Knights and tournaments (A.M) Knights rode onto the battlefield in armour - they were the heavy cavalry. Todays cavalry units ride in tanks and armoured cars. It was important that knights were well armed and well trained. Tournaments began as a training ground for knights. In the mêlée and the joust a knight could master the skills that they would need in war. The tournament or tourney gradually became a lively social event. Sets of tournament rules were developed and the laws of chivalry described how a knight should behave. Tournaments were divided into different events. The mêlée was a mock battle - it was usually a free-for-all where knights tried to capture their opponents for ransom. The joust was a later development where knights on horseback rode against one another in acts of single combat. Reputations and fortunes were made on the tournament field. Scottish knights travelled to the continent to appear in tournaments. Before William the Lion became King of Scotland he fought in tournaments in Northern France. His chamberlain, the Scottish knight Sir Philip de Valognes, was captured and ransomed during a mêlée by the famous English knight William Marshall. By the end of the medieval age tournaments had become huge theatrical and sporting pageants that allowed kings to display their wealth and prestige. In Edinburgh, in 1507 and 1508, King James IV staged the Tournament of the Wild Knight and the Black Lady. The King took the role of the Wild Knight and defeated all the other combatants to win the Black Lady. The tournaments were massive and expensive events accompanied by lavish feasts, music and dancing. Knights were often injured during tournaments and sometimes they died. In July 1559 the father-in-law of Mary Queen of Scots - King Henri II of France - was killed during a jousting accident. He was jousting against Gabriel Montgomery, captain of the Garde Écossaise, when a piece of broken lance pierced Henris eye. Despite the dangers, tournaments remained popular among the nobility into the Early Modern age. oldlondonbridge/latemediaeval.shtml
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 20:33:20 +0000
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