Few images of chivalry are stronger in the popular mind than that of two
armoured knights in a joust, crashing together astride their chargers.
Yet, considering the importance of formal combat to the medieval
aristocracy, we possess surprisingly few detailed accounts of
tournaments, jousts or duels. As the great sporting event of its day,
fans of feats of arms enjoyed hearing about them, but extensive
descriptions of the actual events involving contemporary warriors were
not what they were looking for. Sometimes, however, there was an upswing
of interest that inspired poets and chroniclers to write more detailed
descriptions of both combats and accompanying celebrations. One
particularly rich time for source material are the years 1389-90, when
diplomatic competition between Charles VI of France and Richard II of
England inspired the kings to sponsor some of the most spectacular
formal combats of the entire Middle Ages. These feats of arms attracted
a great deal of attention from contemporary writers and they were not
soon forgotten. As a result, we have valuable descriptions of how
jousting was performed and appreciated at the highest social levels in
the two great rival kingdoms of the West. Bringing together some of the
most important accounts of medieval jousting, especially those of the
jousts at St. Inglevert, Royal Jousts is a direct look at the sources
that have influenced our modern notion, and every modern reconstruction,
of late medieval jousting. It is also the first entry in our new Deeds
of Arms series a series of short, color-illustrated readers that make
primary source accounts of famous displays of martial and chivalric
prowess of the High and Late Middle Ages and early Renaissance
accessible to a broad audience.
