The Tournament—Its Periods and Phases

by R. Coltman Clephan

Early in the seventeenth century another decided change took place in the form of the breastplate, which followed the cut of the doublet of civil life, in the gradual shortening of the waist, and body-armour became stumpy and inelegant.

The latest phase of cap-à-pie armour is well illustrated by a harness in the Musée d’Artillerie, Paris, which was presented by the Republic of Venice to Louis XIV, in 1688. It is very uncouth in form. During the last half of the century plate-armour gradually disappears, the pikemen being the last infantry arm to employ it. A “pair of plates” were the last pieces worn, and, except in the case of the cuirassiers, they also were abandoned in favour of the buff coat pure and simple.

After a career of six centuries, the tourney had practically run its course, and had now become almost a thing of the past. Its influence on the ages had been in the main for good, in restraining the licence of troublous times and in inculcating a respect for women. It had fostered a spirit of courtesy, honour and chivalry, sentiments which extended themselves far beyond its borders, Sainte-Palaye remarks, “Chevalerie est la fontaine de courtoisie, ce qui arrose le reste du monde”; but as the means for luxury increased, and as time rolled on, the old simplicity fell away and corruption set in, and though the forms remained the spirit had fled. All raisons d’être for the tourney beyond those of exercise and pastime had long since passed away, through the continuous decline in the importance of the man-at-arms in warfare, the ever-increasing efficiency of firearms, and the necessity for greater mobility of armies in the field.

The history of the tournament would not be complete without some account of the revivals attempted in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. They lack, however, a sense of reality, being, in fact, merely more or less well-staged plays.

The Eglington Tournament, held in Ayrshire in 1839, though a good deal based on Sir Walter Scott’s legend, the “Gentle and Joyous Passage of Arms of Ashby de la Zouche,”[241] was, in many respects, also a revival of a pas d’armes of Tudor times. It was carried through in the face of some ridicule, much discouragement and many difficulties; but all obstacles were gallantly surmounted by the enthusiasm, tenacity and liberality of the Earl of Eglingtoun and his coadjutors. The very elements were against it, for torrents of rain fell frequently during its course, converting the lists into a pond, spoiling the decorations of the stands, and wrecking the temporary banqueting-hall erected at the castle. The training of the horses in so short a time presented the greatest practical difficulty, for here the promoters were at a great disadvantage as against the early and persistent drilling of the chargers for employment in the fêtes d’armes of the olden times. The lists at Eglington Park measured 600 yards by 250, the tilt or barrier being 300 yards long, running down the centre. A handsome pavilion was pitched for the use and comfort of the Queen of Beauty (Lady Seymour) and her train of ladies. There were other tents for the accommodation of the knights taking part, and a grand stand was erected for the presiding queen, her maidens, and the guests of the promoters. Seats were placed at the eastern end of the arena for about two thousand spectators. Thirty-five knights took part in this passage of arms, and among them were Prince Louis Napoleon, the Marquis of Waterford, Earls Eglingtoun, Craven and Cassilis, Lords Alford, Glenyon, Cranstoun, A. Seymour, W. Beresford, Drumlanrig and Maidstone. Lord Gage and Sir Charles Lamb acted as Marshals of the List, the rôle of King of Arms being sustained by the Marquis of Londonderry. There were several rehearsals, the last of which took place on July 13th. The first to joust at the tilt on that occasion were the Earl of Eglingtoun and the Lord Cranstoun. Several courses were run by these champions and two lances were broken. Other encounters followed with varying fortune. The “Lord of the Tournament” was the Earl of Eglingtoun; the Judge of the Lists, Lord Saltoun; and the inevitable Jester, a Mr. M’Ian from London.

The procession was arranged by Sir Charles Lamb and Lord Saltoun. The tournament began on August 28th, 1839. The morning was fine, and by one o’clock some ten thousand persons had assembled, and crowds continued to arrive. A pitiless rain much delayed the starting of the procession from the castle, and it was sadly shorn of its fair proportions; for the Queen of Beauty and her maidens had to betake themselves to carriages instead of riding on horseback as intended. The procession reached the lists in the afternoon, about three, in a much bedraggled condition, and the presiding queen, her attendants and the castle house-party, took their seats on the grand stand prepared for them. After flourishes of trumpets, the rules, regulations and limitations for the guidance of the proceedings were proclaimed by a herald. The number of courses to be run by each pair of jousters was settled at three, or at most four. The harnesses employed, some of them collected in England, the rest abroad, varied greatly in regard to period: the armour of the Earl of Craven is amusingly stated to have been worn by an ancestor of the Earl’s (Baron Hilton) at the field of Cressy. Reinforcing pieces were employed.

On the weather clearing a little, the scene presented was a brilliant one. There were the knights armed at all points, and their horses gaily trapped in cloth painted in rich colours with their arms and devices. Merging with the rich dresses of the ladies, they offered a fine and moving spectacle. The pas d’armes commenced with the quintain, after which jousting at the tilt began. The tilting was far from satisfactory, for the attaints achieved were very few in number. This was owing to the lack of skill on the part of the riders, the insufficient training of the horses, and the mistaken notion that the careers were to be run at the gallop instead of at an amble. The first joust was run between the “Knight of the Swan” (the Hon. Mr. Jerningham) and the “Knight of the Golden Lion” (Captain J. O. Fairlie). They took up positions for their careers, and the trumpets sounded the onset. There were no attaints in the first three courses, but in the fourth the Knight of the Golden Lion broke his lance on the shield of his adversary. The second challenge was by the Earl of Eglingtoun to the Marquis of Waterford, and in the first course both lances were splintered. There was no attaint in the second, but in the third the Earl again splintered his lance. The third joust was between Sir Francis Hopkins and R. J. Lechmere, Esq. In the first encounter Sir Francis shivered his lance, and in the second both lances were broken, but that of Sir Francis was disallowed as being “ill-broken.” In the fourth career Sir Francis again shivered his lance. The fourth tilt was between the Lords Glenlyon and Alford. There were no attaints in the first two courses, but in the third Lord Alford broke his spear. Next came combats on foot at barriers with two-handed swords, after which jousting was resumed. The last joust of the day was between the Marquis of Waterford and Lord Alford. The first course was without attaint, and in the second a hit was disallowed, the lance breaking just above the head; but in the third the Marquis shivered his lance “as it ought to be broken.” During all this the rain fell at intervals and with increasing violence, which sadly marred the brilliancy of the scene, and the banquet had to be abandoned owing to the wrecking of the temporary banqueting-hall by the storm. In the evening there were combats with broadswords in the drawing-room of the castle, and a duel between Prince Louis Napoleon and Mr. Lamb is stated to have afforded some excellent sword-play. The tournament was to have been continued on the following Thursday, but the weather was so boisterous that the completion of the pas d’armes was postponed to Friday, August 30th. The weather was fine and sunny, and the procession to the lists was this time complete in all its parts, the queen and her ladies being on horseback. The first tilt of the day was between the Lords Glenlyon and Alford, and there was but one attaint in the three courses. The Earl of Craven and Captain Fairlie then took up positions for their careers. Both lances were shivered in the first course, in the second there was no attaint, but in the third the Earl again shivered his lance. This was the best joust of the tournament. To be brief, there were six more jousts, making altogether nineteen courses, and but two attaints. Running at the Ring followed, and a mêlée brought the tournament to a close. The combatants in the latter were—The Lord of the Tournament (Earl of Eglingtoun), the Knight of the Dragon (Marquis of Waterford), the Black Knight (W. L. Gilmour, Esq.), and the Knight of the Gael (Lord Glenlyon): against the Knight of the Black Lion (Viscount Alford), the Knight of the Red Rose (R. J. Lechmere, Esq.), the Knight of the White Rose (Charles Lamb, Esq.), and the Knight of the Swan (Hon. H. Jerningham). Mr. Jerningham was hurt in the wrist by a sword-stroke in the mêlée, but this was the only casualty worth recording during the tournament. Several of the knights were unseated, and in one case both horse and rider fell, a few bruises resulting. The prize was awarded to the Earl of Eglingtoun. It was a coronet, with which the Queen of Beauty gracefully crowned him, in the manner of the Lady Rowena in the lists at Ashby de la Zouche. There was a banquet in the evening, at which Lord Eglingtoun expressed the hope that this attempt at a revival of the tournament might result in its being continued among the nobility and gentry of these islands. This pious wish, however, failed to be realised, the very ethics of the institution being so totally at variance with the sentiment prevailing in modern times. The banquet was followed by a dance.

THE TOURNAMENT AT BRUSSELS IN 1905

In marked contrast to the Eglingtoun Tournament, in the way of accuracy of detail and historic truth, was the pas d’armes in the Rathausplatz, at Brussels, in 1905, held nearly three-quarters of a century later. This revival in what was once Burgundian territory was most appropriate, the more so as it took place in Brussels itself. It was in the Rathausplatz there, one of the most striking sites in Europe, that the Comte de Charolais, afterwards Charles the Bold, ran in his first tournament in 1452. The Comte was then but eighteen years of age, and tilted in as many courses on that occasion, breaking sixteen lances “as they ought to be broken”—a very good performance, viz. sixteen attaints out of eighteen runs. It was this tournament, held in the city of Brussels some four and a half centuries before, in the reign of Philippe le Bon, that was selected for reconstruction in the months of July and August, 1905.[242] Charles was born in November, 1433, and the tournament in question was held in commemoration of the anniversary of his birthday. He was killed in battle on the fatal field of Nancy in 1477. In the month of August of the same year his daughter and heiress, the Princess Maria, was wedded to Maximilian of Austria, and the brilliant traditions of the tournament passed over to his court.

The collection of illuminated MSS. in the Burgundian Library, now transferred to the National Library at Brussels, with the Armorial de la Toison d’Or and other Burgundian records, now in the National Library at Paris,[243] furnish reliable and inexhaustible material for the correct staging of a modern revival of a tournament on the lines of one of the fifteenth century. It is thus no wonder that the reconstruction, in the summer of 1905, of the pas d’armes of 1452 was attended by such success as to prove of great educational value. The middle of the fifteenth century was, perhaps, the most picturesque period of the tourney: its rich weapons and armour, the caparisons of the horses, the arms of the champions and others, the lists, the music, and even the very musical instruments of the period, together with the sumptuous accessories of the brilliant Burgundian Court, were reproduced in 1905 to a marvel.