French euphemism to dating through the sport Jeu de Paume

Jeu de paume was originally a French precursor of lawn tennis played without racquets. The players hit the ball with their hands, as in palla, volleyball, or certain varieties of pelota. Jeu de paume literally means: game of palm (of the hand). In time gloves replaced bare hands. Even when bats, and finally racquets, became standard equipment for the game, the name did not change. It became known as “tennis” in English (see History of tennis), and later “real tennis” after lawn tennis became more popular than the parent game.In an interesting article on the sport, the author notes:

Those less inclined to metaphysics used the four-point Jeu de Paume scoring system as a euphemism for sexual accomplishment (much like the four bases of baseball are used today). In the 1620s, Theophile de Viau gained notoriety in Paris for circulating a certain ribald verse:

Si vous la baisés comtés quinze

 

Si vous la baisés, comtés quinze ;

Si vous touchez le tetin, trente ;

Si vous avez la motte prise,

Quarante-cinq lors se presente.

Mais si vous metez en la fente

Ce de quoy la dame a mestier,

- Notés bien ce que je vous chante –

Vous gaignés le jeu tout entier.

Anonyme (vers 1450)

As with most French verse, this can be a feast for the senses, even in what was considered rather low quality faire. Interesting sport I would like to have a go at. I recall as an exchange student playing tennis quite often on clay with my host family while we were in Lille. The translation for the above verse is in the linked article.
Sean

Google Book Search just got better

At university I minored in French and I remember my French literature class and one poem in particular by Pierre de Ronsard. I think in particular this poem was very poignant to me at the time because I was a freshman with raging hormones taking a junior level French class. The class was full of very attractive women majoring in French and Education. Maybe that’s why I married a French speaking teacher?

The subject matter frequently touched on sexual symbolism in French poetry. So, I often felt that I needed a cold shower after heated discussion. With Google’s new book search feature I can blog snippets from book searches, like this one, and revel fondly on memories of my years at KU.

Sean

Ronsard und seine Schule: Eine literar-historische Studie als Beitrag zur … By Hermann Erkelenz: ““

Beowulf trailer is out!

Have you read Seamus Heaney’s woderful translation of Beowulf? Well I am happy to see that there is a movie in the works. Trailer can be found here.

British Science Fiction

Just finished reading two books from among the best in British Science Fitction:Zima Blue and Other Stories by Alastair ReynoldsAlastair is a physicist and has a keen eye for what I would call hard-science fiction. It is the second collection of short stories I have read by this author. I can clearly see the making of future novels in a number of the stories.Gridlinked by Neal AsherThis is the first book I have read by Neal and consider his writing style to be a personality rich one. He reminds me a little of Ian M. Banks in terms of the humor that tends to infiltrate his work. Don’t be put off by the title, this is not one of those cyber-punk man-machine interface style of books. It has to do with an agent by the name of Ian Cormac who has recently come off the grid and his coming to grips with his new-found isolation while attempting to resolve some intricate problems. I liked it and plan to read more by this author.Sean