Games Everywhere

I had been to El Escorial before, but it’s incredible how notice different things each time you visit a place. This time I had traditional games on my mind from the conference, and I noticed something I missed the last time.  

This time I spotted a number of paintings of people at play. There on the brilliantly painted canvases, children climbed tress, played on the see-saw, horsed around with masks and played with spinning tops. Their faces were filled with glee and the joy spilled over.

But it was not just children at play. Other paintings showed people playing cards, flying kites and also playing boules.

Boules or la pétanque as it is sometimes called is a traditional sport of France. The game is traditionally played with metallic balls on a dirt surface as long as it’s flat and level. Many villages throughout France have a boules playing area. It’s a social focal point for neighbours to meet, play or watch the world go by.

The game is believed to originate from an ancient Greek game of tossing coins.  The purpose of the game is to win by throwing your balls to land closer to the small ball (cochonnet which literally means piglet) than those of your opponent.

All these paintings were all found in the Bourbon palace wing of El Escorial. It must be remembered, that after the death of the last Habsburg monarch of Spain in 1700, the childless Charles II, the Spanish throne was up for grabs between various dynasties of Europe. Charles II left a will naming Philip, Duke of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV of France, as his heir.

The Austrian Habsburgs, who considered themselves the rightful heirs of Charles II, feared that the vast domain of the Spanish Crown would be taken over by the French monarchy, and formed a European coalition against the Bourbon monarchs of France and Spain, therefore starting the War of the Spanish Succession.

After eleven years of bloody warfare, the Duke of Anjou, as Philip V, was confirmed as King of Spain.

It is fascinating how much history you learn as you trace the flow and popularity of games.