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Jeu de paume (UK:/ˌʒɜːdəˈpoʊm/,[1]French:[ʒød(ə)pom]; originally spelledjeu de paulme;lit. 'palm game'), nowadays known asreal tennis, (US)court tennis or (in France)courte paume, is a ball-and-court game that originated inFrance. It was an indoor precursor oftennis played withoutracquets, and so "game of the hand", though these were eventually introduced. It is a formerOlympic sport, and has the oldest ongoing annualworld championship in sport, first established over 250 years ago. The term also refers to the court on which the game is played[2] and its building, which in the 17th century was sometimes converted into atheatre.[3]
In the earliest versions of the game, the players hit the ball with their hands, as inpalla,volleyball,Fives, or certain varieties ofpelota.Jeu de paume, orjeu de paulme as it was formerly spelled,[4] literally means "palm game". In time, gloves replaced bare hands. Even when paddle-like bats, and finally racquets, became standard equipment for the game by the late 17th century, the name did not change. It became known as "tennis" in English(seeHistory of tennis), and later "real tennis" after the derived game oflawn tennis became the more widely known sport.
The term is used in France today to denote the game of tennis on a court in which the ancient or modern game might be played. The indoor version is sometimes calledjeu de courte paume or justcourte paume ("short palm") to distinguish it from the outdoor version,longue paume ("long palm"), played on a field of variable length.
At the 1908 Summer Olympics, jeu de paume was a medal event:AmericanJay Gould II won the gold medal.[5]
Since 1740, jeu de paume has been the subject of anamateurworld championship (Real Tennis World Championship), held each year in September. It is the oldest active trophy ininternational sport.[6]
World Jeu de paume Championship[7][8][9][10]
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Various other forms ofhandball may be related to one degree or another; this is generally difficult to ascertain with certainty, and some, like theMesoamerican ballgame clearly have an independent origin.
Various other racquet games (squash,badminton, etc.) may be related to one degree or another.
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Étienne Pasquier, a writer and a historian, published an essay regarding jeu de paume in hisRecherches; late 16th century. Pasquier was addicted to the sport.[11]
TheGalerie nationale du Jeu de Paume, a museum of contemporary art, is housed in a former court on the north side of theTuileries park in the centre ofParis.
The painterJacques-Louis David's famous sketch,le Serment du jeu de paume ('theTennis Court Oath') now hangs in the court of thePalace of Versailles. It depicts a seminal moment of theFrench Revolution, when, on 20 June 1789, deputies of the Estates-General met at the court and vowed that they would not disband before the proclamation of a formal Constitution for France.
Le Jeu de Paume is a moral ode published in 1791 byAndré Chénier.
In the 1981 filmThe French Lieutenant's Woman, socialite Charles Smithson (Jeremy Irons) is seen playingjeu de paume in London.
In theAgatha Christie's Poirot TV series episode "Death in the Clouds",Poirot mentions that tennis, considered an English game, originated in 11th-century France asjeu de paume.
The 2014Whitney Biennial exhibition featured the premiere of the stop-motion filmJeu de Paume byJoshua Mosley.
