Sports and Games of the Renaissance

The Renaissance was a period of extraordinary spirit and development that marked a critical stage in the history of sports and games. In Europe the development of a moneyed economy and more refined methods of timekeeping ushered in a new era of leisure and leisure activity. In Asia, Sumo’s gradual codification began to develop alongside ancestors of the modern game of hackey-sack. In North and South America, European explorers saw how traditional team sports such as lacrosse and pelota could serve as an integrating and uniting phenomenon. Andrew Leibs provides narrative chapters on Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, North America, and Oceania, each of which shows how modern-day forms of recreation evolved during the Renaissance. In addition, readers will learn how to play games that had been previously lost to history. Each chapter describes sports, games, and rituals of play, along with descriptions of equipment and instructions for making or adapting game pieces.