The word is derived from the French “tournoyer,” to wheel round, and the name in old French was “tournoiement.” Tournaments were first instituted as training schools for the practice of arms, and were later tempered by the rules of chivalry. Jousts or justs of peace (hastiludia pacifica) were single combats, or a succession of such, for a prize or trial of skill; while the tourney was troop against troop. The term “passage of arms” is often used somewhat generally; but, strictly interpreted, it was a combat where several knights on each side were engaged, some fighting on foot, others on horseback. The sword was often blunt and pointless, being of whalebone covered with leather and silvered over. When actual swords were used no thrusting was permitted, but striking only. The length of the lance proper was usually about fourteen feet, the shaft being of ash; but there were several varieties of the weapon for the different “courses”; and in very early times, like the lance for battle, it was both thinner and shorter. An ordinance of the thirteenth century provides that the lance should be blunted, but this having been systematically evaded, another ordinance of the century following required the lance-head to be in the form of a coronal; and this law was for a time strictly enforced. There are examples in the Tower of London, and specimens exist in most museums abroad, notably at Dresden. The courses to be run were generally three in number. “Joustes à outrance” were to the death. Tournaments had their birth in Germany, in which country warlike games, probably inherited from the Romans, prevailed as early as the ninth century; indeed, there was an important “passage of arms” at Strasburg in the year 842.20 They continued very popular after the breaking up of the Franco-Germanic empire, and formed the pastime of the higher class up to the Thirty Years’ War. These early warlike games, in spite of all precautions, were often attended with great loss of life, and as many as sixty combatants have been put hors de combat at one “passage of arms.” They were always popular in France, and held there on a large scale; indeed, it is claimed that the “tournoiement,” properly so called, had its birth in that country, where it is said to have been instituted by Geoffrey de Preuilli, who died in 1066; and these warlike games were very much in vogue during the reign of Philip Augustus. The armour and weapons for the tournament at this time were the same as those used for battle, and continued so until after the reign of Edward III.; but the lighter form of lance was common in France long after it had been discarded in the other countries mentioned, and the French shaft was made of sycamore or fir. It was not before the beginning of the twelfth century that jousting or fighting with lance in rest became common; in fact, until then the lances in use were unsuitable for that purpose. Much information regarding the armament of combatants, the usages to be observed, and the regulations as to heralds, pursuivants-at-arms, esquires, and varlets, besides many interesting details, is contained in the Statutum Armorum ad Torniamenta, written towards the end of the thirteenth century. New and more stringent rules had become necessary, because of the frequency of the “joust of peace” degenerating into one “à outrance.” This evil had become so great that the Pope forbade the games in England, and King Edward III. repeatedly issued fiats against them, and so also did his successor; still the Crown frequently issued licences for tournaments being held. An excellent description of the arms and armour employed at a later age may be found in the Tourney Book of King René d’Anjou (Tournois du Roi René), illuminated by himself, with a most minute statement of the rules, ceremonial, and courses; and in it is a graphic account of the combat between the Dukes of Brittany and Bourbon. A miniature in this book exhibits a knight entering the lists with great ceremony. The first regular tournament in England occurs in the reign of Stephen, and another was held very early in that of Henry II., but its consequences were of such a nature as to induce that monarch, at the pressing instance of the priesthood, to forbid these games. So great, however, was their popularity that they continued to be held in spite of the king’s fiat, though it was not before the reign of his heroic son that they became common, and were then kept in strict bounds by royal ordinances. Henry III. charges his subjects that “they offend not by tourneying,” and, as already mentioned, even as late as 1299 edicts were issued against the games. There were only five authorised centres for lists in England, and four of these were south of the Trent. Tournaments in the northern counties required a special licence. Earls competing were obliged to pay twenty marks to the king, barons ten marks, and knight-bannerets and bachelors two to four marks, according to estate. The plan of the earliest lists was circular with palisades, but the form was afterwards changed to square rather longer than broad, and the latest were often made oblong. They varied very much in size, and were ornamented with tapestry and heraldic devices. Permanent lists were often enclosed by a ditch or moat. Roofed-in wooden erections, sometimes with sloping galleries for the spectators, were usually placed at the sides of the lists, and were often highly decorated. The marshals of the lists, heralds and pursuivants-at-arms, were stationed within the enclosure to take note of the various incidents taking place among the combatants, and it was the duty of the first-named to see that the rules of chivalry were strictly observed. Varlets were in attendance to assist the esquires in looking after their masters, especially when unhorsed. Trumpets announced the entry of each competitor, who was followed by his esquires into the lists. Each knight usually bore on his person some token from his lady-love, which was disposed on his helmet, lance, or shield. A prize was bestowed after a tournament, and presented with great pomp and ceremony. The arms and armament of the vanquished fell as spoil to the victors, unless ransomed by a payment in money. This was, however, only the case in jousts of courtesy, not in combats “à outrance.”

During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries an immense amount of artistic skill was freely lavished on armour for the lists, as well as on that for purposes of parade. It was common to hold a “passage of arms” for three days; two of them for contending on horseback, and the third on foot. Lances were used on the first day, swords and maces on the second, and pole-axes on the third. Those open to all comers were termed “joutes plenières.” Pluvinel, who wrote at the close of the reign of James I., says: “There ought to be at each end of the lists a little scaffold, the height of the stirrup, on which two or three persons can stand, viz., the knight, the armourer to arm him and his assistant, and hence he mounts his steed.” Froissart, writing towards the end of the fourteenth century, gives a graphic account of the tournament in his day. Judicial combats were common throughout the century, and usually took place within the nearest lists. Trial “by ordeal,” or the judgment of God, was a strange outcome of the Christian faith as practised during the “dark ages” of our era. It implied, of course, a strictly personal God, who specially interested himself in the doings of every one, and a simple, child-like faith that the Omnipotent would order victory to the just cause and protect the innocent from injustice. The “ordeal” was by fire, hot iron, boiling water, and by the sword. It was suppressed towards the end of the twelfth century, and was followed by that of single combat, “God shewing the right.” This method was in full accord with the chivalrous spirit of the times. Old persons, women, and minors were represented by “champion.” The combat might continue from noon to sundown, and if it lasted as long the innocence of the accused was established and proclaimed. This form of combat was only applied in the cases of crimes punishable with death, and only when merely circumstantial evidence was available. A figure of a judicial combat occurs in the Conquêtes de Charlemagne, a manuscript of the fifteenth century in the National Library at Paris. The combatants wore chain-mail, with genouillières and coudières, the period represented being late thirteenth or early fourteenth century. An angel superintends the duel.21

The custom of “judicial combats” fell into disuse in the fifteenth century.——We must confess to a lively partiality for the history of Sir Walter Scott, in spite of his facile imagination and palpable inaccuracies, and think the graphic picture of “The Gentle and Joyous Passage of Arms” at Ashby-de-la-Zouche, with “La Royne de la Beauté et des Amours,” gives as delightful an account of a tournament in the times of Richard Cœur-de-Lion as need be wished for. The gallant knights are distinguished by their belts and gilded spurs.

In the specification for arms and armour for the tournament of Windsor Park (1278) we see of what each suit consisted, viz., “one coat of fence, one surcoat, one pair of ailettes, two crests (one for the horse), one shield (heraldically ensigned), one helm of leather (gilded or silvered), and one sword made of whalebone.” The cost of each armament varied in price from about ten to thirty shillings. The shields were of wood, costing fivepence each. The total cost of the combined thirty-eight armaments was about £80. Chaucer refers to tournaments in the following lines:—

The leading “courses” of the tourney are fully described later in the paragraph devoted to German methods, which, though there were many more varieties, were practically those of England, where there was also the round-table game, etc. Matthew Paris mentions a “round table game” held at the Abbey of Wallenden in 1252; and Earl Roger de Mortimer held one at his castle of Kenilworth in 1280, and Edward III. another at Windsor in 1344. This form of tournament seems to have been very popular in England during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries; but there is no clear definition of its peculiarities given by any of the few chroniclers who mention the subject. The idea of the knights sitting round the table seems to have been an assertion of the principle of equality so as to avoid questions of precedence—one full of difficulty in all ages.

Tilting was practised during the fourteenth century very much as in the century following. A joust of about 1330 is figured on “The Codex Balduin Treverenses,”—the horses bear housings, and the knights mantles. The armament for jousting and battle began in this century to show some difference from that of earlier times. The games continued in unabated vigour throughout the middle ages and the “renaissance,” and until the general use of firearms rendered such exercises no longer of much practical value.

The necessary limits of this work will not admit of any detailed description of the many and curious rules, usages, and limitations which were absolutely necessary for carrying on these dangerous games without great and unnecessary bloodshed and the loss of many valuable lives, but much can be seen in a set of regulations prevailing under Henry VIII. in the tournament roll preserved in the Heralds’ College. Students of the subject will do well to read an able paper in the Archæological Journal, vol. lv., No. 219, entitled “Tilting in Tudor Times,” written by Viscount Dillon in 1898; and a most excellent and comprehensive account of the German “turnier,” and weapons used, exists in Herr Wendelin Boeheim’s work, Handbuch der Waffenkunde. This is a veritable text-book.

Tournaments and tilting generally were, however, rendered less dangerous than might have been expected by the addition of reinforcing armour, which pieces were screwed on over the more vulnerable places, on armour made for ordinary fighting purposes, and for some courses of the tournament, mainly on the left side, which received most of the blows; indeed, these extra pieces constituted a double defence of iron for the head, chest, and left shoulder. This was obviously rendered necessary when one considers the terrible impact of the lance in full career with the breastplate or helmet. These extra tilting pieces made their appearance in the reign of Edward IV., but they were known in Germany several decades earlier. It was early when suits of armour were made differently for battle and for tournaments, as William Lord Bergavenny bequeathed to his son “the best sword and harness for justs of peace and that which belong to war.”

Late in the fifteenth century there were complete tilting harnesses of such immense weight that a knight once unhorsed lay on the ground absolutely helpless, and often could not rise without the assistance of his varlets. His movements when on horseback were very restricted. These suits were of such resisting power as to give practical immunity to the wearers so far as wounds were concerned, but they were far too heavy to be used in the mêlée. A tilting harness with the Nuremberg mark, in the splendid collection at that city, is of immense weight and strength, and the example is specially valuable, as the date 1498 is inscribed on the cuirass. The knight could barely move in the saddle, and was able only to guide his horse and aim his lance. Armour made specially for the tilt-yard will be described later in these pages, and illustrations given.

There is an account of a tournament held in the reign of Henry VIII., in a tournament roll preserved in the Heralds’ College. The challenged (Les Venantz) were nine in number. The armour worn was of the heavy tilting class, with lamboys; and the horses were fully barbed, with housings. It would appear from the barrier between which the knights ride that this was the “Italian course,” known in Germany as the “Welsche Gestech.” This barrier was first of cloth hung on a rope, but afterwards of wood; and then the great knee-guard came into use to protect the knee from being crushed against the barrier, the height of which was usually about five, or even six feet. The meeting between Henry and Francis on the Field of the Cloth of Gold, in 1520, was the occasion of at least one tournament. The king himself was one of the challengers. One of the drawings shows him as breaking a lance with his opponent. It is certainly desirable at this point to give somewhat full particulars of the leading modes of jousting as practised in Germany at the end of the fifteenth, and during the sixteenth century, as it was here where these games were most frequently practised, and the German archives fortunately yield us very full particulars, which throw much light on the subject generally.

The Emperor Maximilian and our Henry VIII. were great patrons of the tournament, often taking part in it, and so were all the German princes of the sixteenth century. We find very full particulars of Maximilian tournaments, as held during the emperor’s reign, in the Turnierbuch des Kaisers Maximilian I., a synopsis of which has been written by Quirin von Leitner. This “Triumph of Maximilian,” dictated by the emperor in 1512, affords much information on this subject; and in it many of the forms of tourney are represented, with the various weapons and armour used in the different courses. The Turnierbuch of the Emperor Maximilian I. would have been both incomplete and inconclusive without the masterly drawings by Hans Burgkmair, painter and engraver, of Augsburg. This artist seems to have been closely associated with the great master Lorenz Kolman, surnamed “Helmschmied,” and doubtless did designing and engraving work for him. Courses of rather a later period are described in Hans Schwenkh’s Wappenmeistersbuch, written in Munich in 1554; besides which there are several “tournament books” of the German courts giving not only general descriptions of the games, with the rules and regulations practised, but also full accounts of particular encounters concerning which we have the harnesses fought in standing before us for reference to-day. There are also many original prints preserved giving particular examples of these games. Furthermore, Dr. Cornelius Gurlitt has given an excellent resumé of tournaments from the middle of the sixteenth century up to the Thirty Years’ War, derived greatly from the archives at Dresden. Herr Wendelin Boeheim, the curator of the imperial collection of Vienna, gives many details in his great work, Handbuch der Waffenkunde. The author has had the advantage of many personal hints concerning the German forms of tournament from Max von Ehrenthal, the accomplished curator of the Dresden collection, and he owes much information and several of the illustrations given under this heading to this gentleman’s kindness and liberality. Dr. von Ubisch, the director of the collection at the Zeughaus, Berlin, has also assisted him greatly, especially concerning ordinary fighting suits and other matters.

Tournaments of the sixteenth century were mostly for diversion and practice, and it was very rarely that any great injury was sustained. It will be seen from the descriptions here given that it was mainly a question of concussion, in the splintering of lances, or being rolled on the ground, the hardness of which was greatly modified by a liberal covering of tanning refuse. The stunning effects from the strokes of the sword and mace, as felt on the inside of the thick defences used, must have been very trying, and one fails to understand how so comparatively little damage to life and limb was experienced in the riders being hurled from their steeds, encased in their heavy panoply of more than two hundred pounds in weight; and what makes this the more extraordinary is that the rider was helped on to his horse again after a fall and ran again, and this sometimes happened several times: but judging from the records preserved, and there are many, the casualties in the tilt-yard of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were little, if at all more numerous and serious than those in the hunting or football fields of to-day; or in the duels that were common so recently at German universities; or for the matter of that in the accidents arising from the use of the cycle. This comparative immunity from serious injury in the tilt-yard was partly accounted for by the assistance rendered by the varlets in helping the horse to keep his feet, and the rider his seat after impact, and also in assisting in breaking the fall of the rider.

SHARFRENNEN.

This form is characterised by heavy lances “sharp,” as the name for the course implies. The main object was “unhorsing,” and the saddle was unprovided with front and rear supports; it was, in fact, quite unlike the ordinary war-horse saddle—indeed, more resembling the English saddle of to-day. The object of this was that there should be nothing to impede the rider’s fall. The lances used in this course were not expected to break or splinter, though they did so sometimes. On the moment of impact each combatant dropped his lance to avoid injury to the arm from splintering, and this was the case in the other courses also. The consequence of a true impact was, as a rule, that at least one rider was unhorsed; but sometimes both riders fell, and occasionally both horses as well, so that all four combatants, for the horses may be said to have fought also, bit the dust. In cases where a rider was able to keep his saddle for a moment after impact and swaying in the endeavour to retain his seat, his varlets rushed forward to support him. Sometimes in case of lances slightly deflecting, or missing altogether, one and even both horses have been known to fall forward. There was a “rennen” between the Emperor Maximilian and Duke John of Saxony at Innsbruck in 1498.

The tournaments held at the imperial and princely courts were strictly games, the hosts often personally challenging their guests to a trial of skill. Much depended naturally on the training of the horses, which were sometimes ridden blindfold. The legs and feet of the competitors were without armour, except the “diechlinge,” so that the rider could sit firmly supported on the saddle. The “diechlinge” served as a protection for the thigh and knee. Such a defence was necessary, owing to the risk of these limbs of the combatants colliding. In the Dresden Museum, in the “Turnierwaffen-Saal,” an interesting and very realistic representation of a German “Sharfrennen” may be seen, the combatants facing each other, fully armed, with lances in rest. The defences are double throughout, each harness weighing about two hundred pounds. The period is 1550–53, and most of the riders in the “Saal” have sat their horses since the year 1591. The body-armour is engraved and fluted, and the helmet is the sallad. The breastplate of the harness nearest the entrance to the hall bears the monogram of the armour-smith Sigmund Rockenberger of Wittenberg, the other was made by Hans Rosenberger of Dresden. The grand-guard, volant-piece, and left shoulder-guard are of wood, strengthened with plate, and covered with leather. A curved plain shield is screwed on over the left shoulder, while an enormous vamplate, or shield with a bouche, guards the right, and through this the butt end of the lance rests.

The armour itself is of the heavy tilting kind, over which is a dress of stuff with bases, a sort of petticoat like the civil dress of the day. Stockings and slippers are worn, and there is no defence of plate over them excepting at the knee, over which is the great “diechlinge” already mentioned. The woollen stockings and slippers in these instances are restorations; but there is an actual tilting shoe of the period in one of the museum cases at Dresden. Spurs with long necks are used. The horses are barded and fully housed. Housings reaching nearly to the ground are usually highly and fancifully decorated, bearing the “arms” or “cognizance” of the rider, and are often ornamented with the figures of birds or animals. In the Royal Library at Dresden is a representation on parchment of a “Sharfrennen” between Kurfürst August of Saxony and Johann von Ratzenberg, and afterwards with Hans von Schönfeld, in 1545, at Minden. It was drawn by Heinrich Goding, the court painter in 1584. This combat was termed a “Gedritts,” signifying that the victor, in order to gain the prize, had after the first encounter still to dispose of a second antagonist—three were thus engaged, and hence the term. A copy of this interesting record follows in Fig. 4. An example of the armour worn in this course is given in Fig. 5. It was made for Kurfürst August, by Sigmund Rockenberger of Wittenberg in 1554. The form is graceful, and the ornamentation of a chaste character. The details are clearly marked, such as the screw for the volant-piece; the sharp-pointed, spearhead-like projection standing forward from the centre of the breastplate, a fashion that only endured for a few decades; the ponderous lance-rest, and heavy abdominal extra plate,—all being characteristic of a suit used for “rennen.” The elegant sallad differs materially from the earlier form, and is very shapely. Only persons of noble birth or those subsequently granted “arms” were permitted to take part in “rennen.”

DAS DEUTSCHE STECHEN (THE GERMAN GESTECH).

Herr Wendelin Boeheim, in an article in the Zeitschrift für historische Waffenkunde,22 says that the “old German Gestech” was far from having been introduced during the reign of the Emperor Maximilian I., as has often been supposed, but is of much earlier origin. This course depends much more on adroitness and skill than in the Italian joust, when the knights tilt with a barrier between them, and the rider gets no assistance from his charger, as the chanfrein is without ocularia, and sometimes its ears were stopped with wool. The lance, unlike that used in “rennen,” is tipped with a coronal.23 The “Stechtarsche,” or small ribbed shield which is tied to the left shoulder by laces, affords grip to the coronal of the lance; and this is the point aimed at. The saddle used for this course has an upright front plate, but none behind, so that there was no impediment in “unhorsing.” Later, the front plate disappeared. The horse bears no bards beyond the chanfrein, but there is a cushion filled with straw fastened over the horse’s breast, as a protection against collision. There are several kinds of “Stechen,” but the rule in all is to have no leg armour, and this was in order to give the rider greater command over his seat: the lance hand bore no gauntlet. Quirin von Leitner gives a figure of the Emperor Maximilian I. armed for the German Gestech.

Instead of the fifteenth century sallad, a “Stechhelm” was worn in the sixteenth; and it was shaped something like a bucket. Brassards were always used in this course, while jambs and sollerets were usually dispensed with.

Early examples of armour made for this course may be seen in two very fine suits on exhibition at Nuremberg. The ponderous lance-rest stands free by reason of the cuirass being flattened on the right side. The breastplate, which bears the date 1498 and the Nuremberg guild monogram, is in two pieces, one of which is a reinforcing plate for the extra protection of the lower body, and this is fastened on to the main plate by large screws with very big heads. The lance-rest is supplemented with a queue screwed on behind, and curving downwards to hold the butt end of the lance. The right arm has heavy brassards; while on the left the heavy vambrace and gauntlet are in one solid piece, and quite plain. There is an immense rondelle on the right side, with a bouche cut out of the lower part to make room for the lance. The older of these suits has a sallad, while the one that is rather later is provided with a “Stechhelm,” which is very heavy and in one solid piece with the mentonnière, and strongly fastened on to the breastplate by screws; while a permanent socket and screw attach it to the backplate. The helm is thus immovable when fixed; it is roomy, and permits the head to move about freely within. These suits are so heavy and ponderous that the combatants could do little more than hold their lances in position; and if unhorsed, lay like logs where they fell, being unable to rise without the assistance of their varlets. In arming, each piece required to be screwed on, one after the other. The later of these suits is taken for illustration in Fig. 6, as it bears the more characteristic “Stechhelm.”

THE ITALIAN COURSE, OR “WELSCHES (ITALIAN) GESTECH,” ÜBER DIE PALLIA (OVER THE BARRIERS).

This course first appeared in Germany about 1510, but it doubtless originated in Italy, as its name implies, and the Italian name for barrier is “pallia.” It was fought with lances tipped with a coronal, the same as in “the German Gestech,” but the main difference between that course and the others under discussion is the presence of a wooden barrier about five feet high, along which the two riders charge, with it between them. In this course the legs and feet were generally armoured, though there were exceptions to the rule. There are very full particulars in Freydal, the book in which the tournaments of the reign of the Emperor Maximilian I. are drawn and described; and this form of tournament is figured in the tournament roll of King Henry VIII. preserved in the Heralds’ College. The knights in their career had to hold their lances on the left side of the horse’s head. Originally the main intention was to unhorse: still the splintering of lances was of more frequent occurrence than in the before-named courses, as the saddle here was furnished with high front and rear supports, rendering it in fact “well” shaped, so that the riders sat much more firmly in their seats than on the “renn” saddles, especially those which were without supports. Soon after the middle of the sixteenth century a change took place in the armour for tournaments; and with this came a modification in the lances also, which became lighter, so that they mostly splintered on impact, and in such cases the riders were but rarely hurled from their saddles. For the later Italian course harnesses were worn, as in Fig. 7.

The helm for this course differs somewhat from that worn in the others in being provided with a little opening or window on the right side for fresh air. The cuirass is not flattened on that side, as in Fig. 6. There are other differences, all of which may be seen on a suit in the Armeria Real de Madrid. In the old form of “Welsche Gestech” the rider wore sometimes the armour used for the ordinary “Stechen” course. In Leitner’s Freydal an example is figured; and there is an actual harness, by Wolf von Speyer of Annaberg, in the Turnierwaffen-Saal at Dresden.

The illustration (Fig. 8) gives an excellent rendering of this course as it was run between Duke Wilhelm IV. of Bavaria and the Pfalzgraf Friedrich bei Rhein, at Augsburg, in 1510. It has been taken from Duke Wilhelm’s tournament book.

THE FREITURNIER, OR FREE COURSE.

This course received its name in contradistinction to the “Welsches Gestech,” because it was run in the free field or lists, without any barrier between the combatants. In this respect it resembled the old German “Stechen,” and to a certain extent grew out of it. This form however does not occur, under the name, before the second half of the sixteenth century. The armour for the Freiturnier differs from that of the “Welsches Gestech” (Italian Course) in the particulars that a grand-guard was screwed on to the left shoulder and chest, instead of the tournament shield used in the Italian course. To the left elbow was screwed a garde-de-bras of larger dimensions than that used for the Welsches Gestech. Armour for the tournament was now usually so arranged that by the interchange of reinforcing plates the same suit could be made available for both these forms of tournament. The lance and horse furniture were exactly the same in both cases, and the body armour of the rider very similar, subject to the interchange of the reinforcing pieces already alluded to. The suit selected for illustrating the armour used for this course (Fig. 9) forms part of the remarkable collection at Dresden. It is a fine example in plain armour of about 1580. The breastplate, it will be observed, is the “peascod.”

THE FUSSTURNIER.

This is the foot-tournament which originated in the sixteenth century, and is very different from the courses on horseback. Full particulars can be seen in the Akten des Dresdener Oberhof-marshallamtes, anno. 1614. An extract (in translation) from this work by Dr. Cornelius Gurlitt runs as follows, viz.:—

“The one who shivers the greatest number of lances in the most adroit manner shall have the lance prize; and he who in five courses strikes the bravest and strongest with the sword shall have the sword prize.”

This extract furnishes a sufficient outline of the game. Like the “tourney,” it was troop against troop. Each combatant had to exchange three charges with the lance across a sort of barrier; and five strokes with the sword, all directed towards the head, not only with one but with every opponent on the opposing side; and prizes were awarded as set forth in the extract. No prize was awarded unless the lance splintered, nor was any given in cases where a combatant had stepped or been driven backwards in any way. Striking below the belt was forbidden, for no leg armour was worn. The locking gauntlet was expressly forbidden.

It is very interesting to find that a suit used in a “fussturnier” by Kurfürst Johann Georg I. of Saxony is now in the Dresden collection. It is by Anton Peffenhauser of Augsburg. The harness used was the ordinary fighting kind. The lance was held in both hands.

KOLBENTURNIER, OR BASTON COURSE.

This is a variety that first appeared early in the fifteenth century. It was a dual combat on horseback, and was not in vogue for more than a century. The weapon used was a “baston,” a short wooden polygonally cut mace, thickening towards the end. The helmet for this course was heavy and round, with a strong grated front. The head did not touch the helmet at all, for the “baston,” being made of very heavy wood, was a dangerous weapon for striking. An example of the saddle used in this course may be seen at the Nuremberg Museum. It is so constructed that the rider cannot well fall off.

There were a number of other courses, but the differences were only trifling, consisting mainly in humorous devices and fashions in costume. During the closing twenty years of the sixteenth century, and the first twenty in the following, the Hungarian tourney was much in vogue. This course obtained its name solely from the dress worn—the spurs used were very long.

Running at the ring can hardly be classed under the tournament category. It was called “Ringelrennen” in Germany, and was much in favour at the Saxon court from 1570 to the end of the seventeenth century. The lance used was shorter and much lighter than that for tournaments. There is a specimen at Dresden which is tipped with a cone, to hold the ring when hit, and there is naturally no vamplate.

REINFORCING PIECES FOR THE TILT-YARD.

These may be divided into two classes, viz., those extra pieces appertaining to purely tilting armour, made specially for the lists, and those used to augment the strength of ordinary fighting suits donned for the lists. The former class comprises the grand-guard and volant-piece, often in one plate, but sometimes screwed together, the latter piece being provided with an ocularium on the right side only. These plates defend the breast and face. A small wooden shield, plated and covered with leather for the left shoulder, screwed or tied on. This piece is in some courses the objective of the lance. The heavy elbow-guard which protects the elbow, and half-way up and down the arm. The German tilting arm-guard and gauntlet was often in one piece from the shoulder. The right side is further protected by an enormous vamplate, which in the German form covered half the arm on both sides of the elbow. There is also a large knee-plate, the Germans call a “diechlinge,” which is sometimes fastened to the saddle, the leg passing between it. This piece is more especially used in “Sharfrennen.” Suits for “rennen” and “stechen” were usually made so that they could be worn by any man of anything like medium height, and it was quite common for one knight to borrow the harness of another.

As to the reinforcing pieces for screwing on to ordinary armour, drawings are given of a series of these plates, belonging to a splendid suit at Munich that was worn by the Prince-Bishop of Salzburg (Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau), illustrated in Fig. 35. The pieces are numbered on the drawings for reference, one and upwards in Figs. 10 and 11.

A projection called the queue, screwed on to the back plate, supports the butt-end of the lance. The suit and all the pieces are richly inlaid with gold, with the Bishop’s arms engraved on the breastplate. There is a suit very similar in form and details of the pieces in the Töjhus, Copenhagen, but the ornamentation of that suit is much bolder, having the thistle for its theme throughout. It is of French make. As in the Alnwick suit (Fig. 33), the cuisses are in two parts, the upper being detachable, and the tassets bear evidence of missing detachable portions. An interesting feature of this suit is that the lance-rest is so adapted as to be capable of being either raised or lowered. Boeheim states that he has not seen any examples of these reinforcing pieces of an earlier date than about 1510. These pieces, with interchangeable plates, were very numerous in some cases where expense was no object. A suite made for the Archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol, by Jörg Seusenhofer, consisting of a field-harness and a suit for foot-fighting, had appertaining to the two suits as many as thirty-four interchangeable and reinforcing pieces. They were made in 1547, and are now at Vienna.