Jousting and the Medieval Tournament

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Table of ContentPage # Chapter

3What is a medieval tournament?4.The tournament5..Melee6..Origin of Jousting7General Rules of the Game

8...Objectives9...Variations10.Rewards11.Equipment: the Horse12.Equipment: the Lance13.Equipment: the Helmet14..Equipment: Body Armor15Necessary Skills

16Muscles Involved in Jousting17Striking the Opponent (Offense)18Avoiding Hits (Defense)19The End of the Medieval Tournament20..Modern Jousting and Tournament21.Glossary22.Image Credits24About the Authors


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What is a medieval tournament?The medieval tournament was a competitiveevent in which knights demonstrated theirbattle skills against opponents, but with

The tournament featured eques-trian sports of mock battles andwas a popular activity for noblesof the Middle Ages. Contestantswore their armor and chargedeach other while on horseback,

just like in real battle. Participat-ing in these contests was a wayfor knights and soldiers to stay

fit for actual combat and a wayto earn respect by demonstrat-ing their abilities.

Hi! My name is Arthur. No, I am notKing Arthur, but like him I am a

knight from the Middle Ages. I willbe commenting all throughout thisbook, so look for me on many of thepages!


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The TournamentThe medieval tournament developedaround the 10th century of the Middle

Ages with the emergence ofchivalry.Knights wanted to train themselves intheir horsemanship and weaponsskills outside of actual battle. Tourna-ments were military exercises con-

ducted to demonstrate ability andvalor. Mele and jousting were themost prominent forms of tournamentin the Middle Ages.

As time progressed the tournamentchanged from being a military exer-cise to a sporting competition. Thepurpose of the tournament changedfrom practicing battle skills to enter-tainment and showcase. Tournamentsbecame all-day events and featured

various activities other than the mili-tary showcases, including feasting,dancing, and pageantry. Tournamentswere such popular entertainment that

jousting knights sometimes traveledto different places to be new rivals.


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Melee

Although jousting became more renowned over time, theMele came first and was also very popular during the Mid-dle Ages. Melees were typically hosted by wealthy lords andattended by young knights, who wanted to gain experience.

Like in all types ofmedieval tourna-ment, items andmoney could also

be won if playerscould capture theiropponents as pris-oners. Special areaswere designated forprisoners, and if thecaptives could notescape they were

often held for ran-som.There were also designated areas for resting and repairingarmor. This type of combat could become very competitive,so injuries and even deaths were not uncommon.

The Mele was a military competition between twogroups of nobles. In the Middle Ages, groups ofknights would right at each other on signal and bat-tle across an open field.


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Origin of Jousting

Jousting in medieval tournaments be-came so popular that it even influ-

enced the status of knights! Showingour skills in tournaments with bigcrowds could either make or breakour reputations.

As military exercises and melee became more common,knights began to want to hone and demonstrate their skillsin a less chaotic and more focused exhibit. The tournaments

developed into organized, competitions for matched indi-viduals and became a sport that was often played by knightsand watched by others. Jousting competitions were in desig-nated arenas called lists and more specific goals and ruleswere developed.


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I never had the chance to joustduring the early Middle Ages.Each time I competed, the goal

was to break as many lances onyour opponent as possible. As youcan imagine, several lances werebroken during a match so therehad to be a large supply on hand.

ObjectivesOriginally, the main ob-

jective of jousting was totake your opponent pris-oner by knocking him offhis horse and confiscat-ing his armor. Later inthe Middle Ages, break-

ing the lance was anadded goal to mostforms of jousting.

In some forms of jousting, it wasalso possible to earn points basedon the quality and accuracy of the

attacks. Showcasing their abilitiesto the crowd was very importantfor the knights.


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General Rules of the Games

Rules of the Joust1. Only nobles may compete in the joust

2. Competitors must have their own horse

and armor

3. Up to 3 lances may be used in one

match

4. Only the squire can talk to the knightduring the joust

5. Knocking your opponent off the horse

ends the match

6.Winners may choose to take the losers

armor or horse, or claim another prize

I found this flyer in the village center foran upcoming joust. Not all of them areexactly like this, but these are popularrules.


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Variations

In quintain jousting, the knightaimed his lance at a fakewooden target on a polewhich sometimes revolved. Ifhe hit the target inaccuratelyor slowly, a sand bag wouldswing around and hit him.

In ring jousting, or tilting, aknight would attempt to spearsmall rings on the tip of hislance. These rings were some-times hung on cords, postedon stanchions , or tossed in theair.

Quintain Jousting

Ring Jousting

In the early 1400s, a low partition wall between the two op-ponents was added to the individual joust. The knightswould go back and ride at each other again and again untila winner was announced. The partition wall was primarilyadded to reduce injury for the horses.

Practice tournaments were often held for the knights to prac-tice their skills. Accuracy exercises were popular because aknights aim was very important for the actual joust.


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Equipment: The horseHorses were very important for medieval combat. Theyhelped knights tire less quickly and were necessary for at-tacks with the lance. Special horses were bred for knights,because they had to be exceedingly strong with incrediblestamina. A knights horse needed tobe able to:

Carry a knight AND his heavy ar-mor without tiring

Travel for long periods of time,still with a heavy load

Gallop quickly for strikes duringbattle

Stay steady as the knight bracedattacks or received blows

Remain calm enough to performin front of cheering crowds duringjousts and tournaments

Falling of a horse was a huge disadvantage during battle,and was often the signifying event during a joust that pro-claimed a winner and a loser.

Battle was just as dangerous for the

horse as it was for the rider, sohorses sometimes had armor as well(more weight to carry!). Attackingthe horse while jousting, however,was considered unfair play.


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Rewards

A knight could receive several rewards if he was a goodjouster. Very frequently, if a knight won a joust he would re-ceive his opponents horse or armor. The winning knightmight also be able to hold the losing knight ransom on pa-role , and the losing knight would have return to his estatesto raise money for the winning knight.

On various occasions, I joust in thename of a lady. The day before yes-terday I jousted a tournament forLady Elizabeth. She gave me herhandkerchief as a favor, and I at-tached this to my clothing while Icompeted. Thankfully, I won, so Lady

Elizabeth has more respect for me. Ilove earning respect from a lady, butit can be quite stressful losing in thename of a lady, because I embarrassmyself and the lady!


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Equipment: The lanceThe lance is a type of spear most prominently used inthe Middle Ages. It comprises a long shaft, usuallymade of wood, with a sharp metal point at the end.

How it WorksThe bottom end of thelance was secured in arest attached to thesaddle or armor. Thishelped to secure thelance, so that when thetip hit its target the tipwould move through

past and through thetarget instead of back-wards.

Knights would chargeheadfirst at each otherholding their lanceslevel. If the strike wasnot deflected, the im-pact of the tip of thelance and the targetcould be strongenough that the targetwould become un-horsed.

The lance was too danger-

ous for friendly tourna-ments, so special lanceshad to be made for joust-ing. These lances weremade of soft wood, hol-lowed, and blunted at thetips. Although the impactof these lances could stillbe tremendous, theywould not pierce the ar-mor and would sometimesbreak.

Lances were only useful forknights on horseback. The

lance was very long, rangingfrom 9 to 14 feet in length!This made the lance bulkyand too difficult to wield forindividual combat.

This is a type of lance!


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Equipment: The HelmetIn the early years of jousting, knights wore a coif of chain-mail to cover the head and neck beneath the helmet. Whilewearing this armor, a knights face was visible from his fore-head to his chin. As jousting became more popular andphysical, knights began to wear heavier and more protectivehelmets. Such devices implemented sheet iron that coveredthe head and face of a competitor. The objective of jousting

was not to aim for a knights head, but not wearing a helmetwasnt an option for knights.

Special jousting helmets weresometimes made so that the

wearer could only see out by lean-ing forwards. If the wearerstraightened up just before the im-pact of the lance, his eyes wouldbe completely protected.

Helmets werealso indicative ofa knights socialstatus. Thosewho held a highpositions in soci-

ety would oftendecorate theirhelmets to sig-nify their supe-rior status.


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As a result of this weakness, mostknights switched to plate armorlater in the 14th century. Ham-mered metal sheets were roundedto fit the shape of an individualknights limbs and were strappedon over the chainmail. During the

late Middle Ages, armorers couldproduce a full metal breast plate.This was one of the most exhaust-ing time periods for knights. Theywere forced to wear over 50pounds of armor when fullydressed!

Equipment: body armorThe most common jousting body ar-mor during the 13th and early 14thcenturies was iron chainmail.Though chainmail could protect aknight from puncture wounds, hecould still be very badly bruised byeven blunt jousting weapons.

Body armor was also a fashion repre-sentative of a knights class and nobil-ity. At one time, pointy toes signifieda man of high status.


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Necessary Skills

One of the most importantskills that a jousting knight re-

quired was expert horseman-ship. More often that not,

jousting matches were deter-mined by the skill of oneknight to command his horseas compared to his opponent.

Another important skill thatknights required in order to be suc-cessful jousters was mastery of thelance. The lance proved to be anextremely strange weapon to newwarriors because of its shear lengthand weight. Competitors couldonly master this massive weaponafter lots of practice.

As you will see on the next page, italso helps to be in physical shape!

Jousting was a common form of combat practice.Therefore, many of the skills involved in combat arealso implemented in jousting.


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Muscles involved in joustingKnights require largeamounts of strength in orderto joust competitively. Thearms and shoulders are whatthe knight uses to keep hislance in control. The bettershape that he is in, the easier

he is able to control and aimhis weapon. Some of the mostimportant muscles are the del-toid, triceps, and biceps.

Jousting was and still is anextremely dangerous activ-ity. If a jouster was not in the

correct physical shape, hecould very easily be killed.This has been proven trueseveral times throughouthistory. For example, in1599, the French King HenryII died due to a shard ofmetal which became lodgedin his brain through his eye.

I always make sure I am in tiptop shape before I enter a

jousting match! It keeps mesafe and gives me confidence!

Back

Front


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Striking the opponent (offense)

It was extremely difficult toknock the opponent off hishorse because the knights

were positioned in the middleof a saddle that had a high,sturdy backing. Striking theopponent at an off center lo-cation was more effective.

Aside from physical prowess,knowing techniques could givea knight an edge. In order towin a jousting match, oneneeded to knock his opponentoff his horse. It was very impor-tant to charge the opponent at

full speed, so that the strikehad more force.

Aim was a particularly vitalaspect of offense. Holdingthe lance steady was diffi-cult because of the lances

size, but holding it close tothe body helped to centerthe weight and stabilize theweapon.


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Avoiding hits (defense)

Leaning forward on the horsealso helped the competitor tostay more balanced and lesslikely to fall over. One side ofthe body was also attackedover the other, becauseknights would hold theirlances on their strong side.Bracing that side was criticalfor staying on the horse.

Jousting defensively was justas important as jousting offen-sively because the attacks anddefenses occurred at the sametime. As the opponent ap-proached, it was important todeflect the lance and reduce

the force of impact. Being hitdirectly was a painful experi-ence and often resulted in loss.

Later in the Middle Ages,pointing lances at an anglewas a popular technique.This was because the lance

would be more likely tobreak and less likely toharm the opponent.


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The end of Medieval tournamentThe end of the medieval tournament came with the end ofthe medieval chivalry. As weapons technology advanced,the lance and plate armor became impractical and outdated.

The discovery and use of gun-powder in the 16th century wasthe pivotal end point for tradi-tional knights and jousting. Thecavalry could not be dependedon to break enemy lines. Withthe long range of the gun andadvanced archery (like the cross-bow shown left), soldiers could

stop knights from advancing far before having the horseswould be an advantage.

It was also very diffi-cult to produce sheetarmor that could with-stand the impact ofbullets. Thus, heavyfull body armor be-came less reasonable because the armor could not always

protect the user from bullets.

Because the horse, lance, and armor became less useful inreal battle, the popularity of the medieval tournament and

jousting declined as well.


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Modern jousting and tournamentAlthough the military aspects of chivalry became impracticalin the early 17th century, the ideals of knighthood still re-mained popular. Rising theatre and drama gradually becamethe leading entertainment, and duels became the new sportfor rivalry. Jousting was not completely eradicated, however,and was still conducted in various parts of Europe. The sport

of ring jousting still survives even today.

Modern jousting is much less dangerous than the joustingof the medieval ages, but still requires immense coordina-tion and control. In Medieval demonstrations, riders stillwear authentic apparel and armor, but use lightweight ma-terials that break very easily.

I hope you learned a few things after

looking through this book! Next timeyou hear of a Renaissance fair, you willknow exactly what is going on. Maybe

you can take a trip to Maryland , ringjousting is Marylands state sport!


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GlossaryCavalry soldiers on horseback, formerly, the part of an armymade up of soldiers trained to fight on horseback

Chainmail a type ofarmour consisting of small metal ringslinked together in a pattern to form a mesh

Chivalry qualities of ideal knights, the combination of quali-ties expected of the ideal medieval knight, especially cour-age, honor, loyalty, and consideration for others, especiallywomen

Coif a thick, close-fitting cap formerly worn under a hoodEquestrian relating to horses or horseback riding

Parole the early release of a prisoner, conditioned on goodbehavior and regular reporting to the authorities for a set pe-riod of time

Ransom a sum of money demanded or paid for the releaseof somebody who is being held prisoner

Squire a young apprentice knight who acted as an atten-dant to a knight in the Middle Ages

Stanchion a vertical pole, bar, or beam used to supportsomething
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armourhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armour


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IMAGE cREDITSTitle Page:

Two Knightshttps://reader009.{domain}/reader009/html5/0504/5aePage 3:

Knight on horse Clip artArthur http://www.illustrationsof.com/images/clipart/xsmall2/1213_medieval_knight_or_jouster_on_a_horse.jpg

Page 4Tournament striphttp://www.ahrtp.com/MedievalWarfare

OnLine/index_5.htmPage 5

MeleTaken by Laura Santoso at the Higgins ArmoryPage 6

Medieval battlehttp://www.teachnet.ie/mmorrin/norman/images/battle.jpg

Page 7Two knightshttp://www.klwadeart.com/images/Sketch-Knights_Jousting.jpg

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Page 11Joustershttp://educ.queensu.ca/~fmc/march2005/images/

joust.jpg

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IMAGE cREDITSPage 14

Armorhttp://www.grace-collection.com/medieval-armor.htmlPage 15

Knight on horsehttp://www.historicroyalpalaces.com/images/SKU3465000397357.jpgLancehttp://www.testriffic.com/resultfiles/21013Lance2.jpg

Page 16Back Muscleshttp://www.healthcare-article.com/images/

shoulder_muscles.jpgFront Muscleshttp://fotosa.ru/stock_photo/MedicalRF/p_2109789.jpg

Page 17Two Knightshttps://reader009.{domain}/reader009/html5/0504/5aeTargethttp://scottgharrison.homestead.com/Target_image.gifSaddlehttp://forum.daz3d.com/postimages/origimage_1_35137.jpg

Page 18Knight on horsehttp://www.dorlingkindersley-uk.co.uk/static/

clipart/uk/dk/castle/image_castle008.jpgTwo knightshttp://www.tooter4kids.com/MedievalTimes/knights.htmShieldhttp://www.a2armory.com/images/shields/elcid-polish.jpg

Page 19Gunhttp://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_

approve/3192441/2/istockphoto_3192441-medieval-gun.jpg

Crossbowhttp://www.netlinkenterprises.com/replicas/

proddetail.php?prod=912Page 20

Knightshttp://farm1.static.flickr.com/29/38546487_a7dead4f34.jpg
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About the authorsAlex Cote is a senior at MassA-cademy of Math and Science.He lives in Worcester, Massa-chusetts and his hobbies in-clude skiing, soccer, and flyinggliders and planes. Alex likesto go to Cape Cod during thesummer with his family, espe-

cially Wellfleet. He loves to lis-ten to music, mostly rock styles.He has a cat named Yella and adog named Zoey, and he likes Yella is more than Zoey butlikes Bailey (his old dog) muchmore than either of his currentpets.

Laura Santoso is also a senior atMassAcademy of Math and Sci-ence. She lives in Northborough,Massachusetts and her hobbiesinclude guitar, piano, art, andfield hockey. She loves to go tothe beach to relax and have fun.Music is also a very significantpart of her life and she loves tolisten to music and go to con-certs. Laura does not have anypets right now, but in a few years she would like to get adog. The picture on the rightwas taken at a bird park in Indo-nesia.
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Jousting and the Medieval Tournament