Another MS. in the same collection (No. 845, fol. 164) gives a list of the participants, with their “checques” (which are tablets for recording the scores made). Examples of these registers are given here, under the heading of the document in question:—

[54 more, as above, 25 without arms.]

The tenans on the occasion were the Earl of Oxford, Lord Charles Howard, Sir Henry Lee, and Christopher Hatton, a “pencioner,” and a list of their opponents, with their “Checques,” is given in the Ashmolean MS. No. 845, fol. 167. (See page 128.)

The prize for the best lance among the tilters was “a cheyne of gold,” which fell to the Earl of Oxford, who ran forty-two courses and splintered thirty-two lances, a very good performance. The prize for the tourney was a “Diamonde”; that for “barriours” a “Rubie,” which was won by Thomas Cecil, one of the venans.

In 1590, after the siege of Paris had been raised, King Henri IV challenged the Duc de Mayenne to single combat, in order that by a decisive result the calamities of France might be stayed, but nothing came of it.

A tournament was held at Westminster under the leadership of Walter, Earl of Essex, which is chiefly remarkable from the fact of its having taken place during the night. It was on the occasion when Anne de Montmorency, Constable of France, came to London to receive the Order of the Garter, in June, 1572. Queen Elizabeth gave a supper in celebration of the event, at which she presided, and in due time she retired to her apartments. The weather being warm, however, it pleased her Majesty to walk from her chamber on to the open terrace of the palace, where the French duke and his suite were assembled, with many of the English courtiers. The Earl of Essex entered the terrace quite suddenly, accompanied by twelve gentlemen armed at all points and well mounted.

The ordinances and regulations which controlled the routine of a tournament, some of them compiled for general use and others framed for particular contests, have been repeatedly referred to in these pages; but the method of the keeping of scores is nowhere clearly indicated, and, indeed, is but rarely mentioned. The score was marked in strokes by a king of arms, sometimes by a pursuivant,[231] on a scoring tablet, termed a “checque,” which was tricked with a shield of the arms of the owner, as shown on page 127. The scoring-board itself was in the form of a parallelogram, with three horizontal lines, the middle line projecting some distance beyond the others, and on the projection of this middle line the number of courses run (usually from two to eight) were registered. The attaints were noted on the top line; and they were often differentiated as hits on the body or head, which had a different value in the tale.[232] The middle line inside the parallelogram was for the staves well broken, and the bottom line for those “ill-broken”—that is, broken within a foot of the head of the lance or on the tilt, on the adversary’s saddle, etc.—these being deducted from the score or disallowed. The proportion in the number of attaints varied greatly, though on the average it would appear that the misses made in jousting at the tilt (i.e. when the jousters failed to touch each other in their careers) were greater in number than the hits made; while in jousting “at the wide” the proportion of attaints was much greater. The registration was done by vertical strokes on the horizontal lines.

As many as ten jousting cheques have been found, which help to a knowledge as to how the scoring was managed, though more light is needed on the subject.

The rules and regulations concerning the conducting of tournaments in Tudor times were based on those framed in 1466 by John Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester, Constable of England, which are given in our Chapter IV; but there is no rule among them directly mentioned concerning the method of scoring the points. There are, however, pictures of the scoring cheques, reproduced by Mr. ffoulkes in his paper in Archæologia, Vol. LXIII, Plate IV, Nos. 2, 3, which appear at the ends of two of the versions of the Tiptoft rules; viz. those in Harl. MS. 2413, fol. 16, and Ashmole MS. 763, fol. 149. Two cheques out of the fifty-six in Ashmole MS. 845, fol. 164, are reproduced on our Fig. 1. They are those of the Earl of Oxford and Charles Howard, being registers of their scores at the passage of arms which was proclaimed by Clarencieulx in 1570.

This somewhat intricate subject can only be lightly touched upon in these pages; but we may refer any of our readers who may wish to pursue the subject further to Lord Dillon’s paper, “Tilting in Tudor Times,” published in the Archæological Journal, Vol. LV, and to that written by Mr. Charles ffoulkes in Archæologia, LXIII, entitled “Jousting Cheques of the Sixteenth Century.”

Three writers on certain features in the routine of a tournament are mentioned in the last-named monograph, The Romance of Three King’s Sons, written about the end of the fifteenth century,[233] from which the following extract is given:—

“All these thinges donne thei were embatailed eche ageynste the othir and the corde drawen ageynste eche partie, and whan the tyme was, the cordes were cutte and the Trumpettis blew up for euery man to do his deuoir. And for to assertayne you more of the Tournay there was on eche side a stake, and at eache stake two Kynges of Armes, with penne, and Inke, and paper, to write the names of all of them that were yolden, for they shold no more Tournay.”

This refers to the mêlée, not the joust.

King René d’Anjou, in Traicte de la forme et Devis d’ung Tournoi, gives an illustration of a mêlée in which the attendants are seen cutting the cords with axes, but there are no kings of arms present noting the score.

Another reference occurs in the account given in the Landsdowne MS. 285 of the combat between the Bastard of Burgundy and Lord Scales in 1466, a contest which has been already described on these pages. It is entitled The Ordinaunce of kepyng of the Feelde, and runs—

“... At ev’y corner a Kyng of Armes crownyd and an Harauld or Pursevaunte within the seide feelde, for reporte makyng of actes doon within the same: Garter and othir Kynges of Armes and Hauraldes to be sett in the scaffolde before the Kyng on the right hande of the staire of the Kynges place judiciall’ to make report generall’ and to marke all that should be doon in the seide feelde.”

And we may infer that a score of the points, for and against, was kept on the occasion.[234] Hall, in his narrative of the Field of the Cloth of Gold, states definitely that the scores of the combatants were marked down by the proper officials, English and French.

The Duc d’Alençon and three French gentlemen, with the earls of Sussex and Leicester, challenged all comers, in 1551, to fight at barriers, and they had forty-five opponents.[235]

Jousts were run at Westminster, in conjunction with a great pageant, on January 22nd, 1581, in the presence of Queen Elizabeth. The fêtes extended over several days, and many lances were broken at the tilting. The crowd was so great at the pageant that many citizens were maimed and some killed. Those taking part in the tilting were Henry Gray, Sir Thomas Perot, Anthony Cooke, Thomas Radcliffe, Robert and Francis Knolles, Rafe Bowes, Thomas Kelwaie, George Goring, William Tresham, Robert Alexander, Edward Dennie, Hercules Meantus, Edward Moore, Richard Skipwith, Richard Ward, Edward Digbie, Henry Nowell and Henry Brunkerd. During the running Sir Henry Lee entered the tiltyard as The Unknown and, after breaking six lances, retired again. The challengers each ran six courses against all comers. A Scharmützel, being the attack and defence of a mock fortress on which cannon were mounted, took place later, and this was followed by the tourney and barriers. Taking part in these were the Earl of Arundel, Lord Windsor, Sir Philip Sidney and Fulke Greville, Esquire.[236]

A tournament was held on the 15th May following, as mentioned in Ashmole MS. No. 845, fol. 166, a copy of which follows:—

(46 more figures like this, with a line at the right end. They are arranged in two columns.)

The challengers were Monsieur the brother of the French King, the Prince Delphine,[237] the earls of Sussex and Leicester, the Count S. Aignon, Messires Chamuallan and Bacqueuile. The venans were led by Lord Thomas Howard.

Another tournament took place at Westminster on November 17th in the same year, and a list of names of those taking part is given in Ashmole MS. No. 845, fol. 165:—

These be the names of the noblemen and gentlemen, that for the honour of the Queenes Majestie did their endevour at the Tylt at Westminster on the xvijᵗʰ day of Nouember, beinge the first day of the xxiiijᵗʰ yere of the reigne of queene Elizabeth, whome God of his greate mercy longe contynue to reigne over this sinnefull realme of England. Amen.”

In 1585 there is what is described as “the last joust on the Thames,” but which was really a form of water quintain:—

“From ech end of the riuer came a bote running with six ores, in the stern of which on the top stood a man armed in a red wastcote, with a staffe in his reste, hauing a but end of corke; now ech meeting other with their staues, both fell into the water, where spare botes were redi to succour them, for ouer went their horsses.”[238]

Ashmole MS. No. 1109, fol. 154b, gives a list of names of persons taking part in a tournament held at Windsor on November 17th, 1593.

In 1606, in the reign of James I, there was a fight at barriers in celebration of the ill-fated marriage of the Earl of Essex. Sixteen combatants fought on each side, first singly and then in threes. One party was led by the Duke of Lennox, the other by the Earl of Sussex.[239]

Another fight at barriers took place on Twelfth-night, 1610, when Henry Prince of Wales, with six aides, met sixty-five defendants at Whitehall. The weapons were pikes and single swords, and the prince, then in his sixteenth year, is stated to have greatly distinguished himself.[240]

Harleian MS., III, 215, 4888, 20, is a general challenge at tilt, tourney, and barriers, “signed Lenox, Southampton, Pembroke, Montgumbray,” dated 1612. It was in defence of these propositions—“1. That in Service of Ladyes, Knights have no free-will. 2. That it is Beautie maintains the World in valour. 3. That noe fare Ladie was ever false. 4. That none can be perfectlye wife but Lover.” The challenge was addressed, “To all honourable men, Men at Armes, and Knight Adventurers of hereditarie note, ＆ examplarie noblesse, that for most memorable actions doe wield either Sword or Launce in quest of glorie.”

Ashmole MS. No. 837, fol. 129-32, gives a long account of “The manner of first cominge into the Tiltyard” of Charles Prince of Wales in the year 1619. It is interesting from many points of view, and we reproduce it here nearly in extenso. Like all accounts of the tournament of the period but little information is given of the martial sports themselves, though a great deal is written concerning the dresses, etc. This MS. affords abundant evidence that the last stage of the tournament had been reached.

One more illustration of a tournament of the seventeenth century is afforded by Ashmole MS. No. 1127, fol. 196-99b, and it aptly illustrates the advanced stage of degeneration now reached by these once brilliant and chivalrous martial games:—

The tournament lingered long in Germany.

The decline of armour had become acute by the close of the sixteenth century, and to this there were many contributory causes. Far too much stress has been laid on the extended use of firearms as being the main reason for this, though the ever-increasing penetrative force of the musket-ball had tended greatly to diminish the value of steel harness as a sure means of defence. As a matter of fact, full armour could not be constantly worn during a long campaign without injury to health, besides being a great clog to mobility on the march and in the field. Another potent factor towards the disuse of armour lay in the fact that harness for the soldiery was made in certain standard or arbitrary sizes, each piece being numbered, so that the suits rarely fitted individual cases. They were thus apt to chafe the bodies of the wearers and to cause sores beyond endurance, so that pieces of armour were frequently cast away on the march, all penalties notwithstanding. The man-at-arms of an earlier age became the pistolier, Landsknecht and cuirassier of later times.

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.

The reconstruction, as presented at Brussels, began with the entry of Duke Philip of Burgundy into the lists in the Rathausplatz, with a splendid train of the ladies of his court, the Marshal of the Lists, the King of Arms (Jean Lefébre de Saint-Remy, the reputed writer of the Armorial de la Toison d’Or), the Comte de Charolais, with his five jousting associates and many historic figures of the camp and tourney throughout Christendom, the four judges of the tournament, heralds, pursuivants, etc. The Duke having taken his seat as supreme umpire on the gaily decked tribune prepared for him, the trumpets sounded and the jousting began. Many courses were run in character. This was followed by the quintain, and afterwards by combats on foot and a mêlée; then the prizes were presented. Figures of the knights of 1452, such as those of the Comte de Charolais, Jacques de Lalain and Fredrich de Renesse, were faithfully reproduced in all their details. Some excellent post-cards were published in Belgium, picturing some of the principal scenes of the tournament. Plate XII (1) depicts the Comte de Charolais armed at all points for the mêlée, and Plate XII (2) Jean de Clèves. The fêtes d’armes and its rehearsals extended over several weeks.

“TRIUMPH” HELD AT EARL’S COURT, LONDON, ON JULY 11th, 1912

The object of the promoters of this revival was to reproduce an Elizabethan tournament of about the year 1580, such an one as is described in this chapter. This idea was very creditably carried out, though falling short of the Brussels reproduction of 1905 in the matters of technique and minuteness and correctness of detail. It must be remembered, however, that in 1580 the tournament, then itself a revival in England, had reached an advanced stage of decadence, and that the materials available for reconstruction are scanty and uncertain, as contrasted with the ample records of the century preceding. The Earl’s Court reproduction is stated to have been devised by Mrs. George Cornwallis-West and Mr. Seymour Lucas, r.a., with the technical assistance of Mr. (now Sir) Guy Laking. The stage management of the play was in the competent hands of Mr. (now Sir) Frank R. Benson. It is interesting to see so many historic names and titles, corresponding with those of Tudor times, borne by the jousters at Earl’s Court. The rôle of Marshal of the Lists was sustained by Lord Lonsdale, and the judges were Lords Shrewsbury and Talbot, Essex, and Dudley, with Major-General Brocklehurst. The Queen of Beauty was the Viscountess Curzon.

The procession to the arena was headed by trumpeters and four pursuivants, marching on foot; then rode the marshal, armed at all points, with the herald (Sir F. R. Benson). The four judges, clad in black robes, followed, their esquire (Sir Guy Laking) bearing the umpire’s bâton. After their entry into the lists the trumpets again sounded and the Queen of Beauty, with her train of maidens, all mounted on palfreys, gaily decorated with roses, each led by a henchman, rode into the arena. The Queen was attended by an esquire, and her palfrey was caparisoned in silk. She was clad in a ruff, a robe sparkling with diamonds, and a long mantle.