Tournaments were a uniquely medieval phenomenon that were part-military training, part-sport, and of a character all their own. Full of colour, pageantry, and action, the tournament was a marked part of medieval society for centuries.
Medieval Rules for Jousting
January 7, 2015 By
Here is a set of rules for jousting created by Alfonso XI, King of Castile, in 1330.
Urban Jousts in the Later Middle Ages: The White Bear of Bruges
July 18, 2014 By
Jousting competitions between towns excited passions which, far from releasing citizens into some escapist unreality, could plunge them instead into violence.
MOVIE REVIEW: ‘A Knight’s Tale’
May 19, 2014 By
Staying home on a Sunday night? Looking for a fun medieval movie to watch? Here is my review of ‘A Knight’s Tale’ for your Sunday night selection!
Knighthood in later medieval Italy
August 6, 2013 By
There is a clear reason for this general discounting of Italian knighthood in the later Middle Ages. The traditional focus of northern Italian historiography being cities and civic life, knighthood has struggled to find a place in the world of communes and city-states, merchants and markets.
A Burgundian Death: The tournament in Le Chevalier Délibéré
January 18, 2013 By
Le Chevalier Délibéré (1483) by Olivier de la Marche (c. 1425-1502) is a poem of great literary value. But it was also conceived and received in a historical context. Its central theme, the tournament of Atropos (Death), reflects the spectacle of choice for the Burgundian Nobility of the fifteenth century: the tournament, specifically the Pas d’Armes.
Tournament Culture in the Low Countries and England
January 6, 2013 By
In England and the Low Countries towards the end of the thirteenth century, a common chivalric culture had emerged which permitted exchanges and mutual participation in tournaments on both sides of the Channel.
Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament – a Review
September 10, 2012 By
What is Medieval Times? Medievalists.net decided to see for ourselves and go to the Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament in Toronto, Canada. Here is our review of the show:
On the Origin and Diffusion of European Ball Games: A Linguistic Analysis
February 3, 2010 By
It thus appears that the medieval chivalric tournament served as the model for the ancestor of all, medieval football, and that this came was later the inspiration for other games such as hockey, tennis, and, ultimately, of seemingly unrelated games such as golf.
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