Editing Stoolball (section)

===Medieval and Tudor references===
[[File:ALPP - Stool-Ball.png|thumb|1767 Illustration of Stoolball in the children's book ''[[A Little Pretty Pocket-Book]]'']]
[[File:Stoolball fords green 1902.jpg|thumb|Stoolball game in 1902 in Nutley, East Sussex]]
Stoolball is attested by name as early as 1450. Nearly all medieval references describe it as a game played during [[Easter]] celebrations, typically as a [[courtship]] pastime rather than a competitive game. The game's associations with romance remained strong into the modern period. Written by [[William Shakespeare]] and the Sussex-born playwright [[John Fletcher (playwright)|John Fletcher]], the comedy, ''[[The Two Noble Kinsmen]]'' used the phrase "playing stool ball" as a euphemism for sexual behaviour.<ref>{{cite book |title=Baseball Before We Knew It: A Search for the Roots of the Game |last=Block |first=David |year=2006 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0-8032-6255-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Encyclopedia of traditional British Rural Sports |editor1=Tony Collins |editor2=John Martin |editor3=Wray Vamplew |year=2005 |publisher=Routledge Sports Reference |isbn=978-0-415-35224-6}}</ref>