Jousting

History

Jousting began as a military tactic used by heavy cavalry in the High Middle Ages. By the 1300s, nobles and even kings were participating to display their bravery and skill, and the activity was just as hazardous for a monarch as for any knight. After the 1400s, jousting became a sport, known as a hastilude, with no direct connection to warfare. Between the 11th and 14th centuries, armor shifted from chain mail, paired with a heavy helmet called a great helm and a shield, to plate armor.

By 1400, knights wore full plate armor, referred to as a harness. In those early days, a joust was simply a martial meeting—a general duel not limited to the lance. Riders would charge at each other with lances, but could switch to shorter weapons after closing the distance or after one or both were knocked from their horses. Tournaments during the High Middle Ages were rough and lacked the gentlemanly conduct of later periods.

Groups fought each other with the goal of disabling opponents to seize their horses, weapons, and ransom money. As chivalric ideals developed in the late medieval period, jousting became more regulated, a trend also seen in the pas d'armes. Exploiting an opponent’s weakness was now considered dishonorable, and knights took care to avoid having an unfair advantage, seeking honor by fighting against the odds. This romanticized chivalric revival drew from the chivalric romances of the earlier medieval era, which noblemen tried to reenact in real life, sometimes blurring the line between reality and fiction.

Modern revivals

Modern jousting reenactments began appearing in the 1970s. One of the earliest was a medieval joust staged at the Ulster 71 exhibition in Belfast. A more well-known show followed in 1972 at the Principality of Gwrych in North Wales, near Abergele. Troupes like Knights Limited put on organized performances with casts ranging from five to fifty actors. Other companies, such as Medieval Times, feature jousting as part of their dinner shows. Seasonal jousting displays also take place at Warwick Castle and Hever Castle in England. Groups including the Knights of Middle England and the Knights of Royal England tour Britain and Europe, putting on medieval-style tournaments. At the Danish museum Middelaldercentret, daily jousting tournaments run throughout the season.

The breakaway balsa wood lance, now common in competitive jousting, was invented around 1973 by John Waller. By the mid-1970s, the Medieval Society had started jousting among themselves using these lances. In the United States, the Knights of Valour, a theatrical jousting group, was founded by Shane Adams in 1993. Its members began training for competitive jousting, and their first tournament took place in 1997.

Adams later created the World Championship Jousting Association (WCJA), an organization dedicated to jousting as a combat sport. The WCJA held its first tournament in Port Elgin, Ontario, on 24 July 1999. This style of jousting was featured in the 2012 television show Full Metal Jousting, hosted by Adams. The rules draw inspiration from Realgestech, also called Plankengestech, a form of stechen practiced in 16th-century Germany.

In that tradition, reinforcing pieces were added to the armour to create specific target areas. Instead of a shield, jousters aim for a reinforcing piece on the left shoulder, known as a Brechschild or Stechtartsche.

Several regular jousting events are held across Europe, some organized by Arne Koets, including The Grand Tournament of Sankt Wendel and The Grand Tournament at Schaffhausen. Koets is among the jousters who travel internationally to compete. The first modern competitive joust using solid lances and steel coronels took place in Australia in 2010.