Jousting

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For other uses see joust (disambiguation)
Jousting is a staple entertainment at Renaissance Fairs.
Jousting is a staple entertainment at Renaissance Fairs.

Jousting, also known as tilting, is a martial competition between two mounted knights. Though the first recorded tournament was staged in 1066, jousting did not gain in widespread popularity until the 14th century. It maintained its status as a populour european sport until the late 16th century century. Points were scored by means of a strike of the lance on the other knight, or by some longer contact. The knights usually jousted in a best-out-of-three system.

Jousting was added to tournaments several centuries after their inauguration. The joust permitted a better display of individual skill and, although dangerous, could win large sums of money. Many knights made their fortune in these events, whilst many lost theirs.

For an event that was once extremely popular, surprisingly little is known of the exact details of a joust.

Depiction of a late 13th century joust in the Codex Manesse
Depiction of a late 13th century joust in the Codex Manesse

Contents

[edit] Two Primary types of Jousts

Jousting "au plaisance" indicates that the combat was for the pleasure of the combatants and audience at the tournament, where a blunted lance tip was used. Jousting "a l' outrance" was typically performed during wartime on battlefields and was "to the death" using sharpened lance tips. However, serious injury and even death could and did result from jousting "au plaisance". The greatest danger was that the visor of the protective helmet of the knight accidentally opened during a run, making it possible for the opponents lance or debris from a breaking lance to hit the unprotected face of the knight.

[edit] Jousting in Medieval Combat

Jousting was not used just for tournaments amongst the nobility; it was also used in combat. In combat mounted knights would charge at their enemies with a lance in an attempt to kill or knock the knight off his horse. Without the extra "bolt-on" armor used in the tournaments knights were killed because of the force of the two horses charging at each other. With the advent of plate armor knights could carry bigger and heavier lances made out of whole tree trunks.

The primary use of the jousting lance was to unhorse an opposing rider. Typically used in Europe during the Middle Ages, these were usually accompanied by other melee weapons carried by the jouster, which depended on the jousting customs of the period, by any pre-established tourney format, and/or by the choice of the combatants.

[edit] English jousting

Jousting helmet, late fifteenth century. Illustration by Albrecht Dürer.
Jousting helmet, late fifteenth century. Illustration by Albrecht Dürer.

Another kind of jousting became popular in which points were awarded for breaking lances, with a minimum length to break off the lance. In this form, the riders were separated by a low wooden fence and combat was not continued on the ground if a rider fell off his horse. The lance had to break on a strike of the opposing knight; a break for instance due to hitting the other's saddle scored no points. One point was awarded for a strike to the torso. Two points were awarded for breaking a lance at the opponent's helmet. The highest score, three points, was awarded for knocking the opponent off his horse. In some tournaments, this accomplishment would also entitle the victor to the loser's horses.

[edit] Training for jousting

Medieval manuscripts have revealed that training for the joust was first done on a wooden horse on wheels, pulled by several men. The trainee had to hit a rectangular board, lined with a thick rope meant to prevent the lance from sliding off. The board had a slit through which the trainer could observe the trainee. When training with a real horse, a target that would rotate when hit was used. This was called a quintain and had a square board mounted on a long, revolving pole. At the other end of the pole was a heavy weight. If the trainee hit the board head-on and in the center, then the device would spin around and the weight would miss him. If, however the lance struck off center and/or the rider was not fast enough, then the bag would swing and knock him off his horse.

[edit] Equipment

[edit] The lists

The lists, or list field, is the arena in which a jousting event or similar tournament is held. More precisely, it is the roped-off enclosure where tournament fighting takes place.[1][2] It is mentioned frequently in the novel Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott.[3] In the late medieval period, castles and palaces were augmented by purpose-built tiltyards as a venue for jousting tournaments.

[edit] The horse

Main article: Medieval horses

The two most common kinds of horse used for jousting were warmblood chargers and coldblood destriers. Chargers were medium-weight horses bred and trained for agility and stamina, while destriers were heavy war horses. These were larger and slower, but helpful to give devastating force to the rider's lance through its weight being about twice as great as that of a traditional riding horse. The horses were trained for ambling, a kind of pace that provided the rider with stability in order to be able to focus and aim better with the lance.

During a jousting tournament, the horses were cared for by their grooms in their respective tents. They wore caparisons, a type of ornamental cloth featuring the owner's heraldic signs. Competing horses had their heads protected by a chanfron, an iron shield for protection from otherwise lethal lance hits.

Other forms of equipment on the horse included long-necked spurs which enabled the rider to control the horse with extended legs, a saddle with a high back to provide leverage during the charge or when hit, as well as stirrups for the necessary leverage to deliver blows with the lance.

[edit] The armour

Mounted knight in full plate. (Note lance rest.)
Mounted knight in full plate. (Note lance rest.)
3D red_cyan glasses recommended for your viewing pleasure

Jousting was popular from the Middle Ages until the early 1600s. During that time armour evolved from being chain mail, and using only a heavy, one-piece helmet, called a "great helm", and shield. In later times, after 1400, knights wore full suits of plate armour. The armour frequently had extra interchangeable elements , so that a light military combat suit could be reinforced with heavier, "bolt-on" protective steel, on the cuirass (breastplate). It was a small attached shield, in some cases. These bolt-ons were usually much stronger on the side likely to take the impact of the lance. When the "Great Helm" was replaced, with the introduction of plate armour, bolt-on safety appliances were used to make the face of the closed helmet safer in the joust.

[edit] The lance

Common rules of the game allowed the participating venants (challengers) decide whether to use a blunt "courtesy lance" or a pointed war lance by touching two different kinds of shields, one with a symbol of peace, the other with a symbol of war.

In modern times, jousting is often done for show or demonstration purposes, and the lances used are usually made of light wood and prepared so that they break easily. In a real joust, the lances were of solid oak and a significant strike was needed to shatter them; however, the (blunt) lances would not usually penetrate the steel and the harnesses worn by the knights were lined on the inside with plenty of cloth to soften the blow from the lance.

Broken lances are common in full contact jousts. In this picture, airborne fragments of both lances are visible.
Broken lances are common in full contact jousts. In this picture, airborne fragments of both lances are visible.

[edit] War put on hold for a joust

The 1300s original source (translated from French) called The Chronicles of Froissart contains a huge amount of detail concerning jousting in medieval times. For example, much can be gleaned from its account of a war put on hold for a joust. The Chronicles of Froissart records that, during a campaign in the Gatinois and the Beauce in France during the Hundred Years War between the English and French.[1]

[edit] Modern-day jousting

A contemporary knight jousting at a Renaissance Fair in Livermore California, 2006.
A contemporary knight jousting at a Renaissance Fair in Livermore California, 2006.

Today, tent pegging is the only form of jousting officially recognized by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports.The sport involves using a lance or sword to strike and carry away a small wooden ground target. The name "tent pegging" is derived from the cavalry tactic of causing confusion in enemy camps by galloping though the camps and collapsing the tents by pulling up the tent peg anchors with well-placed lance tip strikes. The actual sport of tent pegging, however, originates in medieval India, when horse cavalrymen would try to incapacitate elephant cavalry by striking the elephants with lances on their extremely sensitive toenails[4].

Ring jousting is the official state sport of Maryland, and was the first official sport of any American state.[5]

The Italian town of Arezzo continues to hold an annual jousting tournament, which dates to the Crusades. Jousters aim for a square target attached to a wooden effigy of a Saracen king, whose opposite arm holds a cat-o-three-tails -- three leather laces with a heavy wooden ball at the end of each lace. The riders strike the target with chalk-tipped lances and score points for accuracy, but must also dodge the cat-o-three-tails after they have struck the target.[6]

Lance rest built into 1565 plate armour.
Lance rest built into 1565 plate armour.
3D red_cyan glasses recommended for your viewing pleasure

Modern theatrical medieval-style jousting competitions are are popular at American Renaissance fairs and similar festivals, and feature riders on horseback attempting various feats of skill with the lance, which may not always have a basis in history.[7]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Glossary, Society for Creative Anachronism
  2. ^ Glossary, Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. ^ Ivanhoe
  4. ^ "Tent pegging with Unicef Team Canada", retrieved 2007
  5. ^ "Maryland Jousting Tournament Association", retrieved 2007
  6. ^ "Photographs of Arezzo", retrieved 2007
  7. ^ "Society Equestrian Marshal", retrieved 2007

[edit] External links

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