The ‘Age of Chivalry’

Tournaments began at the end of the 11th century, as a way of practising for battle. By the 16th century, they were the medieval equivalent of today's 'extreme sports', where those taking part wore specially designed armour. Sometimes 'field armour' which was intended for use in battle was also used.

Tournaments were made up of three types of event: the tourney, the joust and the foot combat, often combined with dancing, dining and other entertainments. These were also occasions for knights to be seen in parades and processions. They paraded in their fashionable, expensive - and sometimes unusual armours.

This takes its name from the French word for cloth (toile) referring to the lavishly decorated cloth covers separating the jousters and preventing collisions.
One of the earliest references to the use of a tilt barrier came from a French squire who suggested, at a joust in Paris in 1428, there should be a ‘tilt in the middle to keep our horses good and safe from harm’.

As jousting with a tilt barrier became standard practice the sport also became known as ‘tilting’. Don Quixote, the hero of the Spanish tale of that name by Miguel de Cervantes, famously tilts at windmills thinking they are giants. It was later considered shocking to joust without a tilt barrier. This was known as ‘running at large’ and was especially popular in the German states

The Dangers

The tournament, then as now, was a highly dangerous sport requiring extreme skill, fitness and horsemanship. From the time they first appeared, in the 11th century, as great mock battles ranging over miles of countryside, tournaments were the cause of many accidental deaths and the Church and many kings wanted them banned. Edward I (reigned 1272 – 1307), who was a great lover of tournaments, often had to reprimand his knights for going off and competing in international events when they should have been fighting his wars.

In the 14th century an old war veteran and court advisor suggested that a young French prince should avoid dangerous activities – especially jousting –and stick to tennis. His mother, the Queen, disagreed, stating that if a foreign prince should visit for a wedding or other solemn event then her son would be expected to break four or five lances in their honour at least, if not fifty or a hundred as was the custom.

In 1389 the seventeen-year-old Earl of Pembroke took part in a Christmas joust at Woodstock. Unfortunately he was struck in the groin by a lance - ‘by which blow his internal organs were torn up and he died’ - his death causing ‘unspeakable sorrow’. King Henry VIII, another keen jouster, once forgot to close his visor whilst jousting and received a face full of splinters. Miraculously he was unharmed.

King Henry II of France was less fortunate, whilst jousting to celebrate his daughter’s wedding, a splinter of lance passed through his visor and entered his brain – he died nine days later.

For the Love of His Lady

Tournaments often had elaborate themes drawn from romances, the popular fiction of the day, such as stories about the love affair between the knight Sir Lancelot and King Arthur’s Queen, Guinevere.

One tournament theme was about the Lady of the Secret Isle, in which a knight was held prisoner by a mysterious lady and could only be set free once he had broken a hundred lances in a tournament. His challengers would bang a gong to summon a dwarf who unchained a giant who in turn would open the entrance to the tournament field (the lists).

During a skirmish in the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) a French squire called out:

‘Is there among you any gentleman who for the love of his lady is willing to try with me some feat of arms? I am ready to ride forth to tilt three courses with the lance, to give three blows with the axe, and three strokes with the dagger. Now look you English if there be none among you in love!’

Often a lady would give her knight a token to wear, known as a lady’s favour. In one French romance a lady says to a young squire, “for love of me wear a gold bracelet enamelled with my device for the space of one year”. He was expected to meet any challenges from other knights who wished to win it from him.

In 1440 it was noted in a letter that there was ‘come to England a knight from Spain with a kerchief of pleasance wrapped round his arm who will run a course with a sharp spear for his sovereign lady’s sake’. Also, according to one chronicler a lesser knight managed to secure the hand of the sister of King Henry IV in marriage after she had seen his performance during a tournament at York.

Combat Events

The Tourney

This was a mock battle on horseback. Teams fought with swords or wooden clubs, wearing field armour with extra reinforcing plates. Sometimes the tourney was replaced by an assault on foot on a specially built mock castle, which one team attacked while the other defended.

Foot Combat

This was a contest fought on foot with a variety of weapons - often just between two men, but sometimes between groups, and sometimes over a fence-like barrier.

The Joust

The joust was a contest between two knights on horseback, armed with lances. By the late 15th century, there were several forms of joust, all highly dangerous.

The 'Joust of War' was held in an open field, with the intention of breaking the pointed solid lance on the opponent and/or unhorsing him.off his horse. In the 'Joust of Peace' the knights tried to shatter their blunted lances on their opponents' shield, with a barrier called a "tilt" separating the horses preventing collisions.

For all forms of joust, points were awarded according to how and where the lance struck an opponent. The 'Joust of Peace' is the one we recreate in the World Invitational Joust 2007.

Tournament Facts

Major Tournaments

The greatest tournaments - those promoted by the monarch and wealthier members of the nobility - were held in specially prepared areas called 'lists', surrounded by a stout fence. Behind this were tiers of seats for ladies and courtiers, while the squires and ordinary people had to stand.

The Spectators

The large, enthusiastic audience was a big influence on the way the joust developed. Everyone needed to know who the individual knights were, so each contestant had his own distinctive and colourful design created. This is called heraldry. Knights would have these designs emblazoned on their shields and their surcoats (a cloth coat worn over their armour), and on their horse's caparisons (a cloth covering).
Tree of Honour

Shields were often hung up on the Tree of Honour, so everyone could see who the contestants were. Some shields, instead of a coat-of-arms, carried a colour or design that denoted a type of combat. Challengers would tap a shield with their lance or sword to show they wanted to compete in that event.

Heralds

Heralds were the marshals, scorekeepers and messengers of the tournament - as well as performing as the masters of ceremony and minstrels. They recorded the challenges, announced the contests, and read out the rules of the tournament. Another important duty was to warn knights to fight fairly and to stop as soon as they had been given the signal. Heralds also had the task of recording any casualties.

Historical Figures

Challengers and Answerers

The knights organising the event were called 'challengers', and those who accepted the challenge were called 'answerers'. Before a tournament, the personal heralds of a king or nobleman were often sent to chosen courts and towns to issue their master's challenge to combat. They gave details of the time and place, forms of combat and the weapons to be used. Challenges could also be made and accepted on the day of the tournament itself.

The Chivalrous 'Green Count'

One tournament, held at Bourg-en-Bresse in 1352, featured the 'Green Count', Amedeo VI of Savoy. As the trumpets announced his arrival, the Count headed a procession of eleven of his noblest knights, all dressed in green. Each knight was then led into the arena by a lady, also in green, who held her champion 'captive' on a long green cord attached to the bridle of their horse.
When the ladies released their knights, the tournament began - and at the end of the day they 'recaptured' them, leading them back into the castle for a banquet and ball. The ladies presented prizes of gold rings and kisses to the victors. As part of the ritual, each knight, when awarded the gold ring, would say he preferred the kisses.

Lady Judges

Some royal ladies were experts on jousting, and were occasionially asked to help the heralds with the judging. They were very keen spectators - in the 14th century, John of Bohemia was said to have married his second wife, Beatrice, because of her love of tournaments.

Female Influence

In 1465, Edward IV's brother-in-law, Lord Scales, issued a challenge to Anthony, Bastard of Burgundy. This attracted much attention, and the preparations for the tournament took two years. According to the chroniclers of the time, it was the ladies of the English court who imposed the challenge on Lord Scales - they had surrounded him and tied a gold band to his thigh containing a 'flower of remembrance'.

The Most Important Lady Spectator:
Queen Elizabeth 1

In 1575, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, held a tournament in honour of Queen Elizabeth I at his castle in Kenilworth. In the Tournament Gallery at the Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds, you can see the special armour he had made for the occasion. He created a magnificent spectacle to entertain the Queen, including a firework display, a play and a water pageant.