Chapter VI

Much that is fanciful and unreal written about the
tournament—Scientific writers on the subject—Narrations
of chroniclers—German records—Ashmolean, Harleian and
Cottonian MSS.—Hall, Holinshed and other chroniclers—The
tournament reaches its highest development in the
first half of the fifteenth century—Decline of the
tournament—The introduction of barriers in combats
on foot—The bâton of illegitimacy—The tournament
restricted to cavaliers of noble birth—Prizes—New
forms of jousting—German tournament-books—Harnesses
for the tiltyard made in Germany—The tournament as
practised at the German Courts—The _Freydal_ of
Maximilian—Other works of the kind—Tournament-books
at Sigmaringen and Dresden—Paintings of jousts at
Dresden—Jousting on wooden horses equipped with
mechanical apparatus for charging—Trappers: their
paintings, devices and embroideries—Prices of
knightly armour—Tourney book of Duke William IV of
Bavaria—Other tourney-books—Forms of jousting and
equipment—Bards and saddles—The _Gestech_ in its several
forms—Maximilian I armed for _Hohenzeuggestech_—Two
armours for _Gestech_ at Paris—Harness for the
_Gestech_ in the Wallace Collection, London—Other
examples—The lance, vamplate and coronal—A _Gestech_
at Leipsig in 1489—The frontispiece, which represents
a _Gestech_—_Gestech im Beinharnisch_—Jousting
with pointed lances (_Scharfrennen_)—The lance and
vamplate—Salient features of the forms—Examples of the
armour employed—Realistic representation of a joust
with sharp lances—Maximilian II mounted and armed for
_Scharfrennen_—_Geschiftrennen_—_Geschifttartscherennen_—A
_Rennen_ held at Minden—_Geschiftscheibenrennen_—_Bundrennen_
—_Auzogenrennen_—_Krönlrennen_—_Pfannenrennen_—_Feldrennen_—The
_mêlée_—_Feldturnier_—All these forms defined—Joust at
the tilt—Its inception—The salient features—A joust
at the tilt at Augsburg in 1510—Armour employed—Two
harnesses for this type of joust at Paris—A German
suit dated 1580—_Realgestech_—Three armours in
London for jousting at the tilt—Fatal accident to
Henry II of France in a joust of this kind—Triumph
of Maximilian—Drawings by Hans Burgmaier—Combats
on foot—_Barriers and Foot Combats_: a paper by
Lord Dillon—Armour for foot-fighting—Weapons
employed—The _Fussturnier_—The _Freiturnier_—Armour
employed—_Realgestech_—The _Scharmützel_—The
Karoussel or Carrousel—Permanent lists—Harness for the
tiltyard—Best armours imported from Italy—Interest taken
by Henry VIII in armour-making—German smiths employed
at Greenwich—The iron imported from Innsbruck—Alleged
inferiority of English iron—“Hoasting” armour of
the sixteenth century—Its form slavishly follows
that of the civil dress—Fluted or “Maximilian”
armour—Tonlet armour—Bards—The expression “trapped
and barded”—Some armour for campaigning made much
lighter—“_Pfeifenharnis_”—Its unsuitability—The
enrichment of armour—Armour of the middle of the
century—The “Peasecod-bellied” doublet and breastplate 85