The Middle Ages saw a huge rise in popularity of annual Shrovetide football matches throughout Europe, particularly in England. An early reference to a ball game played in Britain comes from the 9th-century Historia Brittonum, attributed to Nennius, which describes "a party of boys ... playing at ball".[30] References to a ball game played in northern France known as La Soule or Choule, in which the ball was propelled by hands, feet, and sticks,[31] date from the 12th century.[32]