|
Medieval Jousting
 |
|
 |
| |
Knights, a fixture
of the medieval period, were at their best when they were
heading into battle or fighting on the field of honor.
The knight trained for many years but as much as they
longed for battle, there was a great deal of peace during
medieval times. Times of peace created a quandary for
the knight – how did he remain in shape and keep
his fighting skills sharp with no battles to fight? This
dilemma led to the popularity of the jousting tournaments.
The traditional joust took place on an open field though
the knights were sometimes separated by a fence. Two knights
on horse back would face off at a distance, generally
armed with a lance, a one handed sword and a small dagger
called a rondel. The lance, a long wooden spear like weapon
with either a blunt or sharpened tip, depending on the
type of joust, would be lowered then the knights, dressed
in armor, would then ride toward each other and attempt
to either break the other’s lance or knock the other
from their horse. Initially knights wore chain mail for
protection, but later full armor was used.
There were several types of jousting. The all out form
of joust had knights riding onto a field, attacking all
they encountered with much death and bloodshed. There
was the individual joust where two knights squared off
which sometimes, but not always, involved a fight to the
death. Here the knights would ride toward each other and
attempt to score points. One point would be awarded for
a body hit, two for breaking a lance and three for knocking
a knight from his horse. There was also the practice joust
where a knight would ride and spear suspended rings with
his lance.
 The jousts were chivalrous affairs. Knights would arrive
and select a lady, usually the wife of a nobleman, and
fight in her honor. The winner of the joust would reap
many rewards. There was fame and fortune, but after the
tournament, the victorious knight would bathe, eat a good
meal and retire to bed, accompanied by the wife of the
nobleman in whose honor he had fought. This was a paradox
in that the knight’s foundation was Christian monogamy
and prize of the tournament was polite aristocratic adultery,
which caused the Church to condemn the practice.
As the sport’s popularity grew, the rulers and the
Church many questioned the joust as it cost the lives
of many knights and distracted from the Crusades. However,
the sport was so popular, it was reluctantly accepted,
but fortunately the practice became less deadly over time.
This was reinforced by the establishment of the Statue
of Arms for Tournaments in 1292 that helped temper the
tournament violence. Though there were still accidents
and deaths were not unheard of.
The tournaments where the jousts were held were large
sometimes huge spectator events that saw people from all
walks of life come to enjoy the event and cheer on their
favorite knight.
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
