Jousting

Jousting

Depending on who you ask, there are many different things that come to people's minds when one hears the word, chivalry. Some might say: knights, castles, horses, damsels in distress, Knights in shinning armor.... i could go on and on. I think of all these things as well, but I also think of Jousting. In a time when courage, honor and integrity were valued jousting was not only a sport, but a way for knights to prove their skill and courage.

When we think of a knight in shining armor, we almost automatically think of the grand joust. It's hard not to imagine the thunderous hoof beats and the roar of the crowd as two knights race towards each other in a test of skill and nerve.

The joust grew from the chaotic melee of the tournaments that were always taking place. As more and more restrictions were put on man to man combat; a tournament was developed where men rode horses and carried lances. This dangerous form of combat, was an event designed to test the horsemanship and weapons skill of the individual knight. Jousting tournaments caught on quickly because it truly tested every aspect of a chivalric man. Not only did it test the skill a knight had with weapons, but it also tested his skill with of controlling and riding a horse. In a sense, a jousting match could prove or disprove a knights ability to be a truly chivalric knight.

In the joust the knight used the lance, a weapon specifically designed for mounted combat. At first jousters would simply spur their horses towards one another, weapons ready, each attempting to knock each other off there horses. If a knight was knocked to the ground, his battle was as good as lost. For the mounted warrior could run him down, trample him with his horse, or spear him with his lance; all while out of reach of the land bound fighter.

When the joust came to represent the horsemanship of the fighter, safeguards evolved. The lance was fitted with a three pronged tip called a coronal, which was designed to keep the weapon from penetrating a knights helm and to re-distribute the force of the impact. Also, armor was developed specifically for the joust.