THE TOURNAMENT.
The word is derived from the French “tournoyer,” to wheel round, and
the name in old French was “tournoiement.” Tournaments were first
instituted as training schools for the practice of arms, and were
later tempered by the rules of chivalry. Jousts or justs of peace
(_hastiludia pacifica_) were single combats, or a succession of such,
for a prize or trial of skill; while the tourney was troop against
troop. The term “passage of arms” is often used somewhat generally;
but, strictly interpreted, it was a combat where several knights on
each side were engaged, some fighting on foot, others on horseback. The
sword was often blunt and pointless, being of whalebone covered with
leather and silvered over. When actual swords were used no thrusting
was permitted, but striking only. The length of the lance proper was
usually about fourteen feet, the shaft being of ash; but there were
several varieties of the weapon for the different “courses”; and in
very early times, like the lance for battle, it was both thinner and
shorter. An ordinance of the thirteenth century provides that the
lance should be blunted, but this having been systematically evaded,
another ordinance of the century following required the lance-head
to be in the form of a coronal; and this law was for a time strictly
enforced. There are examples in the Tower of London, and specimens
exist in most museums abroad, notably at Dresden. The courses to be
run were generally three in number. “Joustes à outrance” were to the
death. Tournaments had their birth in Germany, in which country warlike
games, probably inherited from the Romans, prevailed as early as the
ninth century; indeed, there was an important “passage of arms” at
Strasburg in the year 842.[20] They continued very popular after the
breaking up of the Franco-Germanic empire, and formed the pastime of
the higher class up to the Thirty Years’ War. These early warlike
games, in spite of all precautions, were often attended with great loss
of life, and as many as sixty combatants have been put _hors de combat_
at one “passage of arms.” They were always popular in France, and held
there on a large scale; indeed, it is claimed that the “tournoiement,”
properly so called, had its birth in that country, where it is said
to have been instituted by Geoffrey de Preuilli, who died in 1066;
and these warlike games were very much in vogue during the reign of
Philip Augustus. The armour and weapons for the tournament at this time
were the same as those used for battle, and continued so until after
the reign of Edward III.; but the lighter form of lance was common
in France long after it had been discarded in the other countries
mentioned, and the French shaft was made of sycamore or fir. It was not
before the beginning of the twelfth century that jousting or fighting
with lance in rest became common; in fact, until then the lances in
use were unsuitable for that purpose. Much information regarding the
armament of combatants, the usages to be observed, and the regulations
as to heralds, pursuivants-at-arms, esquires, and varlets, besides
many interesting details, is contained in the _Statutum Armorum ad
Torniamenta_, written towards the end of the thirteenth century. New
and more stringent rules had become necessary, because of the frequency
of the “joust of peace” degenerating into one “à outrance.” This evil
had become so great that the Pope forbade the games in England, and
King Edward III. repeatedly issued fiats against them, and so also
did his successor; still the Crown frequently issued licences for
tournaments being held. An excellent description of the arms and
armour employed at a later age may be found in the Tourney Book of King
René d’Anjou (_Tournois du Roi René_), illuminated by himself, with a
most minute statement of the rules, ceremonial, and courses; and in it
is a graphic account of the combat between the Dukes of Brittany and
Bourbon. A miniature in this book exhibits a knight entering the lists
with great ceremony. The first regular tournament in England occurs
in the reign of Stephen, and another was held very early in that of
Henry II., but its consequences were of such a nature as to induce that
monarch, at the pressing instance of the priesthood, to forbid these
games. So great, however, was their popularity that they continued
to be held in spite of the king’s fiat, though it was not before the
reign of his heroic son that they became common, and were then kept in
strict bounds by royal ordinances. Henry III. charges his subjects that
“they offend not by tourneying,” and, as already mentioned, even as
late as 1299 edicts were issued against the games. There were only five
authorised centres for lists in England, and four of these were south
of the Trent. Tournaments in the northern counties required a special
licence. Earls competing were obliged to pay twenty marks to the king,
barons ten marks, and knight-bannerets and bachelors two to four marks,
according to estate. The plan of the earliest lists was circular with
palisades, but the form was afterwards changed to square rather longer
than broad, and the latest were often made oblong. They varied very
much in size, and were ornamented with tapestry and heraldic devices.
Permanent lists were often enclosed by a ditch or moat. Roofed-in
wooden erections, sometimes with sloping galleries for the spectators,
were usually placed at the sides of the lists, and were often highly
decorated. The marshals of the lists, heralds and pursuivants-at-arms,
were stationed within the enclosure to take note of the various
incidents taking place among the combatants, and it was the duty
of the first-named to see that the rules of chivalry were strictly
observed. Varlets were in attendance to assist the esquires in looking
after their masters, especially when unhorsed. Trumpets announced the
entry of each competitor, who was followed by his esquires into the
lists. Each knight usually bore on his person some token from his
lady-love, which was disposed on his helmet, lance, or shield. A prize
was bestowed after a tournament, and presented with great pomp and
ceremony. The arms and armament of the vanquished fell as spoil to the
victors, unless ransomed by a payment in money. This was, however, only
the case in jousts of courtesy, not in combats “à outrance.”
During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries an immense amount of
artistic skill was freely lavished on armour for the lists, as well
as on that for purposes of parade. It was common to hold a “passage
of arms” for three days; two of them for contending on horseback, and
the third on foot. Lances were used on the first day, swords and maces
on the second, and pole-axes on the third. Those open to all comers
were termed “joutes plenières.” Pluvinel, who wrote at the close of
the reign of James I., says: “There ought to be at each end of the
lists a little scaffold, the height of the stirrup, on which two or
three persons can stand, viz., the knight, the armourer to arm him
and his assistant, and hence he mounts his steed.” Froissart, writing
towards the end of the fourteenth century, gives a graphic account of
the tournament in his day. Judicial combats were common throughout
the century, and usually took place within the nearest lists. Trial
“by ordeal,” or the judgment of God, was a strange outcome of the
Christian faith as practised during the “dark ages” of our era. It
implied, of course, a strictly personal God, who specially interested
himself in the doings of every one, and a simple, child-like faith
that the Omnipotent would order victory to the just cause and protect
the innocent from injustice. The “ordeal” was by fire, hot iron,
boiling water, and by the sword. It was suppressed towards the end of
the twelfth century, and was followed by that of single combat, “God
shewing the right.” This method was in full accord with the chivalrous
spirit of the times. Old persons, women, and minors were represented
by “champion.” The combat might continue from noon to sundown, and if
it lasted as long the innocence of the accused was established and
proclaimed. This form of combat was only applied in the cases of crimes
punishable with death, and only when merely circumstantial evidence
was available. A figure of a judicial combat occurs in the _Conquêtes
de Charlemagne_, a manuscript of the fifteenth century in the National
Library at Paris. The combatants wore chain-mail, with genouillières
and coudières, the period represented being late thirteenth or early
fourteenth century. An angel superintends the duel.[21]
The custom of “judicial combats” fell into disuse in the fifteenth
century.----We must confess to a lively partiality for the history
of Sir Walter Scott, in spite of his facile imagination and palpable
inaccuracies, and think the graphic picture of “The Gentle and Joyous
Passage of Arms” at Ashby-de-la-Zouche, with “La Royne de la Beauté
et des Amours,” gives as delightful an account of a tournament in
the times of Richard Cœur-de-Lion as need be wished for. The gallant
knights are distinguished by their belts and gilded spurs.
“The knights are dust
And their good swords are rust,
Their souls are with the saints, we trust.”
In the specification for arms and armour for the tournament of Windsor
Park (1278) we see of what each suit consisted, viz., “one coat of
fence, one surcoat, one pair of ailettes, two crests (one for the
horse), one shield (heraldically ensigned), one helm of leather
(gilded or silvered), and one sword made of whalebone.” The cost of
each armament varied in price from about ten to thirty shillings.
The shields were of wood, costing fivepence each. The total cost of
the combined thirty-eight armaments was about £80. Chaucer refers to
tournaments in the following lines:--
“The heralds left their pricking up and down,
Now ringen trumpets loud and clarion.
There is no more to say, but east and west,
In go the speares sadly in the rest,
In goth the sharp spur into the side,
There see men who can just, and who can ride;
There shiver shaftes upon shieldes thick,
He feeleth through the heart-spone the prick;
Up springen speares, twenty feet in height,
Out go the swordes to the silver bright,
The helms they to-hewn and to-shred:
Out burst the blood with stern streames red.”
The leading “courses” of the tourney are fully described later in the
paragraph devoted to German methods, which, though there were many more
varieties, were practically those of England, where there was also the
round-table game, etc. Matthew Paris mentions a “round table game” held
at the Abbey of Wallenden in 1252; and Earl Roger de Mortimer held one
at his castle of Kenilworth in 1280, and Edward III. another at Windsor
in 1344. This form of tournament seems to have been very popular in
England during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries; but there
is no clear definition of its peculiarities given by any of the few
chroniclers who mention the subject. The idea of the knights sitting
round the table seems to have been an assertion of the principle of
equality so as to avoid questions of precedence--one full of difficulty
in all ages.
Tilting was practised during the fourteenth century very much as in
the century following. A joust of about 1330 is figured on “The Codex
Balduin Treverenses,”--the horses bear housings, and the knights
mantles. The armament for jousting and battle began in this century to
show some difference from that of earlier times. The games continued in
unabated vigour throughout the middle ages and the “renaissance,” and
until the general use of firearms rendered such exercises no longer of
much practical value.
The necessary limits of this work will not admit of any detailed
description of the many and curious rules, usages, and limitations
which were absolutely necessary for carrying on these dangerous games
without great and unnecessary bloodshed and the loss of many valuable
lives, but much can be seen in a set of regulations prevailing under
Henry VIII. in the tournament roll preserved in the Heralds’ College.
Students of the subject will do well to read an able paper in the
_Archæological Journal_, vol. lv., No. 219, entitled “Tilting in Tudor
Times,” written by Viscount Dillon in 1898; and a most excellent and
comprehensive account of the German “turnier,” and weapons used, exists
in Herr Wendelin Boeheim’s work, _Handbuch der Waffenkunde_. This is a
veritable text-book.
Tournaments and tilting generally were, however, rendered less
dangerous than might have been expected by the addition of reinforcing
armour, which pieces were screwed on over the more vulnerable places,
on armour made for ordinary fighting purposes, and for some courses of
the tournament, mainly on the left side, which received most of the
blows; indeed, these extra pieces constituted a double defence of iron
for the head, chest, and left shoulder. This was obviously rendered
necessary when one considers the terrible impact of the lance in full
career with the breastplate or helmet. These extra tilting pieces made
their appearance in the reign of Edward IV., but they were known in
Germany several decades earlier. It was early when suits of armour
were made differently for battle and for tournaments, as William Lord
Bergavenny bequeathed to his son “the best sword and harness for justs
of peace and that which belong to war.”
Late in the fifteenth century there were complete tilting harnesses
of such immense weight that a knight once unhorsed lay on the ground
absolutely helpless, and often could not rise without the assistance
of his varlets. His movements when on horseback were very restricted.
These suits were of such resisting power as to give practical immunity
to the wearers so far as wounds were concerned, but they were far too
heavy to be used in the _mêlée_. A tilting harness with the Nuremberg
mark, in the splendid collection at that city, is of immense weight and
strength, and the example is specially valuable, as the date 1498 is
inscribed on the cuirass. The knight could barely move in the saddle,
and was able only to guide his horse and aim his lance. Armour made
specially for the tilt-yard will be described later in these pages, and
illustrations given.
There is an account of a tournament held in the reign of Henry VIII.,
in a tournament roll preserved in the Heralds’ College. The challenged
(Les Venantz) were nine in number. The armour worn was of the heavy
tilting class, with lamboys; and the horses were fully barbed, with
housings. It would appear from the barrier between which the knights
ride that this was the “Italian course,” known in Germany as the
“Welsche Gestech.” This barrier was first of cloth hung on a rope, but
afterwards of wood; and then the great knee-guard came into use to
protect the knee from being crushed against the barrier, the height of
which was usually about five, or even six feet. The meeting between
Henry and Francis on the Field of the Cloth of Gold, in 1520, was the
occasion of at least one tournament. The king himself was one of the
challengers. One of the drawings shows him as breaking a lance with his
opponent. It is certainly desirable at this point to give somewhat full
particulars of the leading modes of jousting as practised in Germany at
the end of the fifteenth, and during the sixteenth century, as it was
here where these games were most frequently practised, and the German
archives fortunately yield us very full particulars, which throw much
light on the subject generally.
The Emperor Maximilian and our Henry VIII. were great patrons of the
tournament, often taking part in it, and so were all the German princes
of the sixteenth century. We find very full particulars of Maximilian
tournaments, as held during the emperor’s reign, in the _Turnierbuch
des Kaisers Maximilian I._, a synopsis of which has been written by
Quirin von Leitner. This “Triumph of Maximilian,” dictated by the
emperor in 1512, affords much information on this subject; and in it
many of the forms of tourney are represented, with the various weapons
and armour used in the different courses. The _Turnierbuch of the
Emperor Maximilian I._ would have been both incomplete and inconclusive
without the masterly drawings by Hans Burgkmair, painter and engraver,
of Augsburg. This artist seems to have been closely associated with
the great master Lorenz Kolman, surnamed “Helmschmied,” and doubtless
did designing and engraving work for him. Courses of rather a later
period are described in _Hans Schwenkh’s Wappenmeistersbuch_, written
in Munich in 1554; besides which there are several “tournament books”
of the German courts giving not only general descriptions of the games,
with the rules and regulations practised, but also full accounts of
particular encounters concerning which we have the harnesses fought
in standing before us for reference to-day. There are also many
original prints preserved giving particular examples of these games.
Furthermore, Dr. Cornelius Gurlitt has given an excellent _resumé_ of
tournaments from the middle of the sixteenth century up to the Thirty
Years’ War, derived greatly from the archives at Dresden. Herr Wendelin
Boeheim, the curator of the imperial collection of Vienna, gives many
details in his great work, _Handbuch der Waffenkunde_. The author has
had the advantage of many personal hints concerning the German forms
of tournament from Max von Ehrenthal, the accomplished curator of the
Dresden collection, and he owes much information and several of the
illustrations given under this heading to this gentleman’s kindness
and liberality. Dr. von Ubisch, the director of the collection at the
Zeughaus, Berlin, has also assisted him greatly, especially concerning
ordinary fighting suits and other matters.
Tournaments of the sixteenth century were mostly for diversion and
practice, and it was very rarely that any great injury was sustained.
It will be seen from the descriptions here given that it was mainly
a question of concussion, in the splintering of lances, or being
rolled on the ground, the hardness of which was greatly modified by
a liberal covering of tanning refuse. The stunning effects from the
strokes of the sword and mace, as felt on the inside of the thick
defences used, must have been very trying, and one fails to understand
how so comparatively little damage to life and limb was experienced
in the riders being hurled from their steeds, encased in their heavy
panoply of more than two hundred pounds in weight; and what makes this
the more extraordinary is that the rider was helped on to his horse
again after a fall and ran again, and this sometimes happened several
times: but judging from the records preserved, and there are many, the
casualties in the tilt-yard of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
were little, if at all more numerous and serious than those in the
hunting or football fields of to-day; or in the duels that were common
so recently at German universities; or for the matter of that in the
accidents arising from the use of the cycle. This comparative immunity
from serious injury in the tilt-yard was partly accounted for by the
assistance rendered by the varlets in helping the horse to keep his
feet, and the rider his seat after impact, and also in assisting in
breaking the fall of the rider.
SHARFRENNEN.
This form is characterised by heavy lances “sharp,” as the name for
the course implies. The main object was “unhorsing,” and the saddle
was unprovided with front and rear supports; it was, in fact, quite
unlike the ordinary war-horse saddle--indeed, more resembling the
English saddle of to-day. The object of this was that there should be
nothing to impede the rider’s fall. The lances used in this course
were not expected to break or splinter, though they did so sometimes.
On the moment of impact each combatant dropped his lance to avoid
injury to the arm from splintering, and this was the case in the other
courses also. The consequence of a true impact was, as a rule, that
at least one rider was unhorsed; but sometimes both riders fell, and
occasionally both horses as well, so that all four combatants, for the
horses may be said to have fought also, bit the dust. In cases where
a rider was able to keep his saddle for a moment after impact and
swaying in the endeavour to retain his seat, his varlets rushed forward
to support him. Sometimes in case of lances slightly deflecting, or
missing altogether, one and even both horses have been known to fall
forward. There was a “rennen” between the Emperor Maximilian and Duke
John of Saxony at Innsbruck in 1498.
The tournaments held at the imperial and princely courts were strictly
games, the hosts often personally challenging their guests to a trial
of skill. Much depended naturally on the training of the horses, which
were sometimes ridden blindfold. The legs and feet of the competitors
were without armour, except the “diechlinge,” so that the rider could
sit firmly supported on the saddle. The “diechlinge” served as a
protection for the thigh and knee. Such a defence was necessary, owing
to the risk of these limbs of the combatants colliding. In the Dresden
Museum, in the “Turnierwaffen-Saal,” an interesting and very realistic
representation of a German “Sharfrennen” may be seen, the combatants
facing each other, fully armed, with lances in rest. The defences are
double throughout, each harness weighing about two hundred pounds. The
period is 1550–53, and most of the riders in the “Saal” have sat their
horses since the year 1591. The body-armour is engraved and fluted, and
the helmet is the sallad. The breastplate of the harness nearest the
entrance to the hall bears the monogram of the armour-smith Sigmund
Rockenberger of Wittenberg, the other was made by Hans Rosenberger of
Dresden. The grand-guard, volant-piece, and left shoulder-guard are
of wood, strengthened with plate, and covered with leather. A curved
plain shield is screwed on over the left shoulder, while an enormous
vamplate, or shield with a bouche, guards the right, and through this
the butt end of the lance rests.
The armour itself is of the heavy tilting kind, over which is a dress
of stuff with bases, a sort of petticoat like the civil dress of the
day. Stockings and slippers are worn, and there is no defence of plate
over them excepting at the knee, over which is the great “diechlinge”
already mentioned. The woollen stockings and slippers in these
instances are restorations; but there is an actual tilting shoe of the
period in one of the museum cases at Dresden. Spurs with long necks are
used. The horses are barded and fully housed. Housings reaching nearly
to the ground are usually highly and fancifully decorated, bearing the
“arms” or “cognizance” of the rider, and are often ornamented with
the figures of birds or animals. In the Royal Library at Dresden is a
representation on parchment of a “Sharfrennen” between Kurfürst August
of Saxony and Johann von Ratzenberg, and afterwards with Hans von
Schönfeld, in 1545, at Minden. It was drawn by Heinrich Goding, the
court painter in 1584. This combat was termed a “Gedritts,” signifying
that the victor, in order to gain the prize, had after the first
encounter still to dispose of a second antagonist--three were thus
engaged, and hence the term. A copy of this interesting record follows
in Fig. 4. An example of the armour worn in this course is given in
Fig. 5. It was made for Kurfürst August, by Sigmund Rockenberger of
Wittenberg in 1554. The form is graceful, and the ornamentation of a
chaste character. The details are clearly marked, such as the screw for
the volant-piece; the sharp-pointed, spearhead-like projection standing
forward from the centre of the breastplate, a fashion that only endured
for a few decades; the ponderous lance-rest, and heavy abdominal extra
plate,--all being characteristic of a suit used for “rennen.” The
elegant sallad differs materially from the earlier form, and is very
shapely. Only persons of noble birth or those subsequently granted
“arms” were permitted to take part in “rennen.”
DAS DEUTSCHE STECHEN (THE GERMAN GESTECH).
Herr Wendelin Boeheim, in an article in the _Zeitschrift für
historische Waffenkunde_,[22] says that the “old German Gestech”
was far from having been introduced during the reign of the Emperor
Maximilian I., as has often been supposed, but is of much earlier
origin. This course depends much more on adroitness and skill than in
the Italian joust, when the knights tilt with a barrier between them,
and the rider gets no assistance from his charger, as the chanfrein
is without ocularia, and sometimes its ears were stopped with wool.
The lance, unlike that used in “rennen,” is tipped with a coronal.[23]
The “Stechtarsche,” or small ribbed shield which is tied to the left
shoulder by laces, affords grip to the coronal of the lance; and this
is the point aimed at. The saddle used for this course has an upright
front plate, but none behind, so that there was no impediment in
“unhorsing.” Later, the front plate disappeared. The horse bears no
bards beyond the chanfrein, but there is a cushion filled with straw
fastened over the horse’s breast, as a protection against collision.
There are several kinds of “Stechen,” but the rule in all is to have
no leg armour, and this was in order to give the rider greater command
over his seat: the lance hand bore no gauntlet. Quirin von Leitner
gives a figure of the Emperor Maximilian I. armed for the German
Gestech.
[Illustration: Fig. 4.--Sharfrennen at Minden, ran in 1545.]
[Illustration: Fig. 5.--Suit at Dresden for Sharfrennen, date 1554.]
Instead of the fifteenth century sallad, a “Stechhelm” was worn in the
sixteenth; and it was shaped something like a bucket. Brassards were
always used in this course, while jambs and sollerets were usually
dispensed with.
Early examples of armour made for this course may be seen in two very
fine suits on exhibition at Nuremberg. The ponderous lance-rest stands
free by reason of the cuirass being flattened on the right side.
The breastplate, which bears the date 1498 and the Nuremberg guild
monogram, is in two pieces, one of which is a reinforcing plate for
the extra protection of the lower body, and this is fastened on to
the main plate by large screws with very big heads. The lance-rest is
supplemented with a queue screwed on behind, and curving downwards to
hold the butt end of the lance. The right arm has heavy brassards;
while on the left the heavy vambrace and gauntlet are in one solid
piece, and quite plain. There is an immense rondelle on the right side,
with a bouche cut out of the lower part to make room for the lance.
The older of these suits has a sallad, while the one that is rather
later is provided with a “Stechhelm,” which is very heavy and in one
solid piece with the mentonnière, and strongly fastened on to the
breastplate by screws; while a permanent socket and screw attach it
to the backplate. The helm is thus immovable when fixed; it is roomy,
and permits the head to move about freely within. These suits are so
heavy and ponderous that the combatants could do little more than hold
their lances in position; and if unhorsed, lay like logs where they
fell, being unable to rise without the assistance of their varlets. In
arming, each piece required to be screwed on, one after the other. The
later of these suits is taken for illustration in Fig. 6, as it bears
the more characteristic “Stechhelm.”
THE ITALIAN COURSE, OR “WELSCHES (ITALIAN) GESTECH,” ÜBER DIE PALLIA
(OVER THE BARRIERS).
This course first appeared in Germany about 1510, but it doubtless
originated in Italy, as its name implies, and the Italian name for
barrier is “pallia.” It was fought with lances tipped with a coronal,
the same as in “the German Gestech,” but the main difference between
that course and the others under discussion is the presence of a wooden
barrier about five feet high, along which the two riders charge, with
it between them. In this course the legs and feet were generally
armoured, though there were exceptions to the rule. There are
very full particulars in _Freydal_, the book in which the tournaments
of the reign of the Emperor Maximilian I. are drawn and described;
and this form of tournament is figured in the tournament roll of King
Henry VIII. preserved in the Heralds’ College. The knights in their
career had to hold their lances on the left side of the horse’s head.
Originally the main intention was to unhorse: still the splintering
of lances was of more frequent occurrence than in the before-named
courses, as the saddle here was furnished with high front and rear
supports, rendering it in fact “well” shaped, so that the riders sat
much more firmly in their seats than on the “renn” saddles, especially
those which were without supports. Soon after the middle of the
sixteenth century a change took place in the armour for tournaments;
and with this came a modification in the lances also, which became
lighter, so that they mostly splintered on impact, and in such cases
the riders were but rarely hurled from their saddles. For the later
Italian course harnesses were worn, as in Fig. 7.
[Illustration: Fig. 6.--Tilting Suit at Nuremberg, for the German
Gestech.]
[Illustration: Fig. 7.--Tournament Suit for the Italian Course
(Welsches Gestech).]
[Illustration: Fig. 8.--An Italian Course at Augsburg in 1510 (Welsches
Gestech).]
The helm for this course differs somewhat from that worn in the others
in being provided with a little opening or window on the right side
for fresh air. The cuirass is not flattened on that side, as in Fig.
6. There are other differences, all of which may be seen on a suit in
the Armeria Real de Madrid. In the old form of “Welsche Gestech” the
rider wore sometimes the armour used for the ordinary “Stechen” course.
In Leitner’s _Freydal_ an example is figured; and there is an actual
harness, by Wolf von Speyer of Annaberg, in the Turnierwaffen-Saal at
Dresden.
The illustration (Fig. 8) gives an excellent rendering of this course
as it was run between Duke Wilhelm IV. of Bavaria and the Pfalzgraf
Friedrich bei Rhein, at Augsburg, in 1510. It has been taken from Duke
Wilhelm’s tournament book.
THE FREITURNIER, OR FREE COURSE.
This course received its name in contradistinction to the “Welsches
Gestech,” because it was run in the free field or lists, without any
barrier between the combatants. In this respect it resembled the old
German “Stechen,” and to a certain extent grew out of it. This form
however does not occur, under the name, before the second half of the
sixteenth century. The armour for the Freiturnier differs from that
of the “Welsches Gestech” (Italian Course) in the particulars that a
grand-guard was screwed on to the left shoulder and chest, instead of
the tournament shield used in the Italian course. To the left elbow was
screwed a garde-de-bras of larger dimensions than that used for the
Welsches Gestech. Armour for the tournament was now usually so arranged
that by the interchange of reinforcing plates the same suit could be
made available for both these forms of tournament. The lance and horse
furniture were exactly the same in both cases, and the body armour of
the rider very similar, subject to the interchange of the reinforcing
pieces already alluded to. The suit selected for illustrating the
armour used for this course (Fig. 9) forms part of the remarkable
collection at Dresden. It is a fine example in plain armour of about
1580. The breastplate, it will be observed, is the “peascod.”
THE FUSSTURNIER.
This is the foot-tournament which originated in the sixteenth century,
and is very different from the courses on horseback. Full particulars
can be seen in the _Akten des Dresdener Oberhof-marshallamtes_, anno.
1614. An extract (in translation) from this work by Dr. Cornelius
Gurlitt runs as follows, viz.:--
“The one who shivers the greatest number of lances in the most
adroit manner shall have the lance prize; and he who in five
courses strikes the bravest and strongest with the sword shall
have the sword prize.”
This extract furnishes a sufficient outline of the game. Like the
“tourney,” it was troop against troop. Each combatant had to exchange
three charges with the lance across a sort of barrier; and five
strokes with the sword, all directed towards the head, not only with
one but with every opponent on the opposing side; and prizes were
awarded as set forth in the extract. No prize was awarded unless the
lance splintered, nor was any given in cases where a combatant had
stepped or been driven backwards in any way. Striking below the belt
was forbidden, for no leg armour was worn. The locking gauntlet was
expressly forbidden.
[Illustration: Fig. 9.--Armour for the Freiturnier at Dresden.]
It is very interesting to find that a suit used in a “fussturnier” by
Kurfürst Johann Georg I. of Saxony is now in the Dresden collection. It
is by Anton Peffenhauser of Augsburg. The harness used was the ordinary
fighting kind. The lance was held in both hands.
KOLBENTURNIER, OR BASTON COURSE.
This is a variety that first appeared early in the fifteenth century.
It was a dual combat on horseback, and was not in vogue for more than
a century. The weapon used was a “baston,” a short wooden polygonally
cut mace, thickening towards the end. The helmet for this course was
heavy and round, with a strong grated front. The head did not touch the
helmet at all, for the “baston,” being made of very heavy wood, was a
dangerous weapon for striking. An example of the saddle used in this
course may be seen at the Nuremberg Museum. It is so constructed that
the rider cannot well fall off.
There were a number of other courses, but the differences were only
trifling, consisting mainly in humorous devices and fashions in
costume. During the closing twenty years of the sixteenth century, and
the first twenty in the following, the Hungarian tourney was much in
vogue. This course obtained its name solely from the dress worn--the
spurs used were very long.
Running at the ring can hardly be classed under the tournament
category. It was called “Ringelrennen” in Germany, and was much in
favour at the Saxon court from 1570 to the end of the seventeenth
century. The lance used was shorter and much lighter than that for
tournaments. There is a specimen at Dresden which is tipped with a
cone, to hold the ring when hit, and there is naturally no vamplate.
REINFORCING PIECES FOR THE TILT-YARD.
These may be divided into two classes, viz., those extra pieces
appertaining to purely tilting armour, made specially for the lists,
and those used to augment the strength of ordinary fighting suits
donned for the lists. The former class comprises the grand-guard and
volant-piece, often in one plate, but sometimes screwed together,
the latter piece being provided with an ocularium on the right side
only. These plates defend the breast and face. A small wooden shield,
plated and covered with leather for the left shoulder, screwed or tied
on. This piece is in some courses the objective of the lance. The
heavy elbow-guard which protects the elbow, and half-way up and down
the arm. The German tilting arm-guard and gauntlet was often in one
piece from the shoulder. The right side is further protected by an
enormous vamplate, which in the German form covered half the arm on
both sides of the elbow. There is also a large knee-plate, the Germans
call a “diechlinge,” which is sometimes fastened to the saddle, the
leg passing between it. This piece is more especially used in
“Sharfrennen.” Suits for “rennen” and “stechen” were usually made so
that they could be worn by any man of anything like medium height, and
it was quite common for one knight to borrow the harness of another.
[Illustration: Fig. 10. Reinforcing Pieces.
No. 1 is the Breastplate for Tilting, and on it are the holes for the
insertion of the screws of the Lance rest. It differs but little
from the ordinary Fighting Breastplate with the suit.
No. 2 is an extra protection for the left breast and shoulder. This
is the Grandguard.
No. 3 is the Volant-piece, a protection for breast, neck, and
face.[24]
No. 4 is the Cabasset for the suit.
]
[Illustration: Fig. 11.--Reinforcing Pieces.
No. 5, the Chanfrein for the horse’s head.
No. 6, the Extra Shoulder-guard.
No. 7, the Manifer or Tournament Gauntlet for the bridle hand.
No. 8, the Elbow-guard, or Pass-guard.[25]
]
As to the reinforcing pieces for screwing on to ordinary armour,
drawings are given of a series of these plates, belonging to a splendid
suit at Munich that was worn by the Prince-Bishop of Salzburg (Wolf
Dietrich von Raitenau), illustrated in Fig. 35. The pieces are numbered
on the drawings for reference, one and upwards in Figs. 10 and 11.
A projection called the queue, screwed on to the back plate, supports
the butt-end of the lance. The suit and all the pieces are richly
inlaid with gold, with the Bishop’s arms engraved on the breastplate.
There is a suit very similar in form and details of the pieces in the
Töjhus, Copenhagen, but the ornamentation of that suit is much bolder,
having the thistle for its theme throughout. It is of French make. As
in the Alnwick suit (Fig. 33), the cuisses are in two parts, the upper
being detachable, and the tassets bear evidence of missing detachable
portions. An interesting feature of this suit is that the lance-rest is
so adapted as to be capable of being either raised or lowered. Boeheim
states that he has not seen any examples of these reinforcing pieces
of an earlier date than about 1510. These pieces, with interchangeable
plates, were very numerous in some cases where expense was no object.
A suite made for the Archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol, by Jörg Seusenhofer,
consisting of a field-harness and a suit for foot-fighting, had
appertaining to the two suits as many as thirty-four interchangeable
and reinforcing pieces. They were made in 1547, and are now at Vienna.