Jeu de paume
Videos
Page
Jeu de paume, nowadays known as real tennis, (US) court tennis or courte paume, is a ball-and-court game that originated in France. It was an indoor precursor of tennis played without racquets, and so "game of the hand", though these were eventually introduced. It is a former Olympic sport, and has the oldest ongoing annual world championship in sport, first established over 250 years ago. The term also refers to the court on which the game is played and its building, which in the 17th century was sometimes converted into a theatre.
Jeu de paume in the 17th century.
Late 18th-century illustration of jeu de paume paddle-bats or battoirs, and (in various stages of construction) strung racquets.
Earliest known picture of Jeu de Paume from a Book of Hours (c. 1300)
A modernised court in the Palace of Fontainebleau, Fontainebleau (1991).
Real tennis
Videos
Page
Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United States, royal tennis in England and Australia, and courte-paume in France. Many French real tennis courts are at jeu de paume clubs.
Jesmond Dene jeu à dedans court in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, view toward service end
Racquets and balls
Newmarket-Suffolk jeu à dedans court, view toward hazard end
Jeu de paume, Paris