The first illumination of a joust at the tilt pictures the moment when the tilters have shivered their lances, tipped with coronals of three prongs, on each other’s bodies. The tilt is composed of six planks, and appears to be between five and six feet in height. Sir John Astley’s crest is seen to be a crowned harpy, with torse and mantling; his armour, the sort termed “tonlet”; the legs and feet are unarmed, being sufficiently protected by the saddle-steels. The horse is trapped and has a chamfron. But little of the person of his adversary can be seen; what there is show his crest, three maidens in a corb, and he also is wearing bases. Both riders have tilting helms and shields, and bear poldermitons on their lance-arms. The vamplates are somewhat conical in form.
The other joust pictured is that between Astley and Pierre de Masse, which took place in a street in Paris in the year 1438. It is also at the tilt. The date is an early one for that form of joust, if the drawing be contemporary, which is unlikely. The tilt is composed of four planks, and is rather lower than the other example. The jousters wear no crests on their helms, and they are running with sharp lances. There are no poldermitons worn in this case. This important illumination has suffered much from damp, the central figures more especially.
The articles of combat are given in Lord Dillon’s paper.
The “Abilment for the Justus of the Pees,” as reproduced from the manuscript belonging to Lord Hastings, is as follows:—
“A helme well stuffyd wt a Crest of hys de viis. A peyre of platus and xxx Gyders. A hanscement for the Bode wt slevis. A botton wt a tresse in the platis. A schelde coverid wt his deviis. A Rerebrace wt a rolle of ledyr well stuffid. A Maynfere with a ring. A rerebrasce a moton. A vambrase and a gaynpayne ＆ ij bricketts. And ij dosyn tresses. and vj vamplates. And xij Grapers. and xij Cornallis ＆ xl Speris. And a Armerer wt a hamor and pynsons. And naylys wt a byckorne. A Goode Cowrscer and row schode wt a softe bytte. And a gret halter for the rayne of the brydyll. A Sadyll well stuffud. and a peyre of jambus. and iij dowbill Gyrthis wt dowbill bokollus. and a dowbill sengull wt dowbill bokullus. and a rayne of ledir hungre teyyd from the horse hede un to the gyrthys be twen the forther bowse of the horsce for revassyng. A Rennyng paytrell. A croper of leder hongre. A Trappar for the Courser. And ij servantis on horseback well be sayne. And vj servantis on fote all in a sute.”
This equipment is for a mounted contest, and differs of course materially from that worn in fighting on foot.
The writer of the paper (Lord Dillon) explains such of the terms employed as are not fairly obvious. Viscount Dillon’s researches are mainly embodied in a series of valuable contributions to the pages of Archæologia and the Archæological Journal. Many old records, which had not been seen by such excellent authorities as Meyrick and Hewitt, have been examined and compared since their day, and they throw much light on points and terms which were obscure until recently, and which had been misunderstood by the earlier writers to whom we owe so much.
The “peyre of platus” is the cuirass, consisting of the breast and back plates: the “Gyders,” attachments of some kind. The “hanscement” is a close-fitting garment, worn beneath the armour. A “botton wt a tresse in the platis,” probably also refers to fastenings or attachments of some kind. The “Rerebrace wt a rolle of ledyr well stuffid” is probably a padding protection for the left upper-arm. The “Maynfere with a ring” is the manifer or mainfaire (main de fer), described in this work under the heading of reinforcing pieces. The “rerebrase a moton” is the rerebrace of the right arm, with its small movable plate, the moton or besaguè over the armpit. The “vambrase and gaynpayn and ij brickettss,” are the further defences for the right arm and hand. The “ij dosyn tresses” are arming points, laces for attaching various parts of the armour together. The “vamplates,” “Grapers,” and “Cornallis” are the furniture of the lances, in their order, the conical or circular steel hand-guards, metal rings with points which stick into the wooden blocks in the lance-rests; the coronals, heads of the lance with blunt points, calculated to catch on to the armour but not to pierce it. The “bycorne” was the anvil. Illustrations of Grapers, later termed burres, are rare. They are present on the illumination of the joust at the tilt between John Astley and Pierre de Masse, being shown on a lance standing ready for use when required. They are for distributing the force of the shock on impact over the whole body and especially to lessen the pressure on the wrist; and are placed towards the lower end of the lance, the space between the graper and the vamplate constituting the grip.
The rest of the “Abilment” applies to horse furniture.
“To crie a Justus of Pees.”