44. Toys, representing Knights Justing.
XXXI.—BOAT JUSTS, OR TILTING ON THE WATER.
It has been previously observed, that all persons below the rank of an esquire were excluded from the justs and the tournaments; but the celebration of these pastimes attracted the common mind in a very powerful manner, and led to the institution of sports, that bore at least some resemblance to them: tilting at the quintain was generally practised at a very early period, [524] and justing upon the ice by the young Londoners. [525] The early inclination to join in such kind of pastimes is strongly indicated by the two boys represented on the next page: the place of the horse is supplied by a long switch, and that of a lance by another. The original delineation occurs in a beautiful MS. book of prayers, written in the fourteenth century, in the possession of F. Douce, esq.
45. Boys Tilting in Pastime.
Here we may also add the boat justs, or tilting upon the water. The representation of a pastime of this kind is given below, from a manuscript of the fourteenth century in the Royal Library. [526]
