AMUSEMENT AT THE TIME OF GILLES DE GOUBERVILLE
Besides his duties as lieutenant of the Eaux et Forêts, the day to day management of his manor in Mesnil-au-Val, his lawsuits, and the writing of his Journal in which he wrote down facts and events that he thought worthy of mention, Gilles de Gouberville also had time for fun.
In the previous articles published on this site, attention has been accorded to the books Gilles read, the plays he attended, and the games he played, especially “choule” and “mommon”. Here are a few of his other entertainments.
He went for walks :
Il fist grand tourmente au matin et grand pluye, lesquelles passé je m’en allé, Marin Flamenc avecques moy, sur la mer voyer la mer qui estoyt merveilleusement esmeue encore plus que hier. (25 octobre 1554)
Je ne bougé de Gouberville. Sur la relevée, je m’en allé pourmener par entre mer et mare au rast de Gatteville. (1er juin 1554)
He went hunting and fishing :
Il fist ung temps fort doulx et gratieulx comme s’il avoyt esté le moys d’apvril … Au soyer nous fusmes aulx ramiers au buisson de la Coulombière. (25 décembre 1557)
A soleil coucher, nous allasmes tirer le coleret et y fusmes jusques à mynuyct … Nous prinsmes IIII bars, une barbue et une plis, et au tiers traict le fillé accrocha à une roche et le falut lever. (19 septembre 1554)
He visited friends :
Apprès avoyr beu chacun un coup, nous en allasmes chez Thomas Drouet … par manière de passe-temps. (14 juillet 1560)
But he also indulged in other amusements and took part in village fetes and other traditional festivals, indoor games and sometimes physical activities. These amusements were common in the 16th Century and most of them are mentioned in Gargantua (chapter 20) by François Rabelais (dez, fleux, condemnade, chance, renette, trictrac, quilles, boulle plate, pallet, crosse, …).
1 – Indoor Games
Indoor games are mentioned about twenty times in the Journal. However, it was in 1550, during a stay in Rouen, that the references are the most frequent. When he returned to Mesnil au Val, on several occasions, he brought games back with him, on five occasions to his own manor house, and on fifteen occasions to the houses of acquaintances or to the inn. He played and wagered with his friends, his usual companions, and with the local gentry :
Je gaigné de Cantepye, en attendant le jor, deux perdrix por la gageure d’un coc de perdrix qu’il disoyt être une poule, et fismes lever Douart por estre nostre juge. (12 décembre 1553)
Je m’en allé chez le cappitaine du Teil où madame la Duchesse [d’Estouteville]estoyt à disner. Apprès avoyr joué d’intérieur avecque ma dite Dame…. XX sols. (8 juillet 1552)
The stakes could include wild game, money, but also pins. On several occasions, Gilles purchased large quantities of pins, probably for betting*, but also for giving them as presents on his feast day :
Sur le soyer, j’achatté de Sansonnet III milliers d’espingues XV s, que je donné aulx filles de filles de ceste ville[Mesnil].(1er septembre 1553)
* This practice was confirmed by Paul Lacroix in his book (Vie… au Moyen Âge et à l’époque de la Renaissance, Paris, Firmin Didot, 1873 ) : “beginning in the 15th Century, cheap cards were made that haberdashers sold, along with needles that were used as tokens or chips.”
► Card Games
Cards as we know them were first used in India and linked to soothsaying. They were introduced to Europe by the Mameluks at the end of the 14th Century.
The game “flus” (flux) is the ancestor of poker. The players are given three cards and the one who has “flux” (three cards of the same colour) is the winner. Apparently, Gilles was very fond of this game.
[A Rouen] Je joue au flus jusques à unze heures avecque les sieurs de Martinbosc et du Fort. (19 décembre 1550)
[A Valognes] Je perdy à jouer au flus, tant apprès disner que apprès soupper, LXII s. (30 novembre 1553)
► Dice or detz *
A die is a small ivory or bone cube, with different markings on its six sides ; several of them thrown together can determine things left to chance.Furetière).
This very old Indian game, was derived from “knucklebones”, a game played with the small bones of animals’ feet.
[A Gatteville] Je trouvé le curay de Firville [Fierville] et Retoville [Réthoville], de Millières et led Sr de Gatteville, près la porte du logis, qui jouent aulx detz. (8 juin 1553)
►Trictrac
Trictrac was a game, played with dice, in which draughts were advanced on a board made of two sides on which were drawn six triangles or arrows. The aim of the game was to score points in order to be the first one to reach a predetermined number.
Gilles mentions one game of trictrac which seems to have been very animated:
Je ne bougé de Sct-Naser (…) Les Hachées et moy jouasmes au trictrac. Il joua ses Hachées[pièce de terre à Gréville] contre mes Crevières[pièce de terre dans la forêt de Brix].Il perdit, dont je fus bien ayse. (2 octobre 1555)
NB : the stakes seem to be fictitious: « les Hachées » was an uncultivated mmmoor and les Crevières » was part of the royal estates.
► Other Games and Activities which have diasappeared today
² « condannade »
Led. Auvrey gaygna III s ... à jouer à la condannade. (19 novembre 1559)
² « miscontent »
Je ne bouge de céans ; il pleult quasi tout le jour. Au soyer, nous jouasmes au mal-content jusques à mynuyct.(24 novembre 1559)
² « chause » : maybe a variant for « chance » or « luck » ; in which case it was played with dice.
Céans … Symonnet[donna une partie] de l’argent qu’il avoyt gaigné … à jouer à la chause. (17 novembre 1553)
² « renette »
[A Valognes] Apprès disner, ma cousine de Borlande et sa fille vindrent céans. Je perdi cinq solz contre elle à la renette. (21 avril 1555)
² « virles » : this game was played in the evening on January 1st, so most likely indoors. Could the name be a deformation of “ virelais” (poems) which were recited by clercs ?
[A Rouen] Je disne et souppe chez Le Prevost. Apprès soupper les clercs de l’église Sct Vyvian y vindrent jouer des virles. (1er janvier 1550)
² « rouelle ». Gilles seemed quite passionate about this game since he played it all night:
[A Rouen] Pour ce que nous avions passé la nuyct à jouer à la rouelle Sydeville et moy, il estoyt unze heures quand je me levé. (22 juillet 1550)
2 - Sports and Outdoor Games
When Gilles went to Blois to see the king in order to obtain a promotion (in vain), he attended a tournament which he found interesting enough to stay until the very end:
Apprès disner, il se fist ung tourney dedens la court du chasteau, qui dura viron deux heures, où je fus tant qu’il dura.(2 février 1555)
Gilles spent a lot of time outdoors, even though he wrote so often in his Journal : « I stayed at home all day. » However he was not a sportsman. Nevertheless, he did occasionally participate in games of “choule” and bowls. (cf. the article about the game of choule in the archives on this site) He mentions various games and sports that were played outdoors, mainly on Sundays in the summer with the exception of choule and lacrosse which were played in the winter.
► Bowls or Quilles
A quille is an oblong piece of wood, set upright on the ground that players tried to knock down by throwing a ball.
Gilles loved this game. He sometimes played « here … all afternoon until Vespers. ». (1 June, 1550). A special place was set up for this game near the manor house:
Je me teurty le pied dextre au jardin à poyriers, en une petite fossette où on assist les quilles. (18 août 1555)
► Bocci
A very old game played by the Greeks and Romans by throwing the balls as close as possible to a target.
One day, Gilles got angry when all the servants were playing bocci, leaving the house empty:
[A Russy] Je trouvé, près la maison Viller Gille, tous mes serviteurs qui bouloyent, et ny avoyt personne à la maison. Je donné à Lajoye, pour son jeu, deux coups de baston quand il revinst. (4 mai 1561)
► Le palet
This game was played « with a tile or a piece of stone, wood or iron that was thrown towards a target. The player who came closest to the target won a point.” (Furetière).
Apprès messe et disner, … je m’en allé à la grève[de Cherbourg] trouver maistre Georges Giffart, qui jouet au palet avecques Briant Flamichon, ... (13 janvier 1554)
► La crosse
Vespres dictes, nous fusmes jusques à la nuyct à crocher près l’église. Il fist fort beau temps ce jor.(2 février 1553)
Apprès vespres, les hommes mariés, contre les non mariés, crochèrent à la Petite-Champagne[domaine de Gilles] jusques à la nuyct. (4 février 1553)
► La paume
“game, where a ball was sent back and forth with rackets or bats. The long paume was played in a wide open space,and the short paume was played within walls.” (Furetière).
This game, as its etymolgy suggests, could also be played with the hands. It was a very popular game, played by Gilles servants as well as by the gentlemen of the barracks in Cherbourg. La paume could be played outside:
Je m’en allé à Cherebourg où j’arrive viron mydi ; je trouve Monsieur de Saincte-Marie qui joue à la paulme à la grande rue avecque plusieurs gentilshommes de l’arrière ban qui là estoient en garnison (20 juillet 1549)
Toute l’apprès disner jusques à vespres Symonnet, … et tous les garsons de céans jouèrent à la paulme en la court. (3 avril 1553)
or probably inside since Gilles refers to the castle jeu de paume, in the keep in Cherbourg.(1 March, 1553).
► Le tir à l’arbalète
The bow and the crossbow were both used for war and hunting. The crossbow which replaced the bow towards the end of the 14th Century, was a missile weapon, composed of a stretched bow with a spring, mounted on a stock which bore a ball or an arrow.
Nous allasmes à la briayre Paris tirer au blanc à des tréseaulx[meule de gerbes de paille]. Led. Thomas rompit l’arbaleste Gilles Auvré en la bendant. (23 août 1555)
► La « volerye »
For this game, played at the manor house in Mesnil-au-Val, it was necessary to stretch something between two poles. Could it be the ancestor of our badminton or volleyball?
Apprès vespres, nous allasmes esbattre à une volerye qu’on avoyt dressée entre deux chesnes près la maison Auvrey. (29 juillet 1554)
3 – Performances and Traditional Amusements
Besides indoor games and outdoor activities, Gilles also watched or participated in performances and other traditional practices:
► Theatre : see the article about theatre in the archives on this site.
► Various Performances
² Acrobatics
From time to time, Spanish nomads passed through the villages. They were called “Egyptians” because it was believed they originally came from Egypt. (Thus the word “gypsy” came from the Latin “aegyptanus, which gave the Spanish egiptano > gitano, and in modern Frenc : gitan) :
Apprès disner il[M. Poton, à Cherbourg] sortit pour parler à ung cappitaine d’Egiptiens, aulx quelz il commanda s’en aller aulx Pieulx, … Pour … 1 sol que je donne à ung Egiptian qui jouet de souplesses. (13 août 1551)
² Wrestling
At the Saint Clair fair in aNegreville » Gilles watched some fights:
Led. jor, apprès avoyr veu les dances et les luctes, ... je prins congé de la compagnee viron VI heures du soyer puys m'en vins. (18 juillet 1553)
► Traditional Amusements
² Les “ conars”
In the 14th century, the ancient « Festival of Fools » gave way to the « Confrerie des Conars » in Normandy (Rouen and Evreux) and lasted several centuries. Composed of important personalities as well as craftsmen, this confederation included an abbot and a bailiff. Members were authorized to wear masks and play pranks on feast days. On Saint Barnabas day, (June 11) the abbot visited his “estates”, accompanied by his court of “conars”. Mounted on a donkey and carrying a “marotte” (sort of scepter made with the head of a grotesque on a stick) he preached the « Gospel of Connoilles », a repertory of jokes, and rendered absurd justice after sham trials.
[A Rouen] Apprès disner je m’en allé à St Julian hors la ville voyer les conars. (1er février 1550)
In the 16th century, both Valognes and Cherbourg had confederations of “conards” :
[A Valognes] Nous fusmes voyer la couardise [erreur typographique : conardise] dont Thomas Hurel estoyt bailly. (18 février « 1549 »)
Je vendi à Jehan Bonamy, de Cherebourg, deux castries, sauf les peaux que je retiens à mon profict … que j’envoyé par luy-mesme au bailly des Conars. (23 février « 1554 »)
N.B. Between the towns of Cherbourg and Martinvast, in the Quincampoix valley, there is still a bridge called the Pont-aux-cosnards which the confederation probably crossed while traveling or where perhaps they celebrated or did some other unstated activities nearby.
² mommon : see an entire article describing this practice in the archives of this site.
► Music and Dance
Except for Blois, where Gilles attended a ball at the château,:
Apprès on alla au bal ou je fus et y porté Mademoiselle de Monmorency, petite fille de Monsr le Congnoystable. A l’entrée de la salle du bal y avoyt fort grand presse. La royne d’Escosse et Mesdames se trouverent en lad. presse … (18 février 1555)
Gilles only mentions dances and music that took place at local festivals, (« dances at the Saint Clair fair in Negreville »(18 July1553) or at friendly get-togethers :
Je ne bougé de céans. J'euz vingt-cinq personnes du Teil qui couppèrent les poys de la Haulte-Vente et partye des fourmentz. Ilz estoyent encore à dancer à mynuyct en la salle. (22 août 1555)
Je ne bougé de céans … Apprès vespres, les filles se misrent a dancer, et la femme de Nicollas Quentin dist une chanson pour Georgette, fille de feu Raullet, mariée de nouveau. (8 mai 1558)
Also on special occasions, such as engagements or weddings. For example, on 3 December 1553:
Je disné et souppé chez Loys Fréret au banquet des nopces de son filz Jehan ... Je donné V solz aulx ménestriers et I s. à Quelon Berger, qui nous dist ung dictier de Noël.(3 décembre 1553)
And on the following day:
Apprès avoir disné et dansé, je donné V s. au cuysinier qui avoyt accoustré le banquet.(4 décembre 1553)
During the afternoon of December 4th, some of the guests continued the party and went to carry the « mommon » to the house of friends who were returning from another wedding!
This list is obviously incomplete; it is impossible to provide in such a short article more than a few examples of Gilles’ various entertainments.
To conclude, it should be noted that after 1560 and the beginning of the religious troubles, Gilles never again mentioned amusements of any sort.
Anne Bonnet, Jocelyne Leparmentier & Jacqueline Vastel
