Jeu de paume
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Jeu de paume was originally a French precursor of tennis played without racquets. The players hit the ball with their hands, as in palla, volleyball, or certain varieties of pelota. Jeu de paume literally means: game of the palm (of the hand).
The term is used in France today to denote real tennis or a court in which the ancient or modern game might be played. The indoor version is sometimes called jeu de courte paume or just courte paume (short palm) to distinguish it from the outdoor version, longue paume, played on a longer court.
Some important buildings in France are known by the name jeu de paume, in general because of their proximity to tennis courts or to sites on which courts once stood. Several works of art also bear this name, including the famous serment du jeu de paume ('the Tennis Court Oath') in the Palace of Versailles. It depicts the formal announcement of the French revolution made in the Royal Tennis Court there on 20 June, 1789.
See also
- Jeu de paume at the 1908 Summer Olympics
- Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume
- Le Jeu de Paume is a moral ode published in 1791 by André Chénier
External links
- Historical Picture: A Jeu de Paume Before a Country Palace (http://www.getty.edu/art/collections/objects/oz839.html)
- Today: Jeu de Paume, Anyone? (http://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/issues00/jan00/tennis.html)
- Jeu de paume - De Nederlandse Real Tennis Bond (http://www.real-tennis.nl/Jeudepaume.htm)de:Jeu de Paume