The Renaissance: Mind and Muscle

Gary Medina

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The Renaissance : Mind and Muscle

The Olympics in Beijing , China is fast approaching and with this comes the palpable anticipation of witnessing the best athletes in the world competing for the medals . Aside from garnering individual recognition for an athlete , winning a medal would also translate to recognition for the country he or she would represent

This upcoming event aroused my curiosity as to what type of sport prominent people throughout history were engaged in , or at least what amazing physical feats

they were capable of . In particular , I had wanted to discover the answers to this question for the personalities connected to the Renaissance

I had taken a keen interest on the in this specific time in history because I think that quite a number of people would mostly associate this time with its numerous scientific and artistic advancements . Renaissance which is a French word meaning "rebirth , was a time when great achievements in painting , sculpture , literature architecture , and science were made . This cannot be helped when the likes of Galileo Galilei , Copernicus , Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci were prominent people during the period

It should not really be too much of a surprise that people would also engage in other activities aside from scholarly pursuits during this time . In fact , one of the most famous and controversial monarchs of that time Henry VIII had also engaged himself in sports of various kinds

According to Arcangeli , a notable culture of leisure and recreation was elaborated in Europe during the Renaissance (1 . Some thinkers of the time associated both spiritual and physical dangers arising from a sedentary lifestyle . With sloth being espoused as one of the seven deadly sins , most people decided to pursue recreational activities which was seen as a cure for this (Arcangeli 14

In this case , we could probably infer about the large role which kings had to play in for such a way of life to materialize . Henry VIII who would probably be best remembered for a host of other things , was also an avid sports ' buff in his time

There were many recreational activities which Henry VIII had immersed himself in . Aside from the usual pastime of hunting , he actually viewed himself as an athlete and participated in a lot of other physical activities during his earlier years such as wrestling and hammer throwing . In an article on Hammer Throwing History , the author Henry Connolly discussed the existence of a drawing dating from the 16th century which depicts King Henry VIII in the act of throwing the sledgehammer of a blacksmith , and this is believed to actually be the origin of the sport 's name

The king also exhibited a fondness for horse racing and breeding Margaret Odrowaz-Sypniewska mentions that his favorite breeds were the Barbarys and Neopolitan Coursers breeds imported from Italy and Spain and which were kept in the Royal Paddocks in Hampton Court and Nottinghamshire . He actually resisted the call of the Pope to stop all racing activities in England because of his affection for the sport and had 200 horses in his care

Cockfighting and other harsh sports for animals were also very popular during this time . Henry VIII actually had a regulation cockpit constructed at Whitehall . In cockfighting , roosters or gamecocks were put into a ring together , and equipped with sharp spurs strapped over their legs to inflict severe damage during fights . Gambling was also part of this activity , with individuals guessing which of the two chickens would survive the fight . Similarly , wagers were also placed on animal baiting , which usually was done with bears and bulls . In this event , a chosen animal would be tied to a stake , and fierce dogs would be released to attack it (Headlinehistory .co .uk

Believing that the citizens should always be training just in case a war would be set off , Henry VIII encouraged continuous practice in archery However , practice with the longbow proved to be an arduous task during winter periods , and the practice of using shortened arrows or darts became popular . This game was known as Arrows ' and was performed with darts being thrown at a barrel or a cross-sectional portion of a tree Similar to the dartboards of today , the winner would be declared based on who hit the center of the wood , as approximated by the growth rings present . The monarch enjoyed the game as much as his subjects did , and one of his wives Anne Boleyn , actually gave him jewel encrusted darts as a gift before their marriage (Headlinehistory .co .uk

Tennis was however , arguably the sport which Henry VIII was most passionate about . The Pope also made an attempt to ban the sport , but ultimately failed . Henry VIII had built a tennis court at Hampton Court Palace in 1625 which is still standing to this day (Bbc .co .uk

This game is quite different from the form of tennis which most of us are familiar with at present . According to the Headlinehistory site , the game was played using a net with its height varying from 0 .9 meters at the center to 1 .5 meters at the sides . Participants could choose to hit the ball over the net or through one of three goals placed at the walls Tennis rackets were constructed out of wood and had sheep gut for strings , looking somewhat like shovels . On the other hand , the leather tennis balls had hair filling them inside with cork as their core . The court which Henry built had benches where audiences could view the king playing . As was the practice in most sports at that time , the gambling culture was also prevalent in this activity . Henry actually lost a lot of money because of his betting practices

The popularity of the sport hit such a high degree and pervaded the lives of English royalty . Anne Boleyn , who was the second wife of Henry had been watching tennis when she got arrested . During her execution Henry VIII was not present as he was engaged in a tennis match (Hubpages .com

Could the idea of Henry the Sportsman ' be reconciled with the monarch whose exploits were written of by many authors ? Having a quick look at the list of significant achievements in Henry 's life would greatly aid in this discussion

According to the imahero website , Henry was able to institute a lot of changes during his time . It was mentioned that he . unified and centralized the administrative power , increased the role of the Parliament , and improved England 's naval defenses . In 1536 , the Act of Union between England and Wales brought Wales into union with England ' Aside from this , the site goes on to discuss the how he had defied the Catholic Church based in Rome by establishing the Church of England . He would become its Supreme Head and had a lot of implications with regards to religious authority at that time . In relation to this , he combined the King 's Hall and Michaelhouse Colleges to form Trinity College in Cambridge University in 1546 . This college was made to help develop the future leaders of the Church of England

Apart from this list of achievements however , Henry VIII was probably more known or infamous , for the six wives he had during his lifetime This was credited to the fact that he deeply desired that his wife would bear him a male heir . It has been said that the failure of his first wife Catherine of Aragon , to accomplish this feat , had led him to request an annulment of their marriage . The Pope 's refusal to accede to his request led Henry to have the parliament draft a law for the creation of the Church of England in which he would be supreme head After this annulment , what followed were a series of marriages that ended up in death , divorce or execution . Henry became portrayed as a capricious king who easily d charges of adultery against his wives and killed subjects , including bishops , cardinals , scholars , and knights in his court (Thehistoryconnection .com

Although some depictions , such as in the foodreference .com website have the king as a plump man holding a very large drumstick , I still think that the feature of sports in King Henry 's life still coincides with his general outlook on things

He exhibited a penchant for self-indulgence in his lifetime with regards to the things he desired or enjoyed be it food , a wife or engaging in pastimes like sports . The fact that he was playing tennis instead of attending Anne Boleyn 's execution shows his headstrong character that had driven him to get whatever he wanted . It might also portray the king as a whimsical character , in that he could oppose religious authority to get a wife , and then show her execution because of his new interest in tennis

Henry VIII , in all his faults and achievements , stands as one of the most interesting persons of his time . Considering all the various facets of such an individual will surely enhance the study of his achievements and role in the Renaissance in England , so that a relatively normal human existence in the form of activities could be associated with a man who accomplished things of great magnitude

Works Cited

Arcangeli , Alessandro . Recreation in the Renaissance : Attitudes Towards Leisure and Pastimes in European Culture . Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan , 2003

Connolly , Harold . Hammer Throwing History ' Hammerthrow .com . 16 May 2008

Food History Timeline 1400 to 1499 ' Foodreference .com . 16 May 2008 Henry VIII ' Bbc .co .uk . 16 May 2008 Henry VIII ' Thehistoryconnection .com . 16 May 2008 Henry VIII (King Hal ' Imahero .com . 16 May 2008Odrowaz-Sypniewska , Margaret . Henry VIII and His Six Wives Angelfire .com .16 May 2008 Tudor Era ' Headlinehistory .co .uk . 16 May 2008 Where does tennis originate from ' Hubpages .com . 16 May 2008Medina PAGE \ MERGEFORMAT 1 ...