Thirteenth Century
In about 1200 "ball" is mentioned as one of the games played by King Arthur's knights in "Brut", written by Layamon, an English poet from Worcestershire. This is the earliest reference to the English language "ball". Layamon states: "some drive balls (balles) far over the fields".
Records from 1280 report on a game at Ulgham, near Ashington in Northumberland, in which a player was killed as a result of running against an opposing player's dagger. This account is noteworthy because it is the earliest reference to an English ball game that definitely involved kicking; this suggests that kicking was involved in even earlier ball games in England.
In Cornwall in 1283 plea rolls No. 111. mention a man named Roger who was accused of striking a fellow player in a game of soule with a stone, a blow which proved fatal.
Read more about this topic: Medieval Football
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