So, you’ve entered a tournament to joust for honor and glory, have you? Best make sure you know all the ins and outs and, most importantly, how to win! This post will only cover the basics, not the entirety of a medieval tournament, and will also not include details of the various weapons and armor used. If any information is incorrect, feel free to alert me.
GLOSSARY
Tournaments or tourneys are a mock competition to showcase the competitors’ prowess and are popular entertainment. The nobility would hold these at any opportunity, including weddings, births, baptisms, conquests, alliances, welcoming ambassadors or other people of note, etc. The final victor is awarded a prize or money. Prizes consisted of jewelry, weapons, armor, a falcon, or a horse. They could be withdrawn if a horse was struck, an opponent was hit in the back, or if one of the competitors had collided into the tilt three times.
In the early Middle Ages, the victor would also claim the weapons and armor of their defeated opponent, claimed by a knight’s squire known as a kipper. The kipper would often have to beat the reluctant knight with a heavy club in order to incapacitate him and retrieve the spoils of combat.
Competitors with criminal backgrounds or poor reputations were banned from competing and knights were made to prove their lineage to take part by displaying their family’s coat of arms on the shield, surcoat, and horse’s coat became the done thing. Sometimes the competitors would also have to pay a fee to the monarch before the event to participate, and were advised to do so before setting up. Saddles had higher backs, armor was heavier, and breastplates came with lance rests to provide extra stability. Removing one’s helmet was a sign that a knight did not wish to continue.
Jousting is one of many, hastiludes, or martial game, and is fought on horseback with blunted wooden lances, though swords were also used. During the High Middle Ages, jousts would continue on foot after both competitors had been unhorsed, with various weapons used, or were sometimes even fought in groups. This changed with the rise of chivalry when tournaments became more regulated. Though it is considerably less lethal, up to 10% of competitors could be injured or killed.
The joust a plaisance is series of elimination jousts taking place over the course of several days, where an overall victor would be determined. Each competitor would run the tilts three times with each opponent.
The pas d'armes, or passage of arms, was when a knight, or tenan, stationed himself at a designated location, such as a bridge or city gate, and proclaimed that any other knight who wished to pass must first fight, or be disgraced. If the challenged knight, or venan, had no horse or weapon, they must be provided with them. If they refused, the knight would surrender his spurs as a sign of humiliation. Should a lady pass through she would leave behind a glove or scarf, to be rescued and returned to her by a future knight who passed along the same way.
Tiltyards are the enclosed courtyard where a joust takes place and were built within the walls of castles and palaces. They were rectangularly shaped and spread with sand or straw, with the length of the field ranging from 100-200 meter/110-220 yards. Tiltyards were also used for training, most often with quintains. Earlier versions would have been called a list or list field and would have been roped off.
Henry VIII’s tiltyard included towers and could seat 10-12,000 spectators. Spectators could watch from the stands, pavilions, balconies, and tents. The grandstand which housed the nobles who were spectating the jousting tournament is called the berfrois.
Tilts are the barriers within the tiltyard, on either side of which the joust competitors are located. Originally made from cloth they were later built out of timber. As time passed, these structures were referred to as tilt barriers, while the joust itself was called a tilt/tilting.
Atteint is a common term used to determine a hit in a joust.
A lady’s favor was given by a noblewoman to her chosen champion in a display of courtly love. Favors could range from detachable sleeves, handkerchiefs, ribbons, scarves, veils, to even floral wreaths. These could either be proudly left fluttering when tied to a knight’s weapon or armor, but could also be tucked privately away.
THE JOUST
Competitors used to aim for vulnerable places such as the chest, throat, or helmet to knock their opponent off their horse. Later jousts instead changed the objective to specifically shattering their lance or hitting the shield of the opponent. In the early 15th century, mechanical shields that shatter when struck became popular as well. Shattering lances were also a safety feature, with a knight’s squire providing replacements, usually three, and were used as a point system.
The best horse to bring was a strong warhorse, tended to by a knight’s groom in his tent. In a display of pageantry, horses would be outfitted in caparisons featuring its owner’s heraldic crests, as well as armor to prevent any potentially lethal injuries.
Competitors could also challenge each other in a variety of ways:
Joust á Plaisance, for pleasure or of peace, was a peaceful joust utilizing the barriers, special armor, and lances tipped with coronels.
Joust à la guerre, as in war, and the Joust á Outrance, as in attack to excess, were meant to imitate war. Lances had sharp tips rather than coronels. To joust á outrance is to joust to the death.
Joust at Large, as in at random, were similar to the à la guerre but did not have a barrier. Once the lances had been used, the combatants would remove their reinforcing plates and turn to blunt swords. It is akin to the mounted melee and would continue on foot after the competitors had been unhorsed.
