Sports the Olympics Forgot – The Anti-Pope Games, Avignon, France

The Papal Bullfighting Contest has taken place since 1523 and is the oldest sport featured at the Anti-Pope Games. The bullfighters, dressed in a monk’s outfit similar to that of Martin Luther, have to place a copy of The Ninety-Five Theses, written by Luther, over each of the horns of the bull. They also have to knock off the Papal Tiara, a jewelled, three-tiered crown used at Papal coronations from 1305 through 1963, that is fixed to the head of the bull. The person who performs these tasks in the quickest time wins the prize of a set of steak knives that are embedded in a wooden block shaped like a Papal Mitre. This is a toned-down version of the original first prize, which was a blood-coloured Papal Mitre stabbed through with a dagger.

@WorkerJulian “Sports the Olympics Forgot”