Vol.1, No 6, 1999 pp. 25 - 33
UDC -053.5 (439)
Review Paper
SPORTING AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES OF
STUDENTS IN THE MEDIEVAL UNIVERSITIES
Steven J. Overman
Jackson State University, Jackson, MS USA
Abstract. The medieval universities of Europe were the prototypes
for higher education throughout the Western world. The activities of students
who attended these institutions provide historical insights into student
life in an era before physical education and or-ganized recreation became
part of university education. This expository study is based on material
derived from the statutes and regulations of the medieval universities,
and the few extant journals and diaries of medieval students, which chronicle
their sporting and recreational activities.
The regulatory attitude of the university masters regarding student
sport and recrea-tion is explored within the context of medieval conceptions
of education and models of the scholarly life. The intent and success of
university regulations is analyzed vis-a-vis the natural inclinations of
students. The study describes leisure time activities within an urban environment
including holiday festivals and the Sabbath, and discusses unsavory influences
such as gambling, drinking and violence which accompanied some forms of
sport and recreation. The study concludes by placing student activities
within the context of medieval scholasticism and anticipatory to renaissance
humanism.
Key words: medieval, student, university, recreation, sport.
SPORTSKE I REKREATIVNE AKTIVNOSTI STUDENATA
U SREDNJEVEKOVNIM UNIVERZITETIMA
Srednjevekovni univerziteti u Evropi bili su prototipovi za visoko obrazovanje
kroz zapadni svet. Aktivnosti studenata koji su pohađali ove institucije
obezbeđuju istorijski uvid u studentski život u eri pre nego što su fizičko
vaspitanje i organizovana rekreacija postali deo univerzitetskog obrazovanja.
Ova studija je bazirana na materijalu koji potiče od statuta i pravila
srednjevekovnih univerziteta i malo postojećih časopisa i dnevnika srednjevekovnih
studenata sa izveštajima njihovih sportskih i rekreativnih aktivnosti.
Regulisanje stavova univerzitetskih vaspitača obzirom na sport i rekreaciju
je istraživano unutar konteksta srednjevekovnih koncepcija obrazovanja
i modela školskog sporta. Namera i uspeh univerzitetskih regulativa je
analizirana nasuprot prirodne naklonosti studenata. Istraživanje opisuje
aktivnosti u slobodnom vremenu u urbanom okruženju uključujući festivale
za vreme raspusta, "Verski dan odmora" i raspravu o nedoličnim uticajima
kakve su imale kocka, piće i nasilje koje je pratilo neke forme sporta
i rekreacije. U istraživanju se zaključuje o mestu studentskih aktivnosti
unutar srednjevekovnog skolasticizma i anticipirajućeg renesansnog humanizma.
Ključne reči: srednji vek, studenti, univerziteti, sport, rekreacija
