A Prize Playing was a test of
martial skill popular in
Renaissance England with the
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
-based
Corporation of Masters of the Noble Science of Defence.
It involved several dozen bouts against continually refreshing opponents, with little or no rest in between.
This practice was revived after a fashion in the late 17th century in the form of "Prize Fights", whence the term
prizefighting
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...
for modern professional
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
.
Renaissance Prize Playings
The time and place for a Prize Playing was determined by the four
Ancient Masters of the school. Notices called Bills of Challenge were posted of the event and a wooden scaffolding was erected in a public square. A good number of formalities were observed and at one time rules were endorsed by the
Crown
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...
. On the appointed day and time, following a
procession
A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner.
History
Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...
of drums and flags the Player was paraded to the raised scaffold with much
fanfare
A fanfare (or fanfarade or flourish) is a short musical flourish which is typically played by trumpets, French horns or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion. It is a "brief improvised introduction to an instrumental perfo ...
. The public gathered close to watch, cheer, and throw coins onto the platform; the student would end up making a profit at the end of the day from this. Prize events also attracted new students—from which the Company earned the major part of its income.
At the start, a senior Master would declare the name of the Player, the rank being sought, and then announce “The first bout to be at
hichever weapon. Bouts were fought using
'blunts' (dulled and rounded weapons) and played to a number of 'hits' rather than to a 'victory'. The term “play” at the time referred to competing or practice
sparring
Sparring is a form of training common to many combat sports. Although the precise form varies, it is essentially relatively ' free-form' fighting, with enough rules, customs, or agreements to minimize injuries. By extension, argumentative debate ...
, as opposed to a life and death fight. Although not real, the fights were not displays or
exhibitions
An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery
An art gallery is a roo ...
. They were free-sparring practices just earnest enough to properly evaluate the Player and not arranged as public spectacle. The contact was limited, but it was at full speed. The bouts could sometimes be bloody, but never lethal. No armor was used and blows were limited to above the waist, but even the bare head and hands were targets. Only a few instances are recorded of students failing their Prize, with none ever being killed. The student had to pay for the travel expenses of 'answerers' (opponents) coming from outside London (all Masters within 36 miles were required to attend).
Two bouts had to be played with a number of different weapons against as few as four and as many as ten opponents each. To Play their Prize, a student might face in a single afternoon an average total of sixty bouts or more. These were all against more senior opponents, with little rest in between. The job of the answerers was not to break or beat the Player but to seriously test them. The 'Prize' meant promotion and the respect and acceptance of one's peers.
The fight itself consisted of those traditional
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
weapons as taught in the “Schole” and dating back to the early Middle Ages. For the challenged Scholar, the weapons to be judged on were fixed at
Longsword
A longsword (also spelled as long sword or long-sword) is a type of European sword characterized as having a cruciform hilt with a grip for primarily two-handed use (around ), a straight double-edged blade of around , and weighing approximatel ...
and
Backsword
A backsword is a type of sword characterised by having a single-edged blade and a hilt with a single-handed grip. It is so called because the triangular cross section gives a flat back edge opposite the cutting edge. Later examples often have a ...
. For the Free Scholar, there was a choice of any three weapons (usually longsword, backsword, and
sword
A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...
&
buckler
A buckler (French ''bouclier'' 'shield', from Old French ''bocle, boucle'' 'boss') is a small shield, up to 45 cm (up to 18 in) in diameter, gripped in the fist with a central handle behind the boss. While being used in Europe since an ...
). For the
Provost, there was a choice of any four weapons (usually the same as the Free Scholar but also including at least one
polearm
A polearm or pole weapon is a close combat weapon in which the main fighting part of the weapon is fitted to the end of a long shaft, typically of wood, thereby extending the user's effective range and striking power. Polearms are predominantly ...
). Provosts playing for their “Master's Prize” would face an agonizing ten bouts with eight weapons each, including single
dagger
A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use de ...
,
quarterstaff
A quarterstaff (plural quarterstaffs or quarterstaves), also short staff or simply staff is a traditional European pole weapon, which was especially prominent in England during the Early Modern period.
The term is generally accepted to refer t ...
, and
two-handed sword
The English language terminology used in the classification of swords is imprecise and has varied widely over time. There is no historical dictionary for the universal names, classification or terminology of swords; a sword was simply a double ...
. Among the other weapons sometimes played were
Morris-pike,
flail
A flail is an agricultural tool used for threshing, the process of separating grains from their husks.
It is usually made from two or more large sticks attached by a short chain; one stick is held and swung, causing the other (the swipple) to st ...
, sword & dagger, and sword & gauntlet. Starting around 1580, the
rapier
A rapier () or is a type of sword with a slender and sharply-pointed two-edged blade that was popular in Western Europe, both for civilian use (dueling and self-defense) and as a military side arm, throughout the 16th and 17th centuries.
Impor ...
and rapier & dagger were included.
Once all the bouts were over, judgment of passage was made by the four senior Masters. A victorious prizer might be declared “a well-tryd and sufficient man with divers weapons”. After collecting thrown change, the Player was escorted back to the school, again with great fanfare, took his
oath
Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to ...
, paid his fees, and did much drinking (which he was also expected to pay for). The whole event might even last two days.
Prize Fights
During the late 17th to mid 18th centuries in England, long after the London schools and true Masters had faded, a revival of Prizing took place. But in these bouts mostly common, unskilled brawlers and street ruffians would fight for money against all challengers. They were also called “prizefighters” in reference to earlier days. Though also using blunted weapons, most of these fights were quite bloody affairs with some ending in deaths. Today, they are often confused with the old Masters and their students Playing the Prize.
Eventually, pugilism was added to the shows and it became so popular that weapons were finally dropped from the contests altogether.
This is the origin of today's modern
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
“prizefights”.
See also
*
Fechtschule
The German school of fencing (') is a system of combat taught in the Holy Roman Empire during the Late Middle Ages, Late Medieval, German Renaissance, and Early Modern periods. It is described in the contemporary Fechtbuch, Fechtbücher ("fenci ...
{{HEMA
Historical European martial arts