NK - Period gambling
Miriam Cook
miriz at rocketmail.com
Wed Apr 21 15:43:27 PDT 1999
really good reference on how period bacgammon
is---
http://www.steamertrunkmerchants.com/backgammonhistory.htm
--Zahava
---Jennifer Carlson
<JCarlson at firstchurchtulsa.org> wrote:
>
> Her Excellency asked what kind of gambling was
done in period.
>
> Dice, playing cards, backgammon, tennis
matches, bowls, and horse racing
> all provided venues for gambling. One would
assume, and I'm sure someone
> can come up with documentation, that "making
book" is an ancient
> profession. I'm not sure if bagatelle is
period, but it was popular in
> gambling salons in following centuries. It
also seems plausible that
> gentlemen might put a bit down "just to make
it interesting" on chess,
> draughts (checkers), and which knight would
unhorse which. Of course, the
> early form of the tournament, with defeated
knights losing their horse and
> armor, is a form of gambling - they betted
their equipment that they could
> best someone else. Does anyone know when the
first national lottery was
> established?
>
> Heironymous Bosch (d. 1516) did a painting of
a man running a shell game.
> George de La Tour (late 16th, early 17th c)
painted at least 3 canvases on
> the theme of card sharks taking in a naive
young nobleman.
> The queens Mary Tudor and Elizabeth of England
were both fond of card games
> (whist is the period precursor of bridge)..
Their father, Henry VIII, an
> adept tennis player, had in his keeping a
French duke (a prisoner of war),
> of whom the Great Harry is supposed to have
said "between the tennis court
> and the card table, he practically paid his
ransom."
>
> Sounds like a fun topic to do some reading on.
>
>
> Talana
> Backgammon, anyone?
>
>
>
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