The Medieval Tournament as Spectacle

The medieval tournament as spectacle
Tourneys, jousts and pas d'armes, 1100-1600

Speakers:
Alan Murray – Senior Lecturer in Medieval Studies at the University of Leeds
Karen Watts – Curator Emeritus, Royal Armouries
Martyn Lawrence – Publishing Manager, Royal Armouries

In this roundtable event, Alan Murray and Karen Watts will highlight some of the groundbreaking research showcased in their new book The Medieval Tournament as Spectacle. See below for details of a special book offer available to attendees of the lecture. 

Tournaments were popular events all over Europe, evolving from training for war to an opportunity for young men to prove their worth on an international scene. 

Just as much chivalric literature devoted considerable space to descriptions of tournaments, many tournaments were held within an allegorical framework derived from romance, so that jousts were interspersed with theatrical elements involving damsels, dwarves and elaborate staging. But they were not only entertainment: they brought honour, prestige and social capital to organisers and competitors alike. 

By the later Middle Ages tournaments could be very expensive, but organisers clearly thought that the money was well spent.

By the 13th century the tournament had begun to develop diverse and distinct forms, whether on horse or on foot. Tudor England favoured the ‘Joust Royal’, a form of joust with blunted lances, whilst in 15th-century Burgundy a theatrical form called a ‘pas d’armes’ attracted role-playing jousters. In the Holy Roman Empire, Emperor Maximilian and his contemporaries devised about a dozen different forms of joust, each with its own rules and specialised equipment. Yet, despite increasingly sophisticated and inventive armour designed to offer the maximum combination of protection and manoeuvrability, tournaments remained a dangerous sport in which the unexpected could and did happen.

To mark the launch of this new series of co-publications we are pleased to be able to offer a 50% discount to attendees of the lecture.

Offer price: £30

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[thomasdietrich]

Lovely that you made this available after the stream. I really hope that future lectures will be filmed and made available as well as it can be a tremendous resource.

[fanda]

on the 1416 dragon saddle, in the entourage of king sigismund visiting England (among other places) was Oswald von Wolkenstein a courtier and minnesanger from Tyrol who wrote some truly beautiful autobiographical music about his travels, life and imprisonment

[Adefonsus_rex]

Would it be possible to add subtitles, please? Thanks in advance.