Joust and Tournaments
By: Jack Brennan
Jousting and tournaments started as knights having mock battles to see who was the best knight. Then the jousts and tournaments became mock battles for the knights to make sure their skills stayed sharp when they were not in battle so they did well in the war. Jousting was created by a frenchman named Godfrey de Predilly. The first ever recorded joust was in 1066. As the jousting tournaments became more popular, it became entertainment for rich nobles, Kings and Queens, and the upper class. Even though the knights were dressed up like they were going to go to war they had a special lance which was made of soft wood, hollowed out and with a soft tip or covered with a ball so the knight would not get injured.
Kings and rulers during the middle ages had different views on jousts and tournaments during each particular reign of the king. Joust and tournaments were just getting pretty popular and then King Henry II (1154-1159) decided that the jousts and tournaments were unnecessary injuries to the best knights and he wanted to keep them healthy for war. Then from 1189-1199 King Richard had relaxed the orders from the previous king, King Henry II, also known as his dad and granted licences where jousts and tournaments could be held. This order was called Conflictus Gallicus which stated that only 5 places could hold a joust tournament and those locations were between Salisbury and Wilton, between Warwick and Kenilworth, between Stamford and Warinford, Brackley and Mixbury, Blyth and Tickhill. Then if they wanted to enter into those tournaments they had to obtain a license and make a payment for the privilege to enter the competition, but if you were a foreign Knight you could not enter the tournament. Then from 1272- 1307 King Edward I ruled and ordained the “Statue of Arms Tournaments”. This stated that you shall not use any pointed weapons during the joust tournaments and that there was a new type of lance was developed called the “lance of peace” and this lance was different from the other lance because they were either blunted or had a crown shaped object on the tip of the lance that was designed to make the impact from the lance on the knight not as hard or so that the knight wouldn’t get injured. When King Edward III (1327-1377) had a tournament that declared who the king’s champion. They lined up as 100 men and they battled to the death and then until the last man was standing and instead of using a blunted tip on the lance, they used a sharp tip. Then, after the 1400’s, they had a long piece of timber and one knight would be on one side and one on the other side to reduce the injuries during the joust. Then during the beginning of the 1500’s jousting and tournaments were on a decline due to the revolt of the musket.
Jousting became a mock battle for Knights to practice and sharpen their skills for battle. The tournaments lasted for a long time from 1066-1520 (the time when they were very popular) and they are still around today, but just for special occasions. The early jouster were surprised how far jousting has become from just being for practice and then for rich nobles and kings to watch and then not being allowed to have jousts and tournaments and then having it again for rich nobles and kings and then for the public as well as it became more and more popular. Jousts and tournaments were a key extracurricular activity for the people during the middle ages and also something they could enjoy for pleasure.
Citation Page
By: Jack Brennan
Jousting and tournaments started as knights having mock battles to see who was the best knight. Then the jousts and tournaments became mock battles for the knights to make sure their skills stayed sharp when they were not in battle so they did well in the war. Jousting was created by a frenchman named Godfrey de Predilly. The first ever recorded joust was in 1066. As the jousting tournaments became more popular, it became entertainment for rich nobles, Kings and Queens, and the upper class. Even though the knights were dressed up like they were going to go to war they had a special lance which was made of soft wood, hollowed out and with a soft tip or covered with a ball so the knight would not get injured.
Kings and rulers during the middle ages had different views on jousts and tournaments during each particular reign of the king. Joust and tournaments were just getting pretty popular and then King Henry II (1154-1159) decided that the jousts and tournaments were unnecessary injuries to the best knights and he wanted to keep them healthy for war. Then from 1189-1199 King Richard had relaxed the orders from the previous king, King Henry II, also known as his dad and granted licences where jousts and tournaments could be held. This order was called Conflictus Gallicus which stated that only 5 places could hold a joust tournament and those locations were between Salisbury and Wilton, between Warwick and Kenilworth, between Stamford and Warinford, Brackley and Mixbury, Blyth and Tickhill. Then if they wanted to enter into those tournaments they had to obtain a license and make a payment for the privilege to enter the competition, but if you were a foreign Knight you could not enter the tournament. Then from 1272- 1307 King Edward I ruled and ordained the “Statue of Arms Tournaments”. This stated that you shall not use any pointed weapons during the joust tournaments and that there was a new type of lance was developed called the “lance of peace” and this lance was different from the other lance because they were either blunted or had a crown shaped object on the tip of the lance that was designed to make the impact from the lance on the knight not as hard or so that the knight wouldn’t get injured. When King Edward III (1327-1377) had a tournament that declared who the king’s champion. They lined up as 100 men and they battled to the death and then until the last man was standing and instead of using a blunted tip on the lance, they used a sharp tip. Then, after the 1400’s, they had a long piece of timber and one knight would be on one side and one on the other side to reduce the injuries during the joust. Then during the beginning of the 1500’s jousting and tournaments were on a decline due to the revolt of the musket.
Jousting became a mock battle for Knights to practice and sharpen their skills for battle. The tournaments lasted for a long time from 1066-1520 (the time when they were very popular) and they are still around today, but just for special occasions. The early jouster were surprised how far jousting has become from just being for practice and then for rich nobles and kings to watch and then not being allowed to have jousts and tournaments and then having it again for rich nobles and kings and then for the public as well as it became more and more popular. Jousts and tournaments were a key extracurricular activity for the people during the middle ages and also something they could enjoy for pleasure.
Citation Page
- Ellis,Elisbeth Gaynor., and Anthony Esler.World History.Boston, MA:Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008
- "History of Jousting." History of Jousting. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
- “Medieval Knight Jousting." Medieval Knight Jousting. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2014