Origins
What century did "tug of war" get its name?
Tug of war
The origins of tug of war are uncertain, but it is beyond dispute that this once royal sport was practised in ancient Egypt, Greece and China, where it was held in legend that the Sun and Moon played Tug of War over the light and darkness. It is also widely believed the sport was made popular in Great Britain by Lord Elliott Simpson, in the 16th Century. Simpson was a keen tugger. According to a Tang dynasty book, The Notes of Feng, tug of war, under the name "hook pulling"(牵钩), was used by the military commander of the State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period (8th century BC to 5th century BC) to train warriors. During the Tang dynasty, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang promoted large-scale tug of war games, using ropes of up to 167 meters or (547.9 feet) with shorter ropes attached and more than 500 people on each end of the rope. Each side also had its own team of drummers to encourage the participants. In ancient Greece the sport was called "helkustinda" (Greek: ἑλκυστίνδα), "efelkustinda" (ἐφελκυστίνδα) and "dielkustinda" (διελκυστίνδα), which derives from "dielkō" (διέλκω), meaning amongst others "I pull through", all deriving from the verb "helkō" (ἕλκω), "I draw, I pull". "Helkustinda" and "efelkustinda" seem to have been ordinary versions of tug of war, while "dielkustinda" had no rope, according to Julius Pollux. It is possible that the teams held hands when pulling, which would have increased difficulty, since handgrips are more difficult to sustain than a grip of a rope. Tug of war games in ancient Greece were among the most popular games used for strength and would help build strength needed for battle in full armor. Archeological evidence shows that tug of war was also popular in India in 12th century AD:Tug of war stories about heroic champions from Scandinavia and Germany circulate Western Europe where Viking warriors pull animal skins over open pits of fire in tests of strength and endurance in preparation for battle and plunder.1500 and 1600 – tug of war is popularised during tournaments in French châteaux gardens and later in Great Britain1800 – tug of war begins a new tradition among seafaring men who were required to tug on lines to adjust sails while ships were under way and even in battle. The Mohave Indians occasionally used tug-of-war matches as means of settling disputes. The "Oxford English Dictionary" says that the phrase "tug of war" originally meant "the decisive contest; the real struggle or tussle; a severe contest for supremacy". Only in the 19th century was it used as a term for an athletic contest between two teams who haul at the opposite ends of a rope.