Medieval+Tournaments+and+Jousts

= Medieval Tournaments and Jousts =

//**What was the significance of this topic during the Middle Ages?**//

The significance of medieval tournaments and jousts was to entertain people during festival. The tournaments were also used as a military exercise to prepare for war. Only knights could fight in them and there were special rules that went with it. The most popular event was the joust in which two knights with lances tried to unhorse each other. If there was a tie the person who's lance had shattered was given the points. The melee, the baston event, and the foot combat were other events. In the melee there were groups of knights that fought on horseback. The baston event was where pairs or groups of knights tried to knock the erest off opponents helmets with clubs or swords. For the foot combat event knights fought in fencing exhibitions. Tournaments usually had parades and pageants where Arthurian Literature was acted out. Pageants were very popular and fake castles were often set up so knights could pretend to rescue a beautiful princess. Pretend tournaments were held at local festivals as a humorous event. The whole point of tournaments and jousts were to entertain people at fairs and to help knights prove themselves. RJ

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//**Include a picture that relates to this topic. Explain what the picture is showing.**//

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//**How did this topic influence life and events of the time period?**// The medieval tournaments were used as military exercises for knights in France during the 1000's.In these tournaments only knights could participate and there were many different events in each different tournament.There were events like Melee,Jousting,The Baston event,and the foot combat event.Jousts were armored knights who would try and strike the other opponent with long and wooden barriers that were called lists.The player with the broken lance was given an extra point because this proved he had hit his opponent hard and with force.Tournaments were festive occasions. Parades and pageants also accompanied the tournaments to make it more festive.NR Works Cited
 * Jordan, William Chester. “The Tounament.” Games and Pasttimes. Vol. 2nd. New York: Charels Scribners Son, 1996. 140-143. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 3 May 2010.

// **Connect this topic to something we studied earlier or to the world today.** //

 People during Medieval times participated in many different games. There were two different kinds of games, physical and sitting games. Action games required physical activity, such as frog-in-the-middle,blind mans bluff, and many others, too many to name. There were tournaments of such physical sports, but only knights could partake in said tournaments. Sitting games were intellectual games, such as games of cards, dice, backgammon, and chess, chess being held in great esteem. Games and other forms of entertainment were varied as well as important, just like the games of the modern world. DJR Works Cited
 * Jordan, William. “Games and Pastimes.” The Middle Ages. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1996. 140-143. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 5 May 2010.

//**Describe, define or explain this topic.**//

My topic is on Medieval tournaments and jousts. Tournaments began as military exhibitions. Through the years the style and purpose changed a lot. The tournaments held events such as Melees, which later was replaced by jousts. A joust is where two or more people are on horses with lances in their arms, and when they are ready they charge at each other. A tournament is where people compete in special events. In some cases, a knight would imitate a hero by making their intention yo defend a certain spot against all the challengers. Towards the late renaissance, the people who took part in the tournaments were more actors then competitors. Eventually the tournament came to include music and shows of horsemanship. This is a short paragraph explaining Medieval tournaments and games. PH Works Cited
 * “Tournaments.” Renaissance: An Encyclopedia for Students. Ed. Paul F. Grendler. Vol. 4. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2004. 129-130. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 5 May 2010.

//**What was the impact of this topic on today's society?**//

Some of the most exciting events in the Middle Ages were the Tournament and the Joust and some places still host them today. The Tournament was the most spectacular sporting event in the middle ages. The Tournament consisted of many events. One of those events was the Joust,the most popular event. It was when two knights charged at each other with a lance in their hand while riding on horseback trying to unhorse the other knight. If both knights were on horseback after they charged at each other,the knight with the broken lance got the extra point because it means that knight hit his opponent more squarely and had more power striking than his opponent. Today,if you go to some medieval places you can still see knights Joust. Since the Jousts were so popular in the Tournament, some medieval places still have knights Joust. That is what the Tournament and the Jousts were about and how they have an impact on today's society. TJC Works Cited
 * “Games and Pastimes.” The Middle Ages: An Encyclopedia for Students. Ed. William Chester Jordan. Vol. 2. 1996. New York: Charles Scribner’s Son, 1996. 140-143. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 5 May 2010.

This page was created during the Month of April 2010 This page was last updated during the Month of May 2010