of archery is almost wholly disused, whereby the realm is like to be kept without archers." bolts and practice the art of shooting "forbidding all and singular on pain of imprisonment to attend or meddle with hurling of stones, loggats or quoits, handball, football, club ball..., cock-fighting or other vain games of no value. The art of archery is almost wholly disused, whereby the realm is like to be kept without archers."
In 1565, Edward, still dissatisfied v/ith the situation, issu

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