Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Support our non AI content from £3 on Patreon or YT Memberships for extra videos & bonus content, funded and influenced directly by you! patreon.com/cw/OfficialMedievalMadness
Sports were an important part of medieval life, allowing people to show off their physical prowess, encourage healthy competition and provide much needed entertainment in villages and towns across Europe. Spectators flocked to watch and take part in jousting, wrestling, the infamous ‘mob football’ and other more obscure games such as Bandy Ball or la soule a la crosse. What these games all had in common was that they were dangerous and most of them were extremely violent. For the nobility, tournaments weren’t just for fun, they doubled as training for knights and soldiers, improving both strength and coordination and sharpening tactical thinking. Bringing the community together, festivals and tournaments turned sport into public theatre. Let’s travel back in time to the Middle Ages and take a look at how medieval sports reflected the values, ambitions, and sheer exuberance of the age. Welcome to Medieval Madness.
Narrated by James Wade
Written by Lisa E Rawcliffe
Edited by Jamit Productions
Thank you for watching!
SOURCES:
Allanson-Winn, R.G. & Phillipps-Wolly, C. (Feb 2010) Broad-Sword and Single-Stick With Chapters on Quarter-Staff, Bayonet, Cudgel, Shillelagh, Walking-Stick, Umbrella and Other Weapons of Self-Defence, project Gutenberg E-Book
Aylward, J.D. (1956) The English Master of Arms: from the twelfth to the twentieth century, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London.
Carter, J. M. (1992) Medieval games: sports and recreations in feudal society, Greenwood Press, New York.
Gilbert Marshal 4th Earl of Pembroke Explained, Everything Explained Today Website.
Guilford, E.L. (1920) Select extracts representing sports and pastimes in the Middle Ages, MacMillan Company, New York.
Hand, S. (2026) English Swordsmanship: The True Fight of George Silver, The Chivalry Bookshelf, Highland Village, Texas.
Paris, Matthew 1200-1259, Giles J. A. (trans) (1852) Matthew Paris’s English History: from the year 1235 – 1273, H.G. Bohn, London.
The Melee and Jousting: Tournaments in Medieval Sherwood Forest (Mar 2012) Sherwood Forest History Blogspot.
Whymer, N. (1949) Sport in England, George G. Harper & Co. Ltd. London.
Wilkins, S. (2002) Sports and Games of Medieval Cultures, Greenwood press, Westport.
DISCLAIMER: All materials in these videos are used for entertainment purposes and fall within the guidelines of fair use. No copyright infringement is intended. If you are, or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video, and have an issue with the use of said material, please email us at info@top5s.co.uk
Copyright © 500 AD to 1500 All rights reserved.
Support our non AI content from £3 on Patreon or YT Memberships for extra videos & bonus content, funded and influenced directly by you! patreon.com/cw/OfficialMedievalMadness
Sports were an important part of medieval life, allowing people to show off their physical prowess, encourage healthy competition and provide much needed entertainment in villages and towns across Europe. Spectators flocked to watch and take part in jousting, wrestling, the infamous ‘mob football’ and other more obscure games such as Bandy Ball or la soule a la crosse. What these games all had in common was that they were dangerous and most of them were extremely violent. For the nobility, tournaments weren’t just for fun, they doubled as training for knights and soldiers, improving both strength and coordination and sharpening tactical thinking. Bringing the community together, festivals and tournaments turned sport into public theatre. Let’s travel back in time to the Middle Ages and take a look at how medieval sports reflected the values, ambitions, and sheer exuberance of the age. Welcome to Medieval Madness.
Narrated by James Wade
Written by Lisa E Rawcliffe
Edited by Jamit Productions
Thank you for watching!
SOURCES:
Allanson-Winn, R.G. & Phillipps-Wolly, C. (Feb 2010) Broad-Sword and Single-Stick With Chapters on Quarter-Staff, Bayonet, Cudgel, Shillelagh, Walking-Stick, Umbrella and Other Weapons of Self-Defence, project Gutenberg E-Book
Aylward, J.D. (1956) The English Master of Arms: from the twelfth to the twentieth century, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London.
Carter, J. M. (1992) Medieval games: sports and recreations in feudal society, Greenwood Press, New York.
Gilbert Marshal 4th Earl of Pembroke Explained, Everything Explained Today Website.
Guilford, E.L. (1920) Select extracts representing sports and pastimes in the Middle Ages, MacMillan Company, New York.
Hand, S. (2026) English Swordsmanship: The True Fight of George Silver, The Chivalry Bookshelf, Highland Village, Texas.
Paris, Matthew 1200-1259, Giles J. A. (trans) (1852) Matthew Paris’s English History: from the year 1235 – 1273, H.G. Bohn, London.
The Melee and Jousting: Tournaments in Medieval Sherwood Forest (Mar 2012) Sherwood Forest History Blogspot.
Whymer, N. (1949) Sport in England, George G. Harper & Co. Ltd. London.
Wilkins, S. (2002) Sports and Games of Medieval Cultures, Greenwood press, Westport.
DISCLAIMER: All materials in these videos are used for entertainment purposes and fall within the guidelines of fair use. No copyright infringement is intended. If you are, or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video, and have an issue with the use of said material, please email us at info@top5s.co.uk
Copyright © 500 AD to 1500 All rights reserved.
