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The tournament was a major feature of aristocratic life in the High Middle Ages, and it was a form of martial exercise that combined sport with social display. The tournament developed in the late eleventh century, perhaps in northern France, and it spread across Europe in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The tournament was a major source of revenue for the knights who participated in it, a major source of reputation for the knights who distinguished themselves in it, and a major arena for the display of the chivalric virtues. The tournament was closely tied to the development of the heraldic system, and it was a major institution of the aristocratic class. The joust — the combat between two mounted knights with lances — was the most famous form of the tournament, and it became a major form of martial and social display in the late medieval and early modern periods.
The standard English-language treatment is Juliet Barker, “The Tournament in England, 1100–1400” (Oxford, 1986). The biographies of William Marshal and the surviving tournament records (the Tournament of Chauvency, the Registre des tournois of the counts of Hainaut) are the primary sources. The page below treats the early mêlées, the single-combat joust, and the social and political role of the lists.
The Origins of the Tournament
The origins of the tournament are obscure, and they have been the subject of much historical debate. The earliest known tournament was held in France in the late eleventh century, and the practice spread rapidly across Europe in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The tournament emerged from the military exercises and the feudal mustering of the knights of the period, and it was a major development in the history of the chivalric class.
The earliest tournaments were relatively informal gatherings of knights who engaged in mock combat and martial exercises in a public setting. The tournaments gradually became more formalized, with rules of engagement, designated lists, and judges to determine the winners. The tournament was a major arena for the display of the chivalric virtues, and it was a major source of revenue and reputation for the knights who participated in it.
The tournament was also a major source of risk for the knights who participated in it. The early tournaments were relatively dangerous, and many knights were killed or injured in the course of the competition. The Church often prohibited the tournament and threatened excommunication to the participants, but the prohibitions were rarely enforced. The kings of Europe also sometimes prohibited the tournament because it drained the kingdom of knights and weakened the royal armies, but the prohibitions were rarely enforced in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
The Structure of the Tournament
The structure of the tournament varied by region and by period, but the basic elements of the tournament were relatively consistent. The tournament was typically announced in advance, and knights from a wide area would gather at the designated site for the event. The tournament was typically held in a town or a castle that could accommodate the participants and the spectators, and it typically lasted for several days.
The early tournament was a free-for-all, with the knights of different lords jousting against each other in a kind of mock battle. The tournament gradually became more formalized, with rules of engagement, designated lists, and judges to determine the winners. The tournament was typically divided into two main forms: the melee (a large-scale combat between groups of knights) and the joust (a combat between two knights with lances).
The melee was the earlier form of the tournament, and it involved two groups of knights engaging in a mock battle with blunted or reversed lances and swords. The melee was a major test of courage and military skill, and it was a major source of reputation for the knights who distinguished themselves in it. The melee was gradually replaced by the joust as the main form of the tournament in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and the joust became the dominant form of the tournament in the late medieval and early modern periods.
The Joust
The joust was the most famous form of the tournament, and it was a combat between two mounted knights with lances. The joust developed in the thirteenth century as a specialized form of the tournament, and it gradually replaced the melee as the main form of the tournament in the late medieval and early modern periods. The joust was a major source of reputation for the knights who participated in it, and it was a major arena for the display of the chivalric virtues.
The joust was a highly formalized combat that followed strict rules of engagement. The two knights would gallop toward each other on opposite sides of a barrier (the tilt), aiming their lances at the opponent’s shield, helmet, or body. The lances were often blunted or tipped with a coronet (a crown-shaped tip), but they could still cause serious injury or death. The joust was a major source of risk for the knights who participated in it, and many knights were killed or injured in the course of the joust.
The joust was a major source of revenue for the knights who participated in it. The knights who won the joust could capture the horses and equipment of the losers, and they could win prizes that were offered by the hosts of the tournament. The joust was also a major source of reputation for the knights who distinguished themselves in it, and the famous knights of the period were often known for their exploits in the joust.
The Tournament and the Aristocratic Life
The tournament was a major feature of the aristocratic life of the High Middle Ages, and it was a major occasion for the display of the aristocratic values and virtues. The tournament was a major gathering of the aristocracy of the region, and it was a major occasion for socializing, feasting, dancing, and courtship. The tournament was a ritual of the aristocratic class that reinforced the values of courage, skill, and chivalry, and it was a major part of the aristocratic life of the period.
The tournament was also a major political event. The tournament was a major occasion for the great lords of the region to display their wealth and power, and it was a major opportunity for the young knights to gain the favor of the great lords. The tournament was a major arena for the display of political allegiances and rivalries, and it was a major source of political influence for the great lords of the period. The tournament was a major political institution in the medieval world, and it played a major role in the politics of the period.
The hunt was closely tied to the development of the heraldic system. The coat of arms — a distinctive combination of colors, charges, and ordinaries — was developed to identify the knight in battle and in the tournament, and the herald — an official charged with the regulation of the tournament and the recording of the arms — became a major figure in the aristocratic life. The heraldic visitations of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries recorded the arms of the knights of the realm, and the heraldic rolls are major sources for the history of the medieval aristocracy.
The Decline of the Tournament
The decline of the tournament began in the late medieval period, with the changing nature of warfare, the changing values of the aristocracy, and the changing political conditions of the period all contributing to the decline. The development of gunpowder weapons and the changing nature of warfare made the tournament less relevant as a military exercise, and the tournament gradually became a purely social and ceremonial event. The tournament was also restricted by the kings of Europe as a measure of social control, and the tournament was often prohibited in periods of war or social unrest.
The tournament survived in the early modern period as a purely ceremonial event, with the joust becoming the most famous form of the tournament. The joust was a major source of entertainment for the aristocracy of the early modern period, and it was a major occasion for the display of the aristocratic values of the period. The joust was gradually reduced in danger as the lances were modified to reduce the risk of injury, and the joust became a highly stylized performance that was closer to theater than to combat.
The tournament was eventually discontinued in the early modern period, with the last major tournaments held in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The tournament was replaced by other forms of aristocratic entertainment, and the tournament became a subject of historical and literary interest rather than a living tradition. The tournament has been revived in the modern era as a historical reconstruction and as a cultural festival, and the tournament is a major subject of medieval reconstruction groups and cultural festivals in the modern world.
The Legacy of the Tournament
The legacy of the tournament is significant. The tournament was a major institution of the medieval aristocracy, and it played a central role in the social, political, and cultural life of the medieval world. The tournament was a major source of the chivalric ideal, and it contributed to the development of the heraldic system, the literary romance, and the aristocratic values of the medieval world.
The tournament is a major subject of modern historical and cultural study, and the scholarship on the tournament has illuminated the rich medieval institution of the chivalric class. The tournament is a major subject of popular interest in the modern era, and it has been the subject of numerous novels, films, and documentaries that explore the dramatic and colorful world of the medieval tournament. The tournament is a major symbol of the medieval world, and it continues to shape the cultural imagination of the medieval period in the modern era.
Sources
Principal sources used in this article:
- Maurice Keen, Chivalry (Yale, 1984).
Further reading:
- Georges Duby, The Knight, the Lady and the Priest (Allen Lane, 1983).
For a recent single-volume synthesis with full scholarly apparatus, see the relevant chapter of Barbara H. Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages (University of Toronto Press, 2014).