A bevy of kings who had a real problem with sports

Way back in the year 1314 A. D. English King Edward II issued a royal edict banning the game of soccer.  The sport bore little resemblance to the game that is played today.  It often pitted town against town, with hundreds of players on each side of two teams,…. brawling across fields or down roads.  It was very popular, but nevertheless the king threatened players with harsh prison terms if caught playing it in violation of his edict.

Other British kings followed suit.  Edward III, Richard II, and Henry IV each issued their own bans of the game.  In 1457 A.D., King James II of Scotland banned soccer and golf.  In 1491 A. D. Scottish King James IV issued this decree:

   “It is statute and ordained that in no, place of the Realme there be used

    Fute-ball, golf, or uther unprofitable sports.”

So what was it about soccer and golf and “uther” sports that was so upsetting?  The kings considered them “unprofitable” because they were distracting men from archery practice, which was essential to the defense of their countries.  Without a populace of trained archers, they couldn’t raise effective armies in times of crisis.

But kings’ edicts ultimately proved no match for men’s passion for sport.  The laws were ignored and eventually forgotten.  Soccer and golf continued to thrive, despite the kings who considered them to be a royal pain…in the neck.

“We command and forbid on behalf of the King, on pain of imprisonment, such game to be used.”

                                                                          King Edward II

                                                                     Banning soccer in 1314

Not all royalty was down on golf.  Mary Queen of Scots was an avid golfer.  She paid the price for it in 1563 A.D., when she was castigated for taking to the links shortly after the murder of her husband (in which she may have had a hand).

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