Sport and Physical Education in the Middle Ages

In Sport and Physical Education in the Middle Ages, Dr. Zeigler (ed. & au.) divides the then-world's "far West" into Early Middle Ages (including Feudal Society) and Later Middle Ages (including the Renaissance). Nine qualified scholars provide 14 different historical analyses. In a final section, Zeigler provides a "vertical analysis" of the social forces influencing the times. The theology of The Church prevailed generally during this era, but there was discordance present also among the existing variations of theism, deism, pluralism, and humanism, a state that has persisted to the present. Thus there was a continuing need for professional warriors trained to help resolve their countries' political problems, discords often linked to underlying religious dicta. To be a knight then, an "irreducible maximum" of physical training and conditioning was an absolute requirement. Even today, in a still highly contentious world environment, the military person would be wise to strive for the highest levels of skill, strength, and endurance as did the male counterpart of the Middle Ages. Due to advancing science and technology, the need for the military person to be trained "physically" through exercise, sport, and physical recreation has varied gradually to a degree depending on the specific duties of the rank or service held. As in the best professions in what we call civilized society today, a fine code of ethics (e.g., The Chivalric Code) was developed and espoused--albeit an unrealizable dream. This standard was invoked when the knight of medieval times was assessed, as it should be today when the career military person of the 21st century is being evaluated. Sadly, it is not yet possibleto predict a world environment in which a country will not need a military establishment of greater or lesser strength.Author BiographyEarle Zeigler is semiretired from professional and scholarly endeavor. A dual citizen of Canada and the United States, he has taught, researched, and/or administered programs at Yale University (1943-49), The University of Michigan (1956-63), University of Illinois, CPU (1963-71), and The Univ. of Western Ontario (the latter from 1949-56 and 1971-89). His primary areas of scholarly interest have been in the history and philosophy, management, international & comparative, and professional preparation aspects of his field in education. All together Zeigler has published 39 books and monographs and 406 articles. In addition to receiving the top three awards in his field (Hetherington Award, AKA; Gulch Medal, AAHPERD; Alliance Scholar-of-the-Year, 1977), Zeigler has been recognized by election to " Who's Who in Canada," "Who's Who in America," and "Who's Who in the World." He has received two honorary doctorates (LL.D., 1975, Univ. of Windsor, Canada and D.Sc.,1997, University of Lethbridge, Canada).