The Medieval Tournament as Spectacle

Fresh insights into the development of the tournament as an opportunity for social display.The period from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century witnessed a rapid development of the tournament. Alongside the original tourney - a mass battle fought between opposing armies of knights with minimal and rudimentary regulation - new forms of chivalric military contests emerged, in which entertainment featured alongside the necessity of practice for war. The joust featured individual combats, with increasingly elaborate rules and variations in form and accompanying pageantry, while the passage of arms placed tournaments within theatrical and allegorical formats.This volume brings together the latest research on the late medieval tournament, demonstrating how such events, particularly at the courts of France, Burgundy, England and the German principalities, were increasingly integrated in wider festivities, ceremonies and diplomatic negotiations. Published in association with the Royal Armouries, it will appeal to all those interested in chivalric culture and medieval warfare.

“highly informative and clearly written by major experts in the field.”

THE RICARDIAN
The compendium does an excellent job bringing in the casual reader to the intricacies of the study of tourneys, while also broadening the knowledge of those more invested in such research. Readers come away from the book with an imagination's worth of images and stories, both historical and literary. On top of everything else, it really is a fun read. DE RE MILITARI
The Medieval Tournament as Spectacle is a touchstone for the study not only of the tournament but also of medieval European military history and sociocultural practices. H-WAR

JAMES TITTERTON received his PhD in Medieval Studies from the University of Leeds. In addition to his work on the history of warfare, he has published on crusader rhetoric, chivalry and the medieval tournament. RALPH MOFFAT is the Curator of European Arms and Armour at Glasgow Museums. He is responsible for the care of, research, and dissemination of information on the people of this City's collection. Rosalind Brown-Grant is Professor of Late Medieval French Literature at the University of Leeds.

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