Fair Play: An Etymological, Semantic and Historical Study*

Transcription

1 2012 / / 1 Academic Supplement This supplement is part of Play Fair!, the official publication of the European Fair Play Movement Fair Play: An Etymological, Semantic and Historical Study* ISSUE NO.10 In tro duc ti on Alt ho ugh fa ir play is a con cept re la ted to the or ga ni sa ti on of so ci al re - la ti ons and the le vel at which they ta ke pla ce - in all are as of the li fe of the com mu nity, its his to ri cal de ve lop ment shows a si mi la rity to that of sport, with which it is al most al ways as so ci ated per haps be ca use it is in this are a that it is most so ught af ter. Both s por t and fa ir pla y are con - cepts that ha ve, over ti me, co me to sum up in one or two words a who le ran ge of hu man ac ti ons and forms of be ha vi our that had long be en in exis ten ce when the se terms we re coi ned, and both ha ve en te red ot her lan gu ages as di rect bor ro wings from Eng lish (be ca use they wo uld lo se so - met hing of the ir ran ge of mea nings in trans la ti on and the sco pe of tho - se mea nings is cons tantly wi de ning), ha ving re ta ined the ir ori gi nal Eng - lish morp ho logy. Thus, s por t and fa ir pla y ha ve be co me two mu tu ally in se pa rab le con cepts that de fi ne the re la ti ons hip bet we en pe op le and sport the first de fi ning the ac ti vity it self, and the se cond the et hi cal va - lu es as so ci ated with it. Ho we ver, alt ho ugh the study of the ir ety mo lo gi cal, se man tic and his to - ri cal de ve lop ment re ve als many pa ral lels, they are far from equ al as far as the pla ce they oc cupy in li te ra tu re is con cer ned. The pro cess by which va ri ous ac ti vi ti es - many of which be gan be fo re re cor ded his tory and we re in ven ted in or der to fa ci li ta te the sur vi val of the hu man spe ci es - be ca me, over ti me, a part of mi li tary, re li gi ous, so - ci al and ot her prac ti ces, and even tu ally evol ved in to what is no wa days cal led s por t has be en fre qu ently to uc hed on in re se arc hes in to the his - tory of sport. The ety mo logy of the word s por t, and the pro cess by which it ac qu ired its pre sent mea ning, are as fol lows: it be gan as de por - tu - a me di eval con cept mea ning to be in por t (se e Or te ga y Gas set, 2005), and then un der went the fol lo wing trans for ma ti ons be fo re en te - ring the Eng lish lan gu age vi a me di eval La tin and French: dis por ta re des port to dis port sport. The con cept of fa ir play, on the ot her hand, has as yet be en ina de qu - ately re se arc hed eit her from the po int of vi ew of its ety mo lo gi cal and se - man tic de ve lop ment, or from that of whet her or not the forms of be ha - vi our it des cri bes we re pre sent in the spor ting ac ti vi ti es of past ages - and if so in what form they we re disp la yed, and with what fre qu ency. Ho we - ver, a study of the con cept and ide al of fa ir play and of the de ve lop ment the se ha ve shown thro ug ho ut his tory can gi ve us so me in te res ting clu es that will be use ful when we be gin to con duct a rea lis tic eva lu ati on of the prob lems of mo dern sport (in so far as the se con cern fa ir play), and when we at tempt to un ders tand the ten dency to wards un de si rab le forms of be - ha vi our that is be co ming in crea singly com mon in sport to day. This study will, the re fo re, con cen tra te on the ety mo lo gi cal and se man - tic de ve lop ment of the con cept of fa ir play, and on the way fa ir play was per ce ived in the spor ting ac ti vi ti es of past ti mes - in the Oly mpic Ga mes of the an ci ent world, in the to ur na ments of me di eval knights, and in the con text of the so ci al struc tu re and spor ting ac ti vi ti es of ni ne te enth cen - tury Bri ta in; it will exa mi ne such fa ir pla y con cepts as obe ying the ru les, ma in ta ining equa lity of op por tu nity, and res pect for op po nents and for the aut ho rity of re fe re es. An Exa mi na ti on of the Con cept of Fa ir Play from the Ety mo lo gi cal and Se man tic Po ints of Vi ew In Eng lish, the term fa ir pla y as used to des cri be a ga me ( p la y ) inc lu - des the ad jec ti ve fa ir a word that in cor po ra tes va ri ous mea nings such as p le asan t, kind, com pas si ona te and in ac cor dan ce with the dic ta tes of cons ci en ce, c le an, ho nes t, ho no urab le, jus t, go od, su itab le, cor - rec t, etc. The word is of In do-ger man ori gin; its form in the Got hic lan - gu age (the ear li est writ ten form of Ger man, re cords of which be gin in the fo urth cen tury), is fagrs - mea ning su itab le or u se fu l. La ter, in Old High Ger man (C8 - C11) and in Old Nor se (C9 - C14), it ac qu ired the mea nings p le asan t and f ri end ly. This shows that the word fa ir has re ta ined the a est he ti cally ple asin g part of the mea ning it has to day sin ce the ear li est ti mes (Jost, 1973: 15). The tran si ti on from this mea ning to one mo re akin to an et hi cal one is not se en un til the work of the Bri tish po et Ge of frey Chau cer in the fo ur te enth cen tury. Chau cer uses the word fa ir in the mea ning of po li te, well-bre d, ho no urab le, ho nes t, p la in-spe akin g, and he uses the terms fa ir nes se and fa ir he de to me an in ner be aut y. For Chau cer, in ner be aut y me ant vir tu e (Héra uco urt, 1939: 41; Jost, 1973: 16; Lenk & Pilz, 1989: 41). The be gin ning of the de ve lop ment of fa ir pla y as a con cept can be tra - ced to the se cond half of the fif te enth cen tury, when in 1467 Lord Tip tof - te used the terms fay re At tayn t (win ning justly and ho nou rably) and fo - ule pla y (un gent le manly con duct) in a des crip ti on of the ru les of knigh ts to ur na ments (Jost, 1973: 17; Mül ler, 1988: 8; Gill me is ter, 1988: 12). The use of the term fo ul pla y for bre ac hes of the ru les shows qui te cle arly that the - se ru les pos ses sed an et hi cal as pect, and that this term was used to des cri - be forms of be ha vi our that we re not in ac cor dan ce with the ru les. We then se e the con cept of fa ir play men ti oned at the be gin ning of the six te enth cen tury, in one of the Ro bin Ho od bal lads (1510) alt ho ugh not qui te in the mea ning it has to day: both the terms fa ir ga me - and fa ir pla y are used. The se terms do not, ho we ver, re la te to the et hi - cal res pon si bi li ti es of the in di vi du al he re (Jost, 1973: 17, 18). Thus, it is do - ubt ful whet her the con cept of fa ir play in its mo dern sen se is first se en in the con text of arc hery, es pe ci ally in vi ew of the fact that arc hery is an in - di vi du al sport; mo re over, in com pa ri son with tho se fo und in ac co unts of com pe ti ti ve sports and ga mes of chan ce, the re are few cle arly-de fi ned re - fe ren ces to ob ser van ce and non-ob ser van ce of fa ir play in the con text of arc hery com pe ti ti ons. In con se qu en ce, Jost (1973: 19) ma in ta ins that the words fay re, fa ir and fa ir pla y (which are se en in ac co unts of both kinds of com pe ti ti on) can not be sa id to be the fo re run ners of the se terms in the wi der mea ning they pos sess to day: he cla ims that they can be sa id to exist me rely as con cept s. It fol lows that in the fif te enth and six te enth cen tu ri es un til the ti me of Wil li am Sha kes pe are ( ) - the term fa ir pla y was not used in the con text of physi cal ac ti vi ti es, be ing con fi - ned to that of ga mes of chan ce. At the end of the six te enth cen tury and the be gin ning of the se ven te - enth, Sha kes pe are used the term fa ir pla y for the first ti me in a way that ex ten ded its mea ning be yond the li mi ted con text of ga mes of chan ce, and even be yond that of spor ting com pe ti ti ons. He be gan to use the phra se in the con text of re la ti ons hips bet we en two or mo re pe op le in vol - ving com pe ti ti on, and it was thanks to him that this mea ning pas sed in to po pu lar usa ge (Jost, 1973: 26). It was pro bably thanks to Sha kes pe are s plays that the term fa ir pla y - which at the end of the six te enth cen tury was used in an en ti rely ge ne ral way in re la ti on to p re ser ving equa lity of op por tu nit y and ex hi bi ting the chi val ro us (knightly) way of thin kin g (Gill me is ter, 1988: 13) - be gan to be app li ed, in the first half of the se ven - te enth cen tury, to the sub ject of sport. Be this as it may, use of the term in a spor ting con text in the se ven te enth cen tury is less fre qu ent than its use in re la ti on to ot her are as of li fe (Jost, 1973: 26). The ide a of fa ir pla - y ac tu ally be ca me part of the ter mi no logy of sport in the eigh te enth cen - tury (Gill me is ter, 1988: 13), and from the ni ne te enth cen tury on wards it gra du ally ac qu ired pre do mi nan ce as a term that de fi ned the most im por - tant at ti tu des in sport. No wa days, the Eng lish ad jec ti ve fa ir as used in the phra se fa ir pla y (as app li ed to sports and ga mes) has a wi de ran ge of mea nings: be au ti fu l, ap prop ri ate, p le asan t, nob le, po li te, cor rec t, sin ce re, to le ran t, cal m, res tra ine d, so ber and se ri ou s, su itab le, ac cep tab le, ge nu ine, jus t, e qu al, ho no urab le, ne ut ral and un pre ju di ce d, in ac cor dan ce with the ru le s and (pla yed) un der equ al con di ti on s. The dif fi culty of ex - pres sing all its va ri ous mea nings when trans la ting the word in to ot her lan gu ages has led to the word be ing adop ted as a bor ro wing from Eng - lish by all mo dern ton gu es. The rich ness of mea ning the word con ta ins has, in turn, lent a comp le xity of mea nings to the ide a of fa ir play, and this comp le xity has be co me ap pa rent spe ci fi cally in the are a of sport (Lenk & Pilz, 1989: 23). In an analy sis of ar tic les on fa ir play writ ten in the Ger man lan gu age, Ra he (1987: 78) sta ted that the con cept co ve red a wi - de spec trum of forms of so ci al be ha vi our. For this rea son, Boll now ob ser - ved that the con cept of fa ir nes s is a new cri te ri on of vir tu ous con duct well sui ted to con tem po rary li fe; it is an ex tre mely subt le ins tru ment for the me asu re ment of hu man be ha vi our that go es be yond the con fi nes of ru les and has re ver be ra ti ons in sen si ti ve are as (Akt. Ha ub rich, 1965: 24). Whi le fa ir pla y is a con cept that has re le van ce to all are as of so ci al li - fe, it is in the are a of sport that it chi efly be longs. Alt ho ugh all re fe ren ce gro ups con cer ned with sport ha ve a part to play in de ter mi ning whet her or not fa ir pla y is ob ser ved, the term is mostly used in the con text of pla - yer s be ha vi our do ubt less be ca use it is the ath le tes them sel ves who, as the ac tors ac tu ally res pon sib le for en su ring that the ga me ta kes pla ce, oc - cupy the cen tre of the sta ge. From this pers pec ti ve, fa ir pla y me ans the ma king of an ef fort by ath le tes to ob ser ve the ru les in a cons ci ous, de ter - mi ned and con sis tent man ner du ring com pe ti ti ons even when con di ti ons ma ke it dif fi cult for them to do so; re fu sing to ma ke use of any un fa ir ad - van ta ge in or der to ma in ta in equa lity of op por tu nity, and re fu sing to ta - ke ad van ta ge of any si tu ati on in which one s op po nents are un fa irly pla - ced at a di sad van ta ge; and see ing one s op po nents not as ene mi es, but rat her as va lu ed in di vi du als and part ners who pos sess equ al rights with one self and who are ne ces sary for the ga me to ta ke pla ce. It was Hans Lenk who in 1964 first di vi ded the va ri ous forms of be ha vi - our co ve red by the term fa ir pla y in to two ca te go ri es: for ma l and in for - ma l fa ir play (Lenk, 1964). In his analy sis, for ma l fa ir play is li mi ted to ac - cep tan ce and un fai ling ob ser van ce of the ru les of the ga me, and uns wer - ving comp li an ce with the de ci si ons of one s su pe ri ors. In for ma l fa ir play, ho we ver, is an at ti tu de that can not be im po sed from wit ho ut; on the con - trary, it is a c hi val ro us at ti tu de ba sed on res pect for one s op po nents and for the re fe re e (Lenk, 2000: 26). In ot her words, in for ma l fa ir play is a vo - lun tary at ti tu de rat her than one im po sed by the thre at of pe nalty; go ing be yond the de mands of the ru les of the sport, it pre di ca tes a de si re on the part of ath le tes to com pe te un der equ al con di ti ons with the ir op po nents; ma king an ef fort to avo id any si tu ati on in which op po nents are pla ced at an un fa ir di sad van ta ge; res pec ting the re fe re e s de ci si ons even when the - se are un fa vo urab le to one self, or even when they are un fa ir ac cor ding to one s own jud ge ment; hel ping the re fe re e to ma ke cor rect de ci si ons even if tho se de ci si ons are un fa vo urab le to one self; and be ha ving with res tra int both in vic tory and in de fe at (Ate şoğ lu, 1974: 7-8). The Con cept of Fa ir Play from the His to ri cal Po int of Vi ew Alt ho ugh it may se em pos sib le to form so me kind of jud ge ment as to whet her or not the con cept of fa ir play exis ted in an ci ent ti mes by exa mi - ning the Oly mpic Ga mes (the most im por tant and most mea ning ful of the Prof. Dr. İbrahim YILDIRAN Gazi University School of Physical Education and Sports, Ankara/TURKEY *This ar tic le is a slightly mo di fi ed ver si on of an ar tic le which ap pe ared in the Ga zi Jo ur nal of Physi cal Edu ca ti on and Sport Sci en ces 2011, 16 (4), pp

2 2 Academic Supplement won der ful pe ri odic ga mes that we re held in tho se ti mes) and by loo king at the be ha vi - our of par ti ci pa ting ath le tes who strongly de si red to win and we re un der pres su re to do so - it will in fact be mo re help ful, if we are to se e the who le pic tu re, to exa mi ne the met hods adop ted by the edu ca ti onal system of the Clas si cal Gre ek pe ri od (which falls wit hin this ti mes pan) and the type of I de al Ma n which it was in ten ded to pro du ce, and which ser ved as a so ur ce of ins pi ra ti on even for much la ter ti mes. Thus this sec ti on will fo cus, firstly, on the con cept of the Ide al Man in the an ci ent world (in which, it is tho - ught, the first at tempts to de ve lop tho se qu ali ti es that for med the ba sis of the ide al of fa ir play in sport may be per ce ived), and on the na tu re of the se first at tempts; and se - condly, on va ri ous forms of be ha vi our of this kind ob ser vab le at the an ci ent Oly mpic Ga - mes - which will be analy sed from the po int of vi ew of con tem po rary ide as of fa ir play. The Con cept of the I de al Ma n in the An ci ent World The edu ca ti onal ide al of an ci ent Gre ece was to pro du ce pe op le who we re both be au - ti ful (ka los) and go od (agat hos) both of which at tri bu tes we re com bi ned in the term ko la ka gat hi a. Ka lo ka gat hi a was an ide al of hu man physi cal, men tal and mo ral per fec ti - on - a har mo ni ous com bi na ti on of et hi cal and aest he tic qu ali ti es. Ac cor ding to Da vid son (2008: 22), each of the two qu ali ti es which to get her ma de up ka lo ka gat hi a go od ness and bea uty co uld be des cri bed as are te vir tu e, me rit, per fec ti on. For the Gre eks, are - te me ant abo ve all sin ce rity, ge nu ine ness, ho nesty, up righ tness and who le ness the se be ing the op po si tes of wild li vin g and mo ral lo ose nes s. Thre e con di ti ons we re ne ces - sary for a per son to em body the ide al of ka lo ka gat hi a: firstly, a nob le na tu re; se condly, con sis tent ad he ren ce to cor rect forms of be ha vi our in ot her words, go od man ners; and thirdly, ca re ful and me ti cu lo us trai ning. Alt ho ugh the con cept of the Ide al Man in an ci ent Gre ece al ways cen tred on go od ness and bea uty, it chan ged and de ve lo ped in res pon se to the ways in which dif fe rent phi lo - sop hi cal mo ve ments in ter pre ted the terms go od and be au ti fu l (Yıl dı ran, 2005). The Ide al Man in the Mi no an-myce ne an pe ri od ( B.C.) was typi fi ed by the nob - le he ro - so me one who had ac hi eved fa me and ho no ur thanks to suc cess in war and in com pe ti ti ons. Among the aris toc racy of the Arc ha ic pe ri od ( B.C.), go od nes s was me asu red ac cor ding to mar ti al cri te ri a such as bra very, he ro ism, de ci si ve ness, strength, qu ick ness and dex te rity, whi le be aut y was de fi ned ac cor ding to the aest he tic cri te ri on of physi cal bea uty. Sport ser ved an im por tant func ti on as a me di um for the disp lay of the se skills and qu ali ti es. The con cept of the Ide al Man as me asu red aga inst the cri te ri a of mar ti al abi lity and mas cu li ne bea uty be gan to go in to dec li ne from the se venth cen tury B.C. on wards, in pa ral lel with chan ges in the struc tu re of so ci ety. New so ci al con di ti ons, the adop ti on of new cri te ri a ref lec ting de ve lop ments in phi lo sop hi cal tho ught, chan ges in men tal at ti - tu des and the dec li ne of aris toc ra tic va lu es all led to the qu es ti oning of the sup re macy of physi cal per for man ce as the hig hest ide al. In the Clas si cal Gre ek pe ri od ( B.C.), the laws of So lon (594 B.C.) - which gua ran te ed the par ti ci pa ti on of the com mon pe op le in po li ti cal ad mi nis tra ti on - and the cons ti tu ti onal re forms of Cle ist he nes (507 B.C.) trans for med At hens in to a ge nui nely de moc ra tic sta te ba sed on the ru le of law, brin ging abo ut a rap proc he ment bet we en sta te and pe op le and spur ring the de ve lop - ment of so ci al awa re ness and of the con cepts of jus ti ce and et hics. In this pe ri od, the con cept of the go od (agat hos) man was one that em bra ced so ci al be ha vi our and wis - dom as well as physi cal abi li ti es. Be aut y (ka los) was now se en as a ref lec ti on not just of physi cal ap pe aran ce, but al so of spi ri tu al ma ke-up. Whoe ver com bi ned all the se qu ali ti - es in them sel ves in a har mo ni ous way was tho ught of as typif ying the Ide al Man - ka lo - ka gat hos (Bo hus, 1986: 17-26). The con cept of ka lo ka gat hi a in the early Clas si cal pe ri od may be se en as a ver si on of are te the Arc ha ic-aris toc ra tic high ide al but one that pos ses sed grea ter subt lety and depth (Popp low, 1972: 103). As a high le vel of edu ca ti on was ge ne rally re qu ired for the system to func ti on, scho ols we re set up that we re open to all ma le chil dren bet we en the ages of 7 and 18 and we re sup por ted and ins pec ted by the sta te. The new mo del ma n was no lon ger as so ci ated so lely with a pri vi le ged class: any ci ti zen co uld be co me such a per son by me ans of edu ca ti on (pa ide ia). The cur ri cu lum at At he ni an scho ols thus inc lu - ded les sons not only in ma in sub jects (such as art, rhe to ric, gram mar and mat he ma tics) but al so in ot her things ma inly mu sic and physi cal edu ca ti on (inc lu ding spor ting ac ti - vi ti es of va ri ous kinds) the system be ing in ten ded to enab le the har mo ni ous de ve lop - ment of physi cal, in tel lec tu al and et hi cal qu ali ti es in the in ha bi tants of the city-sta te (Bo - hus, 1986: 26-27). Pin dar, a po et of the Clas si cal Gre ek pe ri od, ma in ta ins that spor ting con tests are the pri mary me ans of as ses sing a per so n s worth, and that they bring out the best pe op le ha ve in them this bes t be ing a com bi na ti on of et hi cal and in tel lec tu - al qu ali ti es. It was the re fo re qui te na tu ral that a so ci ety ma de up of yo ung pe op le who had be en ac qu ain ted by me ans of sport with ba sic mo ral vir tu es such as jus ti ce, wis dom, fort hright ho nesty and res tra int sho uld be et hi cally strong (Dü rüş ken, 1991: 128). The edu ca ti onal ide al of the Clas si cal pe ri od went in to dec li ne with the di sin teg ra ti - on of the city-sta te system at the be gin ning of the fo urth cen tury B.C. As a re sult, new so ci al con cepts and new ide as of pe da gogy that we re as so ci ated with them we re de - ve lo ped. The Sop hists, who pla yed a key ro le in the de ve lop ment of the se new con cepts, ga ve less emp ha sis to the et hi cal con tent of Clas si cal ka lo ka gat hi a, trans for ming it in to an edu ca ti onal ide al that was of a pu rely in tel lec tu al na tu re. The aim of Sop hist edu ca - ti on was to gi ve pe op le the abi lity to sur vi ve. The pre re qu isi tes for this we re skill in spea - king, lo gi cal thin king and prac ti cal know-how. Thus, in Sop hist tho ught, gymnas tics lost the func ti on it had ser ved as a ba sic ele ment in ho lis tic hu man edu ca ti on, be ing re du - ced to a me ans of be co ming and sta ying he althy. At the sa me ti me, the gre at phi lo sop - hi cal scho ols fo un ded by Soc ra tes, Pla to and Aris tot le (which rep re sen ted the new trends) saw in tel lec tu al and et hi cal vir tu e as the most re al hu man va lu es, and this led to the inc lu si on of the se forms of vir tu e in the clas si cal ide al of ka lo ka gat hi a. In the tho - ught of the se la te Clas si cal phi lo sop hers, gymnas tics was still an in dis pen sab le ele ment in edu ca ti on; ho we ver, it had be en re le ga ted to a se con dary ro le. The im por tan ce of gymnas tics was li mi ted to its ef fects on he alth, as it had be en with the Sop hists. Thus, by the be gin ning of the Clas si cal pe ri od the de ve lop ment of physi cal cul tu re had al re - ady be gun to ta ke anot her di rec ti on (Bo hus, 1986: 32; Popp low, 1972: ). The Oly mpic Ga mes and Fa ir Play in the An ci ent World It is com monly be li eved that the con cept of fa ir play in its mo dern sen se is first se en in Eng land in the ni ne te enth cen tury. It is, ho we ver, unt hin kab le that no forms of be - ha vi our that we re disp la yed in the spor ting con tests of pre vi ous ages sho uld fall wit hin the are a of et hi cal con duc t, as this is per ce ived to day. If we con si der that even in the cur rent cen tury, the ide al of fa ir play has not yet ta ken ro ot (and examp les of chea ting, de li be ra te de cep ti on, bre ac hes of the ru les and ag gres si ve be ha vi our are fre qu ently bro - ught to our at ten ti on), et hi cal at ti tu des and be ha vi our on the part of ath le tes in ti mes past may at le ast be se en as pro toty pes - the first tra ces - of an ide a of sport smans hip which may be ta ken as an examp le for our ti mes (Yıl dı ran, 1992: 174). Ac co unts in li te ra tu re of the be ha vi our of ath le tes ta king part in the sac re d com pe - ti ti ons which ma de up the an ci ent Oly mpic Ga mes (776 B.C A.D.) are mostly per - so nal vi ews ba sed on le gen dary da ta. Wisc hmann (1962: 51), gi ving examp les from Bo - ok 23 of the Ili ad (a part of Ho me r s epic which is al most en ti rely de vo ted to the he ro - es spor ting con tests be fo re Troy, and is sa id to be the ol dest li te rary and his to ri cal do - cu ment in the his tory of sport), cla ims that the cha rac te ris tic fe atu res of the mo dern con cept of fa ir play may be se en in the an ci ent world. He says: E ven in the se ti mes, the con tests ha ve ru les, and any bre ach of the ru les is se en as u net hi ca l. Furt her mo re, An ti loc hus, ack now led ging that he over to ok Me ne la us in a cha ri ot ra ce by cut ting him off in a nar row pla ce in con tra ven ti on of the ru les, hands over his vic to r s pri ze (a ma - re) to Me ne la us fol lo wing which Me ne la us re turns it to him in re cog ni ti on of his ho - nesty; this is evi den ce of the exis ten ce of a spi rit of gent le manly com pe ti ti on in the an - ci ent world. Al so, Wisc hmann (1962: 52) says that the fact that ath le tes at the an ci ent Oly mpic Ga mes to ok a ce re mo ni al oath that they wo uld not act un fa irly du ring the com - pe ti ti ons me ans that a cer ta in ge ne ral si mi la rit y to the mo dern con cept of fa ir play may be ob ser ved; he stres ses that in any ca se, comp le te equ iva len ce in forms of be ha vi our can not be ex pec ted in vi ew of the comp le tely dif fe rent pe ri ods and dif fe rent so ci al struc tu res in vol ved. Gutt mann (1987: 11), ho we ver, cla ims that as no dis tinc ti on was drawn bet we en ama te ur and pro fes si onal sport by the an ci ent Gre eks, the ir at ti tu des we re far re mo ved from the mo dern con cept of fa ir play. Ci ting anot her part of Bo ok 23 of the Ili ad, he at tempts to de mons tra te that in Gre ek mytho logy, the suc cess of ath le - tes was de pen dent on chea ting and dis ho nesty. Lea ving asi de the ine xact da ta pro vi ded by mytho logy, in ac tu al prac ti ce the an ci ent Oly mpic Ga mes had strict ru les to pre vent chea ting. On the first day of the com pe ti ti - ons, ath le tes swo re an oath be fo re a sta tu e of Ze us Hor ki os (Ze us as the kee per of oaths) - to get her with the ir fat hers, the ir brot hers and the ir trai ners - that they wo uld obey the ru les. The re fe re es (Hel la no di ka i), who we re en ti rely res pon sib le for en su ring that the ru les we re ob ser ved, swo re to act fa irly and justly, and to ke ep in for ma ti on abo ut the com pe ti ti ons sec ret. As they we re al so em po we red to act as ma gis tra tes, it was they who car ri ed out the pu nish ments for any in frin ge ments. Li ke ath le tes, wrest lers had oli ve oil put on the ir bo di es, but they we re al so co ve red in pow der to enab le the ir op po nents to get a grip. So me wrest lers, whom Aris top ha nes cas ti ga tes as lac king in cons ci en ce, wo - uld sec retly wi pe the ir oil-co ve red hands on tho se pla ces whe re the ir op po nents we re most li kely to grasp them. Com pe ti tors and trai ners who fai led to obey ins truc ti ons we - re pu nis hed in the way usu ally re ser ved for sla ves, be ing pub licly whip ped (Swadd ling, 2000: 33, 66). Any mo re se ri ous bre ac hes of the ru les re sul ted in the ath le te con cer ned be ing de bar red from ta king part in any furt her com pe ti ti ons and sent ho me stig ma ti - sed as dis ho no urab le. Whe ne ver bri bery, one the most re vol ting of cri mes, was dis co - ve red, an unu su al - and most se ve re - pu nish ment was app li ed: at the ex pen se of the ath le te who had da red to bu y vic tory in the sac red pre cinct of Oly mpi a, a bron ze sta - tu e of Ze us was ma de, the na me of the cul prit and the city he be lon ged to be ing ins cri - bed on a pla qu e on the pe des tal; this sta tu e was then pla ced on the ro ad to the sta di - um that ath le tes had to ta ke (Dec ker, 1995: 150). Bri bery was, ho we ver, a com pa ra ti vely ra re oc cur ren ce (Swadd ling, 2000: 33). In the de ta iled ac co unt of the Oly mpic Ga mes con ta ined in the Des crip ti on of Gre ece by Pa usa ni as, a fa mo us tra vel ler and ge og rap her who li ved in the se cond half of the se - cond cen tury A.D., it is sa id that an event of this kind to ok pla ce at Oly mpi a for the first ti me in 388 B.C. when Eu po los, a bo xer from Thes saly, tri ed to bri be thre e ri vals inc lu - ding Phor mi on of Ha li car nas sus, the Oly mpic Cham pi on. Ath le te s de ter mi na ti on to win was not di mi nis hed by the thre at of pu nish ment, as we se e in the ca se of Kal lip sos, an At he ni an who at temp ted to buy vic tory in the pen tath lon at the 112th Ga mes in 332 B.C. He and the ath le tes he had bri bed we re ob li ged to ha ve a to tal of six bron ze sta tu - es ma de. If an ath le te was unab le to me et the cost of do ing this which amo un ted to a small for tu ne his city-sta te had to pay in his ste ad. In the midd le ye ars of the first cen - tury B.C., Eu do los and Phi los tra tos, two wrest lers from Rho des, each had to fi nan ce a sta tu e for ha ving co me to a fi nan ci al ar ran ge ment to de ci de the win ner. At the 192nd Oly mpi ad in 12 B.C., the Ga mes fell in to dis ho no ur when the fat her of an ath le te a ci - ti zen of Elis who was mo re over the gua ran tor of the Ga mes tri ed to buy vic tory for his son. One of the two sta tu es he had ma de as a pu nish ment was pla ced at the en tran ce to the sta di um, and the ot her at the Gymna si um in Elis. A mis de ed of this kind on the part of a na ti ve of Elis cau sed Pa usa ni as a go od de al of out ra ge. The last event of this kind in the his tory of the an ci ent Oly mpic Ga mes to ok pla ce at the 226th Oly mpi ad in 125 A.D., when two bo xers na med Dei das and Sa ra pam mos we re pu nis hed for ha ving fi xed a fight by be ing ma de to fi nan ce two bron ze sta tu es each. Thus, du ring the co ur - se of ap pro xi ma tely one thou sand ye ars, a to tal of eigh te en sta tu es of Ze us we re ma de in pu nish ment for fi ve ins tan ces of bri bery (Dec ker, 1995: ). The pe des tals on which the se sta tu es, cal led Za ne s (this be ing the plu ral of Ze us ) res ted are still stan - ding at Oly mpi a. In con trast to the prac ti ce uni ver sally adop ted in com bat sports at the mo dern Oly - mpics, the re was no di vi si on of con tes tants in to clas ses ac cor ding to the ir we ight at the an ci ent Oly mpic Ga mes. In con se qu en ce, the he avi est wrest lers usu ally won (Swadd ling, 2000: 67). So it ap pe ars that in com bat events, at any ra te equa lity of op por tu nity, one of the most im por tant pre re qu isi tes of fa ir play, was vir tu ally non-exis tent. Gutt - mann (1987: 12) is of the opi ni on that at the an ci ent Oly mpics, whe re spec ta tors be ha - ved with inor di na te par ti ality and win ners be ha ved dis res pect fully to wards lo sers, the spi rit of gent le man li ness in sport, in the mo dern sen se, was ab sent. It will do ubt less be ne ces sary to se ek the rea son for ins tan ces of un vir tu ous con duct at the an ci ent Oly mpic Ga mes in the chan ges in the va lu es of so ci ety that to ok pla ce du - ring the co ur se of the ir long his tory. In the Arc ha ic pe ri od, tho se spor ting com pe ti ti ons of which our first writ ten re cord is an of fi ci al list of cham pi ons drawn up in 776 B.C. for med the most im por tant part of re - li gi ous fes ti vals, be ing re gar ded al most as an of fe ring to the gods. As vic tory in spor ting com pe ti ti ons was tho ught to be a gift from the gods, win ning ath le tes we re se en al most as ha ving be en cho sen by tho se gods, and we re ho no ured as se mi-di vi ne be ings. The gra du ally in cre asing at mosp he re of com pe ti ti on bet we en the va ri ous city-sta tes in the Clas si cal pe ri od was car ri ed over in to the Ga mes: the in di vi du al suc cess of an ath le te was co un ted as a suc cess for the city-sta te to which he be lon ged. Cham pi ons we re gree ted by the ir fel low-ci ti zens with ela bo ra te ce re mo ni es on the ir re turn ho me; they we re re - war ded with lar ge sums of mo ney and en jo yed spe ci al pri vi le ges for the rest of the ir li - ves (Bo hus, 1986: 18, 28). By the midd le of the Clas si cal pe ri od, the Ga mes had lost the - ir sta tus as of fe rings to the gods, and this pro cess was comp le ted in the fo urth cen tury B.C. when the com pe ti ti on gro unds we re se pa ra ted from the sac red pre cinct (Alp man, 2001: 143). The de sanc ti fi ca ti on of the Ga mes must ha ve se ve rely re du ced the de ter - rent ef fect of the oath of obe di en ce to the ru les ta ken by ath le tes, be ca use from this cen tury on wards the re was a gra du al in cre ase in the ten dency to re sort to unet hi cal met hods in or der to win: the first ins tan ce of bri bery re cor ded by Pa usa ni as to ok pla ce at the be gin ning of the fo urth cen tury B.C. The rea son for this de ve lop ment may be so ught in the de ni al of va lu e to tho se un - re qu ited ef forts to de ve lop one s physi cal abi li ti es that un der pin the thrill and ex ci te - ment of com pe ti ti ons and pro vi de the ir mo ti va ting for ce, and in the ir rep la ce ment by

3 Academic Supplement 3 an at ti tu de fu el led by lust for re ward as wit nes sed by the ex tra va gant ce re mo ni es held in ho no ur of vic tors. Thus, the Ga mes lost the ir a go nis ti c qua lity (the ir ha ving as the ir ide al the act of com pe ting, with no tho ught of ga in) and be ca me me rely ath - le ti c - a word which in tho se ti mes was app li ed to t he prac ti ce of sport as a pro fes si - on (Alp man, 2001: 141). Thus it will be se en that the qu es ti on of whet her or not fa ir play exis ted as a con cept in the spor ting com pe ti ti ons of the an ci ent world, or in the Oly mpic Ga mes, is a mat ter for dis cus si on among scho lars. It is wi dely be li eved that it is use less to lo ok for any evi - den ce of fa ir play in the ter rib le spec tac les that to ok pla ce in the are nas of the Ro man pe ri od (Wisc hmann, 1962: 51; Wei ler, 1981: ; Gutt mann, 1987: 12). The Midd le Ages and the Con cept of Fa ir Play The first thing that co mes to mind when con si de ring the way the body was per ce ived in the Midd le Ages is the ide a that ph ysi cal exer ci se is the work of the de vi l (Pa la is tri - ca di abo li ne go ti um) a sta te ment ref lec ting the at ti tu de of the Cat ho lic church to - wards the body. At the sa me ti me, the aris toc ra tic clas ses en jo yed the pre ro ga ti ve of en - ga ging in physi cal exer ci se in or der to de ve lop the se ven skills of chi valr y ri ding, swim ming, arc hery, fen cing, hun ting, chess and po etry rea ding (Gür, 1979: 29). One gro - up of re se arc hers in to the ori gins of the con cept of fa ir play holds the be li ef that this ide al to ok sha pe bro adly spea king - in the knightly to ur na ments of the Midd le Ages. It is even clai med that the con cept of fa ir nes s is usu ally in terc han ge ab le with that of c hi val ro us nes s (Wisc hmann, 1962: 65). In dorf (1938: 11, 73), who tra ces the be gin nings of the con cept of fa ir play to the ri - se of chi valry un der the inf lu en ce of Chris ti an tho ught, ma in ta ins that a num ber of et - hi cal at ti tu des pre sent in the ru les of knightly to ur na ments we re car ri ed over in to sport. He ci tes the fact that a chi val ro us at ti tu de re qu ires (firstly) the pre sen ce of equ al con di - ti ons for com pe ting for examp le, in the mat ter of wea pons; (se condly) ho no urab le tre - at ment of an op po nent who has be en de fe ated or has be co me unab le to fight owing to the loss of his wea pon, a fall from his hor se or any ot her cir cums tan ce; (thirdly) ob - ser van ce of the usu al ru les of the con test; and (fo urthly) the ho nou ring of the terms of any spe ci al ag ree ments. The se ru les are ac cep ted as the ide al, ho no urab le ru les not just of to ur na ments, but al so of any form of se ri ous com pe ti ti on. With the uni fi ca ti on of aris toc ra tic and po pu lar spor ting ac ti vi ti es in the se cond half of the se ven te enth cen tury, at ti tu des and forms of be ha vi our of this kind (which are in ac cor dan ce with the spi rit of fa ir play) we re no lon ger res tric ted to aris toc ra tic amu se - ments, but we re car ri ed over in to the fi eld of edu ca ti on fol lo wing the re sur gen ce of the hu ma nist gent le manly ide al, even tu ally be co ming ac cep ted prac ti ce in Bri tish sport as a who le. Thus, In dorf (1938: 73) cla ims that knightly to ur na ments, as well as fen cing, wrest ling and bo xing con tests, we re the most im por tant ve hic les for the trans mis si on of the spi rit of fa ir play. Alt ho ugh the re is a clo se con nec ti on bet we en chi val ro us forms of be ha vi our and the ide al of fa ir play in that avo idan ce of un fa ir ad van ta ge and the tre at ment of op po nents in a res pect ful and ho no urab le way are com mon to both, this si mi la rity exists only up to a po int. Ac cor ding to Gutt mann (1987: 11-12), as the to ur na ments of the Midd le Ages we re a me di um for the disp lay of ro yal po wer and spec ta tors at them we re comp le tely bia sed, the re was litt le chan ce of par ti ci pant s put ting forth the ir best per for man ce an ab so lu te pre con di ti on for fa ir play in its mo dern sen se: in or der to avo id pre ju di cing the po li ti cal func ti on of the to ur na ment, a knight was ob li ged to avo id hu mi li ating the King in any way. Thus, as chi val ro us con duct in the Midd le Ages was in ti ma tely con nec - ted with fa me and ho no ur, it was the in te rests of the com mu nity and of disp lay rat - her than equa lity of op por tu nity - that we re held as pa ra mo unt (Mül ler, 1988: 8). The So ci al Struc tu re of Ni ne te enth-cen tury Eng land and the Con cept of Fa ir Play The fact that the birth of mo dern sport - to get her with that of tho se prin cip les which dis tin gu ish it from all pre vi ous forms of physi cal ac ti vity thro ug ho ut his tory - to ok pla - ce in Eng land is con nec ted with the struc tu re of so ci ety the re. Li ke wi se, the fact that the mo dern con cept of fa ir play to ok sha pe wit hin and aro und sport - aga in in Eng land - is di rectly con nec ted with that so ci et y s ex pec ta ti ons with re gard to sport. The sa tis fac ti - on of the se ex pec ta ti ons ne ces si ta ted a who le se ri es of po li ti cal, so ci al and edu ca ti onal re forms in Eng lish so ci ety. The Pub lic Scho ols and Fa ir Play With the de ve lop ment of mo dern sport in Eng land, the con cept of fa ir play ca me to be the ba sic et hi cal at ti tu de of a so ci al class. This class re gar ded sport as an aim; be ca - use of its pas si on for bet ting, it en co ura ged equa lity of op por tu nity, and this was gua - ran te ed by me ans of writ ten ru les (Lut her & Hotz, 1994: 5). The con cept first gai ned cur - rency in the con text of scho ol sports in Eng land, aga in in the la te eigh te enth and early ni ne te enth cen tu ri es. Rat her than be ing me rely an ide a con nec ted with sport, it was a prin cip le un derl ying an edu ca ti on that was ba sed on sport; at the sa me ti me, it ser ved as a cri te ri on by which the mo del hu man be in g co uld be de fi ned (Er dem li, 1996: 151). For the Eng lish, who adop ted the prin cip les of fa ir play in the ni ne te enth cen tury, en - co ura ge ment for the se at ti tu des ca me ma inly from two so ur ces: the fa mily and the newly-de ve lo ping spor ting press. The most di rect inf lu en ce, ho we ver, was bro ught to be ar by the now re for med pri va te bo ar ding scho ols con fu singly na med pub lic scho - ol s - such as Eton, Har row, Winc hes ter, Char ter ho use and Rugby, as well as by the two gre at uni ver si ti es: Ox ford and Cam brid ge. The mea ning and im por tan ce of the re for ming mo ve ments of the ni ne te enth cen tury will be co me ap pa rent if we exa mi ne the si tu ati on of the pub lic scho ol s pri or to the re - forms. The first of the se pri va te bo ar ding scho ols, which we re ori gi nally con ce ived of as be ing ba si cally for the edu ca ti on of the poo rer clas ses, was ope ned in Du ring the co ur se of the eigh te enth cen tury, ho we ver, the se scho ols be ca me pla ces whe re only the chil dren of mem bers of the aris toc racy we re edu ca ted (Eich berg, 1978: 106). Thanks to in suf fi ci ent staff num bers, un he althy scho ol bu il dings, pri mi ti ve ac com mo da ti on and the lack of dis cip li ne among pu pils, they had de ge ne ra ted in to so met hing far re mo ved from the ir ori gi nal pur po se (Bra se, 1967: 19). Pu pils in dul ged in gang war fa re among them sel ves, drank, gamb led and crea ted pan de mo ni um, see ing the se ac ti vi ti es as pro - of of man ho od. Fol lo wing the French re vo lu ti on, for many ye ars clas ses at the se scho - ols wo uld try to ma in ta in the up per hand over te ac hers from the midd le clas ses by me - ans of cons tant re volts. Na tu rally, the se ne ga ti ve at ti tu des and forms of be ha vi our spre - ad over in to sport: ga mes of fo ot ball, in par ti cu lar, we re used as a way of sho wing dis - res pect for ru les, with smal ler or wea ker boys be ing gi ven pas si ve du ti es such as that of go al ke eper, whi le the mo re ac ti ve ro les - pla ying in for ward po si ti ons - we re ta ken by lar ger and stron ger boys (Eich berg, 1978: 106). The mo ve ment to wards re form that was be gun at Rugby Scho ol in the first half of the ni ne te enth cen tury by the his to ri an and the olo gi an Tho mas Ar nold ( ) be ca - me a mo del that was co pi ed by ot her si mi lar ins ti tu ti ons. This mo ve ment ac qu ired a new di men si on with the brin ging to pro mi nen ce of sport in edu ca ti on, and of the con cept of fa ir play in sport, by the edu ca ti ona list Ed ward Thring ( ) in the se cond half of the cen tury. Ar nold, as He ad mas ter of Rugby, first of all at temp ted to chan ge the anac hro nis tic cus toms, at ti tu des and prac ti ces of his pu pils. His edu ca ti onal aim was the cre ati on of yo ung Chris ti an gent le me n, and to this end he ga ve spe ci al im por tan - ce to re li gi on; what he re qu ired of his staff was not that they sho uld be go od te ac hers, but that they sho uld be of mo del cha rac ter (Bra se, 1967: 26, 36). Tho ugh he was not per so nally in te res ted in sport, he used it as a ve hic le for mo ral edu ca ti on; thanks to sport, he ho ped to turn we althy but psycho lo gi cally tro ub led, spo - ilt and lazy boys from the up per clas ses in to go od Chris ti ans (Gutt mann, 1987: 13). In or - der to re vi ve the mo ral qu ali ti es that had be co me de ge ne ra te in his pu pils, he tri ed to uti li se the ef forts which they put forth fre ely when en ga ged in sport. He left the run - ning of sports clubs to the boys them sel ves in the ho pe of de ve lo ping the ir sen se of res - pon si bi lity, and of en co ura ging them to play a part in the li fe of so ci ety. The ar gu ments and ne go ti ati ons that to ok pla ce bet we en ri val gro ups of pu pils in the pro cess of elec - ting te am cap ta ins (who we re in char ge of spor ting ac ti vi ti es and who se word had to be obe yed wit ho ut qu es ti on du ring matc hes) we re se en as an ide al ap pren ti ces hip for par ti ci pa ti on in so ci al li fe. The aim was to en co ura ge te am, rat her than in di vi du al, sports. As the se scho ols we re mostly si tu ated in co untry are as, the re was no dif fi culty in fin ding eno ugh spa ce for pla ying fi elds; the bo ar ding system, to o, fa ci li ta ted the de ve - lop ment of te am ga mes. In or der to cre ate the ne ces sary op por tu nity, the scho ol ti me - tab le was ar ran ged so as to lea ve at le ast thre e half days per we ek fre e for sport (Gil - let, 1975: 55-57). It was no ac ci dent that te am sports sho uld be gi ven such pro mi nen ce. By the midd le de - ca des of the ni ne te enth cen tury, the Eng lish had dis co ve red the gre at edu ca ti onal va lu e of te am sports, re ali sing that they de ve lo ped a num ber of hu man abi li ti es mo re ef fec ti - vely than in di vi du al ones (Hoy ler, 1933: 101). On ce this edu ca ti onal va lu e was un ders to - od, te am sports be gan to oc cupy an in crea singly im por tant pla ce in scho ol li fe (Hirn, 1936: 107). Pu pils we re en co ura ged to play fo ot ball or cric ket in the ir spa re ti me, and te ac hers we re as sig ned to en su re that the ru les of gent le manly con duct con ti nu ed to be ob ser ved (Bra se, 1967: 32). In com pe ti ti ons bet we en dif fe rent clas ses or scho ols, yo ung pe op le le - ar ned to put forth the ir best ef forts to wards the ac hi eve ment of a com mon go al in an en - vi ron ment in which they we re no lon ger sub ject to the pres su re for in di vi du al suc cess; at the sa me ti me, they le ar ned to res pect the op po sing te am and to ac cept de fe at with equ - ani mity (Alp man, 2001: 257). Thus, the ac qu isi ti on by fa ir play of a prog res si vely wi der mea ning wit hin ph ysi cal edu ca ti on with a pur po se went hand in hand with the bur ge - oning im por tan ce of te am spi ri t (Hirn, 1936: 107). Na tu rally, the grea ter emp ha sis pla - ced on the com pe ti ti ve as pect of sport al so in cre ased the ex ci te ment and the risk of overam bi ti ous be ha vi our, so the re was grea ter ne ed for fa ir play (In dorf, 1938: 10). As te am sports ac qu ired a mo re mo dern and mo re ci vi li sed cha rac ter, fa ir play was ele va ted to the sta tus of the ba sic re qu ire ment for the pre ser va ti on of the se qu ali ti es. In ot her words, fa - ir play gua ran te ed con di ti ons in which each in di vi du al en jo yed equa lity of op por tu nity for par ti ci pa ti on and per for man ce; it pro vi ded a check on be ha vi our and pla yed a fa ci li - ta ting ro le, al lo wing the ga me to ta ke pla ce (Hirn, 1936: 107). In con trast to that of Ar nold, the edu ca ti onal ide al of Ed ward Thring (the He ad mas - ter of Up ping ham Scho ol) was to help his pu pils adapt them sel ves to the ne eds of re al li fe. Re cog ni sing the va lu e of sport in the for ma ti on of cha rac ter, he inc lu ded sport and gymnas tics in the cur ri cu lum; it was he who had the first gymna si um bu ilt at an Eng lish bo ar ding scho ol (Bra se, 1967: 38-41). In his ti me, all va ri eti es of sport we re pla yed ac cor - ding to pre vi ously-de ter mi ned ru les, and te ac hers (who we re al so sports ent hu si asts) wo uld in va ri ably ac com pany the ir ins truc ti ons to pu pils with the ref ra in from a po pu lar po em of tho se days: P lay up! play up! and play the ga me! (Gutt mann, 1987: 13) Thanks to Ar nol d s edu ca ti onal ide al of the cre ati on of yo ung Chris ti an gent le me n, the pla ying fi elds at the se pri va te scho ols supp li ed a fa vo urab le en vi ron ment in which the prin cip le of fa ir play co uld ta ke ro ot; in ti me, sport - and fa ir play in sport - be ca me not just a me ans to an end, but an end in them sel ves. Be fo re long, the ide al of fa ir play al so be gan to ma ke it self felt in the spor ting ac ti vi ti es of or di nary pe op le thanks to the mo del pro vi ded by the up per class. The Eng lish mind be ca me mo re and mo re pre - oc cu pi ed with the ide al of be ing s por tin g ; as sport grew in po pu la rity, fa ir play be gan to be con si de red as an ide al who se re le van ce was not res tric ted to spor ting ac ti vity, but as one that em bra ced every as pect of li fe. Be ing fa ir in tho ught and ac ti on ca me to be se en as the most nob le et hi cal at tri bu te of the Eng lish cha rac ter (In dorf, 1938: 74). Thus, the con cept of fa ir play was tho ught to form t he es sen ce of Eng lish et hic s, and pla ying fi elds we re re gar ded as uni qu e g ro unds for mo ral edu ca ti on (Kirc her, 1927: 24). The ex cel lent re sults ob ta ined from the pla ying fi elds thanks to the se re forms re sul - ted in the ge ne ral ac cep tan ce of the new ways of thin king thro ug ho ut the Eng lish edu - ca ti onal system (Gil let, 1975: 56). Pu pils went from pri va te scho ols at which gent le manly con duct in sport was prai sed as an in di ca ti on of mo ral worth to uni ver si ti es, and from the re to parts of the Bri tish Em pi re in all cor ners of the glo be (Gutt mann, 1987: 14). It was na tu ral that they sho uld ta ke with them the con cept of fa ir play, and pub li ci se it whe re ver they went. The po si ti ve ef fects in Eng land of en co ura ging the pre do mi nan ce of sport in edu ca ti on and the pre do mi nan ce of fa ir play in sport had the ir ef fect on Ba - ron Pi er re de Cou ber tin, the fo un der of the mo dern Oly mpic Ga mes, in the last qu ar ter of the ni ne te enth cen tury; the et hi cal at ti tu de de man ded by fa ir play which may be des cri bed as a c hi val ro us way of thin kin g - for med one of the ba sic te nets of Oly mpism. The Bri tish Aris toc racy and the Con cept of Fa ir Play The Bri tish aris toc rac y s cen tu ri es-old pas si on for ra cing and bet ting pla yed qui te an im por tant part in the po pu la ri sa ti on of the ide al of fa ir play. We know that by the be - gin ning of the se ven te enth cen tury, the aris toc racy had al re ady be gun to or ga ni se hor - se ra ces, and that ra ce tracks, ru les, jud ges, pri zes and fi xed we ights for joc keys had al - re ady be en ins ti tu ted (Eich berg, 1978: 41). Bet ting was in tro du ced in or der to en co ura - ge in te rest in the ra ces, and in this way a se ri es of cru de, pri mi ti ve com pe ti ti ons was trans for med in to a ci vi li sed af fa ir at which aris toc rats to ok pa ins to en su re that con duct re ma ined well-in ten ti oned and gent le manly thro ug ho ut, and that the ru les we re ob ser - ved (Wisc hmann, 1962: 70). At the sa me ti me, un tit le d yo un ger sons who had be en re le ga ted to the midd le clas - ses thanks to the law of pri mo ge ni tu re (ac cor ding to which the el dest son alo ne had rights of in he ri tan ce to his fat he r s tit le and pro perty) wo uld put forth the ir ef forts to be ac cep ted as gent le men on the sports fi eld and de mons tra te by me ans of the ir s - port sman li ke at ti tu des and be ha vi our - the ir aris toc ra tic ro ots. In this way, mem bers of the midd le clas ses (who loo ked up to the aris toc racy) ca me to adopt the et hi cal co de this lat ter class disp la yed, es pe ci ally on the pla ying fi eld (Wisc hmann, 1962: 72). Ama te urism and Fa ir Play The ru les of ama te ur sport, which we re de ve lo ped in Eng land du ring the eigh te enth and ni ne te enth cen tu ri es, we re ini ti ally of a kind de sig ned by the aris toc racy as pro tec - ti ve me asu res which wo uld exc lu de the wor king clas ses from cer ta in branc hes of sport. It was ge ne rally ac cep ted that the se clas ses we re in ca pab le of un ders tan ding the prin -