What is Pétanque ? ... the History
In 9000 BC stone bowls existed. They were found during excavations in the Neolithic city of Catal Hoyuk in Turkey. Nothing, however, proves that these bowls were used for games. The tense situation which existed during this period in Asia Minor makes one suppose that these 'bowls' were used for warlike activities rather than for playing. However, an adolescent and bowls were found in a sarcophagus in Egypt, dating from 5000 BC which leads us to believe that the bowls were used for a game.
If we jump ahead a few thousand years, we find the Greeks who considered the game of bowls as an excellent exercise. It seems that at this period, throwing bowls was a simple manifestation of force. The object was to throw the bowl as far as possible.
These exercises were encouraged by Hippocrate and later by Galien and Oribase, well known in Greece for their medical achievements. They recommended this exercise as good: for developing the body, judgement and dexterity. This is definite proof that this game existed at this period.
Later with the Romans, the game was transformed . The player had to get as near as possible to a fixed point and later, the "fixed point" became a small spherical object called a jack (un but)...the game of bowls, as we know it, was born.
We could imagine that the game was introduced into Gaul by the Roman legions and travellers and more precisely, in Provence when Massilia (Marseille) was founded in 600 BC and subsequently in Lugdunum (Lyon). Tradition survived. Lyon and Marseille are the two towns where bowls have always been popular, as in the "Gaule Cisalpine" or Northern Italy. Little by little this game spread, and in the Middle Ages it became so popular that it was played in public squares and in the street. With there being no written information available, we lose trace of the game until the 14th century where it is mentioned in certain chronicles.
The way of playing the game developed with customs and local traditions , there was the "Longue" (or "Lyonnaise"), which later became "Sport Boules", the "jeu Provençale", "la Rafle" and at the beginning of the 20th Century, the "Pétanque".
THE BIRTH OF THE MODERN GAME OF PÉTANQUE
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At La Ciotat in the South of France, players of La Longue, a Provincial game of the area (very similar to the Italian game of Bocce) used to meet on a ground in the vicinity of the town to play their favourite game. Numerous people would come and watch them, not only to appreciate the skill of the players, but above all to enjoy themselves. |
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(In France, there are still three quite distinct games all played on different terrains. In addition to Pétanque, there is also La Boule Lyonnaise and the Jeu Provençal. Boule Lyonnaise is played with much heavier boules the size of small melons and is a game that involves a rather energetic running throw of between 12.5 and 17.5 metres onto a frame with specially marked out 'scoring areas'. Jeu Provençal, on the other hand, is a version of this game which is slightly less demanding. This game emerged in the latter half of the nineteenth century and is much more suited to the warmer Provençal summers In this game, the boules used are much smaller than those used in La Boule Lyonnaise, but the throwing distance required was lengthened to between 15 and 21 metres. Jules Le Noir, a
former champion of the game, who suffered from
chronic rheumatism, was the only player allowed to
sit on a chair to watch the game while he was not
playing. The players had previously complained about the
use of the chair as it got in the way of the boules
(bowls). One Sunday, the game took too long to finish. Jules, with a few boules in hand, was shooting and pointing at a distance of 2 or 3 metres. "What are you doing?" Ernest Pitiot (one of the players) asked. "I'm just killing time". "It looks like fun. What about drawing a circle? We will set a limit of 3 metres and play from within the circle. Does this suit you?" "Let's try", Jules replied. Providing Jules Le Noir didn't have to balance on one leg to throw the ball or move 3 steps forward to aim, he retained the excellent skills that he always had. The match between Pitiot and Le Noir attracted a lot of people, amongst them Father Aubrey, a champion of La Longue, who decided to try this new pastime. Over the next few months, this new game was played, with the rules constantly changing, till one day, Ernest Pitiot's brother organised a competition. Eight teams of 2 players each took part. The success of that first competition was so great that other competitions soon followed, with more and more players competing each time. LA PÉTANQUE WAS BORN The game of Pétanque was promoted from town to town very rapidly by the navigators and fishermen of the region and is now played by millions of people around the globe. Some tournaments in France can attract over 1,500 contestants. Each year, teams from over 40 countries (including Australia) compete for the title of World Champions.
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