How did people spend their leisure time in the 18-19th century?

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Entertainment of the modern era did not differ much from the leisure of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, but some bizarre innovations did appear then.

Entertainment of the modern era: were there any differences from previous eras?

The history of public leisure during the second millennium AD did not develop very dynamically in its first half. If the entertainment of the elite underwent individual changes, then the leisure of the common people until the 18th century did not change much.

To know, she still loved hunting and lavish feasts, walks and poetry. Meanwhile, the common people attended fairs, sang songs and danced to music on secular and church holidays. But gradually theatrical culture and circus performances are making their way to the lower strata of the population. Back in the 16th century in France, at city holidays, carnivals, circus performers with magicians and theater troupes appeared, who staged mysteries, fablio, satire, etc.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder. "Games for children". Source: Wikimedia Commons

The ball game was still popular in Europe in the 17th century, although it was traumatic. The French, for example, were opening ballrooms and billiards rooms at the same time. An ardent fan of this game was Cardinal Richelieu himself, on whose orders the graduates of the Royal Academy had to take an exam for the skills of playing billiards.

In student circles, the ban on dancing existed in fact until the middle of the 17th century. Students were not allowed to attend balls to noble persons. An alternative is dancing in a tavern. It was there that the young people were heading - besides, there was alcohol. The students followed the simple and understandable wisdom of the German reformer Martin Luther: "He who does not love songs, wine and women is a fool and will die." Therefore, dances in taverns ended in violent spree and brawl.

But gradually the situation changed: choreography and dance skills began to be included in the university curricula so that the students could join the secular culture.

Gambling. Source: Wikimedia Commons

The 18th century gradually brings changes to the mass and elite leisure of European society. In the first quarter of the 18th century in Paris, on holidays, guests of the French capital were surprised that at free performances, an unenlightened people applauded in the right place. Gambling card games are gaining popularity, board games are also gradually becoming fashionable.

Leisure and entertainment: Russia after Peter

If we talk about radical changes in entertainment and leisure, then undoubtedly you need to pay attention to the Peter the Great era in Russian history. In the countryside, of course, traditional forms of leisure for Russia still existed: for example, visiting.

After visiting European countries, Peter I thoroughly takes on the renewal of the secular leisure of the elite. The first thing that comes to mind is assemblies. Evenings for the nobility with dances and board games, which later turned into noble balls.

Russia has been involved in carnivals and masquerades since the era of Peter the Great. Colorful processions were accompanied by dances and fireworks. The first such events, according to the researchers, took place during the celebration of the conclusion of the Nystadt Peace Treaty in 1721 in St. Petersburg and in 1722 in Moscow.

The noble environment quickly absorbed new forms of entertainment: dancing, billiards (which the French brought in in the 1720s), dice and cards (which were banned, but they were still played with pleasure). A century later, gambling "captured" the elite circles of Russia. The nobles often lost their whole families to their serfs.

Russian nobility plays cards. Source: Pinterest

Until the beginning of the 20th century, on the periphery of the Russian Empire in cities and villages, the central events in the cultural and entertainment life were secular and church holidays.

Russian fair. Source: Pinterest

They, as a rule, were accompanied by mass festivities. Fairs in city squares delighted the local public with all kinds of booths, puppet shows, adventures of bears with learned bears, and swinging.

Carousel. Source: Pinterest

Towards the end of the 19th century, merry-go-rounds and professional circus groups appeared, performing at festivals, and even cinematography. The literacy of the population grew, and with it the demands for leisure and entertainment grew.

Leisure and entertainment: popular games in the 18th-19th centuries

Despite the general condemnation of gambling, card games were a tremendous success in high society and among intellectuals. "Advanced" youth visited salons where gambling games flourished. Ladies, girls and boys played. Stoss and Pharaoh were especially popular in secular circles in Russia. Outdoor games were also not left aside - playing forfeits was considered good form.

In the 18th century, lotto became widespread (it came to Russia from Italy). This game began to enjoy success not only at social events, but also in the family circle. In the 1840s. whole lotto clubs have already appeared in Russia, where the winner received a monetary reward. It was at this time that board games with figures and rules, familiar to a modern person, appeared, which people of all ages still play.

Outdoor games for children. Source: Pinterest

The English cartographer John Spilsbury in 1760, using a map and glue, invented puzzles or puzels (as they were called earlier). Collecting a whole picture from small elements and particles fell to the taste of Europeans, and soon the game became entertainment for secular salons.

Alexey Medved