Chapter 16, Item 91a
Country games
Besides the seuerall recreations and sports, giue me leaue to adde a small catalogue more which are used by our countrey Boys and Girls, and some of them by people of riper yeares: and they haue these names for the sports.
Stage plays, which are of two sorts
Comedies which are of Love or History and Tragidies, haue cheerfull beginings but bad endings.
Danceing on the rope, Vaulting, and Tumbleing.
Runing or Leaping, Hoping, Skipping, Buk or Runing Leaps.
Sliding on the Ice with skits.
Halfe Almon is hops and a leap or Jump.
Masking and mumming, danceing in disguised habits with Hood, Maskes or Visards ouer their faces.
Morris danceing, Antique dances in fantastick cloths and Ratling of Bells
May dances, each with Flowers and Garlands on their heads, to adorn wells.
Rush Buryings, processions with Garlands of Flowers from each parishner to dress countrey churches.
Prison Barres, a runing in parties to take out an other.
Foot Ball, a Kiking of an hollow ball (made of a bladder filled with wind and couered with Leather) from one to an other.
Battle-dore or Shuttle cock, is strikeing of the shuttle cock up aloft from one to an other, or as it comes spining downe to send it up againe.
Tennice or Fives, is a countrey way of tennice, by casting a Ball on the side of an house and the contrary to strik it (as it comes down) as far as he can with his hand.
Throwing at a cock, is to win it, if with a Logg or thick short staffe he strike it downe till he run to it, from the place where he stood; being about 20 or 30 yards.
Hare and Hound, or Hunting of the Hare, Boys games of runing and shouting after one perticulerly sent forth to run before them, as an hare before hounds.
Hide and seech, one or more to goe hide themselues, and the rest to seek them out.
Barla Brakes, is a play of 6: runing, of which two that stands in the midle are to take and hold any of the other lott, and so to put them in their place of catching.
Duck vnder water.
Chase Fire.
Drop glove.
Stoole Ball.
Ball play, or call at a call.
Runing the Hays.
Handy Back.
Blind mans buff.
Runing of Races.
Points in the hole.
Wrestling and tripping.
Fist cuffs or Boxing.
Swimming, ducking, or diveing, and sailing on the back, the first is in the water the next is under water and the last on the water.
Puss in the corner.
Pawn-Brokers.
Acting of proverbes. Questions and commands or King I am.
Hornes Hornes.
Art of Memory.
The persons fuddleng cap is lost.
Work one at onst and 2 at onst.
Cat with two tailes.
Playes with Instruments.
Quoiting.
Throwing the stone, or casting the
Barr, slinging of stones.
Lifting of weights. Casting of darts.
Darting of Rods, or throwing at a
marke.
Fencing, playing at cuggells.
Quintaines, Runing at tilt, pushing at
Files.
Nyne Holes, with a Bowl.
Cale peggs or nyne pins.
Top and scourge.
Scale Top.
Fox gloves, and seech glove.
Kat and Kinney, or striker or cat stick
and tip cat.
Pot guns.
Shooting in a trunk staffer or spitter.
Ball and Bandy. Trap Ball and
Racked and Ball.
Shooting with Bow and Arrows.
Shooting a cross-bow, or ston-bow
or Tiller.
Shooting at cock.
Shooting with a long gun, Fowling
peece or cocking peece.
Goeing on stilts.
Long Lorrance.
Bob Apple.
Mumble the peg.
Jack stones.
Tip stones or Hop skotches.
Flying the Kite.
Long Taw, circle Taw, Bank about
Rubbers, are players with round Balls,
or Marble Bullets called Marvels.
Span Farthing.
Single chuck and Tip and chuck.
Chances.
Bob Farthing.
Pich and Huffle.
Chalks and rounds
Heads Armes and Halfe.
Put pin, Heads and points, and even
and odd, boys games for pins.
Shuffle board.
Trilly cock.
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