The origin of the word "arena". What is a riding school?

Everyone knows what a riding school is. The interpretation of the word can vary from person to person. This discrepancy is due to the fact that the term has several meanings. So, what are they and what is the reason for their occurrence?

Manege: what does a word mean?

This word has many meanings. Here are the most famous of them.

• This is a building or a fenced place for teaching the art of riding and for training horses. A similar building is also used for different types of equestrian competitions.
• The arena for circus performances also has a similar name.
• In pre-revolutionary Russia, the arenas were called rooms intended for infantry drill in those days when the weather did not allow it to be done outdoors.

• A similar name is worn by some specialized sports grounds for training.
• Several toponyms with this name are known. This is a village in the suburbs and a microdistrict in Lipetsk.
• There are several buildings called arenas. These are exhibition halls in Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as a training room for soldiers in Ottawa.
• Each young mother has her own understanding of the term "arena". What is a word means is well known to families in which babies have recently appeared. Enclosed on all sides is a small portable platform for children who have barely learned (or have not yet learned) to walk, where one can safely leave their child unattended for a while. Most often this device is called the diminutive word "manege".

History of the emergence of this term

In Russian, as, indeed, in English, the word "arena" (what is it, indicated in the first paragraph) came from the French. In the translation from the language of Rousseau and Napoleon, the noun manège meant "carousel". At first glance, it seems that this term is not related to the arena, but this is misleading.

The fact is that originally the carousel was called equestrian ballet, which appeared as entertainment for the royal court of France in the 16th century.

The Empress Catherine II introduced the fashion to representations with the participation of horses in the Russian Empire.

With her light hand, this royal hobby began to enjoy great love from the landowners, who organized their own horse carousels in their estates. However, by the beginning of the 20th century. The fashion for horse ballets began to decline, and after that it completely dried up.

At one time, to participate in the manège, it was necessary to be an excellent rider, and this required constant training, which took place in the same buildings, where later the performances were held. For this reason, each specially designated place for horse riding training has gradually been called an arena.

Equestrian arena and its difference from the racecourse

These two concepts are often confused with each other. It is necessary to learn the difference: the racetrack is a specialized outdoor stadium with several racing tracks for races around which there are places for spectators.

Equestrian arena - a rectangular indoor room with a central arena and places for the public and judges, where riders compete in different disciplines.

Why is the circus arena called "arena"?

The circus is a favorite entertainment. Connoisseurs of this art know that the arena here is called an arena. The etymology of this term also goes back to the French manège, but here is a slightly different story.

The circus arena (photo below) began to bear this name, too, thanks to the horses.

The fact is that the circus of the ancient Romans was called the oval form of the stadium, where chariot races and horse races most often occurred. Later, circus buildings began to be used as arenas of gladiatorial battles and massacres with Christians, but the primary meaning of the word in human minds continued to be associated with horses.

After the fall of the Roman Empire for many centuries, the word "circus" was not used at all, and then so began to be called places for theater productions. However, in the XVIII century. The Astleyev family of riders from Great Britain built a small round arena in France, calling it a circus. There they began to give performances, consisting of acrobatic exercises on horses. Later their repertoire was replenished with tricks involving other animals, tricks and clowns. Gradually the fashion for circuses spread all over the world, and the arena, in memory of the tricks of riders, from which everything began, was called an arena.

What are the types of sports arenas, and how do they differ from conventional stadiums

Only one main detail distinguishes the stadium and the arena (what is this structure for each organization, we said earlier) - the roof.

The traditional stadium, where training and competitions are held in spring and summer, does not have a full roof and is called open. While a closed stadium (track and field athletics arena) is designed for competitions in the cold season.

There is also a separate subspecies of the sports arena - fencing.

Having become acquainted with all the meanings of the term in question, one can find in them something in common. So, it turns out that the arena - a fenced or covered room, where horses, athletes, military or children train their skills and demonstrate them to everyone.