The herald., 1897-04-25
Ernrn Eriday'S s Herald.

Il
There was a gallant showing made
at the jousting yard yesterday. Feats
of strength, of SKILL of agile power and
of science were not lacking and mucn
pleasant fooling was done by those
clowns in whose ears the laughter
and cheers of the multitude must have
been precious.
AS time wags along wondrous changes
are wrought, but in the athletic heia
the public humor has not changed much'
and any alteration in the form of bod
ilv contest has been brought about by
force rather of circumstances than by
individual inclination. Even yet the
thoughts of the physically strong man
fly back fondly to the times
"When every morning brought noble
And every chance brought out noble
knight.
But the thousands of people that
thronged yesterday TO the Jousts saw
in certain respects. much the same as
their ancestors saw before them at the
tousts and tournaments of the chival-
ric age.
Originally, perhaps. only exercises in
riding, the iousts and tournaments be-
came in France contests of skill and
strength, and in that form were intro
duced into Germany in the twelfth
century. During the golden age OF
chivalry, only persons of ascertained
nobility and of blameless character
could participate in them, and hence
they were always preceded by scru-
tiny of the contestants coat of arms.
They were governed by fixed laws, the
violation of which involved punishment
snd disgrace. Heralds. each wearing
his masters coat of arms emblazoned
on his peculiar costume. pursuivants
and functionaries of various grades, all
in appropriate colors, had charge or
the proceedings Fools, who brought
the ridiculous into relief upon such oc-
casions, piled their vocation at the ex-
pense of the participants in the tourney.
The knights fought either singly or
in troops. The weapons consisted of
lances, swords or maces, the latter in
tended simply to deprive the helmets of
their ornamentation; the former were
sharp pointed if the combat were real,
otherwise the points were blunted. The
armor, more complete than that used
in war, extended even to the steed.
Sometimes the horses were cased in
mail, but in the lance tilt, which was
the usual form of tournament, they
were merely covered with cloths adapt
ed to the outlines of the body, even COW
ering the eyes, so as to prevent their
shying. The shields and helmets of the
knights, and even the coverings of the
steeds, were decorated with coats of
arms, allegorical devices, and even
comical pictures.
At jousts of lance-breaking the par
ticipants were separated by board
ing, while in other cases there was no
barrier except that which excluded the
spectators from the lists. The guests
of rank occupied tribunes. the principal
one being reserved for the Queen of
Beauty. who was to bestow the guerdon
on the winner In the beginning the
prizes consisted of gold chaplets. chains,
ETC., and later of a more substantial
character
After the decline of chivalry the En-
peror Macmillan l made many petty
regulations concerning tournaments
which refined away their genuine spir-
L.
accidents resulted from these sports,
for even battle axes were sometimes
used, they were much modified by the
sixteenth century and became mere ex-
hibitions of skill. In this form the COM
petitors had for an opponent a wooden
figure OF a Turk, or else they strove to
catch on their spear points a ring hung
up for the purpose, and though the
victory was not won with danger, it
was applauded as vigorously as were
the combats Of old. This sport was
called ring fitting" or "carrousel" Its
last form is that Of the flying wooden
horses which are today the delight of
the boys and girls to be found at every
fair and picnic ground and which are
the last relic of the once gallant sports
of chivalry. How have the mighty
fallen!