Informative Essay: The Medieval Jooust Competition

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The Medieval Joust

This morning I witnessed a tournament held in town. As I was watching I realized that I wasn’t exactly certain about all the rules. This is why I decided to write this article about the history, rules, and guidelines of this riveting sport. The words "tournament" and "joust" are frequently used interchangeably. Strictly speaking "joust" describes single combat between two horsemen. "Tournament" refers to mounted combat between parties of knights, but also is used to refer to the whole proceeding. The first written tournament guidelines are credited to a Frenchman named Geoffroi de Purelli in 1066. I would have interviewed this man but he was unfortunately killed, ironically in one of these very tournaments for which he made rules. Jousting is a way of gaining respect. It is what is done when there is no war to fight. Jousting is essentially a way of “playingâ€? war. …show more content…

From these bloody conflicts there developed the tournament conducted according to an intricate code of rules. In a tournament a knight could enjoy all the excitement, danger and glory of war, with none of the dirt, flies, disease or discomfort. After the fight he could soak his bruised, bloody limbs in a warm bath, eat a good dinner and retire, appropriately accompanied, to a soft bed. In war he might win fame and fortune, in tournaments he could win these and much more. One of the basic fundamentals of these tournaments is chivalry. A knight chose a lady, fought in her name and was rewarded

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