| As the seventeenth
century approached, an alternative needed to be found to
replace the medieval tournaments which were rapidly being
outlawed due to excessive injuries. The nobles would not
be deprived of a game that displayed one of their best
qualities, their skill at equestrian sports. The
substitute they found was the origin of the
"carousel". The name comes from the Italian
word "garosello" and the Spanish word
"carossela," meaning little war.
One of the equestrian games
played at the carousel was inspired by a training
exercise for tournaments: the game of "catching the
ring." Elaborately costumed noble participants
instructed by their coaches, the great horsemasters of
Europe, introduced a whole new era of the sport of
catching rings. Louis XIV at the court of France, was
reputed to be one of the best at this new, considerably
less dangerous sport. Antoine Pluvenil and Grisonne, two
men often credited as the front-runners of classical
riding and dressage, both instructed Kings and noblemen
in the finer points of riding and "riding at
rings". Pluvinel in his 1623 book Maneige Royal,
devoted 1/3 of the manual to instructing King Charles on his ring riding skills.
There were several
other games played at the carousel. They were the
quintain games which involved lancing a pivoting figure
or dummy with a lance from horseback, and another version
first referred to as a roundabout which involved lancing
small rings from seats suspended from a revolving apparatus with seats, which were later changed to small
wooden horses. We know these apparatus today as the
carousel bedecked with magnificently painted horses.
Marie Antoinette was particularly fond of this
aristocratic game and even had a building erected at
Versailles park to house her carousel.
Colonial Americans,
although only one or two generations removed from their
European ancestors did not seem as interested in sports reminiscent of medieval trappings. Although very familiar
with the eccentricities of their European contemporaries'
pastimes, they were not quite so quick to adopt them. The
only well documented eighteenth century account of a
tournament in America is the famous Meschianza. Held in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 18, 1778 during the
American Revolution, the Meschianza was organized and
planned by a Frenchman Major John Andre' to honor General
Howe who was stepping down as commander of colonial
British forces. An elaborate "exhibition of a tilt
and tournament according to the customs and ordinances of
ancient chivalry" the event did not seem to capture
the Americans interest.
Although William
Oliver Steven, author of Annapolis, described
the the ring tournament as a customary, beloved sport of
"Every young man at home on a horse" during
Annapolis' "golden age" from 1750, lack of
supporting evidence from that time period would make this
highly unlikely.
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of the feature. Pictures too on the NPR website!
