About this translation

These rules have been transcribed from the handwritten originals of Aimé Coussin by Jac Verheul. Thankyou Jac. The translation was fairly straightforward, with only a couple of passages where the meaning is less than clear. This was not so much a function of the language, but rather of style.

To some degree this comes through in the translation - imagine the differences there would be between a modern English document and a Victorian English one. As I suppose every translator does, I've tried to strike a balance between fidelity to the original and workable English.

The game discussed is almost certainly being played with large wooden boules, at a distance comparable to Boule Lyonnaise or Bocce of today. It is possible these rules refer to Boules de Berge (a.k.a. Boule Parisienne), a game which has all but vanished in the face of Pétanque. For all the minor changes between their game of boules, and our pétanque, I think you'll enjoy seeing that some things never change.

Frank Pipal,
Kenwood, California.