Welsh handball

The sport has been continually attested since the Middle Ages and its popularity saw it become an important expression of Welsh culture, offering ordinary people opportunities through prize money, bookkeeping and even player professionalism.

Due to its cultural significance games of Pêl-law were simply referred to as Chwarae Pêl (playing ball) and it has since been described as "Wales’s first national sport".

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.

[3] 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 (English: The Ball).

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.

This social context was exacerbated in Wales as authorities continued to characterise pêl-law games as havens of mob behavior, sedition and ultimately revolt.

[6] 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”.

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.

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.

[8] 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.

[citation needed] Local champions like Billy Newnam of Llantrisant and the "terrible Treharne twins" of Pontypridd also enjoyed widespread fame and adulation.

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.

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.

The Great Depression saw a notable revival however, with Pêl-law again becoming popular as an informal and almost costless street game for impoverished workers.

[citation needed] The Nelson court was also famous for its annual tournaments held between May and August and accompanied by high levels of gambling.

In May 1995, the first European Handball Tournament was held at Nelson and was attended by American, Belgian, English, Irish, and Welsh teams.