Jeu de paume "jeu de paulme" as it was formerly spelled, literally means "palm game". In time, gloves replaced bare hands. Even when paddle-like bats, and finally racquets, became standard equipment for the game by the late 17th century, the name did not change. It became known as "tennis" in English "(see History of tennis)", and later "real tennis" after the derived game of lawn tennis became the more widely known sport. The term is used in France today to denote the game of tennis on a court in which the ancient or modern game might be played. The indoor version is sometimes
Jeu de paume like the Mesoamerican ballgame are clearly unrelated. Various other racquet games (squash, badminton, etc.) may be related to one degree or another. The Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume, a museum of contemporary art, is housed in a former court on the north side of the Tuileries park in the centre of Paris. The painter Jacques-Louis David's famous sketch, "le Serment du jeu de paume" ('the Tennis Court Oath') now hangs in the court of the Palace of Versailles. It depicts a seminal moment of the French Revolution, when, on 20 June 1789, deputies of the Estates-General met at the