Jousting Knights Lived Dangerously!

[Matchlock]

It is getting hard to say something substantial after what you wrote.
As I realized at an early stage how dangerous full contact sports and reenactments are I completely resigned from watching such shows, though I do admire those guys for being totally devoted to their profession and the martial arts.

m

[A Senefelder]

It is getting hard to say something substantial after what you wrote.

Being an armourer I worked closely with them and have done work for a number of todays pro jousters. They're a very different animal. I don't know if they're reflective of what the mindset of 15/16th/17th century jousters would have been like. They're pretty much fearless, or at least broadcast that image, and don't seem to think about what they're going to do much more than I would about driving a car. I've wondered personally several times in the past, when reshaping/fixing damaged harness for these guys if that really is how the jouster of that day may have been. The fella I mentioned in my first post actually returned to doing it for a living after he recovered. There's the famous story of William Marshal having to have a blacksmith pound his great helm somewhat back into shape while he had it on after a joust just so he could get it back off his head again. While not exactly the severity parity between the two events, the mindsets are not completely different. The stuff of pure conjecture I suppose.

[Matchlock]

Thank you so much for sharing both your inside experience and your mind. I believe you must be right with your formation of hypotheses concerning these guys.

Best,
m

[fernando]

Originally Posted by A Senefelder

... There's the famous story of William Marshal having to have a blacksmith pound his great helm somewhat back into shape while he had it on after a joust just so he could get it back off his head again...

An episode with macabre contours