The Medieval Tournament as Spectacle
Tourneys, Jousts and Pas d'Armes, 1100-1600
Published on 16. October 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
263 pages
978-1-83765-108-5 (ISBN)
Description
Fresh insights into the development of the tournament as an opportunity for social display.
The period from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century witnessed a rapid development of the tournament. Alongside the original tourney - a mass battle fought between opposing armies of knights with minimal and rudimentary regulation - new forms of chivalric military contests emerged, in which entertainment featured alongside the necessity of practice for war. The joust featured individual combats, with increasingly elaborate rules and variations in form and accompanying pageantry, while the passage of arms placed tournaments within theatrical and allegorical formats.
This volume brings together the latest research on the late medieval tournament, demonstrating how such events, particularly at the courts of France, Burgundy, England and the German principalities, were increasingly integrated in wider festivities, ceremonies and diplomatic negotiations. Published in association with the Royal Armouries, it will appeal to all those interested in chivalric culture and medieval warfare.
The period from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century witnessed a rapid development of the tournament. Alongside the original tourney - a mass battle fought between opposing armies of knights with minimal and rudimentary regulation - new forms of chivalric military contests emerged, in which entertainment featured alongside the necessity of practice for war. The joust featured individual combats, with increasingly elaborate rules and variations in form and accompanying pageantry, while the passage of arms placed tournaments within theatrical and allegorical formats.
This volume brings together the latest research on the late medieval tournament, demonstrating how such events, particularly at the courts of France, Burgundy, England and the German principalities, were increasingly integrated in wider festivities, ceremonies and diplomatic negotiations. Published in association with the Royal Armouries, it will appeal to all those interested in chivalric culture and medieval warfare.
Reviews / Votes
highly informative and clearly written by major experts in the field. * THE RICARDIAN * The compendium does an excellent job bringing in the casual reader to the intricacies of the study of tourneys, while also broadening the knowledge of those more invested in such research. Readers come away from the book with an imagination's worth of images and stories, both historical and literary. On top of everything else, it really is a fun read. * DE RE MILITARI * The Medieval Tournament as Spectacle is a touchstone for the study not only of the tournament but also of medieval European military history and sociocultural practices. * H-WAR *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Woodbridge
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
20 colour, 17 b/w illus.
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
406 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-83765-108-5 (9781837651085)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Alan V. Murray | Karen Watts
The Medieval Tournament as Spectacle
Tourneys, Jousts and Pas d'Armes, 1100-1600
Book
08/2020
Boydell Press
€152.60
Shipment within 3-4 weeks
Unknown | Alan V. Murray | Karen Watts
Medieval Tournament as Spectacle
Tourneys, Jousts and Pas d'Armes, 1100-1600
E-Book
08/2020
1st Edition
Boydell & Brewer Ltd
€48.99
Available for download
Alan V. Murray | Karen Watts
The Medieval Tournament as Spectacle
Tourneys, Jousts and <I>Pas d'Armes</I>, 1100-1600
E-Book
08/2020
1st Edition
De Gruyter
€48.99
Available for download
Persons
JAMES TITTERTON received his PhD in Medieval Studies from the University of Leeds. In addition to his work on the history of warfare, he has published on crusader rhetoric, chivalry and the medieval tournament. RALPH MOFFAT is the Curator of European Arms and Armour at Glasgow Museums. He is responsible for the care of, research, and dissemination of information on the people of this City's collection. Rosalind Brown-Grant is Professor of Late Medieval French Literature at the University of Leeds.
Content
Preface and Acknowledgements - Martyn Lawrence
Introduction: From Mass Combat to Field of Cloth of Gold - Alan V Murray
Now Form Up Close Together! Tactics and Ethos of the Tourney in Early German Sources (Twelfth to Thirteenth Centuries) - Alan V Murray
Por pris et por enor: Ideas of Honour as Reflected in the Medieval Tournament - James Titterton
Richard II of England and the Smithfield Tournament of October 1390: An Instrument to Establish Royal Authority - James Beswick
Alle myn harneys for the justes: Documents as a Source for Medieval Jousting Armour - Ralph Moffat
The Tournament Saddle - Marina V. Viallon
Between Sport and Theatre: How Spectacular was the Pas d'armes? - Cathy Blunk
Art Imitating Life Imitating Art? Representations of the Pas d'armes in Burgundian Prose Romance: The Case of Jehan d'Avennes - Rosalind Brown-Grant
The Foot Combat as Tournament Event: Equipment, Space and Forms - Iason-Eleftherios Tzouriadis
Power and Pageantry: The Tournament at the Court of Maximilian I - Natalie Anderson
The Field of Cloth of Gold: Arms, Armour and the Sporting Prowess of King Henry VIII and King Francis I - Karen Watts
Introduction: From Mass Combat to Field of Cloth of Gold - Alan V Murray
Now Form Up Close Together! Tactics and Ethos of the Tourney in Early German Sources (Twelfth to Thirteenth Centuries) - Alan V Murray
Por pris et por enor: Ideas of Honour as Reflected in the Medieval Tournament - James Titterton
Richard II of England and the Smithfield Tournament of October 1390: An Instrument to Establish Royal Authority - James Beswick
Alle myn harneys for the justes: Documents as a Source for Medieval Jousting Armour - Ralph Moffat
The Tournament Saddle - Marina V. Viallon
Between Sport and Theatre: How Spectacular was the Pas d'armes? - Cathy Blunk
Art Imitating Life Imitating Art? Representations of the Pas d'armes in Burgundian Prose Romance: The Case of Jehan d'Avennes - Rosalind Brown-Grant
The Foot Combat as Tournament Event: Equipment, Space and Forms - Iason-Eleftherios Tzouriadis
Power and Pageantry: The Tournament at the Court of Maximilian I - Natalie Anderson
The Field of Cloth of Gold: Arms, Armour and the Sporting Prowess of King Henry VIII and King Francis I - Karen Watts