----------------- My better parts
Are all thrown down; and that which here stands up,
Is but a _quintain_, a mere lifeless block.
_As You Like it._
Mr. Chalmers, in his edition of Shakspeare, gives the following
annotation on the preceding passage:--“A _quintain_ was a _post_, or
_butt_, set up for several kinds of martial exercises, against which
they threw their darts, and exercised their arms. But all the
commentators are at variance about this word, and have illustrated their
opinions with cuts, for which we must refer the reader to the new
edition, 21 vols. 8vo.”
Ben, the satirical sorrel Ben Jonson, thus notices this same _quintin_,
_quintain_, or _gwyntyn_, as the Welsh spell it:--
----------- At _quintin_ he
In honour of his bridal-tee.
Hath challenged either wide countee;
Come cut and long taile, for there be
Six batchelors as bold as he,
Adjuting to his company,
And each one hath his livery.
The word _gwyntyn_ literally meant _vane_, and was corrupted by the
English into quintin, or quintain. Thus, we may naturally suppose, that
this ancient custom, and more particularly bridal game, was borrowed by
the Britons from the Welsh, who had it from the Romans on their
invasion of England. It is mentioned by Minshew, as being a sport held
every fifth year among the Olympic games, or it was the last of the
πενταθλοι, used on the fifth or last day of the Olympics: it is supposed
to be a Roman game, and left in this island ever since their time.
Dr. Kennet, in his “Parochial Antiquities,” from Dr. Plot, says, that at
the village of Blackthorn, through which the Roman road lay, they use it
at their weddings to this day, on the common green, with much solemnity
and mirth.[327]
Dr. Johnson says, I know not from whence it is derived; Minshew deduces
it from _quintus_, and calls it a game celebrated every fifth year;
_palus quintanus_, and from _quintaine_, French. It is, says he, an
upright post, on the top of which a cross-post turned upon a pin; at one
end of the cross-post was a broad board, and at the other a heavy
sand-bag; the play was, to ride against the broad end with a lance, and
pass by before the sand-bag, coming round, should strike the tilter to
the ground. Sir Henry Spelman, who was a spectator of the game,
coincides with this account, and says, “by which means, striking at the
board, whirls round the bag and endangers the striker.” At weddings, in
England and Wales, it was a constant amusement, and so generally
practised in the latter country, that it may almost be said to class
with their sports and manners.
In Roberts’s “Popular Antiquities of Wales,”[328] there is the following
account of this ancient manly amusement. “On the day of the ceremony,
the nuptial presents having previously been made, and the marriage
privately celebrated at an early hour, the signal to the friends of the
bridegroom was given by the piper, who was always present on these
occasions, and mounted on a horse trained for the purpose; and the
cavalcade being all mounted, set off at full speed, with the piper
playing in the midst of them, for the house of the bride. The friends of
the bride in the mean time having raised various obstructions to prevent
their access to the house of the bride, such as ropes of straw across
the road, blocking up the regular one, &c., and the _quintain_; the
rider in passing struck the flat side, and if not dexterous was
overtaken, and perhaps dismounted, by the sand-bag, and became a fair
object for laughter. The _gwyntyn_ was also guarded by champions of the
opposite party; who, if it was passed successfully, challenged the
adventurers to a trial of skill at one of the four and twenty games--a
challenge which could not be declined; and hence to guard the gwyntyn
was a service of high adventure.”
In Henry the Third’s time, or about the year 1253, it was much in
fashion in almost every part of the kingdom: this game was sometimes
played, by hanging a shield upon a staff fixed in the ground, and the
skilful squire riding by struck the shield in such a manner as to detach
it from its ligatures;[329] but this was of a less dangerous nature, and
only used when the quintain could not be obtained.
There was another, but more hazardous manner, to those who were not
skilled by habit in the use of the lance and javelin. It consisted of
two large poles being drove into the ground, far enough apart to allow a
man on horseback to ride full speed between them: at the top of these
was an immense heavy sand-bag, fixed on a pivot, so as to swing freely
round, and backward and forward, with amazing rapidity: this the young
aspirant for chivalric honours delighted in, as a grand treat for the
display of his personal bravery and contempt for danger. He commenced by
reining in his steed opposite to the sand-bag, then dashing away at full
speed, at the same time hurling the javelin at the bag with considerable
force, and passing between the poles before it could resume its original
position. Many of the squires and yeomen of Richard with the Lion-heart,
held it in great esteem; and they would often pass through the
supporters, regain their javelin, return back before the bag had
sufficient time to fall, and ride bravely off without a single blow from
this heavy instrument of pleasure. He who executed this feat in a
handsome manner was declared victor, and the prize to which he became
entitled was a peacock.
In the princely fête given by sir Rhys ap Thomas, in honour of his being
admitted companion of the illustrious order of the Garter, it is
mentioned thus:--“When they had dined they went to visit eache captaine
in his quarters, wheare they found everie man in action, some wrestling,
some hurling at the barr, some taking of the pike, some running at the
_quintaine_, &c.” Dr. Watts thus explains it:--“A ludicrous and
sportive way of tilting or running on horseback at some mark hung on
high, moveable, and turning round; which, while the riders strike at
with lances, unless they ride quickly off, the versatile beam strikes
upon their shoulders.”
I earnestly recommend for the perusal of the reader, (if he delights in
“merie deedes an’ greenewoodee sportes, inn thee brighte formes of
ladees highh, immersed in uncouthe donjons, by treacherouse kings,
greate lords, an’ mightee knights,”) the tale of “Castle Baynard,” in
which he will find many very interesting customs, and more particularly,
an excellent delineation of the above game. The author of this
delightful little story is Hal Willis, who is possessed of considerable
talent, and a knowledge of our ancestorial manners.