Jeu de paume is a ball game that has been played for almost a thousand years. Initially played with bare hands or leather gloves, it later became a racket sport. It is the direct ancestor of pelote basque, pelote ball, tambourine ball, tennis and, more generally, all racket sports. Jeu de paume is associated with the Serment du Jeu de Paume, one of the major events at the start of the French Revolution, and with the Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, a museum in Paris.
