Jousting At Carisbrooke Castle

A few days ago, Sharon and I went to Carisbrooke Castle and this post will show you the jousting contest that was on display that morning.  It was very exciting and the crowd all joined in shouting in favour of their Knights.  There were 4 Knights having different colours, red, blue, gold and green and they were introduced and arrived separately and after the jousting contest ended, they all left together.

Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two horsemen and using lances, often as part of a tournament. The primary aim is to strike the opponent with the lance while riding towards him at high speed, if possible breaking the lance on the opponent's shield or armour, or unhorsing him.

The term joust is derived from Old French joster, ultimately from a Late Latin iuxtare "to approach, to meet". The word was loaned into Middle English around 1300, when jousting was a very popular sport among the Anglo-Norman knighthood. The synonym tilt dates ca. 1510 and is the barrier between the 2 horses.

Jousting emerged in the High Middle Ages based on the military use of the lance by heavy cavalry. It transformed into a specialised sport during the Late Middle Ages, and remained popular with the nobility both in England and Germany throughout the whole of the 16th century (while in France, it was discontinued after the death of king Henry II in an accident in 1559).   In England, jousting was the highlight of the Accession Day tilts of Elizabeth I and James I, and also was part of the festivities at the marriage of Charles I.

Jousting was discontinued in favour of other equestrian sports in the 17th century, although non-contact forms of "equestrian skill-at-arms" disciplines survived. There has been a limited revival of jousting reenactment since the 1970s.

The joust became an iconic characteristic of the knight in Romantic medievalism and hence in the depiction of the Middle Ages in popular culture. Jousting matches were notably depicted in Ivanhoe.

 

  

  

  

I hope you were able to catch the flavour and excitement of this event.  No horse or Knight was injured, in fact I spoke to one of the Knights and he had never been injured.  Although I did not show you, each Knight had his own tent and helpers and we were able to watch  as they dressed in their armour.  I do not know how they did not die of heat exhaustion as that day was a very hot!

Below is a video taken from the beginning to the end of the tournaments but heavily edited down and I hope you will enjoy it.  I had to make it in 2 parts so the first part can be accessed at

http://youtu.be/HxDacLV1vms

If  there is a black space below, click it and the video will appear.



Part 2 can be accessed at http://youtu.be/x9CSKGiOP2Y

If there is a black space below, click it and the video will appear.

Thanks you for visiting today and I hope you will return soon.