Early development Similar games to Pêl-law have been played throughout the world for thousands of years. Handball-like games have originated in several places at different times.
Hieroglyphs in the temple of
Osiris in Egypt portray priests taking part in a game very similar to handball. The Civilisations of
South and Central America had a
handball-like game, which was a large part of
pre-Columbian culture. It is likely that the Welsh game has a similarly ancient origin. Pêl-law has been attested in the
literature of Wales since the Middle Ages, and was mentioned by
Nennius in the ninth century. There is evidence that the game was played at
Tintern Abbey and
Raglan Castle once held a Pêl-law court inside its Great Hall of State.
Importance to Welsh culture By the 15th century, the widespread understanding of pêl-law was great enough that the
bard Guto'r Glyn wrote a popular
cywydd for the game, simply entitled
Y Bêl (). However, the sport's popularity became an issue in the
Tudor period, as the government imposed greater restrictions on public life and the sport was banned by order of the
English Crown. Sports were banned for a number of reasons, but in Wales they were particularly seen as a distraction from the practice of
archery as
Welsh longbowmen were integral to the defence of the
kingdom. The banned sports were also seen as encouraging gambling, violence and debauchery with only Christmas (and later Easter) seeing the ban relaxed. As sports enjoyed by the English nobility (such as
jousting,
bear-baiting and
cock-fighting) continued with no such restrictions, the outlawed sports came to be seen as an expression of protest against the landowning class. This social context was exacerbated in Wales as authorities continued to characterise pêl-law games as havens of mob behavior, sedition and ultimately revolt. Similarly,
the Laws in Wales Acts (1535 and 1542) removed historic Welsh institutions and barred Welsh people (or English people with Welsh connections) from positions of authority. As a result of these changes, the surviving Welsh folk-pursuits (such as pêl-law) gained a unique cultural significance for ordinary people.
National sport The game was initially played against the side of stone buildings like churches or castles, and the sport's popularity among the Welsh populace drew the ire of both Anglican and Non-conformist leaders, with one Methodist preacher telling his congregations that handball was among the things which were “taking the country to eternal woe”. {{poem quote|Who Ever hear on a Sonday, Will Practis Playing At Ball, it May Be before Monday, The Devil Will Have you All. The 18th century saw the construction of the first purpose-built courts. The new open-backed courts were often built by the owners of public houses to attract trade and the new venues enabled Pêl-law unprecedented popularity as a spectator sport. However, the new crowds drew more complaints from landowners, who would often refer to the games as '
fives' a very similar game played by English grammar schools. In 1744 a Joanna Lond of Swansea was accused of:
"maintaining a certain gaming house for a certain unlawful game called fives" and a letter written in 1817, states the author’s objection to the transformation of the courtyard of the church at
Llandaff into a
"Fives court", with games interrupting services. It is likely that such instances actually helped the game maintain a distinct attraction. With Welsh language terminology, an archaic scoring system and distinct working-class culture, any vilification by the
Anglican church or local authority appear to have only added to the sport's unique appeal. This era also saw Pêl-law become popular in the west of England. The late 19th century also saw a great number of workers move to Wales and it seems the increasing population enjoyed the sport.
Irish handball was a related working-class sport and it is understood that Irish migrants played the Welsh game, with the construction of the Nelson court in the 1860s possibly built with Irish railway workers in mind.
Professional development With Wales' industrial development, and the sport's continued popularity, vast numbers were now able to spectate or compete and yet more players became professionals, leading to great rivalries between communities. One of the first names of national renown was Richard Edwards ("
champion of every church yard in Denbighshire"). Local champions like Billy Newnam of
Llantrisant and the
"terrible Treharne twins" of
Pontypridd also enjoyed widespread fame and adulation. It was common for competitors to travel between villages and towns to challenge the champions of other localities, often for large sums of money. By the 1870s, Dr Ifor Ajax-Lewis of Llantrisant and Richard Andrews, a miner from
Nelson were offering enormous prize money to any player who could beat them. Andrews, known affectionately as
‘Dic Ted’ was particularly admired. Playing throughout the 1870s he played in many famous matches such as that against the 19 year old Peter Price. Peter was another miner at the nearby Taff Bargoed colliery, and their showdown was played in front of an especially large crowd at the Harp Inn in
Gelligaer. Andrews would play a match against W Jones of
New Tredegar for a then record purse of £20. By 1875, the record winnings had increased to £1000.
Decline Wales endured great economic and cultural changes in the early twentieth century, with the boom
Edwardian years (which saw the Welsh population grow more than 20%) followed by
war,
economic uncertainty and numerous industrial disasters. This societal turmoil was reflected by a decline in traditional Welsh activities such as Pêl-law, while further advances in transportation made it easier for teams and supporters to travel to the increasingly popular team sports like
rugby.
The Great Depression saw a notable transformation and revival of the sport, with Pêl-law again becoming popular as an informal and almost costless street game for impoverished workers. The revival was especially prevalent in the
Swansea area, where street versions were a notable feature throughout the city as late as the 1960s.
International matches The World Handball Championships both singles and pairs competitions were held annually at the Nelson court, throughout the 1970s and 1980s. In 1987, the Welsh Handball Association was formed to both preserve the Welsh game and coordinate international matches with nations playing similar games to Pêl-law. In 1995 markings for One Wall Handball were made within the three-walled Nelson court and in May that year the inaugural European One Wall Handball Tournament was held in Wales. Attended by representatives from Ireland, England, Belgium and even the USA. The tournament was based at Nelson, with
Caerphilly and
Bargoed also hosting matches. The new international competitions saw Welsh success in 1997 when Nelson's Lee Davies (Welsh champion throughout the 1990s) became World Champion. ==Revival==