Blood sport widely practised in England until the late 18th century
William Hogarth's First Stage of Cruelty shows schoolboys cock throwing, though it was dangerous practice to hold the rooster while others threw at it.
Cock throwing, also known as cock-shying or throwing at cocks, was a blood sport widely practised in England until the late 18th century. A rooster was tied to a post, and people took turns throwing coksteles (special weighted sticks) at the bird until it died. Cock throwing was traditionally associated with Shrove Tuesday. A contributor to The Gentleman's Magazine in 1737, during an anti-Gallican phase of British culture, was of the opinion that cock throwing arose from traditional enmity towards the French, for which the cock played an emblematic role.[1]
Cock throwing was a popular pastime with people of all classes, especially with children, and although widespread, was less common than cockfighting.[2] Sir Thomas More referred to his skill in casting a cokstele as a boy. If the bird had its legs broken or was lamed during the event, it was sometimes supported with sticks in order to prolong the game. The cock was also sometimes placed inside an earthenware jar to prevent it from moving.[3] Variations on the theme included goose quailing (or squailing), when a goose was substituted, and cock thrashing or cock whipping, which involved a cock being placed in a pit where the blindfolded participants would attempt to hit it with their sticks. A Sussex variation was similar to bull-baiting with the rooster tied to a 4-or-5-foot-long (1.2 or 1.5 m) cord.[2]
Wellington appears as the cock in this cartoon depicting cock throwing from around the 1820s.
In 1660, an official pronouncement by Puritan officials in Bristol to forbid cock throwing (as well as cat and dog tossing) on Shrove Tuesday resulted in a riot by the apprentices.[4]
Cock throwing's popularity slowly waned in England, as social values changed and animal welfare became a concern. William Hogarth depicted it as a barbarous activity, the first stage in a "slippery slope", in The Four Stages of Cruelty in 1751, and Nathan Drake credited this in part for changes in public attitudes to the sport. The Anglican divine and political economist Josiah Tucker also dismissed the sport as a "most cruel and barbarous diversion' in his 'Earnest and Affectionate Address to the Common People of England Concerning their Usual Recreations on Shrove Tuesday' (1753), drawing attention to the suffering and 'lingering tortures' of a 'poor innocent creature'. From the middle of the 18th century, magistrates began to deal with the problem more harshly, a marker of its loss in popularity among the "respectable" classes, imposing fines for public order offences, and local by-laws banned the practice in many places.
By the early 19th century, the tradition was all but forgotten, lingering as isolated incidents into the 1840s.[2]
^"Gentleman's Magazine:An Enquiry into the Original Meaning of Cock-Throwing on Shrove-Tuesday". 1737. Archived from the original on 24 April 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2007.
^ abcWray Vamplew (2005). Encyclopedia of Traditional British Rural Sports. Routledge. p. 301. ISBN 0-415-35224-X.
^Joseph Strutt (1903). "Sports and Pastimes of the People of England: Chapter VII". Retrieved 19 January 2007.
^"A Pictorial Record of Bristol's History". Archived from the original on 13 March 2007. Retrieved 19 January 2007.
opinion that cockthrowing arose from traditional enmity towards the French, for which the cock played an emblematic role. Cockthrowing was a popular...
Pasola Senegalese wrestling Alligator wrestling Bullfighting Cat burning Cockthrowing Fox hunting Fox tossing Goose pulling Human-baiting Octopus wrestling...
Commons has media related to Fox tossing. Bear baiting Bullfighting Cockthrowing Cow tipping Fox hunting Goose pulling Haggis hurling Sacheverell Sitwell...
projectiles for hunting and in warfare — first through rock-throwing, then refined weapon-throwing (e.g. spear, axe or dart), and into modern day with payload-carrying...
festivals Blessing of animals Bous al carrer Cockthrowing Combat de Reines Eid al-Adha Gadhimai festival Goat throwing Goose pulling International Primate Day...
festivals Blessing of animals Bous al carrer Cockthrowing Combat de Reines Eid al-Adha Gadhimai festival Goat throwing Goose pulling International Primate Day...
festivals Blessing of animals Bous al carrer Cockthrowing Combat de Reines Eid al-Adha Gadhimai festival Goat throwing Goose pulling International Primate Day...
almost exclusively in athletic events. The throwing motion can be broken down into three basic steps: cocking, accelerating, and releasing. Desired qualities...
festivals Blessing of animals Bous al carrer Cockthrowing Combat de Reines Eid al-Adha Gadhimai festival Goat throwing Goose pulling International Primate Day...
festivals Blessing of animals Bous al carrer Cockthrowing Combat de Reines Eid al-Adha Gadhimai festival Goat throwing Goose pulling International Primate Day...
common animal sports: bear-baiting, bullfighting, dog fighting, and cockthrowing. Bowls was also extremely popular in the Elizabethan era.[citation needed]...
festivals Blessing of animals Bous al carrer Cockthrowing Combat de Reines Eid al-Adha Gadhimai festival Goat throwing Goose pulling International Primate Day...
festivals Blessing of animals Bous al carrer Cockthrowing Combat de Reines Eid al-Adha Gadhimai festival Goat throwing Goose pulling International Primate Day...
at singlestick, backsword, quarter staff, cudgel play, wrestling and cockthrowing, while Giles had won at archery, cricket-a-wicket, tilting at quintain...
festivals Blessing of animals Bous al carrer Cockthrowing Combat de Reines Eid al-Adha Gadhimai festival Goat throwing Goose pulling International Primate Day...
Civil War. Cromwell disliked blood sports, which included cockfighting, cockthrowing, dog fighting, bull baiting and bull running, said to tenderize the...
festivals Blessing of animals Bous al carrer Cockthrowing Combat de Reines Eid al-Adha Gadhimai festival Goat throwing Goose pulling International Primate Day...
Card throwing is the art of throwing standard playing cards with great accuracy or force. It is performed both as part of stage magic shows and as a competitive...
common and usually pose no harm. The eggs can also be called fart eggs, cock eggs, fairy eggs, dwarf eggs, and witch eggs. The name wind eggs is also...
festivals Blessing of animals Bous al carrer Cockthrowing Combat de Reines Eid al-Adha Gadhimai festival Goat throwing Goose pulling International Primate Day...
was Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow, who engaged in the sport of cock-throwing, and developed a lifelong dislike for the master, Rev. Joseph Brett...
pitches.) A pitcher throwing well on a particular day is said to have brought his "good stuff." Pitchers use several distinct throwing styles. The most common...
festivals Blessing of animals Bous al carrer Cockthrowing Combat de Reines Eid al-Adha Gadhimai festival Goat throwing Goose pulling International Primate Day...
Global Information
