Saturday, May 28, 2011

Preamble to the Questions on Jousts


These are the questions concerning the joust which I, Geoffroy de Charny, pose to the high and mighty prince of the Knights of Our Lady of the Noble House to be judged by you and the knights of our noble company.

J 1


1. First I ask:  An emprise for jousting is announced for a certain place on a certain day to deliver all knights of three lances and not more, and nothing else is announced except the prize. So it happens that one knight knocks another to the ground and out of the saddle with a stroke of the lance. Will he who knocks the other to the ground win the other's horse? What do you say in this case, will it not be judged by the law of arms? 

J 2


2. Charny asks:  If it happened that in this celebration one knight knocked another to the ground with a stroke of the lance, his saddle being between his legs and the whole thing off the horse, will he who knocked the other down win the horse? What do you say in this case, will it not be judged by the laws of arms? 

J 3


3. Charny asks:  Knights are jousting without a formal announcement, and one knight knocks another down and out of the saddle with a stroke of the lance. Will he who knocked the other down win the horse? What do you say? 

J 4


4. Charny asks:  An emprise for squires takes place with jousting in the same manner as in the announcement above, and in no other way. One squire knocks another to the ground and out of the saddle. Will he win the horse? What do you say?

J 5


5. Charny asks:  In the emprise it is said that anyone who kills a horse with a stroke of a lance will pay for it. So it happens that in jousting one strikes the other's horse with his lance well advanced; but their horses collide so hard that both of them fall to the ground. Will he who struck the horse with the lance pay for it or not? What do you say?