This battoir may be older than the fragments of used vellum and parchment that cover it. However, the ownership (? or maker's) inscription to one side of the head appears to be in an 18th-century or possibly late 17th-century hand. On the other side of the racket head there is a manuscript fragment containing a financial inventory in French, and the hand is again 18th-century.

An account of the battoir, which originated in the late medieval era, is given in Albert de Luze's La Magnifique Histoire du Jeu de Paume (1933). The aim of the vellum covering was no doubt both to protect the racket and to allow the ball to be hit with greater control. But, though its general appearance may seem right, we cannot be certain that our battoir was used in Jeu de Paume, particularly if it dates from the 18th-century when strung rackets came into use. Light weight and delicate, it would not be durable in a hard hitting game. It may have adapted to the softer ball game of Long Paume. Another possibility is that it was used a serving racket in the game of Jeu de Tambourin, just to commence the match. This would add meaning to the inscription "Denain Hullot, a tricot." Alternatively, our battoir may have been used for a local variety of racket game, of which the history is unrecorded.

The battoir is one of 7 that were discovered in 1989, all bearing the name of Hallot or Gallot, and one of which is now in the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis museum. It is the earliest racket of any type to have survived to the present day.