Tourney

“ The unlooked-for guests were now riding close at hand, coming upon the edge of the meadow, full before the platform of state. So important was this arrival, that for the moment it halted interest in the tourney. ”

“ Ride abroad whenever you hear of a tourney that’s not too difficult to enter. Tilt—tilt—tilt! and if you are not killed or dragged to the barrier, win maybe prizes enough to keep body and soul together until you hear of another joust! ”

“ In the centre stretched the tourney ring, around which beautiful women, gorgeously gowned, sat on mimic thrones to watch their gallants—tricked out like [Pg 52] knights of old—contend for the honours. The multi-hued throng of spectators filled out the picture which had for its foreground the river with its decorated craft, and for its background the deep green of the forest, with the city’s clustered roofs to one side. Thousands of flags and garlands and streamers of ribbon tossed in the wind, while the music, like the invisible incense of pleasure, drifted like the sunshine everywhere. ”

“ All raisons d’être for the tourney beyond those of exercise and pastime had long since passed away, through the continuous decline in the importance of the man-at-arms in warfare, the ever-increasing efficiency of firearms, and the necessity for greater mobility of armies in the field.
The history of the tournament would not be complete without some account of the revivals attempted in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. They lack, however, a sense of reality, being, in fact, merely more or less well-staged plays. ”

“ The lists were gaily decorated with tapestry, bunting and heraldic devices; a tribune for the umpire or judge, and benches for the spectators, were provided; as well as special galleries for the ladies, which were often adorned with gold and silver embroideries. Two pavilions were pitched for the use of the leaders, which were removed before the commencement of the tourney. The scene presented by a tournament must have been brilliant in the [Pg 15] extreme; and the element of danger involved would add greatly to the interest and excitement of the spectators. ”

“ The tourney from the first was confined to men of noble birth, though this rule was not so strictly enforced in England as in Germany and France, where all not of the privileged class were strictly excluded. ”

“ As to their riders, each of them has attempted that most ambitious, but, if successful, most effective coup of the tourney, which consists in aiming, not at the shield or body of an adversary, but at his head; and each has hit his mark. ”

“ There is perhaps necessarily a certain degree of monotony and repetition in the narrations of the chroniclers of the joust and [Pg 44] tourney, but they convey collectively a much clearer idea of these encounters than a mere bald statement of the leading facts could do, and they reflect the chivalrous spirit of the times in the incessant craving of the young cavaliers for notoriety and distinction in the tiltyard. Many examples of jousts and pas d’armes of the fifteenth century are given in the Chronique de Monstrelet, the Mémoires de la Marche, and Chastelain’s Cronique Jacques de Lalain. ”

“ The terms “tourney” and “joust” are often confounded with each other, but they are sharply different, the former being a battle in miniature, an armed contest of courtesy on horseback, troop against troop; while the other is a single combat of mounted cavaliers, run with lances in the lists; though jousting was by no means confined to these enclosures; indeed, such contests were sometimes run in the open street or square of a town. Jousts were often included with the tourney, though frequently held independently ”

“ Tourneys, however, bring profit and pleasure to all manner of people—no cause for unpopularity. The "joy women," who rush to ply their sinful wiles despite every attempt to restrict them; the common villeins, who drop their work to enjoy one grand holiday; and the merchants, who really hold a small fair near the lists, all are delighted. As for men of gentle blood, an English chronicler can state the case alike for France and England: "A knight cannot shine in war if he has not been prepared for it in tourneys. ”

“ I have a quick and correct eye. Once on the arena, I size up my man, fall to, and decide on the spot whether to thrust or to cut. I have ever congratulated myself on this manner of pleading. You may rely upon me. The tourney does not open till noon; my arms are in good condition and my horse is eating his provender. Let's drink a glass: Long live joy, my pretty hostess! and good luck to the good cause!"
"Oh, helpful champion! If you gain my process I shall give you three florins. It would not be paying too much for the pleasure of seeing the scamp of a Simon the Hirsute brought to grief!" ”

“ A mock fight, as at a tournament. ↑ Tourney. A tournament; a mock fight or martial sport of the middle ages for exhibiting prowess and skill in arms. ↑ Barriers. The palisades enclosing the ground where a tournament, tilting, or other martial contest or exhibition was held; the lists. Hence, a masque or entertainment in the form of a tournament. Ben Jonson wrote an entertainment presented at Court, Jan. 6, 1610, called Prince Henry's Barriers. ↑ Device. Something devised or fancifully invented for dramatic representation.
"The song is heard, the rosy garland worn ”

“ It will be built of wood, with battlements and towers, with a moat outside. As soon as the lists are over a large number of workmen will commence its erection; the pieces are all sawn and prepared. There will be machines, ladders, and other appliances. The ten champions on either side will fight as knights; you will have a hundred apprentices as men-at-arms, and the court party will have an equal number of young esquires. You, as winner of today's tourney, will have the choice of defence or attack. ”

“ A certain number of men from each tribe turn out and pelt each other with sticks and logs of wood, until one of the parties gives in. The victors in this petty tourney are presumed to have the right on their side. ”

“ Item, if any man strike a horse with his spear, he shall be put out of the tourney without any favour incontinent: and if any slay an horse, he shall pay to the owner of the said horse [86] an hundred crowns in recompense; also it is not to be thought that any man will strike an horse willingly: for if it do, it shall be to his great dishonour.
ORDER OF THE TOURNAMENT
First, the quarrels and bills of the challenger and defendant shall be pleaded in the court before the constable and marshall ... ”

“ Tourneys are to be reckoned as "little wars themselves, and the apprenticeship for great ones." They have an inconceivably prominent place in feudal life. Vainly the Church objects to them. All nobles will tell you that without tourneys you can never train good warriors. ”

“ Froissart states that the eldest son of Viscount Beaumont [61] was killed at this tournament. Other chroniclers date this passage of arms in 1343.
To cry a tourney—“Cy sensuyt la façon des criz de Tournois et des Joustes. Cy peut on à prendre à crier et à publier pour ceulx qui en seront dignes,” etc. Ashmolean MS., No. 764, 31, 43. [62] On the reverse of the last leaf is a picture of a Joust, wherein two combatants on horseback, bearing their crests, are fighting with lances within the lists. ”

“ So if our tale, as a whole, did not come from the east, it seems possible that this particular incident may have done so. [53]
Yet in so far as the tournament form is concerned, it is, of course, possible that certain literary versions of the story might have been affected by the ordinary customs of the day. Anyway there seems to be a fairly close correspondence here between fact and fancy. Niedner, in his work on Das Deutsche Turnier, [54] remarks that the tourney proper was generally held on a Monday; the knights assembled on the previous Saturday ”

“ Part of the text is reproduced by Hewitt in his invaluable [Pg 20] work on ancient armour, [49] and the document is referred to in Archæologia of the year 1814. [50] These statutes provide that:—
No “conte,” baron or other chevalier shall henceforth be attended by more than three armed esquires, who shall all bear the cognizance of their master.
No knight or esquire taking part in any tournament shall bear a pointed sword or dagger, a staff or baston, but only a broadsword for tourneying. All should be armed with “mustilers;” ”

“ But our story requires that, for a time, we leave princes, knights, and tournaments, and notice humbler personages, and more homely amusements. At a distance from the pavilion, the tourneyings, the music, the plays, and other exhibitions, was a crowd composed of some seven or eight hundred peasantry engaged in and witnessing the athletic games of the Borders. ”

“ To joust with the spear at the tournament, to fight with axes at the barriers, to lead the chase, and bring down his stag, all the ladies and the courtiers looking on in real or affected wonder; to figure in the dance or the mummery, to sing and play on musical instruments, to win at tennis or at chess, were so many modes in which his vanity indulged itself. ”

“ It pictures the entry on horseback of the two baron-leaders into the lists, wearing chain-mail [Pg 16] and pointed bascinets, and with their horses trapped; they bear no weapons. The King of Arms, in civil dress, is standing between them holding their banners, one in each hand. Trumpeters are seen in the background.
The presence of ladies graced the tournament, and they were treated with great deference; the names and deeds of the successful champions were submitted to them, and it was they who awarded and presented the prizes. The days of combat usually closed with the banquet and the dance. ”

“ The contemporary literature in France and England concerning the tournament of the sixteenth century is much less voluminous than that written in the fifteenth, and the narrations of chroniclers greatly lack that technical knowledge which characterizes the work of their predecessors, who belonged to a higher class of society. ”

“ As to the version of the folk-tale there can be no question. The correct number is three—neither more nor less.
It is, of course, also clear that the occurrence of the tournament in the folk-tale must be subsequent to the institution of tournaments as part of the ordinary chivalric and social conditions; but the tale itself must be earlier, as is witnessed both by the archaic nature of the rescue incident and the magical nature of the horses. Trials of skill in horsemanship are known to all stages of society ”

“ A tournament is a martial sport or exercise which the ancient cavaliers used to perform, to show their bravery and address. It is derived from the French word tourner, to turn round, because, to be expert in these exercises, much agility, both of horse and man, was necessary. Tournaments made the principal exercises of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries; but being at length productive of mischievous consequences, the princes of Europe gradually discouraged and suppressed them. ”

“ A tournament was usually given upon the occasion of any great meeting, for either military or political purposes. Sometimes it was the king himself who sent his heralds through the land to announce to all noblemen and ladies, that on a certain day he would hold a grand tournament, where all brave knights might try their prowess. At other times a tournament was determined on by a body of independent knights; and messengers were often sent into distant countries to invite all gallant gentlemen to honour the passage of arms. ”

“ By the death of these giants the hero becomes master of three castles, of steel, silver, and gold, in each of which he [22] finds a suit of armour and a steed to correspond. He keeps the feat a profound secret, and when later on the king proclaims a three days’ tournament, the prize of which is the hand of the princess, he appears each day in different armour, and mounted on the corresponding steed—steel, silver or golden—wins the tournament, and weds the lady. ”

“ There are ancient romances of great historic value, in that they give nearly contemporaneous details of the tournament of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and represent many features which may be regarded as correct in the light of a close comparison with other records. ”

“ It was a project of mine to replace the tournament with something which might furnish an escape for the extra steam of the chivalry, keep those bucks entertained and out of mischief, and at the same time preserve the best thing in them, which was their hardy spirit of emulation. I had had a choice band of them in private training for some time, and the date was now arriving for their first public effort. ”

“ The new Tournament, or bloodless battle, is so arranged that, while it requires both skill and dexterity in one game, the other is both simple and amusing. One will require considerable shrewdness in an old chess or whist player, while the other can be played by small children. ”

“ These may be considered to have arisen about the middle of the eleventh century; for though every martial people have found diversion in representing the image of war, yet the name of tournaments, and the laws that regulated them, cannot be traced any higher. [q] Every scenic performance of modern times must be tame in comparison of these animating combats. At a tournament, the space enclosed within the lists was surrounded by sovereign princes and their noblest barons, by knights of established renown, and all that rank and beauty had most distinguished among the fair. ”

“ Every kind of military combat made in conformity to certain rules, and practised by the knights and their esquires for diversion or gallantry, was anciently called a tournament: yet these amusements frequently differed materially from each other, and have been distinguished accordingly by various denominations in the modern times. They may however, I think, be all of them included under the four following heads; tilting and combating at the quintain, tilting at the ring, tournaments, and justs. ”