Medieval and early modern Europe
Further information: Medieval football
The Middle Ages saw a huge rise in popularity of annual Shrovetide footballmatches throughout Europe, particularly in England. An early reference to a ball game played in Britain comes from the 9th centuryHistoria Brittonum, which describes “a party of boys … playing at ball”.[26] References to a ball game played in northern France known as La Soule or Choule, in which the ball was propelled by hands, feet, and sticks,[27] date from the 12th century.[28]
An illustration of so-called “mob football“
The early forms of football played in England, sometimes referred to as “mob football“, would be played between neighbouring towns and villages, involving an unlimited number of players on opposing teams who would clashen masse,[29] struggling to move an item, such as inflated animal’s bladder[30] to particular geographical points, such as their opponents’ church, with play taking place in the open space between neighbouring parishes.[31] The game was played primarily during significant religious festivals, such as Shrovetide,Christmas, or Easter,[30] and Shrovetide games have survived into the modern era in a number of English towns (see below).
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