Middle Ages

In 1520 at the Field of the Cloth of Gold pageant, Francis I of France threw Henry VIII of England in a wrestling match.In Henry VIII's kingdom, folk wrestling in many places was widely popular and had a long history. In particular, the Lancashire style may have formed the basis for Catch wrestling also known as "catch as catch can." The Scots later formed a variant of this style, and the Irish developed the "collar-and-elbow" style which later found its way into the United States. The French developed the modern Greco-Roman style which was finalized by the 19th century and by then, wrestling was featured in many fairs and festivals.