ousting

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"Joust" redirects here. For other uses, see Joust (disambiguation).

Renaissance-era depiction of a joust in traditional or "high" armor, based on then-historical late medieval

armour (Paulus Hector Mair, de arte athletica, 1540s)

Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two horsemen wielding lances with

blunted tips, often as part of a tournament. The primary aim was to replicate a clash
of heavy cavalry, with each participant trying hard to strike the opponent while riding
towards him at high speed, breaking the lance on the opponent's shield or jousting
armour if possible, or unhorsing him. The joust became an iconic characteristic of
the knight in Romantic medievalism. The participants experience close to three and a
quarter times their body weight in G-forces when the lances collide with their armour. [1]
The term is derived from Old French joster, ultimately from Latin iuxtare "to approach, to
meet". The word was loaned into Middle English around 1300, when jousting was a very
popular sport among the Anglo-Norman knighthood. The synonym tilt dates c. 1510.
Jousting is based on the military use of the lance by heavy cavalry. It transformed into a
specialised sport during the Late Middle Ages, and remained popular with
the nobility in England and Wales, Germany and other parts of Europe throughout the
whole of the 16th century (while in France, it was discontinued after the death of King
Henry II in an accident in 1559).[2] In England, jousting was the highlight of the Accession
Day tilts of Elizabeth I and of James VI and I, and also was part of the festivities at the
marriage of Charles I.[3]
From 10 July to 9 August 1434, the Leonese Knight Suero de Quiñones and ten of his
companions encamped in a field beside a bridge and challenged each knight who
wished to cross it to a joust. This road was used by pilgrims all over Europe on the way
to shrine at Santiago de Compostela, and at this time of the summer, many thousands
would cross the bridge. Suero and his men swore to "break 300 lances" before moving
on. The men fought for over a month, and after 166 battles Suero and his men were so
injured they could not continue and declared the mission complete. [4]
 Jousting was discontinued in favour of other equestrian sports in the 17th century,
although non-contact forms of "equestrian skill-at-arms" disciplines survived. There has
been a limited revival of theatrical jousting re-enactment since the 1970s.

Contents

 1Medieval joust
o 1.1High Middle Ages
o 1.2Late Middle Ages
 2Renaissance-era joust
 3Horses
 4Modern revivals
o 4.1Modern-day jousting
o 4.2Competitive jousting
 5See also
 6References
 7External links

Medieval joust[edit]

Depiction of a late 13th-century joust in the Codex Manesse. Joust by Walther von Klingen.

The medieval joust has its origins in the military tactics of heavy cavalry during the High
Middle Ages. By the 14th century, many members of the nobility, including kings, had
taken up jousting to showcase their own courage,