| By Author | [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Other Symbols ] |
| By Title | [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Other Symbols ] |
| By Language |
|
Download this book: [ ASCII ] Look for this book on Amazon Tweet |
Title: The Tournament—Its Periods and Phases
Author: Clephan, R. Coltman (Robert Coltman)
Language: English
As this book started as an ASCII text book there are no pictures available.
*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Tournament—Its Periods and Phases" ***
This book is indexed by ISYS Web Indexing system to allow the reader find any word or number within the document.
PHASES ***
Transcriber’s Notes:
Underscores “_” before and after a word or phrase indicate _italics_
in the original text.
Small capitals have been converted to SOLID capitals.
Illustrations have been moved so they do not break up paragraphs.
Old or antiquated spellings have been preserved.
Typographical and punctuation errors have been silently corrected.
THE TOURNAMENT
UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME
THE ARMOURER AND HIS CRAFT. BY CHARLES FFOULKES
DECORATIVE IRONWORK. BY CHARLES FFOULKES
OLD PASTE. BY A. BERESFORD RYLEY
[Illustration: A COURSE OF GERMAN _GESTECH_.]
THE
TOURNAMENT
ITS PERIODS AND PHASES
BY
R. COLTMAN CLEPHAN, F.S.A.
WITH A PREFACE BY
CHARLES J. FFOULKES
CURATOR OF THE ARMOURIES AT THE TOWER
WITH A FRONTISPIECE IN COLOUR
AND 23 OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS
METHUEN & CO. LTD.
36 ESSEX STREET W.C.
LONDON
_First Published in 1919_
PREFACE
Those students of arms and armour who have Mr. Clephan’s work on
_Defensive Armour, Weapons and Engines of War_ in their libraries will
expect to find valuable material for study when they find his name
as author of a work on the Tournament. And in this they will surely
not be disappointed. It is perhaps a novel experience for one who has
for some years seriously meditated such a work himself to be asked to
introduce the work of another; but in the study of arms and armour all
men are brothers, and I take leave to say that we of this brotherhood
know little of the jealousies and divisions of opinion which beset the
student in other historical details. The perusal of Mr. Clephan’s work
has shown me that it would have been impossible to undertake such a
project without unattainable leisure, tireless energy, deep research
and very real devotion to the subject. Mr. Clephan has dealt with the
subject from a wide European point of view, and has amassed a vast
amount of information from German sources which has, up till now, been
denied to those unskilled in that language; and, with his copious notes
and references, has made this material available for study, for which
alone we must ever be deeply indebted to him.
The Tournament, as practised in Germany and towards the close of the
sixteenth century in England, France and Italy, must have been a
rather dull performance, as the minute regulations and the cumbersome
equipment precluded that dash and intrepid onslaught which make the
descriptions by Froissart and other writers of his time such excellent
reading. Even the gorgeous displays of Henry VIII leave us rather cold
when we find that the king invariably won, and that the queen could
stop the tilting at her pleasure, which was presumably when her lord
had had sufficient entertainment. We have only to note that the suit in
the Tower made for Henry VIII to fight on foot in the lists weighs 93
lbs., to realize that no man could be strenuous or energetic in this
equipment; and when we find that the horse in the sixteenth century
joust had to carry a dead weight of 340 lbs., it will be manifest that
he could only amble gently along the tilt, and could not dash headlong
down the lists, as the artist would have us believe. The whole subject
of arms and armour teems with such disillusioning; but to the earnest
student these are taken with grace, because they are born of facts
quarried out of masses of written and printed records with years of
incessant perseverance and devotion.
After the pioneer work of Meyrick and Hewitt, the interest in arms
and armour died down for over half a century, but in the last ten or
fifteen years it has revived, and its resurrection may be traced to
writers who, like Lord Dillon and Mr. Clephan, have striven to give
us a real insight into the military life of nations, rather than
highly-coloured fantasies which have no foundation in fact. If Mr.
Clephan’s researches cause us to modify our views on certain aspects
of the Tournament, I feel quite certain that all who have previously
written on these lines will admit the new light he has brought to bear.
The audience he directly appeals to is small, but they will yield to
students in no other branch of history or art in their keen devotion to
their subject; and I trust I may conclude, in their name, by wishing
Mr. Clephan every success in the work before us, and, if I may enter
into the spirit of his subject, “Good jousting.”
CHARLES FFOULKES
OFFICE OF THE ARMOURIES
H. M. TOWER OF LONDON
_29 August, 1917_
INTRODUCTION
Most of us owe our early impressions of the tournament to the
delightful account of the “Gentle and Joyous Passage of Arms” of Ashby
de la Zouche, in the county of Leicester, given by Sir Walter Scott in
his fine romance _Ivanhoe_. But that eminent novelist, in presenting
to his readers the picture of a _pas d’armes_ of the times of the
lion-hearted Richard, took a poet’s licence by describing a jousting
and _mêlée_ such as belonged, in many details, to a time later than
Richard’s by some two and a half centuries. The knightly armour of the
reign of King Richard was of chain-mail, while that of the times of
Henry VI was, of course, a complete harness of plate. The first-named
equipment is thus described by Sainte-Palaye: “_Une lance forte et
dificile à rompre, un haubert ou haubergeon, c’est à dire, une double
cotte de mailles, tissues de fer, à l’epreuve de l’épée, étoient les
armes assignées aux Chevaliers._”[1]
Sir Walter’s account is thus hopelessly misleading in regard to its
period, though admirably worked out in many other respects. 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. That
of _Petit Jehan de Saintré_, written by Anthoine de la Sale, in 1459,
is one of these, and we owe much enlightenment to it.
There is great confusion among the works of chroniclers in regard to
the dates of many tournaments, and often it is impossible to reconcile
their statements. The differences are, however, usually but slight.
Mr. ffoulkes, in his Preface to this work, draws attention to the large
amount of fable and exaggeration so often interwoven in many accounts
given of the tournament, and to the necessity for presenting the
subject historically in its true light. In order to do this one must
discard much that has been written concerning it throughout the ages
and go back to original information, carefully sifted and compared, in
order to arrive at some degree of truth.
As a rule, illuminations in MSS. must not be estimated at their
face value, for, besides being often fantastic, they are rarely
contemporaneous with the events they portray; and the narrations of
chroniclers were mostly written some time after the events in question,
and often introduce details which really belong to a later age. Thus
the illustrated _Froissart_ in the British Museum,[2] which dates from
about the end of the fifteenth century, pictures a joust at the tilt at
the _pas d’armes_ held at St. Inglevert in the year 1389, a tournament
described in our chapter IV; but a tilt or barrier placed between the
combatants, along which they rode in opposite directions, was first
employed about the end of the first quarter of the century following.
Such anachronisms are very common in records of the tournament, so that
care and discrimination are required in their interpretation.
The works of Meyrick and Hewitt are of great historical value, and they
afford much information carefully gathered from original documents.
This information has been copiously made use of by more recent authors
with but a scant or even no acknowledgment. It should be remembered,
however, that these eminent and devoted historians were pioneers, so
to speak, and much has been learnt of the tournament since their day;
yet their labours form excellent foundations for the building up of a
scientific superstructure.
The admirable version of _Freydal_, by Querin von Leitner, pictures
the jousts of the Emperor Maximilian I, especially those of the last
quarter of the fifteenth century. It presents a veritable mine of
information concerning the tournament of that period, placing the
technique of the subject on a sound basis. Even this account, however,
is hardly contemporaneous.
The interest in the subject flagged for a season, and until some
quarter of a century ago but little more was heard of it. It was
Wendelin Boeheim, in his _Waffenkunde_, who set the ball rolling again;
and since his book was written a number of learned papers have appeared
in England and Germany dealing with the tournament, though in French
literature the subject has received but little attention. Among such
papers those by Viscount Dillon, published in _Archæologia_ and the
_Archæological Journal_, are very important. This writer has corrected
many mistakes made by the earlier authors and persistently handed down
from one generation to another. Most of the writers would appear to
have regarded as gospel truths all statements made by Meyrick. These
mistakes are most difficult to eradicate from our literature, for their
correction has been made in publications such as those mentioned above,
which are unfortunately only read by a select few.
All these learned books and scattered papers treat the subject more or
less sectionally, and, so far as I know, there has been no work of any
importance published which attempts to deal with the subject as a whole
from start to finish. This manifest want I have endeavoured to supply
in the present volume.
My position for many years, up to the date of the war, as an official
of the Verein für Historische Waffenkunde, gave me access to a mass of
original information concerning what may be fitly termed the German
period. Such information is not readily got at, and much of it has
been embodied in the present volume. It is to such sources that we
must turn for many details, more particularly for those of a technical
nature. These records, however, mainly relate to tournaments of the
last quarter of the fifteenth century (after the Burgundian Chronicles
cease), to the whole of the sixteenth, and so up to the time when the
institution fell into desuetude.
My thanks are due to Mr. Basil Anderton, M.A., the Public Librarian of
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, for reading over parts of my MS. and for drawing
attention to many books bearing on the subject of the tournament; to
Mr. Charles J. ffoulkes, B.LITT., F.S.A., Curator of the Armouries of
the Tower of London; to Mr. Frederick Walter Dendy, D.C.L., and Mr.
Samuel T. Meynell, for some valuable suggestions; and to the University
of Cambridge for the loan of books.
R. COLTMAN CLEPHAN
TYNEMOUTH,
NORTHUMBERLAND
FOOTNOTES:
[1] _Mémoires sur L’Ancienne Chevalerie_, l. 289.
[2] Harl. MS. 4379.
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE v
INTRODUCTION vii
BIBLIOGRAPHY xix
OUTLINE OF PRINCIPAL CONTENTS—
CHAPTER I
Origin of the Tournament—Its definition—Rules made _anno_
1066—Derivation of the word—The Behourd—The Joust: Its
origin and definition—The Round Table game—Round Table
held in 1252—Edward III revives the traditional Table
glories of King Arthur—Actual Table at Winchester—Its
history—Round Table held in 1389—Definition of the
game—The Quintain—Its definition—Running at the
Ring—Judicial duels properly classed with the Tournament 1
CHAPTER II
Jousts of peace—_Joutes à outrance_—The term
“_À outrance_”—Mediæval chronicles and
chroniclers—Body-armour of the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries—Brasses and effigies—Tournaments in the
reign of King Stephen—Their introduction into England
and France—Description of the Martial Sports of
London by William Fitzstephen—William Rufus—The
knight-errant—Tournaments of the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries—Royal Edicts and Papal Bulls
issued against them—Tournaments controlled by Royal
Ordinances—Fees payable to the Crown—Tournament
near Alençon—Philip Augustus sends a challenge to
Richard of England—Tournament held at Brackley in
1250—Five authorized Lists in England—Form and
decoration of Lists—The duties of varlets—Officials
of Lists—The coronal of the lance—The routine of an
early Tournament—Prizes—Tournaments in 1236, 1247 and
1248—Interdictions by the Church—Tournament at Rochester
in 1251—Another in 1253—Tournament at Chalòns in
1247—Jousting at Blei in 1256—Round Tables at Warwick
and Kenilworth—Hardyng’s poem on the last-named—The
lance—Roll of purchases for the tournament held at
Windsor Park in 1278—_Statuta de armis_, dating towards
the end of the thirteenth century—Penalties for breaking
the rules—Effigies of Edmund Crouchback and William
de Valence—Effigy of Geoffrey de Mandeville—Knightly
panoply of the period—The age of mail—Chain-mail—The
hauberk and gambeson—Bards and trappers—Transition to
plate-armour gradual 9
CHAPTER III
The fourteenth century—The introduction of
firearms—Romances of Richard Cœur de Lion, Sir
Ferumbras, Roman du roy Miliades Meliadus, and others—The
Froissart plates—Hefner’s _Tratchten_—Carter’s
_Painting and Sculpture_—Froissart’s _Chronicle_—Royal
jousts—Proclamation of tournaments—The issue of
safe-conducts—“Tornies, justes,” etc., forbidden in
1302—Tournament at Condé in 1327—Royal jousts at
Cheapside in 1330—“Great justes” at Dunstable in
1341—Royal tournament at London in 1342—To cry a
tourney—Round Table at Windsor in 1344—Actual Table
at Winchester—Order of the Garter—Jousts to be held
annually at Lincoln—Round Table at Windsor in 1345, and
many jousts at other places—Great wardrobe account—Round
Table at Lichfield—White hoods—Verse from Chaucer’s
“Knight’s Tale”—Romance of Perce Forest—“Kerchief of
pleasance”—“Roiall justes” held in 1358, 1359, and in 1362
—Jousts at Mons and Rennes—Sir Nicholas Dagworth—His
brass in Blickling Church—His armour—Armour of
the Black Prince—Feat of arms at Toury—Tournament
at Cambray in 1385—Duel at Montereau in 1387—Much
jousting with pointed lances between cavaliers of
France and England during the long wars between the two
countries—_Pas d’armes_ at Nantes—Combat _à outrance_
near Vannes—Jousts at Paris in 1385—Realistic tournament
at Paris—Feat of arms at Entença—Deed of arms at
Bordeaux in 1389—Marshal de Boucicaut’s exploits in
the lists—_Pas d’armes_ at St. Ingelbert—The _rôles_
of Tenans and Venants—Monkish chronicles—Royal
tournament at London in 1390—Caxton’s remarks on the
same—Another tournament proclaimed by King Richard
II—The espinette—Body-armour of the fourteenth
century—Crests—The Cap of Maintenance—The shield—Fatal
accident in the lists to the young Earl of Pembroke in
1390—Jousting in Scotland in 1398 23
CHAPTER IV
The fifteenth century—The tourney milder—Body-armour
strengthened—Milan the chief seat of manufacture—Less
costly armour made in Germany—Maximilian imports Italian
smiths, and Germany gradually becomes the chief centre
of the industry—Ameliorations in the tourney—The
tilt—Jousting without the tilt—The vamplate—Special
harness for the lists—The lance-rest—The queue—Jousting
lances and lance-heads—Barriers—Reinforcing pieces—The
_kolbenturnier_—The _kolben_ or baston—Crests—Hours
of the tourney—Lists often artificially lighted—The
tournament in Germany—Training of the chargers—Their
chests protected by a mattress—Spurs and saddles—The
tournament at Aix and in Burgundy—The _Chronicles_
of St. Remy, Monstrelet, Chastelain and De la
Marche—Bibliothèque de Bourgogne—Ashmolean MSS.—The
Order of the Golden Fleece—Cottonian MSS.—Life of
Richard Beauchamp—Roman de Saintré—_Tournois du Roi
René_—Statutes of Lord Typtofte, 1466—Confusion in
the terms employed by chroniclers in descriptions of
the tourney—_A Scharmützel_—Description of a _pas
d’armes_—_Chapitres d’armes_—Manner of adjudging
prizes—French ordinance against duels with the
English—“Solemne justs” attempted in 1400, but which
proved abortive—Challenge of an esquire of Arragon
in 1400—Deed of arms near Bordeaux in 1402—The Duc
d’Orleans sends a challenge to Henry IV of England—Deeds
of arms at Valentia—Exploits in the lists of Richard
Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick—Three Portuguese fight three
Frenchmen in 1415—Subterranean combats in 1420—_Statutes
d’armes, temp._ Henry V—Jousts in the reign of Henry
V—Duel at Arras in 1425—The _bec de faucon_—Tournament
at Brussels in 1428—_Pas d’armes_ at Arras in 1430—Early
mention of the tilt—Passage of arms at Arras in 1435—Sir
John Astley’s fight on foot in 1442 38
CHAPTER V
_Pas d’armes_ at _L’Arbre de Charlemagne_, Dijon, in 1443,
at which there was jousting at the tilt, and reinforcing
pieces were employed—The lists—The challenges—A few
of the encounters—The _chapitres d’armes_—Various
Harleian MSS.—Picture of a King of Arms proclaiming
a tournament—Combat, at Ghent, between Jehan de
Boniface and Jacques de Lalain in 1445—Definitions of
an esquire—The duties of a King of Arms—Additional
or reinforcing pieces—Small set of reinforcing pieces
in the Wallace Collection—Feat of arms at Edinburgh
in 1448—Distinction made in the dress of a knight
and that of an esquire—Armour of the fifteenth
century—Brass of Sir John Wylcotes and that in South
Kelsey Church—Hoveringham effigy—Collar of SS.—Gothic
armour—The Beauchamp effigy its finest type—Great
armour-smiths of the fifteenth century—Enrichment
of armour—Paper by Viscount Dillon, printed in
_Archæologia_, on a MS. collection of ordinances of
chivalry of the fifteenth century—“Abilment for Justes of
the Pees”—“To Crie a Justus of Pees”—“The comyng into
the felde”—“To arme a man”—Combats on foot—Jousting at
the tilt—Definition of terms—The _Pas de la Pélerine_ in
1446—Feat of arms at Arras between Philippe de Ternant
and Galiot de Baltasin in the same year—The lists—The
first joust of the Comte de Charolais at Brussels in
1452—Tournament at Brussels in the same year—Jousting
now frequently combined with masques, mummeries and
pageants—Example of this in 1453—Tournament in
celebration of the coronation of Edward IV—_Pas d’armes_
held by Edward IV in 1467, at which the Bastard of
Burgundy took part—The lists—Ashmolean MS.—Costly
pageant, combined with jousting and the tourney, in
celebration of the marriage of Charles the Bold with
Margaret of York (L’Arbre d’Or)—Jousts held at Paris in
1468—Royal jousts in honour of the marriage of Richard
Duke of York in 1477—Royal jousts and fêtes at Greenwich
in the reign of Henry VII—Caxton’s epilogue—Tapestry at
Valenciennes—Joust at Jena in 1487 between Johannes Duke
of Saxony and Cuntz Metzschen—A “Solemne Triumphe” at
Richmond—Collections of armour at Vienna and Dresden 57
CHAPTER VI
Much that is fanciful and unreal written about the
tournament—Scientific writers on the subject—Narrations
of chroniclers—German records—Ashmolean, Harleian and
Cottonian MSS.—Hall, Holinshed and other chroniclers—The
tournament reaches its highest development in the
first half of the fifteenth century—Decline of the
tournament—The introduction of barriers in combats
on foot—The bâton of illegitimacy—The tournament
restricted to cavaliers of noble birth—Prizes—New
forms of jousting—German tournament-books—Harnesses
for the tiltyard made in Germany—The tournament as
practised at the German Courts—The _Freydal_ of
Maximilian—Other works of the kind—Tournament-books
at Sigmaringen and Dresden—Paintings of jousts at
Dresden—Jousting on wooden horses equipped with
mechanical apparatus for charging—Trappers: their
paintings, devices and embroideries—Prices of
knightly armour—Tourney book of Duke William IV of
Bavaria—Other tourney-books—Forms of jousting and
equipment—Bards and saddles—The _Gestech_ in its several
forms—Maximilian I armed for _Hohenzeuggestech_—Two
armours for _Gestech_ at Paris—Harness for the
_Gestech_ in the Wallace Collection, London—Other
examples—The lance, vamplate and coronal—A _Gestech_
at Leipsig in 1489—The frontispiece, which represents
a _Gestech_—_Gestech im Beinharnisch_—Jousting
with pointed lances (_Scharfrennen_)—The lance and
vamplate—Salient features of the forms—Examples of the
armour employed—Realistic representation of a joust
with sharp lances—Maximilian II mounted and armed for
_Scharfrennen_—_Geschiftrennen_—_Geschifttartscherennen_—A
_Rennen_ held at Minden—_Geschiftscheibenrennen_—_Bundrennen_
—_Auzogenrennen_—_Krönlrennen_—_Pfannenrennen_—_Feldrennen_—The
_mêlée_—_Feldturnier_—All these forms defined—Joust at
the tilt—Its inception—The salient features—A joust
at the tilt at Augsburg in 1510—Armour employed—Two
harnesses for this type of joust at Paris—A German
suit dated 1580—_Realgestech_—Three armours in
London for jousting at the tilt—Fatal accident to
Henry II of France in a joust of this kind—Triumph
of Maximilian—Drawings by Hans Burgmaier—Combats
on foot—_Barriers and Foot Combats_: a paper by
Lord Dillon—Armour for foot-fighting—Weapons
employed—The _Fussturnier_—The _Freiturnier_—Armour
employed—_Realgestech_—The _Scharmützel_—The
Karoussel or Carrousel—Permanent lists—Harness for the
tiltyard—Best armours imported from Italy—Interest taken
by Henry VIII in armour-making—German smiths employed
at Greenwich—The iron imported from Innsbruck—Alleged
inferiority of English iron—“Hoasting” armour of
the sixteenth century—Its form slavishly follows
that of the civil dress—Fluted or “Maximilian”
armour—Tonlet armour—Bards—The expression “trapped
and barded”—Some armour for campaigning made much
lighter—“_Pfeifenharnis_”—Its unsuitability—The
enrichment of armour—Armour of the middle of the
century—The “Peasecod-bellied” doublet and breastplate 85
CHAPTER VII
The Chevalier Bayard—His career in the tourney—_Pas
d’armes_ at Westminster in 1501—Dates of chroniclers
unreliable—The term “tourney”—“Solemne Triumph” in
1502—Joust at Naumburg in 1505—An _Auzogenrennen_ in
1512—The kind of shield employed—Tilting at Paris and
Lille in 1513 and 1515—Letters of Safeguard—Curious
rule in foot contests—Charles V engaged in tournaments
in 1518—Tournaments of the reign of Henry VIII—Hall and
Holinshed’s narrations—Jousts at the coronation—The
King jousts incognito—Other combats—Jousts in honour of
Queen Katharine—The tenans and articles of combat—Hall’s
florid account of the meeting—Ashmole MS. No.
1116—Proportion of attaints—Other _pas d’armes_—Jousts
in honour of the Queen of Scotland—Articles of
combat—Field of the Cloth of Gold—Jousting in
England—King Henry ran great risk of losing his life
when jousting in 1524—Henry a successful jouster—Jousts
in 1536 and 1540—The ceremony of the degradation of a
knight—Fights at barriers in 1554—jousting fell into
disuse in England during the reign of Edward VI and that
of Philip and Mary—Efforts made in Elizabeth’s reign
to revive the tournament—Sir Henry Lee the Queen’s
champion—Succeeded by the Earl of Cumberland—Jousts
and barriers in 1558—The _pas d’armes_ in 1559 at
which Henry II of France was fatally injured—Viscount
Dillon’s _Barriers and Foot Combats_—Tournaments at
London in 1570—“Checques” or score-tablets and their
illustration—Articles of combat and prizes—Proportion
of attaints made by the Earl of Oxford—Jousting
in the night in 1572—The duties at a tournament
of a King of Arms and of a Pursuivant—Scoring
“Checques”—Their definition—Rules and regulations
for conducting tournaments in Tudor times—_Romance
of three kings’ sons_—“Ordinaunce of keeping of the
Feelde”—Tournaments and jousts at Westminster in
1581—King Henry IV challenges the Duc de Mayenne to
single combat—A _Scharmützel_—A water quintain in
1585—Fights at barriers in 1606 and 1610—Tournament in
1612—First coming into the tiltyard of Prince Charles
of Wales in 1619—Tournament of the knight of the royal
Amaranthus in 1620—The tournament lingered long in
Germany—The decline of armour—Causes of the gradual
disuse of armour—Armour of the seventeenth century—A
harness belonging to Louis XIV—Plate-armour gradually
disappears—Conclusion—Revivals of the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries—The Eglington tournament in 1839—The
tournament at Brussels in 1905—“Triumph” at Earl’s Court
in 1912—The Judicial Duel 111
CHAPTER VIII
Trial by combat curiously interlinked with common
law—References among Ashmolean, Harleian and Cottonian
MSS.—Introduced into England by the Normans—Unknown to
the Anglo-Saxons—Principle involved—Earlier forms of
ordeal—Found among the laws of nearly all the German
tribes, the Swedes and Lombards—Flourished greatly in
France—The Grand Assize—Enclosures or lists—The custom
never took deep root in England—Civil cases usually
connected with disputes concerning land—Actual number
of judicial duels small in England—Persons excused
from battle—Women not exempt—Early ordinances—Trial
by combat in civil cases—Trial by combat in criminal
cases—Picture of a legal duel, _temp._ Henry III—Rules
and ordinances for conducting judicial combats in
France, temp. Philip IV—The lists—Judicial duels
defined—Singular duel between two Jews—Reported duel
between a man and a dog—Knightly duel in 1380—Legal
duel _temp._ Richard II—Duel between Jean de Carouge and
Jacques le Gris in 1386, as described by Froissart and
others—Duel, in 1398, between the Dukes of Hereford and
Norfolk—Trial by combat in Germany—Rules of procedure
there—Duels in Germany between men and their wives—Duel
with spiked shields—Duel with spiked clubs—With
shields, swords and daggers—With _bec de faucons_—With
two-handed swords—Rules and regulations, _temp._
Richard II, by Thomas Duke of Gloucester, Constable
of England—Rules for judicial combats in the reign
of Richard III—Judicial duel at Quesnoy in 1405—An
English duel in 1415—Knightly trial by combat at Arras
in 1431—Duel stayed in 1446—Fight at Smithfields
same year—Interesting duel fought at Valenciennes,
in 1455, with knotted clubs—Course of procedure,
_temp._ Henry VIII—Picture of a judicial duel—Duel in
France in 1547—The “coup de Jarnac”—Judicial duel in
1548—Irregular duel in the lists at Sedan—Catalogue of
judicial duels in England—Trial by combat became rare
_temp._ Elizabeth—Strong influences brought to bear
against the practice—Treatises against duels—A duel
ordered in 1571, which proved abortive—Reports of duels
in 1602 and 1631—The king’s declaration against duels in
1658—The law for judicial combats practically in abeyance
until early in the nineteenth century—Duel ordered in
1817, which proved abortive—The law repealed in 1818 146
APPENDICES
A. THE ASHMOLEAN MSS. RELATING TO THE TOURNEY 169
B. THE HARLEIAN MSS. ” ” ” 173
C. THE COTTONIAN MSS. ” ” ” 177
D. THE INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN BY THE EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN I
AS TO THE SELECTION OF PLATES FOR ”FREYDAL” 178
E. THE ASHMOLEAN MSS. RELATING TO JUDICIAL COMBATS 179
F. THE HARLEIAN MSS. ” ” ” 181
G. THE COTTONIAN MSS. ” ” ” 182
H. LETTER FROM THOMAS DUKE OF GLOUCESTER 184
INDEX 189
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
A Course of German _Gestech_ _Frontispiece_
PLATE FACING PAGE
I. Combat on Foot between Sir Richard Beauchamp }
and Sir Pandolf Malatesta (1) } 52
The Tapestry at Valenciennes (2) }
II. The Beauchamp Effigy 66
III. Maximilian I engaged in _Hohenzeuggestech_ 90
IV. Two Harnesses for the German Joust or _Gestech_.
At Paris 94
V. Harness for _Scharfrennen_. At Dresden 98
VI. Maximilian II armed for _Scharfrennen_. At Paris 102
VII. _Geschifttartscherennen_ 106
VIII. A _Scharfrennen_ at Minden in 1545 (1) }
} 110
A Joust at the Tilt at Augsburg in 1510 (2) }
IX. A Harness for the German Joust. Wallace Collection (1) }
Suit in the Wallace Collection for Jousting } 116
at the Tilt (2) }
X. German Armour for Jousting at the Tilt. At Dresden (1) }
} 120
An Armour for _Freiturnier_. At Dresden (2) }
XI. Harnesses for Jousting at the Tilt. At Paris (1) }
} 128
Field Harness of Anne de Montmorency (2) }
XII. The Comte de Charolais, as represented }
at Brussels in 1905 (1) } 144
Jean de Clѐves, as represented at Brussels in 1905 (2) }
PAGE
Scoring “Cheques.” In text 127
MS. Ashmole, No. 845, fol. 167 128
” ” ” 166 132
BIBLIOGRAPHY
An Almain Armourer’s Album. Viscount Dillon, P.S.A.
Annales de Louis XII.
Antient Armour at Goodrich Court. Skelton.
Antiquarian Repertory.
Archæologia, Vol.
” XI. Copy of a Survey made of what remained of the
Armoury of the Tower of London in 1660.
” XXXVII. A list for the year 1631.
” XVII. On the Peaceable Justs, or Tiltings, of the
Middle Ages. By Francis Douce, F.A.A.
” XVII. Copy of a Roll of Purchases made for the
Tournament of Windsor Park in the sixth
year of King Edward the First.
Communicated by Samuel Lysons, F.R.S., V.P.
” XXIX. Some Observations on Judicial Duels, as
practised in Germany. By R. L. Pearsall.
” XXXI. Observations on the Institution of the Most
Noble Order of the Garter. By Sir Harris
Nicholas, G.C.M.G.
” XXXI. Account of the Ceremonial of the Marriage of
the Princess Margaret, sister of King
Edward the Fourth, to Charles Duke of
Burgundy, in 1468. By Sir Thomas Phillipps,
Bart., F.S.A.
” LI. A Letter of Sir Henry Lee, 1590, on the trial
of Iron for Armour. By the Hon. Harold
Arthur Dillon, F.S.A.
” LI. Arms and Armour at Westminster, the Tower, and
Greenwich, 1547. By the same.
” LVII. On a MS. Collection of Ordinances of Chivalry
of the Fifteenth Century belonging to Lord
Hastings. By Harold Arthur Viscount Dillon,
Hon. M.A. (Oxon), President.
” LX. Armour Notes. By the same.
” LXIII. Jousting Cheques of the Sixteenth Century.
By Charles ffoulkes, B.Litt. Oxon., F.S.A.
Arch. Journ. Vol.
” ” IV. Illustrations of Mediæval Manners and Costumes
from original documents. Jousts of Peace,
Tournaments and Judicial Combats. By Albert
Way. Survey of the Tower Armory in the year
1660.
” ” XV. Notice of a German Tilting-saddle of the
Fifteenth Century, recently added to the
Tower Collection. By John Hewitt.
” ” XXI. Tilting-helm of the Fifteenth Century in the
Royal Artillery Museum, Woolwich.
By John Hewitt.
” ” XLVI. The Pasguard, Garde de Cou, Brech-Rand,
Stoss-Kragen or Randt, and the Volant-Piece.
By the Hon. Harold Dillon, F.S.A.
” ” LV. Tilting in Tudor Times. By Viscount Dillon,
Hon. M.A. Oxon., F.S.A.
” ” LV. Additional Notes Illustrative of Tilting in
Tudor Times. By the same.
” ” LXI. Barriers and Foot Combats. By the same.
The Winchester Volume, 1845.
Armorial de la Toison d’Or. National Library, Paris.
Armories of the Tower of London. ffoulkes.
Ashmolean MSS.
Bayeux Tapestry, The.
Boeheim’s Waffenkunde.
” Meister der Waffenschmiede Kunst.
” Album, Waffensammlung. Vienna.
Boutell’s Brasses.
Brantôme. Par J. A. C. Buchon.
Carter’s Painting and Sculpture.
Catalogues. Catalogo Real Armeria de Madrid.
” The Imperial Collection at Vienna.
” Königliche Historische Museum, Dresden.
” Musée d’Artillerie, Paris.
” Königliche Zeughaus, Berlin.
” Sammlungen des Germanischen Museum, Nuremburg.
” Guida Officiale della Reale Armeria di Torino (Turin).
” Porte de Hal Collection, Brussels.
” National Museum, Munich.
” The Wallace Collection, London.
” The Armouries of the Tower of London.
Caxton’s Book of the Order of Chyvalry and Knyghthode.
Chastelain’s Chronique de Jacques de Lalain.
Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale.
Chronicle of Tours.
Chronicles of: William of Malmesbury. Wace. William of Newbury.
Roger of Hoveden. William Fitzstephen. Matthew Paris. Robert of
Gloucester. Matthew of Westminster. Père Daniel. Trivet. Thomas
of Walsingham. Jocelin of Brakelond. Hardyng. Monstrelet. Jean
le Févre de S. Remi. Hist. de Charles VI. de Flandres. de
Charlemagne (in the Burgundian Library at Brussels).
Clark’s History of Knighthood.
Clephan, R. Coltman. The Defensive Armour, Weapons and Engines of
War of Mediæval Times and of the
“Renaissance.” 1900.
The Wallace Collection of Arms and Armour.
Published by the Verein für Historische
Waffenkunde, Dresden.
Armour Notes: With some Account of the
Tournament. Proceedings of the Society
of Antiquaries of Newcastle, 1915.
Conquêtes de Charlemagne. A MS. in the National Library, Paris.
Cottonian MSS.
Coucy, Matthieu de. Histoire de Charles VII.
Ducange. Glossarium.
Dugdale’s Origines Juridiciales.
Du Guesclin, Bertrand, La Vie de.
Eglington Tournament. The Tournament at Eglington, by James Aikman,
1839.
” ” The Grand Tournament, by James Bulkeley. 1840.
Ehrenpforte.
Excerpta Historica.
Favine. Honour and Knighthood. 1553.
ffoulkes, Charles. The Armourer and his Craft.
Freydal. Querin von Leitner.
Froissart’s Late Fifteenth Century Illustrated Edition.
In British Museum. Harl. MS. 4379.
” Chronicles.
Gay. Glossaire Archéologique.
Gurlitt. Deutsche Turniere, etc. Dresden. 1889.
Hall’s Chronicles.
Harleian MSS.
” Miscellany.
Hefner’s Tractenbuch.
Hewitt’s Ancient Armour and Weapons.
Histoire Des Ducs de Bourgogne. Barante.
” de Bretagne.
Hohenzollern Jahrbücher.
Holinshed’s Chronicles.
Jusserand. Les Sports.
Juvenal Des Ursin. Histoire de Charles VI.
La Colombière. Théâtre d’Hon and de Chevalerie.
Lacroix. Military and Religious Life in the Middle Ages and
Renaissance.
Leber. Collection des Traités, etc.
Leland’s Collectanea.
Lingard’s History of England to the Accession of William and Mary.
Livre Des Faicts Jean Le Maingre, Maréschal de France,
Dit Boucicaut.
Lombarde. Perambulations of Kent.
MSS. in Herald’s College, London.
Mémoires. Olivier De La Marche.
” Philippe De Comines.
Mémoires. Le Bon Chevalier Seigneur De Bayart (Bayard).
” Le Sire de Heynin. Société des Bibliophiles Belges.
Mons. 1842.
Ménestrier. Traité des Tournois, Justs, Carrousels, etc.
Lyons. 1669.
Meyrick. A Critical Enquiry into Antient Armor. 1824.
Montesquieu. Esprit de lois. 28th Book.
Nouvelle Collection Des Mémoires pour servir A L’Histoire De France.
Nugae Antiquae. Park. 1769.
Œuvres du Roi René. Angers. 1845. Edited by M. Paulin-Paris.
Origines Des Chevaliers, Armoiries et Heravx. Par Claude Favchet.
Pisan, Christine de. Le Livre Des Fais et Bonnes Meurs Du Sage Roy
Charles.
Pluvinal, De. Maneige Royal.
Pollock and Maitland. History of English Law.
Roll of Purchases for the Tournament at Windsor Park in 1278.
MS. in the Record Office.
Romances. Roman de Rou.
” Richard Cœur de Lion.
” Sir Ferumbras.
” Du Roy Miliadus.
” D’Alexandre.
” Pétit Jehan de Saintré. Par Antoine de la Sale. 1459.
” Of Three King’s Sons. _Circa_ 1500. Harl. MS. 326,
fol. 113.
Rous’ Life of the Earl of Warwick. Cott. MS., Julius, E. IV.
Rymer’s Foedera.
Sächsischen Kurfürsten Turnierbücher. Erich Haenel.
Sainte Maria, Honoré de. Des Ordres de Chevalerie.
Schwenkh, Hans. Wappenmeisterbuch, picturing the Jousts of
Duke William of Bavaria.
Spelman’s Glossary.
St. Denys, La moine de. Histoire de Charles VI.
St. Palaye. Mémoires sur L’Ancienne Chevalerie.
Statuta de Armis or Statutum Armorum in Torniamentis.
Bodleian Library.
Stothard’s Effigies.
Strutt’s Sports and Pastimes of the English People.
” Horda Angel-cynnan.
” Regal Antiquities.
Tapestry, The, at Valenciennes.
Testamenta Vetusta.
Theuerdank.
Tourney Book of the Pole Zuganoviez Stanislaus. At Dresden.
Tourney Books. Of the Electors of Saxony. At Dresden.
Tourney Books. Johanns des Beständigen.
” ” Johan Frederiks des Groszmüthiges.
” ” August.
” ” That at Veste Coburg.
Traicte de la forme et Devis d’ung Tournoi
(The Tourney Book of King René d’Anjou).
Traité de Tournois. Par Louis de Bruges.
Triumph of Maximilian.
Turnierbuch in the possession of the Prince of
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.
Turnierbuch of Duke Henry of Braunschweig-Lüneburg.
Vetusta Monumenta. Vol. I. Published by the Society of Antiquaries,
London.
Viollet-le-Duc. Dictionnaire Raisonné du Mobilier Français.
Weisskönig.
Zeitschrift für Historische Waffenkunde. Dresden.
THE TOURNAMENT
CHAPTER I
It is impossible to trace the beginnings of these martial exercises,
mention of which first appears in history in chronicles of the eleventh
century; but they doubtless grew out of earlier forms of the rough
games and sports engaged in by the noble youth of the period as
practice for actual warfare.
Du Cange in his _Glossarium_, under the heading “Torneamentum,” cites
Roger de Hoveden, who defines tournaments as being military exercises
carried out in a spirit of comradeship, being practice for war and a
display of personal prowess.[3] Their chief distinction from other
exercises of a kindred nature lies in the fact that they were actual
contests on horseback, carried out within certain limitations, of many
cavaliers who divided themselves into contending troops or parties,
which fought against each other like opposing armies.
Mention of rules for observance in the conducting of these martial
games is made by more than one chronicler of the period as having been
framed in the year 1066, by a French Seigneur, Geoffroi de Preuilli of
Anjou, and it is stated that he had invented them and even been killed
in one of them;[4] and the very names “_tourneamentum_” and “_tournoi_”
would imply a French origin. These designations would seem to have
been derived from “_tournier_,” to wheel round; though Claude Fauchet,
writing in the last quarter of the sixteenth century,[5] expresses the
opinion that the word “_tournoi_” came about from the cavaliers running
par tour, that is by turns at the quintain: “_fut premièrement appellé
Tournoy pource que les Cheualiers ŷ coururent par tour; rompans
premièrement leur bois et lances contre vne Quintaine...._”
Military games of a similar nature are often stated to have been
practised in Germany earlier than this, and Favine in _Theatre of
Honour and Knighthood_[6] prints a list of rules and ordinances for
observance at a “tournament” to be held at Magdeburg, as having been
issued by the Emperor of Germany Henry I, surnamed the Fowler, 876-936,
a century and a half earlier than the date of the promulgation of
the rules of Pruilli. The German text, however, bears the impress
of a later period than early in the tenth century, and this view is
expressed by Claude Fauchet, who gives the rules, which are curious
enough for insertion here; and he mentions the authority from which
Favine drew his statement.[7]
“_Sebastien Munster au troisiesme liure de sa
Geografie, certifie que Henry premier de ce nom viuant
enuiron l’an VCCCCXXXVI fit publier vn Tournoy, pour
tenir en la ville de Magdebourg qui est en Saxe,
lequel fut le premier, ＆ tenu l’an VCCCCXXXVIII.
Le mesme Munster recite douze articles de loix de Tournoy_:—
1. _Qui fera quelque chose contre la Foy._
2. _Qui aura fait quelque chose contre le sacré
Empire, et la Cesarce Majesté._
3. _Qui aura trahy son Seigneur, ou sans cause iceluy
delaisse fuyant en vne bataille: tué, ou meurdry ces
compagnons._
4. _Qui aura outragé fille, ou femme, de fait ou de
parolles._
5. _Qui aura falcifié vn seel, ou fait vn faux
serment. Qui aura esté declaré infame, ＆ tenu pour tel._
6. _Qui en repost (c’est secrettement ＆ en cachette)
aura meurdry sa femme. Qui d’aide ou de conseil, aura
cósenty la mort de son Seigneur._
7. _Qui aura pillé les Eglises, femmes vefues, ou
orphelins: ou retenu ce qui leur appartenoit._
8. _Qui avant esté offensé par aucun, ne le poursuit
par guerre, ou en Iustice; ains secrettement ＆ par
feu ou rapines. Qui gaste les bledz ＆ vignes dont le
public est substanté._
9. _Qui mettra nouuelles impositions sans le sceu
de l’Empereur: ou ie croy qu’il entéd parler d’vn
Seigneur qui surchargera sa terre._
10. _Qui aura cómis adultere, ou rauy vierges ＆ pucelles._
11. _Qui fait marchandise pour reuendre._
12. _Qui ne pourra prouuer sa race de quatre grands
peres, soit battu ＆ chassé du Tournoy._”
Jousts and Tournaments were classed under the heading of _Hastiludia_
or spear-play: as also was the behourd or buhurt, _Bohordicum_ in
Mediæval Latin,[8] a military exercise of a similar nature; though
in what respect it differed from the joust or tournament is nowhere
stated. That it was an exercise with lance and shield is clearly shown
in a passage in _Concilium Albiense_.[9]
That the behourd was practised continuously for long after the
introduction of the joust and tournament is known by the fact of the
issue of royal edicts for the prohibition of these exercises, as late
as the reign of King Edward I.[10]
The origin of the joust does not appear to be less ancient than that
of the tourney itself,[11] which it gradually almost supplanted; and
it may have been suggested by the quintain. William of Malmesbury
thus defines it:—Justa, jouste. _Monomachia ludicra, hastiludium
singulare._[12] The Bayeux tapestry shows a kind of combat with spears.
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; and as the lance was the weapon
of the former so was the sword greatly that of the latter. The lance
was to be directed at the body only, otherwise it was considered foul
play. The joust more especially was run in honour of ladies. These
martial games were much practised in all the countries of chivalry.
The chroniclers are vague in their definitions of the Round Table
game, the _Tabula Rotunda_, or as Matthew Paris calls it “_Mensa
Rotunda_.”[13] He expressly distinguishes it from the tournament,
though in what respect it differs from it he does not enlighten us. He
describes a _tabula rotunda_, held at the Abbey of Wallenden in the
year 1252, which was attended by a great number of cavaliers, both
English and foreign, and states that on the fourth day of the meeting
a knight named Arnold de Montigney was pierced in the throat by a
lance “_which had not been blunted as it ought to have been_.” The
lance-head remained in the wound and death soon followed. We see from
this incident that already in the middle of the thirteenth century it
was customary to joust with blunted or rebated lances! In 1279 (8 Ed.
I) a Round Table was held by Roger Earl of Mortimer, at his castle
of Kenilworth, which is thus described in _Historia Prioratus de
Wigmore_[14]:—“He (Mortimer) invited a hundred knights and as many
ladies to an hastilude at Kenilworth, which he celebrated for three
days at a vast expense. Then he began the round table; and the golden
lion, the prize for the triumphant knight, was awarded to him.” Dugdale
states that the reason for the institution itself was to assert the
principle of equality and to avoid questions of precedence among the
knights.
In some “Observations on the Institution of the Most Noble Order of
the Garter,” printed in _Archæologia_ of the year 1846,[15] it is
stated that in 1343, King Edward III in imitation of King Arthur, the
traditional founder of British Chivalry, bent on reviving the fabled
glories of a by-gone age, determined to hold a Round Table at Windsor
on the 19th of January, 1344. The intended meeting was proclaimed
by heralds of the king, in France, Scotland, Burgundy, Hainault,
Flanders, Brabant, and in the German Empire, offering safe-conducts to
all foreign knights and esquires wishful to take part in it.[16] King
Edward fixed the number of the tenans at forty, enrolling the bravest
in the land; and he appointed that a “Feast” should be kept from year
to year at Windsor on every following St. George’s Day. Walsingham,
writing about half a century after Froissart, states that in 1344 the
King began to build a house in Windsor Park, which should be called the
“Round Table”; that it was circular in form, and 200 feet in diameter.
It is also stated that a circular table, made of wood, was constructed
at Windsor sometime before 1356; and that the Prior of Merton was
paid L26-13-4 for 52 oaks, taken from his woods near Reading, for the
material.[17] Walsingham relates that Philip of France, jealous of the
fame of our king, had a table made on the Windsor model.
Matthew of Westminster chronicles that a round table was held in 1352,
which had a fatal ending.
There is an actual round table of ancient provenance hanging on the
eastern wall of the hall of the royal palace at Winchester, the reputed
“painted table of Arthur,” and there are some remarks concerning
it in the Winchester volume of the Archæological Institute, 1846,
telling all that is known concerning it. The hall itself may have been
standing in the reign of Henry III; and in the sixteenth century, and
probably long before, a round table was an appendage to it; but as to
the approximate date of its make there is no reliable evidence. The
earliest historic reference to the table is by Hardyng, late in the
reign of Henry VI or early in that of Edward IV, who alludes to it as
“hanging yet” at Winchester; and Paulus Jovius tells us that the table
was shown to the emperor Charles V in 1520, when it had been newly
painted for the “last” time, but that the marginal names had been
restored unskilfully. In the reign of Henry VIII a sum of _L66-16-11_
was expended in repairing the “_aula regis infra castrum de Wynchestre,
et le Round tabyll ibidem_.” John Lesley, bishop of Ross, said that he
saw the table not long before 1578, and that the names of the knights
were inscribed on its circumference; and a Spanish writer, who was
present at the marriage of Philip and Mary, thus describes the painting
on the table:—
“_Lors du mariage de Philip II. avec la reine Marie,
on montrait encore à Hunscrit la table ronde fabriquée
par Merlin: elle se composait de 25 compartemens
teintés en blank et en vert, lesquels se terminaient
en pointe au milieu, et allaient s’elargissant jusqu’à
la circonférence, et dans chaque division étaient
écrits le nom du cavalier et celui du roi. L’un de ces
compartemens appelé place de Judas, ou siége périlleux,
restait toujours vide._”
The forms of the lettering and general decoration of the table point to
a date in the reign of Henry VII or early in that of Henry VIII, but
this, of course, only applies to the painted enrichment. Whatever may
be the date of this table and its painting, they are both undoubtedly
of considerable antiquity, probably from five to six centuries old.
The _fête d’armes_ held by Boucicaut at St. Ingelbert in 1389 (which
is described in Chapter III), is called in the account of the meeting
a “table-ronde”; and the text would imply that the holding of a round
table meant a _hastilude_ at which the challengers or tenans kept open
house to all comers, as well as meeting them in combat in the lists;
and the institution is thus coupled with the banquet. The passage runs:—
“_Ainsi feit là son appareil moult grandement
et très-honnorablement messire Boucicaut, et feit
faire provisions de très-bon vins, et de tous vivres
largement, et à plain, et de tout ce qu’il convient si
plantureusement comme ‘pour tenir table rond à tout
venans’ tout le dict temps durant, et tout aux propres
despens de Boucicaut._”[18]
The same lavish hospitality was extended here as at Kenilworth in 1279,
Windsor in 1344.
It is clear from various records that the tenans at a round table of
the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries sometimes fought under the
names of King Arthur’s knights, indeed, “Sir Galehos” appears among the
names of the knights inscribed on the actual round table at Winchester;
and they also sometimes adopted the names of other legendary heroes,
for at a round table held at Valenciennes in 1344, at which the prize
was a peacock, victory was achieved by a band of cavaliers which fought
under the names of King Alexander’s knights.[19] The accounts given of
King Edward’s tournament at Windsor, and that of the later Boucicaut’s
_pas d’armes_, both of which are called round tables, may be said to
define sufficiently what a “Round Table” of the fourteenth century
really was; and we fail to find any material difference from other
meetings of the kind and period.
Favine in _Theatre of Honour and Knighthood_[20] refers to “_Hastiludia
Rotunda_” as being practice for cavaliers “to sit well their horses,
to keepe themselues fast in their saddles and stirups. For, if any man
fell, and his Horse upon him, at these encounterings with their lances,
lightly worse did befall him before he could any way get forth of the
Preasse. But others came to heauior fortune, their liues expyring in
the place, being trod and trampled on by others”—but all this would
apply to the ordinary _mêlée_. This form of tourney was much in favour
during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, but we hear no more of
round tables after that.
The Quintain (_quintana_) and Running at the Ring (_Ringelrennen_,
_Corso all’ Annello_) were closely allied with the joust, and were
practised in preparation for it; the chief objects for attainment in
the former being a correct aim, to remain steady in the saddle after
impact with the figure, and deftly to get rid of the stump of the
broken lance. The quintain was a more ancient game than the joust, and
indeed, not improbably, it gave rise to it; and being free from the
risk of personal danger, was a sport and pastime of the people. The
game assumed many forms, though it was chiefly a means of practice
with the lance, sword, baston and battle-axe, indulged in by the young
aspirants for knighthood as well as by the citizens and yeomanry. The
original quintain was merely a post set up, against which the strokes
were directed or against a shield hanging from it, with the same
object in view. Later, the post developed into a human figure, usually
fashioned as a Turk or Saracen, who held a wooden sword in his hand.
The objective of the lance was the space between the eyes; and the
figure was placed on a pivot, and so constructed that a misdirected
stroke, that is a hit too much on one side or the other, would cause
it to spin round with great velocity, dealing the tyro a smart blow
with the sword. Another form was a bag of sand, from which the clumsy
operator was apt to receive a buffet as it swung round or to have the
contents expended over his horse and person; and there were other
similar varieties of the game. The water quintain was practised from
a boat, rapidly propelled by rowers; while the player stood at the
bow, his lance couched and directed towards a shield, hung from a post
standing in the water. The quintain continued to be a popular game
right through the seventeenth century, and could be played on foot as
well as on horseback. A picture of a quintain is given on a miniature
in the _Chroniques de Charlemagne_, in the Burgundian Library at
Brussels, and is reproduced by Lacroix in _Military and Religious Life
in the Middle Ages and Renaissance_.
Running or Tilting at the Ring was merely a later form of the quintain.
An upright shaft or post was holed at intervals for the reception
of a rounded bar, socketed into it at right-angles, from which hung
the ring placed on a level with the player’s eye; and the horseman,
couching his lance, rode towards it at full gallop with the object
of transfixing it. When fairly hit the ring became detached by the
action of side springs and remained on the head of the lance. Pluvinal
gives particulars of the game as practised at the beginning of the
seventeenth century; it was much in vogue at the court of Louis XIV.
For running at the ring the lance was much shorter than that employed
in jousting, its length was 10 ft. 7 in. and weight 7 lbs. There is
a specimen at Dresden, tipped with a cone to hold the ring when hit,
and there is naturally no vamplate. It will be realised what excellent
practice these sports afforded for the joust and tourney. Both games
are described in Strutt’s _Sports and Pastimes_. MS., Ashmole 837, fol.
185, furnishes an instance of the game:—
“These persons here vnderwrytten / beinge one the
kinges parte the playntyff / And the other wt therle
of Rutland defendant / dyd Run at ye Rynge iiij course
every man / at wch tyme none toke the Ryng but only Mr
hayward / and Mr Constable beinge wt the defendant /
whome are apoynted when yt shall please his grace / for
them to Rune agayne / he wch shall take the Ring furst
shall have the prysse /
wt the kynges matie wt therle of Rutland
the lord marques of Northampton the lord Fyzewater
therle of Worcester the lord hastynges
therle of wormewood the lord chevers (?Chandos)
the lord admyrall Sr Ambrows Dudley
the lord lyle Sr jorge hayward
the lord Strange Mr norrys
Sr thomas Wroughton Sr William Stafford
Mr Barnaby Sr Anthony Sturley
Mr throughmorton Mr Pownynge
harry nevell Mr Clement paston
Sr harry gates Sr William Cobham
Sr harry Sydney Mr Constable
Mr Chetewood Mr payne (?prynne)
Mr phylpott Mr. warcope
This beinge done came VI one ether partye to the tourney whose
names are hereafter named
The Kynges syd Therle of Rutland
therle of Worcester lord Fyzewater
the lord lysseley Sr Ambrows Dudley
Mr harry nevell Sr George hayward
Mr Sydney Mr pownynges
Sr thomas wroughton Mr paston
Sr harry gates Mr payne (?prynne).”
Probably written by Sir Gilbert Dethick, Garter King of Arms.
Judicial Combats are also properly classed under the general heading
of the Tournament, and these duels, on foot and on horseback, were
fought greatly subject to its rules and regulations. An account of this
singular institution follows after the tournament proper.
FOOTNOTES:
[3] “_Militaria exercitia, quae nullo interveniente odio, sed pro solo
exercitio, atque ostentatione virium._”
[4] “_Torneamentorum repertorum Gaufridum II, Dominum Pruliaci_ (de
Pruilli) _in Andibus agnoscit Chronicon Turonense; Anno 1066. Gaufridus
de Pruliaco, qui Torneamenta invenit, apud Andegavum occiditur._”
Quoted by Du Cange.
[5] _Les Origines des Chevaliers, etc., p. 9._
[6] _Published at Paris in 1619: p. 460._
[7] _L’Origines_, Liv. I, p. 10.
[8] _Bohordicum, nostris Bohourt vel Behourt, Hastiludii species, vel
certe quodvis hastiludii genus._ Lambertus Ardensis. Cited by Du Cange.
[9] II, cap. 16. Cited by Du Cange. _Trepidare quoque quod vulgariter
Biordare dicitur, cum scuto et lancea aliquis Clericus publice non
attentet._
[10] _Ad turniandum et Burdiandum. Ne quis ... turneare, Burdeare,
justas facere, seu alia jacta armorum exercere praeusumat. Budeare apud
Rymer_ (tom 5, p. 223).
[11] The _Mêlée_.
[12] Cited by Du Cange.
[13] _Tabula, seu Mensa Rotunda, Decurstonis, aut hastiludii species._
[14] Cited by Du Cange.
[15] Vol. XXXI, 104.
[16] Rot. Patent, 17 Edw. III, p. 2, m. 2.
[17] Issue Roll of the Exchequer, Mich. 30, Edw. III.
[18] _Le Livre Des Faicts Du Mareschal De Boucicaut_, Chap. XVII.
[19] Menestrier, _Chavalrie ancienne_, Chap. 6. Cited by Hewitt.
[20] Page 492.
CHAPTER II
Jousts of Peace, _Hastiludia pacifica_, were those of sport, military
exercises and courtesy; while Jousts of War, _Joûtes à Outrance_, or
as Froissart calls them “_Justes Mortelles et à Champ_,” were combats
to the death, though subjected to the intervention of the umpire at
any stage, by the casting of his bâton, by which a serious wounding or
death was often prevented. The term “_à outrance_,” however, was used
not infrequently in _Chapitres d’Armes_ or articles of combat where no
fatal ending was in contemplation; they were encounters of courtesy in
fact, though contests in which battle-axes, sharp swords and pointed
lances were employed.
The chroniclers of the joust and tournament of the earlier centuries
exhibit a lack of technical knowledge, and the terms they employ are
often mixed and conflicting; and, indeed, this confusion continues
throughout later centuries also, to an extent making any exact
definition of terms extremely difficult.
Whatever information we possess regarding tournaments of the twelfth
and thirteenth centuries is greatly derived from the Mediæval Latin
chronicles of the Anglo-Norman monks; but the material they furnish
requires to be used with discretion, owing to the frequent unhappy
blending of fact and legend, a lack of professional knowledge, and a
way of reporting things of half a century or more ago in harmony with
the environment of the time of writing. Among the chroniclers of the
tournament of the period we are immediately dealing with, are William
of Malmesbury, whose _History of the Kings of England_ finishes at
the year 1142; Wace, who wrote the _Roman de Rou_, on Rollo and the
succeeding Dukes of Normandy, in 1160; William of Newbury, 1197; Roger
of Hoveden, 1201.[21] William Fitzstephen was an eye-witness of the
events he relates; the prolific and illuminating Matthew Paris, 1259;
Robert of Gloucester, who died in 1290; and Matthew of Westminster,
1307.
Much information concerning the body-armour of the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries has been derived from seals, and particularly from
those of the kings of England; also from illuminations in chronicles,
representations on tapestry and carvings in ivory. Military effigies
and brasses have also proved of immense value, for they enable us to
fill in many of the gaps left in the recitals of chroniclers, and
afford precise information as to the knightly equipment for battle,
as far as least as the presence of the surcoat will permit. We have,
indeed, been favoured among the nations in the preservation of so many
of these monuments. There are but few brasses of the thirteenth century
existing, though effigies are very numerous. Sad it is that so many of
these priceless memorials have been lost or thoughtlessly mutilated;
but their very important bearing upon history was but faintly
recognised much before the nineteenth century began. Many of them had
been thrown on the rubbish heap to make way for some trivial and often
mischievous alteration, or lost when some of our finest churches were
spoilt by what is so often miscalled restoration; and many even of the
effigies left to us have been exposed to a process of tinkering by
thoughtless hands. Not a detail is missing on many of those monuments
that remain, and even colours are indicated.
William of Newbury states that tournaments first appear in England
in the troubled reign of King Stephen, 1135-1154; and that they
were introduced from France by the Norman nobles is clear from
the expressions employed by Matthew Paris concerning them, viz.:
“Conflictus Gallicus” and “batailles francaises.” Lombarde[22] states
that “the kings of this realm before King Stephen, would not suffer
it to be frequented within their land; so that, such as for exercise
in that feate in armes, were driven to passe over the seas, and to
performe in some different place in a foreigne countrie: but afterwards
King Stephen in his time allowed it.”[23] It was the Norman knights
who introduced the employment and couching of the lance in England.
Of that age we have the remarkable description of the martial sports
of London by William Fitzstephen. He tells us ‘that every Sunday in
Lent, immediately after dinner it was customary for great crowds of
Londoners, mounted on war-horses, well trained to perform the necessary
turnings and evolutions, to ride into the fields in distinct bands,
armed “_hastilibus ferro dempto_,” with shields and headless lances;
where they exhibited representations of battle, and went through a
variety of warlike exercises: at the same time many of the young
noblemen who had not received the honour of knighthood, came from
the King’s court, and from the houses of the great barons, to make
a trial of their skill in arms; the hope of victory animating their
minds. The youth being divided into opposite companies, encountered
one another; in one place they fled, and others pursued, without being
able to overtake them; in another place one of the bands overtook and
over-turned the other.’
Robert of Gloucester, in his _Chronicle_ in verse, which ends shortly
before the accession of King Edward I, writes concerning William Rufus:—
“Stalwarde he was ＆ hardy ＆ god knyght, thorn al thyng
In batayle ＆ in ‘tornemnes’ er than he were Kyng.”[24]
but this of course has not the value of contemporary history.
The knight-errant of the twelfth century and even later often spent
the evening of his days as an anchorite, undergoing many self-imposed
penances, fastings and flagellations in expiation of many acts of
violence and even oppression of his active career.
The tournaments of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries were
characterized by all the romantic fire of knight-errantry, though they
were often rough and disorderly, and not infrequently degenerated
into real battles or free fights, in which many of the combatants
were seriously injured or killed. At the meeting held at Neuss, near
Cologne, in 1240, sixty of the combatants are stated to have been
killed. In England an Earl of Salisbury died from his hurts; his
grandson, Sir William Montague, was killed when jousting with his own
father; and many prominent knights and nobles were so injured in the
tourney that they never regained their health. Tournaments generally
tended to become milder as rules, regulations and limitations were
enacted for their government; but it was not before the reign of King
Edward I that they were brought under any regular disciplined system of
control.
After the reign of King Stephen these martial exercises often came
under the ban of both church and state, the former even going to the
length of excommunication and the refusal of Christian burial to the
fallen. Pope Gregory issued a bull against them in 1228, and there were
other bulls.[25] King Henry II discouraged them and issued edicts
against them; and we are told by William of Newbury that many young
cavaliers travelled from England to enjoy their favourite pastime in
other lands, especially France. Tournaments were revived in England,
says Jocelin of Brakelond,[26] after the return of the heroic Richard
from the Holy Land, who granted licences for holding them; and from
this time forward unlicensed tourneying was treated as an offence
against the crown. Roger de Hoveden writes in _Annals_, under the year
1194 (in translation):—“King Richard ordered tournaments to be held in
England, which he confirmed by charter; but that all wishing to tourney
should pay for the privilege according to rank—viz., an earl, 20 marks
of silver; a baron, 10 marks; a knight, holding land, 4 marks; and any
who were landless, 2 marks; and no knight was permitted to enter any
lists without first having paid his fee.” The charter of this grant was
delivered into the custody of William, Earl of Salisbury; and Hubert
Fitz-Walter, the king’s chief-justice, appointed his brother, Theobald
Fitz-Walter, to be collector.
Hoc ett Breve, Dni Regis Ricardi I. missum Dno Cantuariensi, de
concessione Torneamentorum in Anglia.
Heac est forma Pacis fervandae a Torneatoribus (Harl. MS. 237).[27]
Tournaments became controlled by royal ordinances, and any infraction
of the rules laid down was punishable with the forfeiture of horse
and armour, imprisonment and other penalties; though at times the
regulations would seem to have been very loosely interpreted or
entirely disregarded. This assumption of control by the state had
been brought about by various causes quite apart from the frequently
disorderly nature of the meetings, and the large number of casualties
involved; though these were the ostensible reasons often given for the
interdiction of all unauthorized gatherings of the kind. Much, however,
depended on the character and temperament of the reigning monarch,
and the condition of order or otherwise prevailing in the country at
the time. At tournaments, whether held by royal licence or not, the
combatants were divided into two camps or parties; and they gathered
together large concourses of spectators, who were too apt to become
strong and eager partisans, as we see at the football games of to-day;
the unpopular side being sometimes assailed with volleys of stones,
some discharged from slings. These meetings were thus frequently looked
upon with disfavour by the powers that be, and were either entirely
prohibited, or licences were refused in troublous times; for the
assemblage of so many influential knights and powerful barons with
their feudatories, coming from all parts of the kingdom, constituted a
danger to the state in affording opportunities for cabals, sedition and
other disorders, and, indeed, tumults frequently occurred. Tournaments
were very popular in France during the reign of Philip Augustus; and
Père Daniel relates an incident of that reign affording a striking
example of the large gatherings that assembled. An unexpected attack
having been made on the town of Alençon, the king was enabled to enrol
a sufficient force at a tournament being held in the neighbourhood at
the time to repel it. Jousting was not much practised in France at that
time or during the thirteenth century, the cavaliers of that country
preferring the _mêlée_.
In the year 1196 King Philip Augustus “sent vnto King Richard,
requiring him to appoint fiue champions, and he would appoint other
fiue for his part, which might fight in listes, for triall of all
matters in controusee betwixt them, so to avoid the shedding of more
guiltlesse bloud. King Richard accepted the offer, with the proviso
that either King might be of the number, that is the French King one of
the fiue vpon the French part; and King Richard one of the fiue vpon
the English part. But this condition would not be granted.”[28]
In the year 1250 “was a great tornie and iusts holden at Brackley,
when the earle of Gloucester (contrarie to his accustomed manner)
fauoured the part of the strangers, whereby they prevailed. In so much
that William de Valance handled one Sir William de Odingesselles verie
roughlie, the same Sir William being a right worthy knight.”[29]
In 1251 King Henry III forbad the holding of a round table[30] and
many examples of such prohibitions are given in _Foedera_. Yet,
meetings of the kind were often held in England in spite of them, for
the young cavaliers, imbued with the chivalrous spirit of the age,
declined being balked of their favourite pastime and were willing to
run some risks for its gratification. In the reign of Henry III the
king admonishes his subjects “to offend not by tourneying,” and, “by
the advice of parliament enacted, that all who (without leave) should
keep a tournament, should forfeit their estates, and their children to
be disinherited.”[31] As late as the reign of King Edward II an edict
was issued against the practice, the ordinance running “_Turneare_,
_burdeare_, _justas facere_, _aventuras quaerere_.”[32] Prohibitions
against tournaments were issued in the years 1220, 1234, 1255 and 1299.
In normal times, however, they were often encouraged by the crown,
and were presided over, and even taken part in, by kings and princes.
Matthew of Westminster states that it was customary for newly made
knights to pass over to the Continent to show their mettle by feats
of arms; and that King Henry III knighted eighty gentlemen on one
occasion, who all went abroad, accompanied by Prince Edward, to take
part in tournaments.
In the early days of tournaments there were only five authorized
lists (_champs clos_) in England, and they were all south of the
Trent. At a later period these enclosures were usually placed in the
neighbourhood of a large town where there was a hall spacious enough
for the banquet and the dance; the size of the lists being regulated
by the number of cavaliers expected to take part. Those of the twelfth
century were open at the sides, a barrier standing at each end; later
they were made quadrangular in shape, longer than broad by one-fourth.
They were enclosed by a double row of palisading, high enough to make
it impossible for a horse to leap over; the space between the rows
affording a place of refuge for the varlets (ephebi) and attendants.
The _rôle_ of the varlets was to rush in and steady their masters in
the saddle, when swaying after their careers; and, when unhorsed, to
extricate and drag them, as opportunity offered, out of the press or
from among the horse’s hoofs in the _mêlée_; for they were unable to
help themselves in their heavy armour. This duty was both difficult
and dangerous, but they had to manage as best they could. Openings
were left at either end of the lists for entrance and exit, and
movable barriers were provided for closing them when required. A thick
covering of sand was strewn on the ground, or it was well mulched
with tanning refuse so as to provide a soft bed for breaking the
force of the fall of a cavalier when unseated. 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 extreme; and the element of danger involved would add greatly
to the interest and excitement of the spectators. Permanent lists
were often surrounded by a ditch or moat. The marshals of the lists,
kings of arms, heralds and pursuivants-at-arms were stationed within
the enclosure to note the various incidents taking place among the
combatants; and it was the duty of the first-named to see that the
rules of chivalry and general regulations were strictly observed.
Trumpets announced the entry of each competitor, who was followed
into the lists by his esquires; and flourishes of music were heard
at intervals to animate the combatants, and to mark special feats of
gallantry. Each knight usually bore on his person some token of his
lady-love, which was disposed on his helmet, lance or shield. The
armour and horses of the vanquished fell as spoil to the victors,
unless ransomed by payment in money; this, however, was the case only
in contests of courtesy. The jousting at a tournament usually ended
with “_le coup ou la lance des Dames_,” a homage to the fair sex
joyfully rendered.
We have seen that blunted lances were in use in 1252, but we have not
found any record of the coronal, a lance-head formed like a flattened
crown (whence the name), before very early in the fourteenth century,
when it appears on a picture in a MS. in the British Museum.[33]
Cavaliers frequently successful in the tourney enriched themselves by
the forfeiture of the horses and armour of the vanquished.
The routine of an early tournament is described in Codex 69 of the
Harleian MS.[34] It is first proclaimed over a wide area; and on
assemblage the cavaliers, mounted on horseback, are divided into two
parties or squadrons, the challengers and the challenged. Each troop
usually varied in number from twelve to twenty, and was headed by its
own leader; the weapons were pointless swords with rebated edges. The
two bodies then take up positions at opposite ends of the lists; the
onset is sounded, “_Lasseir les aler_,” and they engage in combat
until the signal is given to cease fighting. Various perquisites fall
to the superintending Norroy King at Arms, and he and the heralds
are paid their expenses and six crowns of “nail money” for affixing
the cote-armour of the two leaders in front of their pavilions.
An illustration on a MS. of the thirteenth century in the royal
library[35] is reproduced in _Sports and Pastimes_. It pictures the
entry on horseback of the two baron-leaders into the lists, wearing
chain-mail 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 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.
The first mention we have found of prizes at tournaments is in 1279,
when, at the Round Table held at Kenilworth in that year, the prize (a
golden lion) was awarded to Sir Roger Mortimer; but they do not seem to
have become general until much later.
Henry III, on his marriage with Eleanor of Provence, in 1236, held a
tournament for eight successive days; and according to Matthew Paris,
there was one at Northampton in 1247, another at Nebridge in 1248.
The tournaments held during the reign of Richard I were frequently
interdicted by the Church owing to the brutal character of many of
them; and Jocelin of Brackelond tells the story of a number of knights
who held one between Thetford and Bury St. Edmunds, in spite of the
fiat of the abbot. Another took place soon after, which had also been
prohibited; and all who had taken part in it were excommunicated.
Matthew Paris describes a tournament held at Rochester in 1251, at
which foreigners contended with English knights. There was great
bitterness at the time between some of the nationalities owing to very
rough treatment that had been experienced by some English knights
abroad; and all rules and regulations were thrown to the winds at
Rochester, the proceedings degenerating there into a free fight. The
English set upon the foreigners with staves, beating them severely,
and chased them into the town, to which they fled for refuge. Another
instance of this kind may be cited in an account given by Matthew
of Westminster of a case in 1253, when the Earl of Gloucester and a
companion took part in a tournament abroad, at which they were so
roughly handled as to require fomentations and baths before they were
in a condition to return to England. Trivet relates a further striking
example in a case, lawless and brutal in its character, which received
the name in history “_La petite Bataille de Chalòns_.” Edward I, King
of England, was travelling through France in the year 1274 on his way
home from the Holy Land to take possession of the crown, when he was
invited by the Count de Chalôns to take part in a tournament to be
held in the open, near the town of Chalôns, with a certain number of
his followers. At an early stage of the contest the Count, a knight
of unusual strength, forcing his way through the _mêlée_ attacked the
King with great vigour and impetuosity; and casting away his weapons
threw his arms around King Edward’s neck, hoping to unhorse him. The
King, however, being a tall and powerful man kept his saddle, and at
the moment of the greatest pressure cut fiercely at his adversary,
dragged him from his horse and threw him heavily to the ground. The
exasperation of the French cavaliers on seeing their leader fall was
very great, and for a time a real battle ensued, in which the outside
followers of both sides took an active part, the English using their
terrible bows: but some degree of order having been at length restored
the count surrendered to the King and acknowledged him to be the
victor. After this tournament laying hands on an opponent was strictly
forbidden. Thomas of Walsingham also gives a spirited account of this
meeting, which runs on similar lines.[36]
At Whitsuntide in the year 1256 great jousting was held at Blei, when
the Lord Edward, afterwards King Edward I, “first began to shew proofs
of his chiualrie.” In one of these encounters “William de Longspee was
so brused that he could never after recover his former strength.”[37]
“In the ninth year of King Edward’s reign, the feast of the round table
was kept at Warwike with great and sumptuous triumph.”[38]
The Round Table assembled at Kenilworth by Sir Roger Mortimer has been
already referred to in the section devoted to the Tabula Rotunda, and
Hardyng in his _Chronicle_[39] thus pictures it:
“And in the yere a thousand was full then
Two hundred also sixty and nynetene,[40]
When Sir Roger Mortimer so began
At Kelyngworth, the round table as was sene,
Of a thousand Knygts for dicipline,
Of young menne, after he could devise
Of Turnementes, and justes to exercise.
“A Thousand Ladies, excellyng in beautee
He had also there, in tentes high above
The justes, that thei might well and clerely see
Who justed beste, there for their Lady Love
For whole beautie, it should the Knightes move
In armes so eche other to revie
To get a fame in play of Chivalry.”
Hardyng died about the year 1465, nearly two centuries after the events
he narrates.
The lance, or glaive as it is often called, of the eleventh and twelfth
centuries[41] was quite straight and smooth; a vamplate was added in
the fourteenth, small at first but larger later, for the protection of
the right arm. The lance for jousting was made of soft wood, so as to
splinter easily.
A manuscript in the Record Office, transferred from the Tower about
1855, entitled _Emptiones facte per manum Adinetti Cissoris et visu
Albini ＆ Roberti de Dorset contra Torniamentum de Parco de Windsore,
nono die Julii anno Sexto_ (a Roll of Purchases made for the tournament
held at Windsor Park in the year 1278), is copied in _Archæologia_ of
the year 1814.[42] This document is of rare value in giving particulars
of the equipment of the cavaliers engaged in tournaments of the last
quarter of the thirteenth century, besides mentioning other matters of
interest. Thirty-eight cavaliers took part in the tournament at Windsor
Park, twelve of the highest rank being styled _digniores_. Among these
were the Earls of Cornwall, Gloucester, Warren, Lincoln, Pembroke and
Richmond;[43] and there were several foreign knights present. Many
of the cavaliers whose names appear on the roll had been with King
Edward in the Holy Land. Both arms and armour[44] were provided for
the occasion for all the cavaliers taking part. Thirty-seven of the
outfits ranged in cost from 7_s._ to 25_s._ each; that for the Earl of
Lincoln, however, was much higher than any of the others, being 33_s._
4_d._ The equipments must thus have differed widely in quality and
embellishment. The armours were of leather gilt, each suit consisting
of a coat-of-fence (being a “quiretta”[45] of leather), brassards of
buckram, a surcoat (the material for the majority of these garments
being carda,[46] but those for the four earls were of cindon silk), a
pair of ailettes, of leather and carda,[47] two crests (one for the
man, the other for the horse), a shield of wood heraldically ensigned,
a helm of leather, and a sword of whalebone and parchment, silvered
over. The shields of wood cost 5_d._ each, without emblazonment; the
swords 7_d._ each, and 25_s._ was paid for silvering the blades, and
3_s._ 6_d._ for gilding the hilts. The helmets for the “_digniores_”
were gilded at an expense of 12_s._, the others silvered. Each helmet
cost 2_s._, and the ailettes 8_d._ the pair. Eight hundred little bells
(_grelots_) were provided, to be used in necklets for the horses;
sixteen skins for making bridles; twelve dozen silken cords for tying
on the ailettes;[48] and seventy-six calf-skins for making crests. The
cuirasses and helmets were made by Milo, the currier; and the cost of
carriage for the whole of the sets from London was 3_s._ The sum total
for all these outfits provided in England was £80 11_s._ 8_d._; but
some other purchases were made in France, and in the list are items
for saddles and horse furniture. There is no mention of lances, and
many of the items scheduled are only open to conjecture. Sir Roger de
Trumpington, whose effigy lies in Trumpington Church, Cambridgeshire,
was among those taking part in the tournament. If one can imagine this
passage of arms, its participants armed with swords of whalebone and
parchment, with their arm-defences of buckram, it does not seem a very
dangerous affair, though a rough enough sport.
There is another document of about the same period of the highest
importance, viz. the _Statuta de Armis_, or _Statutum Armorum in
Torniamentis_. This was drawn out at the request of the earls and
barons of England and by the king’s command, and affords much
information as to the equipment for the tourney late in the thirteenth
century, the usages to be observed, and the regulations as to the
heralds, esquires, and varlets. There are several copies extant, one of
which, and that perhaps the most reliable, may be seen in the Bodleian
Library. Part of the text is reproduced by Hewitt in his invaluable
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;”[51] “quisers;”[52] “espaulers;”[53] and
“bacyn,”[54] and no more.
If any “conte,” baron or other chevalier break any of
the rules of the tourney, he shall, with the assent and
command of the Seigneurs, Sire Edward, fiz le Rey; Sire
Eumond, frère le Rey; Sire William de Valence; Sire Gilbt de
Clare; and Cunto Nichole,[55] lose horse and armour and be
imprisoned at the discretion of the said court of honour,
and all disputes shall be referred to it for settlement.
Any esquire to a knight breaking the regulations in any
way should lose horse and armour and be imprisoned for three
years; and none was allowed to raise up a fallen knight but
his own appointed esquire, bearing his device. Spectators
were prohibited the wearing of armour or the carrying of
arms. Etc.
May we see in the comparative mildness of these rules, and the control
exercised by the court of honour, some results of King Edward’s own
dangerous experiences at the Chalôns tournament.
It is an interesting fact that the effigies of two of the members of
this distinguished committee have been preserved, viz.: those of Edmund
Crouchback, whose sword-belt is enriched with heraldic bearings; and
William de Valance. Both are in Westminster Abbey. The figure of the
former wears the coif or hood of mail; the body is covered by a surcoat
with long sleeves and reaching nearly to the ankles; but poleynes
or knee-kops can be discerned. In the case of the other effigy the
surcoat is sleeveless and shorter than the other, reaching down to
just over the knees. Poleynes are present, but there are no coudes.
A concave triangular shield hangs by the belt. Chain-mail; quilted
stuffs, often reinforced with rings or studs of iron, bone or horn;
ordinarily dressed leather and _cuir-bouilli_, which is leather boiled
or beaten—were all quite capable of resisting an ordinary sword-stroke
or lance-thrust.
An effigy of the twelfth century in the Temple Church, London, that
of Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, dating in the year 1144, in
the reign of Stephen, exhibits the knight completely encased in mail,
wearing a coif of mail of the same fabric, and over it is the tall
cylindrical, flat-topped helm. It was found, however, that certain
vital and more exposed parts of the body required further protection,
for the mail, far from presenting a glancing surface towards the
strokes and thrusts from weapons of attack rather afforded them a
lodgment. The mail therefore became gradually reinforced over the
most vulnerable places with pieces of leather or plates of iron until
a full panoply of metal plating had been attained, a process which
had not been quite completed before the first decade of the fifteenth
century. The course of transition can best be followed by a study of
brasses and effigies. The Crouchback and de Valence effigies show us
that but little progress in the direction of plate-armour had been made
up to the end of the thirteenth century, though after that time the
transition became rapid.
The usual knightly panoply was a coif of mail and beneath it a cap of
cloth, worn in battle with or sometimes without a surmounting helm; the
tunic; the gambeson or pourpoint, of quilted cloth; the hauberk, of
chain-mail; the chaussons, which covered the upper part of the leg; the
chausses, the lower; and the surcoat.
Chain-mail is probably a fabric of Eastern origin, consisting of forged
iron rings, each ring interlinked with four others. This web must
have been somewhat of a rarity even as late as the eleventh century,
and, indeed, until the process of wire-drawing had been invented,
owing to the laborious and costly nature of its manufacture. Each ring
required to be cut from a long strip of wire, hammered-out from the
solid, then interlinked, riveted, forged or butted together. The Romans
employed chain-mail, as shown by the compressed masses which have been
found, but whether it was interlinked in the manner just described is
doubtful. Hauberks of quilted stuffs, reinforced with rings or studs of
iron, bone or horn, were much in use; and so were those of ordinarily
dressed leather; or of _cuir-bouilli_, which is leather prepared by
boiling and beating. All these defences were quite capable of resisting
an ordinary sword-stroke or lance-thrust.
The arming of the horse with a bard of chain-mail or its substitutes
did not take place before the third quarter of the thirteenth century;
the trapper came into use somewhat earlier, though probably not painted
or embroidered with heraldic bearings before the reign of Edward I.
FOOTNOTES:
[21] He began to write the _Annals_ just after the death of Henry II.
in 1189. They begin with the year 732 and end in 1201; and form not
only a chronicle of England, but include also the history of many other
countries.
[22] _Perambulation of Kent_, fol. 448.
[23] Cited in _Horda_.
[24] Cited by Strutt in _Horda Angel-cynnan_, p. 92.
[25] _Rymer Foed._, 301.
[26] _Chronica Jocelini de Brakelonda, de rebus gestis Samsonis Abbatis
Monasterii Sancti Edmundi._
[27] See Appendix B.
[28] Trivet. Cited by Holinshed. II, 263.
[29] Holinshed II, 418.
[30] Ashmolean MS. 860, 88. See Appendix A for catalogue of the
Ashmolean MSS. relating to the tourney.
[31] _Horda Angel-cynnan_ II, 91.
[32] Foedera III, 982.
[33] No. 14, E. III.
[34] See Appendix B.
[35] No. 14, E. III.
[36] _Historia Anglicana_, 1272-1422.
[37] Holinshed, II, 438.
[38] _Ibid._ II, 484.
[39] Chap. 155, fol. 161.
[40] _Anno_ 1279.
[41] The Bayeux tapestry shows one of the eleventh century.
[42] XVII, 297.
[43] John de Britannia.
[44] _Hernesium de Armis._
[45] Cuirass.
[46] A kind of cloth.
[47] Ailettes first appear in the second half of the thirteenth century
and continued in fashion for about sixty years. They assume various
forms, and were worn upright at the outsides of the shoulders, attached
by laces. On brasses they appear at the backs of the shoulders, but
this is probably for the reason that the artists found some practical
difficulty in picturing them so as to appear as they were really worn.
It is not clear whether these singular pieces were intended for defence
or to be used as planes for the ensignment of heraldic devices; it is
certain, however, that they could afford but little protection against
a stroke from a sword or a battle-axe.
[48] Aiguillettes, or laces, later termed arming points, played an
important part in the arming of a man, and were freely employed in
fastening certain parts of his armour together. These points were also
an important item in civil dress, and were usually of cord, silk, or
leather.
[49] I, 366.
[50] XVII, 298.
[51] Probably a coat-of-fence.
[52] Cuisses.
[53] Shoulder-pieces.
[54] Bascinet.
[55] Edward, the King’s son; Edmund, the King’s brother; William de
Valance, Earl of Pembroke; Gilbert de Clare; and the Earl of Lincoln.
These five noblemen constituted a court of honour, a committee in fact
for the control of the tourney. William de Valence died in 1296, so the
document must date before that year.
CHAPTER III
The fourteenth century was eminently a period of transition and
development in arms, armour, jousts, tournaments, and, indeed, in
everything that related to warfare. During its course chain-mail
harness had been gradually replaced by iron plate, bit by bit; a
process hardly completed at the end. It was a century of almost
incessant fighting among the nations, in the East as well as in the
West; and the knightly armour of the period in its advancing stages
lies open as a book before us, in a study of our effigies and brasses.
An epoch-making detonating force had come into operation, which
inaugurated a new era in the art of war. In its early days ordnance was
greatly inferior in destructive power to most of the mechanical engines
of the period, but by the end of the century it had developed to an
extent which produced a revolution in the relative resources at command
for attack and defence; and the old chivalry became at length second in
importance to the infantry arm.
Contemporary information regarding the jousts and tournaments of the
earlier part of the fourteenth century is sparse; they are described
in the _Romances of Richard Cœur de Lion, Sir Ferumbras_, and others,
which teem with improbabilities though still of the greatest value;
and there is a pictorial representation in _Roman du roy Meliadus_ of
“_Une Mêlée de Tornois_”.[56] This romance, probably written about
the middle of the century, contains several pictorial examples of
jousts and tournaments, and a wealth of coloured and gilded drawings
on military subjects generally; while others are figured in the
Froissart plates[57], Hefner’s _Tratchten_ and Carter’s _Painting and
Sculpture_. It is to Froissart that we are immeasurably most indebted
for information regarding these martial games, more especially those
of the second half of the fourteenth century, and his recitals contain
much invaluable detail, which had been industriously collected from
heralds, pursuivants, kings-of-arms and other officials at the tourney.
Froissart was born about the year 1337, and he began to gather the
material for his history when about twenty years of age, viz. eleven
years after the battle of Crecy. _The Chronicles_ commence with the
coronation of Edward III, in 1337, and with the accession of Philip
of Valois to the crown of France, and they close about the end of the
century with the death of Richard II of England. At the beginning of
his career Froissart was closely associated with the English court as
a poet and historian, acting, indeed, as clerk to the closet to Queen
Philippa, after which he entered the Church, becoming later canon
of Chimay. His fine personal gifts soon placed him in excellent and
confidential relations with many prominent and influential personages,
both of France and England, able to give him reliable information for
his history. His industry was remarkable, his style of writing both
original and luminous, and his facts and narrations, though often
marshalled with some confusion, are most reliable, so far at least as
we can judge now. He was no extreme partisan, but tried, as he often
says, whenever possible to hear both sides to a question. The weak
place in his history is his dates and the lack of them. Sainte-Palaye
says of him: “_Froissart, qui a mieux réussi qu’acun de nos historiens
à peindre les mœurs de son siècle_, ...”
Royal jousts were often held in celebration of the coronations and
weddings of princes; and such were usually proclaimed in advance in
other countries of chivalry, so as to afford opportunities for the
attendance of foreign cavaliers anxious to distinguish themselves; and
these were provided with safe-conducts by the crown.
In 1302 “Tournies, iustes, barriers, and other warlike exercises,
which yovng lords and gentlemen had appointed to exercise for their
pastime in diuerse parts of the realme, were forbidden by the
kings proclamations sent downe to be published by the shirifs in
euerie countie abroad in the realme: the teste of the writ was from
Westminster the sixteenth of Julie.”[58]
A tournament was proclaimed by the King of Bohemia and the Earl of
Hainault, to be held at Condé in 1327, just after the coronation of
Edward III; and Sir John de Hainault, who had been present at the
ceremony, left England to attend this tourney, accompanied by fifteen
English knights, who intended taking part.[59]
Holinshed states that in September, 1330, the King (Ed. III) held
jousts in Cheapside, when he with twelve challengers answered all
comers. The meeting continued over three days, and no serious accidents
took place.
A joust of the same year is figured in _Codex Balduini Trevirencis_.
The cavaliers are seen jousting with lances tipped with coronals
and with flat triangular shields, heraldically ensigned: they wear
ample surcoats and the horses are trapped in cloth. The heaumes bear
fan crests, the saddles are without supports; and the object in
contemplation is the splintering of lances and unhorsing.
“Great iustes was kept by King Edward at the toune of Dunstable in
1341, with other counterfeited feats of warre, at the request of
diuerse yovng lords and gentlemen, whereat both the king and queene
were present, with the more part of the lords and ladies of the
land.”[60]
King Edward held a tournament in London in the middle of August, 1342;
and had sent heralds into Flanders, Brabant and France to proclaim
it. 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.
The Round Table held at Windsor on St. George’s Day in 1344 has been
referred to in the section devoted to the _Tabula Rotunda_. These
hastiludes and jousts are mentioned by Froissart, who tells us that
they were characterized by great splendour. The Queen was attended on
the occasion by three hundred ladies, richly attired; while the King
had a great array of earls and barons in his train. The “feast” was
noble, with all good cheer and jousting, and lasted over fifteen days.
Holinshed’s account, under the year 1344, is as follows:—“Moreouer,
about the beginning of the eighteenth yeare (?) of his reigne, King
Edward held a solemne feast at his castell of Windsore, where betwixt
Candlemasse and Lent, was atchiued manie martiall feasts, and iusts,
and tornaments, and diuerse other the like warlike pastimes, at which
were present manie strangers of other lands, and in the end thereof,
he deuised the order of the garter, and after established it, as it
is to this daie. There are six and twentie companions or confrers of
this felowship of that order, being called knights of the blew garter,
and as one dieth or is depriued, an other is admitted into his place.
The K. of England is euer chiefe of this order. They weare a blew robe
or mantell, and a garter about their left leg, richlie wrought with
gold and pretious stones, hauing this inscription in French vpon it,
Honi soit qui mal y pense, Shame come to him who euill thinketh. This
order is dedicated to S. George, as chéefe patrone of men of warre, and
therefor euerie yeare doo the knights of the order kéepe solmne his
feast, with manie noble ceremonies at the castell of Windsore, where
King Edward founded a colledge of canons.”[63]
Shortly after this round table the King issued letters patent for
hastiludes and jousts to be held annually at Lincoln, over which the
Earl of Derby was nominated as Captain by the King, the office to be
retained by the earl during life-time, but after his death to become
elective.
The “Feast of the Round Table” was again held at Windsor in 1345, and
within a few years of it jousts took place at Northampton, Dunstable,
Canterbury, Bury, Reading and Eltham, the exact years of which do not
appear in the wardrobe accounts which have been preserved. In July,
1346, King Edward invaded France, and did not return to London until
October, 1347, his home-coming being celebrated by jousts, tournaments,
masques and other festivities.
A manuscript covering the expenses of the great wardrobe of Edward
III from December, 1345, to January, 1349, now in the Public Record
Office, is printed in _Archæologia_ for the year 1846.[64] Some of
the items scheduled cover robes for the person, which were delivered
to certain of the knights taking part in a “round-table” held by the
King at Lichfield in 1348 or 1349, more probably the former year; viz.
for the King’s person and eleven knights of his chamber, these being
Sir Walter Manny, John de L’Isle, Hugo Courtenay, John Gray, Robert de
Ferrers, Richard de la Vache, Philip de Spencer, Roger de Beauchamp,
Miles de Stapleton, Ralph de Ferrers and Robert de Mauley. To each of
these knights two yards of blue cloth for coats and “three quarters
and half a yard” of white cloth for hoods[65] was delivered. Similar
cloth was also issued to some of the other knights. The challengers,
or _tenans_, of the round table consisted of the king and seventeen of
his knights; their opponents, the _venans_, comprised fourteen knights,
with the Earl of Lancaster at their head. An entry in the wardrobe
accounts shows that King Edward wore a harness bearing the arms of Sir
Thomas Bradeston on the occasion. Any further particulars of this round
table, beyond the details of the robes for the banquet, are lacking.
This tournament was celebrated with great pomp and magnificence.
A spirited verse from Chaucer’s “Knight’s Tale” follows:—[66]
“The heraudes lefte hir prikyng up and doun;
Now ryngen trompès loude and clarioun;
Ther is namoore to seyn, but west and est
In goon the speres ful sadly in arrest;
In gooth the sharpè spore into the syde.
Ther seen men who kan juste and who kan ryde;
Ther shyveren shaftès upon sheeldès thikke;
He feeleth thurgh the hertè-spoon the prikke.
Up spryngen sperès twenty foot on highte;
Out gooth the swerdes as the silver brighte;
The helmès they to-hewen and to-shrede,
Out brest the blood with stiernè stremès rede;
With myghty maces the bonès they to-breste.
He, thurgh the thikkeste of the throng gan threste,
Ther, stomblen steedès stronge, and doun gooth al;
He, rolleth under foot as dooth a bal.”
We see in the _Romance of Perceforest_ how the ladies at a tournament
tore off pieces of their apparel to be used as tokens or favours by
their devoted knights, to an extent leaving them in a condition of
dishabille. A knight often wore “a kerchief of pleasance” on his
helmet, a token from his lady-love.
In 1358 “Roiall iustes were holden in Smithfield, at which were present
the Kings of England, France and Scotland ... of which the more part of
the strangers were as their prisoners.”[67]
“Moreouer, this year (1359) in the Rogation wéeke was solemne iusts
enterprised at London, for the maior and his foure and twentie brethern
as challengers did appoint to ansuer all commers, in whose name and
stéed the King with his foure sonnes, Edward, Lionell, John and Edmund,
and ninetéene other great lords; in secret manner came and held the
field with honor, to the great pleasure of the citizens that beheld the
same.”[68]
“Moreouer this yeare (1362) the fiue first daies of Maie, were kept
roiall iusts in Smithfield by London, the king and queene being
present, with a great multitude of ladies and gentlemen of both the
realms of England and France.”[69]
Much detailed information concerning the jousting of the fourteenth
century has fortunately been preserved in the records of the wars in
France, some examples of which follow.
At the time when the siege of Tournay was raised by means of a truce, a
tournament was held at Mons, at which Sir Gerard de Verchin, Seneschal
of Hainault, was mortally wounded.[70]
Froissart states[71] that a combat took place before the walls of the
town of Rennes in 1357, then being besieged by the English forces,
between _a young knight-bachelor_,[72] Bertrand du Guesclin, and
an English cavalier, Sir Nicholas Dagworth. The articles of combat
provided for three courses with the lance, three strokes with the
battle-axe and three thrusts with the dagger. These were all duly
delivered, the knights bearing themselves right gallantly, without hurt
to either of them. The fight was viewed with extreme interest by both
armies.
So far Froissart. But there is some doubt whether it was Sir Nicholas
Dagworth who was one of the principals in this duel; for in the
_Histoire de Bretagne_ it is stated that it was William de Blanchbourg,
brother of the Governor of Fougerai, who was Sir Bertrand’s opponent
on the occasion, and that he was wounded and unhorsed. It is more
probable, however, that both duels were fought, though the last-named
combat was not likely to have taken place under the walls of Rennes,
for both cavaliers were Frenchmen.
There is a singularly beautiful brass in the pavement of the south
chapel of Blickling Church, Norfolk, in memory of Sir Nicholas
Dagworth, who was a man of importance in the reigns of kings Edward III
and Richard II. He lived until the year 1401,[73] and his will appears
in _Testamenta Vetusta_. The brass is given in the Boutell Collection.
It affords an excellent example of the armour prevailing at the end
of the fourteenth century, when the evolution from chain-mail to full
plate-armour had been almost completed. The helmet is the pointed
bascinet, with the camail, the latter with an ornamental bordering
coming over the top of the jupon. The cyclas, which has an enriched
fringing, hides the body-armour from view, and the knightly belt is
elaborately decorated; the pouldrons are articulated. The gauntlets,
with short cuffs, have gads over the fingers for use in the _mêlée_,
and they show an imitation of finger-nails, and the solerets are freely
articulated. The knight’s head rests on his great helm, which has a
mantling; and a wreath, surmounted by the crest, a griffin. The armour
is enriched with chasing. The Arms—Erm, on a fesse, gu., three bezants:
impaling Rosale, Cu., a fesse between six martlet’s or.
The armour of the Black Prince in the Chapel of the Holy Trinity, at
Canterbury Cathedral, affords an excellent illustration of the degree
of progress reached in the last quarter of the fourteenth century. The
process of evolution from chain-mail to plate is here almost completed,
there being only small pieces of the former at the skirt, arms and
insteps of the solerets. The Prince died in 1376, and the date of his
effigy is somewhat later.
During a skirmish at Toury, in France, shortly before the death of
King Charles V, in 1380, an esquire of Beauce, named Gauvain Micaille,
enquired through an herald if any English gentleman would be willing
to try a feat of arms with him—a joust of three courses, and the
exchange of three blows with the battle-axe and of three thrusts with
the dagger. The challenge was accepted by an English esquire, named
Joachim Cator. The Frenchman received a severe wound in the thigh in
the jousting, which was in contravention of the rules of the tourney;
but the Englishman pleaded that it was an accident solely due to the
restiveness of his horse; and this explanation was accepted by the
umpire.[74]
An interesting tournament took place at Cambray in 1385 on the marriage
of the Count d’Ostrevant to the daughter of Duke Philip of Burgundy.
The ceremony was followed by a banquet at which the King of France
was present as well as the Duke. The tournament was held in the
market-place of the town, and forty knights took part, the King tilting
with a knight of Hainault. The prize was a clasp of precious stones,
taken from off the bosom of the Duchess of Burgundy; it was won by a
knight of Hainault, Sir John Destrenne, and was formally presented by
the Admiral of France and Sir Guy de la Trimouille.[75]
The number of courses run in jousting and the blows and strokes
exchanged with battle-axes, swords and daggers at a meeting like that
just described was usually three each; but they tended to increase as
the century advanced, and five got to be a common number, and later as
many as ten or even twelve. In the duel between Sir Thomas Harpenden
and Messire Jean des Barres, at Montereau sur Yonne in 1387, they
numbered “_cinq lances à cheval, cinq coups d’épée, cinq coups de dague
et cinq coups de hache_.” The first four courses of the jousts were run
with equal fortune, but in the fifth Sir Thomas was unhorsed and lay
senseless on the ground; he revived, however, after a time, and all the
strokes and blows were duly exchanged without further hurt to either
knight. The King of France was present on the occasion.[76]
About this time, when the war between France and England was in full
progress, there was much jousting with pointed lances between the
knights and esquires of the two nations; safe-conducts being issued by
the commanders on either side.
A meeting was arranged to take place near Nantes, under the auspices of
the Constable of France and the Earl of Buckingham. The first encounter
was a combat on foot, with sharp spears, in which one of the cavaliers
was slightly wounded; the pair then ran three courses with the lance
without further mishap. Next Sir John Ambreticourt of Hainault and Sir
Tristram de la Jaille of Poitou advanced from the ranks and jousted
three courses, without hurt. A duel followed between Edward Beauchamp,
son of Sir Robert Beauchamp, and the bastard Clarius de Savoye. Clarius
was much the stronger man of the two, and Beauchamp was unhorsed. The
bastard then offered to fight another English champion, and an esquire
named Jannequin Finchly came forward in answer to the call; the combat
with swords and lances was very violent, but neither of the parties
was hurt. Another encounter took place between John de Châtelmorant
and Jannequin Clinton, in which the Englishman was unhorsed. Finally
Châtelmorant fought with Sir William Farrington, the former receiving
a dangerous wound in the thigh, for which the Englishman was greatly
blamed, as being an infraction of the rules of the tourney; but an
accident was pleaded as in the case of the duel between Gauvain
Micaille and Joachim Cator. At this meeting the honours lay with the
Frenchmen.[77]
Somewhat later a combat _à outrance_[78] took place at Chateau
Josselin, near Vannes, between John Boucmel, a Frenchman, and Nicholas
Clifford, in which Boucmel was struck on the upper part of the
breastplate by his opponent’s lance, which, glancing off, entered
his neck through the camail and severed the jugular vein, killing
him instantly.[79] A plate of Froissart’s represents this duel as a
combat on foot with long lances, taking place in a small quadrangular
enclosure.
Juvenal des Ursins states[80] that at the marriage of Charles VI, of
France, with Isabel (Isabeau) of Bavaria, 1385, jousts and grand fêtes
took place in its honour. Sir Peter Courtenay came to France at the
time with the object of accomplishing a feat of arms with the Seigneur
de la Tremouille. The King’s consent to the duel had been obtained,
and the day and place were fixed for its accomplishment. The knights
appeared in the lists on the day appointed in order to fulfil their
engagement in presence of the King, who, however, at the last moment,
owing to some remonstrances, forbade the combat: but a duel did take
place at the time between an English knight and the Seigneur de Clery,
in which the Englishman was wounded and unhorsed. This joust had been
brought to the notice of the Duke of Burgundy, who said that the
offence committed by a Frenchman in jousting with an enemy without the
consent of his sovereign was worthy of death; his Majesty, however, at
length pardoned the offender.
Froissart describes a realistic tournament, held at Paris during the
wedding festivities, as between the Saracens under Saladin, and the
Crusaders, led by Richard Cœur de Lion.
The feat of arms between Sir John Holland and Sir Reginald de Roye, a
French chevalier of distinction, held at the town of Entença, before
the King and Queen of Portugal and the Duke and Duchess of Lancaster,
presents features of its own. The French knight sent an invitation to
the Englishman entreating him to joust with him three courses with the
lance, and to exchange the same number of strokes with the battle-axe,
sword and dagger, for the love of his lady. The challenge was promptly
accepted, and an answer returned by the herald, together with a
safe-conduct for the Frenchman and his company. Sir Reginald arrived in
due time at Entença, handsomely accompanied by six score knights and
esquires. The meeting was held in a spacious close in the town, the
ground well strewn with sand; and galleries had been erected for the
accommodation of the royal and ducal parties, with other spectators.
The jousting was to be with sharp lances, to be followed by a contest
with sharp and well-tempered battle-axes, swords and daggers. The
champions were well mounted and rode into the lists in full armour,
taking up positions for their careers at either end of the lists, with
the distance of a bow-shot between them. The signal for the onset
having been sounded, the knights charged each other at the gallop, and
Sir Reginald struck the bars of his opponent’s visor so stoutly that
his lance splintered on impact. Sir John Holland also struck the visor
of his adversary well and fairly, but the helmet of the Frenchman,
instead of having been securely laced to his body-armour as was usual,
was only held by a single thong, and of course slipped off, leaving the
knight bare-headed and Sir John’s lance unbroken. The jousters then
returned to their stations, and charged each other as before, and again
the same thing happened, owing to the same cause. The English who were
present regarded the unusual loose fastening of the helmet as a trick,
but the umpire, the Duke of Lancaster, ruled that it was admissible
for Sir John Holland to have employed the same artifice had he chosen
to do so, and that therefore he could not decide against the French
knight.[81] After the stipulated three courses with the lance had been
run, the knights fought three rounds each with battle-axes swords and
daggers, without either receiving a scratch. The French chevalier was
adjudged to have had the advantage, though both had done well.[82]
In 1389 a deed of arms was performed at Bordeaux before the Duke of
Lancaster, between five Englishmen and five Frenchmen: three courses
with the lance, three courses with swords, and the same number with
battle-axes. None was wounded, but one of the English knights killed
the horse of a Frenchman with his lance, which greatly angered the
Duke, who replaced the loss with one of his own chargers.[83]
The most prominent and accomplished jouster of his day was the
Chevalier Jean Le Maingre, called De Boucicaut, Mareschal of France
1368-1421, and his _Mémoires_,[84] by an unknown author, contain
descriptions of some of his exploits in the tiltyard. One of these
recitals[85] follows:—During the three years’ truce between France
and England, when King Charles VI was at Montpellier,[86] the French
Seigneurs De Boucicaut, de Sampi and de Roye challenged all comers,
being foreign knights and esquires, to joust five courses with
lances, pointed or blunted, at their pleasure, at St. Ingelbert,[87]
a place near Calais; the _pas d’armes_ (or the “_table-ronde_,” as
it is called in the _Chapitres d’Armes_, or articles of combat) to
continue for thirty days. A great elm stood before the pavilions
of the challengers, and hanging from its branches were two shields
of wood, one of them plated with iron, “_l’un de paix, l’autre de
guerre_,” so that each venant on arriving at the rendezvous could
signify his pleasure as to whether he elected to fight with pointed
or rebated lances by striking with a wand the shield for peace or
that for war. The arms and devices of the three tenans were painted
above the two shields, so that each venant might be able to select
his adversary among them, and a note blown on a horn proclaimed his
choice. Each venant was to furnish the king of arms with his name and
titles, and to bring another cavalier with him as his sponsor. The
lists were richly decorated, the challengers handsomely apparelled;
and lavish hospitality was dispensed in a pavilion specially pitched
for the purpose. Any arms, armour, or other requisites of which the
venans might stand in need, were freely provided, the motto everywhere
displayed being “Ce que vouldrez.” The chronicle goes on to state that
on the first day of the jousting, Jean de Holland, Earl of Huntingdon,
half-brother to King Richard, signified his intention of jousting with
Boucicaut. Both lances were fairly splintered in the first encounter,
the second and third being fought with equal fortune; but in the fourth
the horse of the English knight fell with its rider, who was severely
injured, his antagonist only retaining his seat by the prompt support
of his varlets. Boucicaut then retired to his pavilion, but was not
allowed to remain resting for long, for other English cavaliers desired
to joust with him, and he disposed of two other knights the same day.
While he was engaged in combat day after day, his fellow tenans were
not idle, and the thirty days stipulated in the _Chapitres d’Armes_ ran
their course. Among other cavaliers from England taking part were Earl
Marschal, the knights de Beaumont, Thomas de Perci, de Clifford and
Courtenay, besides Sir John d’Ambreticourt and many Spanish and German
cavaliers. Boucicaut is said to have gone through the whole thirty days
of jousting without a scratch.
The rôle of the tenans at a _pas d’armes_ was no sinecure, and for
three knights to have held the _pas_ for thirty days against all
comers, as in this case, must have been an arduous undertaking; and
very dangerous also, more especially as much of the jousting was with
pointed lances. No. XI of Froissart’s plates professes to depict one
of the jousts of this _pas d’armes_; but it pictures one at the tilt,
so that the drawing is obviously of a later date than that of the
Inglevert meeting, and was, in fact, executed in the reign of Edward
IV, when the tilt was in common use. Froissart[88] gives a long and
circumstantial account of this meeting, and states that it was very
richly appointed. King Charles of France was present incognito, and had
subscribed very handsomely towards the heavy expenses incurred.
Monkish chronicles, written in times not contemporaneous with the
events they describe, are usually unreliable in being coloured with
the circumstances of a later age; and any illuminations or wood-cuts
accompanying them are apt to reflect the times in which they were
executed, rather than those they are represented to portray, for the
artist fills in his picture with the details of the scenes before him.
However, with the accumulated knowledge we now possess, we are enabled
to correct some of the mistakes, from a chronological point of view.
A royal tournament was held in London by King Richard II, immediately
after the Michaelmas of the year 1390, in honour of Queen Isabella;
and heralds were sent to proclaim it throughout England, Scotland,
Hainault, Germany, Flanders and France. Sixty knights were to joust
with rebated lances, as tenans, for two successive days, the Sunday and
Monday, against all comers; and the Tuesday following was set apart for
the esquires. The jousting was to be followed by banquets, dances and
sumptuous fêtes and entertainments of various kinds. The prizes for
the Sunday were as follows:—A rich crown of gold for the best lance
among the venans; and, for the most successful among the tenans, a
very rich golden clasp. Those for the Monday are not stated; but for
the Tuesday, the esquires’ day, they were a handsome charger, fully
accoutred, and a falcon, for the best lances of the venans and tenans,
respectively. The ladies were to act as judges and to present them. The
Sunday’s jousting was called the feast of the challengers. At three
p.m. the procession started from the Tower of London. Sixty barded
chargers, an esquire mounted on each, advanced at a foot’s pace; then
sixty ladies of rank richly apparelled and mounted on palfreys, rode in
single file, each leading a knight, in full armour, by a silver chain.
The procession thus formed proceeded along the streets of London, down
Cheapside to Smithfield, attended by minstrels and trumpeters. The King
and Queen, with their suites, accompanied by some of the great barons,
had gone earlier to Smithfield, and there awaited the arrival of the
procession and the knights from abroad. Their Majesties were lodged in
the Bishop’s palace, and there the banquets and dances were to be held.
Many foreign knights and esquires attended, and among them Sir William
of Hainault (Count d’Ostrevant)[89] and the Count de St. Pol.
On the arrival of the procession at Smithfield the knights mounted
their horses and prepared for jousting, which began soon after. The
prize for the best lance of the venans on the Sunday, the first day
of jousting, was awarded by the ladies to the Count de St. Pol; and
that for the most skilful knight among the tenans, to the Earl of
Huntingdon.[90] The King led the tenans on the Monday; and the prize
for the best lance of the venans was awarded to the Count d’Ostrevant;
that for the most successful of their opponents to Sir Hugh Spencer.
The esquires jousted on the Tuesday, after which there was a banquet,
and dancing was continued until daybreak. There was jousting on the
Wednesday for knights and esquires indiscriminately; and on Thursday
and Friday fêtes, masques and banquets, after which the royal party
left for Windsor.[91]
Caxton refers to these royal jousts in the following terms:—
“All of the King’s hous were of one sute, theyr cotys, theyr armys,
theyr sheldes and theyr trappours were embrowdred all with whyte
hertis, with crownes of gold about their necks, and cheynes of gold
hangyng thereon; whiche hertys were the King’s leverey, that he gaf to
lordes, ladyes, knyghtes, ＆ squyers, to know his houshold peple from
other; then four and twenty ladyes comynge to the justys, ladde[92]
four and twenty lordes with chynes of gold, and alle in the same sute
of hertes as is afore sayd, from the Tour on horsback thrurgh the
cyte of London into Smythfeld.” The narrative of this tournament by
Holinshed[93] is far from being so picturesque as that of Froissart,
and it differs in some particulars from it. He says there were
twenty-four ladies, not sixty, mounted on palfreys; and that the prizes
for the first day were awarded to the Comte de St. Pol and the Earl of
Huntingdon; and on the Monday to the Earl of Ostravant and Sir Hugh
Spencer.
King Richard proclaimed another grand tournament to be held at Windsor
in one of the closing years of his reign; the tenans or challengers
to be forty knights and forty esquires, clothed in green. The Queen
was present, but very few of the barons attended, owing to the great
unpopularity and arbitrary actions of the King,[94] whose reign had
begun under the happiest auspices, but the manifest defects in his
character brought his career to a sorrowful ending.
There was a kind of tourney called the _Espinette_ held at Lille, in
honour of a relic preserved there, which, though obscure, would seem to
have been but an ordinary joust with which certain annual ceremonies
were connected. Hewitt[95] quotes the _Chronicle of Flanders_
concerning a celebration in the year 1339:—“Jehan Bernier went to joust
at the _Espinette_, taking with him four damsels, namely, the wife
of Seigneur Jehan Biensemé, the wife of Symon du Gardin, the wife of
Monseigneur Amoury de la Vingne, and mademoiselle his own wife. And
the said Jehan Bernier was led into the lists by two of the aforesaid
damsels by two golden cords, the other two carrying each a lance. And
the King of the _Espinette_ this year was Pierre de Courtray, who bore
Sable, three golden Eagles with two heads and red beaks and feet.” M.
Leber gives some account of the _fête de l’épinette_ in the _Collection
des traités_.
The vamplate, _avant-plate_, placed on the shaft of the lance, for the
protection of the right hand and arm, first appears in the fourteenth
century; and so does the lance-rest on the breastplate. An ordinance
of the thirteenth century orders the lance to be blunted for the
tourney; but in the fourteenth it was ordered to be tipped with a
coronal, the short points of which were just sufficient to catch on
to the armour without being capable of piercing it. The helmet of the
fourteenth century was the pointed bascinet, with the camail or hood
of mail worn over the top of the cyclas. The great heaume used early
in the fourteenth century differs little from that of the end of the
thirteenth; later it assumed the form of a cylinder, surmounted by a
truncated cone. It was usually of iron, though sometimes of leather,
either ordinary or of _cuir-bouilli_. The fan crest, doubtless adopted
from a classic prototype, came into vogue in the last quarter of the
thirteenth century, though it is represented on the seal of King
Richard I.
Crests were made of various materials. Those for the cavaliers taking
part in the tournament at Windsor Park, in 1278, were of calf-skin,
one for the man and another for the horse, as shown in the Roll of
Purchases; that of the Black Prince, at Canterbury,[96] was of cloth.
They were attached to the helm by means of a thin iron bar. Crests
were usually affixed to the great helm, which was worn over the
bascinet; though there are instances of their being used alone on the
smaller head-piece.
The heraldic crest does not appear before towards the close of the
thirteenth century; a notable instance may be cited in the case of
the remarkable effigy of Sir John de Botiler, in St. Bride’s Church,
Glamorganshire, which dates about the year 1300. The helmet of this
monument is the cervellière, which is a visor-less, saucer or shallow
basin-shaped head-piece, going over the hood of mail; and the crest
is embossed on its front. Crests were not generally worn before about
the end of the first quarter of the fourteenth century, after which
period they develop from comparative simplicity into fantastic and even
ridiculous conceptions.
A strange fancy was the cap-of-maintenance, the placing of a cap of
velvet or other material on the helm, surmounted by the family crest;
and in the second half of the century or a little later the orle or
wreath and mantling or lambrequin are added.
The shield of the century was of the triangular kite or heater-shaped
form.
In 1390 “John de Hastings earle of Pembroke, as he was practising to
learne to ioust, thrugh mishap was striken about the priuie parts, by a
knight called Sir John S. John, that ran against him, so as his inner
parts being perished, death presentlie followed.”[97]
In 1398 the Earl of Crawford, of Scotland, jousted _à outrance_, i.e.
with sharp lances, with Lord Wells of England at London Bridge, the
23rd April, being the feast day of St. George. An attaint was made in
the first course, and both champions kept their seats. The Earl sat
so steadfast in his saddle under the shock that the by-standers cried
out that he was locked to his seat, on hearing which he jumped off his
horse and then vaulted back into his saddle again with such agility as
greatly to astonish the people. In the second course they met again
as before without either being hurt; but in the third Lord Wells “was
borne out of the saddle and sore hurt with a grieuous fall.”
Not long after a duel on horseback took place in Scotland between
Sir Robert Morley, an Englishman, and Sir Archibald Edmounston, and
afterwards with another Scot Hugh Wallace, and the first-named was the
victor in both cases; but he was at length overcome by one Hugh Traill,
at Berwick, and died shortly after from chagrin.[98]
FOOTNOTES:
[56] British Museum. MS. Addl. 12, 2228, fol. 181.
[57] The illustrated Froissart in the British Museum, Harl. MS. 4379,
was produced late in the fifteenth century.
[58] Holinshed, II, 536.
[59] Froissart (Johnes’), I, Chap. XLV.
[60] Holinshed, II, 623.
[61] There were no viscounts in England then.
[62] Appendix A.
[63] Holinshed, II, 628.
[64] Vol. XXXI, 26, in connection with “Observations on the Institution
of the Order of the Garter,” a paper by Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas,
G.C.M.G.
[65] The use of white hoods had its origin in an ancient custom of the
town of Ghent (Froissart, V, XX).
[66] A text by Alfred W. Pollard. 1898.
[67] Holinshed, II, 669.
[68] _Ibid._ II, 671.
[69] Holinshed, II, 677.
[70] Froissart, I, 249.
[71] II, 374.
[72] The italics are ours.
[73] A Sir Thomas Dagworth was slain in France in 1350 (Holinshed, II,
651).
[74] Froissart, V, Chap. XXXVIII.
[75] Froissart (Johnes’) VI, 378.
[76] Froissart, II, 756.
[77] _Ibid._ (Johnes’) V, Chap. XLVII.
[78] Meaning here with pointed lances.
[79] Froissart, V, XLVIII.
[80] _Histoire de Charles VI_, p. 368.
[81] This loose fastening of the helmet was a custom prevailing in
Spain and Portugal.
[82] Froissart, VIII, Chap. XXXI.
[83] _Ibid._ IX, 336.
[84] _Le Livre des Faicts du Mareschal De Boucicaut._
[85] Chap. XVII.
[86] About 1389.
[87] St. Inglevert.
[88] X, Chap. XI.
[89] He was great-nephew of Queen Philippa of Hainault.
[90] Sir John Holland, afterwards Duke of Exeter.
[91] Froissart, X, XXI.
[92] Led.
[93] Chronicles, II, 810.
[94] Froissart, XII, 104.
[95] _Ancient Armour and Weapons_, II, 340.
[96] Died 1376.
[97] Holinshed, II, 800.
[98] _Ibid._ V, 443.
CHAPTER IV
The fifteenth century marks a very distinct epoch in the history of the
tourney, which became milder and less dangerous to life and limb; and
during its course a stricter observance than hitherto of the rules,
regulations and limitations prescribed were progressively more strictly
enforced, and their infringement subjected the offenders to severe and
sometimes degrading penalties. An oath to observe the rules of chivalry
was administered to all cavaliers taking part in the tournament.
Body-armour had proved inadequate to resist the then weapons of attack,
and at the commencement of the century, or perhaps a couple of decades
earlier, the armour-smith was especially directing his attention
towards the strengthening of the knightly harness. The chief seat of
the industry for the greater part of the century was at Milan, at which
city armour was forged of such strength as to be capable of resisting
thrusts with the lance and strokes from the terrible battle-axe, sword
and mace practically without fracture; and one meets with references in
English and other records to orders being sent to Milan for harnesses
of proof, a civil garment being forwarded to indicate the stature and
build of the person, since ill-fitting suits would be apt to chafe the
wearers. But, while the best and most costly harnesses came from Italy,
less expensive equipments were imported into England from Germany;
for “_ostling_” (Easterling) armour is sometimes mentioned in English
articles of combat, and it was probably obtained through the agency of
the Hanseatic Confederation from their London depôt, the Steelyard,
then situated in what is now Lower Thames Street, London. The cost of
carriage also would be much less from Germany.
The great armour-smiths of Milan at the period immediately under review
were members of the Missaglia Negroli family, which, like many others,
carried on their craft for several generations. The Germans have always
been wont to borrow the inventions and processes of other nations,
and then often to cheapen them; and so it was with body-armour. They
gradually succeeded, under the personal inspiration and direction of
the Emperor Maximilian, in transferring the bulk of that industry, even
in the best harnesses, to German soil, until at length cities like
Nuremberg and Augsburg became the chief seats of the manufacture; and
indeed the bulk of the armours preserved to us of the later “Gothic”
and “Maximilian” styles are of German make. That Maximilian engaged
armour-smiths from Italy is seen by a contract made in 1494[99] with
the Milan armourers Gabrielle and Francesco de Merate, to erect and
equip for him a smithy in the town of Arbois, in Burgundy, to forge
there a certain number of harnesses at fixed prices. The armour worn
by Maximilian I at Worms, in 1495, in a combat on foot with the
Burgundian, Claude de Vaudrey, bears the stamp “m,e,r,” surmounted by
a crown, the Milan mark of these smiths, who came next in celebrity to
the Missaglias.
Many ameliorations were conceived in the fifteenth century with a view
to further minimizing the risk of serious accidents, and one of the
most far-reaching and important was the application of the tilt in
jousting. Many injuries had befallen the riders in the tourney by the
collision of their horses, sometimes by accident, at others by design,
and the idea of the tilt was conceived greatly with a view towards
obviating this danger. The tilt, or _toile_, was at first a rope hung
with cloth, stretched along the middle of the lists, but later it
became a barrier of planks, along which the tilters charged in opposite
directions, their bridle-arms towards it, their lances held in rest in
their right hands on the tilt side of the horse’s neck, striking the
polished, glancing surface of their adversary’s armour at an angle. The
tilt had the advantage of lending a fixed direction to the jousters in
their careers, though they often failed to touch each other. With the
danger of these collisions removed, the knight ran his course with but
little risk.
Jousting in the open with pointed lances was, however, continued
by a hardier type of jousters until long after the introduction of
the tilt; and here the saddle was without cantle, so as to offer no
impediment to unhorsing; and a cushion or mattress, stuffed with straw,
was placed over the chests of the horses, to act as a buffer in case
of collision. A rough game it was for a cavalier to be unseated and
thrown to the ground in his heavy armour, sometimes carrying a weight
of two hundred pounds; though his fall was broken by the ground of the
lists being covered with thickly strewn sand or mulched with refuse
from the tan-yard. This form was much practised in Germany, though
strange to say but little harm would seem to have been experienced by
the champions in their falls, greatly owing to the extensive padding
of their harnesses. Other important departures in the direction of
comparative safety were the designing of special forms of armour for
the tiltyard, and the introduction of additional or reinforcing pieces,
for doubly protecting those parts of the body on which the brunt of the
attack fell, viz. mainly on the left side. They first appear in England
in the reign of Edward IV. “William Lord Bergavenny bequeathed to his
son the best sword and harness for justs of peace and that which belong
to war.”
The vamplate of this century was much enlarged, for the protection of
the lance-arm; and the steels of the saddles lent great protection to
the bodies of the jousters below the breast. The effect of all this was
to encase those taking part in the tourney in an almost impenetrable
shell, from which they could barely see or do more than couch and aim
their lances.
Armour for the lists became sharply divided from that employed for
“hoasting” purposes, as harnesses for the field were called, though in
what country the change had its origin, whether in Burgundy, Italy or
Germany, is uncertain. It was in use in Burgundy in the year 1443, for
we read in the account given in _Mémoires D’Olivier De La Marche_,[100]
that during the time the necessary preparations were being made for
the tournament held at L’Arbre de Charlemagne, Dijon, in that year,
the young cavaliers practised jousting before the duke “_et là furent
faictes une jouste à selles plattes et en harnois de joûte_.”
Harnesses for the lists assume different forms in Germany from those
in Italy. In the first-named country in the case of the armour for
jousting in the open, so to speak, the breastplate was flattened on
the right side for better couching and aiming the lance, which was
supported by a _Rasthaken_ or queue behind, as well as by a lance-rest
in front, while in Italy the cuirass continued rounded in form. The
lance-rest (_Rüsthaken_) assumed various forms, though usually that of
a curved bracket. Reinforcing pieces were employed in all courses.
There is another variety of armour which was used in
_Scharfrennen_,[101] but it, with the others, will be particularly
described and illustrated later on. Jousting at the tilt prevailed
greatly in England, though abroad many other varieties were practised
as well. Jousting lances were often painted or ornamented with
party-coloured puffs of cloth along their length. Lance-heads assumed
various forms, examples of which may be seen in several of the German
museums and in the Tower of London. Illustrations are given by
Boeheim.[102] The shafts varied in form, weight and thickness for the
different courses.
The armour for combats on foot was made very strong and heavy, and so
padded with under-clothing as to cause faintings and even deaths in
hot weather. Foot-fighting was rendered much safer by the introduction
of “barriers,” over which the champions fought, but they do not appear
much before the sixteenth century.
The physical strain on those taking part in a tournament must have been
great, and the combatants weary at the end of a long day; nevertheless
they joined the ladies in the evening, when the successful competitors
received the prizes from their hands; and after the banquet came the
dance.
The century saw the mingling of the tourney with the pageant; the
_mêlée_ had been much supplanted by the joust, which demanded more
individual skill, for in the throng and confusion of the _mêlée_ the
element of chance helped certain of the combatants to a distinction
beyond their real deserts; while in the joust, which was a contest
between two champions only, each had to stand or fall solely on his own
merits.
A favourite form of the tourney of the fifteenth century was the
_Kolbenturnier_ or baston course, which differed essentially from all
the others in that no personal injury was intended in the contest,
the object being to batter off the crest which decorated the helm of
an adversary; and it was thus purely a game or trial of skill. The
weapon employed was a _Kolben_, a heavy polygonally-cut baston or mace
of hard wood, about 80 cm. in length. The _Kolben_ swells out along
its shaft to an obtuse point, has a round pommel, short grip, and a
rondel-guard of iron. There is an illustration of this weapon in the
_Tourney-book of René d’Anjou_. The helm, a huge, globose form of
bascinet, was latticed over the face with strong iron bars, and screwed
to the cuirass back and front; it was thickly lined inside and roomy
enough to prevent any injury which might be caused by the heavy blows
exchanged. It was covered outside with leather and painted with various
devices. A fine example of this type of helm is at Dresden, and Boeheim
in _Waffenkunde_,[103] figures one of them in the Collection Mayerfisch
at Sigmaringen. The saddle was the high one, known as the _Sattel im
hohen Zeug_; an example, of the second half of the fifteenth century,
is in the Germanische National Museum at Nuremburg. The _Kolbenturnier_
ceased being run about the end of the first quarter of the sixteenth
century. It was at first practised on foot, and doubtless grew out of
the Judicial combats with the baston of the lower classes. Boeheim
in _Waffenkunde_[104] illustrates Duke Georg of Bayern-Zandshut, at
Heidelberg, armed for a _Kolbenturnier_ in 1482: from Hans Burgmaior’s
_Turnierbuch_, in possession of the Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.
The crests of the fifteenth century are most fanciful and fantastic,
such as a crowned unicorn or the tail of a fox; many examples may be
seen in the tourney-book of King René, the Beauchamp pageants, the
German tourney books, and other works of the kind; and René describes
their construction very fully. They are fragile and made greatly of
the same materials as those of the century preceding, though oftener
of _cuir-bouilli_, which substance was more substantial and enduring.
The tapestry at Valenciennes, which pictures a _mêlée_ of the fifteenth
century, shows numerous fragments of crests lying on the ground under
the hoofs of the horses. The knights prized their crests greatly; and
they were often buried with them. They were fixed in position by an
iron bar or brooch; an example of the latter may be seen at the Musée
d’Artillerie, Paris. Sometimes the horse was also provided with a
crest, as in the tournament at Windsor Park in 1278.
The hours during which _fêtes d’armes_ took place show that the
lists were frequently artificially lighted, and, indeed, torches and
flambeaux are sometimes mentioned.
Tournaments held at the royal and princely courts of the countries
of chivalry were strictly games, the hosts often challenging their
guests to trials of skill; and some correspondence preserved of the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, between German princes, shows what
a great part these martial sports played in the routine of their daily
lives; second only, if even that, to the chase. Kurfürst Albrecht von
Brandenburg, writing to a friend in the last quarter of the century,
says:—“_Wir sind yor mit gots hilff die fordersten im Turnier gewesen
und gedenkens aber zu bleiben_.”[105] Maximilian, writing, at the age
of nineteen, to Sigmund Pruschenk, remarks:—“_Ich hab das pest gethan,
wann ich hab VIII stechholz zerstossen_.”[106]
Much depended on the docility and training of the chargers, which
were often ridden blindfolded, and they were sometimes influenced by
a spirit of combat like their riders. The bodies of the horses were
padded and covered by the trapper, which fell down almost to the
ground, considerably hampering their motions; a mattress of straw,
crescent-formed, protected their chests;[107] their ears were sometimes
stopped with wool or oakum; the head and tail frequently decorated with
feathers; and the animals advanced towards each other at a hand-gallop.
The rowel-spurs had long necks. Each variety of joust had its own
special type of saddle, devised with the object of making unhorsing
either difficult or easy as the case might be. These saddles will
be described in their order. Each prince or man of rank and fortune
kept a considerable number of horses continually in practice; and the
correspondence of the times reveals many requests for their loan.
It was at the courts of Aix and Burgundy where for long the tourney
was much fostered; and at both it may be said to have been reduced
almost to a science. At the first-named court it was much a matter of
amusement, emulation and relaxation; while in the latter, then the most
brilliant in Europe, it was greatly the policy of the sovereign to
encourage tournaments and fêtes of all kinds. They kept the leaders of
the armies and the chevaliers generally in close touch with the head of
the state and the country, besides providing gladiatorial spectacles
for the duke’s somewhat restless and discontented subjects, who were
often smarting under heavy imposts to provide him with the means for
constant schemes of aggression and a profuse display, and who were
frequently in a state of revolt. After the tragic death of Charles the
Bold, the jousting traditions of the court of Burgundy passed over to
that of Maximilian of Austria, who would seem to have made successful
jousting one of the great objects of his life.
There is perhaps necessarily a certain degree of monotony and
repetition in the narrations of the chroniclers of the joust and
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 _Chronicle
of Euguerrand de Monstrelet_, with its somewhat irregular continuations
by de Couci and others, commences where that of Froissart leaves off,
viz. in the year 1400; and it has the advantage of being for the most
part contemporaneous in regard to the events it narrates. Monstrelet’s
style of writing is less sprightly and more monotonous than that of
Froissart; but he gives dates to his recitals, which, however, leave
much to be desired on the score of accuracy. The names of personages
and even towns given in the _Chronicles_ are most perplexing, being
frequently so distorted as to make identification an impossibility.
Like Froissart, Monstrelet does not confine himself to the events of
the period under review in France and Burgundy, but deals also with
those of other countries in relation to them. The _Chronicles_, which
really amount to a history, afford a good insight into the subject of
the jousts and tourneys of the times; and Monstrelet states that his
information was carefully collected from heralds, kings-of-arms and
other officials of the lists. Monstrelet was born about 1390 and died
in 1453.
The Bibliothèque de Bourgogne in the National Library at Brussels
possesses many illuminations of the reign of Philip the Good and
Charles the Bold; and there are also several in the Paris Collection
and particularly in the _Armorial de la Toison d’Or_.
An Ashmolean MS., No. 1116, ff. 137b-86, gives the names and arms of
the sovereigns and knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece (Toison
d’Or) from its institution in 1429 to the twenty-third festival of the
Order, which was held by Philip II, King of Spain, 12 Aug. 1559; it
gives historical accounts of the celebration of the feasts. The MS.,
which is in French, is beautifully written, with the arms tricked.
Other MSS. in the same Collection, 139-66, 167-75b, of the year 1431,
give the statutes and ordinances of the Order.
Appendix A furnishes an abstract of all the Ashmolean MSS. relating to
the tourney, for reference by our readers.
_The Mémoires D’Olivier De La Marche_ teem with spirited descriptions
of numerous _fêtes d’'armes_ held at the Burgundian court during
the reign of Duke Philippe le Bon, which are full of detail; and
several of them bear the impress of having been written by an actual
eye-witness, with ample opportunities for getting information, and
with a sufficiency of technical knowledge for placing the scope and
minutiæ of the encounters accurately and vividly before us. They
also afford invaluable details of the costumes of the period, giving
minute particulars of the dresses, and all matters connected with the
lists. The Seigneur de la Marche was a Burgundian, born about 1425; he
was appointed a page to his master the Duke in 1447, and was dubbed
chevalier after the battle of Montlehéry. He distinguished himself
before Ghent in 1452, was appointed a commissionary to the forces in
1456, was made a prisoner at Nancy in 1476, and died in 1502. The
Mémoires cover a period of about fifty-three years, and form a very
valuable contribution to the history of the tourney. They were first
published in 1562.[108] Jean de Féore, Seigneur de St. Remy, describes
some of the _pas d’armes_ of the century; and the _Traité de Tournois_,
by Louis de Bruges, written in the reign of Charles VIII, of France,
deals with others of a later period. The Beauchamp Peageants[109]
afford some excellent illustrations of jousts and combats on foot and
on horseback. They are reproduced in the _History of the Life and Acts
of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick_, by John Rouse, the Warwickshire
antiquary and historian, who died on the 14th of February, 1491, the
seventh year of Henry VII. Earl Richard was born in 1381 and died
in 1439. Hefner’s plates, Nos. 109 and 138, also picture jousts and
tourneys of this period.
_The Romance of Petit Jehan de Saintré_,[110] written in 1459, by
Antoine de la Sale, contains fifteen large and fine illustrations
of jousts, combats on foot, etc., which, as far as we can judge,
fairly represent such knightly encounters of the period. Hewitt[111]
mentions the equipments and colours, as shown on fol. 39: “_Near
Knight._—Armour, iron-colour; feet, black; crest, red flower with
gold leaves; saddle, bridle, and stirrup-leather, red; trapper, blue,
marked with darker blue and lined with white fur. _Far Knight._—Armour
and feet as before; crest, gold with red feathers; saddle, buff;
trapper, dark with black markings; bells, gold. Chanfreins both ridged
and spiked, gold; the rest iron. The barrier is red and marked with
a deeper red. It will be observed that, except the helm, the whole
armour differs in nothing from the usual war suit.” The _Mémoires of
the Sire de Haynin_[112] afford some interesting details in connection
with _pas d’armes_.
The rules of the tourney promulgated by René d’Anjou, King of Naples,
Sicily and Jerusalem, and Duke of Lorraine, in _Tournois du Roi René_,
are most important. They contain many restrictions in the use of
weapons, and all tend towards restraining the violence and disorder
which had hitherto prevailed, and towards rendering these warlike games
less dangerous; and they inculcate a spirit of chivalry, thus doing
away greatly with much of the brutality of the former age. René thought
lances too cumbersome for the tourney, and considered the proper
weapons to be rebated swords and maces. The famous duel between the
dukes of Brittany and Bourbon is described. But little jousting took
place at Aix, the _mêlée_ being preferred. There are several splendid
manuscripts of the King’s writings extant, four of them at Paris,
illuminated by the King himself, and they go into the minutest details
of all which concern the tourney as practised at Aix.
“The Ordinaunce, statutes and rules made by John Lord Typtofte, Erle
of Worcester, Counstable of England by the Kinges commaundment, at
Windsor the 29 of May ao sixto Edwardi quarti (1466), to be observed
and kepte in all manner of Justes of pees royall with in this realme of
England.”[113]
There are several copies of the rules extant. The version here given,
in an abridged form, is taken from the _Antiquarian Repertory_. It was
copied from a MS. M. 61 in the Herald’s College.[114]
Another copy may be seen in _Nugae Antiquae_, by Park, which is
referred to in _Archæologia_, or the year 1813.[115] They are also
printed in Dr. Meyrick’s _Critical Essay on Antient Armor_, III,
179-86, with valuable notes from the MS. M. 6, in the Herald’s College.
These rules run:—
“Firste, whoso breaketh most speares, as they ought to
be broken, shall have the price.
Item, whoso hitteth thre tymes in the heaulme, shall
have the price.
Item, whoso meteth two tymes coronoll to coronoll,
shall have the price.
Item, whoso beareth a man downe with stroke of speare,
shall have the price.
_For the price._
Firste, whoso beareth a man downe owte of the saddell, or
putteth him to earthe, horse and man, shall have the price,
before him that striketh coronoll to coronoll two times.
Item, he that striketh coronoll to coronoll two tymes, shall
have the price before him that strike the sight thre tymes.
Item, he that striketh the sight thre tymes, shall have the
price before him that breake the moste speares.
Item, yf there be any man that fortunetly in this wise
shalbe deemed he bode longest in the feeld heaulmed, and
ranne the fairest course, and gave the greatest strokes,
helpinge himself best with his speare.”
_How prices shalbe loste._
First. Whosoe striketh a horse, shall not have the price.
Second. Whosoe striketh a mannes backe, turned or disarmed
of his speare, shall have no price.
Third. Who hitteth the toyle, or tilte 3 times, shall have
no price.
Fourth. Whosoe unhelmes himselfe 2 times, shall have no
price, without his horse faile him.
_How speares shall be allowed._
First. Whoso breaketh a speare betweene the saddle, and the
charnell of the helme, shall be allowed one.
Whoso breaketh a speare from the charnell vpwards, shall be
allowed one.
Whoso breaketh and putteth his aduersary downe, and out of
the saddle, or disarmeth him in such wise, as he may not
runne the next course after, shall be allowed three speares
broken.
_How Speares broken be disallowed._
First. Who breaketh a speare on the sadle, shall be
disallowed for a speare broken.
Second. Who hitts the tilt or toile once, shall be
disallowed for 2 speares broken.
Third. Whosoe hitts the tilt twice shal be for the two times
abated, for 3 speares broken.
Fourth. Whosoe breaketh a speare within a foot of the
crownall (coronal), shall be judged as no speare broken, but
a good attaynte.
A few short rules follow for the _mêlée_ and barriers.
There is much confusion in the nomenclature employed by chroniclers
in their descriptions of these chivalric war-games, and the terms
“_tournois_,” “tourney,” “joustes” or “_joûtes_” and “_pas d’armes_,”
are often confounded with each other, all or any being sometimes used
in a general sense to cover various forms of jousting and the tourney:
and such meetings often received the general appellation of _fêtes
d’armes_. In a contemporary recital of the meeting in 1559, which
Henry II of France received his fatal wound, the terms “_joûtes_,”
“_tournois_,” and _pas d’armes_ are all employed to express the
proceedings as a whole. The term “tourney” is very frequently used to
denote the _mêlée_.
A _pas d’armes_ or passage of arms usually covered a variety of martial
exercises. It was open to all comers, being knights and esquires
qualified to take part, who were invited by proclamation to attend.
The field was held by a certain number of challengers, called “_les
tenans_” or holders of the _pas_; while the attacking cavaliers were
known as “_les venans_,” or comers, who came to try and wrest the _pas_
from them. A _pas d’armes_ was also an imitation of an operation of
war, a _Scharmützel_, in the attack and defence of a supposed position
of strength, such as a pasteboard bridge-head, a castle of wood or
the assumed gate to a town; the contest being waged with all the
ardour of real warfare, though tempered by certain rules, pretences
and limitations. The term _pas d’armes_ is comprehensive, for besides
jousting and strokes with the sword, etc., such meetings often included
combats on foot; and, after the middle of the fifteenth century,
contests on horseback with the baston or mace; and they often concluded
with the tourney proper or _mêlée_, troop against troop.
In the _Antiquarian Repertory_[116] is the following account of a _pas
d’armes_ held about the end of the fifteenth century:—
“The king assigns to four maidens of his court the
umpireship of the castle called ‘Loyall’; for the
attack and defence of which they are to arrange as they
may collectively decide upon. The castle is a mock
fortress, representing one which had been subjected to
a remarkable siege in history. The ladies confide its
guard and custody to a captain and fifteen cavaliers
to defend the ‘pas’ against all comers. A unicorn is
placed within the lists, the four legs of which support
as many shields, coloured white, red, yellow and blue
respectively. The first shield signifies the opening
jousts at the tilt, to be run in ‘hoasting’ armour,
with double or reinforcing pieces; the second shield
denotes that in the tourney which follows the jousting
twelve strokes with the sword are to be exchanged; the
third a combat on foot at barriers, the same number of
strokes with one-handed swords; the fourth, the defence
and assault of the castle, with swords, shields and
morris-pikes. The points and edges of all the weapons
employed in the four sections to be rebated, only the
foyne[117] excepted. Any cavalier, except the leader of
either side, if taken prisoner, may be ransomed with
three yards of satin, but captains must pay the cost of
thirteen yards for their freedom. The _pas d’armes_ to
continue from the 27th November to New Year’s Day. The
hours, after the first day, from one in the afternoon
to seven in the evening.”[118]
Other clauses in the _Chapitres d’Armes_ are:—
“Item. Yt shalbe lawfull for the assaulters to devise
all manner of engynes for the wynenge of the said
castell; engyn or tole to breake the ground or howse
with all only excepted.
Item. None do meddell with fier neyther within or
without but to fire their gunnes.
Item. If any man be disarmed, he maye withdrawne
himselfe if he will; but once past the barres, he may
not com agayne into the torney for that daye. Also
there shall no man have his servant within the barres
with any peace of harnois, for no man shalbe within the
said barres but such as shalbe assigned by the king’s
grace.
Item. Who shall beste demeane himselfe at thee same
arte of armes, shall have a sword, garnished, to the
valew of three hundred crownes or under.
Item. If any man strike a horse with his speare, he
shalbe put out of the torny withowt any favour; and if
any slaye an horse, he shall paye to the owner of the
said horse an hundred crownes in recompence; also yt
is not to be thought that any man will slaye an horse
willingly; for if he do it, it shall be to his great dishonor.
Item. He that uses a close gauntlet (a locking or
forbiden gauntlet) shall win no prize.[119]
Item. He that his sword falleth owt of his hand, shal
win no prize.”
The gaining of prizes in jousting was settled as a rule by a counting
of points, for and against, and they were usually:—
Breaking a lance fairly on the body of an adversary, below the helmet,
1 point; above the breast, 2 points; unhorsing, 3 points. Points
would be lost by striking the saddle or the tilt. A lance should be
splintered more than a foot above the head.
The long wars between France and England had engendered much hatred
and bitterness between the nations, and frequent combats in the
lists, _à outrance_, continued to take place between the respective
cavaliers, many of which fights were characterized by great violence
and ruthlessness. Matters at length got to such a pass that in the
year 1409 the French King issued an ordinance against all such combats
between cavaliers of the two nations.[120] Certain combats, however,
continued to take place under royal licence.
In the year 1400 by advice of the Earl of Huntingdon, “solemne iusts
were to be enterprised between him and 20 on his part, and the earle of
Salisburie and 20 with him, at Oxford.” This was a conspiracy for the
assassination of King Henry IV, but the plot miscarried.[121]
In the year 1400 Michel d’Oris, an esquire of Arragon, sent to Calais,
by a pursuivant-at-arms, a challenge to a deed of arms, addressed to
the Cavaliers of England, in the following terms:—
“Au nom de Dieu, et de la benoite vierge Marie, de
saint Michel et de saint George, je, Michel d’Oris,
pour mon nom exhausser, sachant certainement la
renommée des prouesses de chevalerie d’Angleterre, ai,
au jour de la date de ces présentes, pris un tronçon de
gréve à porter à ma jambe jusqu’à tant qu’on chevalier
du dit royaume d’Angleterre m’aura délivré à faire
les armes qui s’ensuivent. Premièrement, d’entrer en
place à pied, et d’être armé chacun ainsi que bon lui
semblera, et d’avoir chacun sa dague et son épée sur
son corps, en quelque lieu qu’il lui plaira, ayant
chacun une hache, dont je baillerai la longueur. Et
sera le nombre des coups de tous les bâtons et armes
ensuivant: c’est à savoir: de la hache, dix coups sans
reprendre. Et quand ces dix coups seront parfaits et
que le juge dira: Ho! nous férirons dix coups d’épée
sans reprendre ni partier l’un de l’autre, et sans
changer harnois. Et quand le juge aura dit: Ho! nous
viendrons aux dagues et férirons dix coups sur main.
Et si aucun de nous perdoit ou laissoit cheoir un de
ses bâtons, l’autre pourra faire son plaisir du bâton,
qu’il tiendra jusqu’à ce que le juge ai dit: Ho! Et les
armes à pied accomplies, nous monterons à cheval; et
sera armé du corps chacun ainsi qu’il lui plaira, et
aura deux chapeaux de fer paraux, lesquels je liverai;
et choisra mon dit compagnon lequel qu’il lui plaira
des deux chapeaux: et aura chacun tel gorgerin qu’il
lui plaira, et avec ce, je baillerai deux selles, dont
mon dit compagnon aura le choix. Et outre plus, aurons
deux lances d’une longueur; desquelles lances nous
férirons vingt coups sans reprendre, à cheval, sur
main; et pourrons férir par devant et par derrière,
depuis le faux du corps en amont. Et icelles armes
de lances faites et accomplies, ferons les armes qui
s’ensuivent: C’est a savoir, s’il advenoit que l’un
ou l’autre ne fût blessé, nous serons tenus après, en
icelle journée même et au second jour après, férir de
coups de lance à course de chevaux à trois rangs, tant
que l’un ou l’autre cherra par terre ou soit blessé,
si qu’il n’en puisse plus faire. Et que chacun s’arme
à sa volonté le corps et la téte. Et les targes soient
de nerfs ou de cornes, sans ce qu’elles soient de fer
ni d’acier, ni qu’il y ait aucune maîtrise. Et courrons
les dites lances atout les selles que les dits chevaux
auront, faisant les dites armes à cheval: et chacun
liera et mettra ses étriers à sa volonté, sans faire
nulle maîtrise. Et pour y ajouter plus grande foi et
fermeté, je Michel d’Oris, ai scellé cette lettre du
sceau de mes armes: laquelle lettre fut faite et écrite
à Paris le vendredi vingtième jour d’Août l’an 1400.”[122]
This letter is given in full, for it affords much first-hand
information in a concrete form of the procedure of a combat of the
period as well as the manner of such cartels.
The letter states that the Spaniard had attached to his leg “_un
tronçon de gréve_,” being a piece of a greave (armour for the shin),
presumably of iron, causing him pain and inconvenience, which he had
vowed to continue wearing until delivered from it by a combat with a
gentleman of England. To this end he had sent his cartel to Calais,
proclaiming his wish for such an encounter, laying down very precise
conditions for a fight at which ten strokes with the axe, ten with
the sword, and the same number of thrusts with the dagger were to be
exchanged; to be followed by twenty courses with lances, on horseback.
The pursuivant duly delivered the letter at Calais, where it was seen
by Sir John Prendergast, who accepted the challenge in his own person,
on behalf of the chivalry of England, subject, of course, to the
permission of his sovereign to the duel being obtained. No reply being
forthcoming from the Spaniard within a reasonable time. Sir John sent
him a letter, stating that the time and place for the combat had been
arranged, and an umpire appointed. There being still no reply, another
letter followed demanding an answer, and at length one arrived, with
excuses for the delay and complaining that Sir John had broken the
treaty in an umpire having been chosen without the name having been
first submitted to him; though showing no burning desire to have the
matter arranged to his own satisfaction. The correspondence continued
over four years and came to nothing after all; but for how long the
Spaniard continued wearing the piece of greave pricking his leg history
does not tell.
In the year 1402 the Sire de Harpedenne, Seneschal de Saintonge, having
heard that certain English knights desired to perform a deed of arms
for the love of their ladies, suggested to the Duke of Orleans that six
gentlemen of his household should challenge a like number of English
cavaliers to a combat _à outrance_. The duke agreeing, the invitation
was duly sent and promptly accepted, the fight to take place near
Bordeaux on the 19th May, 1402. Much pressure was brought to bear on
the duke to induce him to withdraw his sanction, on the ground that
such a combat would tend to increase the bitterness between the nations
which already prevailed; but he continued to encourage the scheme, and
even went to Saint Denis to pray for the success of his countrymen.
Arnault Guilhem, Sire de Barbazan, a chevalier of repute, undertook the
leadership of the French contingent.
The Sire de Harpedenne and the Earl of Rutland were appointed umpires
of the fight; and on the arrival of the French chevaliers at the place
of combat they heard Mass, and the Sire de Barbazan addressed them on
the justice of their cause, animating them to deeds of valour for their
country’s sake; while the Englishmen thought more of a good meal before
fighting. According to the French account of the fight, the Englishmen
had conceived a stratagem for two of their number, by preconcerted
action, suddenly to assail one of the French cavaliers, with the object
of reducing their number to five, as against the English six; but the
plan failed, and it was one of the Englishmen that was killed, thus
turning the tables.[123] This gave a preponderance to the Frenchmen,
but the fight continued long, obstinate and bloody, resulting in the
victory of the French.[124]
In the same year Louis, Duke of Orleans, sent a challenge to Henry
IV, King of England, proposing a combat between them with lances,
battle-axes, swords and daggers, the fight to continue until one of
them surrendered, which the king declined, on the ground that he could
only fight with his equal.
In 1403 a deed of arms, _à outrance_, was performed at Valentia, four
Spanish cavaliers against four Frenchmen, the King of Arragon acting as
umpire; and the articles of combat provided for a fight on foot with
axes, swords and daggers. The Seneschal of Hainault led the French, and
the Seigneur de Sainte Coulombe, a member of the king’s household, the
Spaniards. Highly decorated lists had been erected for the occasion,
and the king took his seat on the tribune, expressing the hope that the
fight might not take place; but the parties urged that great expense
had been incurred, and that the French cavaliers had come from a
distance at heavy charges in answer to the challenge. The king yielded
to these arguments, and gave the signal for the onset. A gallant fight
with axes ensued, during which one of the Spaniards seized a Frenchman
by the leg and was preparing to stab him with his dagger when the king
cast his bâton, putting an end to the conflict, to the great chagrin of
both sides.[125]
Plate XI in _Horda Angel-Cynnan_ “shewes how atte coronacion of quene
Jane[126] erle Richarde kepte juste for the quene’s part ageynst
all commers, when he so notably and so knyghtly behaved himself, as
redounded to his noble fame and perpetuall worship.” Sir Richard was
then twenty-two years old. The illustration shows a joust at the tilt,
run with lances tipped with coronals, the earl’s crest being the bear
and ragged staff. The armour and general aspect of the picture point
to the period when the Memoir was written rather than to the actual
date of the joust. The tilt is of four planks, and appears to be nearly
six feet in height. The royal party is seated in a balcony overlooking
the lists, and there are raised galleries for the officials and
better-class spectators, and seats on the level of the lists for the
general public.
Plate XX. Sir Pandolf Malatesta sent a challenge to Earl Richard,
first to joust, and “then go togedres with axes; after which armyng
swerdes;[127] and last with sharp daggers.” The jousting finished,
“they went to gedres with axes, and if the lord Calcot hadde not the
sonner cried peas, Sir Pandolf sore wounded on the left shoulder hadde
been utterly slayn on the felde.”[128] The illustration pictures the
combat on foot with _becs de faucon_, weapons more picks than axes. The
helmets are armets, the earl’s crest his well-known cognizance, and he
wears a tabard-shaped surcoat. The equipment is not contemporaneous
with the time of the duel, but rather that of the date of the Memoir.
The plate in _Horda_ is reproduced on our Plate I. The copy from the
MS. is not quite correct in the delineation of the weapon wielded by
the earl, owing to a blur on the original.
Plate XXVIII pictures a combat on horseback, with rebated swords.
Plate XXXV shows Earl Richard jousting at the tilt incognito. He wears
a “volant-piece.”
[Illustration: _PLATE I_
COMBAT ON FOOT BETWEEN SIR RICHARD BEAUCHAMP AND SIR PANDOLF MALATESTA]
[Illustration: THE TAPESTRY AT VALENCIENNES]
Plate XXXVI. The earl is jousting at the tilt. “The erle smote up the
visar (of his adversary) thries, and brake his besauges and other
harneys.”
Plate XXXVII pictures the earl jousting with his face exposed.
Plate XL “shewes howe a mighty duke chalenged erle Richard for his lady
sake, and he justyng slewe the duke,” the lance going through his body.
This joust is with sharp lances in the open. The duke wears a jousting
shield, and the earl a “volant-piece.”
In 1415 three Portuguese cavaliers fought the same number of Frenchmen,
at St. Ouen, near Paris, in presence of the King of France. The
combat was a severe one, resulting at length in the discomfiture of
the Portuguese, who succumbed to the Frenchmen. The manner of this
surrender so disgusted the authorities and spectators that the defeated
party was forcibly expelled the lists.[129]
In 1420 there were several curious subterranean combats, between French
and English cavaliers, at Montereau, that town being then besieged by
the troops of the Dauphin. The English had laid mines extensively under
the walls; and it was in these excavations that the fights took place,
by the light of the flambeaux and torches. The first who fought on the
French side was Louis Juvenal des Ursins, a valiant esquire, son of the
advocate-general, who was dubbed a chevalier on the occasion. The King
of England and Duke of Burgundy were present, and wished to break a
lance together, from which, however, they were dissuaded. The Sire de
Barbazan jousted with the king, at first without knowing who he was,
but as soon as he became aware that it was his Majesty, he respectfully
retired from the contest. Everything passed with great courtesy between
the members of the two nations, and the king gave great praise to the
cavaliers engaged.[130]
In the seventh year of Henry V “triumphant iusts and turneis, in the
whiche, Erle of Arundell, and the Bastard of Sent Polle by the iudgment
of the Ladies, won the price and got the honor.”[131]
A combat on horseback and on foot took place at Arras in 1425,[132]
between the Sires de Sainte-Treille and Lionel de Vendôme, the Duke
of Burgundy acting as umpire. On the first day the chevaliers ran six
courses with the lance, and de Vendôme was slightly wounded in the
head. The day following they fought on foot with axes of the _bec
de faucon_ type, and de Vendôme attacked his adversary with great
impetuosity, but all his strokes were parried. Sainte-Treille then
delivered several blows on the visor of his opponent, forcing it open,
leaving the face exposed; then hooking his axe in the opening wounded
de Vendôme slightly in the face with his gauntlet, perceiving which the
duke cast his bâton. A joust followed between the Sire de Champremi
and the Bastard of Rosbeque, the latter piercing the armour of his
adversary with his lance, on which the duke’s bâton fell.[133]
The _bec de faucon_ or _bec de corbin_ was a weapon with a curved
beak-like spike or pick, as its name implies, sometimes with a blade at
the opposite side, at others with a narrow _mail_ or mallet, with four
short points, somewhat like those on the coronal to a lance, though
sharper: in both varieties there is usually a long spike at the head
and a point at the foot; strictly speaking, however, a weapon with a
blade can hardly be termed a _bec de faucon_. An illustration is given
in “Barriers and Foot Combats,” a paper by Viscount Dillon,[134] of
a weapon of this kind belonging to Captain Hutton, which has a beak
or pick on one side, and opposite to it a _mail_ or mallet of four
points and a spike at the head. There is another example at the Musée
d’Artillerie, Paris, with a very pronounced beak, but neither _mail_
nor spear. It is stated in Lord Dillon’s paper that in the duel between
Merlo and de Charny, at Arras in 1435, before the fighting began, an
objection was lodged by Charny’s friends against the Spaniard using a
_bec de faucon_, axes being stipulated for in the _Chapitres d’Armes_.
It was contended that the weapon was not an axe at all; but after
some discussion the objection was not pressed. The weapon, which is a
terrible one, does not seem to have been much used in Germany.
In 1428 a grand tournament was held at Brussels. The Duke of Burgundy
attended and was magnificently entertained and feasted by his cousin,
Duke Philip of Brabant, and the City of Brussels. The Lady of Gezebêque
awarded the prizes. The dukes announced their intention of jousting
together, but were dissuaded from doing so by the kings-of-arms, for
fear of accidents. Many cavaliers took part, before a great concourse
of nobles, ladies, and the general public. The prize for the most
successful combatant in the first day’s fighting was awarded to a
gentleman of Brabant named Linquart. On the morrow and following days
there was great jousting, and the Duke of Brabant and the Seigneur
de Mamines were adjudged to be the best lances, and the prizes were
awarded to them. This _fête d’armes_ was distinguished by great
splendour, and banquets, dances, masquerades and other mummeries
continued for several days.[135]
In 1430 a combat took place in the great market-place at Arras,
between five French and a like number of Burgundian cavaliers, under
the umpireship of the Duke of Burgundy, for the breaking of a certain
number of lances. The French contingent consisted of the Seigneurs
Théode de Valeperghe, Pothon de Sainte-Treille, Philibert d’Abrecy,
Guillaume de Bes and L’Estendard de Nully; that of the Burgundians
of Simon de Lalain, the Seigneurs de Charny, Jean de Vaulde, Nicolle
and Philibert de Menton. The combat was to continue over five days.
Lists were prepared, “_garnie d’aisselles, afin que les chevaux ne ce
puissent recontrer l’un l’autre_,” and here we have an example of a
joust at the tilt.
On the first day de Lalain jousted with de Valeperghe, when the latter,
with his horse, was thrown violently to the ground. Jousts followed
over the second, third, fourth and fifth days, in which many lances
were broken. In the third course run between de Charny and d’Abrecy,
the visor of the latter’s “armet” was pierced by his opponent’s
lance, causing a very serious wound in the face; and on the last day
the same thing happened to de Nully, in jousting with Philibert de
Menton. The injured knights were removed to their lodgings, and left
behind in charge of the surgeons; both subsequently recovered from
their wounds. On the conclusion of the _fête d’armes_, the honours lay
with the Burgundians, and the duke loaded the Frenchmen with handsome
presents.[136]
In 1435 there was a passage at arms at Arras, held under the umpireship
of Duke Philip of Burgundy; and seated on the bench near him were the
dukes of Bourbon and Cueldres, with other noblemen of distinction. The
parties to the duel were Messire Juan de Merlo, a chevalier banneret
of Spain, and Pierre de Beauffrement, Sire de Charny, a banneret of
Burgundy, knight of the Toison d’Or, and one of the most noted jousters
of his day. The articles of combat provided for a joust of three
courses, and then a combat on foot, with axes, swords and daggers,
to be continued until one of the twain was placed _hors de combat_,
though, as always, subject to the fiat of the judge. The Spaniard
first entered the lists attended by four noble cavaliers, who had
been specially attached to his person by the orders of the duke. De
Charny followed, attended by the Comtes d’Étampes, de Saint Pol and de
Ligny; and with them was the Earl of Suffolk, who carried the lances
to be used on the occasion. The champions ran the three courses with
the lance, without mishap to either beyond a slight fracture to the
armet of the Spaniard. This ended the contest for the first day; and
on the morrow the combat on foot took place. It began with the knights
hurling lances at each other, the weapon of the Spaniard striking the
Burgundian on the arm, causing a slight wound, notwithstanding which
the fight continued with axes. The combatants displayed much skill and
gallantry with their weapons, without much advantage to either knight,
when quite unexpectedly the duke cast his bâton, putting an end to
the fight. The Spaniard protested most energetically to the duke at
the combat being brought to so premature an end, urging that he had
travelled a long way in order to achieve this feat of arms, and had
been put to a vast expense. The duke appeased him, however, by praising
his gallantry, and ordered a handsome present in money to be paid to
him to cover his outlay. This duel is remarkable as furnishing an early
instance of fighting with the visor up. To set against the danger of
having part of the face exposed, it gave great advantage in the way
of vision, in clearness as well as in radius. The visor was a mark so
often aimed at, and was in its nature very vulnerable.[137]
In the twentieth year of King Henry VI a French Chevalier named Louis
de Bueille challenged Rafe Chalons, an esquire of England, to a feat of
arms; and the King of France was present at the meeting. The Englishman
ran the Frenchman through the body and killed him.[138]
Sir John Astley fought on foot with the Chevalier Philip Boyle of
Arragon at Smithfield in the year 1442, King Henry VI acting as umpire.
An illustration in the MS. in the possession of Lord Hastings pictures
quadrangular lists of open railings showing the openings and the bars
for closing them. They are of a kind usually erected for combats of
this nature. King Henry sits in the tribune; and within the lists,
besides the principals, is a herald-at-arms and a guard of four, armed
with battle-axes, for keeping the ring. The combatants wear bascinets;
bases; solerets, _à la Poulaine_; and tabard-shaped surcoats, on which
the respective arms of the parties are embroidered. Boyle’s axe has a
flook or _bec de faucon_ and an axe-blade; that of Astley’s a blade and
a three-pronged mail or mell. The MS. does not state the issue of the
fight.
FOOTNOTES:
[99] Referred to by Wendelin Boeheim in _Meister der
Waffenschmeidekunst_, Chap. LVII.
[100] Chap. VIII, p. 380.
[101] Running with sharp lances.
[102] _Waffenkunde_, p. 551.
[103] Fig. 612.
[104] Fig. 615.
[105] With God’s help we are foremost in the tourney, and intend to
continue so. (_Zeitschrift für historische Waffenkunde_, II, 66.)
[106] I have done my best when I have broken eight lances. (Boeheim’s
_Waffenkunde_, p. 554.)
[107] One is figured by King René; another by Boeheim.
[108] The edition used here is that among _Collection Des Mémoires pour
servir A L’Histoire De France_.
[109] Cotton. MS., Julius, E. IV.
[110] Cotton. MS., Nero, D. IX.
[111] _Ancient Armour_, III, 509.
[112] Société de Bibliophiles Belges. Mons. 1842.
[113] Ashmolean MS. 148-9. See Appendices A and B.
[114] Marked I, 26.
[115] Vol. XVII, p. 290.
[116] Vol. I, 146.
[117] The estoc.
[118] The lists must thus have been artificially lighted.
[119] The locking gauntlet is in the form of a closed hand, the fingers
being made to fasten on the weapon held, the object being to prevent it
being struck out of the hand by an adversary. Examples may be seen in
the Tower of London, and there is one which belonged to Sir Henry Lee
in the Armourer’s Hall, London.
[120] _Histoire Des Ducs De Bourgogne_, II, 262.
[121] Holinshed, III, 10; and Hall, 16.
[122] _Chroniques De Monstrelet_, Liv. I, Chap. II.
[123] Such plans made beforehand would seem to have been quite common,
but they usually miscarried.
[124] _Histoire Des Ducs De Bourgogne_, I, p. 185.
[125] _Chronique de Monstrelet_, I, Chap. XIV.
[126] Queen of Henry IV, married in 1403.
[127] Kuriss-swords.
[128] Cott. MS., Julius E. IV.
[129] _Chronique de Monstrelet_, I, Chap. XIV.
[130] _Histoire Des Ducs De Bourgogne_, I, 412.
[131] Hall, 162. A MS. in the Harleian Collection gives “La Statute
d’Armes de Turnoys par le Parlement d’Angleterre,” _Temp._ Henry V. See
Appendix A.
[132] Monstrelet says 1423.
[133] _Histoire Des Ducs De Bourgogne_, I, p. 435. Monstrelet, in Liv.
II, Chap. VIII, gives a somewhat different account.
[134] _Arch. Journ._, LXI, Plate I, Fig. 2.
[135] _Chronique de Monstrelet_, Liv. II, Chap. LIV.
[136] _Ibid._ Liv. II, Chap. LXXXI.
[137] _Histoire Des Ducs De Bourgogne_, I, p. 339.
[138] Holinshed, III, 214.
CHAPTER V
A notable _pas d’armes_ was held at L’Arbre de Charlemagne, near Dijon,
in the year 1443,[139] presided over by Duke Philippe le Bon, which
was proclaimed in most of the European countries of Christendom. The
account of this meeting has a great historical value, owing not only
to its reference to the tilt, additional pieces, and special forms of
armour, but also to the amount of detail it presents. It is given here
in a much abridged form.
Thirteen noble Burgundians of distinction, headed by Pierre de
Bauffremont, Chevalier, Seigneur de Charny, held the _pas_ for six
weeks against all comers. De la Marche remarks that during the time
necessary for erecting the lists and making the general arrangements
for the meeting the young cavaliers practised various forms of jousting
before the duke “_et là furent faictes une jouste à selles plattes, et
en harnois de ioûte_.” He graphically pictures the general arrangements
for this _pas d’armes_, the profuse hospitality extended to all
comers, the construction and decoration of the lists, the dresses and
equipments of the officials, pages, combatants, etc. He describes the
lists for jousting as follows, making clear mention of the tilt:—“_et
au milieu d’icelle lice fut la toille mise, pour la conduitte des
chevaux, et pour servir à la course des hommes d’armes, comme il est de
coustume en tel cas._” “_Celle lice fut de bonne hauteur et grandeur:
et, aux deux bouts de ladicte lice, furent faictes deux marches: qui se
montoyent à degrés, faits de ce bonne grandeur, que l’on pouvoit aider
à l’hommes d’armes, tout à cheval, pour l’armer aiser, ou desarmer,
selon le cas: et hors de ladicte lice, du costé de Digeon, aux jours
qu’il besoing faisoit, avoit une grande tente, haute et spacieuse,
tendue, pour aider et soulager le venant de dehors, si mestier en
avoit._” There was another enclosure for combats on foot.
During the duration of the _pas_ two shields were hung suspended in
the lists: one, painted black, besprinkled with gilded tear-drops; the
other, violet, _semé_, with tear-drops in black. Each venant who,
through a pursuivant, placed a gage, such as a sword or spur, below the
first-named shield, signified his election to engage on horseback one
of the tenans or defenders of the _pas_, and to run twelve courses,
“_à la toille_,” that is along the tilt, with sharp or rebated lances
at his pleasure; and should either of the jousters be unhorsed he was
to present his adversary with a diamond of whatever value he pleased.
The venant who placed his gage below the violet shield, with tear-drops
in black, elected a combat on foot, consisting of fifteen strokes with
the axe or estoc;[140] but should he place gages below both shields,
his challenge applied to a joust at the tilt and a foot encounter as
well. The duke took his seat on the 11th July, 1443, holding a white
wand or bâton in his hand as judge, which when cast down put an end to
a fight at any stage, the officials at once separating the combatants.
We describe briefly a few of the encounters. The first contest lay
between the leader of the tenans, the Seigneur de Charny, and a
Spanish cavalier of mark, Pietre-Vasque de Suavedra. The chevalier
venant having placed gages below both shields, the combat was to be
on foot, to be followed by another on horseback; and on the opening
day the champions entered the enclosure for foot contests at 9 o’clock
in the morning. The choice of weapons, as between axes and _épées
d’armes_,[141] lay with the chevalier venant, who chose axes. Eight
men-at-arms in complete armour, bearing white wands, ranged themselves
in the enclosure, to keep the ring and to separate the combatants when
necessary. The duke gave the signal and the combat began. Suavedra
had taken off his visor, while Charny fought with his visor down. The
stipulated fifteen strokes having been exchanged, without bodily injury
to either party, the combatants were separated and left the lists.
On the 13th day of the same month the jousting between the same
cavaliers took place. The Spaniard first entered the lists with his
following, his horse trapped in blue and white silk, and presented
himself before the judge. De Charny followed in like manner, the
trapper of his charger being of cloth of gold; he was attended both by
his esquires and by five pages on horseback, sumptuously attired in
blue and violet satin. The onset having been sounded, the champions
charged, each splintering his lance on the body of his antagonist in
the centre of the lists; in their second career both lances glanced
off, and so on until the number of courses had been run. Challengers
continued to come forward, and each combat is recorded by the
chronicler in its turn.
On the 8th of August a joust took place between an Italian, Jacques de
Visque, Comte de St. Martin, and the Chevalier Guillame de Vaudrey,
“_qui couroit de droit et du long de la toile_.” In the first course
St. Martin was struck on the visor of his helmet by the lance of his
opponent, the fastening being broken; in the fourth he was wounded
severely in the lance-arm, the lance-head remaining in the wound, and
the expressions of regret at the occurrence were so general as to show
that serious injuries in such encounters had become comparatively rare.
This mounted contest was followed by a combat on foot between Anthoine
de Vaudrey and Jehan de Compays, Seigneur de Torain. The venant chose
_estocs_, and a smart fight ensued, without personal injury to either
chevalier, though their armour was much battered and torn.
The chronicler continues his narrations of the various combats which
followed during the remaining days provided for in the _Chapitres
d’Armes_, throughout the course of which the defenders of the _pas_
held it against all comers with conspicuous honour and distinction. The
tenans of the _pas d’armes_ made an offering to the Virgin of the two
shields of L’Arbre de Charlemagne, which were hung suspended in the
Church of Nôtre Dame at Dijon.
While de la Marche devotes his narration more to the fighting and
spectacular aspects of the meeting, Monstrelet deals with the
challenges and _chapitres d’armes_.
THE CHALLENGES
“In honour of our Lord, and his most glorious mother,
of my Lady Sainte Anne, and of my lord St George, I,
Pierre de Bauffremont, lord of Chargny, of Monliet and
of Montfort, knight, councellor and chamberlain, to the
most high, most puissant and excellent prince the Duke
of Burgundy, make known to all princes, barons, knights
and esquires, without reproach, with the exception of
those of the kingdom of France and of the countries in
alliance, or subjects to my said sovereign lord, that
for the augmentation and extension of the most noble
profession and exercise of arms, my will and intention
is, in conjunction with twelve knights, esquires
and gentlemen, of four quarterings, whose names
follow:—Thibault, lord of Rougemont and Mussy; Messire
William Breremont, lord of Sees and of Sauvegon;
William de Brenne, lord of Mombis and of Gilly; John,
lord of Valengen; John, lord of Rap and of Tirecourt;
William de Champdivers, lord of Chivigny; John de
Chiron, lord of Rancheinères; Antony de Vaudray, lord
of Aille; William de Vaudray, lord of Collaon; James
de Challant, lord of Ainvilie; Messire Amé, lord of
Espirey; and John de Chavigny,—to guard and defend a
_pas d’armes_, situated on the great road leading from
Dijon towards Auxonne, at the end of the causeway from
the said town of Dijon, at a great tree called the
Hermit’s Tree in the form and manner following.
“In the first place, two shields, (one black
besprinkled with tears of gold,—the other violet,
having tears of sable), shall be suspended on the tree
of the Hermit, and all those who shall, by a king at
arms or pursuivant, touch the first shield, shall be
bounden to perform twelve courses on horseback with
me, or with one of my aforesaid knights or esquires,
with blunted lances.—Item, if either of the champions,
during their twelve courses, be unhorsed by a direct
blow with the lance on his armour, such person, thus
unhorsed, shall present to his adversary a diamond of
whatever value he please.—Item, the champions may arm
themselves according to their pleasure, _double or
single_,[142] but without any wicked intentions, having
their rest similar to the usual custom in war.—Item,
each person shall make provision of lances—but the
rondelle, which lies on the hands, shall be only
four fingers broad, and no more.[143] Item, the lances
shall be all of similar length, from the point to
the rest.—Item, for the accomplishment of these
feats of arms on horseback, I will supply all who may
come without lances, precisely like to my own and to
those of my companions.—Item, these deeds of arms on
horseback shall be performed _à la toille_, which shall
be six feet high.”
_Chapitres d’Armes._
“Those princes, barons, knights and esquires, of the
rank before mentioned, who shall rather take their
pleasure in performing feats of arms on foot, shall
touch the violet shield, and shall perform fifteen
strokes with battle-axes or swords, as may be most
agreeable to them.
“Item, if, during these courses, any champion shall
touch the ground with his hand or knees, he shall
be bounden to present his adversary with a ruby of
whatever value he please.—Item, each champion _shall
be armed with the accustomed armour for combating in
lists_.[144]—Item, should any person be unprovided with
battle-axe or sword, I will furnish him with the same,
similar to my own or to those of my companions. These
axes and swords are not to have anything extraordinary
in their make, but such as are usual in these kinds of
combats.
“Item, he that shall have engaged himself to fight
with me, or either of us, and shall throw the other
to the ground, the person so thrown shall be obliged
to surrender himself a prisoner whithersoever the
conqueror shall order him.—Item, the person thus
made prisoner shall pay for his immediate ransom, to
whomsoever the conqueror shall direct, any sum above
five hundred crowns.
“Item, foreigners need not seek for particulars
from me, or from my companions, for they will find
persons ready to deliver such at the usual hours and
places.—Item, no stranger will be permitted to enter
the lists with me or with any one of my companions, for
more than one course at arms, namely, once on horseback
and once on foot—and no one can require more of any of
us during the present undertaking.
“Item, the aforesaid feats of arms, on horseback and
on foot, shall be performed on the following days:
those on horseback on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays;
those on foot, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
“Item, this pas d’armes shall commence on the first
day of July in the year 1443, and shall last forty
days, exclusive of feast-days and Sundays, and the
feasts commanded to be kept by the court of Rome.
“Item, no prince, baron, knight or esquire, shall
pass within a quarter of a league of the spot assigned
for these combats without entering the lists and taking
part, or otherwise leaving as pledges his sword or
spurs, according to his pleasure.
“Item, for the accomplishment of these feats of
arms, as well on horseback as on foot, according to
the articles above specified, I have most humbly
supplicated and entreated my aforesaid sovereign lord,
that he would grant me his licence and permission to
perform them, which he has most benignantly assented
to. He has likewise most graciously appointed, as judge
of the lists, that puissant prince and my most redoubted
lord, the count of Nevers and of Rethel—and in his absence,
the lord marshal, count of Fribourg and of Neufchâtel.
“Item, in order that this my intention of performing
these deeds of arms in the manner before specified may
be more fully declared, I have fixed my seal to these
presents, and signed them with my own hand, this 8th
day of March, in the year 1442.
“Item, all noble foreigners shall have sure and loyal
pass-ports from my aforesaid sovereign lord, or in his
absence from his marshal.”
On such occasions a proclamation was made against outsiders giving
signals to any combatant.
The following documents occur among the Harleian MSS.:—
Le Declaracon du Pas a l’Arbre D’Or.
i.e. How the Lady L’Isle sent her Knight with a Rich
Tree of Gold, for him to Sett near Brughes, and there
to Challenge the Nobles of the Duke of Burgundies Court
both to the Justs, ＆ to the Tourney: the Articles
whereof do follow. Dated July ... A.D. 68, i.e. 1468.
Petition ＆ Articles of the Justs-Royall to be held
at Westminster, by 4 Gentlemen Challenging all comers
(upon the Creation of Henry second Sonne to King Henry VII).
To Run 6 Courses with Speares.
To Tourney 18 Strokes with Swords.
Petition of 4 Gentlemen to K. Henry VII to be
received into His Royal Army purposed for Fraunce; but
first that he would Authorise their Challenge of all
Comers to the Tilt, in any Realme or Place where the
King shall be, for one year ＆ a day longer.
Challenge of 6 Noble Persons to hold a Justs-Royall
＆ Tourney at Westminster, for the Pleasure of the
King, The Queene, and the Princess the Kings Eldest
Daughter, where the 6 Challengers and Six Answerers
shall together Run against each other with Spears on
Horseback; and after the Course Passed, to fight with
Swords till the King Commaund them to Cease.
Relation (in French) of the Battel of Justs held in the city of Tours,
between Jelcan (or Jehan?) Chalons, a Native of the Kingdom of England,
＆ Loys de Beul who took the part of King Charles of France. A.D. 1446,
wherein Loys de Beul was Killed.
Le Challenge Philip de Bouton, Natif de Pais Burgoigne, premier Esquire
a Monsser le Conte de Charollois: qui ait Charge ＆ Esleve Emprise de un
Fleurer Penser a tacher a son Bras dextre, lequelle il portra ouverte
jusque autant que il defendra au Royaulme d’Angleterre, en la Campagnie
de son Seigneur Monsieur le Bastard le Burgoigne, comme a la Roche.
Dat. 1. may. 1467.
The Relation made by Garter King of Arms to K. Edward IV. concerning
the Arrival of 3 Knights of the K. of Hungaries Court, named Uladislaus
of Bodna, Fredericus of Waredma, ＆ Lancelagus of Trefulwane, who
desired to performe some Feats of Arms with the English Gentlemen.
With their Instructions given to the said Garter touching his
Declaration of their Desires, and the Articles of the Jousts and
Tourney.[145]
Lacroix in _Military and Religious Life in the Middle Ages and
Renaissance_, gives a picture of a king of arms proclaiming a
tournament; copied from a miniature in King René’s tourney-book.
During the meeting of the Chapter of the Toison d’Or, at Ghent in 1445,
duels were fought between the Chevalier Jehan de Boniface (Jean de
Bonifazio), an Italian, and a Burgundian cavalier, Jacques de Lalain,
the latter then a young man of twenty-four years, who later achieved
great celebrity as a combatant in the lists. Duke Philip of Burgundy
acted as umpire, and was supported on the tribune by the Duke of
Orleans; and immediately before the fight began Lalain was dubbed a
chevalier.
Lists had been prepared, and after the usual preliminaries were over a
combat on foot between the parties took place, followed by many courses
at the tilt.
The combatants entered the lists for the fight on foot, each bearing
a heavy sword in the right hand and in the left a _hache d’armes_; a
smaller sword was attached to the belt, and small rectangular shields
were carried on the left arms. Lalain fought with part of his face
exposed, half of his visor having been removed. The parties took up
their positions some distance from each other, and the fight began by
Boniface hurling his spear at Lalain, who parried it. The latter cast
his sword at his opponent, but without effect; then each threw his
shield at the other’s legs with a view of causing him to stumble, and
the fight at close quarters with axes began. After some hard blows
had been exchanged Boniface dropped his axe, and Lalain struck at his
visor, in which his axe struck until the point broke. Boniface then
seized the Burgundian’s weapon and drew his dagger, hoping to stab
his opponent in the face, but Lalain with admirable _sang-froid_ beat
down that weapon, and striking the visor of his opponent, slightly
penetrated one of the apertures with his axe, Boniface then drew his
sword and struck savagely at Lalain; at which stage of the combat the
duke’s bâton fell.
The jousting was accomplished later on, with varying fortune, though
without special features. It was at the tilt, “_et au milieu de la
lice avoit une toille, pour conduire les chevauz, pour les courses de
lances, qu’ils devoyent accomplir_.”
The armour of de Lalain was provided with reinforcing pieces: “_Messire
Jacques de Lalain estoit armé de plusieures rondelles, l’une sur la
main, l’autre sur le coude du bras de la bride, et l’autre tenant
au gardebras, a maniére d’escu_,” but they were detached before the
jousting, Boniface being without them.[146] The different chroniclers
of such combats differ more or less in many details.
The position and dignity of an esquire is defined in Ashmolean MS.
162a:[147] “The definition of an Esquire and the severall sortes of
them according to the customs and usage of England. _An esquire called
in Latine armiger...._”[148]
Another of these MSS., 158ab, defines the duties and emoluments of a
king-at-arms.—The office of a Kinge at Armes. “Fyrst as nyghe as he
canne he shall take knowledge and kepe recorde of creastes cognissances
and auntient used wordes,” etc.[149]
The principal additional or reinforcing pieces, _pièces d’avantage_,
are:—the grand-guard or main-guard, which is in two plates, the
volante-piece and the body portion, and these, though sometimes
separate, are usually riveted together. The former is adapted to the
contour of the helmet, to which it is firmly attached; while the
latter, fixed to the breastplate, conforms to the curves of the neck,
fits round the left side of the chest and left shoulder, and is flanged
over the right shoulder to protect the weak place at the armpit on
that side. The whole thus forms a double defence for that portion
of the body against which an attack was mainly directed. The term
“volante-piece,” as applied to the face piece of the grand-guard, is,
however, of doubtful authority. It is sometimes referred to in English
chronicles, though without stating what it really is. Meyrick employs
it in the sense above referred to, but Lord Dillon[150] inclines to the
opinion that the term properly belongs to the two extra plates over the
forehead attachable to some helmets, and I am sure he is right. These
plates are present on jousting salades, and are called _Stirnplätten_
or _Stirndoppolstuck_ (forehead-plates) by the Germans. However this
may be it is convenient to apply the term generally in use unless
quite assured of its incorrectness. The elbow-guard or pas-guard is a
reinforcement for the left elbow-joint, fastened by a pin. The manifer,
or mainfere, _main de fer_, _steife henze_, or miton-gauntlet is the
stiff, heavy jousting gauntlet for the bridle hand and forearm; the
name “manifer” is given by Meyrick to the crinet, absurdly connecting
the word with the mane of the horse. The poldermiton or _épaule de
mouton_, is a piece for the defence of the right forearm and bend,
which is further protected by the vamplate of the lance. In the course
with sharp lances, called _Scharfrennen_ by the Germans, a dilge or
jousting-cuisse is employed, strapped to the saddle; and there was an
armlet for the right lower arm, used in that and some other courses.
The jousting-shields differ in form in the various courses: they will
be described in their order.
Catalogue No. 383 of the Wallace Collection, London, comprises a
small set of additional pieces, which from the subject and character
of enrichment (chevrons with minute pomegranates and scrolls, etched
and gilt) would appear to have belonged to a suit of armour in the
possession of the Duke of Northumberland, at Alnwick Castle, which was
acquired in Italy by Duke Algernon, about the year 1840; and it has
been freely and excellently restored.
When arming, the additional pieces were screwed on one after the other,
the jousting-shield being adjusted last. This process completed, the
jouster was almost immune from injury and was left almost an automaton,
with little power of initiative beyond aiming his lance, and that with
difficulty.
Jacques de Lalain sent a challenge to a feat of arms in the year 1448
to James, brother to Earl Douglas; the fight to take place in Edinburgh
in the same year. He stated the conditions of combat proposed, for a
foot encounter, _à outrance_, with spear, battle-axe, sword and dagger,
which conditions were accepted by Douglas, with the reservation, at
the instance of the King of Scotland, that no lance-casting should
be allowed. The Burgundian party consisted of Jacques and his uncle
Simon de Lalain, and a Messire de Mériadacq; while a Scottish trio,
the brothers Douglas and a Lord de Haguet, arranged to fight them: the
King to act as umpire. After some initial misunderstanding the knights
fought paired against one another as follows:—Haguet against Simon de
Lalain, Jacques against James Douglas, and Mériadacq against the other
Douglas. The chronicler describes the course of the encounter, going
into much detail, from which one would imagine that there was deadly
peril to life and limb, but no serious hurt was sustained by any of
the combatants; that fact being that the armour of proof enclosed each
of the fighters in an almost impregnable fortress. La Marche was not
present at this fight, but got his information from hearsay. Two out
of the Burgundian trio were Chevaliers (Knights), the third combatant
an Escuyer (Esquire), and it is interesting to note the difference
in costume between the two grades. Matthieu de Couci gives it in the
following terms[151]:—Chevaliers “furent revêtus de longues robes de
velours noir, fourrées de martes zibelines fort riches”; quant au
troisième qui étoit seulement Escuyer, “il en avoit une seulement de
satin noir fourrée comme les autres.” King René says the stuff of an
esquire’s costume at his court should be “drap de damas,” and it would
appear generally that an esquire could wear either satin or damask, but
the chevalier must be clad in velvet. Further regulations were made in
1486, when cloth of gold and cloth of silver came in.
The armour of the fifteenth century up to almost its close is usually
termed “Gothic,” an incongruous appellation, though one convenient to
employ owing to its having been so generally adopted and understood.
Beyond a few fragments there is no armour of the first half of the
century left to us; and for our knowledge of the knightly body-harness
of that period we are mainly indebted to an ample series of monumental
effigies and brasses. Though one cannot draw any decided line, it
may be said that the process of transition from chain-mail to plate
armour had been practically completed at the commencement of the
fifteenth century; and the progress made in the directions of elegance,
comprehensiveness and strength had been steady and continuous until
towards the middle of the century, when we have glorious complete suits
of armour spread out before us.
The brass of Sir John Wylcotes, in Great Tew Church, Oxfordshire,
dating about 1410, affords an example of the standard of mail, which
was a collar worn under a gorget of plate. The figure is without jupon,
so that the breastplate and taces are exposed to view, and they are of
plate; small motons, oval in form, cover the weak places at the armpits.
The brass in South Kelsey Church, Lincolnshire, dated about a decade
later, shows the armour to be much more ornate, having crescent-shaped
motons, fan-formed wings to the coudes; taces of six lames and short
tuilles; the figure wears a pointed bascinet. The armour on the effigy
in Hoveringham Church, Nottinghamshire, believed to have been ascribed
by Stothart to Sir Robert Grushill, is certainly not of the reign of
Richard II, 1377-1399, but should rather be dated in that of Henry VI.
There are fluted motons over the armpits, of a curved tooth-like form;
coudes with elaborate heart-shaped wings; taces of eight narrow lames,
with short rectangular tuilles, attached to the bottom rims by straps
and buckles. The helmet is still the bascinet. This effigy exhibits an
instance of the presence of the collar SS. There is an example of this
collar in the Tower of London.[152] It was found in one of the turrets
of the White Tower in 1913.[153] It is beyond the province of this work
to discuss the probable meaning of these ciphers, which is obscure.
The Gothic armour of the connoisseur is reached in the beautiful effigy
of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, in St. Mary’s Church, Warwick.
It is cast in laton, a golden looking blend something between bronze
and brass. The earl died in 1439, but the contract for his monument was
not given out until fifteen years after, so that the type of armour
is later than that of any actual harness worn by the earl. The effigy
exhibits body-armour at its very best, as well in dignity of form as in
beauty of outline; and if it was not directly copied from a suit made
by Tomaso Missaglai of Milan, the design for it certainly came from
Italy. The breastplate exhibits a deep curved groove on either side; it
is shorter than was usual somewhat later, with a large number of taces;
and there are low neck-guards. Mr. Stothart also gives a back view of
the figure, showing the armour as completely delineated behind as in
front. The effigy is depicted on Plate II, giving both a front view and
one in profile.
The great armour-smiths of the fifteenth century were fine artists in
steel, and many of their creations preserved are models for all time
in elegance of form and excellence of workmanship. One can trace their
individuality and idiosyncrasies to an extent making it often possible
to attribute their work even when unstamped with their monograms and
devices. The Missaglias Negrolis and Piccininos of Milan, the Kolmans
of Augsburg, the Seusenhofers of Innsbruck, the Grünewalts and Von
Worms of Nuremberg, and many others, carried on their craft from
generation to generation.
[Illustration: _PLATE II_ THE BEAUCHAMP EFFIGY]
During the fifteenth century and somewhat later, new modes in armour,
as well as in dress, had their birth in Italy; but they took some time
to travel to other countries less advanced in fashion and refinement.
Much artistic skill of the highest order was lavished on the enrichment
of armour. Suits were delicately chased, engraved and decorated with
repoussé work; and artists of the highest celerity were engaged in such
work. The trapper of mixed mail and plate appears frequently in this
century.
A very important paper, printed in _Archæologia_, LVII, by Viscount
Dillon, P.S.A., read in 1899, deals with a MS. Collection of Ordinances
of Chivalry of the fifteenth century belonging to Lord Hastings, which
contains among other matters:—
The “Abilment for the Justes of the Pees.”
“To crie a Justus of Pees.”
“The comyng into the felde.”
“To arme a man.”
The same manuscript is also commented on by the late Mr. Albert Way in
the _Archæological Journal_ of 1847.
Two of the illuminations depict jousting at the tilt, and another a
combat on foot with axes before King Henry VI. The fight on foot,
which took place in 1442, is between John Astley and Philip Boyle
of Arragon. The lists, enclosed by an open railing, have at one end
a stand for the king, who acted as judge, and four steps lead up to
the tribune. On either side of the steps two men-at-arms are posted,
holding long-shafted axes, and within the lists a herald is standing
watching the fight. The combatants are wearing globose bascinets, which
were the usual helmets for foot-fighting. They were roomy enough for
plenty of padding against heavy blows from the axe. Boyle is armed with
an axe having a blade on one side and a _bec de faucon_, or flook, on
the other; while Astley’s weapon has a _mail_, or mallet, with three
prongs, in place of the flook.
The terms of Sir Philip Boyle’s acceptance of the challenge are given
in Lord Dillon’s paper.
The first illumination of a joust at the tilt pictures the moment when
the tilters have shivered their lances, tipped with coronals of three
prongs, on each other’s bodies. The tilt is composed of six planks, and
appears to be between five and six feet in height. Sir John Astley’s
crest is seen to be a crowned harpy, with torse and mantling; his
armour, the sort termed “tonlet”; the legs and feet are unarmed, being
sufficiently protected by the saddle-steels. The horse is trapped and
has a chamfron. But little of the person of his adversary can be seen;
what there is show his crest, three maidens in a corb, and he also is
wearing bases. Both riders have tilting helms and shields, and bear
poldermitons on their lance-arms. The vamplates are somewhat conical in
form.
The other joust pictured is that between Astley and Pierre de Masse,
which took place in a street in Paris in the year 1438. It is also
at the tilt. The date is an early one for that form of joust, if the
drawing be contemporary, which is unlikely. The tilt is composed of
four planks, and is rather lower than the other example. The jousters
wear no crests on their helms, and they are running with sharp
lances. There are no poldermitons worn in this case. This important
illumination has suffered much from damp, the central figures more
especially.
The articles of combat are given in Lord Dillon’s paper.
The “Abilment for the Justus of the Pees,” as reproduced from the
manuscript belonging to Lord Hastings, is as follows:—
“A helme well stuffyd wt a Crest of hys de viis.
A peyre of platus and xxx Gyders.
A hanscement for the Bode wt slevis.
A botton wt a tresse in the platis.
A schelde coverid wt his deviis.
A Rerebrace wt a rolle of ledyr well stuffid.
A Maynfere with a ring.
A rerebrasce a moton.
A vambrase and a gaynpayne ＆ ij bricketts.
And ij dosyn tresses. and vj vamplates.
And xij Grapers. and xij Cornallis ＆ xl Speris.
And a Armerer wt a hamor and pynsons.
And naylys wt a byckorne.
A Goode Cowrscer and row schode wt a softe bytte.
And a gret halter for the rayne of the brydyll.
A Sadyll well stuffud.
and a peyre of jambus.
and iij dowbill Gyrthis wt dowbill bokollus.
and a dowbill sengull wt dowbill bokullus.
and a rayne of ledir hungre teyyd from the
horse hede un to the gyrthys be twen the forther
bowse of the horsce for revassyng. A Rennyng paytrell.
A croper of leder hongre.
A Trappar for the Courser.
And ij servantis on horseback well be sayne.
And vj servantis on fote all in a sute.”
This equipment is for a mounted contest, and differs of course
materially from that worn in fighting on foot.
The writer of the paper (Lord Dillon) explains such of the terms
employed as are not fairly obvious. Viscount Dillon’s researches are
mainly embodied in a series of valuable contributions to the pages of
_Archæologia_ and the _Archæological Journal_. Many old records, which
had not been seen by such excellent authorities as Meyrick and Hewitt,
have been examined and compared since their day, and they throw much
light on points and terms which were obscure until recently, and which
had been misunderstood by the earlier writers to whom we owe so much.
The “peyre of platus” is the cuirass, consisting of the breast and back
plates: the “Gyders,” attachments of some kind. The “hanscement” is a
close-fitting garment, worn beneath the armour. A “botton wt a tresse
in the platis,” probably also refers to fastenings or attachments of
some kind. The “Rerebrace wt a rolle of ledyr well stuffid” is probably
a padding protection for the left upper-arm. The “Maynfere with a
ring” is the manifer or mainfaire (main de fer), described in this
work under the heading of reinforcing pieces. The “rerebrase a moton”
is the rerebrace of the right arm, with its small movable plate, the
moton or besaguè over the armpit. The “vambrase and gaynpayn and ij
brickettss,” are the further defences for the right arm and hand. The
“ij dosyn tresses” are arming points, laces for attaching various parts
of the armour together. The “vamplates,” “Grapers,” and “Cornallis” are
the furniture of the lances, in their order, the conical or circular
steel hand-guards, metal rings with points which stick into the wooden
blocks in the lance-rests; the coronals, heads of the lance with blunt
points, calculated to catch on to the armour but not to pierce it.
The “bycorne” was the anvil. Illustrations of Grapers, later termed
_burres_, are rare. They are present on the illumination of the joust
at the tilt between John Astley and Pierre de Masse, being shown on a
lance standing ready for use when required. They are for distributing
the force of the shock on impact over the whole body and especially
to lessen the pressure on the wrist; and are placed towards the lower
end of the lance, the space between the graper and the vamplate
constituting the grip.
The rest of the “Abilment” applies to horse furniture.
“_To crie a Justus of Pees._”
We Herrowdys of Armis beryng scheldis of deviis
here we yeve in knowlache un to all Gentill men of
name and of armus. That ther ben vj Gentilmen of name
＆ of armus. That for the gret desire and worschippe
that the sayde.vj.Gentilmen hath taken up pon them
to be the.iij.day of May nex comyng be fore the hy
＆ myghtty redowttyd ladys ＆ Gentyll wymmen. in thys
hey ＆ most honorabull Court. And in thayre ᵽsens
the sayde.vj.Gentilmen there to a pere.at.IX.of the
belle.be fore noone.and to Juste a yens all comers wt
oute.on the sayd day.un to.vj.of the belle at after noon.
And then be the a vise of the sayde ladys ＆ Gentill
wymmen to yeve un to the best Juster wt oute A Diamunde
of.xl.li.
And un to the nexte the best Just a rube of.xx.li.
And un to the thyrde well Just a sauffer of.x.li. And
on the sayde day there beyng offecers of armis schuyng
thayre mesure of thayre speris garnyst. That ys Cornall
wamplate ＆ grapers all of asyse that they schall.Juste
wt. and that the sayde Comers may take the lengthe of
the sayde speris wt the a vise of the sayde offecers of
armys that schall be in defferant un to all parteys on
the sayde day.”
_The comyng in to the felde._
The. vj. Gentilmen most com in to the felde un
helmyd. and theyre helmes borne be fore tham. ＆ thayre
servants on horsbake beryng eyther of tham a spere
garniste. yt is the sayde.vj. speris. the wheche the
sayde servantis schall ride be fore them in to the
felde. ＆ as the sayde. vj.Gentilmen ben come be fore
the ladyys ＆ Gentilwīmē. Then schall be sent an harawde
of armes up un to the ladys ＆ Gentillwimmen sayyng in
this wise. Hey ＆ myghtti redowtyd ＆ ryght worschypfull
ladys ＆ Gentylwymmen these.vj.Gentill men ben come in
to yowre presens. and recōmaundit ham all un to yowr
goode grace in as lowli wyse as they can.besechyng
you for to gyffe.un to iij.best Justers wt owte.a
Diamownd.＆ a Rube.＆ a Sauffer.un to them that ye thenk
best can deserve hit.
Thenne this message is doon.then the.vj.Gentill men
goyth un to the tellws and do on theyr helmes. And
when the harrawdis cri a lostell a lostell.then schall
all the.vj.Gentill men wt in un helme them.be fore the
sayde ladyys.and make theyre abeisans and go hom un to
ther loggynges ＆ chaunge them.
_Now be com the Gentyll men with oute
in to the presens of the ladyys._
Then comyth forth a lady.be the a vise of all the
ladiis ＆ Gentill wymmen.＆ yevis the Dyamond unto the
beste Juster wt oute.sayyng in this. wise sere these
ladiis ＆ Gentill wymmen thank yow.for yowr dysport
and yowr gret labur that ye have this day in thayre
presens.and the sayde ladiis and Gentill wymmen sayyn
the ye have beste Just this day.there fore the sayde
ladys ＆ Gentyllwymmen gyff you this Diamunde ＆ sende
yow mych worschyp ＆ ioye of yowr lady. Thus schall be
doon wt the Rube ＆ the Sauffer.un to the other ij nex
the best Justers this don.
Then schall ye harraude of arms stonde up all on hey
＆ schall say with a hey voyce.John hath well Justyd.
Rycharde hath Justyd better.＆ Thomas hath Justyd best
of all.
Then schall he to whom the Diamonde ys gyf un to
he schall take a lady by the honde ＆ be gynnyth the
daunce. and when the ladiis hath dauncyd as longe as
hem lykyth then spisys ＆ wyne ＆ drynke And then a voyde.
Another illumination depicts a man in the course of being armed for a
combat on foot, his “hanscement” is on his body; the sabatons, greaves
and cuisses, adjusted over his lower limbs; the attendant is fitting
on the breech of mail; and all the remaining pieces of his equipment
are lying on a table ready to be put on in their turn. These consist
of the huge, globose bascinet, the cuirass of breast and back pieces,
the tonletis, vambrace and rerebrace, a moton for the armpit, and a
gauntlet. The “griffus” mentioned are the greaves; the “tonletis,” the
skirt of bases; and the “pensill” is a small banner.
The accompanying text is as follows:—
“_How a man schall be armyd at his ese when he schal
fighte on foote._”
He schal have noo schirte up on him but a dowbelet
of ffustean lynyd with satene cutte full of hoolis.the
dowbelet muste be strongeli boūdē there the poyntis
muste be sette aboute the greet of the arme.and the b
ste (sic) before and behynde and the gussetis of mayle
muste be sowid un to the dowbelet in the bought of
the arme.and undir the arme the armynge poyntis muste
be made of fyne twyne suche as men make stryngis for
crossebowes and they muste be trussid small and poyntid
as poyntis. Also they muste be wexid with cordeweneris
coode.and than they woll neythir recche nor breke Also
a payre hosyñ of stamyn sengill and a peyre of shorte
bulwerkis of thynne blanket to put aboute his kneys
for chawfynge of his lighernes Also a payre of shone
of thikke cordewene and they muste be frette with smal
whipcorde thre knottis up on a corde and thre coordis
muste be faste sowid un to the hele of the shoo and
fyne cordis in the mydill of the soole of the same shoo
and that ther be betwene the frettis of the heele and
the frettis of the myddill of the shoo the space of
thre fyngris.
_To arme a man._
ffirst ye muste sette on Sabatones and tye hem up on
to the shoo with smale poyntis that wol breke And then
griffus ＆ then quisses ＆ thē the breche of mayle And
thē tonletis. And thē brest And the vambras And the
rerebras And then glovys And then hange his daggere
upon his right side And then his shorte swerde upon
the lyfte side in a round rynge all nakid to pulle it
oute lightli And then putte his cote upon his bak And
then his basinet pỹnid up on two greet staplis before
the breste with a dowbill bokill behynde up on the bak
for to make the basinet sitte juste. And then his long
swerde in his hande. And then his pensill in his hande
peyntid of seynt George or of oure lady to blesse him
with as he gooth towarde the felde and in the felde.
A list of various accessaries and necessaries for a fight on foot is
given; such as a tent, the refreshments, “Also a longe swerde shorte
swerde and dagger Also a pensell to here in his hande of his avowrye,”
also the tools for repairing damaged armour.
The _Pas de la Pélerine_, held by the Seigneur de Haubourdin Bastard de
St. Pol, and the feat of arms performed between Jacques de Lalain and
an Englishman named Thomas, both took place near St. Omer, before the
Duke of Burgundy and the Comte de Charolais, in the year 1446. Jehan,
Seigneur de Haubourdin, and six others, calling themselves _pélerins_
(pilgrims), were to hold the _pas_ for six weeks against all comers.
The meeting had been proclaimed in the neighbouring countries; but,
owing to national animosities and other causes prevailing at the time,
only a single cavalier, and he a German fifty years old, attended
from abroad to contest the _pas_. Great preparations had been made:
lists prepared and a tribune, built of stone, erected for the judge.
Two shields were hung in the lists, one representing Sir Lancelot of
the Lake, the other Tristan de Leonnois. The German cavalier touched
the shield of Sir Lancelot, and was given leave to do his devoir in
accordance with the _chapitres d’armes_ drawn up for the occasion. The
duke took his seat on the tribune on the day of combat at 9 a.m., and
soon afterwards the fight with axes began between the German and the
Sire de Haubourdin, who appeared as Sir Lancelot. The German, a tall
man-at-arms, though well up in years, was still vigorous, but not very
expert at the use of the axe. The number of strokes stipulated in the
articles having been exchanged, without injury to either party, the
duke cast his bâton. No other foreign venant presented himself, to the
great disappointment of all concerned. A knight, Bernard de Bearne,
Bastard de Foix, had been on his way to contest the _pas_, but had been
struck down with fever and could not be present in time.
In the combat on foot between Jacques de Lalain and the Englishman
named Thomas, Lalain fought in light armour, wearing a salade (_sallade
de guerre toute ronde_), leaving his face exposed; while the Englishman
wore heavy armour, his helmet being a visored bascinet. Lalain was
armed with a long-shafted axe, with spikes at the top and bottom,
having on one side a _bec de faucon_, or flook, and on the other a
mallet (_mail rond_) with three prongs. The Englishman’s weapon had
an axe-blade on one side, a hammer-head (_long mail_) on the other,
and spikes top and bottom; it had also a roundel guard. After several
strokes had been exchanged Lalain was wounded on the wrist, in spite of
which the fight continued unabated. Thomas then struck some heavy blows
at his adversary, who stepped suddenly back, so that the Englishman
lost his balance and fell heavily to the ground. This ended the fight.
Bernard de Bearne, Bastard de Foix, on recovering from his attack of
fever, presented himself at Bruges, ready to fulfil his engagement
at the _Pas de la Pélerine_; but as the time arranged for the course
of that meeting had expired, the _chapitres d’armes_ prepared for it
had ceased to operate. Nevertheless, a combat took place at Bruges
with de Haubourdin, and new articles provided that lances were to be
cast, and then a fight with axes, until one or the other had lost his
weapon. On the day appointed for the duel the Bastard de Foix entered
the lists, in full armour, the back of his jupon embroidered with the
family arms, with the addition of the bâton of illegitimacy. Having
paid his respects to the duke, who acted as umpire, he retired to his
pavilion. De Haubourdin came and went in like manner, his jupon bearing
the cognizance of Sir Lancelot. The champions then re-entered the lists
for battle, both armed with _becs de faucon_, when it was observed that
the weapon of de Bearne was garnished with a long, slender spike,
calculated for easy penetration between the bars of the visor. De
Haubourdin on seeing this had his visor removed, saying that he would
save his adversary the trouble of piercing it. The combatants each
carried a lance in the right hand, an axe and shield in the left. The
fight commenced by the parties hurling their lances at each other; that
of de Haubourdin missed his opponent, but de Bearne’s weapon struck
the shield of his adversary, and glancing off wounded him in the arm.
Hurling their shields at each other, the champions then closed, and
after some heavy strokes had been delivered the duke’s bâton fell.[154]
De La Marche thus describes a feat of arms which took place on foot and
on horseback between the Seigneur Philippe de Ternant, a Chevalier de
la Toison d’Or, against Galiot de Baltasin, an esquire and chamberlain
to the Duke of Milan, in April, 1446.
Lists of strong planks, with a double enceinte, had been erected in
a large square in the town of Arras, near the Hostelerie de la Clef.
They were spacious in extent, and within them handsome pavilions had
been pitched for the use of the combatants, and there were gaily
decorated stands for the use of the officials and spectators. On the
day appointed Duke Philip of Burgundy took his seat on the tribune on
the stand overlooking the lists, and with him were his son, the Comte
de Charolais, and his nephew, Adolph de Cléves. On the first day of
the fighting the Seigneur de Ternant entered the lists on horseback,
armed at all points, accompanied by the Seigneur de Beaujeu and the
Comte de Sainct Pol, who acted as his esquires. Dismounting, he paid
his respects to his master the duke, after which he retired to his
pavilion. His adversary entered the lists soon after in like manner,
supported by the Comte d’Étampes, who presented him to the duke. Eight
men-at-arms, holding bâtons in their hands, were posted in the lists
in order to be ready to separate the combatants when necessary and to
carry out the orders of the duke.
The usual preliminaries having been gone through, each knight made the
sign of the cross and the first encounter commenced, which was a combat
on foot with lances. Baltasin attacked his adversary with such force as
to break the point of his lance; while de Ternant holed the bascinet
of his opponent. The rule as to following up would seem to have been
infringed by Baltasin, for the king of arms now measured the ground
with cords and marked the limits of advance and retirement, seven paces
each way. New lances were issued, and in the next round both weapons
were broken; after which the seven thrusts provided for in the articles
were duly and gallantly accomplished. The next fight was with estocs
and, after some heavy thrusting, the limits of advance and retreat
were again marked, this time five paces each way. On the resumption of
the fight, which is described as terrible, Baltasin’s helmet was again
holed, pieces of armour was shed on both sides and gauntlets broken.
Baltasin then struck de Ternant on the lower end of the right pauldron,
forcing off the coude, and the combatants assailed each other with such
violence that the points of their estocs were broken off and others had
to be supplied. At length the eleven thrusts were duly and gallantly
performed and the combatants retired to their pavilions.
Then came the fight with hammer-headed axes, the heads having three
prongs, _la mail à maniére de trois coings à fendre bois, point
de poincte de dessous_; and the fifteen strokes provided for were
duly accomplished. The champions were then led before the duke, who
complimented them on their prowess.
After an interval of a few days the combat on horseback took place.
On the chamfron of the Italian’s horse was a long spike, which was
disallowed by the umpire, and the piece was replaced by another.
De Ternant laid his lance in rest, and his sword was at his belt;
while the Italian held his lance with the right hand, his sword and
the bridle with his left. In the first course De Baltasin evaded
impact with the lance, but spurred his charger at de Ternant’s horse,
apparently with the object of unseating its rider. The Burgundian,
however, kept the saddle, and after some further fighting the combat
ended without hurt to either party. The action by the Italian was a
contravention of one of the laws of the tourney, but it was passed over
by the umpire without remark.[155]
The first joust of the Comte de Charolais, afterwards Charles the Bold,
then in his eighteenth year, was run in the park at Brussels in 1452.
His father, Duke Philip, selected the redoubted champion Jacques de
Lalain as the first adversary; and a grand tournament was proclaimed
to take place in Brussels soon after. In the trial course the Comte
and Lalain charged each other, the former breaking his lance on the
shield of his opponent, but Lalain passed without touching him with
his lance. The duke was much displeased at this, and ordered that in
the course next following there should be absolute equality between
the parties; and on the signal being given they charged, each knight
breaking his lance fairly and well on the other’s body. This time it
was the duchess who was angry with Lalain, for his dangerous assault
on her son. On the day of the tournament at Brussels in the same year
the Comte de Charolais played his part manfully and well, and in the
evening he was awarded the first prize by the ladies. In the _conte des
finances_ of 1452 there is an item for 360 livres for his outfit.[156]
The tournament had been proclaimed throughout the countries of
chivalry, and was held in honour of the eighteenth birthday of the
Comte de Charolais, in the Rathhausplatz of the city. Five challengers
held the field against all comers. Charles ran in eighteen courses, his
adversaries being, Adolph de Cléves, Seigneur de Ravastain; Wolfart de
Borssele; the Earl of Buchan; Messire de Vere; Jean de la Tremoille;
Charles de Ternant; Jacques de Lalain; and the Seigneur de Bugnicourt.
The jousting was followed by the quintain, and by a combat on foot.
The meeting concluded with the _mêlée_, after which the prizes were
presented. It was this _pas d’armes_ that was selected for reproduction
at Brussels in 1905.
Jousting was now frequently combined with masques, mummeries and
pageants. The Duke of Cléves was on a visit to his uncle Philip, Duke
of Burgundy, in 1453; and a series of fêtes was held at Lille in his
honour. During the inaugural banquet a beautiful girl entered the
hall bearing a chaplet of flowers, with which she gracefully crowned
the duke; and it seems that this was the sign that the entertainment
immediately following would be given by him. This duly began on the
morrow, an hour after noon, when a knight of the distinguished order
of the swan issued from the palace, fully armed. It was the Duke of
Cléves who was to hold a joust in the market-place at Lille that day;
he, the tenant, against all comers, being ready to break a lance with
all venans who presented themselves for combat. He was preceded by the
figure of a gigantic swan, of the size of a horse; the bird, on each
side of which marched a savage in his war-paint, led the knight along
by a chain of gold. The knight was encircled by little angels, and was
followed by the duke, who was magnificently dressed. The procession
thus formed marched to the lists, where the knight of the swan tilted
with the Comte de Charolais, the Comte de St. Pol, Sir Anthony,
Bastard of Burgundy, and many others. After the jousting was done the
duke escorted the ladies to the palace, where a banquet was served.
The hall was gorgeously decorated. Facing the upper table a fountain
played, and there was a live lion in the hall. After the company had
taken their seats a holy friar advanced and addressed the duke, urging
him to lead his armies against the infidel; and his grace swore that if
the King of France would engage to leave his dominions in peace he was
ready to march with his entire forces in defence of Christendom.[157]
A tournament was held on the coronation of King Edward IV, at which the
ring and ruby were won by Lord Stanley.
The following account is given in _Mémoires de la Marche_[158] of the
_pas d’armes_ held by King Edward IV of England in the year 1467, at
West Smithfield, in which the Bastard of Burgundy took a leading part.
The narration is here much condensed. King Edward had caused lists
of unusual magnificence to be prepared for the occasion, and costly
galleries were erected at the sides. The stand for the accommodation of
the king and his court, his knights and others, was in three stories,
a flight of steps leading up to the umpire’s tribune. The knights
occupied the first story; the esquires, the second; and in the third
were posted the royal archers of the guard. The second erection, lower
than the other, was occupied by the mayor and aldermen of London,
the judges, and other persons in authority: and pavilions, richly
decorated, were pitched for the use of the combatants. In due time the
king ascended the steps of the tribune, preceded by his sword-bearer,
an earl; his majesty was clad in a purple robe and wore the insignia
of the order of the garter; and in attendance was a score or more of
his counsellors. Chairs were provided for the constable and marshal,
and the king took his seat on the tribune as judge. The constable’s
guard of eight men-at-arms then entered the lists and took up their
positions, when a knocking was heard at the gate. It was a knight who
knocked, and the constable asked to know his purpose. “My name,” said
the knight, “is Escallis,[159] and I am come to accomplish a deed of
arms with the Bastard of Burgundy, and demand entrance into the lists
to do my _devoir_.” Permission having been accorded, the knight entered
the lists in full armour, and was followed by ten or a dozen horses,
richly caparisoned, led by pages; and after making his obeisance to
the sovereign he retired to his pavilion. The Bastard of Burgundy then
entered the lists in a like manner, accompanied by the Duke of Suffolk,
who had been deputed by the king to attend him; and in his train were
twelve horses, trapped in cloth of gold and velvet, with the arms of
Burgundy and the bâton of illegitimacy embroidered upon them. After
paying his compliments to the king he also retired to his pavilion.
Both knights re-entered the lists for battle, their lances were handed
to them, and they took up positions for their careers. The onset being
sounded they placed their lances in rest and charged towards each
other, meeting in the centre of the lists, without injury to either
party; then drawing their swords they attacked each other with great
fury. Lord Scales, spurring up his horse, dashed violently against that
of his adversary, the shock of the collision bearing the Burgundian and
his charger to the ground, where the Bastard lay with his horse upon
him. The officials of the lists raised up the fallen champion, when it
was found that he had not sustained any serious injury. The king was
annoyed at this incident; Lord Scales, however, pleaded that it was the
freshness of his horse which had caused the accident. This put an end
to the fighting for the day, and the Bastard retired to his lodgings,
where he was afterwards visited by the constable with a message of
sympathy and enquiry from the king, and an expression of regret at the
accident. “Thank the king,” replied the bastard, “and tell him that
to-day I have fought with a beast, but to-morrow I will engage a man.”
The champions joined in a combat on foot the next day, with spears,
axes and daggers, the fight to continue until one or other should be
disarmed or borne to the ground. It had been arranged that spears
should be cast, but on the king objecting that part of the proceedings
was omitted. The fight then began. Lord Scales dealt the Bastard some
heavy strokes with his axe, and the Bastard, attacking with great
violence, seriously fractured the armour of his adversary, at which
stage of the combat the king cast his bâton.
De la Marche was present at the fight.
Other contests took place on the following day; but on intelligence
arriving of the death of Duke Philippe le Bon, of Burgundy, the meeting
broke up.
Monstrelet states that the lists were 370 feet long by 250 feet broad,
and gives a somewhat different account of the mounted combat. He
says that the jousting was with pointed lances, and further that the
chamfron of the horse of Lord Scales was garnished with a long steel
spike, which, being thrust into the mouth of the Bastard’s charger,
caused the animal such pain that it reared and at length fell, with its
rider, the Burgundian, underneath.
Holinshed’s version[160] is as follows:—
“The first daie they ran togither diurse courses with
sharpe speares, and departed with equall honer. The
next day they turneied on horsseback. The lord Scales
horsse had on his chafron a long sharpe pike of steele,
and as the two champions coped togither, the same
horsse (whether through custome or by chance), thrust
his pike into the nosethrils of the bastard’s horsse;
so that for verie paine he mounted so high, that he
fell on the one side with his maister, and the lord
Scales rode round about him with his sword in his hand,
vntill the King commanded the marshall to helpe vp the
bastard, which openlie said ‘I cannot hold me by the
clouds, for though my horse faileth me, surelie I will
not fail my counter-companion.’”
The king would not suffer them to do any more that day. On the morrow
the champions fought with pole-axes, when at length the point of the
axe wielded by Lord Scales was thrust into the sight of the Bastard’s
helm with such force that it brought him to his knees, on which the
king cast his bâton. The Bastard wished to fight again, but the umpire
ruled that should the encounter be continued it could only recommence
at the stage reached at the termination of the last combat, with the
Bastard on his knees. On hearing this judgment the Bastard relinquished
his challenge.
An Ashmolean MS. (111-3b) furnishes the following[161]:—“A demonstracōn
by John Writh alias Garter, to King Edward the Fourth, touching three
Knyghtes of high Almayn wch came to do arms in England, with the
instruccōns by them geven unto the saide Gartr and the articles of
their feates and enterprise.” The year must have been 1473.
The blending of the tourney with the pageant, mummeries and buffoonery
continued to gain ground, and the sumptuous and costly fêtes held at
Bruges in 1468, on the occasion of the marriage of Charles of Burgundy
with Margaret of York, sister to King Edward IV of England, afford an
excellent example of these combinations. All is minutely described at
great length by de la Marche.[162] He gives details of the dresses,
ceremonial and armour, and full particulars of each joust; he also
names the historic personages taking part. The plot of the leading
pageant, if it can be called a plot, is inconsequent, though staged
with great splendour and elaboration. There were tableaux of the Twelve
Labours of Hercules, and many allegorical representations.
Lists were erected in the Grande Place, and just within them stood
_l’arbre d’or_, a great fir-tree, the trunk of which was gilded over,
and it was this tree which lent its name to the fête. The Bastard of
Burgundy and Adolf de Cléves, Seigneur de Ravastain, cousin-german to
the duke, assumed the rôle of Chevaliers de L’Arbre d’Or, and they were
to hold the _pas_ in its defence. The fêtes were arranged to extend
over ten days. On the first day the duke took his seat on the tribune,
and a “poursuivant-at-armes,” clad in the livery of _l’arbre d’or_,
handed him a letter from the princess of an unknown isle, in which she
proffers her favour to any knight who would deliver a certain giant
from captivity, whom she had placed under the guardianship of her
dwarf. The dwarf, gaily dressed in crimson and white satin, now entered
the arena, leading in the giant by a chain, and, binding him to the
golden tree, took up a position on a flight of steps, with a trumpet
and sand-glass in his hands. The dwarf then sounded a note on his
trumpet, and turned the sand-glass, which was timed for half an hour,
at the expiration of which Adolf de Cléves, as Chevalier de L’Arbre
d’Or, who was to open the _pas_, knocked at the gate of the lists,
and the pursuivant demanded his name and errand. “I am come,” said
he, “to accomplish the adventure of the giant, and demand admission.”
The blazon of his arms having been submitted to the judge it was hung
suspended on the tree, and the dwarf admitted him. De Ravastain was
borne into the lists in a litter, carried on the backs of two black
horses, and made a brilliant entrance with his team of drummers and
trumpeters on the march; his robe was of velvet, the colour of leather,
trimmed with ermine, and on his head was a cardinal’s hat. His handsome
charger, richly caparisoned, bore a pair of panniers on his back,
between which a court fool was seated, and it followed the litter, led
by a varlet. The duchess was seated on her tribune, and the chevalier,
throwing away his hat, knelt down before her and set forth the details
of the rôle he had assumed, praying for her permission to carry out
his plan. This being graciously accorded, he retired to his pavilion
to arm him, re-entering the lists on horseback. The dwarf then gave
the signal for the jousting, and the venans, sumptuously arrayed and
brilliantly attended, were successively disposed of. After they had
been dealt with, the dwarf again blew his trumpet and the prize was
presented to de Cléves. The cavaliers then jousted each with a _gros
planchon blanc_, but without touching each other; and the first day’s
proceedings finished with a banquet. Jousts of different kinds, dinners
and entertainments continued over each succeeding day of the fêtes.
On the sixth day the Bastard of Burgundy had his leg nearly broken;
on the eighth the Sire Philippe de Poictiers was wounded; and on the
ninth day Duke Charles jousted with his kinsman, de Ravastain, breaking
eight spears to eleven by his opponent. The prize was a _destrier_,
richly accoutred, provided with panniers, and in them was an entire
jousting equipment of the Bastard of Burgundy. The prize was won by the
Sire de Arguel, who had broken thirteen lances on the third day of the
fêtes. In keeping account of the splintered lances, the _articles du
pas_ determine how they shall be broken:—“_car nulles lances ne furent
tenues pour rompues, s’il n’y avoit quatre doigts de franc au-dessous
du roquet, ou devant la grape_.” The lances for every contest were
always carefully measured before being used, so that they were of equal
length.
The lists were cleared of the tilt and stands, and the _mêlée_ began,
there being twenty-five cavaliers on each side. They fought with
rebated swords, and with such ardour that all signals to stop were
disregarded, and it was only when the duke rode in among them unhelmed,
sword in hand, that they could be induced to cease fighting and go and
prepare for the banquet which was to follow.
Philip de Commenes was present and tilted with Jerom of Cambrai. The
banquet was served on a splendid scale, and the side tables were
curiously embellished. On one of the dishes was the figure of a unicorn
the size of a horse, with a leopard on his back waving the banner of
England in one hand, and holding in the other a _fleur de marguerite_.
The unicorn was trapped in silk, on which were embroidered the arms of
England. A _fleur de marguerite_ was presented to the duke by the hand
of a little female dwarf belonging to Marie of Burgundy. The dwarf was
dressed as a shepherdess, in cloth of gold, and was mounted on a huge
lion, bearing the arms of Burgundy, which opened its mouth by means of
springs, and chanted a poem in honour of the beautiful shepherdess.
There were many more mechanical contrivances; and on the last day
of the fêtes a whale sixty feet long entered the hall, escorted by
two giants. The whale wagged its tail and fins; its eyes were great
mirrors, and when it opened its mouth sirens issued from it, chanting
most melodiously. After further conceits the two giants were swallowed
by the whale.
A copy of a very quaint manuscript, portions of it written at
different times in the reign of Edward IV and up to that of Henry
VIII, is given in _Archæologia_ of the year 1846. It describes the
marriage ceremony and the pageants, remarking as to the latter:—“the
pageantes wear so obscure, that I fere me to writ or speke of them,
because all was cuntenaunce and no wordes.”
As to the excitement of the _mêlée_ and the disregard of the signals
and commands to cease fighting, the MS. says:—“the Duke unhelmed hyme,
and with a great staffe his person charged pece in paine of deth, and
soe wt great labore he droffe the parties asounder.”
There was not much tourneying at the court of Burgundy after this,
for Duke Charles was too busily and constantly engaged in military
enterprises against his neighbours; and, indeed, his ambitious,
predatory and headstrong career was fast drawing to a close, ending,
in fact, in 1477 on the fatal field of Nancy. The jousting traditions
of his house passed over through his daughter, his only child, to
the Austrian and German courts, under Maximilian: and it is to these
countries, more especially, to which we must now turn for the history
of the tournament in its decline.
In the same year as the fêtes at Bruges, 1468, a joust was held in
front of the king’s hotel at the Tournelles, Paris; the challengers
against all comers being four gentlemen of the company of the Seneschal
of Normandy. John Raquier hastened from Rouen to take part, and he
broke five lances with distinction; then came Marc Senamy and two sons
of Sir John Sanguin, who all acquitted themselves well, after whom
Charles de Louviers, cup-bearer to the king, jousted successfully, and
the prize of the day was adjuged to him. After all these encounters the
tenans were much bruised, two of them carried their arms in slings and
a third was severely wounded in the hand; so that the honours of the
meeting lay with the venans.[163]
“At the marriage of Richard, duke of York, son of
Edward IV, with Ann Mowbray, daughter to the duke of
Norfolk in 1477, six gentlemen challenged all comers at
the _Just Roial_, with _helme_ and _shield_,
in manner accustomed.
“Secondly, To runne in _Ostling[164] harneis_ alonge
a tilte.
“And thirdly, to strike certaine strokes with swoards
and guise of _torney_.”[165]
A narrative by an eye-witness of this marriage and “of the grand
justing then celebrated” is given in the Ashmolean MS. No. 856,
94-104,[166] which is at least as curious as the account of the
jousting of Anthony Lord Scales with the Bastard of Burgundy. It was
published by W. H. B. in the _Excerpta Historica_, in June, 1830.
“In the reign of Henry VII certaine gentlemen who
stiled themselves servants of Ladie Maie, in honour
of that month, gave a challenge to be performed at
Greenwiche; the articles run thus:—
“_Imprimis_, The fourteenth daie of Maie, shall be
redye in the field certaine gentlemen, perteyning to
the Ladye Maie, armed for the tilt, in harneis therunto
accustomed; and there to kepe the fielde (in such place
as it shall please the kynge to appoint) from 2 of the
clocke, til 5 at the afternoone, to run with every
commer 8 courses; and thus the answerers all answered
and served, that than if there be any that desireth for
their Ladyes sake other 4 courses, it shall be granted,
so the hower be not past, if it be then at the queenes
pleasure.
“The second day, to shoot Standart Arrowe and fighte,
with all commers; he that shootes the standart furthest
to have a prise, and so in like case of the arrows of
the flight.
“The third day with swordes rebated (without points
or edges) to strike with any commer 8 strokes in way of
pleasure; and four strokes more for any of the commers
mistress sake, under the above restrictions, (and the
queen’s pleasure).
“The fourth day to wrestle all manner of ways.
“The fifth day, armed to fighte on foote, with
speares in their hands rebated, and then swordes by
their sides for the battle; and then with speare and
sworde to defend their barriers; that is to say, with
spears 8 strokes, whereof two with foyne (thrusts) and
6 strokes; and that done, to drawe their swordes and
strike 8 strokes every man, to his best advantage, with
gripe or otherwise; and four strokes for a lady, under
the above restrictions.
“The sixth day to cast the barre on foote, and with
the arme both heavie and light.
“At these _tournois_ the challenger doth engage
to come in _harneis_ for the tilt, without targe or
brockett, _woalant piece over the head_,[167] rondall
over the garde, rest of advantage, fraude, deceit, or
other malengine.
“And some time after four gentlemen challenged all
commers at Greenwich: To the feate called barriers,
with the casting speare, and the targatt and the
bastarde sworde.[168] And one cast with the speare
hedded with the morn (coronal), and 17 strokes with
the sworde, point and edge rebated; without close or
griping one another with handes, upon paine of such
punishment, as the judges for the tyme being should
thinke requisite.”
“The tilts, we find, were performed with long tilting spears, on
horseback; and when their lances were broken, they often took to
their swords as well as axes”: see the method of challenge in the
description of the plates in the life of Earl Warwick, and the manner
of performing, Plates 35, 36, ＆ 37, etc.[169]
Caxton, writing in the reign of Edward IV, in his epilogue to _The book
of the Order of Chyvalry and Knyghthode_, says:—
“I wold it pleasyd our soverayne Lord that twyes or
thryes in a yere, or at least ones, he wold do crye
_Justes of pees_, to thende that every knyght shold
have hors and haryneys, and also the use and craft of
a knyght, and also to torneye one ageynste one, or ij
ageynst ij; and the best to have a prys, a dyamond,
or jewel, such as shold please the prynce. Thys shold
cause gentylmen to resorte to thauncyent customes of
chyvalry, to grate fame and renōmee, and also to be
alway redy to serve theyr prynce when he shalbe calle
them or have nede.”
A superb representation on tapestry of a _mêlée_ which took place late
in the fifteenth century, worked at Malines, is now at Valenciennes;
and it is remarkable for its technical accuracy. The jousting is over;
and a combat with sharp swords in progress. Broken lances, a helmet, a
broken helm, fragments of crests, _grelots_ and other debris shed in
the contest lie on the ground among the horse’s hoofs. The helmets are
armets of the older form, of which there are existing examples spread
over the collections of Europe. This type has hinged side-pieces and
opens out from the middle for inserting and withdrawing the head of
the wearer; and it is fastened together with a leathern strap. There
is a small circular disk projecting from the back of the helmet,
as well as a collar in front and over the neck behind, to which a
necklet of chain-mail is fixed by a line of rivets. The comb of the
helmet is holed for the attachment of a crest and the visor projects
in a sort of beak. The disk is fixed to one side of the back of the
head-piece by a thin iron connecting pin or bar. Its use or purpose
is difficult to imagine and has given rise to much controversy, but
none of the explanations advanced are at all convincing, for the bar
or connecting pin is too slender to protect the neck from a sword
stroke or even to shield from injury the strap at the back which holds
the helmet together. This type fell into disuse at the commencement
of the sixteenth century. The armour shown on the figures is fairly
uniform. A long mail shirt with sleeves is worn, and it is much less
covered with plate than might be expected at the end of the fifteenth
century. The forms of the pauldrons, neck-guards, globose breastplate,
“bear-paw,” or “cow-mouth” sollerets (as they were called), tuilles,
tassets, and bases all mark the period, which other historic features
on the tapestry confirm. Motons appear on only one of the figures, and
they are pear-shaped; in the case of the other front figures there is
no defence for the armpits beyond the chain-mail shirt. The lances are
both grooved and plain, the vamplates, circular. An unusual feature
is the presence of three long, narrow, label-shaped plates or bars,
ridged down the middle, with small circular eyes at the tops, through
which screws or rivets are passed, attaching them to the back rim of
the armet. The back-plates are low, reaching but half-way up, and these
three plates or bars form the only defence for the upper back outside
the mail shirts. They appear to be adjustable to a certain extent. The
middle plate is the longest of the three, extending down the spine of
the wearer to over the top of the low back-plate; while the side-bars,
equal in length, reach well over the pauldron wings. The horses are all
barded in leather, with chamfrons and crinets apparently of iron; and
none of the animals are trapped. The bridles are of chain-mail, framed
in iron. The tapestry measures 4·70 m. to 5·60 m. in size, and part of
it is shown on Plate I (2).
In the year 1487 Johannes, Duke of Saxony, ran in _Gestech_ with Cuntz
Metzschen at Jena, and both riders kept their seats. They wore armour
such as described in Plate IX (1): the motons were very ornate. On the
duke’s helm were two small black flags, on which the letter “M” was
embroidered, in honour of his wife, Sophie of Mecklenburg. His trapper
and shield were black, with violet, yellow, and white stripes.
A “Solemne Triumphe” was held at Richmond, which lasted a whole month,
at which Sir James Parker was killed, in 1494.[170]
The two most important armouries are those at Vienna and Madrid; but
for the study of the tourney that at Dresden is the best. Indeed, much
of the armour there has remained, practically _in situ_, since it was
in use, and many of the harnesses can be attributed with certainty,
both as regards wearers and makers. In the _Tournierwaffensaal_
several of the mounted models have sat their horses since the year
1591. At Dresden may be seen examples of the saddles, horse muzzles,
weapons, bards and trappers; and even the textile costumes worn over
and under the armour, as well as the small accessories and tools, may
be studied. Besides these armouries, those at Paris, Berlin, Turin,
Nuremberg, the Tower of London, and the Wallace Collection, are large
and comprehensive.
The German _Turnierbücher_ and jousting in Germany will be dealt with
in the next chapter.
FOOTNOTES:
[139] _Mémoirs de la Marche_, Liv. I, Chaps. VIII and IX.
[140] A short thrusting sword.
[141] A stout foining sword.
[142] “Double ou single.” _Chroniques de Monstrelet_, Liv. II, 835.
This would imply an option to use reinforcing pieces or not; for some
of the foreign cavaliers might not be provided with them at this time.
[143] The Vamplate.
[144] The italics are ours.
[145] See Appendix B.
[146] _Mémoires de la Marche_, I, Chap. XVI; and _Histoire Des Ducs De
Bourgogne_, II, 63.
[147] See Appendix A.
[148] Sainte-Palaye in _Mémoires sur L’Ancienne Chevalerie_, Vol. 1,
15, defines and describes the different grades and sorts of esquires.
[149] MS. 506. Rights due att the Tournay. “Firste the Kinge of
Armes....” See Appendix A.
[150] _Arch. Journ._, XLVI, 135.
[151] Hist. de, Ch. VII, p. 568.
[152] Class XVI, No. 5.
[153] The Armouries of the Tower of London, p. 440.
[154] _Mémoires D’Olivier De La Marche_, I, chap. XVIII.
[155] _Mémoires de la Marche_, I, Chap. XIV.
[156] Histoire des Ducs De Bourgogne, II, 90.
[157] Monstrelet’s _Chronicle_, (Continuation) Johnes’ II. Chap. LXIII.
[158] Liv. I, Chap. XXXVII.
[159] Anthony Woodville, Lord Scales, brother to the Queen of England.
[160] _Chronicles_, III, 286.
[161] See Appendix A.
[162] Liv. II, Chap. IV.
[163] Monstrelet, _Continuation_, Chap. CLXIX.
[164] Easterling.
[165] “Certaine Triumphes,” a MS. in Bib. Harl. insig., No. 69. See
Appendix B.
[166] See Appendix A.
[167] The Italics are ours.
[168] Hand and a half sword.
[169] MS. in Bib. Harl. insig., Cod. 69. See Appendix B.
[170] _Archæological Journal_, LV, 299.
CHAPTER VI
Much that is fanciful and unreal has been written about the tournament,
and it is only in recent times that the knowledge of the subject
has been placed on a more scientific basis, through the labours and
researches of Querin von Leitner, Cornelius Curlitt, Boeheim, Dillon,
Haenel and others, who have built on the valuable foundations laid by
earlier writers on the subject. In France the subject has received but
scant attention in recent times.
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. The contrast,
indeed, in their treatment of these meetings is very marked, in that
comparatively little attention is devoted by the later writers to the
martial sports themselves, while the pageantry and dresses closely
connected with them absorb most of the matter of their narrations.
This is perhaps an indication of a diminished public interest in
the tournament in these countries; and but for the fuller and more
circumstantial German records it would be difficult to present any
comprehensive account of its ramifications during the sixteenth
century and to the time when it fell into disuse. There are many
records relating to the tournament in the College of Arms, London,
and among the Ashmolean, Harleian and Cottonian MSS.[171]; whilst the
_Chronicles_ of Hall and Holinshed also afford much information. De
Pluvinal, in _Maneige Royal_, published in 1625, gives some interesting
particulars of jousting in its later stages, and Ménestrier, in _Traité
des Tournois, Jousts, Carrousels, &c._, when it had almost ceased being
practised.
The institution had attained its highest development in most of the
countries of chivalry in the first half of the fifteenth century, and
the sixteenth saw its rapid decline. It had become more and more a
mere sport and pastime, and had lost much of its former dignity in
being so closely associated with mummeries and the pageant. All the
safeguards instituted in the fifteenth century had become accentuated
in the sixteenth to a degree making serious accidents very rare; and
the introduction of barriers in combats on foot, and the employment
of lances in these contests, apart from the preliminary casting, so
often described in the narrations of such encounters of the fifteenth
century, had greatly changed their character, and made them much less
dangerous.
In admitting cavaliers to the tournament kings of arms were particular
to exclude all who were not of noble birth, with the requisite number
of descents. The bâton of illegitimacy, however, was no bar to the
admission of the bastards of princely houses, who were generally
accepted in society on an apparently equal footing with nobles of the
highest rank.
The prizes awarded were often a wreath, a ring, a sword, helmet, jewel
or a charger; at a joust held at Weimar in 1534 they consisted of a
spur, a sword and a lady’s slipper, all of gold.
Many new forms of jousting were introduced in Germany late in the
fifteenth and during the sixteenth centuries, though most of them
were derived from three main courses with but trivial differences
from them. Some of the variants were conceived with a view to the
introduction of some striking or humorous novelty; and, in fact, the
passion for theatrical effect then prevailing in Germany, brought about
some extraordinary mechanical absurdities as applied to jousting. The
intricacies of the various courses would seem to have been somewhat
perplexing even to the generations by whom they were practised, and
they are, of course, much more difficult to disentangle now.
It was in Germany that the bulk of the jousting harnesses of the
sixteenth century were made, and in that country the contemporary
literature over the period in question concerning the tournament is
most considerable.
The tournament records of the emperor Maximilian I and those of the
ruling princes of the German Empire are of the first importance in
the history of the tournament of the period, for it was at the courts
of these sovereigns that such sports were most practised in their
various phases, and when they reached their greatest development.
The tournament, with its attendant pageants and mummeries, played a
leading part in the weekly routine of the relaxation and amusements
of these princes and their chivalry, a part perhaps second only to
the chase; and these records bring the actual details of the various
courses vividly before us in the many carefully executed drawings
representing them which have been preserved. Most of them deal with the
tournament of the sixteenth century, though some of the combats of the
last quarter of the fifteenth are recorded and illustrated; and while,
perhaps, none of the drawings are strictly speaking contemporaneous
with the events they depict many of them were copied from older
pictures, so that taken as a whole the details given are more reliable
than most of the other sources of information.
The most precious among these tourney-books is the _Freydal_ of
Maximilian I, a work of the year 1515, in which the emperor’s combats
in the lists, with the accompanying mummeries, are pictured.
The allegorical name “Freydal” is one of those assumed by the emperor
in his knightly character. Maximilian was born in 1459, elected emperor
in 1494, and died in 1520. He began his jousting career when quite
a youth, and took a leading and personal part in the compilation
of _Freydal_, dictating some of the text to his secretary Max
Trytssaurwein in 1511; and, indeed, he corrected some of the proofs
with his own hand. He selected for the book the examples of the various
courses in which he was engaged, in almost all of which he appears as
the victor. These instructions as to the choice of the subjects of the
plates are of great value to the student, and are given in Appendix
D. The personal character of the work adds much to its interest and
importance in the history of the tournament.
The admirable reproduction of _Freydal_ by Querin von Leitner, issued
under the directions of Franz, Grafen Folliot De Grenneville,[172]
leaves little to be desired. There are 255 plates arranged in series of
_Rennen_, _Stechen_, foot combats and a _mêlée_, all depicting courses
in which Maximilian had “_gerennt_, _gestochen_ und _gekämpft_.”[173]
The work is valuable from many points of view, for it includes a
register of the prominent personages of the time, and full particulars
of the colours, trappers, arms and crests of the cavaliers taking part,
together with the costumes of the mummers and others, besides some
genealogical notes.
_Freydal_ is one of a series of chronicles somewhat similar in
character, comprising _Theuerdank_, _Weisskünig_, _Triumph of
Maximilian_ and _Ehrenpforte_; all were written with a view to the
glorification of the emperor and his reign. _Freydal_ is the emperor’s
testament to posterity of his career in the tiltyard, and, with the
accompanying mummeries he initiated, forms a knightly tribute to the
memory of his much lamented consort Mary of Burgundy. A poem in the
work follows, which illustrates the spirit of vanity and the somewhat
frivolous character of the monarch:—
RITTER FREYDALB[174]
Nun ver von kurtzweil lesen wil
Vnd lustbarlichen dingen,
der nem fur sich die ritterspil,
da ainr nach eer thut ringen,
als ritter Freydalb hat gethon
Aus ritterlichem gmute
Auf mengen adelichen plon.
Sein tugent vnd auch gute
ist allermenigelich offenbar,
wie er konndt tryumphiern
mit rennen, stechen kempfen zwar
Auch tantzen vnd thurniern
damit er in sein jungen tagen,
Als ir hie horen werden
grose freyd ynd ruem do hat erjagen,
(Seins gleich lebt nit auf erden).
_Theuerdank_ is a narration of Maximilian’s journey to Ghent to wed the
heiress of Charles the Bold, with an account of his adventures by the
way, and the story of his courtship. It was written by the emperor for
the instruction of Charles V when a youth. There are 117 wood-cuts by
Hans Schaufflein.
_Weisskünig_ is the story of his life and government.
_The Triumph_ describes the progress and achievements of his reign, as
typified by the picture of the triumphal car running through it. It
was written in 1512, greatly at the emperor’s own dictation; and the
illustrations depict jousters fully equipped for some of the various
courses of the tournament.
_The Ehrenpforte_ is a monument to the glory of the Emperor’s name and
house.
In the tourney-book of Maximilian belonging to the Prince of
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen the spirited illustrations are by the hand
of Hans Burgmaier, of Augsburg, an able coadjutor of the great
armour-smith Koloman Colman of the same city, surnamed Helmschmidt.
Of great interest and importance are the three original tourney books
of the Saxon Electors—Johanns _des Beständigen_, Johann Friedrichs _des
Grozmüthigen_, and August, scoffingly called by Carlyle, if we remember
rightly, the _physically_ strong. They are in three volumes, which are
preserved in the public library at the Japanese Palace, Dresden. The
illustrations, which number over 300, are water-colour drawings on
parchment, and they depict the courses of _Rennen_, _Stechen_,[175] and
a _mêlée_, as run by those princes during their reigns; they afford
characteristic records of these knightly sports from the year 1487 to
1566. The earlier jousts of the _Kurfürst_ Johann begin towards the end
of the fifteenth century, the others following in the sixteenth; while
the third volume, executed in 1584, includes fifty-five drawings of the
courses of _Scharfrennen_ and _Gestech_ run by the _Kurfürst_ August,
the last taking place in February, 1566, at Dresden. The drawings are
by Heinrich Göding, of Brunswick, the court painter, and many of them
would seem to have been copied from an earlier work.
There is also an old copy of one of the books in the royal library at
Veste Coburg. Professor Haenel, the Curator of the Johanneum Collection
of Arms and Armour at Dresden, has reproduced a selection of the plates
in the three volumes of the joustings of the Saxon _Kurfürsts_, two of
them coloured as in the originals, the others plain (published under
the auspices of _Die Verein für historische Waffenkunde_, Dresden,
1910). The book supplies a long-felt want, for the original volumes are
not easy of access.
In the _Gewehrgalerie_ at the Johanneum, Dresden,[176] are twenty-nine
paintings in oils by the same artist as those in the tourney-books,
and they depict courses run in _Scharfrennen_ by the _Kurfürsts_.
These pictures are of even greater value than the drawings in the
tourney-books in being painted on a larger scale, and giving more
details both of the courses themselves and the general surroundings of
the lists. One of them, like the last picture in the tournament-book,
Vol. III, depicts the last joust of the _Kurfürst_ August, run against
his ennobled master-armourer Hans Dehn, in the year 1566; and it bears
the title, “_Ein Rennen mit Hannss Dehnen gethan, der ist alleine
gefallen. Ao 66 im Februar zu Dressten an der Festnacht_.” This
oil-painting is hung in a bad light, and is darkened by age, but a
close examination reveals the fact that the riders and horses are only
models, stuffed with straw, their hoofs attached to low four-wheeled
bogies. The figures are impelled to charge by a mechanical apparatus;
ropes, running along the bogies and beyond, are visible, but the
machinery itself for setting the models in motion is hidden from view.
These models, as stated on the picture, formed part of a Carnival
mummery, held at court. The painting exhibits the moment when Hans
Dehn is in the act of being hurled from his horse by the _Kurfürst_,
his lance falling to the ground; while the prince is holding up his
left hand in the manner customary after impact. The _Kurfürst_ wears a
jousting-salade, with a crest of plumes; the usual shield; bases and
jousting-cuisses. The legs and feet are unarmoured. The lance is stout,
rounded, adorned with puffs, and headed with a small conically formed
sharp tip; the vamplate is very large. The horse bears an enriched
collar and a spiked chamfron, while plumes adorn the head and tail. The
saddle is without cantle, the object of the course being unhorsing; the
trapper, reaching down to the horse’s houges, is painted with stars,
foliations and the arms (viz. a lion _rampant_).
[Illustration: _PLATE III_
MAXIMILIAN I ENGAGED IN _HOHENZEUGGESTECH_]
About the end of the seventeenth century the models of horses used for
the display of armour in the Tower of London were mounted on casters,
and guide books of the period and later state that they had been
employed in practising tilting and running at the ring. This could
hardly have been the case as regards these particular models, their
purpose having been doubtless merely for convenience in moving and
cleaning. These statements were, however, founded on the fact that
there had been horses fitted with mechanical contrivances for impelling
them forward towards one another for the purpose of practising the
joust and its kindred military sports. In the years 1672 and 1673
patents were taken out in England for models of horses fitted with
mechanical appliances for the purpose in question,[177] and the joust
at Dresden on Twelfth-night, 1566, shows that they were not confined to
this country.
The subjects of the paintings and embroideries on trappers in the
sixteenth century were often humorous, religious, and sometimes even
political in character. An example shows a barrel of gunpowder in the
act of explosion and a pair of sweethearts standing before it kissing.
Another exhibits a man standing in the street, clad only in his shirt,
being well soused with water thrown from an open window. A religious
example deals with the struggle in progress between the propaganda of
reform as against the Church of Rome, wherein a monk and a Lutheran
divine are seen fighting for the globe amid lightning and hail; the
waves of the sea, peopled by monsters of the deep, advancing menacingly
towards them.
The mottoes are often curious and suggestive, for instance:—
“_Was achte ich des Monden Schein,
wenn mir die Sonne gnedig sein._”[178]
Another:—
“_Niemand weisz mein Sinn
Ob ich ein Fuchs od Hase bin._”[179]
The humorous devices painted were sometimes groups of owls, hares, mice
or foxes. Trappers were usually armoried.
The contract price for a complete harness for the tiltyard in the
second half of the sixteenth century was usually from 100 to 200
_thalers_ (£20 to £40), rather a wide margin; though anything extra
special in the way of enrichment would often cost much more. August
_Kurfürst_ of Saxony ordered from Peffenhaüser of Augsburg in 1582 a
“_Stechkürass fur die Pallier[180] mit allen Doppelstücken, und alle
Stücke zum Freirennen und Fussturnier 200 Thalers_,” i.e. a harness for
jousting at the tilt with the reinforcing pieces thereto appertaining,
together with the additional pieces for _Freirennen_ and _Fussturnier_.
A more ordinary suit “_ein anderer, schlichter, gemeiner Kürass_” is
offered at 100 _thalers_. Four _thalers_ “_Tringeld_” for each suit
was usually added. A _Feldkürass_ (a hoasting harness) was cheaper,
say 60 to 80 _thalers_ according to quality. Prices had advanced
since the beginning of the century. In 1511, September 16, “Conrad
Seusenhofer receives for two suits of armour for his Imperial Majesty
and one for the English Embassy 211 _florins_.”[181]
1512. Sept 13. “Payments made by Thomas Wuley on the King’s behalf to a
certain merchant of Florence for 2000 complete harnesses called Almayne
rivets according to pattern in the hands of John Douncy, accounting
alway a salet, a gorget, a breastplate, a back-plate and a pair of
splints for every complete harness at 16s a set.”[182] Such last-named
suits were for the soldiery and without armour for the arms and legs.
Hans Schwenkh’s _Wappenmeisterbuch_, the tourney-book of Duke William
IV of Bavaria, in the Royal Library at Munich, commences in 1510. It
was compiled by Frederich von Schlichtegroll in 1807, it exhibits
eight separate forms of the tourney, and covers the jousting of the
duke in the first quarter of the sixteenth century together with later
examples. The illustrations are faithfully reproduced on stone by the
brothers Theobald and Clemens Senefeder, with an explanatory text by
Schlichtegroll.
The tourney-book of Duke Henry of Braunschweig-Lüneburg is at Berlin;
that of the Pole Zuganoviez Stanislaus of the year 1574 in the Dresden
Historical Museum.
Several forms of jousting, combats on foot and the tourney prevailing
in the fifteenth century have been lightly touched upon, and a more
detailed statement of the leading courses now follows, together with an
account of their more important variants.
The main courses of the jousts are:—
1. Courses run in the lists with lances rebated or
tipped with coronals, without a tilt or barrier
between the jousters; the chief object in view
being the splintering of lances and unhorsing.
2. Courses of courtesy run in the lists with sharp
lances, also without a tilt; the main desideratum
being unhorsing.
3. Courses run with lances tipped with coronals, in
which the jousters charged along a tilt which was
between them. In this course the chief object in
view was the splintering of lances.
There are many variants in the first two groups.
These three classes were practised more or less in all the countries of
chivalry in the sixteenth century, though outside Germany it was the
joust at the tilt which was commonly run. In the Fatherland and Austria
these courses were known respectively as the _Gestech_ or _Stechen_,
_Scharfrennen_ or _Rennen_, and the _Welsch Gestech_ or Italian joust.
The type of joust run in the lists without a barrier or tilt, the
lances tipped with coronals, is a very old one, though it had been
subjected to a gradual modification and the application of safeguards
as the centuries had advanced. The horses were blindfolded, so that
they should not flinch or jib at the moment of impact, and so deflect
the aim of the rider; and the animals were also sometimes rendered deaf
by the stopping of their ears with wool, and they were often muzzled.
Except in the case of one German variant of this class, the legs of the
riders were without armour, these limbs being sufficiently protected by
the saddle-steels. A chamfron, sometimes spiked, covered the face of
the horse, and a crinet its neck. A cushion or mattress (_Stechkissen_
or _Bourrelet_), filled with straw, hung from the saddle-bow, covering
the chest of the animal, to act as a buffer when there were collisions,
which frequently happened in the absence of a tilt; and, indeed, in
such cases one or both chargers, with their riders, often fell. An
illustration of this cushion is given in the _Tourney Book of René
d’Anjou_, and another by Boeheim in his _Waffenkunde_, drawn after an
actual example, which is believed to have belonged to Maximilian I, and
now forms part of the superb collection of arms and armour at Vienna.
The horse was usually barded in leather, which did not extend to the
front, and a trapper, painted with various devices, covered its body.
The saddle employed in Class 1, which weighs about 10·2 _kilos._, has a
high squared plate in front reaching to the jouster’s breast, and there
are short steels, though no cantle; so that unhorsing was of frequent
occurrence. The head-piece of this class was the great jousting-helm.
This course involved much more skill and initiative in the jouster and
a more careful training of the horse than did the joust at the tilt.
This class of joust was much practised in Germany under the general
name “_Gestech_” or its abbreviation “_Stechen_,” and was in three
forms:
(a) _Das Gestech im hohen Zeug_ or _Hohenzeuggestech_,
known in France as _Joûte à la haute barde_.
(b) _Das gemeine deutsche Gestech._ _La Joûte Allemand._
(c) _Das Gestech im Beinharnisch._ _Joûte au harnois de
jambe._
The joust in Germany was a ruder sport than that practised in other
countries, and unhorsing very frequently took place.
_Hohenzeuggestech_ is an older form of the group, its main object
being the splintering of lances. In this course the jouster sat high
up on his horse in a saddle formed like a well, and his body being
well supported on all sides unhorsing was impossible as long as the
animal kept its legs and the girths held. This form of saddle had
been employed in the _Kolbenturnier_ or baston course (i.e. a duel on
horseback with heavy bastons or maces), which prevailed during the
fifteenth century and which has been described. The protection on the
saddle front in _Hohenzeuggestech_ rises over the rider’s breast, a
broad band of iron encircles his body, and the steels are long and
broad. The saddle weighs about 12 _kilos._ The horse ran blindfolded
in a leather bard and trapper of cloth; the rider’s legs and feet were
encased in hose and well-padded shoes, no armour being necessary, as
the saddle-steels afforded ample protection. The mobility of both man
and horse must have been much restricted by the heavy armament and
by the blindfolding and the thick cushion over the breast. The heavy
Flemish horses “did not vanish from their posts like lightning and
close in the centre of the lists like a thunderbolt,” but charged at an
amble.
Plate III pictures Maximilian armed for _Hohenzeuggestech_, as shown in
_Freydal_, Plate 98.
_Das gemeinedeutsche Gestech._ In this course the object was unhorsing,
or at least the splintering of a lance on an opponent’s shield. In
_Freydal_ there are eighteen illustrations of this form of joust. The
armour for the course underwent a complete change about the beginning
of the fifteenth century, a special form of harness having been
designed for it. The legs and feet were without armour.
Plate IV illustrates two harnesses for the German joust (_Gestech_ or
_Stechen_). Both date in the last quarter of the fifteenth century,
that with tassets being the later of the two. They are now at Paris.
[Illustration: _PLATE IV_
TWO HARNESSES FOR THE GERMAN JOUST OR _GESTECH_. AT PARIS.]
Plate IX (1) pictures a suit in the Wallace Collection, London,[183]
for the _Gestech_ (_Stechen_). It is very heavy, weighing about a
hundredweight, leaving the wearer with little other mobility than was
needed to couch and aim his lance; it had evidently seen some service,
and bears the dents of many jousts. It is the only complete armour of
this kind that we know of in this country. The great jousting-helm
weighs about twenty pounds: it is bucket-formed, and extends down in
one piece over the top of the cuirass, to which it is fastened by
three strong screws, two in front and one behind—the latter, placed
vertically, is adjustable for getting the correct line of vision. The
crown-piece curves gently over the wearer’s head, and has a comb along
the top pierced with twin holes for attaching the crest and torse or
wreath which encircles its base. The eyelets for fastening the lining
are bordered with laton, and the rivets are capped with the same
metal, a golden looking blend, something between bronze and brass.
The _oculārium_ affords but a very limited range of vision, and the
front of the head-piece juts out in a sort of beak. The helm is very
roomy, so that the wearer could move his head about freely under the
cap of felt and leather lining, and small cushions stuffed with hair
or feathers were over the temples. The breastplate is globose, and, as
usual with armour for _Stechen_ and also for _Rennen_, is flattened
on the right side for better couching and aiming the lance. It is
reinforced with a heavy plate over the abdomen, to which the taces, of
five heavy lames, are riveted. The back-plate is in three overlapping
plates. A garde-rein (_Schwänzel_) of five lames protects the loins,
and the tuilles, garnished with a figure like a horn, are tile-formed.
The motons over the armpits, fastened in their places by straps of
leather, are plain and very large—9½ inches across; that on the right
side is pierced with a _bouche_, to leave space for the lance-shaft.
On the right side is a lance-rest (_Rüsthaken_), and, as is usual
in armour for both _Gestech_ and _Scharfrennen_, there is a heavy
queue, termed in German a _Rasthaken_, which acted as a counterpoise
for holding the heavy lance used in the course in position, and for
avoiding much strain on the lance-arm. The lance-shaft lies in the
bed of the lance-rest, and is held under the queue behind it on the
flattened part of the cuirass, the direction towards impact being
guided by the hand. The cuirass is held together by hinged straps or
strips of iron, which are pierced for fitting over staples and are
secured by nuts. The pauldrons are each in five plates, with wings
behind, and the coudes are pointed. On the top of each shoulder is
a thin iron peg, which stands up diagonally, fixed to the armour by
laton-headed rivets. These projections are roughly about two inches
long, and are squared and topped like a nail. They were perhaps
intended as winding pegs for the tassels or jagged ends of the mantling
which usually streamed out from the jousting-helm. Such pegs are
present on two similar harnesses at Paris. The right hand is without a
gauntlet; the arm bears the poldermiton or _épaule de mouton_, stamped
with the Augsburg guild badge; and on the bridle forearm and hand is
the stiff and heavy mainfere, the jousting gauntlet. The jousting
shield is of hard wood, covered with leather and gesso, about 15½
inches broad by 14 inches high: it is formed rectangularly at the top,
somewhat rounded at the bottom, and is slightly concave and emblazoned.
Pieces of horn are let into it to lend it elasticity and stability. It
is fastened by cords to a pierced wooden block fixed on the breastplate
and is held in position by a strap which buckles on to the helm. The
harness itself bears the Augsburg guild stamp, a fir-cone and the
letter “S” with an indistinct bar or bâton running through it. It is
dated in the last quarter of the fifteenth century. No leg-armour was
worn, so as to give the rider a better grip of his horse; hose covered
the shanks, and well-wadded shoes, of cloth or leather, the feet.
There is almost an exact counterpart of this suit in a harness in the
fine collection at Nuremberg, also forged at Augsburg, with the year
of make, 1498, inscribed on the armour, the only difference between
the two suits being that there are here tassets of laminated plates
instead of the solid tuilles present on the Wallace suit, the tuilles
being an indication of a somewhat earlier date. There are three similar
harnesses at Vienna. The weight of the armour with shield is usually
about 45·6 _kilos._ When arming, the different pieces are screwed on
one after the other, the jousting-shield being adjusted last.
The lance is of fir or pine and is stouter than that used in _Rennen_;
its greatest diameter is 9 _centimetres_, length 373 _cm._, and weight,
with vamplate and coronal, about 14·3 _kilos._ An example may be seen
in the writer’s collection of arms and armour at Tynemouth.
Plate 9 in the tourney-book appertaining to the _Kurfürst_ Johann (_des
Beständigen_) pictures a _Gestech_ at Leipsig in 1489, between Duke
Hans of Saxony and Von Wunsdorf, in which the latter was unhorsed. The
duke wears the jousting-helm, a spiked moton is over the armpit, and
his lance is heavy and furnished with the circular form of vamplate,
viz. that used in _Gestech_. The horse wears a collar of bells
(_grelots_ or _Schellenkette_), and a cushion over the breast; the body
is covered with a trapper, painted with the royal arms. The equipment
corresponds with the date of the armour shown on Plate IX (1).
The frontispiece of this work is taken from the tourney-book of the
_Kurfürst_ Johann Friedrich (_des Groszüthigen_), Plate 81. It depicts
the _Kurfürst_ running in _Gestech_ at the moment when his adversary
is being hurled from his saddle. The victor’s body-armour, vamplate,
the chamfron of his horse and the coronal of his mighty lance are
all painted the colour of steel. His crest, enriched by a crown at
its base, is the Saxon emblem or badge (_Kleinod_), it is painted in
a tawny colour with black stripes. The hose are striped in colours,
green, pink, white and black; the shoes are of black felt. The trapper,
reaching down to the horse’s houges, is banded in white, blue and two
shades of red, and is sprinkled with the ciphers “XS” in gold and
silver. It bears, twice repeated, the arms of Meiszen, Thuringen,
Pfalz-Sachsen and Landsberg with the crested helm and shield of Saxony.
The horses wear necklets of bells (_Shellenkette_). The trapper of the
opposing champion is banded in shades of yellow and red sprinkled with
foliations; his crest a pair of silver horns with a coronet encircling
the base and silver laterals of linden twigs and leaves. The details of
the armour are very clear and the picture a good representative of its
class.
_Das Gestech im Beinharnisch_ is a course run with leg-armour, as its
name implies. The object is unhorsing and the splintering of lances.
The _Kuriss_ saddle was employed. The presence of leg-armour rendered
unhorsing much easier of accomplishment than without it, for the belly
of the horse could not be so well gripped.
The joust of courtesy with pointed lances, as differentiated from
Froissart’s _justes mortelles_, was, as we have seen, much practised
throughout the fifteenth century; and it continued being run in
Germany until soon after the middle of the sixteenth, when it became
practically displaced by the joust at the tilt. This course was known
in Germany as _Scharfrennen_ or _Schweifrennen_, in France as _La
Course à la queue_; it is illustrated six times in _Freydal_ and many
times in the Saxon tourney-books.
The main desideratum of the course was unhorsing, and the form of the
saddle had been designed with that object specially in view, though
the splintering of lances also counted in the score, in fact, the
jouster who sat his horse the longest against the greatest number of
splintered lances, or without being unhelmed, was declared the victor.
The objective of the lance in this course was either the beaver of an
opponent or his jousting-shield on the left side. The first-named mark
was more difficult to hit than the other and the lance more liable to
glance off, but when fairly struck it proved irresistible. As a rule
the effect of impact was that the rider reeled in his saddle as he
tried to maintain his seat, though usually one or other of the jousters
was unhorsed, and, indeed, sometimes both fell, unless supported
at the critical moment by the varlets. The lance was held with the
point inclining slightly upwards, and, as in the other courses, the
jouster promptly withdrew his hand and arm from the shaft immediately
after impact, holding his arm upright, and the broken lance fell to
the ground. It was the omission to do this which caused the accident
resulting in the death of Henri II of France. The lance was a long,
thin, rounded straight pole of soft wood, lighter than was used in
_Stechen_, and was about 373 _centimetres_ long with a largest diameter
of about 7 _cm._, as against 9 _cm._ in the one for _Gestech_. The
vamplate is in the form of a truncated cone. _Rennen_ (_Scharfrennen_)
was an even hardier course than _Stechen_, and demanded a still more
careful training in man and horse and a surer seat.
The salient features of this form of joust are as follows:—The saddle
employed in all its varieties was smaller and lighter than that used in
the other courses, the weight being only a little over four _kilos._;
it had a low pommel and no cantle, and was shaped, in fact, much like
the British saddle of to-day. Jousting-cuisses (_Dülgen_ or _Dilgen_,
weighing 12 _kilos._) hung from it and protected the lower limbs of
the jouster, which were unarmoured. The armour was lighter than that
used in _Stechen_, though somewhat similar in form, and the back-plate
was shorter. The helmet was a jousting-salade (_Rennhut_) forged in
one piece, without any movable visor, but with a separate beaver
reaching well over the top of the cuirass, to which it was screwed,
back and front. It was well lined, and a cap of leather or silk was
worn. The parts of the salade extending over the temples of the wearer
were strengthened by extra plates (_Stirnplätter_); and there was a
thick reinforcing plate (_Magenblech_) over the abdomen, and to it
the heavy taces and tassets were riveted. The horse was barded as in
_Stechen_, a cushion or mattress protected the breast, and the animal
was covered with the trapper. As in _Stechen_ the cuirass was flattened
on the right side, and to it the lance-rest (_Rüsthaken_) and queue
(_Rasthaken_) were screwed. The queue was smaller than that on the
harness for _Stechen_, the lance used in _Rennen_ being lighter. There
were no motons over the armpits, these weak places being well protected
by the vamplate, which was larger and differently formed from that
employed in _Stechen_. The shape was that of a truncated cone. The
large concave shield of wood, covered with leather and plated with
iron, was 6 to 8 _cm._ in breadth, it was screwed on to the beaver, and
an armlet encircled the right lower arm.
[Illustration: _PLATE V_
HARNESS FOR _SCHARFRENNEN_. AT DRESDEN.]
Suits for both _Rennen_ and _Stechen_ were made so that they could
be worn by a man of anything like a medium size; they were costly,
and were frequently lent out by princes and the great nobles to their
poorer brethren who lacked this equipment. A beautiful harness for
_Scharfrennen_, made for the _Kurfürst_ August of Saxony (1553-1586),
by Sigmund Rockenburger, of Wittenberg, in 1554, is in the Dresden
Museum. The form of the harness is graceful, and it is richly
and tastefully etched with human figures, a double-headed eagle
and foliations; in the centre of the breastplate is a spear-like
projection—a fashion which did not last very long. The back-plate is
unusually short and so is the garde-rein (_Schwänzel_). This harness is
illustrated on Plate V. The weight is about forty _kilos._ The spurs
have long shanks and are of both the rowel and prick kinds.
The store of armours for the tournament kept by the Saxon _Kurfürsts_
at Dresden greatly accounts for the number of historic suits preserved
there.
In the _Turnierwaffensaal_ at the Johanneum, Dresden, is a fine
realistic representation of a _Scharfrennen_, the jousters mounted and
in complete armour down to the smallest detail. They are facing each
other, with lances in rest. The armour is etched and gilt, and every
detail is original except the under-garment, the hose and well-wadded
shoes. The period is about the middle of the sixteenth century.
Plate VI illustrates Maximilian II, mounted and armed for
_Scharfrennen_ in 1564. The armour is in the Collection at the Musée
d’Artillerie, Paris.
Plate VIII (1) pictures a _Rennen_, held at Minden, between the
_Kurfürst_ August of Saxony and Johann von Ratzenberg. This particular
joust was termed a “_Gedritts_,” signifying that the victor in the
first encounter had still to dispose of a second antagonist in
order to gain the prize; three were thus engaged, and hence the
name. The _Kurfürst’s_ second adversary was Hans von Sehönfeld. The
jousting-salade, large vamplate, jousting-cuisses and other details are
clearly shown. Numerous illustrations of _Scharfrennen_ are present
in _Freydal_ and in the Saxon tourney-books. There are many variants
from the main course, the most important being _Geschiftrennen, la
course à la targe futée_. It is of two kinds, _Geschifttartscherennen_
(_tartsche_, a shield) and _Geschiftscheibenrennen_ (_scheibe_, a plate
or disk); the wearing of a shield or a large plate or disk of iron
over the breastplate being the main distinction between them. In both
cases, when the centres of the shields were fairly struck by a lance
a mechanism was set in motion by the freeing of a spring, which in
_Geschifttartscherennen_ dissolved the shield itself into fragments,
the pieces flying over the jouster’s head in wedged-formed particles.
In _Geschiftscheibenrennen_, on the right impact having been attained
the iron plate remained in its place and only the wedge in the centre
flew out. The mechanism of the first-named was much more complicated
than that of the latter.
Unhorsing was another of the objects in view in both cases. Both
courses would seem to have had their origin in the game of Running at
the Ring. There is an illustration of the mechanism at the back of
the shield given in a picture-codex in the Armeria at Madrid, dating
about 1544.[184] The general equipment in both cases was the same as in
_Scharfrennen_.
Illustrations of _Geschifttartscherennen_ are given in _Freydal_, both
with leg-armour and without. In plates of that work. Nos. 29 and 45,
the shields are seen flying in pieces in the air and both riders are
unhorsed; while in Plate 5, here reproduced in our Plate VII, both
riders keep their seats, but the shields are seen dissolving into
fragments over the heads of the jousters. There is but one illustration
of _Geschiftscheibenrennen_ in _Freydal_, viz. in Plate 41. There are
also illustrations in the _Triumph of Maximilian_.
In _Bundrennen_, often called _Pundtrennen, Course appelée Bund_, the
jouster here also endeavoured to strike the centre of his opponent’s
shield, but the main object was unhorsing. This was the most dangerous
of all the courses, in the fact that a disrupting shield was employed,
like that used in _Geschifttartscherennen_, but without any protecting
beaver beneath it, so that the sharp lance was apt to glance off
into the jouster’s face or a fragment of the disrupted shield fly
into it, sometimes injuring the nose or eyes. This course, says the
_Weisskünig_, “was certainly amusing to look upon, though with often
sorrowful results to one or other of the combatants.”[185] In one of
the plates of _Freydal_ (No. 25), illustrating this course, the emperor
and his opponent are both seen as being unhorsed; while in other
plates (Nos. 21, 62, 73, 93 and 204) the shields spring disrupted into
the air, but the jousters retain their seats.
_Anzogenrennen, Course au pavois_,[186] is a kind in which a very
long shield was employed, which was firmly fixed to the beaver by a
large screw with a considerably projecting head. The immediate object
was unhorsing, or at least the splintering of lances. A picture in
the tourney-book of Duke William IV of Bavaria furnishes a good
illustration of the course as run in the year 1512, and there are
later examples in the tourney-books of the Saxon _Kurfürsts_. The arms
and lower limbs are unarmoured, the harness the same as that employed
in _Scharfrennen_. The shield is very long, extending from the slit
for vision in the salade down to below the abdomen. The part over the
breastplate conforms to the contour of that piece, while below it the
shield becomes concave in form. There is usually a spike in the centre.
There are twenty-five illustrations in _Freydal_ (Plates Nos. 9, 17,
50, 58, 89, 97, 141, 180 and 240), all of which exhibit the opponents
of Maximilian as being unhorsed; while in Plate 169 both riders retain
their seats. In other plates both jousters are unseated.
_Krönlrennen_ was a freak, probably of Maximilian’s, first run in 1492.
It is called “_Halbierung_” in the tourney-book of _Kurfürst_ August
of Saxony, and is a blending together of the courses _Scharfrennen_
and _Gestech_, in that one jouster wore the armour usually employed in
_Scharfrennen_, but used the lance headed with a coronal appertaining
to the _Gestech_; the other, the harness for the _Gestech_ with
the sharp lance. The objects of the course were unhorsing and the
splintering of lances. Plate 6 in _Freydal_ illustrates _Krönlrennen_,
and there is an excellent example given in the tourney-book of August
of Saxony, Plate I.
In _Pfannenrennen_ the combatants ran without body-armour, except for a
square metal shield on the breast, and the horses wore hoods.
_Feldrennen_ closes the list under _Scharfrennen_. “Hoasting” armour
was employed; the saddle was that used in jousting at the tilt. The
horses were not always blindfolded, and the immediate object in view
was the splintering of lances.
In the _tourney proper_, or _mêlée_, field-harness with _Kuriss_
saddles were usually employed. Lances are splintered, and the combat
continued with swords.
One of the fifteenth century forms was the _Feldturnier_, or field
course, a combat of groups on horseback. Ordinary field-harness, with
or without reinforcing pieces, was usually worn. This form of contest
is illustrated in the tourney-book of Duke William IV of Bavaria,
showing that each cavalier was always provided with two swords. In what
respects it differed from the ordinary _mêlée_ is not apparent. Both
swords and lances were employed.
The joust at the tilt has been already referred to more than once,
and some account given of its leading features. There is reason to
believe that it was practised as early as the first quarter of the
fifteenth century, and we have mentioned cases of a _toile_ having been
employed at Arras in Burgundy in the year 1430, with some rather later
instances. Viscount Dillon, in his paper “Tilting in Tudor Times,”
published in the _Archæological Journal_ of the year 1898,[187] gives
an extract from the _Chronicles of St. Remy_ to the effect that the
_toile_ or tilt probably originated in Portugal. As already stated, the
salient feature of this form is that it was run with a barrier between
the jousters, along which they rode in opposite directions, their left
sides towards it, until impact was effected. The first barrier was
a _toile_, a rope hung with cloth extending along the length of the
lists; but as this did not prevent the horses from bumping against one
another a tilt of planks, usually about six feet high, was devised,
which effectually kept them apart, and collisions were avoided, thus
rendering the sport much less dangerous. The use of the tilt made
impact more uncertain than when running “at the large,” and there was
usually a considerable proportion of non-attaints. The main object of
this course was the splintering of lances, though unhorsing was also in
contemplation and not unfrequently took place. Unseating was, however,
rendered difficult by the form of the saddle employed, the so-called
_Kuriss_ saddle, which had a cantle behind and a high pommel in front,
thus making it much easier for a rider to keep his seat. The usual
weight of this form of saddle was a little over 9 _kilos._ Jousting at
the tilt soon greatly supplanted the earlier form in France, Italy and
England; but it took no root in Germany before the sixteenth century,
at the commencement of which it is stated to have been introduced
into that country and Austria from Italy. The name “_Welsch Gestech_”
(Italian Joust), given it in the Fatherland, tends greatly to confirm
this; and, indeed, it was just at this time that Maximilian was
introducing a new style of armour from Italy into his dominions. Though
frequently practised in Germany during the first half of the sixteenth
century, the joust at the tilt by no means displaced running “at the
large” there. Several plates in _Freydal_ furnish illustrations.
[Illustration: _PLATE VI_
MAXIMILIAN II ARMED FOR _SCHARFRENNEN_. AT PARIS.]
Plate VIII (2) depicts a joust at the tilt, run at Augsburg in 1510,
between Duke William IV of Bavaria and the Pfalzgraf Friedrich of
the Rhine. The illustration is reproduced from a picture in Hans
Schwenkh’s _Wappenmeisterbuch_, the tourney-book of the duke, who is
seen jousting; it is a work which has already been referred to in
these pages. The tilt itself, of three broad planks, is of massive
construction. The harness worn in the earlier form was the _Stechzeug_,
the kind that was used in the German _Gestech_, with no leg-armour,
a style which has been already described and illustrated on Plate IX
(1). The cuirass employed is flattened on the lance side, and there is
a _Rasthaken_ or queue as well as a lance-rest. Bases are worn by the
riders, and a crest of plumes. The trapper of the duke’s horse, dark in
colour, is shot with painted rays over the body, and a picture of the
Sun in Splendour encircles the horse’s tail, which is further decorated
with plumes. A collar of _grelots_ is around the neck of the animal;
the head is adorned with plumes, and the chamfron embellished with a
picture of the sun. The lances with coronals are well shown; the former
are long poles narrowing gently towards the heads, and the latter are
in three short prongs.
Plate XI (1) pictures two fine suits at Paris for jousting at the
tilt, one of them with the manifer or mainfere, the passe-guard and
poldermiton in their places.
Plate X (1) illustrates a German harness, at Dresden, for this form
of joust. It dates about 1580. There are three armours for jousting
at the tilt in the Wallace Collection of Arms and Armour at London,
Catalogue Numbers 484, 495 and 505. The first of these is a harness
for _Realgestech_, as shown by the cross-ribbed shield, a device for
affording a grip for the coronal of the lance on impact in order to
prevent it from glancing off—another departure in the direction of
greater safety for the jouster. This course was a late variety of the
joust at the tilt.
No. 505, illustrated on Plate IX (2) is perhaps somewhat earlier
in date than the other two suits, for in the right side of the
“volante-piece” is a little square door or window, for enabling the
wearer to converse freely when open. This aperture is about three
inches square in size and freely perforated so as to admit air to the
wearer when closed. It is shut, of course, when the jouster is ready
for his career. In other respects the three suits are very much alike;
and the “peaescod-bellied” breastplates of all of them tend to fix
their date within narrow limits. The shields of Nos. 495 and 505 are
practically the same in form and size. They fit round the front of the
left side of the neck and cover the left shoulder and breast, running
nearly straight down to the middle of the breastplate. The grand-guards
are screwed to the upper parts of the breastplate and the shields are
attached to them in like manner. The other reinforcing pieces are
either present with the suits, or the armour is holed for them.
The sad accident which resulted in the death of Henri II, of France, at
a _fête d’armes_ held at Paris in 1559, was in a joust at the tilt with
the Comte de Montgomeri. It was caused by the Comte failing to drop his
splintered lance in good time.
The drawings of Hans Burgmaier in the _Triumph of Maximilian_ afford
illustrations of some of the varieties of the German jousting of the
period.
Plate 45 illustrates the _Welsch Gestech_ (Italian Joust) or Joust
at the Tilt. The head-piece is the jousting-helm and the reinforcing
pieces are in their places. The lance, tipped with a coronal,
is lighter than that employed in the German _Gestech_ and in
_Scharfrennen_ and the vamplate is circular in form. Feather plumes are
worn.
Plate 46 pictures the Gestech or German joust (_Das gemeine deutsche
Gestech_). The head-piece is the same as that on Plate 45. A cushion
is worn over the horse’s chest, and a _Rasthaken_, or queue, and a
_Rüsthaken_, or lance-rest, are on the flattened right side of the
cuirass. The lance is heavy and tipped with a coronal. The crests shown
are very fanciful.
Plate 47 illustrates _Hohenzeuggestech_. The jousters are seated
on the high saddles (_im hohen Zeug_) peculiar to the course. The
jousting-helm is worn. Lances are tipped with coronals, as is the case
with all varieties of the _Gestech_.
Plate 48. _Das Gestech im Beinharnisch._ This is a variety of _Gestech_
in which leg-armour is worn, as the name implies.
Plates 50 and 55 picture _Bundrennen_, the peculiarity of the course
being that no beaver is worn beneath the disrupting shield. This makes
it the most dangerous of all the courses, and injuries to the face were
frequent. The vamplate is large and formed like a truncated cone.
Plate 51 depicts _Geschifttartscherennen_, in which course the shield,
when struck by the lance on a certain spot, dissolves in fragments over
the jouster’s head.
Plate 52. It pictures _Geschiftscheibenrennen_, a course similar in
principle to the last-named, the difference being that the shield is
a disk which, when properly struck, flies into the air, or the shield
remains in its place but the plug in the centre flies out.
Plate 53. The cavaliers are here accoutred for the pan joust
(_Pfannenrennen_). There are one or two other varieties of the joust
depicted.
Several combats on foot of the fifteenth century, perhaps the most
dangerous items of the articles of a _pas d’armes_ of that period,
have been fully described in Chapters III, IV and V, in the narrations
by contemporary chroniclers of actual encounters. The character of
these contests underwent a great change in the sixteenth century,
through the introduction of barriers over which the combatants fought.
These bars or barriers reached up to the breasts of the fighters,
and prevented their grappling with each other or getting out of
bounds. They made their appearance probably in the last decade of
the fifteenth century. As the tilt had been conceived with a view
towards mitigating the danger of the joust, so barriers were adopted
towards minimizing the risk of serious injuries in fighting on foot,
and, indeed, the new style was hardly more dangerous than the game
of football as played to-day. This latest phase is well described by
Viscount Dillon in “Barriers and Foot Combats,” a paper published in
the _Archæological Journal_ of 1904.[188] The special features of the
armour for combats of this kind are its massive character, the presence
of an apron (_Kampfschurtz_, a sort of continuation of the taces), and
the large, thick, globose bascinet. A fine armour for foot-fighting
in the lists may be seen in the Tower of London. It is a grand piece
of work, weighing about 93 lbs., sent by Maximilian of Austria to our
Henry VIII. The Vienna Collection possesses seven complete armours for
fighting on foot, which vary considerably, both in form and weight.
The weapons employed in these contests in Germany and Austria, as
given in _Freydal_, are the sword in different forms, including the
“bastard” (a hand and a half sword), the dussack, the _Kurisschwert_
or armying-sword, and even the two-handed sword (_Zweihänder_ or
_Schlachtschwert_), the dagger, battle-axe (including the _bec
de faucon_), mace, halbard, _ranseur_, guisarme, _Aalspiesse_ (a
short-shafted spear with rondel-guard), _Langspiess_ (a short lance),
_Würfspiess_ (a javelin), _Stange_ (a quarter-staff), and _Drischel_
(the military flail).
The _Fussturnier_, which originated in the sixteenth century, was a
fighting in groups on foot over a barrier, and in it and some other
courses the challengers were termed “Maintenators” and their opponents
“Aventuriers.” Each combatant had to deliver three thrusts with the
lance and four strokes with the sword. Dr. Cornelius Curlitt gives the
following extract from _Acten des Dresdener Oberhofmarshallamtes_ of
the year 1614:—“The one who shivers the greatest number of lances in
the most adroit manner shall have the lance prize; and he who in five
strokes strikes the bravest and strongest with the sword shall have the
second prize.” The locking gauntlet was forbidden, and the lower limbs
were without armour. A harness for this kind of fighting, by Anton
Peffenhaüser, worn by the _Kurfürst_ Johan George of Saxony in 1613, is
now in the Dresden Museum. The head-piece is a burgonet.
An important later form of joust is the _Freiturnier_, or Free Course,
which grew out of the old German _Gestech_, and, like it, was run “at
the large,” that is without a tilt. There is a harness for this course
at Dresden, reproduced on Plate X (2). The passguard is much larger
than that worn in jousting at the tilt, reaching nearly to the left
shoulder. Leg-armour was worn. The harness illustrated in Boeheim’s
_Waffenkunde_ (Fig. 655) as being for the _Welsch Gestech_, or joust at
the tilt, is really for _Freiturnier_, a form of joust which does not
appear before the second half of the sixteenth century.
As already stated, the suit in the Wallace Collection, numbered
484 in the catalogue of that institution, is for _Realgestech_ or
_Plankengestech_, a variety of joust at the tilt. It first appeared
about 1540, and did not differ materially from the main course; nor did
the armour employed differ except for the cross-ribbing on the shield.
This course, like the others, fell into disuse in the seventeenth
century, though it was the last to survive except the one called
_Scharmützel_, often a sort of general siege or skirmish, with a view
to practice for actual warfare. A _Scharmützel_ was held at Dresden in
1553, when four bands of horsemen attacked a mock fortress, defended
by a garrison armed with _Aalspiesse_ and military forks, and supplied
with four hundred earthenware pots for missiles, to be thrown empty.
Cannon were employed on both sides, presumably fired in blank, though
this is not stated.
[Illustration: _PLATE VII_
_GESCHIFTTARTSCHERENNEN_]
The foregoing comprise the most distinctive forms of the tourney.
There were permanent lists in Germany, as also at Calais; and in
England, at Westminster, Hampton Court, and Greenwich.
The quintain and running at the ring have been described in Chapter
I, and there only remains the _Karoussel_, or _Carrousel_, to be
mentioned. The name is derived from _carosello_, a ball of clay, which
was hollow. The game was a favourite one at the court of Louis XIV,
where it gave rise to handsome dresses and costly display. The players,
arranged in opposing bands or sides, were mounted and threw these
missiles at one another, catching them on their shields. There were
several varieties of the game.
Harness for the tiltyard was usually made thicker than that for field
purposes and was thus somewhat heavier. Much taste and labour were
expended on its ornamentation.
Though the best armour was imported from Italy and Germany, a large
proportion of that in use in England was made at home, and, indeed,
there is plenty of evidence that this is so. Henry VIII, like
Maximilian, took a strong personal interest in all that related to
arms and armour, and was very desirous that the form and quality of
harness made in England should be improved. With this object in view,
he arranged with the emperor for German smiths to be sent to Greenwich,
and some really fine armours were made there during his reign and
later, many of which have been preserved, though the iron billets
used in forging them were imported from Innsbruck, English iron not
having been found to be of a sufficient tensile strength for the best
purposes. Whether this inferiority lay in the process of puddling the
iron or to the presence of any considerable proportion of deleterious
elements, such as sulphur and phosphorous, is another matter. Henry
VIII established his “Almain Armouries” at Greenwich about the year
1514.[189]
The form of “Hoasting” armour underwent several important changes
during the course of the sixteenth century and to the time when
body-armour fell into general disuse. The changes had their origin,
mainly, in new departures in the fashion of the civil dress; indeed,
the shape of the doublet of each period is faithfully reflected in that
of the cuirass of steel. This following of the modes of the day by the
smith sometimes resulted in the production of harness which, however
effective from a spectacular point of view, proved most unsuitable for
service in the field. This was greatly owing to the abandonment of the
principle of a glancing surface on the armour, thus tending to effect
lodgment for strokes from weapons of attack, instead of deflecting them.
The elegant form of “Gothic” armour of the connoisseur had been
modelled, as we have seen, after the shapely Florentine dress of the
fifteenth century: but a radical and far-reaching change took place
at the commencement of the sixteenth, following on a new departure in
civil costume. This style, _armatura spigolata_, is usually known as
“Maximilian,” named after the emperor, and would seem to have been
introduced by him in his extensive dominions from Italy, after his
Italian campaign in 1496. That “Maximilian” armour was of Italian
origin is clear by the very name it bore in Germany at the time, viz.
“_Mailander Harnisch_.” The leading features of this type are:—the
globose form of the breastplate; the abnormally wide-toed solerets,
following the new fashion in shoes, “bear-paw” or “cow-mouthed” as
they were commonly called; the heightening of the shoulder or neck
guards (pieces often, though erroneously, termed pass-guards, a mistake
pointed out by Viscount Dillon in one of his valuable and suggestive
papers on armour); and the substitution of laminated tassets in place
of the solid, tile-formed tuilles. The head-piece is the armet, the
most perfect as well as the most familiar form of helmet—of which,
however, there are several varieties. This armour was usually made
fluted, though sometimes plain. When fluted, the whole surface down to
the jambs, which are always smooth, is covered with narrow, regular
radiating flutings, differing in that respect from “Gothic” armour,
with its broad, sweeping flutings and ridgings.
Tonlet armour (_à tonne_) has a deep skirt of hoops called “jambers,”
standing out all round like a more modern crinoline, and moving up
and down like the laths of a Venetian blind. It also had its origin
in Italy, and was copied from the civil skirts of the doublet of the
period, called “bases”; which when reproduced in steel were clumsy
and unwieldy. We have here an apt illustration of the lengths people
will sometimes go in slavishly following a particular fashion, however
clumsy or unsuitable it might be. This style of armour was greatly
employed in fighting on foot, though a variety was adapted for use on
horseback. A fine and historic armour for fighting on foot, made by
Conrad Seusenhofer of Innsbruck, may be seen in the Tower of London.
Bards probably had their origin in the twelfth century, though there
is little mention of them in English records before the close of the
thirteenth, but in the fourteenth they would appear to have become
fairly common. The chamfron, crinet and peytral are observable in
engravings of the fourteenth century, when they were probably of
_cuir-bouille_. In the _Histoire de Charles VII_ it is stated that
a combat, _à outrance_, took place in the year 1446, between the
Seigneurs de Ternant and Galiot de Balthasin,[190] in which the latter
was mounted “_sur un puissant cheval, liquil selon la costume de
Lombardie estoit tout convert de fer_.” A complete equipment of steel
plate for the horse was attained in the second half of the fifteenth
century, when, according to a picture in the arsenal at Vienna, painted
in 1480, “_Der Ritter sitz auf seinem bis auf die Hufe verdecten
Hengst_.” A fine bard which had belonged to Henry VIII, weighing 92½
lbs., may be seen in the Tower of London. Bards for the tourney were
usually of leather.
The expression “trapped and barded,” so frequently met with in records,
is often misunderstood. The bard is a defence for the horse, while the
trapper is its outside textile covering.
The importance of lightly-armed troops in warfare became steadily
greater, and even as early as the beginning of the sixteenth century
a large proportion of the armour for the field was made lighter, and
demi-harnesses were employed for light cavalry.
The imitation in steel of the civil costume was carried to absurd
lengths, as is glaringly shown in the so-called “_Pfeifenharnis_”
(pipe-harness), forged after the picturesque dress of the period, with
its pipings, puffs or rolls, points and slashes. Illustrations of it
may be seen in the _Triumph of Maximilian_. In a suit in the Wallace
Collection (catalogue No. 555) the details of the dress have been
faithfully and minutely reproduced in metal. The very fabric of the
civil costume has been imitated and the slashes are gilded. Harness was
freely and delicately etched, engraved, damascened, and decorated with
repoussé work; and some of the ornamentation did away altogether with
the glancing surface of the armour, thus greatly militating against its
efficiency for military purposes.
A fine armour in the Zeughaus, at Berlin, affords an excellent example
of the best work of about the middle of the sixteenth century. It is
by Peter von Speyer, of Annaberg, made for the _Kurfürst_ Joachim II,
of Brandenburg, whose arms decorate the breastplate. The helm is
of the type of armet without collar. The peak in the cuirass tends
to be placed lower down as the century advances, until at length
the “peascod” form is reached, as shown on Plate IX (2). Here the
breastplate is of the true Elizabethan “peascod” form, converging
to a retreating point at the bottom. You have this shape exactly in
portraits of the Earl of Leicester, and, indeed, of the queen herself.
The tassets swell out over the hips, another feature observable in the
portraits. This form continued, with some modifications, up to nearly
the end of the century.
[Illustration: _PLATE VIII_
A _SCHARFRENNEN_ AT MINDEN IN 1545]
[Illustration: A JOUST AT THE TILT IN AUGSBERG IN 1540]
FOOTNOTES:
[171] See Appendices A, B and C.
[172] Vienna. 1880-1882.
[173] Courses run with pointed lances, those with coronals, combats on
foot and a _mêlée_, as well as the mummeries in which he was engaged.
[174] In translation:—
THE KNIGHT FREYDAL
Now who would read of pastimes
And joyous deeds of pleasure?
Let him take up the tournament
In all its fullest measure.
This did the gallant Freydal
In knightly deeds of fame,
Thus rendering illustrious
The glories of his name.
His virtues and his goodness
Are manifest to all;
His many glorious triumphs
At tilt, at masks and ball.
Thus were his young days brightened
And the sunniest memories shed,
The cares of old age lightened
By brave records of the dead.
(His like will ne’er be seen again.)
[175] _Scharfrennen_ and the _Gestech_.
[176] The hall where the ancient firearms are on view.
[177] _The Armouries of the Tower of London_, I, 26.
[178] “What care I for the moon if the sun be gracious.”
[179] “No one knows my heart, whether I am a fox or a hare.”
[180] Joust at the tilt.
[181] _The Armouries of the Tower of London_, I, 37.
[182] Ibid., I, 49.
[183] Catalogue No. 21.
[184] _Waffenkunde_, p. 557.
[185] “_Er_ [the Emperor] _hat auch under den pundten vilmal gerennt
da im treffens baid shilt in de höch sprungen, das dann lustig ist zu
sehen, aber sorgklich zu thun_.”
[186] The word _Anzogenrennen_ means merely jousting with the shield
screwed on (_Angeschraubte Tartsche_).
[187] Vol. LV, page 297.
[188] LVI, page 276.
[189] _The Armouries at the Tower of London_, I, 18.
[190] This duel is described in Chapter V.
CHAPTER VII
_L’Histoire Du Bon Chevalier, Sans Paour et Sans Reproche, Gentil
Seigneur De Bayart_, gives some account of Bayard’s combats in the
lists. The Chevalier was born in 1476 and died in 1524, and his first
fights on foot and on horseback took place when he was a raw, growing
stripling of eighteen. This was on the occasion when the Burgundian
Chevalier, Claude de Vauldray, came to Lyons in 1494 to accomplish a
deed of arms—“_à course de lance et coups de hache_”; and the young
Bayard, though without possessing an equipment for the joust or means
of procuring one, conceived the idea of engaging this redoubted
champion in combat. The difficulty as to horse and armour was solved
by the coming forward of a kinsman, L’Abbe d’Esnay, with the necessary
cash. After several chevaliers of the French court had encountered De
Vauldray, Bayard entered the lists to do battle. No particulars of the
combat itself are given by the chronicler, but the account states that
the youngster bore himself right gallantly; and the verdict of the
ladies on the stand erected for their accommodation, expressed in the
Lyonese dialect, “_Vey-vo cestou malotru, il a mieulx fay que tous los
autres_.”
Soon the young Bayard, advancing towards fame and fortune, caused a
proclamation to be made for a _pas d’armes_ to be held at the town of
Ayre, in Picardy, on the 20th July, 1494, _Pour l’amour des dames_.
The articles of combat provided that “hoasting” armour be worn, and on
the first day three courses be run with rebated lances and afterwards
twelve strokes exchanged with the sword, all on horseback; on the
morrow the combats to be on foot at barriers, high as the _nombril_,
with lances and later with axes. Prizes were offered to the successful
competitors as follows:—For the first day a bracelet of gold, enamelled
with Bayard’s device, of the value of thirty _ecus_; and for the second
day a diamond worth forty _ecus_. The proclamation runs:—
“_Pierre de Bayart, jeune gentil-homme et apprentif des
armes, natif de Daulphiné, des ordonnances du roy
de France, soubz la charge et_ _conduicte de hault
et puissant Seigneur monseigneur de Ligny, faisoit
crier et publier ung tourney au dehors de la ville
d’Ayre, et joignant les murailles à tous venans, au
vingtiesme jour de juillet, de trois coups de lance
sans lice, à fer esmolu, et en harnoys de guerre; et
douze coups d’espée, le tout à cheval. Et au mieulx
faisant donnoit ung brasselet d’or esmaillé de sa
livrée, et du prix de trente escuz. Le lendemain
seriot combatu à pied, a poux de lance, à une
barrière de la halteur du nombril; et après la lance
rompue à coups de hache, jusques à la discrétion
des juges et de ceulx qui garderoient le camp. Et
au mieulx faisoit donnoit ung dyamant du pris de
quarante escus._”
On the first day, on the trumpet sounding, _le bon Chevalier_ presented
himself for the first course, his adversary being a neighbour from
Dauphiny named Tartarin, in which the latter broke his lance within
six inches of the head, thus forfeiting a point; and jousting between
other cavaliers lasted until evening. On the second day Bayard fought
at barriers against a Messire Honotin de Sucre, first with lances and
afterwards with axes. Bayard struck his adversary two heavy blows over
the region of the ear, the second of which bore him to the ground.
Other foot encounters followed, after which the prizes for the two
days were awarded by the judges to _le bon Chevalier_, as having done
the best on both days, but he refused to accept them, and they were
adjudged to other champions who came next in order of merit.[191] The
Chevalier’s next tourney was at Carignan, in Italy, at which he gained
the prize.[192]
Chapter XXII tells how _le bon Chevalier_ fought at barriers at Andre
with Don Alonce de Soto-Majori. Bayard had wished the combat to be on
horseback, owing to some trouble in his legs which hindered locomotion;
but the Spaniard insisted all the more on fighting on foot, and this
was finally arranged to take place. The weapons selected were estocs
and daggers, and the fight commenced with an exchange of thrusts with
the former, in which Soto-Majori was slightly wounded in the face; then
Bayard, making a feint, thrust his sword right through the neck of his
adversary, inflicting a fatal wound. The Spaniard, in his death agony,
clutched the body of the Frenchman with his arms and both combatants
fell to the ground. Bayard then drew his dagger, crying, “_Rendez
vous, Seigneur Alonce, ou vous estes mort_”; but he had hardly uttered
the words when the Spaniard expired. The Chevalier then knelt down and
thanked God for his victory.
The Chevalier’s next combat was at Monervyne, in the Kingdom of
Naples, thirteen Spaniards against the same number of Frenchmen,
which took place during a truce between the two armies, the leaders
of this encounter being the Seigneur d’Oroze and _le bon Chevalier_
respectively. A condition of the articles of combat was that any
cavalier on being unhorsed should render himself a prisoner to the side
opposing him. The fight began, and the Spaniards unchivalrously aimed
their lances at the horses of their adversaries instead of at their
riders; but, in spite of this dishonourable ruse, the honours of the
battle are stated to have lain with the Frenchmen.
Other examples of Bayard’s prowess and chivalry in the tournament are
given in the chronicle. The dates given by chroniclers of jousts and
_pas d’armes_ are apt to vary somewhat, partly owing to the different
methods of computing the regnant years of a king.
A manuscript in the College of Arms, London, gives an account of
the _pas d’armes_ held at Westminster in honour of the marriage of
Katharine of Arragon with Prince Arthur, the heir to the throne, in the
seventeenth year of King Henry VII (1501). This narration is apparently
the work of an official present at the meeting, and an abridged account
of it follows here. Besides jousts and _mêlées_, there were fights at
barriers, pageants, and mummeries most splendid, costly, fanciful and
elaborate. A tilt was erected in the open space before Westminster
Hall, and adjoining the lists were gaily decorated stands and galleries
for the king, court and other spectators. For the knights, nobles and
esquires taking part there were within the lists pavilions, which
were removed before the jousting began. The first jousting is thus
described:—
“And at furst curse ran the Duke of Bokyngham and
the Lord Marquyes; and the duke brake his staff right
well, and wt great sleight and stringht, upon the Lord
Marquyes; and at the secunde curse the Lord Marquyes
brake his staff oppon the Duke in like wise; and then
the residue of the Lords and Knights ranne orderly
togiders, and, for the most parte at every curse, other
the on staf, other the other, or moost comonly bothe,
were goodly and wt great art and strength, brokyn of
meny pecys; that such a feld, and justs ryall, so
noble and valiantly doon, have not been sene ne hard;
the which goodly feats, and those of the descripcion
apperyth weil pleynn, and more opyn, in the bokys of
the Harolds of Armys.”
There is nothing said of the lances employed in the first day’s
jousting, as to whether they were rebated or not, but the courses
which follow on the succeeding days are expressly stated to have been
run with pointed lances “at the large.”[193] We may thus assume that
the running of the first day was at the tilt (else why its erection at
all?), and that lances with coronals were employed. Afterwards there
was a _mêlée_, the weapons being “armyng swords” (i.e. _estocs_). On
the fourth day jousting was again followed by a tourney (_mêlée_).[194]
The lances were tipped with coronals, and the weapons in the tourney
were estocs, as before. Many of the cavaliers were unhorsed in the
jousting and in the _mêlée_: “Sume of their swords were brokyn in two
peces, and sume other their harneis was heuen off from their body, and
felle into the feld.” Then the prizes, consisting of diamonds, rubies
and rings of gold, were awarded.
In 1502 a “Solemne Triumphe” was held in the Tower of London.
Plate 118 in _Das Turnierbuch Johan des Beständigen, Kurfürst_ of
Saxony, depicts a course with sharp lances, run at Naumburg in 1505,
between Duke Hans of Saxony and Georg von Brandestein. The duke keeps
his seat, but his opponent is unhorsed. The armour is of the kind
usually employed in this course (_Scharfrennen_).
In the _Turnierhuch_ of Duke William of Bavaria is a picture of an
_Anzogenrennen_, held in the year 1512. The body-armour employed is
that used in all the varieties of _Rennen_, though the shield in
this course is much larger than in the others, extending up to the
_ocularium_ of the jousting-salade, thus covering the face. This shield
has been described under the heading _Anzogenrennen_. The armour with
the shield is illustrated by Boeheim.[195]
There was jousting at Paris in 1513, at which the Duc de Valois was the
chief tenant, and many courses were run.[196]
Jousts were held at Lille, in the same year, in a large hall paved
with black marble, and the horses were shod with felt to prevent their
slipping.[197]
In 1515, in honour of the marriage of the king, jousts took place at
Paris, which had been proclaimed by the Dauphin, as follows:—
“Nemelie, that he with nine aides should answer
all commers, being gentlemen of name and armes.
First, to run fiue courses at the tilt with péeces
of advantage[198]; after fiue courses at random[199]
with sharpe speares, and twelue strokes with sharpe
swords; and that doone, he and his aids to fight at the
barriers with all gentlemen of name and armes. First,
six foins with hand speares, and after that eight
strokes to the most aduantage if the speares so long
held, and after that twelue strokes with the sword; and
if any man be vnhorsed or felled with fighting on foot,
then his horse and armour to be rendered to the officer
of armes; and eueri man of this challenge must set
vp his armes and name vpon an arch triumphant, which
shalbe made at the place where the iusts shalbe, and
further shall write to what point he will answer, to
one or all.”
When this _fête d’armes_ was proclaimed in England, “the duke of
Suffolke, the marquis of Dorset and his four brethrern, the lord
Clinton, sir Edward Neuille, sir Giles Capell, Thomas Cheneie
and others sued the king to be at the chalenge, which request he
gratiouslie granted.” “The Dolphin desired the duke of Suffolke and the
marquess Dorset to be two of his immediate aids, which they thereto
assented.” Four shields were set up—viz. silver, gold, black and
tawny—under which the venans were to write their names, electing, in
their order, whether to run at the tilt, in the open with sharp lances,
to fight on foot with one-handed swords, or lastly, with two-handers.
This _pas d’armes_ continued over three days, during which 305
cavaliers each ran five courses, some with sharp lances, and several
were killed. In the joust in the open the Duke of Suffolk wounded an
antagonist almost to the death. The Dauphin was wounded in the hand,
so that he was unable to take further part. Many other particulars and
details of this passage of arms are given by Holinshed.[200]
Among the Ashmolean MSS. is one relating to the proclamation of
jousts to be held at a later date and to letters of safeguard issued
to intending venans. The document is of the year 1520, and runs as
follows:—
“The lettres of savegarde given by the said King of
England [Henry VIII] unto Thomas Walle al’s Norrey
King of Armes, for the proclamacōn of the same Ioustes
in the parties of Almayn and the contrye of Germania,
wch Norrey proclaimed thē welle in French for the lowe
contreys, as in High Dutch as hereafter followeth
＆c.”[201]
In foot contests there was a rule that no one who had seen a challenger
fight on foot on any previous occasion was allowed to engage him. It is
difficult to understand the reason for this condition, and it was often
waived on permission being given by an intended opponent.
Charles V, in January, 1518, two years before he became emperor, took
part in a tournament at which twelve horses were killed; and in another
in the March following, when seven cavaliers lost their lives.[202]
Henry VIII, like his friend Maximilian of Austria, took great delight
in the tourney and in the pageantry so frequently combined with it, and
much money and labour was expended in staging the many functions of
the kind held during his reign. Henry greatly encouraged these martial
games and frequently took part in them; indeed, Hall remarks “that the
king was not minded to see young gentlemen inexpert in martial feats.”
This chronicler positively revels in picturing these brilliant scenes,
devoting himself more especially to their spectacular aspect, and
giving full details of the dresses and equipment of those taking part,
together with particulars of the general surroundings, though little
is said of the martial games themselves. The pageantry and mummeries
associated with the tournament were often of almost incredible
puerility, and they detracted greatly from the dignity of these warlike
sports. There were many childish conceits at these gatherings, all
showing that the tourney had reached an advanced stage of its decline.
Such costly shows went greatly out of fashion after the death of Henry
VIII.
Jousts, combined with pageants, were held in honour of the coronation
of the king, and Holinshed thus describes them:—“For the more honour
and innobling of the triumphant coronation, there were prepared both
iusts and turneis to be doone in the palace of Westminster, where, for
the king’s grace and the queen’s, was framed a faire house, couered
with tapestrie, and hanged with rich clothe of Arras, and in the said
palace was made a curious founteine and ouer it a castell, on the top
thereof a great crowne imperiall, all the imbatelling with roses and
pomgranats gilded,” and many other conceits.
The tenans in the jousting on this occasion were Thomas, Lord Howard;
his brother, Sir Edward Howard; Lord Richard, the Admiral; Lord
Richard, brother to the Marquis of Dorset; Sir Edmund Howard; Sir
Thomas Knevit and Charles Brandon, Esquire. Their bases and trappers
were of green velvet, charged with roses and pomegranates of gold
fringed with damask gilded.
The venans were Sir John Pechie, Sir Edward Neville, Sir Edward
Guildford, Sir John Carr, Sir William Parr, Sir Giles Capell, Sir
Griffith Dun and Sir Roulande. Their bases and trappers were of tissue,
cloth of gold, silver and velvet.
The second day was devoted to the _mêlée_. No details of the jousting
itself or of the tourney are given. Both Hall and Holinshed describe
this meeting.
[Illustration: _PLATE IX_
A HARNESS FOR THE GERMAN JOUST. WALLACE COLLECTION]
[Illustration: SUIT IN THE WALLACE COLLECTION FOR JOUSTING AT THE
TILT]
On the twelfth of January following jousts were held in the park at
Richmond “vnknown to the kynges grace, whereof, he beyng secretly
informed, caused hymself and one of his priue chambre, called Willyā
Compton to be secretly armed, and so came into the Iustes vnknowen
to all persones and vnloked for. The kyng ranne neuer openly before,
and there were broken many staues, and greate praise geuen to the two
straungers, but specially to one, whiche was the kyng.” “Master Compton
was sore hurte and likely to dye.”[203]
Holinshed tells us that in May, 1510, the king with his aides
challenged all comers to fight at barriers at Greenwich, viz. casting
the spear and twelve strokes with two-handed swords. Henry much
distinguished himself by his great strength and judgment.
On the 13th November in the same year Henry, with Charles Brandon and
“Mayster” Compton, answered all comers for two days, the first at the
tilt, the second at the tourney. “At these iusts the king brake more
staves than any other, and therefore had the pryse: at the Turney in
likewyse the honor was his.”[204]
The original Roll of the “Iusts” held at Westminster on the 13th
February, 1511, in honour of Queen “Katherin” on the birth of Prince
Henry, is now in the College of Arms, London. It is of parchment, 14½
inches broad, the figures of the combatants and others being from seven
to eight inches in height; and the whole is in an excellent state of
preservation. The roll is headed with the words “Viue le noble Roy H.
VIII,” followed by a large device of a rose and pomegranates surmounted
by a crown, impaled with the letters H and K. Some of the figures are
armed at all points, while others are in civil dress, thus constituting
an invaluable record of the costumes of the day.
The picture of the procession to the lists is headed by “Le Maistre
de Armurerye du Roy,” in civil dress, with his guard, and immediately
after him follow the sergeant-at-arms, holding his crowned bâton of
office; then five trumpeters, one of them a negro. In their order march
after them a band of courtiers, and “Les Officiers d’Armes,” being
heralds and pursuivants, in tabard-shaped surcoats. Then come the four
tenans, each riding under a “Pauilion,” with their varlets. Two led
horses immediately follow the king, and they afford a good opportunity
for observing the saddles employed in jousting at the tilt. After them
ride “Les pages du Roy,” the marshal of the lists, “Le grant Escuyer,”
and “Le maistre des Pages.” The tenans are seen approaching the
gaily-decorated stand, in which the queen and her court are seated, and
the venans are reaching it on the other side. The picture closes with
the king on horseback in civil dress—“Le Roy desarmey”—holding a broken
lance in his hand. He is preceded by his helm-bearer, on horseback,
carrying the head-piece of his majesty on a truncheon. The helm is
surmounted by a royal crown, enriched with gold, pearls, diamonds and
rubies.
The roll concludes with a poem, in which the name of the king figures
among a band of heroes, the others being Hector, Cæsar, Judas
Maccabæus, Joshua, Charlemagne, King Arthur, Alexander, David and
Codefroi de Bouillon.
The “tenantz” were—
His Grace the King (Cœur Loyal),
Lord William of Devon (Bon Vouloir),
Sir Thomas Knevit (Valliant Desyr),
Sir Edward Nevyle (Joyeulx Penser).
They all subscribed to the articles of combat, which follow here—
“And for as moche as after the order ＆ Honnor of Arms
hyt is not lefull for any man to enterpryse Arms in so
high a presens without hys Stocke and name be of Nobles
dyscended. In consyderation theis four Knights be of so
fer ＆ straunge partes. they shall present themselff wt
their names and Arms portend [pictured] in their shylde.
Item these four Knights shall present themselves in
the feyld at the paleys of Rychmond or elles where hyt
shall please the Kynges Grace. at the tyme of Candelmas
next or nigh theirupon in harneys for the tylt wt out
tache or breket, _wolant pece on the hedde_[205] Rondell
on the garde rest. aduntag (sic). fraude. deceyt or any
malengyne.
Item to every comer shall be Runne six courses pvyed
[provided] allway yf the comers be of sush greate
number that they cannot reasonably be for on [one] day
Hyt shallbe lefull for the four challengers to enter
the felde the Second day and so to answere all the
comers to the full nomber be served of soche as be
noble of name or of Armes and wt out report.
Item all speres to be garnished and brought to the
ffeyld at the pvision and chardge of the Chalengers, of
the wch speres the answerers to have the Choice.
Item yf yt happe any Man as God defend to kyll his
fellows Horse by way of fowle Runnyng. He shallbe
bound yf so doth to give the horse yt he rydeth on to
his felow or the pryse of the Horse so kyld at the
dyscresion of the Iudges.
Item who stryketh his felow beneth the wast or in the
sadell with full course be [by] way of fowle Runnynge
he shallbe dysalowed for two speres before broken.
Item who stryketh his felow uncharged ＆ disgarnyshed
of his speare he shallbe disalowed at the descression
of the Iudges.
Item who breaketh his spere above the Charnell
[coronal] to be allowed[206] two speres well broken after
the old custom of Arms.
Item who breaketh his spere morme to morme [coronal
to coronal] to be allow’d three Speres after the
Custome of Arms.
Item who breaketh most speres ys [is] bette worthey
the pryse.
Item who stryketh Down Horse and Man is better worthe
the pryse.
Item who stryketh his felow clene out of the Sadell
is best worthe the pryse. Item if any Gentleman
chalenger or defender breake a staff on the Tylt to be
disalowed a staff.
Item yf yt is the pleasurs of the Kynge our most
Dred Souaigne Lorde, the Queens Grace and the Ladies
with the advice of the Noble and dyscret Iuges to give
pryses after their deservings unto both the Parties.
Item that every Gentleman answerer do Subscrybe his
name to the Artycalles.”
Hall’s florid account of this meeting, in a much abridged form, is as
follows:—The jousting was combined with a pageant picturing a forest in
which stood a castle of gold, and before it sat a gentleman weaving a
garland of roses for the prize. Jousting began on the twelfth, and on
the morrow there was a grand procession to the lists. The king was on
horseback, armed at all points, riding under a “Pauilion” of cloth of
gold and purple velvet, embroidered and powdered over with the letters
“H” and “K” of fine gold, surmounted by an imperial golden crown and
valanced with hanging wire of the same precious metal. The king’s bases
and the trapper of his charger were of cloth of gold, fretted with
damask gold; his crinet and chamfron were of steel, and on the latter
was a plume garnished with golden spangles. Then followed his three
aides, each riding under a “Pauilion” of crimson damask and purple,
powdered over with the letters “H” and “K” in fine gold, valanced and
fringed with damask gold, and on the top of each canopy a great “K”
of goldsmith’s work. After them marched a number of gentlemen and
yeomen on foot, clad in russet and yellow cloth; then twelve children
of honour, mounted on great coursers richly caparisoned. Then in the
counterpart rode the “venantz,” headed by Sir Charles Brandon,[207]
who appears first on horseback in a long robe of russet satin, like
a recluse, and he petitions the queen for permission to joust in her
presence. His request having been granted, he doffed his cloak and
appeared in full armour, with rich bases, and his horse nobly trapped
for running at the tilt. In attendance on him were divers men clad in
russet satin. Next came young Henry Guilford, Esquire, himself and
horse in russet cloth of gold and cloth of silver, embroidered with a
device like a castle or turret, and all his men in russet satin and
white, with hose of the same and bonnets of a like colour; and he
also petitioned the queen for permission to run. After him rode the
Marquis of Dorset and Sir Thomas Bulleyn,[208] dressed as pilgrims
in tabards of black velvet, with palmer’s hats over their helmets and
long Jacob’s staffs in their hands. Their horses were trapped in black
velvet, which, like their hats and tabards, was garnished with scallop
shells of fine gold; their servants were in black satin, with the
same kind of shells pinned to their breasts. Then came Lord Henry of
Buckingham, Earl of Wiltshire, himself and his horse draped in cloth
of silver, embroidered with a “posye” of golden arrows and roses, and
above the flowers the figure of a greyhound in silver holding a tree of
pomegranates in gold. Then entered Sir Giles Capell, Sir Roulande and
many other knights, richly armed and apparelled.
The jousting began and was gallantly achieved, the prize being awarded
to the king. The proceedings were followed by music and the dance,
closing with a pageant.[209] What a contrast between this passage of
arms and the tournament held in 1278, _temp._ Edward I, as described in
Chapter II.
Ashmole, No. 1116, fol. 109-10b, runs as follows:—“Iustes holden at
Westminster the XIIth daie of February by the Kinges grace called Cueur
Loyal, the Lord William of Devon Bon Voloir, Sir Thomas Knevit Valiant
Desire, and Edward Nevell Joyous Penser, with the articles and courses
of the said Iustes,” etc. The articles begin thus—“The noble lady
Renowne considering the good and gracious fortune....” The “courses”
(checques) were tilting tablets for recording the scores for two days
(Wednesday and Thursday, February 12th, 13th, 1511), marked with
strokes, and accounts of the “best Ioustres.”
In the tournament illustrated on the Herald’s College Roll it is stated
that 264 courses were run at the tilt and but 129 attaints made.
The tenans scored seventy-seven of these, the king himself making
thirty-eight hits out of fifty-two courses. Of the venans, one made no
hits at all and six only struck once in six courses.[210]
Another meeting took place on the 1st May following, at which the
tenans were the king, Sir Edward Howard, Charles Brandon and Sir Edward
Nevil; the venans being the Earl of Essex, the Earl of Devon, the
Marquis of Dorset and Lord Howard.[211]
[Illustration: _PLATE X_
GERMAN ARMOUR FOR JOUSTING AT THE TILT. AT DRESDEN.]
[Illustration: AN ARMOUR FOR _FREITURNIER_. AT DRESDEN.]
In the fourth year of King Henry’s reign—
“the King had a solempne iust at Grenewiche in Iune:
first came in ladies all in White and Red silke, set
vpon Coursers trapped in the same suite, freated ouer
with gold, after which folowed a Fountain curiously
made of Russet sattin, with eight Gargilles spoutyng
water, within the fountain sat a knight armed at all
peces. After the Fountain folowed a lady all in black
silke dropped with fine siluer, on a courser trapped
in the same. After folowed a knight in a horse litter,
the Coursers and litter apparareled in blacke velvet
with siluer droppes. When the Fountain came to the
tilt, the Ladies rode rounde aboute, and so did the
Fountain and the knight within the litter. And after
them wer brought twoo goodly Coursers appareled for
the iusts: and when they came to the tiltes ende, the
twoo knightes mounted on the two Coursers, abidyng all
commers. The king was in the fountain and Sir Charles
Brandon was in the litter. Then suddenly with great
noyse of the Trompets, entered Sir Thomas Kneuit in
a castle of cole blacke, and ouer the castell was
written, ‘The dolorous Castle,’ and so he and the erle
of Essex, the lorde Haward and other ran their courses,
with the King and Sir Charles Brandon and euer the king
brake moste speres.”[212]
There were royal jousts held in October, 1513, the king and Lord Lisle
answering all comers. His Majesty was attended by twenty-four knights
clad in robes of purple velvet and cloth of gold, and many lances were
broken.[213]
In 1515 Henry, with the Marquis of Dorset, challenged all comers to a
joust, and the king “brake three and twentie speres beside attaints and
bare downe to ground a man of armes and his horse.”[214]
In the same year on twelfth-night the king held a _Scharmützel_, being
the attack and defence of a mock fortress, at Eltham.[215]
Royal jousts were held again in June, 1519, at which 506 lances were
splintered.[216]
Royal jousts in March, 1520.[217]
In the eighth year of his reign the king proclaimed solemn jousts in
honour of his sister, the Queen of Scotland,[218] to extend over two
days. The tenans on the first day were the king himself, the Duke of
Suffolk, the Earl of Essex and Nicholas Carew, Esquire. The venans
numbered twelve. On the second day the king ran against Sir William
Kingston, a tall and strong knight, and unhorsed him. The apparel of
the tenans and their horses “was blacke velvet, covered all over with
braunches of honey suckels of fine flat gold of damaske, of lose worke,
every lefe of the braunch moving, the embroudery was very conning and
sumptuous.”[219][220]
There was another passage of arms in the year following, at which 506
lances were splintered.[221]
The following documents occur among the Harleian MSS.:—“Justs at
Greenwich, the 20th daie of Maye, the 8th yeare of the Raigne of our
Soveraigne Ld. K. Henry VIII.” The score of each jouster is given.
“_Coppye de Chapitres (ou Articles) des certaine Faits d’Armes, tant a
Pied, comme a Cheval, qui par deux Gentilmomes d’Almaigne touchant une
certaine Emprise._”[222]
The jousts and tourneys of the Field of the Cloth of Gold were held
on a truly magnificent scale, and, indeed, everything was done to
make them a triumphant spectacular success. The cavaliers of the
two nations, like the ladies present, vied with each other in the
richness of their dresses and appointments, and the two monarchs
greatly distinguished themselves in the tiltyard. The lists themselves
are stated to have been 150 paces long, and were placed in a plain
surrounded by a ditch. Stands were erected for the officials and
spectators, and pavilions were pitched for the use of the cavaliers
taking part. The jousting was with blunted lances, each challenger to
run eight courses. The two kings entered the enclosure on June 11th,
1520, armed at all points, at the time appointed. The horse of his
Majesty of France was trapped with purple satin broached with gold and
embroidered with raven’s plumes hatched with gold, and on his helm he
wore a lady’s sleeve. The trapper of the King of England was of cloth
of gold tissue, fringed with damask and knitted together with golden
points. In attendance on King Henry were Sir Henry Guilford, Master of
the Horse; Sir John Pechie, Governor of Calais; Sir Edmund Guilford,
General of the Forces; and Monsieur Morel, attached to his suite by
King Francis. They all wore the royal livery.
The jousting began, the onset was sounded, and King Henry ran against
Monsieur Grandevile, and the helm of the Frenchman was fractured. The
Duc de Vendôme ran five courses against the Duke of Suffolk, each
breaking his lance on the other’s body. After many more jousts had been
accomplished the signal to cease for the day was given, the heralds
crying “_Desarmée_” and the trumpets sounded _à l’hostel_ (to lodgings).
On Tuesday, the 12th, ten gentlemen of the French king’s Swiss Guard
tilted against eleven of the band of Monsieur de Tremouille.
On Wednesday, the 13th, the King of France, with his aides, and King
Henry, with his following, rode at the tilt, after which there was much
jousting between the knights of France and England; and towards evening
King Francis left for Ard and the English monarch departed for his
castle of Guisnes.
On the Thursday the French king tilted with the Earl of Devonshire
and others, and King Henry ran against Monsieur Montmorencie and Rafe
Brooke. On the Friday there was fighting at barriers, and on the
Saturday a banquet was given by the French king and his suite at the
Castle of Guisnes. A Frenchman was killed when fighting on foot.
On the Monday the fêtes were in abeyance, owing to a great storm,
but on the Tuesday the two kings came to the lists, armed at all
points, and jousting was resumed. Wednesday and Thursday were devoted
to the _mêlée_, and on Friday, June 22nd, “the two kings with their
retinues did battle on foot at barriers.”[223] The French cavaliers
wore doublets of cloth of silver and purple velvet, while those of
the English were of cloth of gold and russet velvet. The weapons were
spears and swords.
On Saturday, after a banquet, there was again fighting at barriers,
first with spears and afterwards with two-handed swords.
The _pas d’armes_ was followed by masks, more banqueting and the dance.
Both Hall and Holinshed describe this historic meeting.
Among the Ashmolean MSS. are the following concerning the Field of
the Cloth of Gold:—“_Ce sont les noms des princes, prellatz, et
grans seigneurs de France, qui estoient en la compaignie de Roy de
France quant le Roy_ [_Henry VIII_] _Dengleterre et led’ sr le Roy_
[_François_] _sentrevyrent et ordonnerent les Iousts et Tournoys qui
sensuyvent_.” Prefixed to the title is a stanza of five lines inviting
to the jousts.
“The proclamacōn in Frenche of the Articles of the Iustes and other
feates of armes at the meeting of the aforesaid Kinges [Henry and
François] at Guisnes, proclaimed throughout the realme of France
by Thomas Benolt al’s Clarencieux King of Armes. _Comme ainsi soit
louange._”[224]
Imperial royal jousts were run in the month of March of the thirteenth
year of the reign, of which Hall gives an account; and there were
others in the year following.
On March 10th, 1524, King Henry ran a great risk of losing his life
in the tiltyard, for when jousting with Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, he
forgot to shut and clasp down the visor of his helmet. Brandon, who was
short-sighted, did not perceive this, and in his career aimed his lance
at that part of the king’s head-piece, striking it at the side of the
face, unhelming his Majesty, though without causing him any injury. As
already mentioned, in a joust held on Shrove Tuesday in the year 1525
Sir Charles Bryan nearly lost an eye from a somewhat similar cause.
King Henry, like his friend Maximilian of Austria, is always
represented as the successful jouster, and, although his strength,
skill and good fortune are generally admitted, some explanation is
required to account for his invariable success. It has been suggested
that it may have been due in some measure to the prerogative of the
queen, by which a joust could be stopped if there should be any
probability of the king’s defeat.[225]
“On May-day _anno_ 1536 was a great jousting held
at Greenwich, at which the chief challenger was the
Lord Rochford, the queen’s brother; and the defendant
was one Henry Norris, of the king’s bed-chamber, with
others. They managed their arms with great dexterity,
and every course which they ran came off with the loud
applause of the people.”[226]
“Another solemne Challenge was proclaimed and
perfourmed by certaine English Knights, viz. Sir John
Dudley,[227] Sir Thomas Seimer, Sir Francis Poynings, Sir
George Carew, Anthony Kingston and Richard Cromwel.
_Anno_ 1540.”
Royal jousts were run on the thirty-first year of the reign, in
celebration of the king’s marriage with Anne of Clѐves.
Lacroix, in _Military and Religious Life in the Middle Ages_, pictures
the degradation of a knight convicted of dishonourable conduct, copied
from a wood-cut bearing the initials “J. A.” (Jost Amman). The culprit
is exposed on a scaffold, clad only in his shirt, his armour is broken
in pieces before him and thrown at his feet, and his spurs are cast
upon a dunghill. His shield is dragged by a cart-horse through the
mire, and the tail of his _destrier_ cut off. A herald-at-arms cries
three times, “Who is there?” and each time the name of the knight is
given. The herald then cries, “No, it is not so; I see no knight, but
only a false coward.” The culprit is borne on a litter into a church,
where the burial service is read over him, and the world of chivalry
knows him no more.
There is no record of any royal jousts on the accession of Edward VI
to the throne, and such pastimes would seem to have been greatly in
abeyance during that short reign.
The same would seem to have been the case during the reign of Queen
Mary; but there were fights at barriers in 1554, when Philip II
arrived in England. The challengers, against all comers, were Don
Fredericke de Toledo, the Lord Strange, Don Ferdinando de Toledo, Don
Francisco de Mendoça, and Garsulace de la Vega.
The prizes were as follows, viz.:—
“1. He who cometh forth most gallantly, though without
superfluities, shall have a rich brooch.
2. The best stroke with the pike shall have a ring with
a ruby.
3. The best stroke with the sword shall have a ring
with a diamond.
4. He that fighteth most valiantly shall have a ring
with a diamond.
5. The prize of all together in rank at the foyle was a
ring of gold with a rich diamond.
He that giveth a stroke with a pike from the girdle
downwards shall win no prize.
He that shall have a close gauntlet or anything to
fasten his sword to his hand shall win no prize.
He whose sword falls out of his hand shall win no prize.
He that striketh his hand in fight on the barriers
shall win no prize.
Whosoever shall fight and not show his sword to the
judges shall win no prize.”
The prizes were thus awarded by the judges, in the
above order, to:—
Don Fredericke de Toledo.
Don Diego Ortado di Mendoça.
Sir John Parrat.
Ruygomez.[228] And
King Philip, in highest honour.[229]
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth vigorous efforts were made to
revive the ancient glories of the tournament, which were for a time not
without a certain measure of success, under the auspices of the maiden
queen. Sir Henry Lee rode as the queen’s champion until advancing years
caused him to relinquish the self-imposed office in favour of the Earl
of Cumberland, who wore a glove of her Majesty’s on his helmet.
A drawing, from a MS., of tilting, tourney and barriers is reproduced
in Lord Dillon’s paper in the _Archæological Journal_, Vol. LV, which
affords a good deal of information regarding the detail of such combats
during the reign.
There were jousts and barriers on the accession of Queen Elizabeth
to the throne in 1558, in which the Duke of Norfolk and the earls of
Surrey, Warwick and Leicester took part.[230]
The _fête d’armes_ at which Henri II of France was fatally injured was
held at Paris in 1559. The tenans on the occasion were the king, the
Prince of Ferrera, the Duke of Guise and others. The course in which
the accident befel was an extra one, run in the face of remonstrances
on the part of the other challengers. The cause of the injury would
seem to have been that the Comte de Montgomeri, Captain of the Scottish
Guard, failed to drop his shivered lance immediately after impact, as
he ought to have done, and the jagged end striking the king’s visor,
a splinter passed through the slit for vision and pierced his brain.
The king’s case was hopeless from the first, though he lingered in
agony for nearly a week. The king’s accidental death was not avenged
on Montgomeri at the time, but Catherine de Medici had him executed
fifteen years later. Lacroix, in _Military and Religious Life in the
Middle Ages_, gives a picture of this fatal encounter, copied from an
engraving of the sixteenth century.
Viscount Dillon, in his paper “Barriers and Foot Combats,” reproduces
a picture of Spanish officers “At Barriers” in Brussels, 1569 (after
Hogenberg). The details are interesting as showing the manner of
fighting on foot at the time.
As stated in the Ashmolean MS., No. 837, fol. 245, a tournament
was proclaimed at Hampton Court by Clarencieulx, King of Arms,
on Twelfth-night, _anno_ 1570, to take place in the month of May
following. The MS. begins with a preamble, being a general exhortation
to revive the tournament, which “had of late fallen a sleepe.” Next
come the _chapitres d’armes_ (the articles) for the tilt, tourney and
barriers. A copy of the document follows here:—
“For as much most noble Queene, as ther ar within
this yoʳ maᵗⁱᵉˢ Courte a greate nombre of noble menne
and gentlemenne excellent men of Armes, and yet (as it
wer) of late fallen a sleepe from eny kinde of such
exercyse: Therfore by your maᵗⁱᵉˢ lycense, to revyve
theim withall, ther ar fower Knightes Errant which haue
thought goode to challenge all commers at Shrovetyde
next as followeth. Videlicet.
_Tilt_
Vpon Shrouesonday at the Tylt, six courses a pece.
And who so doth best of the Defendanntes in those six
courses, shall have for his prize a cheyne of gold.
_Tourney_
Vpon Shrovemonday at the Tourney, two blowes at
the passage, and tenne at the ioyninge. All grypes,
shockes, and fowle playes forbidden. And who so doth
best of the Defendantes at that feate, shall haue a
Diamonde.
_Barriours_
Vpon Shrouetuesday at the Barriours, three pusshes
with the short pyke, and tenne blowes with the sworde
with open gauntlet: no Barriours to be layde hande
vpon, nor eny weopen to be taken holde of. And he of the
Defendantes that doth best ther at, shall haue a Rubie.
[The entire page is scored out. On the back of the
page, which is written by Glover, a second hand has
written, the other way up:—]
The proclemacion that was procleamed at hampton
court by Clarencieulx Kyng of armes on twelffe daye at
nyght in Aᵒ/1570/ the chalengers names was the erle of
Oxfford Charles howard Sʳ henry Lee and christoffer
hatton a pencioner.
Theys excercyses was not Fulffylled tyle maye deye
next after on which daye was the tylte at westmynster
and the second daye of maye the torney and on Sonday
byeing the vj of maye the barrioures.”
Another MS. in the same collection (No. 845, fol. 164) gives a list
of the participants, with their “checques” (which are tablets for
recording the scores made). Examples of these registers are given here,
under the heading of the document in question:—
[Endorsed:—Tournay.
Two blowes at the passage: and tenne at the ioyninge:
All gryppes shockes and foule playe forbidden.]
[A list of names is also on folio 164 b.]
[fol. 164.]
[Illustration: SCORING “CHEQUES.”]
[54 more, as above, 25 without arms.]
The tenans on the occasion were the Earl of Oxford, Lord Charles
Howard, Sir Henry Lee, and Christopher Hatton, a “pencioner,” and
a list of their opponents, with their “Checques,” is given in the
Ashmolean MS. No. 845, fol. 167. (See page 128.)
The prize for the best lance among the tilters was “a cheyne of gold,”
which fell to the Earl of Oxford, who ran forty-two courses and
splintered thirty-two lances, a very good performance. The prize for
the tourney was a “Diamonde”; that for “barriours” a “Rubie,” which was
won by Thomas Cecil, one of the venans.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: _PLATE XI_
HARNESSES FOR JOUSTING AT THE TILT. AT PARIS.]
[Illustration: FIELD HARNESS OF ANNE DE MONTMORENCY.]
In 1590, after the siege of Paris had been raised, King Henri IV
challenged the Duc de Mayenne to single combat, in order that by a
decisive result the calamities of France might be stayed, but nothing
came of it.
A tournament was held at Westminster under the leadership of Walter,
Earl of Essex, which is chiefly remarkable from the fact of its
having taken place during the night. It was on the occasion when Anne
de Montmorency, Constable of France, came to London to receive the
Order of the Garter, in June, 1572. Queen Elizabeth gave a supper in
celebration of the event, at which she presided, and in due time she
retired to her apartments. The weather being warm, however, it pleased
her Majesty to walk from her chamber on to the open terrace of the
palace, where the French duke and his suite were assembled, with many
of the English courtiers. The Earl of Essex entered the terrace quite
suddenly, accompanied by twelve gentlemen armed at all points and well
mounted.
“The Earl and his horse were furnished with white
cloth of siluer, and the rest in white sattin, who
after reuerence done to her Maiesty, marched to the
east side of the Court, and there in troope, stood
firme. Forthwith entered Edward Earle of Rutland, with
a like number, in like sort armed and apparelled all
in blew; and hauing presented his reuerence, stayed on
the west end. Before either of these bands, one Chariot
was drawen, and therein a faire Damsell, conducted by
an armed Knight, who pronounced certain speeches in
the French tongue, vnto her Maiestie. These Ceremonies
passed, the Queene commanded the armed men to fall vnto
fight, which they performed with great courage, and
commendation, chiefly in the Earl of Essex, a noble
personage, valorous in armes, and all other wayes of
great vertue.
Of the Actors names in this Triumph (it seemeth) no
note is kept: yet are many of them still liuing.”
The ordinances and regulations which controlled the routine of a
tournament, some of them compiled for general use and others framed
for particular contests, have been repeatedly referred to in these
pages; but the method of the keeping of scores is nowhere clearly
indicated, and, indeed, is but rarely mentioned. The score was marked
in strokes by a king of arms, sometimes by a pursuivant,[231] on a
scoring tablet, termed a “checque,” which was tricked with a shield of
the arms of the owner, as shown on page 127. The scoring-board itself
was in the form of a parallelogram, with three horizontal lines, the
middle line projecting some distance beyond the others, and on the
projection of this middle line the number of courses run (usually from
two to eight) were registered. The attaints were noted on the top
line; and they were often differentiated as hits on the body or head,
which had a different value in the tale.[232] The middle line inside
the parallelogram was for the staves well broken, and the bottom line
for those “ill-broken”—that is, broken within a foot of the head of
the lance or on the tilt, on the adversary’s saddle, etc.—these being
deducted from the score or disallowed. The proportion in the number of
attaints varied greatly, though on the average it would appear that
the misses made in jousting at the tilt (i.e. when the jousters failed
to touch each other in their careers) were greater in number than the
hits made; while in jousting “at the wide” the proportion of attaints
was much greater. The registration was done by vertical strokes on the
horizontal lines.
As many as ten jousting cheques have been found, which help to a
knowledge as to how the scoring was managed, though more light is
needed on the subject.
The rules and regulations concerning the conducting of tournaments in
Tudor times were based on those framed in 1466 by John Tiptoft, Earl of
Worcester, Constable of England, which are given in our Chapter IV; but
there is no rule among them directly mentioned concerning the method
of scoring the points. There are, however, pictures of the scoring
cheques, reproduced by Mr. ffoulkes in his paper in _Archæologia_,
Vol. LXIII, Plate IV, Nos. 2, 3, which appear at the ends of two of
the versions of the Tiptoft rules; viz. those in Harl. MS. 2413, fol.
16, and Ashmole MS. 763, fol. 149. Two cheques out of the fifty-six in
Ashmole MS. 845, fol. 164, are reproduced on our Fig. 1. They are those
of the Earl of Oxford and Charles Howard, being registers of their
scores at the passage of arms which was proclaimed by Clarencieulx in
1570.
This somewhat intricate subject can only be lightly touched upon in
these pages; but we may refer any of our readers who may wish to pursue
the subject further to Lord Dillon’s paper, “Tilting in Tudor Times,”
published in the _Archæological Journal_, Vol. LV, and to that written
by Mr. Charles ffoulkes in _Archæologia_, LXIII, entitled “Jousting
Cheques of the Sixteenth Century.”
Three writers on certain features in the routine of a tournament are
mentioned in the last-named monograph, _The Romance of Three King’s
Sons_, written about the end of the fifteenth century,[233] from which
the following extract is given:—
“All these thinges donne thei were embatailed eche
ageynste the othir and the corde drawen ageynste eche
partie, and whan the tyme was, the cordes were cutte
and the Trumpettis blew up for euery man to do his
deuoir. And for to assertayne you more of the Tournay
there was on eche side a stake, and at eache stake two
Kynges of Armes, with penne, and Inke, and paper, to
write the names of all of them that were yolden, for
they shold no more Tournay.”
This refers to the _mêlée_, not the joust.
King René d’Anjou, in _Traicte de la forme et Devis d’ung Tournoi_,
gives an illustration of a _mêlée_ in which the attendants are seen
cutting the cords with axes, but there are no kings of arms present
noting the score.
Another reference occurs in the account given in the Landsdowne MS.
285 of the combat between the Bastard of Burgundy and Lord Scales in
1466, a contest which has been already described on these pages. It is
entitled _The Ordinaunce of kepyng of the Feelde_, and runs—
“... At ev’y corner a Kyng of Armes crownyd and an
Harauld or Pursevaunte within the seide feelde, for
reporte makyng of actes doon within the same: Garter
and othir Kynges of Armes and Hauraldes to be sett in
the scaffolde before the Kyng on the right hande of the
staire of the Kynges place judiciall’ to make report
generall’ and to marke all that should be doon in the
seide feelde.”
And we may infer that a score of the points, for and against, was kept
on the occasion.[234] Hall, in his narrative of the Field of the Cloth
of Gold, states definitely that the scores of the combatants were
marked down by the proper officials, English and French.
The Duc d’Alençon and three French gentlemen, with the earls of Sussex
and Leicester, challenged all comers, in 1551, to fight at barriers,
and they had forty-five opponents.[235]
Jousts were run at Westminster, in conjunction with a great pageant,
on January 22nd, 1581, in the presence of Queen Elizabeth. The fêtes
extended over several days, and many lances were broken at the tilting.
The crowd was so great at the pageant that many citizens were maimed
and some killed. Those taking part in the tilting were Henry Gray,
Sir Thomas Perot, Anthony Cooke, Thomas Radcliffe, Robert and Francis
Knolles, Rafe Bowes, Thomas Kelwaie, George Goring, William Tresham,
Robert Alexander, Edward Dennie, Hercules Meantus, Edward Moore,
Richard Skipwith, Richard Ward, Edward Digbie, Henry Nowell and Henry
Brunkerd. During the running Sir Henry Lee entered the tiltyard as The
Unknown and, after breaking six lances, retired again. The challengers
each ran six courses against all comers. A _Scharmützel_, being the
attack and defence of a mock fortress on which cannon were mounted,
took place later, and this was followed by the tourney and barriers.
Taking part in these were the Earl of Arundel, Lord Windsor, Sir Philip
Sidney and Fulke Greville, Esquire.[236]
A tournament was held on the 15th May following, as mentioned in
Ashmole MS. No. 845, fol. 166, a copy of which follows:—
“The Tournay holden at Westminster on monday the 15. of May. 1581.
when as the prince dolphine of Auuergne and other the frenche
commissioners were here.
[Illustration: This mark at the end signifyeth that that party hath
perfourmed his blowes at the passage and at the joyninge.”
(46 more figures like this, with a line at the right end. They are
arranged in two columns.)]
The challengers were Monsieur the brother of the French King, the
Prince Delphine,[237] the earls of Sussex and Leicester, the Count S.
Aignon, Messires Chamuallan and Bacqueuile. The venans were led by Lord
Thomas Howard.
Another tournament took place at Westminster on November 17th in the
same year, and a list of names of those taking part is given in Ashmole
MS. No. 845, fol. 165:—
“1581. 24. R. R. Elizabeth
Therle of Arundell )____ The Lord Windesore
Henry Greye )____ Henry Windesore
Sʳ Henry Lee )____ Phellip Sidney
Sʳ Thomas Perot )____ Thomas Ratclyff
Foulke Grevill )____ Rawffe Bowes
Edward Norrys )____ Thomas Knevet
Anthony Cooke )____ John Pagingeton
George Gyfford )____ Thomas Kailloway
Robart Alexander )____ George Goringe
Edward More )____ Henry Bronkard
William Tresham )____ Rychard Warde
Everard Digby )____ Tyrrell
Storry )____
William Knolles )____ Robart Knolles.
These be the names of the noblemen and gentlemen,
that for the honour of the Queenes Majestie did
their endevour at the Tylt at Westminster on the
xvijᵗʰ day of Nouember, beinge the first day of the
xxiiijᵗʰ yere of the reigne of queene Elizabeth,
whome God of his greate mercy longe contynue to reigne
over this sinnefull realme of England. Amen.”
In 1585 there is what is described as “the last joust on the Thames,”
but which was really a form of water quintain:—
“From ech end of the riuer came a bote running with
six ores, in the stern of which on the top stood a man
armed in a red wastcote, with a staffe in his reste,
hauing a but end of corke; now ech meeting other with
their staues, both fell into the water, where spare
botes were redi to succour them, for ouer went their
horsses.”[238]
Ashmole MS. No. 1109, fol. 154b, gives a list of names of persons
taking part in a tournament held at Windsor on November 17th, 1593.
“[In Officio Armorum Lib.] M. 4: Justes. fo: 42
Course at Feild at Windsor the 17ᵗʰ of Nov: 1593. Aᵒ regni Reginæ 36.
The Earle of Cumberland The Earle of Southampton.
The Earle of Essex Robert Knowles.
The Lord Fitzwalter Cary Reynolds.
The Lord Compton Henry Nowell.
Sʳ Charles Blount Sʳ Tho. Gerrard.
Sʳ Vnknowen Robert Dudley.
The E. of Essex [sic] Sʳ William Knowles.
{ The Earle of Worcester
Judges { The Lord Sandes
{ Lord North
{ The Lord Norrys”
In 1606, in the reign of James I, there was a fight at barriers in
celebration of the ill-fated marriage of the Earl of Essex. Sixteen
combatants fought on each side, first singly and then in threes.
One party was led by the Duke of Lennox, the other by the Earl of
Sussex.[239]
Another fight at barriers took place on Twelfth-night, 1610, when
Henry Prince of Wales, with six aides, met sixty-five defendants at
Whitehall. The weapons were pikes and single swords, and the prince,
then in his sixteenth year, is stated to have greatly distinguished
himself.[240]
Harleian MS., III, 215, 4888, 20, is a general challenge at tilt,
tourney, and barriers, “signed Lenox, Southampton, Pembroke,
Montgumbray,” dated 1612. It was in defence of these propositions—“1.
That in Service of Ladyes, Knights have no free-will. 2. That it is
Beautie maintains the World in valour. 3. That noe fare Ladie was ever
false. 4. That none can be perfectlye wife but Lover.” The challenge
was addressed, “To all honourable men, Men at Armes, and Knight
Adventurers of hereditarie note, ＆ examplarie noblesse, that for most
memorable actions doe wield either Sword or Launce in quest of glorie.”
Ashmole MS. No. 837, fol. 129-32, gives a long account of “The manner
of first cominge into the Tiltyard” of Charles Prince of Wales in the
year 1619. It is interesting from many points of view, and we reproduce
it here nearly _in extenso_. Like all accounts of the tournament of
the period but little information is given of the martial sports
themselves, though a great deal is written concerning the dresses,
etc. This MS. affords abundant evidence that the last stage of the
tournament had been reached.
“The manner of the first cominge into the
Tiltyard of the Most high and mighty Prince Charles
Prince of Wales sonne and heir apparent of our
Souereign Lo: Kinge James on Friday the xxiiijᵗʰ
of March 1619 wͨͪ was in the most princely and
Royall manner that had been sene many yeares before.
[Sidenote: [fol. 129 b]]
The day and tyme drawing neare the Tiltyard at
Whitehall was prepared wᵗʰ many scaffoldes on both
sides ＆ the vpper end where stood his Majestie himself
wᵗʰ many other great estates and on the one side sate
in a place prepared of purpose at the vpper end the
Embassadors on the other side next to Sᵗ James parke
gate was erected a most rich ＆ stately Pauillion of
green yellow ＆ white damaske laid on wᵗʰ broad lace
of siluer ＆ gold wᵗʰ a very deep valence of cloth of
silver frendged about wᵗʰ a deep freng of gold ＆ siluer
garnished about wᵗʰ The princes Armes ＆ badges. on the
top of it was set an Eglet in her nest loking vp at
the sonne wᵗʰ this motto at it Nec Degener heres. All
wᵗʰ being ready ＆ exceedingly well cleared ＆ ordered
by Sʳ Edw; Zouch Kᵗ Marshall. The E: of Arrundell
being appointed to be Erle Marshall of England for
that day about 12 of the clok came into the Tiltyard
on horseback attended by diuers of his owne gent on
foot wᵗʰ truncheons in their handes on whome likewise
attended the Kᵗ Marshall ＆ all the officers of Armes
in their Coates of Armes on horseback vntill his
Majestie was ready to come thither. All things beinge
/ in a readines ＆ the tiltyard in a very good order
his Lordship attended wᵗʰ the Kt Marshall Clarenceux
＆ Norry ＆ all the heralds ＆ pursuiantes of armes rode
to Denmarke house to fetch the Prince his highnes and
let him vnderstand that his Majestie were [sic] redy ＆
expected his coming wherevpon he proceeded in manner
followinge.
First marched on foote all the Princes band of his
Artillery yard led by their captaine, Mʳ Conisby. next
to them went many of the Kᵗ Marshalls men well suited
wᵗʰ truncheons in their handes before their Master who
for the most part coasted vp ＆ downe to keep the street
＆ passage clene from people. /
[Sidenote: The reason why the Princes trumpets did intercede betw: the
officers of Armes and the Prince and had place of them ＆ the Kinges
trompetts was because they were part of the Princes Show, and therefore
not thought fitt to be diuided.]
Then six of the Kings Trumpetters sounding the sergᵗ
Trumpeter wᵗʰ his mace before them riding.
Next to them the pursuiantes ＆ heraldes of Armes
wᵗʰ the two provinciall kings of Armes Clarenceux ＆
Norry vnto all whome the Prince his highnes had very
bountefully distributed to euery of them 9 yardes of
rich taffata of his coullors vist 3 yardes of white 3
yardes of yellow ＆ three yardes of green all fringed
very richly wᵗʰ a deep frenge of silver ＆ gold spangled
and likewise to each of them a white Bever hatt wᵗʰ
a fair gold ＆ siluer band and larg plumes of his
coullors. /
Then followed 6 of the Princes Trumpettes very richly
clad in grene veluet coats laid wᵗʰ gold ＆ silure lace
＆ white Beruers ＆ fethers
[Sidenote: [fol. 130 a]]
Next them rode his 3 pages one after another brauely
mounted very richly clad aleso in grene sattin suits
laid exceding thich [sic] wᵗʰ gold ＆ siluer lace white
beuers ＆ plumes, ＆ their horses in rich caparasans of
greene velvet embrodered wᵗʰ gold ＆ siluer each of them
/ of [sic] attended by querries in rich suites of the
Princes coullors on foot.
Next rode the Erie Marshall wᵗʰ his marshalls rod
Then the Prince his highnes alone all armed in white
armour ＆ bravely mounted on horseback wᵗʰ wonderfull
rich caparisans ＆ plumes attended by diuers of his
cheife gent on foot most richly araied in greine suites
of sattin laid very thick wᵗʰ siluer ＆ gold lace white
bevers ＆ fethers each of them carying in their handes
one of the Princes staues / After the Prince rode Sʳ
Tho: Howard Master of the Princes horse.
And after him followed 3 spare horses wᵗʰ plumes ＆
rich embrodered caparisans of his coullors: / led by
Querryes or officers of the stable. /:
In this manner they proceeded from Denmark howse to
the Tiltyard gate where the artillery men first made a
stand ＆ deui(d)ed themselues in a lane for the Prince
to passe When his highnes came at the vpper end of the
tiltyard he alighted ＆ went into his pavillion to sitt
＆ repose himself whilst the other Tilters were brought
in who tarried at the mewes vntil the Kᵗ Marshall ＆ the
officers of Armes came for them who proceded in manner
following every one in his rank the officers of Armes
going before the new runners.
[Sidenote: [fol. 130 b]]
euery one in his rank
Thus appointed to Runn.
new The Prince ＆ The E: of Dorset
new Marquess Bucks ＆ Sʳ Sigismond Alexander
new Marquess Hamilton ＆ E: of Warwick
new E: of Oxford ＆ The lo: walden
E of Rutland ＆ E of Salsbury new /
E of Montgomery ＆ Sʳ Thomas Somerset
E of Desmond ＆ Sʳ Hen Riche
The lo: Gerard ＆ Mʳ Hen: Alexander
it is to be noted that because the: E of Montgomery
was hurt in the arme in practisinge about 3 dayes
before Mr Cary 2 sonn to Sʳ Robt Cary the Princes
chamberlein was appointed to Runn for him at wͨͪ tyme
it was concluded that hereafter if at any tyme any man
shold be hurt that he could not run himself but that he
appointed another to run for him (if he were inferior
to him hurt and desyred to run in his place) he should
come into the tilt wᵗʰ his beuer close or if he would
haue his beuer open he should then come in the due of
his place. /
[Sidenote: [fol. 131 a]]
Judges./.
[fol. 131 a] The Prince brake —-—-—- staues
The E: of Dorset —-—-—-
The Marques of Buck —-—-
The marquess Hamilton ——
After all was done the Prince and all the Tilters
once passing round the tilt passt round on alonge
before the Prince and so attended him to Somerset
howse again.
Fees giuen to the officers of Armes
Of the Prince in scarfes of his coullors each scarfe
coat 9 yards of rich taffata fringed wᵗʰ deep frenge
of gold ＆ siluer, and 12 white beuer hats wᵗʰ gold ＆
siluer bandes and faire fethers of his coullors yellow
white ＆ grene. And 20ˡⁱ money for his fee
of the marquess Buck 13ˡⁱ 6ˢ 8 for his fee
of the E: o(f) Oxford 10ˡⁱ for his fee
of the E: of Salsbury 10 for his fee ＆ scarfes of his coullors
[Sidenote: [fol-131 b]]
xxiiij⁹ Martij Aᵒ dni 1620./
Aᵒ Regni Regis Jacobi i9
The Prince The E: of Dorsett
Marquess of Buckingham The marquess Hamilton
new The E: of Lincolne Sʳ Sigismond Alexander
The E of Desmond Lo: Walden
new The lo: Compton Lo: Gerard
new The lo: Scroope Sʳ Tho: Somerset
Sʳ Hen: Riche Mʳ Hen: Alexander
Sʳ Hen. Mildmay Sʳ Sigismond Alexander
Judges:
The E: of Bridgwater
The viscount Doncaster
The viscount Falkland
Sʳ Fulk Greville
T: Arrundell
At this tyme the Prince his highnes came from Denmark
howse to the Tiltyard through the Strand as followeth /
First went the band of Artillerymen marching along
vntill they came to the gate of the Tiltyard and there
made a stand ＆ deuided themselves in a lane for the
Princes highnes to pass through
The seriant Trompetour and the K. Trompettes.
Next followed on horsback the officers of Armes in
their coates.
Then the Princes Trumpetes richly clad in coates of
grene velvet laid wᵗʰ gold lace /
Then the Princes 3 pages one after another bravely
mounted ＆ most richly clothed. /
Then the Prince his highnes alone armed wᵗʰ [Blank]
of his gent on foot carrying his staves most richely
arayed going on both sides./
Then followed Sʳ Tho: Howard master of the Princes
horse on horsback
After whom followed seuerall spare horses led by
the Querryes or officers of the stable and in this
manner they preceeded into the Tiltyard and at the
vpper end of the tiltyard by the parke gate was set vp
a pauillion of yellow ＆ grene damask laced wᵗʰ gold ＆
siluer lace where the Prince reposed himself vntill the
rest of the runners were brought in who stand at the
mewes in a redines vntill they were sent for by the Kt
marshall ＆ the officers of Armes. and then they cam in
according to their degrees two ＆ two together before
the E: of Lincolne being a new runner went 4 officers
of Armes ＆ 4 before the lo: Compton ＆ two before Sʳ
Henry Mildmay being allso new runners.
The E: of Lincolne gaue to the officers of Armes 10¹
and fouer scarfes of his coullors of 3¹ prise ＆ fethers
each of them
The lo: Compton gaue them 6 13ˢ 9ᵈ ＆ 4 scarfes of
like valew ＆ fethers
[‘This is an original paper, with notes and
corrections by one of the Heralds. This art. is
recorded in the Heralds’ MS. M. 3, f. 1-3ᵇ. Ashm.
Catal.]”
One more illustration of a tournament of the seventeenth century
is afforded by Ashmole MS. No. 1127, fol. 196-99b, and it aptly
illustrates the advanced stage of degeneration now reached by these
once brilliant and chivalrous martial games:—
“Extracted out of P. Boitells Generall history of all
that hapned most remarkeable as well in France as in
other forrain Country’s in the yeares 1618: 1619: 1620.
Printed at Paris in the year. 1620.
[Sidenote: p. 87, 88]
The Colours of the Madame are Blew Incarnate, White
＆ Amaranthus, the Blew represents heavenly ＆ exalted
thoughts, the Incarnate chast and honest Inclinations,
the White purity ＆ sincerity of faith, the Amaranthus
Constancy.
[Sidenote: p. 90]
The Knight of the Royall Amaranthus sends his
Challenge abroad for the Celebrating of a solemn
Turneament, the Princesses ＆ Lady’s of the court had
scaffolds erected for them, ＆ for judges of the Combatt
were chosen the Count Guy St George, the Count de la
Bassie, ＆ the Count de la Valdisere.
[Sidenote: p. 92]
[Sidenote: [fol. 198b p. 92]
The trompetts beginning to sound from the new palace,
there appeared presently after 12. trompeters clad
in Blew, Incarnate White ＆ Amaranthus representing
yᵉ winds after whom a Camell was led by fowr African
Moores, habited in the same livery ＆ bearing lances
cover’d with blew damask, twelv Lackey’s follow’d
clad after the same manner ＆ after them 12 Pages upon
spanish Genetts richly harness’t ＆ representing the
12 houres of the day, their cloakes were of the same
colours, their heads cover’d with perrukes compos’d of
golden threads with crowns composed of flowrs de Lyses
/ roses, heyacynthusses ＆ Amaranthusses beneath each of
which there seem’d to shine a Great Sun made of plates
of Gold ＆ at their shovlders they had two wings of
silver. In their left hands they carry’d sheilds which
had devises painted on them, ＆ the name of yᵉ Knight
written, ＆ in their hands silver lances with bannerolls
of the same colour.
[Sidenote: p. 93]
After which came six winged coursers drawing slowly
a tryumphall Charriott wͨͪ signify’d the Charriott of
the morning, it was of a great heigth ＆ vast biggness
adorn’d all about with paintings, ＆ built with rare
workmanship. On the top of this Charriott was plac’t
Aurora or the Morning quaintly attir’d ＆ accompany’d
with joy ＆ Laughter who playing upon the Lute ＆ the
Theorbo, after they had taken a round about the place,
address’d themselves at length to the Infanta’s, ＆ both
of them together joining in Consort with Aurora sung
certain Italian verses.
[Sidenote: p. 94]
After the tryumphall Charriott follow’d six peers
magnificently attir’d, with a great number of Heron’s
plumes ＆ Jewells about their hose, ＆ scarfs of the
same colour, ＆ these were the Marquese of Lullin, the
Marquese of Vogueres, the Baron of St George, the
Marques of Caraglio, the Marquese of Pallavicini, ＆
Mounsieur de Lodes.
[Sidenote: [fol. 199]]
At Length the Prince enter’d the lists as Challenger
as being of the most active address ＆ most skillfull of
his weapon of all the rest, ＆ the Combatants were these
following knights.
[Sidenote: p. 95]
[Sidenote: [fol. 199b]]
Mounsieur de St Reran, under the name of Almidour
the Constant, the Count de Montué, Sirnamed Fulginart
without fear, Mounsieur de Cavorrett stlled the Fierce
Dragon, Mounsieur de Maserez call’d Palmiades the
faithfull, Mounsieur de Roussillon tearmed Learques
the Couragious, Don Astanio Bobba named Primislas the
Strong, Mounsieur de Druent entitled Cloridant the
brave, Fulvio Delle Lanze, stiled Altomar the bloody,
the Knight d’Aglie with the title of Prodicles the
warriour, the Count de Ferrusasque titled Termodont the
angry, the Marquese Formo call’d Erolind the Cruell,
this noble troop made their Entry three ＆ three in a
rank, their livery consisting of all yᵉ fowr colours,
but the Prince made choice cheifly of the Amaranthus,
＆ therefore his plume of that colour shew’d it self
eminently above the rest, his mantle was of cloth of
silver, ＆ under it he had a rich suit of armour made
after the manner of the ancients with breeches of silk
made after yᵉ same fashion, sprinkled all about with
pearles ＆ Jewells, he was mounted upon a stout prancing
horse, cover’d with stately capparisons of the same
livrie, with / the laces fringes ＆ tassells of silver,
＆ all inrich’t with floures ＆ roses of the same mettall
he enter’d in between two knights whereof the one was
clad in blew, the other in Incarnate.
After the severall Combats were ended the prise was
adjudg’d to the Knight of the royall Amaranthus, which
donne the trompettes sounded a retreat, ＆ then the
Knights each of them retir’d in their Order to the new
palace.
[Sidenote: p. 85]
This Ceremony was celebrated by the Prince of Savoy,
upon occasion of the marriage between him ＆ Christina
the sister of Lewis the just King of France at his
return to Turin from Rivolles where Inviting the Lady’s
to a Ball he Instituted a Turneament under the title of
the Knight of the Royall Amaranthus fighting under the
Colours of Madame, the Princess.”
The tournament lingered long in Germany.
The decline of armour had become acute by the close of the sixteenth
century, and to this there were many contributory causes. Far too much
stress has been laid on the extended use of firearms as being the main
reason for this, though the ever-increasing penetrative force of the
musket-ball had tended greatly to diminish the value of steel harness
as a sure means of defence. As a matter of fact, full armour could not
be constantly worn during a long campaign without injury to health,
besides being a great clog to mobility on the march and in the field.
Another potent factor towards the disuse of armour lay in the fact that
harness for the soldiery was made in certain standard or arbitrary
sizes, each piece being numbered, so that the suits rarely fitted
individual cases. They were thus apt to chafe the bodies of the wearers
and to cause sores beyond endurance, so that pieces of armour were
frequently cast away on the march, all penalties notwithstanding. The
man-at-arms of an earlier age became the pistolier, _Landsknecht_ and
cuirassier of later times.
Early in the seventeenth century another decided change took place in
the form of the breastplate, which followed the cut of the doublet of
civil life, in the gradual shortening of the waist, and body-armour
became stumpy and inelegant.
The latest phase of cap-à-pie armour is well illustrated by a harness
in the Musée d’Artillerie, Paris, which was presented by the Republic
of Venice to Louis XIV, in 1688. It is very uncouth in form. During the
last half of the century plate-armour gradually disappears, the pikemen
being the last infantry arm to employ it. A “pair of plates” were the
last pieces worn, and, except in the case of the cuirassiers, they also
were abandoned in favour of the buff coat pure and simple.
After a career of six centuries, the tourney had practically run its
course, and had now become almost a thing of the past. Its influence on
the ages had been in the main for good, in restraining the licence of
troublous times and in inculcating a respect for women. It had fostered
a spirit of courtesy, honour and chivalry, sentiments which extended
themselves far beyond its borders, Sainte-Palaye remarks, “_Chevalerie
est la fontaine de courtoisie, ce qui arrose le reste du monde_”;
but as the means for luxury increased, and as time rolled on, the
old simplicity fell away and corruption set in, and though the forms
remained the spirit had fled. 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 Eglington Tournament, held in Ayrshire in 1839, though a good deal
based on Sir Walter Scott’s legend, the “Gentle and Joyous Passage
of Arms of Ashby de la Zouche,”[241] was, in many respects, also a
revival of a _pas d’armes_ of Tudor times. It was carried through in
the face of some ridicule, much discouragement and many difficulties;
but all obstacles were gallantly surmounted by the enthusiasm, tenacity
and liberality of the Earl of Eglingtoun and his coadjutors. The very
elements were against it, for torrents of rain fell frequently during
its course, converting the lists into a pond, spoiling the decorations
of the stands, and wrecking the temporary banqueting-hall erected at
the castle. The training of the horses in so short a time presented
the greatest practical difficulty, for here the promoters were at a
great disadvantage as against the early and persistent drilling of the
chargers for employment in the _fêtes d’armes_ of the olden times. The
lists at Eglington Park measured 600 yards by 250, the tilt or barrier
being 300 yards long, running down the centre. A handsome pavilion was
pitched for the use and comfort of the Queen of Beauty (Lady Seymour)
and her train of ladies. There were other tents for the accommodation
of the knights taking part, and a grand stand was erected for the
presiding queen, her maidens, and the guests of the promoters. Seats
were placed at the eastern end of the arena for about two thousand
spectators. Thirty-five knights took part in this passage of arms, and
among them were Prince Louis Napoleon, the Marquis of Waterford, Earls
Eglingtoun, Craven and Cassilis, Lords Alford, Glenyon, Cranstoun, A.
Seymour, W. Beresford, Drumlanrig and Maidstone. Lord Gage and Sir
Charles Lamb acted as Marshals of the List, the rôle of King of Arms
being sustained by the Marquis of Londonderry. There were several
rehearsals, the last of which took place on July 13th. The first to
joust at the tilt on that occasion were the Earl of Eglingtoun and the
Lord Cranstoun. Several courses were run by these champions and two
lances were broken. Other encounters followed with varying fortune. The
“Lord of the Tournament” was the Earl of Eglingtoun; the Judge of the
Lists, Lord Saltoun; and the inevitable Jester, a Mr. M’Ian from London.
The procession was arranged by Sir Charles Lamb and Lord Saltoun. The
tournament began on August 28th, 1839. The morning was fine, and by one
o’clock some ten thousand persons had assembled, and crowds continued
to arrive. A pitiless rain much delayed the starting of the procession
from the castle, and it was sadly shorn of its fair proportions;
for the Queen of Beauty and her maidens had to betake themselves to
carriages instead of riding on horseback as intended. The procession
reached the lists in the afternoon, about three, in a much bedraggled
condition, and the presiding queen, her attendants and the castle
house-party, took their seats on the grand stand prepared for them.
After flourishes of trumpets, the rules, regulations and limitations
for the guidance of the proceedings were proclaimed by a herald. The
number of courses to be run by each pair of jousters was settled at
three, or at most four. The harnesses employed, some of them collected
in England, the rest abroad, varied greatly in regard to period: the
armour of the Earl of Craven is amusingly stated to have been worn
by an ancestor of the Earl’s (Baron Hilton) at the field of Cressy.
Reinforcing pieces were employed.
On the weather clearing a little, the scene presented was a brilliant
one. There were the knights armed at all points, and their horses
gaily trapped in cloth painted in rich colours with their arms and
devices. Merging with the rich dresses of the ladies, they offered
a fine and moving spectacle. The _pas d’armes_ commenced with the
quintain, after which jousting at the tilt began. The tilting was far
from satisfactory, for the attaints achieved were very few in number.
This was owing to the lack of skill on the part of the riders, the
insufficient training of the horses, and the mistaken notion that
the careers were to be run at the gallop instead of at an amble.
The first joust was run between the “Knight of the Swan” (the Hon.
Mr. Jerningham) and the “Knight of the Golden Lion” (Captain J. O.
Fairlie). They took up positions for their careers, and the trumpets
sounded the onset. There were no attaints in the first three courses,
but in the fourth the Knight of the Golden Lion broke his lance on
the shield of his adversary. The second challenge was by the Earl of
Eglingtoun to the Marquis of Waterford, and in the first course both
lances were splintered. There was no attaint in the second, but in the
third the Earl again splintered his lance. The third joust was between
Sir Francis Hopkins and R. J. Lechmere, Esq. In the first encounter Sir
Francis shivered his lance, and in the second both lances were broken,
but that of Sir Francis was disallowed as being “ill-broken.” In the
fourth career Sir Francis again shivered his lance. The fourth tilt
was between the Lords Glenlyon and Alford. There were no attaints in
the first two courses, but in the third Lord Alford broke his spear.
Next came combats on foot at barriers with two-handed swords, after
which jousting was resumed. The last joust of the day was between the
Marquis of Waterford and Lord Alford. The first course was without
attaint, and in the second a hit was disallowed, the lance breaking
just above the head; but in the third the Marquis shivered his lance
“as it ought to be broken.” During all this the rain fell at intervals
and with increasing violence, which sadly marred the brilliancy of the
scene, and the banquet had to be abandoned owing to the wrecking of
the temporary banqueting-hall by the storm. In the evening there were
combats with broadswords in the drawing-room of the castle, and a duel
between Prince Louis Napoleon and Mr. Lamb is stated to have afforded
some excellent sword-play. The tournament was to have been continued
on the following Thursday, but the weather was so boisterous that the
completion of the _pas d’armes_ was postponed to Friday, August 30th.
The weather was fine and sunny, and the procession to the lists was
this time complete in all its parts, the queen and her ladies being on
horseback. The first tilt of the day was between the Lords Glenlyon
and Alford, and there was but one attaint in the three courses. The
Earl of Craven and Captain Fairlie then took up positions for their
careers. Both lances were shivered in the first course, in the second
there was no attaint, but in the third the Earl again shivered his
lance. This was the best joust of the tournament. To be brief, there
were six more jousts, making altogether nineteen courses, and but
two attaints. Running at the Ring followed, and a _mêlée_ brought the
tournament to a close. The combatants in the latter were—The Lord of
the Tournament (Earl of Eglingtoun), the Knight of the Dragon (Marquis
of Waterford), the Black Knight (W. L. Gilmour, Esq.), and the Knight
of the Gael (Lord Glenlyon): _against_ the Knight of the Black Lion
(Viscount Alford), the Knight of the Red Rose (R. J. Lechmere, Esq.),
the Knight of the White Rose (Charles Lamb, Esq.), and the Knight of
the Swan (Hon. H. Jerningham). Mr. Jerningham was hurt in the wrist by
a sword-stroke in the _mêlée_, but this was the only casualty worth
recording during the tournament. Several of the knights were unseated,
and in one case both horse and rider fell, a few bruises resulting.
The prize was awarded to the Earl of Eglingtoun. It was a coronet,
with which the Queen of Beauty gracefully crowned him, in the manner
of the Lady Rowena in the lists at Ashby de la Zouche. There was a
banquet in the evening, at which Lord Eglingtoun expressed the hope
that this attempt at a revival of the tournament might result in its
being continued among the nobility and gentry of these islands. This
pious wish, however, failed to be realised, the very ethics of the
institution being so totally at variance with the sentiment prevailing
in modern times. The banquet was followed by a dance.
THE TOURNAMENT AT BRUSSELS IN 1905
In marked contrast to the Eglingtoun Tournament, in the way of
accuracy of detail and historic truth, was the _pas d’armes_ in the
Rathausplatz, at Brussels, in 1905, held nearly three-quarters of a
century later. This revival in what was once Burgundian territory was
most appropriate, the more so as it took place in Brussels itself.
It was in the Rathausplatz there, one of the most striking sites in
Europe, that the Comte de Charolais, afterwards Charles the Bold,
ran in his first tournament in 1452. The Comte was then but eighteen
years of age, and tilted in as many courses on that occasion, breaking
sixteen lances “as they ought to be broken”—a very good performance,
viz. sixteen attaints out of eighteen runs. It was this tournament,
held in the city of Brussels some four and a half centuries before, in
the reign of Philippe le Bon, that was selected for reconstruction in
the months of July and August, 1905.[242] Charles was born in November,
1433, and the tournament in question was held in commemoration of the
anniversary of his birthday. He was killed in battle on the fatal field
of Nancy in 1477. In the month of August of the same year his daughter
and heiress, the Princess Maria, was wedded to Maximilian of Austria,
and the brilliant traditions of the tournament passed over to his court.
The collection of illuminated MSS. in the Burgundian Library, now
transferred to the National Library at Brussels, with the _Armorial
de la Toison d’Or_ and other Burgundian records, now in the National
Library at Paris,[243] furnish reliable and inexhaustible material
for the correct staging of a modern revival of a tournament on the
lines of one of the fifteenth century. It is thus no wonder that the
reconstruction, in the summer of 1905, of the _pas d’armes_ of 1452
was attended by such success as to prove of great educational value.
The middle of the fifteenth century was, perhaps, the most picturesque
period of the tourney: its rich weapons and armour, the caparisons
of the horses, the arms of the champions and others, the lists, the
music, and even the very musical instruments of the period, together
with the sumptuous accessories of the brilliant Burgundian Court, were
reproduced in 1905 to a marvel.
The reconstruction, as presented at Brussels, began with the entry of
Duke Philip of Burgundy into the lists in the Rathausplatz, with a
splendid train of the ladies of his court, the Marshal of the Lists,
the King of Arms (Jean Lefébre de Saint-Remy, the reputed writer of the
_Armorial de la Toison d’Or_), the Comte de Charolais, with his five
jousting associates and many historic figures of the camp and tourney
throughout Christendom, the four judges of the tournament, heralds,
pursuivants, etc. The Duke having taken his seat as supreme umpire on
the gaily decked tribune prepared for him, the trumpets sounded and the
jousting began. Many courses were run in character. This was followed
by the quintain, and afterwards by combats on foot and a _mêlée_;
then the prizes were presented. Figures of the knights of 1452, such
as those of the Comte de Charolais, Jacques de Lalain and Fredrich
de Renesse, were faithfully reproduced in all their details. Some
excellent post-cards were published in Belgium, picturing some of the
principal scenes of the tournament. Plate XII (1) depicts the Comte de
Charolais armed at all points for the _mêlée_, and Plate XII (2) Jean
de Clèves. The _fêtes d’armes_ and its rehearsals extended over several
weeks.
“TRIUMPH” HELD AT EARL’S COURT, LONDON, ON JULY 11TH, 1912
The object of the promoters of this revival was to reproduce an
Elizabethan tournament of about the year 1580, such an one as is
described in this chapter. This idea was very creditably carried out,
though falling short of the Brussels reproduction of 1905 in the
matters of technique and minuteness and correctness of detail. It
must be remembered, however, that in 1580 the tournament, then itself
a revival in England, had reached an advanced stage of decadence,
and that the materials available for reconstruction are scanty and
uncertain, as contrasted with the ample records of the century
preceding. The Earl’s Court reproduction is stated to have been devised
by Mrs. George Cornwallis-West and Mr. Seymour Lucas, R.A., with the
technical assistance of Mr. (now Sir) Guy Laking. The stage management
of the play was in the competent hands of Mr. (now Sir) Frank R.
Benson. It is interesting to see so many historic names and titles,
corresponding with those of Tudor times, borne by the jousters at
Earl’s Court. The rôle of Marshal of the Lists was sustained by Lord
Lonsdale, and the judges were Lords Shrewsbury and Talbot, Essex, and
Dudley, with Major-General Brocklehurst. The Queen of Beauty was the
Viscountess Curzon.
The procession to the arena was headed by trumpeters and four
pursuivants, marching on foot; then rode the marshal, armed at all
points, with the herald (Sir F. R. Benson). The four judges, clad in
black robes, followed, their esquire (Sir Guy Laking) bearing the
umpire’s bâton. After their entry into the lists the trumpets again
sounded and the Queen of Beauty, with her train of maidens, all mounted
on palfreys, gaily decorated with roses, each led by a henchman, rode
into the arena. The Queen was attended by an esquire, and her palfrey
was caparisoned in silk. She was clad in a ruff, a robe sparkling with
diamonds, and a long mantle.
[Illustration: _PLATE XII_
THE COMTE DE CHAROLAIS, AS REPRESENTED AT BRUSSELS IN 1905]
[Illustration: JEAN DE CLÈVES, AS REPRESENTED AT BRUSSELS IN 1905]
The knights were arranged in trios, each cavalier preceded by an
esquire, bearing his lance, and followed by other esquires. The
first champion was the Duke of Marlborough; his motto was _Fiel pero
desdichado_, his colours a dark blue, and his proof armour was etched
with gold. The second was Lord Craven; his motto was _Virtus in actione
consistet_, his colours green, and he wore the famous armour made for
Philip II of Spain. Lord Compton completed the first trio, and his
motto was _Je ne cherche qu’un_. The second trio followed, and all did
homage to the Queen of Beauty, now seated on her throne. The herald
then proclaimed that the six knights would joust at the tilt, for a
rich and noble prize. The Lord Chrichton and the Duke of Marlborough
were the first to joust, and five courses were run by each pair. On
completion the verdict of the Queen of Beauty was that the Duke had
well jousted, but that Lord Ashby St. Ledgers, whose motto was _Ferro
non gladio_, had jousted best, and he received the prize, viz. a gold
cup of the value of £600, from her hands. The tilt was then removed and
a _mêlée_ followed, in which twelve knights were engaged. There was, of
course, a banquet in the evening followed by a dance.
There was also a revival at Rome.
There now only remains the judicial duel to be described, an
institution which had much affinity with the tournament, and which,
indeed, formed an integral part of it, both in sentiment and fact. This
important branch of the subject is dealt with at some length in the
next chapter.
FOOTNOTES:
[191] Chapter X, 1.
[192] Chapter XIII.
[193] Without a tilt.
[194] The term “tourney” is very frequently employed by chroniclers to
express the mêlée, though also often applied in a general sense.
[195] _Waffenkunde_, Fig. 631.
[196] Monstrelet, _Continuation_, Chap. CCXXXIX.
[197] _Arch. Journ._, LV, 306.
[198] Reinforcing pieces.
[199] Without a tilt.
[200] _Chronicles_, III, 605.
[201] See Appendix A.
[202] _Archæological Journal_, LV, 302.
[203] Hall’s _Chronicle_, p. 513.
[204] Hall, 516.
[205] The italics are ours.
[206] Disallowed?
[207] Created Duke of Suffolk in 1514.
[208] Father of Anne.
[209] Hall’s _Chronicle_, p. 516.
[210] _Arch. Journ._, LV, 338.
[211] Hall’s _Chronicle_, 520.
[212] Hall’s _Chronicle_, 533.
[213] _Ibid._ 564.
[214] Holinshed, III, 609.
[215] _Ibid._ III, 613.
[216] _Ibid._ III, 625.
[217] _Ibid._ III, 636.
[218] Margaret Tudor, afterwards married to the sixth Earl of Douglas.
[219] Hall, 584.
[220] Probably the same meeting mentioned by Holinshed under 1519.
[221] _Ibid._ 591.
[222] See Appendix B.
[223] Another account says that on that day the two kings preferred to
look on.
[224] See Appendix A.
[225] _Archæologia_, LXIII, 32.
[226] _Harleian Miscellany_, X, 306.
[227] Afterwards Duke of Northumberland.
[228] The famous minister of Philip II.
[229] See Ashmolean, MS. 845, 171a; and Harl. MS., Codex 69, Art. 20.
[230] _Archæological Journal_, LXI, 304.
[231] The duties of “pursuivants d’armes” are given by Sainte-Palaye
in his _Mémoires sur L’Ancienne Chevalerie_ (I, 32), and among them
is that of registering the scores, “_＆ afin de n’en point perdre la
mémoire, on y portoit des tablettes pour enregistrer les faits ＆ les
circonstances les plus remarquables_.”
[232] “He that on horsebacke directeth his Launce at the head, is more
to be praised, than he that toucheth lower. For the higher the Launce
hitteth, the greater is the Runners commendation.”
[233] Harl. MS. 326, fol. 113 vᵒ.
[234] _Archæologia_, Vol. LXIII.
[235] _Archæological Journal_, LXI, 305.
[236] The Continuation of the _Chronicles of England_, by John Stow and
others.
[237] The Prince Dauphin, not the Dauphin of France.
[238] Continuation Holinshed, IV, 645.
[239] _Archæological Journal_, LXI, 305.
[240] _Ibid._
[241] _Ivanhoe_ was published in 1820.
[242] A short account of the _pas d’armes_ of 1452 is given in our
Chapter V.
[243] The _Armorial_ was written a little before 1467, and, through the
Princess Maria, the Order of the Golden Fleece was transferred to the
Courts of Austria and Spain.
CHAPTER VIII
TRIAL BY COMBAT, ITS SCOPE AND HISTORY
Curiously interlinked with the procedure of the law courts, forming,
indeed, an integral part of the law of the land, was the judicial duel;
an institution applying to both civil and criminal jurisdiction.
It was allowed in certain cases, such as on a civil writ of right for
the recovery of land, and in criminal charges of treason or felony
on an appellant making a sworn declaration before a judge. This law,
though falling greatly into disuse after the reign of Queen Elizabeth,
remained on the statute book until early in the nineteenth century.
Among the Ashmolean, Harleian and Cottonian MSS. are many tracts,
treatises and other documents relating to the laws and manner of
conducting judicial duels, with other matter concerning these combats;
and abstracts from the MSS. are given in Appendices E, F, and G,
respectively.
The custom of trial by combat or legal duel, the ordeal of battle,
was introduced into England by the Normans.[244] As far as can be
ascertained it was unknown to the Anglo-Saxons, though the ordeal of
hot water appears in one of Ine’s laws;[245] and, indeed, trial by
ordeal appears repeatedly among the laws of the Anglo-Saxon kings. The
principle involved was the same in both cases, viz. that the Almighty
would not remain indifferent when solemnly invoked, but would intervene
miraculously so that the ends of justice might be furthered. The
simple faith of the times would act as a deterrent to appeals to the
judgment of God and would thus tend to limit the number of cases. The
consciousness of innocence or guilt would also contribute towards the
vindication of the cause of justice in actual combat.
The proofs by fire and water (_vulgaris purgatio_), holding, carrying
or walking over hot iron or heated plough-shares (_ferri candentis
judicium_), being thrown into deep water, bound hand and foot, may be
said roughly to have preceded that by judicial combat; but they form
quite another and earlier branch of the subject. The number of cases
given in history of these earlier forms of ordeal which defendants are
stated to have passed through triumphantly is considerable, but most of
them must surely be either apocryphal, or the intensity of the ordeals
themselves was much exaggerated.
Ordeal by combat is found among the laws of nearly all the German
tribes; and it flourished greatly in France until cases of more than
suspected miscarriage of justice brought it into disrepute. An edict
passed at Lyons in the year 501 established the institution as a
regular form of trial. It appears among the ancient laws of the Swedes
and Lombards.
In civil cases a claimant would declare that some ancestor of his had
been in seisin of certain property but had been unlawfully deprived of
it by another, and he would offer battle to the “tenant,” as the owner
was then called, for its restitution, by the body of a champion. The
tenant, or defendant, could then choose between an appeal to the Grand
Assize, an inquest where the question of right is determined by the
verdict of neighbours,[246] in which institution may be traced the germ
of the more modern jury; or to the ordeal of battle, in his own body
or by champion. No one was compelled to defend his seisin of a free
tenement by battle, though a claimant could offer combat in the lists,
which, however, might be refused by a defendant. When a civil court
ordered a combat it was fought on foot in a small circular or oblong
enclosure, similar to that used in the foot-fighting, with shields
and staves (bastons) at a _pas d’armes_ of the fifteenth century.
The course of procedure in criminal cases for the most part differed
widely from that followed in civil cases and was under quite another
jurisdiction; and it largely consisted of accusations made against the
honour of certain persons, or of alleged treason. It was customary
for an accuser to justify his charge by an offer of single combat in
the lists, “God showing the right”; and such a mode of settlement was
greatly in unison with the chivalric spirit of the age. To bring such
a matter to an issue an accuser offered battle by throwing down his
glove, which when lifted by a defendant signified that the challenge
was accepted. The king was appealed to, and, in the event of the case
being remitted to the ordeal of battle, he assigned the place and day
for the combat. He further, in consultation with the constable and
marshal, decided on the preliminaries, the conditions of battle to be
observed being regulated in accordance with fixed ordinances, which in
England were drawn up by the constable for the time being. The combat
would be on horseback, fighting _à outrance_, with lance and sword, in
lists similar to those erected for the tourney. Charges of homicide
or murder might in this country be remitted to the ordeal of battle,
with shields and bastons and in civil garments. Should an accused or
claimant fail to appear in the lists on the day appointed he could be
outlawed.
The judicial duel may be regarded as the prototype or parent of the
chivalrous duel on foot at a _pas d’armes_.
The custom never took deep root in England, though during the reign
of King Henry II, when the monarchy had become more settled, and in
the times of his immediate successors Richard and John, disputes
relating to the possession of land were very rife, greatly owing to
the fact that so many manors and smaller holdings had been forcibly
and illegally riven from their rightful owners in the preceding reigns
since the Conquest, by the barons and their adherents. The ordinary
law courts experienced great difficulty in dealing with them on the
principles set forth in the written statutes, which then as always
inclined to favour the man in possession; and the rough and ready
settlement by combat was ordered, more especially in cases where there
was a hopeless conflict of testimony between litigants and no means of
getting at the truth by the evidence of any living witnesses.
The actual number of judicial duels would seem to have been small in
England, for in the great majority of cases before the courts the
judges managed to declare that there should be no combat.
Certain persons were excused from battle. They comprised the citizens
of London, who were exempted by charter; the clergy; “_sexagenarii_”;
and “those blind by accident after issue joined.”[247] Women were not
exempted by law and, indeed, sometimes fought.
The early ordinances, forms and manner of carrying out this
singular institution in practice in England are given in _Origines
Juridiciales_.[248]
A short and imperfect summary follows on these pages:
TRIAL BY COMBAT IN CIVIL CASES
In cases where this mode of trial for the possession of certain lands
or other property was allowed by the court, and a combat followed, the
further tenure of a holding in question would depend solely on the
principle of battle, without any later appeal to the Grand Assize being
permissible.
Before a trial by combat could be sanctioned the claimant in the suit
was summoned before the court with his champion, who, once fixed upon,
could not be changed, unless in the case of his “natural death” taking
place in the interval before battle; but should he die “by his own
fault, the lord shall lose his Sute.”
The defendant might either defend his cause in person or fight by
deputy; but should he elect to be represented by champion and the one
chosen should die in the interim it would become a question to be
argued before the court as to whether or not the defendant should be
allowed to appoint another in his place. The challenger or demandant
was not allowed to fight in person.
Should the defendant, the “tenant,” be vanquished in the fight, then
“the lord shall lose the land and the claimant shall have it”; but it
often happened that a champion had been hired for some fee or reward,
and if this should be proved the principal would lose his suit. Some
particulars are given of a case of this kind[249] “betwixt Thomas
fitz Hugh de Staunton and the prior of Lenton for the advousen of
the church of Harlaston, in Northamptonshire.” Both parties to the
suit were represented by champion, the appellant being a churchman,
and they fought on foot in the lists, armed with bastons (i.e.
polygonally-shaped maces or cudgels of heavy wood, tipped with horn:
“basculi cornuti, bastons cornuz”).[250]
TRIAL BY COMBAT IN CASES CRIMINAL
This was conducted much on the lines of knightly usage in combats
on horseback _à outrance_, except, as already stated, in charges of
homicide or murder.
The cartel setting forth the charge, subscribed to on oath, was laid
before the judges of chivalry by the appellant, the accuser, stating
that “he was ready to maintain the same with his body.” This document
was then considered by the judges, and should combat be allowed it was
served on the accused, the defendant; and if within an interval of six
weeks he had not responded, judgment was registered against him by
default, his coat-armour being reversed or ignominiously fastened under
his horse’s tail, in disgrace.
Should the accused stand on his defence both parties were cited to
appear in the field outside the lists, which were quadrangular in form
with a gate at each end. Judgment seats were provided for the constable
and marshal, and at their feet were stationed a competent number of
experienced knights and “a doctor or two of civil laws,” all for the
advice and assistance of the court.
The appellant first came to the gate at the right end of the lists,
clad in complete armour, attended by his esquires, and the constable
and marshal demanded of him through their herald his name and purpose.
On his answering, he was conducted into the lists by a knight and
herald and placed before the judgment seat on the right hand. A similar
course of procedure was adopted towards the defendant, who was placed
facing the accuser on the left hand.
The choice of the weapons stipulated in the cartel lay with the
defendant, and the advisory knights inspected and measured them for
both sides, so that there might be no inequality in that respect
between the parties; and the knights must answer for it that there be
no enchantment or magic practised on either side.
It was then demanded of the principals if their purpose held, and they
affirmed the same, laying their hands on the Evangelists. The appellant
then briefly rehearsed the terms of the cartel of defiance, making oath
as to its truth, after which the defendant affirmed also on oath his
denial of the charge.
These preliminaries over the parties prepared for battle, which was
to continue from sunrise to sunset; the herald crys, “Let them goe
together,” and the onset is sounded by trumpet call.
Should the appellant not overcome the defendant during the day the
latter was deemed guiltless, and the procurator of the constable and
marshal publicly proclaimed the fact: but to secure what was termed
“a perfect victory,” a confession of guilt by one of the parties was
necessary. The cartel was then sealed with the common seal in testimony
that the combat had duly taken place, and all the legal formalities
been observed.
A picture of a legal duel on a murder charge, of the reign of Henry
III, has been preserved, and the names of the combatants are written
upon it. It has been reproduced by Hewitt in _Ancient Armour and
Weapons of War_,[251] and the parties are represented fighting. A
gallows is depicted in the group with the vanquished combatant hanging
from it. This was no knightly battle—the champions fought on foot in
their civil dresses of leather or cloth, bare-headed, with quadrangular
bowed shields, and bastons garnished at their heads with spurs, like
those of a pick.
Rules and ordinances for the regulation of judicial combats in France
were promulgated by Phillip IV, surnamed le Bel. An abridged account of
them follows:—[252]
Four things to be established before the Gage of Battle may be adjudged.
1. The institution applies to grave suspicion in cases
of murder, manslaughter, treason or the like offences.
2. Every true man if he knows himself to be accused to
present himself before the court without waiting to
be cited or summoned.
3. That no gage be granted for accusations of theft or robbery.
4. On a gage of battle being granted the appellant
to furnish particulars as to where the alleged
wicked deed was done, the name of the party dead; or full
details of the treason alleged to have been committed.
Should the judge allow the combat the advocate of the appellant is to
lay the case before the court in sober terms; but should the defendant
deny the charge the appellant must say that, although he cannot prove
it by witnesses or other evidence, yet he can avouch it in his own body
or by another for him, in an enclosed field in presence of the king.
The appellant is to throw down his glove and retain counsel for arms,
horse, etc., necessary for the gage of battle. The defendant may reply
to the accusation that the appellant has falsely and maliciously lied;
and that in his defence, by the help of God and our Lady, he will
avouch his innocence with his body or by some other for him; and that
he will be ready on the day and at the place fixed upon for the combat.
Then he is to take up the gage thrown down by the appellant, and a
decision will be given by the count as to whether trial by battle will
be allowed or not.
If recourse to a duel be permitted the parties will swear to be on the
ground on the day appointed; the combat to be overlooked by wise and
honest men, clerks, knights, and esquires, without favour to either
party; but should either appellant or defendant fail to keep his tryst
he shall be proclaimed recreant, and afterwards arrested.
Regulations as to the procedure for the combat follows:—the parties to
bring sustenance for themselves and their horses for the day; the lists
to be 40 paces in width by 80 in length, and within them two pavilions
are to be pitched for the use and comfort of the combatants. The herald
is to come on horseback to the gate and to cry three times; firstly,
before the arrival of the appellant; secondly, when the combatants have
entered the lists; and thirdly, when they have taken their oaths. The
appellant should be first in the field on the day of battle, before the
hour of noon; the defendant not later than four in the afternoon. The
parties make their affirmations and the sign of the cross, and appear
before the stand on which the judge is seated, and he commands them to
raise the visors of their helmets, after which they return to their
pavilions. The herald, after having called them for the third time,
motions them to kneel before a table on which a crucifix and missal
are placed, when a priest admonishes them; and the marshal takes off
their right-hand gauntlets and hangs them on the arms of the cross. The
combatants then mount their horses, the pavilions are removed from the
lists, and the marshal cries, “Gentlemen doe your Deuoire,” throwing
down his glove, and the combat begins.
The body of the vanquished, dead or alive, shall be delivered by the
judge to the marshal, his points cut and armour cast piecemeal in the
lists, and his horse and armour shall appertain to the constable and
marshal of the field. The victor shall depart honourably from the
lists, on horseback.
Ashmole MS., No. 764, p. 7, furnishes the following:—“_De la droite
ordonnance du Gaige de Bataille par tout le royaume de France Philipe
par la grace de Dieu Roy de France a touz ceulx qui ces presentes
lettres verront salut._” This letter of King Philip IV, written in
1306, limits the practice of wager of battle, and is prefixed to
regulations for the whole course of the combat (44-54 b).
In Favine’s _Theatre of Honour and Knighthood_,[253] rendered into
English in 1622, judicial duels are thus defined:—“It was the custome
of our auncient French to vndertake the hazard of armes and combat, to
justifie themselues in an Accusation, fordged against their honour and
good fame; and to sustaine the truth of some iust cause, whereof the
proofes were doubtfull, yea, wholly hid and concealed.” In France the
oaths were administered over the bones and relics of saints and martyrs.
In _La Vie de Bertrand Du Guesclin_[254] is an account of a singular
legal duel between Jews, named Daniot and Turquant, which took place in
Spain; and the narration aptly illustrates the superstitious character
of the times and country. These Jews were accused of assassinating
Blanche de Bourbon at night in her bed; and on being charged with
the crime Daniot averred that he had not entered the bed-chamber of
the princess at all, and had done his best to prevent Turquant from
committing the murder. This Turquant denied on oath, stating that his
accomplice had taken an equal part with himself in causing the death
of the princess. On hearing of this direct conflict of testimony
Bertrand Du Guesclin is stated to have suggested a judicial duel in
the lists (_champ-clos_) between the parties, and this having been
assented to the fight duly took place. The combatants, who were well
mounted and in complete armour, fought with swords, and after some
severe passages Turquant wounded Daniot in the arm so severely that he
was incapacitated from further combat, owing mainly to the loss of so
much blood. The _coup de mort_ was about to be given to the vanquished
champion and a confession of his guilt demanded when just at that
moment a thick cloud appeared above the heads of the combatants, and
issuing from it a flash of lightning struck them both dead.
Among the Monstrelet illustrations is a picture of a highly improbable
judicial duel between a man and a dog, the man being accused of
murdering the dog’s master. The picture was copied from an ancient
painting which hung in the great hall of the Castle of Montargis, and
is supposed to picture an event recorded by Colombière in _Theatre
d’Honneur et de Chevalerie_. The fight is stated to have taken place
in the reign of Charles V of France (1364-1380).[255] The scene
represents the duel in progress within a large circular enclosure or
lists, around which are galleries and promenades like a theatre, the
numerous spectators being richly dressed nobles and ladies. Companies
of soldiers are on guard and there is a large band of trumpeters. The
defendant is clad in a leather jerkin, torn in places, and slashed
drawers; he is armed with a baston or club and a large circular shield.
The dog, a large staghound, is seen gripping the murderer by the
throat, and justice is vindicated.
“On the seuenth of June 1380 a combat was fought afore the kings
palace at Westminster, on the pauement there, betwixt one sir John
Anneslie knight, and one Thomas Katrington esquire; the occasion of
which strange and notable triall rose hereof. The knight accused the
esquire of treason, for that which the fortresse of saint Sauior within
the Ile of Constantine in Normandie, belonging sometime to sir John
Chandois, had béene committed to the said Katrington, as capteine
thereof, to keepe it against the enemies, he had for monie sold and
deliuered it ouer to the Frenchmen, when he was suffientlie prouided
with men, munition and vittels, to have defended it against them: and
sith the inheritance of that fortresse and landes belonging thereto,
had apperteined to the said Annerslie in right of his wife, as néerest
cousine by affiniti vnto sir John Chandois, if by the false conueiance
of the said Katrington, it had not beene made awaie, and alienated
into the enemies hands: he offered therefore to trie the quarrell by
combat, against the said Katrington, wherevpon was the same Katrington
apprehended, and put in prison, but shortlie after set at libertie
againe.” It was decided to try the case by combat, and the constable
and marshal were duly notified. Lists were erected and crowds assembled
on the day appointed to witness the fight. On being called three times
by the herald-at-arms the parties entered the lists for fighting, and
the articles of combat were publicly read, and after each had been duly
sworn the fight commenced “first with speares, after with swords, and
lastlie with daggers. They fought long till finallie the knight had
bereft the esquire of all his weapons, and at length the esquire was
manfull overthrowned by the knight,” who was declared the conqueror.
The esquire died soon after from his hurts. The king was present at the
fight.[256]
Mr. Hewitt[257] describes a legal duel of the reign of King Richard
II, between a chevalier of Navarre and an English esquire, which is
figured in Cotton MS., Nero, D VI. The engraving has been reproduced
in Strutt’s _Regal Antiquities_.[258] Holinshed gives an account of
the duel, as taking place in 1384, between John Walsh or Wallis and an
esquire of Navarre named Martilet; the charge being that the former
had forced the wife of the latter. Martilet was slain, his body drawn,
hanged and beheaded.
Froissart describes a judicial duel which took place at Paris in the
year 1386, in the reign of Charles VI of France, between the Chevaliers
Jean de Carouge and Jacques le Gris, both knights of the household
of the Comte d’Alençon. Owing to the singular nature of the charge
the event caused a great stir at the time and drew a multitude of
spectators from far and near. De Carouge leaving France to take part
in the crusade in Palestine, his young and handsome wife, a modest and
virtuous dame, awaited his return in their strong castle of Argenteil.
Jacques le Gris having conceived an unlawful passion for the lady
determined to gratify it during the absence of her lord. He paid a
visit to the castle one morning and was received by the lady with all
honour as being a companion at arms of her husband; and was being shown
over it when he asked to see the dungeon. She suspecting no evil, took
him down to it alone, when he suddenly locked the door, took advantage
of her and forced her. On the return of de Carouge from the Holy Land
his wife complained to him of the outrage, which was solemnly denied by
the defendant; and the husband called together his friends and kindred
to advise with them as to his proper course of action. Parliament was
applied to, and a combat to the death between the parties was arranged
to take place, de Carouge to act as champion for his wife, le Gris
to defend his honour in his own person. Lists were erected at Paris
behind the Temple, together with accommodation for the vast number of
spectators expected to be present. King Charles was at Sluys at the
time superintending the arrangements for a contemplated invasion of
England, but he hurried back to Paris to sit as umpire on the occasion.
On the day of battle the two knights entered the lists, with their
sponsors, armed at all points; and the onset was sounded for a joust
_à outrance_, which was run without hurt to either party. They then
dismounted and attacked each other with swords. De Carouge was first
wounded in the thigh, but continued fighting and at length passed his
sword through the body of his adversary, killing him instantly. The
body of le Gris was delivered over to the common hangman by the marshal
and dragged to Montfauçon, where it was gibbeted.
Juvenal des Ursins, in _Histoire de Charles VI_,[259] also gives an
account of this duel, which differs materially from that of Froissart,
and is more likely to be correct. It states that when the vanquished
knight lay wounded on the ground and when de Carouge was about to
administer the _coup de grâce_ he demanded a confession of guilt, but
le Gris with his last breath solemnly asseverated his denial of the
crime; and innocent he was later proved to be, for some time afterwards
another person on his death-bed confessed to having committed the
outrage. The motive of the lady in charging the wrong person is not
apparent. The duel is also described in _Les Annales de France_.
In 1398 the Dukes of Hereford and Norfolk accused each other of
treason, and a duel took place between them, though King Richard had in
vain tried to reconcile them. Holinshed gives the following account of
this combat:—“The duke of Aumarle was that daie high constable and the
duke of Surrie marshal, and they entered vnto the lists with a great
companie of men apparelled in silke sendall, imbrodered with siluer
both richlie and curouslie, euerie man hauing a tipped staffe to keepe
the feeld in order. About the houre of prime came to the barriers of
the listes, the duke of Hereford, mounted on a white courser, barded
with gréene and blew veluet imbrodered sumptuouslie with swans and
antelops of goldsmiths worke, armed at all points. The constable and
marshall came to the barrier, demanding of him what he was, he answered
‘I am Henrie of Lancaster, duke of Hereford which am come hither to
doo endeuer against Thomas Mowbraie duke of Norfolke, as a traitor
vnto God, the king, his realme, and me.’ Then he entered the listes,
and descended from his horse, and set him down in a chaire of greene
veluet, at the one end of the lists, and there reposed himself, abiding
the comming of his aduesarie.” King Richard then entered the lists with
great pomp “accompanied with all the péeres of the realm,” and took
his seat upon the tribune. “After him entered the Duke of Norfolk,
his horse barded in crimcon velvet, embroidered with lions in silver
and mulberry trees,” and he took his seat in a chair, “which was of
crimosen veluet, courtined about with white and red damaske.” The
herald then gave the signal for the combat to begin, but the course
proved abortive, and the king cast his bâton, the heralds crying “Ho,
Ho.” A council was then held by the king resulting in both dukes being
banished the realm.[260]
TRIAL BY COMBAT IN GERMANY[261]
Application had to be made by an appellant to the civic authority of a
town before a judicial duel could take place, and this having been done
the following answer would be given:—
“We have received your letter and are very sorry to see that your
hearts are so moved with rancour and hatred as you seem to bear to
one another. In which regard we pray you that you would desist from
combat if it may be; and that you would end your quarrels by the way of
mildness and gentleness without the adventuring of handy strokes and
without shedding human blood. Consent to our request, and so much the
rather because we entreat you most instantly.”
Should the demand for a trial by combat be still persisted in the
following answer was returned:—
“Seeing that you still persist in your hatred and challenge, and that
the way of gentleness can take no course of kindness between you, we
do order and appoint that you shall appear on such a day before us to
hear the ground and subject of your quarrel, wherein we mean to do you
justice.”
A day may then be assigned for the combat if it be allowed.
The preliminaries and regulations are similar to those which prevailed
in France and England, with, however, the difference that in each
of the pavilions pitched in the lists for the accommodation of the
combatants, a bier, a coffin, four candles and a shroud for the dead
were placed; and both the appellant and defendant were confessed by a
priest. If not slain the party vanquished remained infamous for the
rest of his life; he was never allowed participation in aught knightly,
and his beard was to be kept close-shaven.[262]
Trials by combat in Germany were more complex and far-reaching than was
the case in France and England, and the weapons employed in conducting
them more varied and specialized in character.
A paper was read on February 20th, 1840, before the Society of
Antiquaries, London, by Mr. R. L. Pearsall,[263] entitled, “Some
Observations on Judicial Duels, as practised in Germany”; a short
résumé of which follows here. The paper is largely based upon a
curious manuscript of the year 1400, in the Royal Library at Munich,
containing some text and a number of wood-cuts on vellum, representing
various forms of duel in Germany. The work is by Paulus Kall “Master of
Defence”[264] to the then Duke of Bavaria; and the illustrations refer
to judicial and perhaps other duels as practised in the Fatherland
about the end of the fourteenth century, as well as to some others of
a still earlier period. This MS., together with others at Munich and
Gotha, references to which Mr. Pearsall has omitted to give, form the
ground-work of his paper.
Strange though it may seem, the legal duel was resorted to as a court
of appeal in extreme cases of quarrels and accusations between man
and wife; and Fig. 2 in Paulus Kall’s book affords an illustration of
the manner in which such combats were conducted. It depicts a man,
bare-headed, buried in a pit up to his loins, holding a short staff
in his right hand, the left arm bound to his side. The woman is clad
in her chemise only, which is bound together below the middle by a
lace passing between the legs; the right sleeve of the garment extends
beyond the hand “_ein dunne Elle_” in a bag which contains a stone,
and this constitutes her weapon of attack. At first sight the combat
would appear to be an unequal one. It might be thought for a moment
that the wood-cut had been conceived in a humorous sense, but there is
no doubt whatever that such duels did really take place in Germany,
though cases of the kind were probably comparatively rare after the
twelfth century; and, indeed, Mr. Pearsall had not been able to find
any record of an actual combat of the kind later than the year 1200,
when a man and his wife are stated to have fought under the sanction
of the civic authorities at Bâle. We may take it, however, from other
evidence that the practice continued up to the close of the fourteenth
century and perhaps even later. Reference is made in the paper to a
book of drawings, also at Munich, executed as late as the end of the
fifteenth century, among which is a representation of such a duel,
though possibly traditional in character. The man here is depicted as
buried up to the waist in a tub; he wears a skull-cap, and is armed in
the same manner as shown in the other drawing, with a short staff, the
left arm tied to his side. The woman is fully dressed and in the act
of swinging a weapon which looks like a sling, in which is a stone.
Mr. Pearsall further refers to “an ancient codex of defence” in the
library at Gotha, one of the drawings depicting a duel between a man
and his wife, the former fighting from a tub; and the man is shown
to have vanquished the woman and drawn her into the tub headforemost,
in which she appears with her legs kicking in the air. This incident
explains why the chemise, as shown on Fig. 2 of Kall’s work, was tied
with a lace between the legs; and that wood-cut also illustrates the
mode of action on the part of the duelists in attack and defence. The
woman’s weapon is thus seen not to be a sling at all, but one similar
in principle to the extended sleeve with a bag at the end in which is a
stone; the object being to inflict a swinging blow on her opponent, who
parries with his staff. Another cut, the source of which Mr. Pearsall
does not mention, represents a more deadly form of duel between a man
and a woman, who fight bare-headed and naked to the girdle, with small
falchions, like knives; and wounds are shown on both their persons.
A singular form of duel, pictured in Paulus Kall’s book, is that with
“_shilts_,” used as weapons both of attack and defence, sometimes
alone, and at others in conjunction with daggers held in the disengaged
hand. To judge from the wood-cuts this great oblong shield is about 4½
feet long by about 18 inches broad; and though the examples depicted
differ somewhat, they are all garnished at the head, foot, and sides
with a greater or less number of projecting spears or spurs, for
the purposes of attack. The combatants are wearing greyish-brown
tight-fitting dresses and hoods; the faces, hands and legs are left
bare. The preliminaries completed, the duelists are conducted into the
lists by an official; each combatant brings a bier and is accompanied
by his relations and a confessor. The principals are then sworn, their
weapons handed to them, and the onset sounded. It would appear from the
surrounding details and the character of the officials concerned, that
this form of duel appertained to members of the privileged class.
A fourth kind of duel was fought with spiked clubs (or more usually
with swords) and “_der Hutt_,” a shield formed like a hat; and Kall’s
wood-cut pictures the duelists as being clad in garments of cloth.
The shields vary in size from very small to very large, the latter
kind being employed in conjunction with spiked clubs, the former with
swords. Another form of duel is with the “_streit-axt_” (_bec de
faucon_), the variety of battle-axe with a hammer on one side of the
head and a spike, like that of a pick, on the other. Here the champions
fight in complete armour; and besides axes they carry swords and
daggers. In the Gotha codex is a drawing entitled, “_Dass ist wie sich
ainer versorgen sol der zu gewapenter Hand fechten sol_,” meaning that
this is the equipment for a duel with gauntlets. The duelist is shown
as being anointed with oil by his armourer preparatory to combat; and
the items of his body-armour stand ready to be put on in their turn.
Some of the wood-cuts in Paulus Kall’s work afford representations of
such duels; and the text furnishes directions as to how they were to be
conducted. It was from this kind of legal duel, more especially, that
combats on foot in the lists at a _pas d’armes_ had their origin.
The last form of duel referred to in Mr. Pearsall’s paper is one with
two-handed swords; and a wood-cut of Paulus Kall’s illustrates a combat
of the kind, in which the duelists are clad in jerkins and long hose.
The swords appear to measure about five feet in length. These clumsy
and unwieldy weapons were for striking and parrying, but could not be
employed effectively at close quarters.
An original manuscript in the possession of Mr. Richard Bull, F.S.A.,
at the commencement of the nineteenth century, contains the orders,
rules and regulations issued by Thomas Duke of Gloucester, the
Constable of England, in the reign of King Richard II, 1377-99, for
observance in cases of trial by combat.[265] They differ little from
those of an earlier period, but the particulars given of the lists may
be noted with advantage. They run:—
“The Kinge shall finde the feeld to fight in and the listes shalbe
made and deuised by the Constable and it is to be considered that the
listes must be 60 pace longe and equally made without greate stones the
grounde flat and 40 paces brode in good order and that the grounde be
harde stable and firme and that the lists be strongly barred abowt with
one dore in the este an other in the weste with good and stronge barres
seven foote highe or more than a horse can leape over them.”
The weapons were to be “glayues,”[266] long sword, short sword and
dagger.
There are other copies of these rules extant besides the one given in
the _Antiquarian Repertory_, viz., Ashmole MS. 856, 83-89, and that
among a MS. Collection of Ordinances of Chivalry of the fifteenth
century, belonging to Lord Hastings. The last-named document is copied
in Lord Dillon’s paper on these Hastings MS.,[267] published in
_Archæologia_, Vol. LVII, and is reproduced in our Appendix H, but
with the long preamble left out. These three copies of the rules for
conducting judicial duels in the reign of Richard II vary somewhat; for
instance, glaives[268] are mentioned in the two first copies as being
among the weapons employed in these combats, but not in the last.
RULES FOR JUDICIAL COMBATS IN THE REIGN OF RICHARD III[269]
A case lodged by an appellant should be pleaded in the court before the
constable and marshal, and if the accusation cannot be substantiated by
witnesses, a recourse to trial by combat may be granted by the Crown.
Should a judicial duel be decided on, the time and place of combat are
fixed by the constable; the weapons to be “glayves,” long-swords, short
swords and daggers. Sureties to be found by both parties to keep their
day, and no attempt shall be made to injure the plaintiff or defendant
before the day of battle.
The general rules and arrangements do not differ materially from
those of earlier reigns, though here it is mentioned that spears of
equal length were issued to the combatants, thus explaining the term
“glayves.”
If the charge be one of treason the vanquished shall be stripped of his
armour, and a piece of the railings of the lists broken down, and he
shall be drawn through the lists by horses to the place of execution.
A judicial combat took place at Quesnoy in 1405, Duke William, Count of
Hainult, sitting as judge. The parties were two gentlemen, Bournecte
the appellant and Bounaige the defendant. The accusation was that of
murder. Lists were erected at the expense of the Duke, and the fight
commenced by each combatant hurling his lance at the other, but without
effect; they then drew their swords, and Bournecte soon overcame his
adversary, who confessed his crime, and was ordered by the judge to be
beheaded. This was a duel between members of the privileged class.
A challenge for a duel between Henry Inglose, Esq., and Sir John
Tiptoft, Knt., to be fought before the Duke of Bedford, high constable,
in 1415. (Cotton MS. Titus. C. 28.)
A trial by combat took place at Arras in the year 1431, the Duke of
Burgundy sitting as judge. The charge was one of treason, and about
the time of the duel many allegiances were being transferred from
Burgundy to France. The appellant, Maillotin de Bours, had charged
the defendant, Hector de Flavy, with having expressed the intention
of deserting the Burgundian interest in favour of that of France and
with other contemplated acts of treason. On this information the Duke
had de Flavy arrested and lodged in prison. The defendant, however,
had many influential friends at Court, and through their good offices
and representations he was at length received in audience by his
sovereign, when he solemnly denied the charge, alleging that it was
de Bours himself who had suggested the treason. The Duke then sent
for the appellant, and the discussion between the parties waxed very
violent until at length de Bours flung down his glove and demanded a
trial by combat, God showing the right. The defendant, with the Duke’s
permission, took up the glove and a day was fixed for the combat to
take place, both parties giving security to keep their tryst. Lists
were prepared and erected. Within them was the model of a sepulchre,
for de Flavy had been dubbed a knight before the Holy Sepulchre at
Jerusalem. On the day of combat the Duke took his seat on the tribune
prepared for him. De Maillotin first entered the lists armed at all
points, attended by the Seigneur de Charny and other sponsors. He
held a lance in one hand and one of his two swords in the other, and
after making his obeisance to the Duke he retired to his pavilion. Sir
Hector de Flavy entered the lists in like manner; he was influentially
attended, and his charger was led in by the two sons of the Comte de
St. Pol. After saluting the Duke he also retired to his pavilion. Both
knights on re-entering the lists were led before the judge and swore
on the Evangelists that their cause was just and true. They then took
up their positions for combat and the onset was sounded, the fight
beginning by each hurling his lance at the other, but without hurt
to either. They then attacked with swords, each champion displaying
the utmost courage and dexterity. The Duke at this juncture quite
unexpectedly cast his bâton, thus putting an end to the fight. He
commanded the attendance of the combatants to dine at his table on the
morrow, when he reconciled them to each other.[270]
“In the foure and twentith yeare” of the reign of King Henry VI (1446)
“the prior of Kilmaine appeached the earle of Ormond of treason. For
triall whereof the place of combat was assigned in Smithfelde, and the
barriers for the same there readie pitcht. Howbeit, in the meane time a
doctor of diuinitie, named maister Gilbert Worthington, parson of saint
Andrews in Holborne, and other honest men, made such sute with diligent
labor and paines taking to the kings councell, that when the daie of
combat approched, the quarell was taken into the kings hands and there
ended”.[271]
“In the same year also, a certeine armourer was appeached of treason by
a seruant of his owne. For proofe whereof a day was giun them to fight
in Smithfield, insomuch that in conflict the said armourer was ouercome
and slaine; but yet by misgouerning of himselfe. For in the morning,
when he should come to the field fresh and fasting, his neighbours
came to him, and gaue him wine and strong drinke in such excessiue
sort, that he was therewith distempered, and reeled as he went, and so
was slaine without guilt. As for the false seruant, he liued not long
vnpunished; for being conuict of felonie in court of assise, he was
judged to be hanged, and so he was, at Tilburne.”[272]
A good example of a judicial duel, fought in the year 1455, is given in
_Histoire des Ducs De Bourgogne_.[273] It took place at Valenciennes,
a town then belonging to the county of Hainault, which, with so many
other rich manufacturing territories had fallen under the dominion
of the dukes of Burgundy, by marriage or conquest. The privilege of
sanctuary had been conferred on the town by its ancient counts, and
the old rights and charters had been confirmed by the dukes their
successors. A person named Mahiot Coquel, a tailor of Tournay, had
murdered a man in that town, and he took refuge from justice in
Valenciennes, claiming the right of sanctuary. Soon after his arrival a
near relative of the murdered man named Jacotin Plouvier, met him in a
street of the town and threatened vengeance against him for the murder
of his kinsman; upon which Coquel applied to the magistracy, demanding
their aid and counsel. The syndic then sent for Plouvier and reproached
him with having the intention of violating the franchise of his town;
but he denied this and claimed the right of lawful combat as against
Coquel, at the same time throwing down a gage of battle. This, after
some hesitation, Coquel lifted up; and a combat was allowed as being
the law of the land, without being any infringement of the principle
of sanctuary, which only applied to protection from the officers of
justice. The parties were lodged in prison in separate cells, and
seconds were appointed to arrange the preliminaries for the fight;
when the Comte de Charolais, afterwards Charles the Bold, on being
informed of the case, acting in the capacity of lieutenant-general for
his father Duke Philippe le Bon, of Burgundy, ordered the matter to be
referred to his council for judgment. The town authorities then applied
to the Duke their sovereign lord for the maintenance of their ancient
rights, when all opposition to the combat was withdrawn; the Duke
announcing his intention of being present, with his son the Comte de
Charolais, to view the fight. Lists were erected, not in the form usual
for the tourney, but round and with only a single entrance. The judges
of the fight were the provosts of the town of Valenciennes and of the
county of Hainault, the Duke and his son being merely spectators. Two
seats draped with black cloth were placed facing each other in the
middle of the lists, and the combatants were conducted to them and
sworn on the Evangelists. The two champions were clad in leathern
garments, close-fitting and laced down the middles, the arms and legs
bare. These corselets were well greased so that neither of the parties
could easily grip the other. Their hands were rubbed with ashes for the
better grasping of their weapons, and each held a piece of sugar in his
mouth as a preventive against their throats becoming parched with the
heat. Their weapons were knotted clubs, equal in weight and length and
obtusely pointed at the narrower ends, and triangular shields, painted
red. When the signal for combat had been given Mahiot Coquel, who
was the shorter and weaker man of the two, grasped a handful of sand
with which the lists were strewn, and threw it into the eyes of his
opponent. This nearly blinded Jacotin for the moment, and he received
a heavy blow in the face from the club of his adversary, but on
recovering somewhat he set upon Mahiot and seizing him by the arm threw
him violently to the ground, then placing his knees on his stomach, to
the horror of the spectators, he kept steadily prodding Mahiot between
the eyes with the pointed end of his club until he was dead. The body
was then dragged by the hangman from the lists to the gallows.
Lacroix in _Military an Religious Life in the Middle Ages, ＆c._, gives
a picture of a judicial duel of the knightly kind, fought on foot. It
is copied from a miniature in the _Conquêtes de Charlemagne_, a MS.,
in the National Library at Paris. The combatants are armed at all
points; their weapons are swords; and the lists, of open railings, are
octagonal in form.
The general course of procedure in these matters continued much the
same up to and including the reign of Henry VIII. A manuscript of
that reign, sometime belonging to Sir Edward Wyndham, Kt., Marshal to
the Camp, gives particulars,[274] The form and size of the lists and
counter-lists are as before; also the kind of weapons to be employed.
The defendant, if he appear not, is called by proclamation, made by the
marshal of the king of “Heraults of that province wherein the Battail
is to be deraigned.” The bill of challenge of the appellant and the
answer of the defendant is read to them and they take their oaths:—
1. That their appeal and defence is true.
2. That neither hath advantage of the other in weapons.
3. That each will do his best to vanquish his enemy.
The combatants being ready, the constable and marshal, sitting at the
king’s feet, order the onset to be sounded, pronouncing the words in
high voice, “Lesses les aller et fair leur devoir.”
“In the fight if either of the parties do give sign of yielding or if
the king, being present, do cry ‘Hoe,’ the constable and marshall do
part them and observe precisely who hathe advantage or disadvantage
either of the other at that instant, for if they should be awarded
to fight again, they are to be put in the same position as they were
before.”
“If the king take up the matter they are brought honourably out of the
lists, neither having precedency over the other.”
If the “Battail” be performed and one party be vanquished then “in
case of Treason the rayles of the lists are broken down, and the party
vanquished is drawn at a Horse-tayl and carried presently to execution.”
The last instance of a duly authorised legal duel in France was
that between François de Vivonne de la Chataignerie and Guy Chabot
de Jarnac, which took place at St. Germain-en-Laye in 1547, in the
presence of the king (Henry II.) It is doubly remarkable in that it
contributed a new and subtil stroke of the sword, the “coup de Jarnac,”
and that it led to an edict being issued against duelling. This ordeal
by combat resulted in the death of de la Chataignerie.
Judicial Duel in 1548, 2nd Edward VI, between one Newton, a Scot, and
a gentleman named Hamilton; the former being charged with uttering
opprobrious epithets against His Majesty of England. Lists were
erected in the market-place of Haddington, and at the time appointed
the parties entered them for combat, clad in their doublets and hose,
and armed with sword, buckler and dagger. The fight began with great
spirit, Hamilton following his adversary up to the very railing of the
lists, whereupon Newton struck him on the leg with his sword inflicting
a great gash, upon which he fell to the ground and was slain. This
ending of the fight was looked upon as a miscarriage of justice.[275]
The Abbé de Brantôme reports a trial by combat which took place about
the middle of the sixteenth century, without the sanction of either
king or parliament. The appellant was a Seigneur de Fandilles who
charged the defendant, the Baron de Guerres of Lorraine, with an odious
crime; and it was mutually agreed that the matter be referred to the
judgment of God, in battle in the lists. The fight took place on foot
with “bastardes” (hand and a half swords) in the lists at Sedan, a
M. de Bouillon acting as judge. De Fandilles severely wounded his
adversary in the thigh with a stroke of his powerful weapon, and the
loss of blood was so great that the defendant could hardly keep his
feet, at length falling to the ground. The lists were as usual freely
strewn with sand, and the baron clutched handfuls of it which he threw
into the eyes of his opponent, who was blinded for the time being and
incapacitated from continuing the combat. This ending of the duel by
means of an action strictly forbidden by the laws of the duello caused
great disputes between the seconds and friends of both parties; and the
matter was further complicated by a fall of the stand which afforded
accommodation to the judge and spectators. This was certainly an
irregular judicial duel, without any sanction at law, though the legal
forms were observed.
Brantôme narrates several other duels.
In Harleian M.S., Vol. III, 505, 7021-22, is a catalogue of judicial
combats anciently granted by the kings of England.
In the reign of Queen Elizabeth judicial duels had become rare, and the
crown employed all its influence in their restraint. Fierce polemics
had arisen in regard to the lawfulness or otherwise of the practice,
and the conscience of the nation had been thoroughly aroused against
them by reason of cases of more than suspected miscarriage of justice
coming to light. Strong influence was brought to bear on the law courts
to place all possible obstacles in the way of granting licences for
such combats, and judges, at that time more especially, usually managed
that disputes concerning the possession of land should be settled
in the law courts without any resort to the ordeal of battle. Many
treatises were written against the practice, examples of which follow:
Ashmole MSS., No. 856, p. 10. “Duello foild. The whole proceedings
in the orderly dissolveing of a designe for single fight betweene
two valient gentlemen; by occasion whereof the unlawfulnesse of a
duello is preparatorily disputed, according to the rules of honour and
right reason; written by the Lord Henry Howard Earle of Northampton.”
126-145, p. 11. “A Discourse touching the unlawfulnesse of private
combates, written by Sir Edward Cooke Lord Chiefe Justice of England,
at the request of the Lord Henry Howard Earle of Northampton.” (3 Oct.,
1609.) 146-148. “Ex MS. in Bibl’ Hatton.”
Cotton MS. Titus. Fol. 33. A treatise on duels, in two books. (239.)
Fol. 38. Two papers on measures taken against duels. (402.) Fol. 44. A
paper concerning laws against duels. (416.)
On the 18th June, 1571, a judicial duel was ordered to take place, the
principals being Simon Low and John Kime, who were to fight by proxy in
the persons of George Thome and Henry Nailer, respectively. The dispute
between the parties related to the possession of some land; and the
weapons for the intended fight were to be bastons and leathern shields.
A plot of ground, 21 yards square, in Tothill Fields, was doubly railed
in for the fight, and a stand connected with it was erected for the
chief justice, as representing the court of common pleas. Behind it two
tents were pitched for the use of the combatants. The Queen was much
against the fighting, and the combat did not come off after all, for
the champion of the appellant failed at the last moment to put in an
appearance, so the plaintiff was non-suited.
Duels of the privileged order naturally survived those of the
proletariat. Ashmole MS., No. 856, p. 7, gives “The manner of the
challendge made by the Earle of Northumberland against Sir Francis
Veare,” both by letter dated 24 Apr. 1602, and by inter-messages, until
forbidden by the Queen’s commandment. (107-111.) Ex. MS. in Bibl’
Hatton, and, under the same number, P. 16. “The manner of Donald Ld
Rey, and David Ramsey esq. their comeing and carriage at their tryall,
upon monday, the 28 of November, 1631, before the Ld of Lynsey, Lord
High Constable of England, and others.” This is a very full report of
the trial. (175-227.) Under No. 856, p. 15. “His MAᵗˢ: declaration
against duells, published at his chappell at Bruxells upon sonday the
24th of November 1658.” (172.)
Though practically in abeyance for a long period the law for an appeal
to combat had remained on the statute book; and a trial by battle
was demanded as late as the year 1817, in the case of Thornton _v._
Ashford. The judge, Lord Ellenborough, pronounced “that the general law
of the land is that there shall be a trial by battle in case of appeal
unless the parties bring themselves within the scope of one of the
exemptions.” The suit was allowed, but the challenge being refused no
combat ensued. The law was repealed in the following year (1818).[276]
FOOTNOTES:
[244] _Origines Juridiciales_, p. 65.
[245] Pollock and Maitland, _History of English Law_, I, 39.
[246] Pollock and Maitland, _History of English Law_, I, 147.
[247] _Origines Juridiciales_, p. 79.
[248] Published in 1671, by William Dugdale Esquire, Norroy King of
Arms, later Sir William and Garter King of Arms; the ordinances, etc.,
being those in operation in the reign of Henry II, set forth by Ranulph
de Glanville, Justice of England, page 65.
[249] _Origines_, p. 68.
[250] Bastons were sometimes headed with a double beak, like a pick.
Their usual length was three feet, though shorter ones could be used in
the event of combatants mutually wishing it.
[251] Vol. I, p. 375.
[252] _Theatre of Honour and Knighthood_, Chap. II, p. 423, written at
Paris _anno_ 1619.
[253] Chap. 2, p. 423.
[254] _Anciens Mémoires Du XIV Siècle_, I, 505.
[255] See Montfaucon, Tom III, Pl. 18.
[256] Holinshed’s _Chronicles_, II, 727.
[257] _Ancient Armour and Weapons of War_, II, 342.
[258] Plate 58.
[259] Page 371.
[260] Holinshed, II, 844. Harleian MS., III, 6079, Art. 36, gives an
account of this duel.
[261] _Theatre of Honour, etc._, p. 459.
[262] _Theatre of Honour, etc._, p. 459.
[263] _Archæologia_, XXIX, 348.
[264] Probably a fencing master.
[265] _Antiquarian Repertory_, II, 210.
[266] The glaive here mentioned is not the weapon usually known by that
name, but the lance: for it will be observed in some later rules given
on these pages that “spears of equal length” were to be issued to the
combatants. Lances were often termed glaives at this period, and in
such combats were shortened to five feet.
[267] Appendix B.
[268] Clayues.
[269] _Antiquarian Repertory_, 1, 152.
[270] _Chronique de Monstrelet_, Liv. II, Chap. CII.
[271] Holinshed, III, 210.
[272] _Ibid._
[273] II, 182.
[274] _Origines Juridiciales_, p. 78.
[275] Holinshed III, 890.
[276] 59 Geo. III, c. 46.
APPENDIX A
TOURNEY
ABSTRACTS of the Ashmolean Manuscripts, regarding the Tourney.[277]
No. 764.
p. 6. “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._” 31-43.
On the reverse of the last leaf is a picture
of the Joust, whereon two combatants on horseback,
bearing their crests, are fighting with lances
within the lists.
No. 1105.
p. 9. Extracts from various records about Tournaments and
Knighthood. 200 _et seq._, 210.
No. 840.
p. 73. A Justing-cheque, showing how the spears were broken.
298.
No. 763.
II. p. 5. Rules, etc. 148-149.
“The Ordinaunce, statutes and rules made by John
Lord Typtofte, Erle of Worcester, Countstable of
England by the Kinges commaundment, at Windsour the
29 of May ao sexto Edwardi quarti, to be observed and
kepte in all manner of Justes of pees royall with in
this realme of England.”
MS. copies of these ordinances are not uncommon,
and much differing from each other. They are printed
in _Harrington’s Nugae Antiquae_ by Park; and in
Dr. Meyrick’s _Critical Essay on antient armor_, II,
179-186, with valuable notes from the MS. M. 6, in the
Heralds’ College.
No. 763.
p. 5.
6. The same Ordinaunce and statutes. 181.
Rules for combatants “At Tornay.” 149b.
No. 857.
p. 213. “Rights due att the tournay. _Firste the Kinge
of Armes._...” 506.
No. 1115.
p. 43. Preamble to articles of tilting, addressed unto
the King. 92.
No. 860. The “Round Table” prohibited, 36 Hen. III, 88.[278]
No. 1109.
p. 191. Tournament at Windsor, Names of the combatants and
judges in a “Course at feild at Windsor the 17th of
Nov: 1593, ao regni reginae.” 36. 154b.
No. 856.
p. 5. Justing at the marriage of Richard Duke of York
(1477). A narrative, by an eye-witness, of the
marriage of Richard Duke of York, and Ann daughter of
the Duke of Norfolk, and of the grand justing then
celebrated in 1477, _and the 17th yeare of King Edward
IV_. 94-104. Transcribed “Ex MS. in praefat’ Bibl’
Hatton.”
This article is fully as curious as the narrative
of the justing of Anthony Lord Scales, which was
published by W. H. B. in the _Excerpta Historica_,
in June, 1830.
No. 1116.
p. 10. Justs at Westminster. (1511.)
“Justes houlden at Westminster the xijth daie of
Februar by the Kinges grace (Henry VIII) called _Cueur
Loyal_, the Lord William of Devon _Bon Voloir_,
Sʳ Thomas Knivet _Valiant Desire_, and Edward Nevell
_Joyous Penser_, with the articles and courses of the
said Justes etc.” 109-110b.
The articles begin thus—“The noble lady Renowne
considering the good and gracious fortune....”
The “courses” are tilting lists for the two days
(Wednesday and Thursday, 12-13 Feb., 1511,) marked
with strokes, and accounts of the “best joustres.”
p. 56. “The appoynctement of the standinge schaffoldes in
the Kinges pallace of Westminster, at his justes.
_First next unto the King on his right hande the
Earles_,” _etc._ 47 b.
No. 837.
p. 17. The Field of the Cloth of Gold at Guisnes (1520).
“Ce sont les noms des princes, prellatz, et grans
seigneurs de France, qui estoient en la compaignie de
Roy de France quant le Roy (Henry VIII) Dengleterre et
led’ sr le Roy (Francois) sentrevyrent et ordonnerent
les Joustes et Tournoys qui sensuyvent.” 179ba.
Prefixed to the title is a stanza of 5 lines,
inviting to the justs.
No. 1116.
p. 7*. The Field of the Cloth of Gold at Guisnes (1520).
“The proclamacōn in Frenche of the articles of the
Justes and other feates of armes at the meeting of
the aforesaid Kinges (Henry and Francois) at Guisnes,
proclaimed through the realme of France by Thomas
Benolt al’s Clarencieux King of Armes. _Comme ainsi
soit louange_ ...” 105-7b.
p. 8. “The lettres of savegarde given by the said King of
England unto Thomas Walle al’s Norrey King of Armes,
for the proclamacōn of the same Joustes in the
parties of Almayn and the contrye of Germania, wch
Norrey proclamed thē as welle in French for the lowe
contreys, as in high Dutch as hereafter followeth etc.”
107b-108b. Dated 1520.
p. 5*. Narrative of “The meating of the King of England
(and) the Emperor at Canterburie, and the meating of
the said King and the French King at Guysnes, Anno
D’ni 1520.” 100-3b.
No. 837.
p. 21. Running at the Ring (t. Edw. VI?).
“These persones[279] here underwrytten beinge one of
the Kinges part the playntyff, and the other wt th
erle of Rutland defendant, dyd run at ye rynge iiij
course every man, at wch tyme mone toke the ryng but
only Mr. Hayward and Mr. Constable beinge wt the
defendant,” etc. 185a.
Tourneys t. Eliz.
p. 43. The Challenge of four Knights errant, the Earl of
Oxford, Charles Howard, Sir Henry Lee, and Sir Chr.
Hatton; against all comers, at the tilt, tourney and
barriours; addressed unto the Queen for permission
to perform the same. 245.
Note that the said challenge was proclaimed by
Clarencieux, on twelfth-night, 1570; and that the
exercises were performed on 1, 2, and 6 May. 245b.
Written invertedly by another hand. Other papers
relating to the same affair are in No. 845, artt.
37, 39. No. 845. II, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, and
at p. 599.
No. 845.
p. 36. Tilting-list and cheque, at a tourney between the
Earl of Oxford, Charles Howard, Sir Hen. Lea, and
Chr. Hatton, challengers, and seven sets of comers;
with their arms tricked. 164.
See No. 837, Art. XLIIII.
p. 38. A Tilting-list, showing the antagonists of the Earl
of Oxford and others. 167a.
p. 37. “These be the names of the noblemen and gentlemen,
that for the honor of the Queenes Maᵗⁱᵉ did their
endevor at the Tylt at Westminster on the xvijth day
of November, being the first day of the xxiiijth
yere of the reigne of queene Elizabeth,” etc.
(1581). 165.
p. 39. “Hastiludium apud Westm’ die Solis 6. Decembris 1584,
coram Regina, inter nuptos decem et tot coelibes.” 168.
p. 37. “The Tourney holden at Westminster, on monday the
15 of May, 1581, when the prince Delphine of Auvergne
and other the Frenshe commissioners were here.” 166a-5b.
p. 40. Proclamation (in French) of the adjudged conduct of
combatants, and award of the prize, at a jousting before
Queen Elizabeth. 171b.
p. 41. Proclamation (in English) of the adjudgement of prizes
to Don Fredericque de Teledo, and other foreign nobles,
on an other occasion. 171a.
Draught of another proclamation (in English) concerning
the conduct of gentlemen at the tilt and tourney, not
named. 170a.
No. 837.
p. 5. “The manner of the first cominge into the tiltyard, of
the most high and mighty prince Charles Prince of Wales,
sonne and heir apparent of our sovereign lo. Kinge James,
on friday the xxiiijth of March 1619; which was in the
most princely and royall manner that had bene sene many
yeares before.” 129-132.
An original paper, with notes and corrections by one
of the Heralds. This art. is recorded in the Heralds’ MS.,
M. 3. f. 1-3b.
No. 1127.
p. XIV. 2. Tournament of the Knight of the Royal Amaranthus.
In the first quarter of the 17th century. 198-9b.
No. 1116.
p. 9*. “The manner how the price[280] shall be given at
Joustes of peace royall, and for what considercōns it
should be forfeited and lost.
First who so breaketh most speeres,” etc. 108b.
p. 11*. “A demonstracōn by John Writh alias Garter, to
King Edward the Fourth, touching three Knyghtes of
high Almayn wch came to do arms in England, with the
instruccōns by them geven unto the saide Gartr and
the articles of their feates and enterprise.” 111-3b.
The year must have been 1473.
No. 763.
p. 16. “The office of a Kinge at Armes. Fyrst as nyghe as
he canne he shall take knowledge and kepe recorde of
creastes cognissances and auntient used wordes,” etc.
158ab.
No. 837.
p. 8. “The definition of an Esquire, and the severall
sortes of them according to the custome and usage
of England. _An esquire called in Latine armiger_ ...”
162a.
No. 1116.
p. 111. The Names and Arms of the Sovereigns and Knights or
the Order of the Golden Fleece (Toison d’or), from its
institution in 1429 to the twenty-third festival of
the Order, which was holden by King Philip of Spain,
12 Aug. 1559; historical accounts of the celebration
of the feasts, in French. ff. 137b-186.
The MS. is beautifully written, with the arms
tricked (four on each page), by Robert Glover,
Somerset Herald.
p. 88. Lists of the Knights, and notes of the celebration
of S. George’s feast, in 1589 and 1593, at Westminster.
67a.
p. 89. Lists of Knights, and notes of the celebration of S.
George’s feast, in 1584, at Westminster, and 15 Apr.
1585, at Windsor. 67b.
No. 837.
p. XXVI. “The Office of ye Marshall.” 198ab.
No. 1127.
p. XIII. “The Statutes of the Order of the Golden Fleece” (27
Nov. 1431); and “The Ordinances for the Officers of
the Order.” 139-166-167-175b.
FOOTNOTES:
[277] Catalogue by William Henry Black. Oxford. 1845.
[278] Though indexed this item is not in the catalogue.
[279] The Marquis of Northampton and others, 14 on each side.
[280] Prize.
APPENDIX B
HARLEIAN MS. RELATING TO THE TOURNAMENT
CATALOGUE
Vol. Page Cod. Art.
I. 17 69 1-3. Tournament held on the marriage of
Richard Duke of York, son of Edward IV.
I. 17 69 4-5. On the birth of Princess Mary? Daughter
of Henry VIII.
I. 17 69 6-7. Creation of Henry VIII.
I. 17 69 8. Challenge to hold a Justs-Royall and
Tourney at Westminster.
I. 18 69 13. At Greenwich, _temp._ Henry VIII.
I. 18 69 16. Westminster, _temp._ Henry VIII.
I. 18 69 24. On the marriage of Prince Arthur.
I. 18 69 11. Challenges to tournaments of Philip de
Bouton and others.
I. 18 69 12. Uladislaus of Bodna and others.
I. 18 69 20. Frederick de Toledo and others.
I. 18 69 14. Regulations concerning tournaments by
Parliament of England.
I. 165 293 123-4. By Richard I.
I. 18 69 10. Relation (in French) of Battel of Justs
held in the city of Tours.
I. 18 69 15. Copy of Chapitres of certain Feats of
Arms.
I. 18 69 18. Declarations and Conditions of
Performing Feats of Arms.
I. 18 69 19. Chalenge of 6 Noble Persons to the
Justs.
I. 18 69 21. Form of Proclamation to be made by the
King of Arms.
I. 18 69 22. Fees appertyning to the Officers
of Armes.
I. 18 69 23. The Maner ＆ Order of Combating within
Lystes.
I. 18 69 17. }
II. 12 1354 11. _et seq._ } Regulations Concerning
} Tournaments. By John
} Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester.
II. 226 1776 43. }
III. 316 6064 80. }
III. 215 4888 20. General Challenge of Earls of Lenox, etc.
EXTRACTS
I. 17 69 1-3. 1. The Proclamation, whereby Six
Gentlemen challenged all Comers
at the Just-Roiall: To Runne in
Ostling-Harneis alonge a Tilt: And
to strike 13 strokes with Swords;
upon the Marriage of Richard Duke
of York (son to K. Edward IV.) with
Anne Mowbray Daughter to the Duke of
Norfolk. After which Proclamation,
follow the Articles, ＆ Draughts of
the Shields. 1
2. The Challenge of the LadieMaie’s
Servants, to all comers, to be
performed at Greenwich.
To Runne 8 Courses.
To shoot Standart Arrowe, or Flight.
To strike 8 Strokes with Swords Rebated.
To wrestle all manner of Wayes.
To Fight on Foot with Speares Rebated,
and afterwards to strike 8 Strokes
with Swords, with Gripe, or
otherwise.
To Call the Barre on Foote, and with
the Arme; both Heavie and Light. 2b
Vol. Page Cod. Art.
I. 17 69 1-3. 3. Here followe the Articles which
fower Gentlemen have Enterprised
to doe by the Kings Commaundment
＆ for the Pleasure of the Ladyes,
which alsoe the Kings Highnes hath
Lycenced them to Aunswear to all
other, ＆ all other to aunswear
to them, according to the same
Articles. 3b viz. to Answer all
Comers, at the Kings Mannour of
Sheene, to run fower Courses.
4-5. 4. Proclamation And Articles of a
Tilting to be held at the Palace
of Richmond, upon the birth of a
young Princess (Mary?). Tempore
Henrici VIII. where the 4 Knights
Challengers are to Runne 6 Courses. 4b
5. Petition ＆ Articles of 4 Gentlemen
Challenging all Comers (to the
Lawnde of Greenwich). To the Feate
called the Barriers, with the
Casting Speare, ＆ the Targett, ＆
with the Bastard-Sword, Point ＆ Edge
Rebated. 5b
6-7. 6. Petition ＆ Articles of the
Justs-Royall to be held at
Westminster, by 4 Gentlemen
Challenging all comers, (upon the
Creation of Henry second Sonne to
King Henry VII). To Run 6 Courses
with Speares. To Tourney 18 Strokes
with Swords.
7. Petition of 4 Gentlemen to K. Henry
VII. to be received into his Royal
Army purposed for Fraunce; but
first that he would Authorize their
Challenge of all Comers to the Tilt,
To run 6 Courses; for two days
together: which being performed,
they will be ready (upon 8 days
warning) to answer all comers, in
any Realme or Place where the King
shall be, for one year and a day
longer. 7
8. 8. Challenge of 6 Noble Persons to
hold a Justs-Royall ＆ Tourney at
Westminster, for the Pleasure of the
King, the Queene, and the Princess
the Kings Eldest Daughter, where the
6 Challengers ＆ Six Answerers shall
together Run against each other with
Spears on Horseback; and after the
Course Passed, to Fight with Swords
till the King commaund them to Cease.
7b
10. 10. Relation (in French) of the Battel
of Justs held in the city of Tours,
between Jelcan (or Jehan?) Chalons,
a Native of the Kingdom of England,
＆ Loys de Beul who took the part
of King Charles of France. A.D. 1446.
wherein Loys de Beul was killed. 9
I. 18 69 11. 11. Le Chalenge Philip de Bouton, Natif
de Pais Burgoigne, premier Esquier
a Monsser le Conte de Charollois:
qui ait Charge ＆ Esleve Emprise de
un Fleuer Penser a tacher a son Bras
dextre, lequelle il portra ouverte
jusque autant que il defendra
Royaulme d’Angelterre, en la
Campagnie de son Seigneur Monsieur
le Bastard le Burgoigne, comme a la
Roche. Dat. 1. may. 1467. 11
12. 12. La Declaracon du Pas a l’Arbe D’Or,
i.e. How the Lady L’Isle sent her
Knight with a Rich Tree of Gold, for
him to sett near Brughes, ＆ there to
Challenge the Nobles of the Duke of
Burgundies Court both to the Justs,
＆ to the Tourney: the Articles
whereof do follow. Dated July ...
A.D. 68. i.e. 1468.
Vol. Page Cod. Art.
I. 18 69 12. *12. The Relation made by Garter King
of Arms to K. Edward IV. concerning
the Arrival of 3 Knights of the K.
of Hungaries Court, named Uladislaus
of Bodna, Fredericus of Waredma,
＆ Lancelagus of Trefulwane, who
desired to performe some Feats of
Armes with the English Gentlemen.
With their Instructions given to the
said Garter touching his Declaration
of their Desires, ＆ the Articles of
the Jousts ＆ Tourney. 14
13. 13. Justs at Greenwich, the 20th daie
of Maye, the 8th yeare of the Raigne
of our Soveraigne Ld. K. Henry VIII.
(with the then usual Notes or Marks
of each Persons Performance). 16b.
14. 14. Le Statute d’Armes de Turnoys par
le Parlement d’Angleterre (f. temp.
H. V.). 17
15. 15. Coppye de Chapitres (ou Articles)
des certaine Faits d’Armes, tanta
Pied, comme a Cheval, qui par deux
Gentilhomes d’Almaigne touchant une
certaine Emprise. ibid.
16. 16. The Justinge, Tournay, ＆ Fighting
at Barriers, holden at the Palace of
Westminster, the 32nd yeare of our
Soveraigne Lord K. Henry the VIII.
there beguune the firste deye of
Maye being Saturdaye, ＆c. 18
17. 17. The Ordinances, Statutes, ＆ Rules,
made and Enacted by John (Tiptoft)
Earle of Worcester Constable of
England, by the Kings Commandment
(i.e. Ed. IV.) at Windsor, the 29th
daye of Maie, in the 6th yeare of
his Noble Raigne. To be Observed and
Kept in all manner of Justs of Peace
Royal within the Realme of England
before his Highness or Liefftenant,
by his Commandment or Licence had
from this Tyme forth. Reserving
always to the Queenes Highnes
and the Laydes there present,
the Attribution and Gifte of the
Prize after the Manner and Forme
accustomed. (These Ordinances are
illustrated by Pictures.) 20
18. 18. Declaration ＆ Conditions of
Performing Feats of Arms before
＆ at a Castle called Loyall, at
the Gate whereof a White Unicorne
sustained four Shields, The First
White, signifying to the Justs;
whoso toucheth that, to be answered
V Courses at the Tilt. The Second
Red, signifying to the Tournaye;
who toucheth that, to be answered
12 Strokes with the Sword, Edge ＆
Point Rebated. The Third Yellow,
signifying to the Barriers, who
toucheth that, to be answered at the
Barriers 12 Strokes with one-Hand
Sword, the Point and Edge Rebated.
The Fourth Blue, signifying to th’
assault, ＆ who toucheth that, to
Assault the said Castle with Sword
＆ Targett ＆ Morrice Pike, withe the
Edge and Point Rebated. 21b
19. 19. Chalenge of 6 Noble Persons to the
Justs, the same as before 8. 22b
20. 20. Challenge of Don Fredericke de
Toledo, the Lord Straunge, Don
Fernando de Toledo, Don Francifco de
Mendoza, ＆ Garfilafe de la Vega, to
fight on Foot, at the Barriers, with
all Comers. 23b
21. 21. Form of the Proclamation to be
made by the King of Arms in the
Presence-Chamber, upon the Queen’s
distribution of the Prizes, to them
who had best Exercised the Feates
of Armes at the Tilt Tourney ＆
Barriers. 24b
22. 22. Fees apperteyning to the Officers
of Armes, at all thos Triumphs
aforesaid. 25
23. 23. The Maner ＆ Order of Combating
within Lystes, set downe by Thomas
Duke of Gloucester Uncle to King
Richard the Second (with Pictures). 26
24. 24. The first Booke of the Justs ＆
Banketts ＆ Disguisings, used at the
Intertaynemente of Katherine Wife
to Prince Arthur Eldest Sone to
K. Henry VII. 29b
The Seconde Book, or Parte of this
Discourse, is concerning the death
of Prince Arthur, and the order
taken for his Exequies.
Vol. Page Cod. Art.
I. 165 293 123-4. 123. Hoc ett Breve, Dni Regis Ricardi
I. missum Dno Cantuariensi, de
concessione Torneamentorum in
Anglia. 237
124. Haec est forma Pacis fervandae a
Torneatoribus. 237
II. 12 1354 11. 11. The Ordinances, Statutes, ＆ Rules
made by Johne Lorde Typtofte,
Erle of Worcester, Constable of
Englande, by the Kinges Commandment,
at Wyndsore the 29th daie of
Maye, ann. 6. Edw. IV. to be
observed and kepte in all manner
Justys Royall;—reserving to the
Queene ＆ to the Ladyes present
the attribution and gyfte of the
Prise, after the manner and forme
accustomed to be attributed, for
their Demerites. 13
II. 226 1776 43. 43. Ordinances, Statutes, ＆ Rules made
＆ enacted by John (Tiptoft) Earl of
Woster ＆ Constable of England, by
the Kings commandment, at Windsor,
the 6th Yeare of Edward the Fourth;
for Justes ＆ Triumphs. 45b
III. 215 4888 20. 20. A general Challenge, at Tilt,
Tourney, and Barriers, signed Lenox,
Southampton, Pembroke, Mountgumbray,
dated 1612. In defence of these
Propositions. 1. “That in Service of
Ladyes, Knights have no free-will.
2. That it is Beautie maintains the
World in valour. 3. That noe fare
Ladie was ever false. 4. That none
can be perfectlye wife but Lovers.”
Addressed, “To all honourable Men
at Armes, and Knight Adventurers
of hereditarie note, ＆ examplarie
noblesse, that for most memorable
actions doe wield either Sword or
Launce in quest of glorie.”
III. 316 6064 80. 80. The Ordinances, Statutes ＆ Rules
made by the E. of Worcester ＆
Constable of England, 6th of Edw.
4. to be observed in all manner of
Justes. 86
APPENDIX C
COTTONIAN MSS. IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM RELATING TO THE TOURNEY
Claudius, C IV.
10. Breve R. Richard I ad archiep. Cantuar. missum,
de concessione torneamentorum in Anglia. 233.
11. Forma pacis servandae à torneatoribus, et in juramentis. 233.
Nero, D II.
15. De la creacion et foundacion des heraulz (d’armes). 249b.
16. Les droiz et largesses appartenant et d’aunciennete
accoustumez aux rois d’armes, selon l’usance du
Angleterre. 251b.
18. L’ordonnance de faire joustes et tournois. 253.
19. Les droiz appartenans aux rois d’armes, et heraulx,
en leur absence, en fait de joustes à plaisaunce. 245b.
Galba. B VI.
77. A list of great personages, who probably appeared
at a tilt. 109.
Vesp. C XIV.
229. Notes relating to tournaments. 553.
Titus. B I.
35. Judges deputed for the field in the joustes between
Guisnes and Andres. 127.
Caligula. D VI.
54. Twenty-three original letters from Charles D. of Suffolk,
to Henry VIII, all probably between Oct., 1514,
and March, 1515. 147.
APPENDIX D
The instructions given by the Emperor Maximilian as to the
selection of the subjects for the Plates for _Freydal_.
They are set down on Folio 38 of that work.
“Hernach volgt in was zäl die Rennen vnd stechen in den
Freytal gemacht sollen werden.”
Geschift Rennen.
Item der geschift Rennen sollen XI sein,
Darunnder III fäl, mit ain ander,
Vnnd zwen fäl, das Kaiser besiczt vnnd widerparthey felt,
Die vberigen VI Rennen sollen Sy baide besiczen.
Swayf Rennen.[281]
Item Swayf Rennen sollen VI sein,
Dar vnnder IIII fäl mit ain annder,
Vnd II fäl das Kaiser besiczt vnnd widerparthey felt.
Pündt Rennen.[282]
Item das pünndt Rennen sollen XII sein, dar vnnder sollen zween
fäl sein das der Kaiser besiczt vnnd die Wider-parthey felt,
Vnnd die vbrigen X Rennen solln baid besiczen.
Autzogen Rennen.
Item Anczogen Rennen sollen XXV sein,
Vnnd der Kaiser ist albeg den driten tail besessen, vnd sein
wider parthey den II tail gefallen.
Teutsch gestech.[283]
Item Es sollen sechs vnnd zwainzig teutscher gestech sein,
Die fäl sol Kayserlich Mt noch stymben.
Welsch gestech.[284]
Item Es sollen Acht vnd Dreissig Welscher gestech sein,
Die fäl solle Kyserlich Mt noch stymben.
Tornier (The Tourney).
Item Es sollen sein III Tornier.
Krönl (Krönlrennen).
Item Es sollen sein III Rennen, in der gestalt das ainer ain
Krönl der annder ainen scharfen Rennspiess hab,
Die fäl solle Kay Mt noch stymben.
Velt Rennen.[285]
Item Es sollen sein V veldt Rennen
Summa der Rennen stechen vnd Tornier CXXVIII.[286]
FOOTNOTES:
[281] Another name for _Scharfrennen_.
[282] _Bundrennen._
[283] German Joust.
[284] Joust at the Tilt.
[285] _Feldrennen._
[286] 129?
APPENDIX E
ASHMOLEAN MSS. RELATING TO JUDICIAL DUELS
DISCOURSES ON LAWFUL COMBATS IN ENGLAND
No. 856.
Par. 9. A Discourse “Of the antiquity, use, and ceremony
of lawfull combates in England.” 115-125.
12. A Discourse “Of the antiquitie, use, and ceremony
of lawfull combates in England, written by
Mr. James Whitelock of the Middle Temple.” 149-153.
13. “The antiquity, use, and ceremonyes of lawfull
combates in England.” 154-156.
14. “The antiquity, use, and ceremony of lawfull
combates in England.” 157-172.
“Ex collect’ Guil: Dugdale.”
No. 865.
10*. A treatise of “The wageing of Bataill between two
partyes. First. The quarrell and bills of the
appellant and defendant must be pleaded in the
court.” 58-276.
“_The fee of the Constable is the lystes, the
barris, and stagis belonginge to the same._
Thus endeth the wageing of battaill before the King.”
1115.
97. Erotulis publicis quaedam annotationes; primo de
Militbus Ordinis, et de Windesora; postea de,
constabulariis castri Windesorae, de duello,
et de insigniis armorum. 225-6b.
Extracts by Ashmole, chiefly from the Patent
Rolls and Close Rolls, Hen. III-Ric. II.
No. 840.
47. A short extract by Sir W. Dugdale “Out of a
discourse in French concerning the antient
manner of Combates.” 211.
764.
7. “De la droite ordonnance du Gaige de Bataille par
tout le royaume de France. Phelipe _par la
grace de Dieu Roy de France a touz ceulx qui
ces presentes lettres verront salut_.”
This letter of King Philip IV, written in 1306,
limits the practice of wager of battle, and
is prefixed toregulations for the whole course
of combat. 44-54ᵇ.
856. Order in England, temp. Ric. II.
4*. A book “Of the manner and order of combating within
the listes, delivered by Thomas Duke of
Gloucester unto King Richard the second.” 83-89.
Transcribed “Ex MS. in Bibl’ Hatton,” _with the
listes_, scaffold, and tymber used at the 83-89.
said battaile. Compare Art. 23.
16. “The manner of Donnald Ld Rey, and David Ramsey esq.
their comeing and carriage at their tryall, upon
monday, the 28 of November 1631, before the Ld of
Lynsey, Lord High Constable of England, and
others.” This is a very full report of the
trial. 175-227.
824.
V. Another account of the same. 34-46ᵇ.
856. Treatise, temp. Hen. VI.
22. “Loo my leve lordes, here now next folowing is
a Traytese, compyled by Johan Hill, armorier
and sergeant in the office of Armorye wt kynges
Henry ye 4th and Henry ye 5th, of ye poyntes of
Worship in Armes that longeth to a Gentilman
in Armes, and how he shall be diversly armed
and gouverned, under supportacion and favour
of alle ye reders to correcte adde and amenuse
where nede is, by the high commaundment of the
princes that have powair soo for to ordeyne
and establisshe. _The first honneur in armes
is a gentilman to fight in his souverian lords
quarell in a bataille of treason._” 376-383.
A.D. 1434.
23. “And here next foloweth the maner and fourme
of makyng of the thre Oothes that every
appellant and defendant owe to make openly in
the feelde before the Kyng and the Conestable
and Mareschal, the same day that they shal do
thair armes, both in Frensshe and in Englisshe;
compyled and abstracte oute of a notable
Traityes made of the rieule and gouvernance of
the feelde in armes, by Thomas of Wodestoke
sumtyme Conestable of Englande and uncle to
Kyng Richard (the second), to whom he presented
the saide traities, submitting it to his
noblesse to correct, adde, and amenuse as his
highnes best liked.” 383-391.
“_La fee du Mareshal est les listes, les
barrers, et les estages dycelles etc._”
6*. “The Earle Marshall’s order in the quarrell
betwixt Anthony Felton and Edmond Withepole
esquires, xxiij May 1598.” 105-107.
7. “The manner of the challendge made by the Earle
of Northumberland against Sir Francis Yeare,”
both by letter dated 24 Apr., 1602, and by
inter-messages, until forbidden by the Queen’s
commandment. 107-111.
“Ex MS. in Bibl’ Hatton.”
8*. A statement of “The French King’s edict
constitutinge duellos to be punished in the
nature of treason, within his dominions.” 112-14.
9. A Discourse “Of the antiquity, use, and ceremony
of lawfull combates in England.” 115-125.
“Ex. MS. in Bibl’ Hatton.”
10. “Duello foild. The whole proceedings in the
orderly disolveing of a designe for single
fight betweene two valient gentlemen; by
occasion whereof the unlawfulnesse of a duello
is preparatorily disputed, according to the
rules of honour and right reason; written by
Lord Henry Howard Earle of Northampton.” 126-145.
11. “A Discourse touching the unlawfulness of
private combates, written by Sr Edward Cooke
Lord Chiefe Justice of England, at the request
of the Lord Henry Howard Earle of Northampton.”
(3 Oct., 1609). 146-8.
“Ex. MS. in Bibl’ Hatton.”
15. His Maᵗˢ: declaration against duells, published
at his Maᵗˢ: chappell at Bruxells upon sonday
the 24th of November 1658. 172.
APPENDIX F
HARLEIAN MSS. CATALOGUE OF DOCUMENTS RELATING TO JUDICIAL DUELS
Vol. Page Cod. Art.
I. 249 424 13. }
I. 492 980 134. }
III. 122 4176 2 _et_ 4 } Treatises on Duels.
_et seq._ }
III. 332 6149 19. }
I. 490 980 36. Instances of Trial by Duel.
III. 319 6069 60-67. }
III. 505 7021 22. } Tracts on Single Combats.
I. 490 980 46. Instances of Trial.
III. 322 6079 36. Between Dukes of Hereford and Norfolk.
III. 370 6495 1. Mr. Dan, Archdeacon and Francis Mowbray.
III. 122 4176 2. James Whitlock. Discourses on Combats
in England.
EXTRACTS
I. 249 424 13. The Way of Duells before the King; with
the Office of the Constable and
Earl-Marshal, ＆c. upon such
occasions. 42
I. 490 980 36. Instances of Trials in England by
Ordeal ＆ Duel. ibid.
I. 491 980 46. What happened to Sir Nicholas de
Segrave, anno. 32 Edw. I. who
being accused of Treason, offered
to justifie himself by Duel;
and afterward went over the Sea
(without License) to fight with
his enemy. ibid.
I. 492 980 134. Of legal duels, or Combats. 128
III. 122 4176 2. Of the antiquity, use and ceremony
of Combats in England: by
James Whitlock, ＆c. 12
III. 122 4176 4. Concerning Duells in Spaine. 37
III. 319 6069 66. Du Combat appelle Buhort. 113
III. 319 6069 67. Du Combat appelle Bas ou Barriers. ib.
III. 322 6079 36. A Combat between D. of Hereford ＆
Tho. Mowbray first D. of
Norfolk, ＆ Marshal of England. 29
III. 332 6149 19. De Duellis. 164b
III. 370 6495 1. A Tract with this title, “A tru report
of sundry memorable Accidents
befalling Mr. Daniel Archdeacon,
before and after the Combat appointed
betweene him ＆ Francis Moubray.
Written first in French, by a
faythfull frynd of Mr. Daniel
Archdeacon, and sent to another
frynd of theirs, and since translated
in English by a faythfull frynd to him
＆ to that honest cause.”
26 leaves. At the end are some Anagrams
＆ Acrostics in French, on the name of
Daniel Archdeacon and a table of the
contents of the tract.
III. 505 7021 22. A Catalogue of such Combats as have been
anciently granted by the Kings of England.
APPENDIX G
COTTONIAN MSS. RELATING TO JUDICIAL DUELS
Nero. D II.
17. La form et maniére comment l’appellant et defendant
doivent plaider devant le conestable et mareschal. 252
Vesp. C XIV.
234. The manner how the defendants do answer the Prince’s
highness challenge; being a list of names. 568
235. Of Combats in Mr. Garter’s house. May 23, 1601.
(a draught) 569
236. The Ordinances that belong in gayging of battayle,
made by quarrell, after the constitutions made
by King Philip of France. 570
Faust. E V.
2. Of single Combats. 4
Tiberius. E VIII.
14. Modus faciendi duellum coram rege (Gallice). 50b
The same under Nero. D VI. 82
Vitel. C IV.
10. De certamine singulari coram constabulario
et marescallo Angliae (Gallice). 129
11. De officio Marescalli (Lat. et Gal.). 132b
Titus. C I.
25. B. A collection of papers on duels,
i.e. lawful combats.
26. A brief historical dissertation on duels;
by R. Cotton. 1609. 201
27. Seven tracts on the antiquity, use and ceremony
of lawful combats in England; by Davies,
Whitlock, Holland, Agard and others. 205
28. A challenge for a duel between Henry Inglose,
Esq.; and Sir John Tiptoft, Knt, to be fought
before the Duke of Bedford, high constable.
(Fr.) 1415. 229
29. Five writs relating to combats before the
constable and marshal. 230
30. A list of patents relating to the office of
marshal; from 27 Edw. III. to Henry VI. 232
31. Ten original instruments, being chiefly royal
mandates of Henry VI. several of them signed
by him; concerning lists and combats. 234
32. Notes of certain turns to be put in form, and
then to be concluded by the whole council,
touching the regulation of duels: in the
hand-writing of K. James I. 238b
33. A treatise on duels, in two books. 239
34. A collection of notes, papers, ＆c.,
on duels (chiefly French). 346
35. What manner of duels they use in Italy,
and why they hold it not fit to answer
a challenge. (Ital.) 370b
36. Forme di pace fatte da diversi; being
compromises of quarrels. 374
37. “Duello foiled,” being a treatise in which
the lawfulness of duels is disputed according
to the rules of honour and right reason. 393
38. Two papers on measures taken against duels. 402
39. Of a lye; how it ought to be dealt in by
an E. marshal. 404
40. Notes on the laws in Spain for preventing
single combats. 407
41. Note out of the D. of Bullion’s discourse
touching the lye and the blow. 408
42. Three questions proposed to the count
d’Angoseiola (banished from Palma and living
in Savoy) in matters of duel. (Italian.) 409
43. Placcart des Archiducs contre les defies et
duels (printed). Bruxelles. 1610. 413
44. A paper concerning laws against duels. 416
48. De la droit ordannance du gaige de battaille,
partout le Royaume de France. 434
APPENDIX H
Letter from Thomas Duke of Gloucester and Constable of
England to King Richard II concerning the Manner of
conducting Judicial Duels.
In firste the quarelis and the billis of the appellaunt and of the
defendaunt schal be pletid in the courte.before the constable and
marchall. And when they may not prove ther cause by witnesse.nor bi
non other manner but detrmine ther quarell bi strengthe.the ton for to
prove his entent up on the tother. And the tother in the same manner
for to defende him. The constable hath power for to ioyne that batayle
as vecarie genrall undir god ＆ the kynge and the bataile conioynt by
the Constable.he schal assigne them day and place.so that the day be
not within xl.dayes after the saide batell soo conioynt.but yf it be bi
the consentinge of the seyde appellaunt and defendaunt. Than he schall
awarde them.poyntes of armes.other wise callid wepenes.ayther of them
schal have.that is to say.longe swerde schorte swerde and dagger.so
that the appellant and defendaunt.fynde sufficianunt surete ＆ plegges
that echou of them schal come at his seyde day.the appellaunt for to
doo his power up on the defendaunt.and the defendaunt in his defence
up on the appellaunt. And this to be done.schall be gevyn un to the
appellaunt hour terme and soon.for to make his preve and der (sic)
and for to bethe firste within the listes. for to quite his plegges.
And of the same wise of the defendaunt. And noon of hem schall do
hevinesse.ille harme awaite assaute.nor non other grevaunce.nor ennye
bi them nor bi non of ther frendes welwillinge.nor bi non other who soo
ever it be. The kynge schal fynde the felde.for to feght in. And the
(f. 125b) listes schal be made and devisid by the constable. And it
is to be considerid that the listes schal be.lx.pases of lengthe and
xl.paces of brede in good manner.and that the erthe be ferme stable
and harde.and even made, without grete stones and that the erthe be
plat.and that the listes be strongli barred rounde aboute and a gate
in the este and a nother in the weste with good and stronge barrers
of vij.foote of heyght or more. And it is to wite that ther schulde
be faux listes withouten the principal listes betwene the whiche the
men of the constable and the marchall and s’gauntes of armes of the
kynges schulde be for to kepe and defend yf any wolde make any offence
or fray azens the cries made in the courte in any thinge that myght
be agayns the kynges Roiall mageste or lawe of armes and these men
schulde be armed at all poyntes. The Constable schal have there as
many men of armes as he will and the marchall also bi the assignacion
of the Constable and ellis not the whiche men schal have the kepynge
as is seyde. The s’gauntes of armes of the kynge schal have the keping
of gates of the listes and the arestinges yf any schal be made bi the
comaudemt of the seyde Constable and Marchall. The day of bataile the
kynge schal be in a sege or in a shaffold on heght and a place schal
be made for the Constable and marchall at the stayre foot of the seyde
shaffold there where thei schal be. And than schal be axed the plegges
of the appellaunt and defendaunt for to come in to the listes afore the
kynge and present in the courte as prisioners un to the appellaunt and
defendaunt be come in the listes and have made ther othes. When the ap
(f. 126) pellaunt cometh to his iorney he schale come to the gate of
the listes in the Este in such manner as he will feght with his armes
and wepenis assignid to him bi the courte and ther he schal abide til
he be led in bi the Constable so that when he is comen to the seyde
gate the Constable and marchall schal goo thedir. And the Constable
schal axe him what man he is whiche is comen armed to the gate of the
listes. And what name he hathe and for what cause he is comen. And the
appellaunt schal answere I am suche aman. A. de. K. the appellaunt the
whiche is come to this iorney ＆c for to doo ＆c. And than the Constable
schal open the viser of his basinet soo that he may playnli see his
visage and if it be the same man that is the appellaunt than schal he
make open the gates of the listes and schal make him entre with his
seyde armes poyntes vitailes and other leuefull necessaries up on him
and also his counsell with him and than he schal lede him afore the
kynge and than to his tente where he schal abide til the defendaunt be
comen. In the same manner schal be done of the defendaunt but that he
schal entre in at the weste gate of the listes. The Constable clerk
schal write and sette in the regestre the comyge and the houre of the
entringe of the appellaunt and how that he entreth the listes on fote
and also the harnyes of the appellaunt how that he is armed and with
how many wepenis he entreth the listes and what vitailes and other
leueful necessaries he bringeth in with him. In the same manner schal
be don to the defendaunt. Also the Constable schal mak take hede that
non other before ne behinde the appellaunt (f. 126b) nor the defendaunt
brynge more wepin nor vitailes other then were assignid bi the courte.
And yf it be soo that the defendaunt come not be time to his iorney and
at the oure and terme limit bi the courte the Constable schal comaunde
the marchall for to make calle him at the four corners of the listes
the whiche schal be done in manner as it foloweth. Oyes. Oyez. Oyez.
C. de. B. defendaunt come to yowre Jorney whiche ye have undirtake at
this day for to aquite yowre plegges before the kinge the constable
and marchall in yowre defence agayns. A. de K. appellaunt of that
that he hathe put up on yow. And yf he come not be time he schal be
callid the secunde time in the same manner and at the ende he schal say
come the day passeth faste and yf he come not at that time he schal
be callid the thridde time. But that this be betwixe hye tierce and
none. In the same manner as before and at the ende he schal say the
day passeth faste and the oure of none is nye soo that ye come bi the
seyde oure of none at farrest in pitt that may come. But how soo ever
the Constable hathe yevy oure and terme un to the defendaunt for to
come to his Jorney never the lesse yf that he tarie un to the oure of
none the Jugement schulde not bi right goo agayns him whethir it be in
cas of treson or not. But soo is it not of the appellaunt for he muste
holde the houre and time limitid bi the courte withoute any plonginge
or excusacon what soo ever be it in cause of treson. The appellaunt
and the defendaunt entrede in the (f. 127) listes with ther armoure
wepenes vitailes and leuefull necessaries and counsell as is seyde
and as thei are assigned bi the courte. The Constable schal wete the
kinges wille yf he wil assigne any of his noble lordes or knyghtes of
worschipe un to the sayde pties and yf he wil that the othes be made
afore him or afore the Constable and marchal. And the appellaunt and
defendaunt schal be serchid bi the Constable and marchall of there
poyntes of armes otherwise callid wepenis that they be vowable without
any man disseyte on them and yf thei be other than reson axeth they
schal be taken away ffor reson good feythe and lawe of arms wil not
suffre no gile nor dissayte in soo gret a dede. And it is to wite
that the appellaunt and defendaunt may be armed as sewrely upon ther
bodies as they will. And than the Constable schal sende firste after
the marchall and than for the appellaunt with his counsell for to make
his othe. The Constable schal axe him yf he wil any more protest and
that he putte forthe all his ptestacions bi writinge for fro that time
forthe he schal make no ptestacion. The constable schal have his clerke
redy in his presence that schal ley forthe a masse book open. And
than the Constable schal make his seyde clerke rede the bille of the
appellaunt enterly on heyght and the bille redde the constable schal
say to the appellaunt A. de K. thou knowest wel this bille and this
warant and wedd’ that thou gave in oure courte thou schal lay thi right
honde here up on these seyntes and schal swere in maner as foloweth
(f. 127b). Thou. A.de.K. this thi bille is sothe in all poyntes and
articles fro the beginyge contenynge theirn to the ende and that is
thine entente to preve this day on the forsayde. C.de.B. so god the
helpe and theise halowes and this othe made he schal be led agayne to
his place. The constable schal make the marchal calle the defendaunt
and soo schal be done to the defendaunt in the same manner as to the
appellaunt. And than the Constable schal make calle bi the marchall the
appellaunt agayne and schal make him leye his honde as he did afore
up on the masse book and schal say. A.de.K. thou swerest that thou ne
haste ne schalt have mo poyntes ne poyntes on the ne on thi bodi within
these listes but thei that ben assignid bi the courte that is to say.
a longe swerde schorte swerde and dagger nor non other knyf litill
nor mekill ne non other instrument ne engyn of poynte ne other wise
ne stone of vrtu ne herbe of vrtu ne charme ne expirmet ne karecte no
non other inchauntemt bi the ne for the bi the whiche thou tristest
the better to overcome the forseyde. C.de.B. thin advsarie that schal
come ayens the with in these listes this day in his defence. Ne that
thou ne trustest in non other thinge but onli in god and thi body and
on thi rightful quarell so helpe the god and these halowes and the
othe made he schal be led agayne to his place. In the same wise schal
be done to the defendaunt. The whiche othes made and ther chambirleyns
and srvauntes put a way. the Constable schal make calle bi the marchall
the appellaunt and the defendaunt also the whiche schal be ledde (f.
128) and kepte bi the men of the Constable and marchall before them
and the Constable schal say to bothe the pties. Thou A.de.K. appellour
schal take. C.de.B. defendoure bi the rigt honde and he the. And we
defende yow and echone of yow in the kinges name and up on the pill
that longeth therto and up on pill of lesinge yowre quarell the whiche
that is founden in defaute that non of yow be so hardy to doo to other
ille ne grevauce thirstinge nor other harme bi the honde up on the pill
afore sayde and this charge gevy. the Constable schal make yeve ther
right hondis to gedir and ther lifte hondes up on the missale sayinge
to the appeloure. A.de.K. appelloure thou swerest bi the feythe that
thou yevest in the honde of thine advsarie. C.de.B. defondoure and
bi all the halowe that thou toucheste with thi lifte honde that thou
to-day this day schal doo all thi trewe power and entente bi all the
weyes that thou beste may or kanste to preve thine entente on. C.de.B.
thine advsarie and defendoure to make him yelden him up to thine honde
and creant to crie or speke or ellis make him die bi thine honde to
fore that thou wende oute of these listes bi the tyme and the sunne
that the is assignid bi this courte bi thi feythe and soo helpe the
god and these halowes. C. de. B. defendoure thou swerest bi thi feythe
that thou yevest in the honde of thine advsarie A.de.K. appelloure and
bi all the halowes that thou touchest with thi lifte honde that to day
this day thou schall doo all thi trewe power and entente bi all the
weyes that thou beste may or kanste to defende thine entente of all
that (f. 128b) that is put on the bi. A.de.K. thin advsarie appelloure
bi the feythe and soo helpe the god and all these halowes. And than the
Constable schall comaunde the marchall for to crie at the foure corners
of the listes in manner as foloweth. Oyez. Oyez. Oyez. We charge and
comaunde bi the kynges Constable and marschall that non of gret valew
＆ of litill estate of what condicion or nacion that he be. be so hardy
hens forewarde for to come negh the listes bi foure foote nor to speke
nor to crie nor to make contenance nor token nor semblaunce nor noyse
where bi nouther of these two prties. A.de.K. appellor ＆. C.de.B.
defendour may take avauntage the ton up on the tother up on pill of
lesinge lyf and membre and ther goodes at the kinges wille. And after
the Constable and marchall schal avoyde all manner of pepill oute of
the listes except their luftenauntz and two knyghtes for the Constable
and marchall whiche schal be armed up on there bodies but they schal
have nother knyf nor swerde up on them nor non other wepenes wherbi
the appellaunt other the defendaunt may have therof any avauntage bi
negligence of kepinge of them. But the two luftenauntz of the Constable
and marchall schal have in there handes outher a spere wtoute yren
for to depte them yf the kinge will make them abide in ther feghtinge
whether it be to reste them or other thinge what som ever him liketh.
And it is to be knowen that if yf any adminstracion schulde be made to
the appellaunt or to the defendaunt of mete or of drinke or any other
necessarie thinge leeful after (f. 129) that the counsell of frendes
and s’vauntz ben put away of the appellaunt and of the defendaunt as
is seyde the seyde adminstracion apteneth to the herawdes and also
all the cries made in the seyde courte the whiche kingsz heraudes and
pursevauntes schal have a place for the assignid bi the Constable and
marchall as nye the listes as may goodli be soo that they may see all
the dede ＆ to be redy yf thei be callid for to doo any thinge. The
appellaunt in his place kepte bi som men assignid by the Constable or
marchall ＆ the defendaunt in his place in the same wise. Bothe two
made redy and arayed ＆ with feleschipe bi ther kepers above sayde the
marchall with the ton ptie ＆ the levetenant of the Constable with the
tother. The Constable sittinge in his place above sayde afore the kinge
as his viker genrall and pties made redy for the feghte as is sayde
bi the comaundement of the kinge. The constable schal say with hye
voyce as foloweth. lessiez lez aler. that is to say lat them goo and
reste a while. lessiez lez aler and reste a nother while. lessiez lez
aler ＆ fair leur devoir depdieu. that is to say lat them goo and doo
ther devour in goddes name. And this seyde eche man schal depte fro
bothe pties soo that they may incountre ＆ doo that them semeth beste.
The appellaunt ne the defendaunt may nouther ete nor drinke fro that
time forthe withoute leve ＆ licence of the kinge for thinge that myght
falle but yf thei wol do it bi the consentinge betwixe them. Fro this
time forthe it is to be considered diligentli bi the constable that
yf the kinge will make the pties feghtinge depte reste or abide (f.
129b) for wham som ever cause it be that he take good kepe how thei
are deptid so that thei be in the same estate and degre in all thinges
yf the kinge wil sure or make them goo to gedir agayne and also that
he have good harkeninge and syghte un to them yf outher speke to other
be it of yeldinge or other wise for un to him longeth the witnesse and
the recorde of the wordes fro that time forthe ＆ to non other. And
yf the seyde batell of treson he that is convicte ＆ discomfit schal
be disarmed in the listes bi the comaundement of the Constable and a
corner of the listes broken in the reprove of him bi the whiche schal
be drawen oute with hors fro the same place there he is soo disarmed
thorow the listis un to the place of iustice where he schal be hedid
or hongid after the usage of the cuntre the whiche thinge apenteth to
the marchall and to ovrsee and to pforme his seyde office and to put
him in execucion and to goo or ride and to be alwey bi him til it be
done and all pformed and aswel of the appellaunt as of the defendaunt
for good feythe and right and lawe of armes will that the appellaunt
renne in the same peyne that the defendaunt schulde doo if he were
covicte and discomfit. And yf it happen soo that the kinge wolde take
the quarell in his hande and make them acordid withoute more feghtinge.
Than the Constable takinge the ton ptie and the marchall the tother and
lede them afore the kinge and he schewinge them his wille the seedy
Constable and marchall schal lede them to the on ptie of the listes
with all there pointz and armor as thei are founden and havyge when the
(f. 130) kynge took the quarell in his honde as is seyde. And soo they
schal be led oute of the gate of the listes evenly so that the ton goo
not afore the tother bi no wey in noo thinge for senne the hath taken
the quarell in his hande it schulde be dishonest that outher of the
pties schulde have mor disworschipe than the tother. Wherfore it hath
ben seyde bi many aunciaunt men that hee that gooth first oute of the
listes hath the disworschipe and this is aswel in cause of treson as
in other cause what soo ever it be. The fee of the herawdes is all the
poyntes ＆ armor brokin theis pt he taketh away or leveth after that he
is entrid the listes aswel of the appellaunt as of the defendaunt and
all the poyntes and armor of him that is discomfit be it the appellaunt
other the defendaunt. The fee of the marchall is the listes the Barrers
and the postes of them.
INDEX
A
“Abilment for Justus of the Pees,” 67, 68
Accidents in the lists, 11
Additional or reinforcing pieces, 40
Ameliorations in the tourney, 39
_Antiquarian Repertory_, 44, 48
_Anzogenrennen_, 100, 114
_A Outrance_, The term, 9
_Archæologia_, 69
_Archæological Journal_, 69, 102
_Armatura Spigolata_, 108
Armet with disk behind, 83
_Armorial de la Toison d’Or_, 44, 143
_Armouries of the Tower of London_, by Charles J. ffoulkes, 91
Armour of the Black Prince, 29
— imported from Germany, 38
— for the lists, 38, 40
— German and Italian forms, 38, 40
— worn by Maximilian I. at Worms in 1495, 39
— for running with pointed lances (_Scharfrennen_), 40, 98, 99
— for combats on foot, 41, 105
— bards and trappers of the fifteenth century, 45, 65
— imported from Italy and Germany, 107
— made in England, 107
Armyng points, 69
“Armyng” swords, 114
Articles of combat for the tournament at Westminster in 1511, 118
Ashmolean MSS., 44;
“Certain Triumphs,” 81
Attaints made at the tournament at Westminster in 1511, 120
B
Bards, 22, 108, 109
“Barriers” and foot combats, 41, 54, 86, 105, 117, 122,
124, 131, 133
“Barriers and Foot Combats,” a paper by Viscount Dillon, 126
Bases, 108, 116
Bâton of illegitimacy, 86
Bayard, 111
Bayard’s fight at “barriers,” 111
Beauchamp pageants, 45
Bec de faucon, 54
Behourd, The, 2
Bertrand du Guesclin, 28
Bibliothèque de Bourgogne, 44
Bisague, 69
Blending of the tournament with the pageant, 41, 78
Boeheim Wendelin, 85;
_His Waffenkunde_, 42
Boucicaut, 32
Brantôme, 166
Brasses, 10, 65
Breastplates for _rennen_ and _stechen_, 95
Bulk of the armour of the sixteenth century made in Germany, 86
Bulls against tournaments, 11
_Bundrennen_, 100, 104
Burgmaier Hans, 89, 104
Burgonet, 106
Burres, 69
C
Cap of Maintenance, The, 37
Carrousels or Karoussels, 85, 107
Carter’s _Painting and Sculpture_, 23
Casualties at tournaments, 115
Caxton’s Epilogue, 82
— reference to the Royal Joust at London in 1390, 35
Cervillière, 37
Chain-mail, 21
Challenges for the _pas d’armes_ L’Arbre de Charlemagne in 1443, 59
Challenge by an esquire of Arragon in 1400, 49
Chamfron, The, 74, 109
_Chapitres d’Armes_, 9, 48, 57, 58, 114, 122
Chargers for the tourney and their equipment, 43
— often ridden blindfolded, 43
Charles the Bold, 43, 81, 88
Charles V, the Emperor, 88
Chastelain’s _Chroniques, Jacques de Lalain_, 44
Chaucer’s _Knight’s Tale_, 27
“Checques” or scoring tablets, 120
Chroniclers of the Tournament, 9
— Mediæval Latin, 9
Chronicle of Robert of Gloucester, 11
_Chronique de Monstrelet_, 44
_Chroniques de St. Remy_, 102
Collar of SS, 55, 66
Collections of Armour, 84
Colombière’s _Theater d’Honneur et de Chevalrie_, 153
Combat _à outrance_ near Vannes, 30
— on horseback at Arras in 1425, 53
— between three Portuguese and three Frenchmen in 1415, 53
Combat at Arras between five Frenchmen and five Burgundians, 55
— _à outrance_ between de Ternant and Galiot de Baltasin
in 1446, 109
Combats on foot, 105
Commines, P. de, 80
“Comyng in to the felde,” 67, 70
_Consilium Albiense_, 2
Coronal of the lance, 15, 69
Cost of jousting harnesses in the sixteenth century, 91
_Coup ou la lance des Dames_, 15
_Coup de Jarnac_, 165
_Course au pavois_, 100
Course of _Gestech_, run at Jena in 1487, 84
— _à la targe futée_, 99
— _à la queue_, 27
— _appelée Bund_, 100
Crests, 36, 37, 42
Crinet, 109
Crowds attending tournaments apt to become partisans, 12
Cuirass employed in _Rennen_, 98
Cushion or mattress placed on horse’s chest in jousting, 93
Cuisses, 70
Cyclas, 21
D
Dagworth, Sir Nicholas, 28
— brass in Blickling Church, 28
Death of Duke Philippe le Bon in 1467, 77
Decline of the tournament, 85
Decline of armour and its causes, 138
Decoration of lists _temp._ Henry VIII, 116
Deeds of Arms at Bordeaux in 1389, 32
— — — in 1402, 51
— — — at Valentia in 1403, 51
Definition of Esquires and Kings of Arms, 63
Definition of _Scharfrennen_, 97
Degradation of a Knight, 124
De La Marche, 73
Demi-harnesses, 109
De Pluvinal, 85
Differences in costume between knights and esquires, 65
Dillon, Viscount, 63, 68, 85, 105, 108
Disorderly tournament at Rochester in 1251, 16
Duel at Montereau in 1387, 30
— between the Dukes of Brittany and Bourbon, 46
— between the Bastard of Burgundy and Lord Scales in 1467, 76
Dugdale, Sir William, 148
_Dülgen_ or _Dilgen_ (Dichlinge) jousting-cuisses, 64, 98
Duke of Orleans challenges Henry IV of England, 51
Duties of “pursuivants d’armes,” 129
E
Edicts issued against tournaments, 11, 13
Effigies, 10, 20, 21
Effigy in St. Bride’s Church, Glamorganshire, 37
— Hoveringham Church, 65
— of Sir Richard Beauchamp, 66
Eglington Tournament in 1839, 139-142
_Ehrenpforte_, 89
English iron found unsuitable for armour making, 107
Enriched armour, 67, 109
Espinette, The, 36
_Excerpta Historica_, 82
Expression, The, “trapped and barded” defined, 109
F
Fatal accident in jousting to the Earl of Pembroke in 1390, 37
— — — — Henri II of France, 104, 126
Favine’s _Theatre of Honour and Knighthood_, 2, 6, 152
Feats of Arms at Entença, 31
— — Edinburgh in 1448, 64
— — near St. Omer in 1446, 71
— — at Bruges in 1446, 72
— — at Arras in 1446, 73
Fees to officers of arms, 135
_Feldrennen_, 101
_Feldturnier_, 101
Fêtes d’armes at St. Ingelbert in 1389, 5
— at Paris in 1559, 104, 125
— at Bruges in 1468, 78
Fêtes de l’Arbre d’Or in 1468, 79
ffoulkes, Chas. J., 91
Field of the Cloth of Gold, 122
Fifteenth Century, The, 38
Fight on foot between John Astley and Philip Boyle of Arragon, 67
Fine “hoasting” harness of the middle of the sixteenth century
at Berlin, 109
First joust of the Comte de Charolais at Brussels in 1452, 74
First coming into the tiltyard of Prince Charles of Wales
in 1619, 134
Fitzstephen, William, 9, 10
Fourteenth century a period of transition, 23
_Freiturnier_, 106
French King’s ordinance in 1409, 49
Friedrich of Saxony running in _Gestech_, 97
_Freydal_, 87, 88, 94, 97, 100, 101, 103, 105
Froissart, 23, 44, 155
_Fussturnier_, 106
G
Garde-rein, 95
Garter, Institution of the Order of the, 4
_Gedritts_, A, 99
_Gemeine deutsche Gestech_, 93, 94, 104
Germany captures the trade in armour from Milan, 38
_Geschiftrennen_, 99
_Geschifttartscherennen_, 100, 104
_Geschiftscheibenrennen_, 100, 105
_Gestech_ or _Stechen_, 93
_Gestech im Beinharnisch_, 93, 97, 104
_Gestech im hohen zeug_, 93
_Gestech_ ran at Leipzig in 1489, 96
Glossarium, Du Cange, 1
Göding, Heinrich, 89
Gothic armour, 65
Gothic armour of the connoisseur, 66, 108
Grand Assize, The, 147
Grand-guard, 63
Grand tournament at Brussels in 1428, 54
Grapers, 69
Great armour-smiths of the fifteenth century, 66
Great armour-smiths’ families, 38
Great wardrobe of Edward III, 26
Great jousting-helm, 94
Greaves, 70
Grelots, 103
Gunpowder and early ordnance, 23
Gurlitt, 85, 106
H
_Hach d’armes_, 62
Haenel, Professor, 85, 89
_Halbierung_, 101
Hall’s _Chronicle_, 85, 116
— florid account of the tournament at Westminster in 1511, 119
Hammer-headed axes, 74
Hardyng’s _Chronicle_, 18
Harness for the tourney became sharply divided from
“hoasting” armour, 40
Harnesses in Paris and London, for _Gestech_, 94
— at Nuremburg, for _Gestech_, 96
— for _Freiturnier_, 106
— for _Fussturnier_, 106
— for _Realgestech_, 106
Hastiludia, or spear-play, 2
Hastilude at Lincoln, 26
Hefner’s _Trachten_, 23
Helm for _Kolbenturnier_, 41
Helmet for foot-fighting, 67
Henry VIII imports German armour-smiths, 107
Henry VIII and Maximilian I take great delight in the tourney, 115
Henry VIII a successful jouster, 124
Heraldic bearings, 22
Hewitt’s _Ancient Armour_, etc., 36, 45, 69, 154
_History of the Life and Acts of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick_,
by John Rouse, 45
_Histoire Des Ducs De Bourgogne_, 53
“Hoasting” armour, 107
_Hohenzeuggestech_, 93, 94, 104
Holinshed’s _Chronicles_, 25, 85, 116
_Horda Angel-Cynnan_, 52
Horses charged at an amble in jousting, 94
Horse’s collar of bells, 96
“How a man schall be armyd at his ese when he schal fighte
on foote,” 71
“How lances shall be broken,” 80
I
Illuminations in Chronicles, 10
— of jousting at the tilt, 67
— depicting the arming of a man for a combat on foot, 70
Illustrations of _Geschifttartscherennen_ and
_Geschiftscheibenrennen_, 100
— —_Anzogenrennen_, 100
— — _Krönlrennen_, 100
— — tournaments of the sixteenth century, 67
Influence of the tournament, 138
J
Jambers, 108
Jean de Féore de St. Remy, 45
Jocelin of Brakelond, 12, 16
John Astley’s fight on foot with Phillippe Boyle of
Arragon in 1442, 56
Joust, The: William of Malmesbury’s definition, 3
Joust at the tilt: its origin and salient features, 102
— Cuirass employed, 103
Jousting armour at Dresden, 84
— exploits of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, 52
— helm, 93
— shield, 64, 96
— salade, 98
— cuisse, 98
— lances, 41
— in the open, 39
— traditions of Burgundy transferred to Germany and Austria, 81
— played a great part in the daily routine of the German Courts, 42
Jousts of courtesy with pointed lances, 97
— — Peace, 9
— — War, 9
— at Blei in 1256, 17
— of the early part of the fourteenth century, 23
Jousts pictured in _Codex Balduini Treverencis_, 25
Joust at Cheapside in 1330, 25;
at Dunstable in 1341, 25;
those held in 1347, 26;
at Northampton, Dunstable, Canterbury, Bury, Reading,
and Eltham, 26;
at Rennes in 1357, 28;
jousts held in honour of the marriage of Charles VI of France, 31;
jousting in Scotland in 1398, 37;
at the coronation of Queen Jane, 52;
jousting at the tilt at Dijon in 1443, 59;
at Tours in 1446, 61;
at Ghent in 1445, 62;
between John Astley and Philip Boyle, 67;
between John Astley and Pierre de Masse, 1438, 68;
jousts and pageants at Lille in 1453, 75;
jousting at Paris in 1468, 81;
“iust roial” at the marriage of Richard Duke of York, 81;
joust at the tilt between William IV of Bavaria and the
Pfalzgraf Friedrich of the Rhine in 1510, 103;
joust at Paris in 1513, 114;
at Naumburg in 1505, 114;
at Lille in 1513, 114;
jousts at the tilt in honour of the coronation of Henry VIII, 116;
at Richmond in 1510, 117;
at Greenwich in 1513, 120;
at Greenwich in 1517, 121;
jousting at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, 122;
jousting at Greenwich in 1536, 124;
jousts and barriers held in 1558, 125;
jousts at Westminster in 1581, 131.
_Joûte Allemand_, 93
_Joûte au harnois de jambe_, 93
_Joûte à la haute barde_, 93
_Joûtes à outrance_, 9
Judicial combats properly classed with the tournament, 8
— Duel, The, 145
— — _temp._ Richard II, 154;
at Paris 1386, 155;
between Dukes of Hereford and Norfolk, 156;
between men and their wives, 158;
with spiked clubs, 159;
duel at Arras in 1431, 161;
at Quesnoy in 1405, 161;
at Smithfield in 1446, 163;
duel compounded in 1446, 162;
duel at Valenciennes in 1455, 163;
in France in 1547, 165;
at Haddington in 1548, 165.
— duels became rare _temp._ Queen Elizabeth, 166
— duel of the knightly order in 1603, 167
— — ordered in 1571, 167; and in 1817
Jupon, 28
_Justes mortelles_, 97
Juvenal des Ursins, 31, 155
K
_Kampfschurz_, 105
“Kerchief of Plasaunce,” 27
King Philippe Augustus sends a challenge to King Richard I, 13
King Edward III invades France, 26
King Henri IV challenges Mayenne to single combat, 127
King René’s writings illustrated by himself, 46
“Kinges of Armes and Hauraldes,” 131
Kings of Arms, 16
Knight-errantry, 11
Knightly panoply of the thirteenth century, 21
Knightly armour of late in the thirteenth century, 28
_Kolbenturnier_, 41, 94
_Kolben_ or baston, 41
_Krönlrennen_, 101
L
Lance, The, 18, 69, 90, 96, 98, 108
Lances rebated in 1252, 3, 15
Lance-heads, 41
Lance-rest, 40, 95
La Statuta d’Armes de Turneys _temp._ Henry V, 53
Latest phrase of _cap-à-pie_ armour, 138
Laton, 66
Law for judicial combats in abeyance for a long period, 167
Law for trial by combat repealed _anno_ 1818, 168
Leitner, Querin von, 85
Letters of safeguard, 115
Lists, 77, 122, 147
Lists described, 14;
their officials, 15;
only five authorized in England, 14;
frequently artificially lighted, 42;
strewn with sand or tanning refuse, 40
Lists for foot combats, 67
Lists at Dijon in 1443, 57;
at West Smithfield in 1467, 76
Literature concerning tournaments, 85
Locking gauntlet, 49, 106
Lombarde, 10
M
_Magenblech_, 98
Main courses of the joust, 92
_Maneige Royal_, 85
Manifer or mainfare, 64
Mantling or Lambrequin, 37, 95
Manuscripts in Burgundian Library, 143
Marche, De La, 77, 78
Marie of Burgundy, 88
Matthieu de Courci, 65
Matthew Paris, 9
Matthew of Westminster, 9
Mattress, A, protects the horse’s breast, 39
“Maximilian” armour, 108
Maximilian I, 43, 87
— — engages armour-smiths at Milan, 39
— of Austria a successful jouster, 124
Maximilian II mounted for _Scharfrennen_, 99
Mechanism in shields for _Genschifttartscherennen_
and _Geschiftscheibenrennen_, 100
_Mêlée_, The, 46, 100;
much supplanted by the joust, 41
_Mémoires de la Marche_, 44, 76
_Mémoires de Sire de Haynin_, 46
Menestrier, 85
Method of tilting described, 39
Meyrick, 63, 69
Meyrick’s _Critical Essay on Antient Armour_, 46
Milan the chief seat for the manufacture of body-armour, 38
_Military and Religious Life in the Middle Ages_, 62
Modern revivals of the tournament, 139
Monkish chronicles, 34
Monstrelet, 44
Montfaucon, 153
Moton or Bisague, 69
Motons, 83, 95
Mounted models at Dresden, 84
Much that is fanciful and unreal written about tournaments, 85
N
Narrow escape from death of Henry VIII in tilting, 123
New forms of jousting with variants, 86
New forms of civil dress always reflected in armour, 107
New modes of armour of fifteenth century had their birth
in Italy, 66
_Nugæ Antiquæ_, 46
Number of courses usually run at a joust tended to increase, 29
O
Ordeal, Early form of, 147
Order of the Garter, 26
— Golden Fleece, 44
“Ordinance of kepyng of the Felde,” 131
Ordinances, statutes, and rules promulgated
by John Tiptoft in 1466, 46
Origin of the joust, 3
_Origines Juridiciales_, 148
Orle or wreath, 37
P
Pageantry combined with tournaments often of
incredible puerility, 116
Paper on “A MS. Collection of Ordinances of Chivalry
of the fifteenth century,” 67
Paris, Matthew, on the Round Table, 3
_Pas d’armes_ at Arras in 1435, 55;
at L’Arbre de Charlemagne near Dijon in 1443, 57;
at West Smithfield in 1467, 76;
at Greenwich _temp._ Henry VII, 82;
at Ayre in Picardy in 1494, 111;
Pas de la Pélerine in 1446, 71;
L’Arbre d’Or in 1468, 61;
at end of fifteenth century, 48;
at Westminster in 1501, 113
— — frequently combined with masques and mummeries, 75
Pas-gard, The, 63, 106, 108
Patents taken out in England for models of horses for jousting
fitted with mechanical appliances for impulsion, 91
“Peasecod-bellied” breastplates, 104
Peffenhauser, Anton, 91, 106
Penalties inflicted for the infraction of tournament rules, 12
Pensill, The, 70
Père, Daniel, 13
Permanent lists, 107
Perquisites of officials of lists, 15
Persons exempted from judicial duels, 148
Peytral, The, 109
_Pfannenrennen_, 101, 105
_Pfeifenharnis_, 109
Philippe le Bon, 45
Pictorial representations of jousts and tournaments, 23
Pictures of jousts in the _Gewehrgallerie_, Dresden, 89;
picture at Dresden of models of horses impelled for charging
by a mechanical apparatus, 90;
of the procession to the lists at the tournament at
Westminster in 1511, 117;
of a legal duel, 151;
of an informal legal duel, 153;
of a knightly judicial duel, 164
_Pièces d’avantage_, 63
Poldermiton, The, 64, 96
Position of peaks or tapuls on the breastplate, 110
Preuilli, Geoffroi de, 1
Prince Dolphin of Auvergne, 132
Prizes, 16, 76, 86, 111, 114, 125, 127
Proofs by fire and water, 146
Q
Queue, The, 40, 95
Quintain, The, 6, 75
R
Ranulph de Glanville, 148
_Rasthaken_ or queue, 104
_Realgestech_, 103, 106
Realistic tournament at Paris, 31
Records of tournaments in the College of Arms, London, 85;
among the Ashmolean, Harleian, and Cottonian MSS, 85
Reinforcing pieces, 63, 64;
first appear in England in the reign of Edward IV, 40;
worn at Ghent in 1445, 63
René d’Anjou, 55, 131
_Rennen_, 89;
at Minden between August of Saxony and Johann von Ratzenberg, 99
Representations of the tourney on tapestry and carvings on ivory, 10
Revival of the tournament in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, 125, 126
Robert of Gloucester, 9
Rockenburger, Sigmund, 99
Roger de Hoveden, 9;
his _Annals_, 12
“Roiall iustes” at Smithfield in 1358;
at London in 1359, 27;
and 1362, 28
Roll of purchases for the tournament at Windsor Park in 1278, 18
Roll in the Heralds’ College of the “iusts” at Westminster
in honour of Queen Katherine, 117
Romance of Richard Cœur de Lion, Sir Ferumbras, and others, 23;
Roman de Rou, 9;
du roy Miliadus, 23;
Perceforest, 27;
Petit Jehan de Saintré, 45;
Three King’s Sons, 130
Round Table (_Tabula Rotunda_) Definition, 6;
Reason for the institution given by Dugdale, 4;
Round Table held by the Earl of Mortimer at Kenilworth
in 1279, 3, 17;
Actual Round Table at Winchester, 4;
Henry III forbad the holding of a round table in 1251, 13;
Round Table at Windsor in 1344, at Valenciennes in same year, 6;
at Windsor in 1343, 1345, 1352, 4, 26;
at Lichfield in 1348 or 1349, 26
Routine of an early tournament, 15
Royal Jousts, 24;
in 1513, 1515, 1519, 1520, 121;
1539, 124
Rules for the tournament promulgated by King René, 46
— — — the _Mêlée_ and for “Barriers,” 47
— in France for judicial combats, 151;
for conducting them in England _temp._ Richard II, 160;
_temp._ Richard III, 161;
_temp._ Henry VIII, 165
Running at the Ring, 6, 7
_Rüsthaken_, or lance-rest, 95, 104
S
Sabatons, 70
Saddles: each form of joust had its special type, 39, 42, 43, 93,
94, 98, 102
Safeguards granted for tournaments, 85
Sainte-Palaye on the tournament, 139
_Scharfrennen_, or _Rennen_, 89, 93, 97;
realistic representation at Dresden, 99
_Scharmützel_ at Dresden in 1553, 106;
at Eltham in 1515, 121;
at Westminster in 1581, 132
Schaufflein, Hans, 88
_Schwänzel_, 95, 99
Scoring of points in jousting, 49, 131
Scoring “Checques,” 127, 129, 130
Seals, 10
Seigneur de la Marche, 45
Serious accidents in jousting, 55, 56
Seusenhofer, Conrad, 92, 108
Shields, 37, 99, 100, 101, 104
Singular judicial duel between Jews, 153
— form of judicial duel, 159
Skirmish at Toury in 1380, 29
Societé de Bibliophiles Belges, 46
“Solemne iusts enterprised in 1400,” 49
“Solemn Triumphes” at Richmond in 1494, 84;
at London in 1502, 114
Some fashions of armour in the sixteenth century
very ineffective, 107
Speyer, Peter von, 109
Spurs, 99
Standard of mail, 65
Statuta de Armis, 19
_Stechen_, 89
Stephen, King, 10
_Stirnplätter_, 63, 98
Strengthening jousting harness, 38
Subterranean jousting at Montereau in 1420, 53
Suits at Paris and Dresden for jousting at the tilt, 103
_Schweifrennen_: see _Scharfrennen_, 97
T
_Tabula Rotunda_ held at Wallenden in 1252, 3
Tapestry at Valenciennes, 42, 83
Taxes levied on tournaments, 12
Tenans, Rôle of the, 33
“Tenants” at the tournament at Westminster in 1511, 118
Terms: “tourney” and “joust” often confounded with one another, 3
_Testamenta Vetusta_, 28
_Theuerdank_, 88
Thomas of Walsingham, 17
Tilt, The, 39, 67
Tilting in Tudor times, 102
“Tilting in Tudor Times,” a paper by Viscount Dillon, 130
Tilt, tourney and barriers, 133
“To arme a man,” 67, 71
“To cry a Justus of Pees,” 67, 69
“To cry a tourney,” 25
Tomaso da Missaglia, 66
Tonlet armour, 67, 108
Tournaments, Origin of, 1;
Definition by Roger de Hoveden, 1;
by Claude Favchet, 1;
Introduction claimed for Germany, 2;
Rules of 1066, 1;
Introduced into England from France, 10;
Revived in England by Richard I, 12;
tournaments of twelfth and thirteenth centuries, 11;
rough and brutal up to reign of Edward I, 11;
Banned by Church and State, 11;
controlled by Royal Ordinances, 12;
very popular in France, 13;
Edicts issued against them, 14, 16;
Forbidden in 1302, 24
Tournaments held in 1247 and 1248, 16;
at Brackley in 1250, 12;
at Neuss, 11;
at Chalòns in 1274, 16;
at Condé in 1327, 24;
at London in 1342, 25;
at Mons, 28;
at Nantes, 30;
at Cambray in 1385, 29;
at St. Ingelbert about 1389, 32;
at London in 1390, 34;
at Windsor about 1395, 35;
at Brussels in 1452, 74, 75;
on the coronation of Edward IV, 76;
at Paris in 1515, 114;
at Hampton Court in 1570, 126;
at Westminster in 1572, 129;
at Westminster in 1581, 132;
at Windsor in 1593, 133
Tournaments attained their highest development about the middle
of the fifteenth century, 85;
were much fostered at the Courts of Aix and Burgundy, 43;
closely associated with pageants and mummeries in the
sixteenth century, 86;
neglected in the reigns of Edward VI and Queen Mary, 124;
greatly prevailed at the German Courts, 86
Tournament of the Royal Amaranthus in 1620, 137;
the revival at Brussels in 1905, 142-144
Tourney. The term and its application, 114;
as practised by the Londoners in the reign of King Stephen, 10
Tourney books. René d’Anjou’s, 41, 93;
Electors of Saxony, 89;
Duke Henry of Braunschweig-Luneberg, 92;
Duke William IV of Bavaria, 92;
Maximilian I at Sigmaringen, 42, 89;
Zuganovitz Stanislaus, 92
_Traité de Tournois_, par Louis de Bruges, 45
_Traicte de la forme et Devis d’ung Tournois_, 131
Transition from chain-mail to plate-armour, 21, 65
Trappers, 91, 103, 116
Treatises against judicial duels, 167
Trial by combat: civil cases, 149;
criminal cases, 149;
the custom never took deep root in England, 148;
its scope and history, 146;
working of the institution in Germany, 157;
judicial duel at Westminster in 1380, 154;
at Sedan, 166;
combat allowed as late as 1817, 168
Triumph at Earl’s Court in 1912, 144-45
_Triumph of Maximilian_, 89, 109
“Triumphant iusts and turnies” in the second year of Henry V, 53
Trivet, 16
Typtofte Rules _anno_ 1446, 46
V
Vamplate, The, 36, 40, 98
Varlets, 14
Vauldray, Claude de, 111
_Verein für historische Waffenkunde_, 89
“Volante-Piece,” The, 63
W
Wace, 9
_Waffenkunde_, 93, 106
Wallace Collection of Armour, 94
_Wappenmeisterbuch of Hans Schwenkh_, 92, 103
Water Quintain in 1585, 133
Way, Albert, 67
Weapons for foot-fighting, 105
_Weisskünig_, 89, 100
_Welsch Gestech_ or Italian Joust, 93, 102, 104
White Hoods, 26
William of Malmesbury, 9
William of Newbury, 9, 10, 11
“Woalant piece over the head,” 82
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN
BY WILLIAM BRENDON AND SON, LTD.
PLYMOUTH, ENGLAND
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Tournament—Its Periods and Phases" ***
Copyright 2023 LibraryBlog. All rights reserved.