Space, time and materials on the games of the book Días geniales o lúdicros of Rodrigo Caro (1626): An ethnomotor perspective

Abstract

This study reveals typical features of the games and their relationship with the socio-cultural context from the book Días geniales o lúdicros by Rodrigo Caro, of the Spanish seventeenth century. 59 games are analyzed from an ethno-motor perspective. Three objects of study are discussed: Material, space, and time, from the perspective of both internal logic (text) and external logic (context). Differences among the games are observed according to age categories. It is apparent that the games are still far from having the features of modern sports. Few specialized game materials are used. Artificial spaces and open areas, nonexclusive for the games, are borrowed mostly at the same locality. Regarding time, lack of control and temporal rigidity of the games is observed. An open and closed temporal organization with respect to the holiday calendar can also be seen.