History of Swimming - Middle Ages To 1800

Middle Ages To 1800

Swimming was initially one of the seven agilities of knights during the Middle Ages, including swimming with armour. However, as one swam in a state of undress, it became less popular as society became more prudish in the early Modern period. For example, in the 16th century, a German court document in the Vechta prohibited naked public swimming by children. Leonardo da Vinci made early sketches of lifebelts.

In 1539, Nicolas Wynman, a German professor of languages, wrote the first swimming book Colymbetes. His purpose was to reduce the dangers of drowning. The book contained a good methodical approach to learning breaststroke, and mentioned swimming aids such as air filled cow bladders, reed bundles, and cork belts. In 1587, Everard Digby also wrote a swimming book, claiming that humans could swim better than fish. Digby was a Senior Fellow at St. John's College, Cambridge, interested in scientific method. His short treatise, De arte natandi, was written in Latin and contained over 40 woodcut illustrations depicting various methods of swimming, including the breaststroke, backstroke and crawl. Digby regarded the breaststroke as the most useful form of swimming. In 1603, the first national swimming organization was established in Japan. Emperor Go-Yozei of Japan declared that schoolchildren should swim.

In 1696, the French author Melchisédech Thévenot (1620 or 1621 to 1692) wrote The Art of Swimming, describing a breaststroke very similar to the modern breaststroke. This book was translated into English and became the standard reference of swimming for many years to come; it was read by Benjamin Franklin. In 1708, the first known lifesaving group, "Chinkiang Association for the Saving of Life," was established in China. Benjamin Franklin is credited with the invention of swimming fins at the age of ten, in 1716. In 1739, Guts Muts (also spelled as Guts Muth) from Schnepfenthal, Germany, wrote Gymnastik für die Jugend (Exercise for youth), including a significant portion about swimming. In 1794, Kanonikus Oronzio de Bernardi of Italy wrote a two volume book about swimming, including floating practice as a prerequisite for swimming studies. In 1798, Guts Muts wrote another book Kleines Lehrbuch der Schwimmkunst zum Selbstunterricht (Small study book of the art of swimming for self-study), recommending the use of a "fishing rod" device to aid in the learning of swimming. His books describe a three step approach to learning to swim that is still used today. First, get the student used to the water; second, practice the swimming movements out of the water; and third, practice the swimming movements in the water. He believed that swimming is an essential part of every education.

More lifesaving groups were established in 1767 (1768?) in Amsterdam, 1772 in Copenhagen, and in 1774 in Great Britain. In 1768, a humane society was established in the United States. In 1796, a (still existing) swimming club, the Upsala Simsällskap, was founded in Uppsala, Sweden. The Haloren, a group of salt makers in Halle, Germany, greatly advanced swimming through setting a good example to others by teaching their children to swim at a very early age.