Pall-Mall
Pall-mall, which comes from the French name paille maille and the Italian pallamaglio, was a lawn game which was played between the 1500's and the 1600's. It was developed in France, and it was inspired by the French game of jeu de mail.
The sport is a precursor to croquet, and also related to the Italian trucco, which is lawn billiards in English. The term pall-mall comes from the Italian word pallamaglio, which means mallet ball. Pall-mall used to be played in an alley, there was a iron hoop suspended over the ground at the other end.
The goal was to strike a boxwood ball using a heavy wooden mallet. The players had to strike the ball down the alley and through the hoop, the winner being the one to do so with the fewest hits. This game was popular in Italy, France, Scotland and England. The term pall-mall also refers to the mallet used and the alley where the game is played. This game is closer to golf than ground billiards.
Similar Sports
- Crossage — a traditional Belgian golf-like sport played on the streets where the aim is to get a wooden ball through a series of goals.
- Kolven — a medieval sport from the Netherlands where the aim is to hit a ball to a target in the minimum number of strokes - a precursor to golf
- Trucco — an Italian lawn game where heavy balls are hit with large-headed cues through rings on the ground.
- Croquet — players hit balls along the ground through hoops using a wooden mallet.
Related Pages
- About Extinct and Ancient Sports
- List of Extinct Sports
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Some Comments
- The information you have is incorrect. Pallamaglio originated in Italy, not France, probably in Naples and was being played from the 12th century throughout Italy. It was later adopted in France, England etc... and gave rise to cricket, polo, hockey etc... This information is from the Museo Torino. (from Angela, Dec 2020)
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